Chapter 31

Rachel

The double doors of the drama room swished shut behind me, a folder full of loose sheet music and stage notes for play practice clasped in my hands. I was trying to hurry. Jennifer’s car was in the shop, so she’d borrowed Kyp’s truck. We’d come in my car and I wanted to be sure we got to the auto shop on time. I was having trouble getting a few obstinate pieces shoved back into their proper places, so I didn’t notice when I nearly ran smack into two guys by the water fountain, a few paces away from the doors of the choir room.

“Hey, there she is.” One of them elbowed the other. My nose immediately told me they were wolves, though I didn’t know their names. They were vaguely familiar—from the Thornehill pack probably. Maybe their parents planned to stay for a while and had enrolled them in school already. Definitely younger than me, but definitely much larger.

“Hey?” It came out sounding like a question as I returned their stares.

The blond one lounging against the wall pushed off, his height impressive at somewhere over six feet. His hands were shoved into his pockets, feigning disinterest, but his eyes were bright with…anticipation? His eyes raked over me and Wolf immediately raised her hackles. Unease and irritation slid down my spine and coiled tight like a spring wound taut in my belly.

They came a step closer, and I started to feel boxed in. My hands started sweating while Wolf crouched, uneasy as well. I glanced around. There was no one left in this hallway. It was just the three of us.

“Well, come on,” the fatter one with brown hair said.

I lifted an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Come on. We want to see, too.”

“What are you talking about?” I had no idea what they were going on about. “Did you want to look over the sheet music for the play? You’ll have to wait for the spring production tryouts.” I held up the folder in my hand apologetically.

They glanced at each other, sharing a sly glance and a chuckle.

“You’re funny,” the blond said. “Quit messing around. Somebody will come down here eventually.”

“Sorry, guys, no idea what you’re talking about, but I’ve got to go.”

“Now hold on,” the chubby one said, taking another step into my space. He was close enough to touch and that was way too close for my comfort. I felt myself involuntarily back up a step. I was wishing I’d taken Kyp up on his offer to meet me at the drama room instead of at my locker before heading to the auto shop.

“Come on,” he said in an almost whiny voice. “Seriously! The Rogue said he got a free show!”

Rogue—Kyp? He wasn’t Rogue anymore. What did Kyp have to do with any of this?

“One quick peek. It’s not like you’re keeping secrets if you’re sharing them with the Rogue,” the blond said.

“See what?”

They shared slightly confused glances.

“You know,” the shorter one said, lowering his voice to a whisper even though no one else was around. “Your boobs.”

“What?” I shrieked. “Back off and leave me alone. I don’t know what you heard, but clearly, you were mistaken. There have been no free shows, nor will there be.” Wolf was snarling and simmering barely below the surface.

The plump one grabbed hold of my arm and my adrenaline spiked. He wasn’t amused. He was pretty ticked off.

“I heard him. The Rogue said you let him strip you bare. I’m a whole lot higher up the social ladder than he is. My turn.”

Shock had me rooted to the spot. Kyp told people what? Hurt, betrayal, anger, and then icy fear twisted my gut as I tried to yank my arm out of the boy’s grasp and couldn’t.

“Let go of me,” I tried to say, but it came out strangled and barely above a whisper.

The blond one walked up. “I know what to do.”

I didn’t like anything that sentence implied, and I tried to wrack my brain for anything helpful. Wolf was preparing for a full-scale launch, but if I shifted here, I’d still be at the mercy of these two. Random wolf inside the high school attacking two teenage boys? Or three ruthless wolves descend upon the hallways of Rock Falls High? The headlines would be fantastic.

“Hold her,” he said. Fear escalated to panic at that, and before I knew what I was doing, I kicked out hard and caught the brown-haired boy soundly in the groin. He dropped like a rock and grabbed his crotch.

“You little,” the rest was lost as he curled in on himself, holding his injured body parts. I didn’t stick around to offer consolation. I wheeled around the blond boy and gasped painfully as a chunk of hair came out at the roots as he grabbed for me and mostly missed. I didn’t slow down, and I jetted down the hallway.

“Stop!” the waves of power rolled over me and had me stumbling against the wall. Adrenaline mixed with panic and fur rippled over my hands in fear. Panic gripped me with indecision as a few fuzzy dots hovered at the edge of my vision. My fight or flight response was muddled somewhere in between and rooted me to the floor. I was sure Mr. Wolfe would take care of this once the events reached his ears…but I didn’t think I’d make it unscathed for that long. That thought kicked my heart up yet another notch and my breath came in tight pants. I would not go down like this. I would not be humiliated or used in this way. I gritted my teeth and glared at the boy as he marched toward me. Something wild broke free inside me, something both foreign to me and to the wolf and together we embraced it. I shook my head.

Power coursed through my veins. I had no idea what was going on, but suddenly I felt invincible. With a monumental effort and a shake from Wolf, I threw off the restraints his words had drawn around me. Wolf lunged inside me, and my flight response kicked into high gear.

“No!” I spat out as I turned on my heel and raced down the hallway, catching only a glimpse of the boy’s stunned face as I turned the corner. He wasn’t chasing me, and I didn’t slow down. I caught a few odd stares by the last few stragglers as I ran to my car, fumbling to get my keys out of my purse while I dashed across the parking lot.

