Page 94 of Black Hollow: Awakening

January 22 | Wednesday

It was the lunch break. Will sat at an empty table, looking for Dan. Lately, the cafeteria was the only place he saw him—they didn’t have any classes together anymore, and Will found it hard to believe that was a coincidence. Danny was clearly avoiding him, which was understandable to a degree, yet Will had trouble accepting that Dan had given up on their friendship without a fight. He himself still hoped they could work things out.

Liam took the seat across from him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I don’t see Mr. Surfer anywhere. Which is surprising, since you two have been glued to each other lately. Congrats.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s up?”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you, but I just haven’t had the time,” Will admitted. Liam looked at him with interest. “Last week, I saw Blake arguing with some guys. They were being really unpleasant.”

“Guys jealous of the girls who fell for the vampire’s charm?” Liam scoffed, laughing quietly.

“They seemed more jealous of you,” Will corrected him, and Liam looked at him, confused. “They said something about… bloodsuckers.” He lowered his voice. “They told Blake to stay away. And they also said something about vampires never being your friends.”

“Werewolves.”

“Yeah, I figured that much. But what did they want?”

“For me to get involved in the clan’s activities.”

“The clan?”

Liam nodded.

“At this point, it’s more of a formal organization than just a family group, like it used to be. There’s a clan operating in every major region, and every werewolf is supposed to belong to one. It makes it easier to control our population. Protect our secrets, stop the young ones from doing stupid things, and so on. The clan dispenses justice and generally makes sure the Agency doesn’t breathe down our necks too much. In theory, it works for the common good, but in practice… You know. It’s run by people with their own agendas, so it is what it is.”

“And you don’t want to be a part of it?”

“I just don’t give a shit,” Liam replied in his typical fashion. “Especially since the local clan is… uh… let’s just say the werewolf running it really likes to focus on the past, and I seriously don’t care what our ancestors did a few centuries ago. But some people do. Like those guys you saw. Generally, a lot of young werewolves fall for that kind of talk. That we’ll stop hiding, break free from the Agency’s influence, and dominate humans and the rest of the supernaturals.”

“Wow.”

“It’s not gonna happen. Werewolves couldn’t pull it off hundreds of years ago when advanced technology didn’t exist, so they’re not going to pull it off now.”

“Why are they picking on Blake, specifically?”

“Because he hangs out with me. Because he’s a vampire. And above all, because he’s an Alden.”

“That’s outrageous,” Will said indignantly. “They antagonize other werewolves’ friends and intimidate them just to isolate their own?”

“Uh… no, not really. It’s not about all werewolves, it’s just about me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m black, right?”

Will was speechless.

“That’s racist,” he finally concluded, scandalized.

Liam started laughing.