by Tamara White
Son of a bitch. “So that’s why everyone treats her like royalty? Because she’s his family?”
“Yeah, it used to be just as bad with her older sister. I used to go here, and I barely survived, but thank goodness she’s moved away now.” She sighs and rests her head on her hand. “Don’t worry though, you’ll probably get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.”
Great, so she’s saying I have to stand down if I want this to go away. That’s not exactly my strong suit.
Rather than reply to her, I settle back into the seat, prepared to wait. Dad is out of town, so most likely the principal will just call and then send me back to class.
I listen as the principal takes a seat at his desk and makes the phone call to my father. “Anton? Anton Martin? This is Principal Gibbons. I’m calling you about your daughter Elizabeth.”
“Ah, yes, is everything okay?”
“Well, no, I’m afraid it’s not. Your daughter has been caught beating up a student. I’m sure you’re aware of our no tolerance for violence policy. I’m afraid it means I’m going to have to expel your daughter, effective immediately.”
That motherfucking son of a bitch. I almost rise to my feet, only for my cell phone to vibrate in my pocket. Dad has messaged me to ask what happened. I quickly type out a response, sending it while the other room is silent.
“Mr. Martin, are you still there?”
I hear Dad’s phone alerting him to my message.
Principal Gibbons clears his throat. “With a student’s expulsion, it means a parent must collect the child and sign the necessary forms to say they were removed from school. I’m going to need you to come down here at once.”
After a moment of silence, most likely while my father reads my message and deliberates his options, Dad finally speaks up. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Excuse me, sir? I don’t believe you have a choice.”
“No, I believe I do have a choice. You see, since we’ve been talking, my daughter sent me a text detailing everything that happened. And I would like to press charges against the young girl named Hannah.”
Principal Gibbons sputters, unsure what to say. “I don’t understand. What is there to charge my niece with? She was the victim of your daughter’s unsubstantiated violence!”
“Really? Because under the new law in our district, bullying of any kind is a punishable offence. What your niece did was witnessed not only by my daughter, but the whole school. Now, you are going to apologize to my daughter, and the girl who bullied her is also going to apologize. If an apology isn’t made, I will contact the local sheriff to place the necessary charges. Do you understand me?”
Whoa, my father went super dad on him. It’s been a while since he’s done such a thing. Hell, I didn’t even know those laws had gone into effect. After statistics showed many school-age suicides were directly related to bullying, politicians started lobbying for passing laws that were tougher on bullies. Ones where people would spend time in prison for bullying. There were still kinks to be worked out, though, like the time spent inside. The argument was that it should apply only to older school kids, those who’d reached high school, and that elementary school would be the source of those extra learning programs to encourage no bullying.
I guess the laws did get passed however, unless Dad is bluffing which, knowing him, wouldn’t really surprise me.
After a muffled agreement, the principal apologizes for interrupting Dad’s day and ends the call. It takes him a good ten minutes before he comes out to me though.
When he’s in front of me, I gaze up at him with a sweet smile in place. “Yes, sir?”
His lips are pursed in distaste. “I would like to apologize for accusing you of wrongdoing. Your actions were only in retaliation for what my niece did. I will speak to her and have her apologize for her behavior at once. Now, I think it would be best if you head back to class.”
“Excellent, I’ll see you later, sir.” I get to my feet, a spring in my step. When I move out into the hall, I’m surprised to find Ash leaning against the wall holding a hall pass.
“Jeez, are you okay? Did you get suspended? Expelled?” he blurts, his eyes filled with worry. “Wait, where are you going?”
I’ve started down the corridor, ready to go back to class. Maybe I’ll stop along the way to eat my lunch first since I missed out. “I’m going to class. Where else?”
His eyes widen, then he shakes his head, not believing me. “No, seriously, where are you going? There’s no way Principal Gibbons let you return to class after doing that to Hannah. Hell, you’d be lucky if he didn’t try to call the cops.”
“Ah, well, that’s where it gets interesting.” I smirk over at him. “See, when he called Dad, he didn’t get the response he was hoping for. Actually, Dad threatened to go to the cops about Hannah bullying me. He used that new law as a threat.”
Ash’s eyes widen. “I thought that law hadn’t been passed. Something about too many technicalities or something.”
“I didn’t think so either, but the threat seemed to have Principal Gibbons backtracking. He apologized to me and sent me on my merry way.”
“Wow.” Ash goes quiet for a few moments. He seems to truly be shocked. “Do you want to get out of here?”
I pull up short. “What?”
“Well, I doubt you really want to be here, and to be honest, I have a few questions if you don’t mind skipping the rest of the day.”
I think it over. I mean, it would be nice to get the hell out of here for the day. But I don’t want to be stuck with another hunter talking about the joys of killing wolves.
Fuck it, I could ask more questions about this supposed pack we’re going after so I can go scout it out. “Alright then, let’s get out of here.” Hopefully, he’s actually got some information worth skipping school for.
Chapter Thirteen
Ash ended up taking us to an arcade place, one that also had mini golf. We messed around for an hour or so before sitting down to enjoy some pizza.
