| |
“Hey, asshole!” Taylor shouted across the quad at Asher. Giselle ducked behind her sister, trying to avoid being seen. Asher briefly looked over and just as quickly turned his head in the other direction. He continued walking with a purpose, as though her attempt at embarrassment had no effect. But the speed of his pace said otherwise. “You shouldn’t have left her to get hurt,” Taylor shouted again, but it was no use. He either didn’t hear her or didn’t care. Probably the latter, since wolf hearing was exceptional.
Ash might not have responded to Taylor’s taunting words, but she had the attention of the other students within earshot, who were gawking, whispering, and finger pointing. And Giselle felt even stupider now for crouching and hiding behind Taylor. Lord only knew what rumors were being started.
“Why did you say that?” Giselle grumbled in a whisper, standing up and pretending to adjust her shoulder bag.
Taylor’s anger hadn’t subsided as she turned on her sister. “Those bites wouldn’t have been there if he’d been there to protect you.”
True. They should have healed by now, and Giselle wondered why, even after another shift, they were still raw and itchy, possibly becoming infected. She was too scared to look, but even with a scarf covering her neck, she was sure the redness was showing through. If this kept up, she’d be forced to go to Martina and tell her what happened. “I’m sure it will be fine. Wolf bites must take longer to heal, is all.”
“Well, still. Pissed off or not, a gentleman does not leave a lady in the desert alone.”
“And what century are you from again?” Giselle taunted Taylor.
“Look. I don’t like your crush at all, but you’re crushing hard. If he’s not treating you good, I’m going to make his life hell.”
“First of all, no. I am not crushing on him.”
Taylor held up a finger to shush Giselle. “Um, yeah, you are. You’ve been drooling all over that boy since you laid eyes on him.”
“And I’m over it,” Giselle said, with all the conviction of a jilted woman.
Taylor rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes. I am.”
“I saw the way you scanned the parking lot for his car when we got here. When we walked past his locker, you took a deep breath. You might be mad at him, but sweetie... you’re crushing, hard!”
“Okay. Yeah. I looked for his car...because I want to throw a rock at it.”
“See? Exaggerated anger. You just proved my point.”
Damn her! Taylor was right. Despite her anger, a small bit of her was eager to lay eyes on Asher again. He was just so damn good-looking. Maybe not boyfriend material, but daydream worthy. And she did want to make him feel like a total ass by showing him her scars. He deserved that at the very least. “Fine. You’re right. I’m going to go make him pay.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“No. Guilt trips are what I’m good at.” Giselle wandered off in the direction she’d last seen Asher go. He was heading for the cafeteria, probably in search of breakfast.
The cafeteria was surprisingly busy this early, filled with seniors who had first period free. She instantly spotted Asher in the line for breakfast and sauntered up, grabbing a tray and cutting him in the line.
He didn’t say anything, but the sigh he let out was more growl than exhale. Good. She had his attention. She’d been forced to put a scarf around her neck to cover the wounds and knew as soon as she took it off, he’d see. Casually tugging at the end, she pulled it from her neck and set it on her tray, moving slowly with the line.
And right on cue, he noticed. “What the hell is that?” Anger and shock mingled together to raise the tone of his voice. “Who did that?”
“This?” Giselle thought for a second, wanting to choose her words carefully. “This... was a warning.”
She could hear his nostrils flaring in anger. “Martina did this?”
She turned on him, glaring with all the inner Alpha she had within her. “No, you moron. Had you not been such a hot head and left me, you’d have seen him for yourself.”
Asher’s jaw dropped. “You found him?”
“He. Found. Me.”
“Giselle... I....” Oh, god, could he look any hotter? Concern looked good on him. Giselle had to remind herself she was mad. Angry. Furious. He was the reason she was hurt. Well, part of it. She had to maintain the anger.
“Don’t bother. I learned a valuable lesson.”
“If I’d have thought.... I am so sorry.” He was tripping over himself to get the words out. “Please. Let me make it up to you. You need to have those wounds looked at... you need... herbs.”
What she needed were wolves she could trust to be at her side, but apparently that was too much to ask. “I can’t go to Martina. She can’t know I went out after her warning. They’ll just have to heal on their own.”
“Please. Let me. I fight with my brothers all the time. I know the herbs. Let me at least do that much. You can hate me after that, okay?”
Against her better judgment, she agreed. He was so hard to resist. And doubly so when he was acting all protecting and caring. “Fine.” She crossed her arms and stared down at him. “When?”
“Meet me for lunch. We’ll go back to my house and I can make you a poultice.”
“What the hell is a pol ice?”
He smiled at her mispronunciation. “Old-fashioned herbal bandaid.”
“Hippy crap?”
“Yeah. Sure. Go with that.”
So wolves were not only Neanderthal beasts, they were hippy tree-huggers too. Good to know. She had to fight the smile at her joke, not wanting Asher to think she was letting him off the hook or anything like that. She was still mad. Very mad at the ass for leaving her in the desert. “You know, I shouldn’t keep ditching school. They’re going to report me...”
“We’ll be back in time. I promise. I have all the herbs there.”
“You better have me back on time, then.” Giselle turned and walked away, certain she’d made her point.
“Hey,” Asher called after her.
She wasn’t going to do it. She would not be at his beck and call. Nope. Not turning around. She’d said she’d meet him at lunch and not a moment sooner.
Asher came running up behind her. “Stop.”
“I’ll see you at lunch.”
“If anyone else sees those bites, you’ll be seeing the health office and getting to visit CPS.”
Damn. Trying to be cool, she’d forgotten her scarf. Giselle turned around and snatched the thin wispy cloth from his hands. “Thanks.” And made a quick escape before her face turned completely red with embarrassment.
Taylor caught up with Giselle as she headed to class. She must have been waiting the entire time. Nice to see someone had her back. “Did you give him a good piece of your mind?”
“He says he can help with the bites,” Giselle whispered.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Said he fights with his brothers all the time, knows about wolf bites.”
“Well, I guess he’s not all bad. But remember, while he’s doctoring you up, if he hadn’t left, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Stay mad. Stay strong... sister.”
Giselle couldn’t hold back the giggle. “Yes, mother.”
“If you’d just accept Martina, you’d have a mother.”
“Oooh. Was that the tough sell?”
“Sorry, but we want you to be our sister. Di and I both. We like you.”
“Where is Di today? She was gone before I woke up.” Giselle hadn’t given much thought to her other would-be sister until Tay mentioned her.
“Auditions for the spring production. She’ll either be ecstatic or horribly depressed when the cast list goes up. Just a warning.”
“Well, at least I won’t have her breathing down my neck for a bit. Too preoccupied with being a star.”
“I’ll just have to do it for the both of us. Because we do want you to be our sister!”
“I just want to get to the bottom of this mess and clear the air. If we can prove Martina is not a threat, why can’t the packs find peace? And then I can join you with a clear conscience.”
“Whatever. Just remember who’s filling your head with doubt, okay?” Taylor sighed.
“I’m not having this conversation any longer,” Giselle grumbled and turned into her classroom, thankful to have fifty minutes of non-wolf topics to think about. Though when she read the board and saw there was a pop quiz, her mood soured.