Aiden looked up from his plate. It had been several minutes since they sat down. “Where’s Hanna?” Dylan had said one of the werewolves was harassing her earlier. Had someone hurt her?
“Over there.” Dylan nodded toward the other side of the room. “Sitting with Maggie again.”
“She’s probably embarrassed. Or afraid I’ll be mad at her. I should go talk to her.” Aiden started to get up.
“No,” Dylan said. “Let me talk to her first.”
“What’s going on?” Tiago asked.
For some reason, that made Aiden’s cheeks burn. He exchanged a look with Dylan, silently asking if it was okay to share.
Dylan sighed. “Hanna kissed me this morning.”
Tiago frowned. “But I thought Aiden and her—”
“We broke up,” Aiden said it with more force than he’d meant to. It was stupid, but he wanted Tiago to know he wasn’t dating anyone.
Tiago looked between him and Dylan. “Uh-oh.”
“I’m not mad or anything,” Aiden said.
“Suuure.” Tiago drew out the word. “You going to fight over her?”
“God, no.” Aiden thought he was joking, but the idea of getting in a serious fight with Dylan made his stomach turn. The sensation of warm scales made Aiden look at Dylan.
His friend was glaring at something behind him. “Conner,” Dylan said.
Aiden went cold. Of course people had seen what happened, and the gossip would have gotten to Conner. Aiden didn’t want to look, but he had to. He had to know what Conner was doing so he could get out of the way if he needed to. This might be the last straw.
“So you’re trying to steal my girl now?” Conner yelled across the lunchroom. Everyone went silent.
“She’s not yours,” Dylan shouted back.
Oh God. Here we go.
“Mr. Mays.” The hall monitor appeared from nowhere— how did she do that?— and blocked Conner’s path. “I think you should sit back down unless you want to be escorted out of the room.”
She blocked most of his body, but Aiden still heard the low growl.
“Don’t you growl at me, young man.”
The sound cut off. “Fine. I’ll sit.”
The hall monitor followed him, and to Aiden’s relief, she stood right behind him, arms crossed. Maybe she and the other adults really were taking this seriously now. If Conner couldn’t even cross the lunchroom without being stopped, maybe Aiden was safe.
“Damn, I was looking forward to a brawl.” Tiago took a bite of his pizza.
Aiden met his gaze, unable to find words. Tiago should know better. He’d told him often enough about how scared he was and how much he hated violence. Even if he was just joking, it wasn’t funny.
It must have shown on his face, because Tiago quickly looked down.
“Where was the hall monitor when Hanna was getting picked on?” Dylan asked. “Maybe she’s just watching you,” he told Aiden.
He wasn’t sure if that was an insult or just a comment. “Maybe the counselor said something. I told him how much of a problem Conner is.”
“With her breathing down his neck, that means we can eat lunch in peace.” Tiago gave Aiden a little smile that he guessed was an apology.
“Yeah.” Except that wasn’t true because the chair beside him was still empty.
* * *
“Hanna, wait up!” Dylan jogged to catch her before she could escape. From the look on her face, that’s exactly what she wanted to do.
“I’m sorry. Pleasedonthateme.” It all came out as one word.
He grabbed her arm, but gently, just enough to hold her in place. “I don’t hate you. Aiden doesn’t either. I told him.”
Her eyes got even wider. “Oh God.”
“No, really. He said it’s okay. He wants you to sit with us again.”
“Are you sure? He’s really not mad… or hurt? I didn’t do it to hurt him. It was just a stupid impulse.” She was doing that cringing thing she knew Dylan hated.
“I think he’s sorta confused about how he feels about you.” Dylan frowned. “I think we’re all confused.” The kiss had felt nice, but he wasn’t sure if that meant anything. Kissing Indira had felt nice too, but he sure as hell didn’t like her. Not anymore.
Some of the tension eased out of her. “Yeah.” Then she looked up at him with sudden fear. “Conner. That hall monitor can’t watch him forever. And there’s the rest of the pack…”
“I’ll walk you to every class if I have to.” He wasn’t sure if he was attracted to her, but he did feel protective of Hanna.
She blushed and looked away. “Thank you.”
He let go of her arm. “I’ll walk you to your locker and make sure you get on the bus okay.”
They walked in silence until they were almost there. Something was written on her locker door. After a few more steps he made out the word “Slut” in thick black marker.
Dylan clenched his fists. “That’s it. Get your things, quick.”
She followed the order without protest, tossing in a book and grabbing her raincoat and umbrella. They were almost to the front door when she asked, “What are you going to do?”
“End this.” Tiago’s comments about having a duel might have been a joke, but it wasn’t a bad idea. There wouldn’t be any slapping with gloves or pistols at dawn, but Dylan was going to call him out.
He went outside and scanned the kids. No sign of Conner. Dylan went and stood at the bottom of the steps and watched the stream of students coming out of the building. The rain hissed as it hit his body. Hanna stood behind him, huddled under her umbrella.
Conner stepped through the front door, the rest of the pack behind him. “Conner!” Dylan shouted.
They all turned toward him.
“You’re going to fight him right here?” The scent of Hanna’s nervousness carried over the rain.
“No.” Dylan went up the stairs as Conner came down.
Little more than a foot away, Dylan stopped. Conner’s expression was all toughness, but he smelled of fear. “You and me,” Dylan said. “You know the gravel pit?”
Conner blinked before going back to a frown. “Yeah. Why?”
“Meet me there in an hour. Your minions can watch, but if they interfere, I’ll make them sorry.” He glared at the werewolves to emphasize his point.
“You gonna kill me like you did all the others?” Still with the false bravado.
“I’ve never killed anyone, and you’re not worth it. Just gonna make sure you know your place.”
“By burning me alive?”
“Coward.” Dylan sneered. “I won’t use fire.” A small crowd had gathered, and Dylan looked around at them. “Hear me? I’ll fight him without magic. I don’t need it to kick your ass.”
Conner’s eyes pinched at the edges. He knew he was caught. “Fine. One hour.”
Dylan smiled, slow and full of dark promise. “See you soon.”