We’re waiting for our order when he dives in on the questions. “Do you plan on being a hunter when you turn eighteen?”
“Really? No small talk? No, hey what’s your favorite color? Or what’s your favorite class? Just straight into the boring stuff.”
He grins across at me, resting his elbows on the table. “Well, I could ask those things, but it would be pointless. Your favorite color is red. Your favorite class is math. Your favorite food is meat, which is why I ordered you a meat lovers pizza. You like to drink lemonade, but milk is your drink of choice. You pretend that nothing here bothers you, but I’ve seen the way you react when people say things about you. You flinch, you cringe, you hide your pain from pretty much everyone else, but I’ve seen it. I also know that even when we talk about hunting wolves, you’re not like my father. You don’t crave it. Which is why I wanted to talk to you. My brothers wouldn’t understand.”
I lean back in the red booth, a little perturbed by how much he’s seen. I should get a restraining order with all that he’s noticed, but that’s one of the points I had to explain to Dad—some people are very observant. Too observant in this case.
“Okay, fair enough. To answer your question, yes, I’m going to be a hunter.”
He looks a little uneasy by my answer. “Why? Is it because of a sense of honor to your family? Or is there another reason?”
A waitress comes out with our sodas and places them on the table. When she’s gone, I take a sip and level Ash with a questioning stare. “What’s going on? Why all the questions about being a hunter? Do you not want to be one?”
He sighs, his shoulders slumping in dejection. “No. Do you think that would be so horrible? If I just went off to college like a normal guy?”
“No, there’s nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has to be a hunter. I mean, I get why we should, but if you have other dreams, then you should follow them.”
“Yeah, but my dad is strongly against it. H
e just doesn’t understand. He thinks we should all be hunters. That we have enough money so we don’t need an education, but I just want to be normal. Go to college, join a frat, play football. Live my life like I don’t know wolves exist.”
He stops to take a long swig of his coke, his eyes on the table. I feel for him. It’s exactly as I first thought. His father is so consumed by vengeance that he won’t let his sons live their lives as they please.
“Look, I’m going to be straight with you. If you want to be free to live your life, you’re going to have to stand up for yourself. Say something to your father, or you’ll live to regret the path you’re thrust into.”
Ash suddenly gets up, as if my words have angered him. “Come on, I need to show you something.”
“Ah, our food still hasn’t come,” I say slowly, but rise to my feet. His sudden attitude change is a little nerve-racking. He appears slightly manic.
“We’ll get it to go. Just, please, I need to show you. I need you to understand.”
Rather than argue with him, I let him drag me to the counter as he asks for our orders to be packed in takeaway cartons. We get into his sedan, and he drives us to God knows where. His pizza is left uneaten on the back seat while I gorge on my slices.
Once I’m finished, I throw the empty carton on the backseat and ask the obvious question. “So, where are we headed?”
“It’s a long story, and I’d rather explain after we get there. Don’t worry, it’s only ten minutes from the edge of town.”
“Alright, I’ll be patient, but if this is some trick you and your girlfriend have planned, then just remember I’m better at training than you. I will beat your ass if you try anything stupid.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“What? Since when? That little snot hangs off you like a bee to honey. No way you guys broke up.”
His eyes are fixed on the street. For a long while, I think he isn’t going to explain. He suddenly turns off the road, causing me to grab onto the oh shit handle. I didn’t quite expect that. I didn’t see any turnoff, but apparently he did, at least I hope he did. I’ll be pissed if I find out he just guessed where the turn was.
“I broke up with her this morning when she dragged me away from you after I warned you to steer clear. She went off about how I’d betrayed her and how I should just stay out of it and let you learn who was boss. I don’t know, it just pissed me off, so I told her we were done and I wanted no more of her vile attitude in my life.” He glances sideways at me. “I think it’s why she grabbed you when I helped. She thought I ended it to be with you.”
Oh, crap. Did he not fucking tell her the family bullshit line I told him to? Ugh, no wonder she’s been a mega bitch. She thought I was encroaching on her territory. Still, grabbing someone by the hair is bound to get a bitch knocked down a peg or two, regardless of the reason.
The car pulls to a stop on the side of a dirt road with nothing in sight. Nothing but trees. Where the hell did Ash bring me?
“Ah, Ash, I think you might be lost.”
He grins over at me, turns the car off, and opens the door. He steps outside, beckoning me with a smile. “Come on, you’ll see soon enough. Just trust me and try not to overreact, okay?”
I climb out of the car, aiming a dubious expression at him across the roof. “Yeah, it’s a little hard not to overreact when I have no clue what it is I’m supposed to not overreact about.”
Ash just shakes his head and comes around to my side of the car before taking my hand. “Trust me. I would never put you in danger. I promise. I just want to share something with you. Something I haven’t shared with my brothers or father. I think maybe you might understand better than they will.”
I stare at his hand in mine, a little nervous at him sharing something so deeply private with me. My gut is telling me to run from here and run fast. But the part that sees his pain with his family and feels sympathy for him is telling me to stay, to let him get this off his chest. Whatever his secret is, it can’t be that bad. Can it?
