by Aileen Erin
I snorted. “Patience isn’t one of my virtues.”
“You’ll learn it,” she said. “You’ll control your emotions, and hopefully one day, you can go to college, grow up, and take a place in our world.”
Our world. Not the world.
Fantastic. Was there any way I could get back to my world?
Dr. Gonzales put an arm around my shoulder and I suppressed the urge to shrug it off. It wasn’t her fault she had to stick me with needles. I’d forgive her. Maybe. But how was I going to forgive Dastien?
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go back to campus. I’ll show you to your new room. I’m sure Michael can find your suite-mate. Meredith’s been looking forward to finally meeting you.”
My new room? Suite-mate? I was going to have to actually live here. That totally blew. “I’m not sure I’m good company right now. Plus, I tend to have a hard time with making friends.”
“I think it’ll be much easier here,” Mr. Dawson said. “We’re all different.”
He had that right. Visions were weird. But werewolves? Total freaks of nature. I laughed at the thought. If I hadn’t just seen my hands changing, felt the pain of it, I’d have thought they were nuts.
It wasn’t until we were walking through the courtyard that I realized that Dr. Gonzales had touched me skin-to-skin, and I hadn’t gotten a thing from her. Not even a hint of a vision. I tugged on my gloves, making sure they were still there.
It was a fluke. No need to panic.
Okay, maybe a little bit of panicking.
Chapter Fourteen
Dr. Gonzales led me through the courtyard to a three story red-brick building. The unobtrusive sign on it read “Girl’s Dormitory” in plain font. The walls inside were a pale mint. It was decorated in Pottery Barn-esque stuff. A large navy sectional and love seat surrounded a flat screen hanging against the far wall. To the right was a little kitchenette with top of the line appliances, and dual Subzero fridges. A girl was poking around in one of them. It was fully stocked with food, each item in a plastic container and labeled.
Looked like whoever organized the fridge could be my new BFF.
Three other girls were chatting on the couches as some lame reality show played on the TV. It—this building, the way it was decorated, and the girls hanging out—all seemed so normal. I don’t know why that surprised me, but it did.
Dr. Gonzales cleared her throat. The girls paused the TV and swiveled on the couch to stare at me.
“Ladies, this is Tessa.”
They gave a chorus of “hi’s” as they gawked at me. I almost reached for my face to check for dirt when a tall, thin girl stood up. She flicked her perfectly silky straight light brown hair over one shoulder and smirked at me.
“You look familiar. Oh, right.” She laughed and tapped one of her friends. “That’s the girl who jumped out the window.”
I raised an eyebrow at Dr. Gonzales. “It sure will be easier here, huh?”
Dr. Gonzales had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. “I know you’ll do your best to welcome Tessa to her new home.”
La Bitch grinned. “We’ll welcome her.”
I wondered what her idea of “welcoming” would involve.
Dr. Gonzales led me to a stairwell. “We’re lucky we have the space to give everyone their own rooms, but you share a bath with the room to the right of you. I think you’ll find you have a lot in common with your suitemate, Meredith.” She stopped in front of a door, number 27, and handed me a key. “There is no need to lock it. We’re completely safe here, but I wasn’t sure if you’d feel more comfortable this way.”
Hell yes I’d feel more comfortable that way. The looks those girls were giving me downstairs were not exactly friendly. I didn’t trust anyone here.
Inside was a small room with a desk, full sized bed, end table, and chest of drawers. They were all Ikea white lacquered. A bright purple poster in a gaudy black frame brushed with hints of gold hung above my bed. It was an outline of the Cheshire Cat’s big grin. Underneath the grin was big bold font that read, “Keep Calm. We’re all Mad Here.”
I rolled my eyes. “My brother?”
“Yes.” She scrunched her nose. “I can take it down—”
“No way.” I ran my hand down the edge of the frame. She didn’t know my brother or me well enough to get the joke. But it was like having a piece of him here. If she wanted it gone, she’d have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. “It’s perfect.”
