Distraction was right. The moment Aiden saw Tiago, he sucked in a breath. Dark brown eyes swept the room with a guarded look. His nose was a bit large and his bottom lip stuck out slightly, but it didn’t make him any less handsome. In fact, Aiden couldn’t help thinking what it would be like to kiss those lips.
Aiden stood, almost knocking his book off the desk. “Hi, I’m Aiden. Mr. Johnson asked me to show you around.” The warning bell hadn’t rung yet, so the class was almost empty. Aiden pointed to the desk next to him. “You can sit here.”
Tiago made a low grunt. “Right. He mentioned you.” He stayed where he was, body tense for another moment before he finally moved. He was all coiled energy, like a wild animal.
Werejaguar, Aiden thought, watching him come down the row. The boy slid into the offered seat and those dark eyes fixed on Aiden.
“You’re a changeling, right?”
Aiden tried to answer him, but all that came out was an odd little noise. His heart raced. Why did he have to be so hot? He both dreaded the idea of spending time with him and relished it. Aiden swallowed and managed to speak this time. “Yeah.”
Tiago nodded and looked around the room. Kids were slowly trickling in. He leaned close to Aiden. “What did the warden tell you about me?”
Aiden could hardly breathe. God, those eyes. Those lips. “That… that you’re a werejaguar and you…” Aiden lowered his voice to a whisper. “You surrendered to the wardens and you wanted to come here. That’s it. Oh, and that you need help with school.”
Tiago stared at him.
Aiden’s body heated. I bet he could rip my head off. So why am I not afraid? Maybe the hormones raging through him didn’t leave room for anything else.
Finally, Tiago grunted and leaned back. “Okay.”
The warning bell rang. Toby bounced into class and skidded to a stop when he saw Tiago. Oh God, no.
“Whoa. You’re new.” He hurried over with a smile and took the seat in front of the werejaguar. “Hi, I’m Toby.” He offered his hand.
Tiago looked at Toby like he was a puzzle. After a moment, he eased and shook the boy’s hand. “Tiago.”
“Did you meet Aiden already?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Aiden is nice. Where are you from? Did you just get to Shadow Valley? Did your parents hide you from the wardens?”
Aiden opened his mouth to tell him to leave Tiago alone, but the bell rang and saved him.
Toby frowned at the noise and what it meant. “Hm.” Then he grinned and said, “You can tell me after class.” Toby spun around to face the front.
Aiden gave Tiago an apologetic look.
* * *
“He’s sort of… intense, but try to be nice to him,” Aiden said as they headed for the lunchroom.
Just when things had gotten back to being like they were before, now Aiden was babysitting some new kid. Dylan couldn’t help being curious, though. All Aiden would tell him was that the boy was a werejaguar and that Mr. Johnson had asked Aiden to help him. Dylan suspected it was more along the lines of keeping an eye on him.
Occasionally kids got dragged to Shadow Valley after their parents had tried to hide them. Sometimes they timidly went through their classes, paranoid the wardens would punish them. A few were full of grief and anger, their parents dead at the hands of the wardens and knowing they had to walk the line or they’d end up the same way.
It had happened more often before Dylan’s time. There were only two recent ones— an older girl who had graduated the year before, and a little girl in elementary school. And now this new kid.
“I won’t pick a fight,” Dylan said.
They stepped into the lunchroom, and Aiden looked around. He brightened and waved. A Latino boy detached himself from the corner and came over.
“Tiago, this is Dylan. Dylan, Tiago.”
They sized each other up. Tiago had predator written all over him. It wasn’t macho bullshit like with Conner. This was the real deal. So that was why Aiden seemed nervous when he talked about him.
“Nice to meet you.”
Tiago’s eyes flashed with greenish yellow, and Dylan got a good whiff of his magic: fur and damp jungle. Dylan let out a bit of his own magic, heat rising around his body.
“Dylan…,” Aiden said, his voice shaky.
“It’s cool. Just comparing sizes.”
Tiago gave a snort of surprised laughter. “I don’t know what you are, but I can tell it would be stupid to start a fight with you.”
“You’re a smart one.”
“Can we stop the macho crap and get food, please?” There was still a little tremble in Aiden’s voice.
“Sure.” Dylan looked away first. “You’ll probably want that side.” He pointed to the carnivore buffet.
“Why?” Tiago eyed him.
“They’ve got piles of meat, cooked or not. But if you want burgers or pizza and that kind of stuff, that’s over here.”
Tiago hesitated.
“Pick whatever you want,” Aiden said. “We’ll be at that table.” He pointed.
“I’ll… go with you.” Tiago followed them to the human food side. It was properly called the omnivore buffet, but Dylan always thought of it as human food.
After filling their trays, they sat down. Once again they were the center of attention. “You picked the right people to hang out with,” Dylan said. “No one will fuck with you if you’re with me.”
“That so?” Tiago said.
Aiden muttered, “Except Conner.”
Like he needed a reminder that the alpha bastard needed an ass kicking. Dylan ignored the comment and told Tiago, “Not that I don’t think you can handle yourself. Did your parents teach you how to fight?”
His expression darkened. “Don’t want to talk about it.” He took a bite, tearing into his hamburger.
Aiden looked between them, his worried expression melting into amusement.
“What?” Dylan asked.
“You’re just… so much alike.”
Dylan and Tiago exchanged a curious look. Were they really? Tiago did have an air of danger about him, but Dylan didn’t consider him a threat. He was just a shifter.
Tiago took another bite and watched Dylan as he chewed. “So you’re the big bad around here?” He lifted his chin to indicate the rest of the table. “No one else will even sit by you.”
“Yeah.”
Tiago kept studying him. “So… what are you?”
He didn’t think a guessing game would go over with him the way it had with Aiden. “Dragonkin.”
Tiago blinked. “For real?”
“Uh-huh.” Dylan smiled.
“Shit.” Tiago drew the word out. Not afraid, but impressed.
Aiden jumped half out of his seat, scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket. He checked it, shoulders sagging. Then his eyes went wide. “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Dylan asked.
“Maggie texted to say someone else went missing.”