Chapter Fourteen
Ash and I have been walking through the woods for what feels like an hour when we finally emerge into a small clearing where a cabin rests. And not a cute cabin you want to live in. It’s a creepy ass cabin that looks to be haunted by ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. It looks so damn rickety I can’t believe he brought me out here just to see this.
I turn to him to give him an ass chewing when the scent registers. I halt, the hairs on the back of my neck rising in warning. My wolf is telling me there’s something very off about this scene. “Ash, what exactly did you bring me out here to see?”
I glance around, trying to let my senses tell me what I’m missing. When the breeze picks up, a scent tickles my nose and my body stiffens in disbelief. I hope to hell that I’m wrong and can’t possibly be picking up this scent. Our luck couldn’t be so bad that Ash would bring us to the only damn part of the woods where a rogue wolf would be hunting.
“I want you to meet someone.”
He guides me toward the cabin, even though my feet practically drag. The scent around here is a mix of old and new, but it’s definitely a wolf.
“What do you mean? No one lives here.” At least no human does. There’s no human scent even remotely nearby. Well, there’s the lingering scent of Ash, but it’s old. At least a couple of days.
“Ah, yeah, someone does live here. I just need you to be open-minded, okay?” He drags me right up to the cottage door and opens it. The scent that immediately wafts out has my hackles up and my wolf struggling to break free as she senses a threat.
“Ash, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” I mutter, as he drags me across the threshold.
“Relax, Eliza, I promise you’re safe.”
“Oh, I don’t think she is, son.”
A woman’s voice precedes the movement in the room. I see her silhouette as she comes closer, but her face remains shrouded in darkness. “Mom? What are you talking about? Stop being weird and come out here. I brought a friend to meet you. Eliza, this is Shelly, my mom. Mom, I want you to meet my friend Eliza.”
“Wait, did you just say ‘Mom?’” I thought his mother was dead. At least that was the impression I got.
It takes a few moments for my brain to catch up to everything. The wolf scent. The death of his mom by a wolf. Ash not wanting to be a hunter. Him wishing for me to meet someone and not overreact.
“Fuck me, is your mother a wolf? That’s why you keep asking all those damn questions about good wolves, isn’t it? She wasn’t killed by wolves, she was turned.” I turn on him in anger. “What the fuck, Ash? Why would you bring me here? I’m a hunter, for fuck’s sake! I should kill her just for existing.”
He turns to me with pleading eyes. “But you won’t, right? At least give me a chance to explain. She’s not like the other wolves. She’s good. I swear.”
My brain and heart are at war over what to do. If she’s a wolf too, then she knows what I am. What if she reveals what I am to him? I should just eliminate the threat, but if he’s right and she’s like me and doesn’t hunt humans, then I’d feel like a murderer for taking a life without justification. But what if she decides to out me and he’s not as receptive to the idea of me being a wolf as he is of his mother?
Ah fuck, I better stay and hear him out. At least make him leave with me, then I can come back later with my dad if things don’t go the way he expects.
“You’ve got ten minutes. Explain.”
His shoulders slump as tension eases from his body. “Mom, can you turn on the lights and make some coffee?”
Coffee? Yeah, give the wolf a stimulant, that will ease the situation.
Ash walks into the cabin, using his phone light to guide him toward a fireplace along the back wall. He crouches down, strikes a few matches, and starts a small fire while I take slow steps into the dilapidated old cabin, keeping my eyes on the wolf that is his mom.
I still can’t quite believe it. I should have
asked more questions. I edge closer to her, only to hear her whisper under her breath. “Your secret is safe with me, so long as mine is safe with you.” She lifts her head, her eyes piercing me. Ash wouldn’t have heard a word, but she knows I would have. She definitely knows what I am.
I give her one brisk nod, and she goes back to her task, opening a small refrigerator and bathing the room in light. What the hell? How the hell does this place have electricity?
Ash joins my side and ushers me toward a dingy old sofa. “Here, grab a seat. Mom will make coffee, then I’ll explain everything.”
I sit down, the sofa creaking as the old springs support my weight. “I don’t drink coffee, so why don’t you just explain it all now? And start with how the hell there is a working refrigerator in a place that’s older than electricity itself.”
He chuckles, taking a seat to my left. “Well, it’s not that old, but if you must know, we use solar power. I was going to get a generator for her to have a bit more use, but then when I looked online, I found out solar panels were the most effective method to provide power. We just can’t use too much, so only the mini fridge and the chest freezer are hooked up.”
“You can do all that with solar panels?”
Shelly comes over, setting down a tray of mugs and a pot of coffee. “You can do a lot with solar panels if you have the inclination. These days you can order them online in foldable packs to give you enough energy to power a car battery. Ash went to great lengths to order a dozen different panel packs, easily folded but also easy enough to connect to appliances if need be. Every morning when the sun is out, I put the panels not in use outside to recharge, then at the end of the day, I swap the panels that have been used for the charged ones and leave the dead ones near the door, ready to repeat the same process the next day.”
Oh, well that actually sounds pretty smart. I know I wouldn’t have thought of using solar panels to give myself some electricity.