“Your father insisted on new furniture for the room. He told me to tell you so.”
I nodded. To the side of the bed, metal shelves had been attached to the wall. Each of my books was in the identical spot I had placed them in my room.
I was fully set up here, which probably meant I wasn’t going home anytime soon.
“My parents…” I stopped. My voice sounded pathetic even to me, and I couldn’t have that.
“They don’t want this anymore than you do. But after seeing what happened to you at the hospital, they didn’t have any other choice.”
“So when can I go home?”
“Let’s not worry about that right now, but maybe they can come visit.”
That didn’t sound vague at all. “But my dad works for the school. Can I see him at least?”
“He works off-site.”
I nodded as I clenched my jaw shut to keep from saying something awful.
“You’re going to get through this. Just remember to take it one day at a time.”
I tuned her out as she rambled on. Her assumptions were a bit more than I could bear at that moment.
I tuned back in as she tapped the stack of books on my desk. “Your books are all here, as well as your schedule and a map of campus. Our curriculum is a bit different from your usual high school, so don’t let that throw you.”
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” Because I was getting out of here as soon as possible.
She picked up a small, brown leather bound book. “The Werewolf’s Bible. It’s basically a guide to everything about being a Were. It explains most of what you’ll be going through.” She paused, waving it at me. “Please read it. If you have any questions or just want to talk, I hope you’ll come find me. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
Maybe she didn’t think so, but I didn’t know a soul here. I sighed. That wasn’t exactly true. I kind of knew Dastien. Not that I wanted to see him again.
No, I was lying to myself again. I totally wanted to see him, but I wasn’t going to let my hormones win. Not this time anyhow.
As soon as Dr. Gonzales left the room, I collapsed onto the bed. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Instead, I got up and searched for my cell. Axel would have a plan to get me out of here.
My suite-mate’s door slammed.
“Hello,” a voice called out. There was a knock from the adjoining bathroom door. “Can I come in?”
I wanted to say no. I hadn’t even had time to find my cell, let alone catch my breath.
“Tessa?”
I pulled off my ripped gloves and tossed them in the trashcan next to my desk. Clearing my throat, I tried to sound confident. “You can come on in.”
A girl with long black hair flowing down her back came into my room. Two thick chunks of bright blue hair framed her face. She had ice blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She was nearly six feet and thin. My first thought was that she should be in a magazine or on the runway, not sharing a bathroom with me.
She started to walk toward me, but then stopped. “Are you okay?”
I laughed, but it didn’t have any humor. “I’m so not even in the realm of okay.”
She sat down on my bed, resting against the footboard. “Well, I’m Meredith—if you hadn’t guessed that already—and I’m here if you want to talk about it. Dr. Gonzales said you might have some questions.”
The good doctor had already sent a spy? “I wouldn’t know where to start. But thanks anyways.”
She reached over to pat my hand. I flinched.
&nb
sp; There it was. My skin touching her bare skin, but nothing happened. What was wrong with my visions? I always hoped that by some miracle they would go away. Now that they might be gone, I wanted them back. Pronto.
“Being a Were is amazing. Promise.”
Not sure she could make that kind of a promise. “I’m sure it is.”
“It’s dinner time. I’ll introduce you to all the good people and fill you in on the gossip.” She gave me a megawatt smile. “You’ve got questions. I’ve got answers,” she said with a wink.
A surprised laugh escaped as I realized she’d quoted the RadioShack slogan.
She leaned close to me and sniffed and then crinkled her nose. “They must not have washed the stuff they put in the infirmary with you. Reeks of dryer sheets. Norms.” She rolled her eyes.
Norms?
She dragged me into the bathroom. “Freshen up and I’ll get you some clothes.”
The bathroom vanity had two sinks. White subway tiles covered the bottom half of the walls and lined the shower. The white granite counter had plenty of room for two girls to spread out. The mirror opened in panels with enough shelves to make my inner organizer happy.
