Page 46 of The Chosen Fae

"One. Lolita is small for her age. We help her out when we can."

Tasha smiled at her. "You are taking care of the underdog."

"Uh, well, yeah, but as wolf shifters, we don't refer to ourselves as dogs."

"Gotcha. Wolf shifters. I've never thought the fae could shift into different animals. That's pretty cool."

"Just a few kinds can. The others are non-shifters."

"It looks like your boyfriend is coming to join you. To protect you from me, maybe?"

As if Rune needed protecting from a fae seer or human. All she had to do was push her button. At least the game coordinators allowed them that in case they got into trouble with fae seers.

Stone couldn't believe that Rune would make friends with a fae seer and then promise to help her save her friend from Vesper.

Stone should have been minding his own business and letting Rune handle it, since she was always solving problems in her own way, but when Vesper got involved, he couldn't let it go. He suspected Rune felt the same way. They were used to surviving in the wild on their own, playing in the wilderness—swimming, playing in the snow when they had a snowfall, pouncing on piles of fall leaves, creating sleds and sledding, and sliding on ice, but they didn't play with humans as the other fae did.

Tasha led them to her classroom, and Stone and Rune followed. So did her girlfriend, and of course Vesper was with her.

"The classroom is full," Tasha warned Stone and Rune. "There aren't any seats available for you to sit in."

Stone and Rune glanced around, saw that no one was watching them, and turned invisible. Then they followed Tasha into the room. Lizzie went inside also to take her seat. Vesper turned invisible and followed them inside. Then he sat on Lizzie's lap.

The poor girl. Stone and Rune sat on a table at the back of the room.

The class was about geometry; some students listened, some doodled in notebooks, and one was actually sleeping on his desk.

Stone wanted to knock Vesper off the girl's lap. Stone had never felt such animosity for another wolf before he met him. He didn't know why he bothered him so much. But he did. Maybe because they were both total alpha males and were butting heads in this competition.

And because he’d led the attack with the three other wolves against Stone in his glen.

When class finally ended, Tasha and her friend left the room. "Hey, are you ready for lunch, Lizzie?"

"A cute guy asked to have lunch with me." Lizzie looked around for the guy, and Stone suspected she meant Vesper. "Oh, there he is. We're walking over to the Burger Stop."

"I'm headed over there too. Nothing appeals to me at the school lunchroom today."

"Uhm, we're just going there together."

"No problem," Tasha said. She looked around as if she was searching for her new fae friends.

Stone and Rune headed out of the classroom in their human forms and joined her. Tasha got close to Stone, acting as though he was her new boyfriend, annoying him.

Rune smiled at him, seemingly amused.

Stone was not amused. No way would he ever be interested in a fae seer, or a human.

But they all headed out of the school and walked to the nearby Burger Stop. It was a good thing it was within walking distance. He hadn't wanted to borrow a car to take them there.

They went inside and found a booth to sit in, though he wanted to sit in chairs located around a table to keep his distance from Tasha. But Tasha corralled him in the booth, and Rune sat opposite them.

The processed bun and caramelized onion, meaty hamburgers, grilled chicken, french fries, sweet ketchup, spicy mustard, and egg-scented mayonnaise filled the air.

The place was packed with teens getting a fast lunch before returning to the high school for their afternoon classes. A five-year-old nearby was having a meltdown when the mother wouldn't let her have a sugary drink; good for her.

"What does everyone want?" Rune asked. "I'll go get the food."

"Oh, I'll have a cheeseburger, fries, and Sprite," Tasha said.