My car beeped as I clicked the unlock button. After nearly yanking the door from the frame, I collapsed into the front seat, shaking so uncontrollably that I almost couldn’t hit the button to lock the doors. Jamming the gear shaft into drive, I lurched out of the parking lot and onto the street.

Tears dripped down my face as I turned to go straight to the cabin. I needed my best friend. I had just been harassed and nearly forced to do something against my will. But most of all, I was betrayed. By the one person I was deeply coming to care for—the one person who should care for me as part of his pack, even if he felt nothing else.

He had kissed me—was he only using me, too? My heart cracked as a sob shuddered out of my throat. I careened around the corner, out of sight of the high school. I had kissed him first. Maybe he didn’t really like me. Maybe he just wanted a free boob flashing, too. I sped down the back road. Away from Kyp. Was I wrong about everything I thought I knew about him?

****

My face was a soggy mess of streaked mascara and red patchy blotches from my crying jag, which I wasn’t sure was entirely over, as I pulled into the gravel drive at the cabin. I shut off the engine as Meg opened the door, her face going from pleased to shock to alarm in about two seconds.

I opened the door as she reached my car.

“Rachel, what’s wrong?” She dragged me into a hug before I was completely on my feet and I collapsed against her, the tears coming on again. Wolf didn’t ask to be let out, just nudged me and howled inside, commiserating the feeling of complete betrayal.

“Is it Joanie?” she whispered.

I shook my head. “Let’s go inside and I’ll try to explain.” My voice was wavering and rough.

Sam poked his head out the door, took one look at me, and his eyebrows practically disappeared into the hair flopped over his forehead. He said nothing, just held the door open for both of us as we stumbled through together.

“Girl time?” Meg asked quietly as we came into the kitchen. I nodded miserably.

She glanced at Sam. “Girl time,” she said more clearly. He nodded and swiped his phone from the kitchen table and snagged his calculus book as he shoved the phone into his back pocket.

“Rachel, anything I can do?” he offered. I shook my head. There was a lot he could do, and at some point tonight, I’d need to tell him what happened, but I needed to talk to Meg first. She would understand this on a level no one else would. Best friends were like that.

“Okay. Meg, let me know?” She nodded at him and he ducked back to drop a quick kiss on her lips before he shut the door behind him. They were so obviously in love it was almost sappy. Normally, I’d silently approve of their obvious affection, but today it was irritating as the knife of betrayal twisted in a little deeper when I thought about what Kyp must have said about me to those two guys. With the same degree that I cared for him, in that second, I hated him with equal ferocity. Wolf growled inside me.

“Come on,” Meg said as she pulled out a kitchen chair for me. I sank into it as she pulled down two large mugs from the cabinet and put the kettle on the stove.

“I hardly know where to start,” I croaked. “The two guys who tried to force me to flash my boobs, or the fact that Kyp told everyone I’m good for a free show, or that one of them tried to control me and force me.” I glanced up. Meg’s eyes were wide, her lips parted, her hands frozen around a plate of sugar cookies she was bringing to the table.

“Rachel,” she said aghast. “Tell me everything!”

And I did. I didn’t leave out anything. The tears came again in torrents as I worked through the fear and anxiety and heartbreak the thoughts dredged back up.

I was about halfway through the tale and hadn’t even gotten to express my hurt and anger at Kyp’s part in all of this when there was a knock at the door.

Meg’s eyebrows drew together. She started to get up. Then I sensed it. I sensed him. I waved her back down, my anger boiling over into a fiery rage that threatened to consume not just me, but also the man at the door. Wolf added to my inner pain, gnashing her teeth at the thought of the coming confrontation. I stood up so fast that the chair nearly tipped over behind me. I stalked to the door and threw it open to reveal Kyp’s very worried face. He should be worried! I thought.

“Rachel! I was so wor—”

Slap!

He didn’t finish the sentence because my palm connected solidly with his jaw. His head jerked back before wild eyes focused on mine, bewilderment etched across his face.

“How dare you!” I choked. I was so angry I couldn’t even get the words out. “Of all the nasty things you could have done. You took the most vulnerable moment of my life and twisted it into something horrible and then spread it around the entire pack that, what, I’m the person you call when you need a good time?”

Hideous images of that afternoon, the faces of the two boys, being backed into the corner and threatened, hammered my skull and I couldn’t make them disappear fast enough. I channeled the fury they caused into my next words. My voice broke and a huge sob worked its way up my throat and the last of my resolve crumbled as I uttered the three words I was sure would never be true again.

“I trusted you.”

I didn’t wait for a reply. I didn’t wait for anything. I slammed the door in his face and sagged to the floor in a heap, my hands covering my face as tears, snot, and anguish covered my cheeks. Kyp and Rachel were so done. I couldn’t see any way to resolve this kind of breach of trust. I didn’t care if he was my Alpha. I’d transfer packs just as soon as I could stop the tears from tracking down my cheeks.

Meg’s arms slid around me, and I sobbed into her shoulder, the fear, the anxiety, the hurt all leaked out through my eyes until I felt hollow. The only other time I’d been this upset was when I found out about Joanie. And if I was honest with myself, I wasn’t even so much upset about what happened in the hallway this afternoon anymore. I was upset because it was Kyp—and until two hours ago, I’d been quickly falling in love with him.