I splashed some cold water on my face, and stared into the mirror. Something was different. My hair shined. The highlights and lowlights gave the brown more depth than I’d ever had before. It looked shampoo commercial good. But the thing that stuck out the most to me was my 100% zit-free face. I always had some sort of blemish lurking here or there. Not even the tiniest red splotch marked my skin now.
They must have given me a few shots of super vitamins or antibiotics or something. Maybe a super vitamin E? Dr. Needle-happy might not be so bad after all.
I rummaged through my makeup bag that sat on the counter. Half of it wasn’t necessary with my complexion being so clear. A quick swipe of gloss would be enough. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. It only had a hint of chemically smell, so I put it on.
Meredith was still digging through my clothes when I walked back into my room. “You’ve got some cute stuff.” She pulled out a black mini. “Love this.”
I laughed. “With your body, it’ll probably look better on you than me.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you’re such a cow.” She rolled her eyes. “I threw some jeans and a tank on the bed. Change. I’ll wait.” She moved over to look through my books.
I moved to the bed and picked up the tank top. It was one of my staples, black ribbed with black lace edging. But something was different with it. Something about it made me want to spend the night rubbing my face in it. I took a wiff of it, and smelled wood and something manly.
Totally weird. “My clothes smell—”
“Like Dastien!” She jumped in place. “Doesn’t he smell like soooo yummy?”
Damn it. I didn’t want to like her, but I couldn’t help smiling with her. “I hadn’t noticed before. I guess he does. So uuh, dare I ask why they smell like him?”
She waved me off and went back to the books. “He helped move your stuff in. I think it was part of his ongoing punishment.”
“Punishment?”
She looked back at me. “For biting you.”
“Is that his only punishment?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. Not even close.”
I sat hard on the bed. This didn’t sound good. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.” She sat next to me. “I wouldn’t worry about him. There might be a trial or something, but he’ll probably be okay.”
I took a deep breath with my face in the tank. I couldn’t believe I was torn between being repulsed and happy that it smelled like him. That guy had seriously messed with my head. And I really shouldn’t care what might happen to him, but the “he’ll probably be okay” thing was bothering me. “What kind of punishment could he get?”
“No one really knows, although everyone is talking about it. It’s a huge deal that he bit you. I mean, it’s against our Law. We’re not like humans. The consequences are…” She got up and started looking through the stuff on my desk. “We just don’t break our Law. So, Dastien’s been keeping to himself and spending a lot of time as a wolf. And I’m sure we’ll have a visit from the Seven before too long.”
Was she purposely trying to not give me all the info? “The Seven?” It sounded a little sharp, even to me.
“Oh, sorry. We’ve never had a bitten wolf here.”
I made a mental note to ask about that later.
“They’re like our president, but more like a governing council made up of seven really old Alpha werewolves.”
“So what’s the worst case scenario?”
She made a face, scrunching up her nose. “I don’t want to freak you out. It probably won’t even happen.”
“Okay, then don’t say things like ‘I don’t want to freak you out.’ Because first thing I do is start to freak out!”
She replaced the book she was holding back where she found it, and let out a breath. “He could get sentenced to death.”
What! “Death?”
“Hey, it’s not like I didn’t warn you. You said you wanted worst case scenario.”
“Yeah, but killing him is a little extreme, don’t you think! I’m still alive. I’m fine…ish.” Even if I wasn’t fine, I didn’t want him to die.
I looked from her to the clothes. She wasn’t going to give me any privacy. I grabbed them off the bed and turned my back to her.
As I pulled on my jeans, I noticed they were a little baggy. Guess being “sick” burned some calories, but I was looking a little too thin. My ribs were even protruding a little—which was nowhere near sexy.
I jerked my top down when Meredith started talking again. “We have all of our regular classes together—math, chem, English, history. And yikes, you have Were history with the freshman. And metaphysics with them too. Well, at least you have yoga and martial arts with me. That’s not so bad.”
Yoga? Martial arts? Were? What the hell kind of classes was I going to be taking?
She grabbed my hand. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.” My skin froze as she pulled me out the door.
No visions. Not even a twinge.
I slid my hand from hers and rubbed it on my jeans. “Wait. What about shoes?”
“Oh. Just grab some flip-flops. That’s what most of us wear. Makes shifting easier if you don’t have to untie your shoes all the time. And once you change, you’ll get used to being without clothes too. Gotta get used to being in front of everyone in your birthday suit.” She winked.
“What! No. NO! You’ve gotta be out of your mind.”
She doubled over laughing at whatever look I had on my face. I guessed it was somewhere between completely scandalized and totally horrified.
Changing clothes while keeping on my underwear was one thing. I could pretend it was like being in a bathing suit. And she was only one girl. No one saw me completely naked. Not even Mom.
“You should see the look on your face. I’m sorry. I had to. It was just so easy.” She took a breath. “We don’t roam around naked or anything. And we have special robes for when we change in groups and don’t want to rip up our clothes. Plus, plenty of bushes and trees to hide behind and hidden stashes of clothes in the woods.”
That was at least a little better, but still completely weird.
The sun set as we walked through the courtyard to the cafeteria. The two and three story red brick buildings dotted the campus, all of them simple in their style but beautiful, even if they did feel a little jail-esque right then. The smell of the trees, cedar and oak and pine, mixed all together made me feel calm.
This was going to take some getting used to. I hoped Dastien wasn’t at dinner. Would he try to talk to me? Oh shit. What if he was there but he didn’t want to talk to me? That would be completely awkward.
I held my breath as we got to the cafeteria. It was my second new school in as many weeks. That was a record, even for me. Somehow, the first time at a cafeteria in a new school
never got any easier.
Screw it. It was like ripping off a band-aid. Right?
Chapter Fifteen
The cafeteria was filled with students grabbing food. There was a short order grill, bars for salad, baked potatoes, and desserts, and a station with hot entrees. No one looked shy about eating as people moved from one station to the next piling their trays high. Not one girl had a water and plain lettuce on her tray. Yet everyone was in amazing shape.
I’d definitely entered the Twilight Zone.
I looked down at my jeans and tank. Yeah, my clothes blended, but I didn’t fit in. Every other girl in there looked like they could be models. They were tall, all legs. And everyone moved gracefully, as if they were choreographed into some intricate dance. No one bumped into each other. Nothing spilled or slopped around on their trays.
The guys were just as impressive. They were all tall and built—muscles stretching T-shirts almost beyond their capacity. It was like I walked into a living Abercrombie ad.
What a nightmare.
It hit me suddenly, and I started roughly counting the people in the room. There were at least three times as many guys there as girls. I never considered myself much of a women’s lib person, but this was ridiculous. Sex bias much?
“Come on.” Meredith dragged me the rest of the way to the brown plastic trays.
I grabbed a slice of roast beef and some veggies and started to walk away. Meredith grasped my arm, pulling me back to the line. “That’s not enough food.” She piled on mashed potatoes with gravy and rolls and pasta and everything else within reach onto my plate until my tray was fully loaded down.
I lifted it and it was at least ten pounds heavier than it had been a minute ago.
“Oh. You need this too.” She carefully balanced a slice of pecan pie on the edge of the tray.
“So what army am I supposed to be giving this to?”
“No one told you?”
“No one’s told me anything. I just got here, remember?”
A smile broke across her face. “You’re going to love this.”
I was?
“Being a werewolf has its advantages. You don’t get sick. Ever. We heal fast. And because we heal so fast, we’re slow to age. But all of that, plus shifting, burns a ton of calories. Think mega calories. So, you have to eat a lot to keep up with your new metabolism.” She started scooping food onto her tray again. “Mr. D might look like he’s in his mid-thirties, but think like five times that.”