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“I appreciate your concern, Ms. Nichols, but I assure you it’s unnecessary. You seem to be under a misconception about me.” My smile was sharp and she gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Oh, it’s perfectly clear from your actions, Jess,” she sneered and I smiled as my eyes narrowed.
“Then maybe you should spell it out, Ms. Nichols,” I bit out, done with her innuendos.
She opened her mouth to speak when Caleb walked up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, squeezing gently.
“Hey, glad you waited for me,” he said softly with a warm smile that managed to disarm Ms. Nichols. She blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a fish and I snorted. Caleb kept his smile, but his fingers dug in to my shoulder slightly.
“You ready?” He asked, glancing between the teacher and me. I nodded, figuring it was best to keep my mouth shut. “Thanks for coming to the scrimmage, Ms. Nichols,” he added cheerfully as he steered me around the stupefied woman. “Bye!”
“What about –”
“Just walk,” Caleb muttered under his breath, his stride not missing a beat as he propelled us away from my toxic teacher. “He’ll follow. We can’t afford any suspicion.”
“I know,” I grumbled, my backpack dangling from my hand since Caleb’s grip made it impossible to shoulder. “I think that woman is ridiculous.”
“So does Dom if it makes you feel any better,” Caleb mentioned, smiling down at me.
“Maybe,” I muttered, resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder for him. It would only undo what Caleb had done. “Should we stop here?” We’d reached the woods by then, thanks to Caleb’s rapid pace, but he didn’t hesitate as he shook his head.
“Nah, he wants us to keep going. It could be a few minutes.” He rolled his eyes. “She cornered him.”
“What is her deal? I thought a different teacher liked him?”
“They all like him,” Caleb joked, slowing his pace now that we were in the trees. I glanced around uneasily, unable to shake the feeling this was a bad idea. Even with Caleb by my side, the forest seemed to press in on me, darker than normal, and capable of hiding all kinds of things that could jump out at us.
“We’re safe from wild animals, right?” I asked, jumping at every noise.
“Wild animals? Yeah.” Caleb glanced down at me and his smile did nothing to reassure me as he added, “It’s the domesticated ones we need to worry about.” He seemed to realize it too because he said, “We’re safe. Nothing will dare attack us in broad daylight. The Hanleys won’t risk a direct attack with you under our protection. And Dominic will be right behind us, protecting our flank.”
My nose wrinkled at his use of words, but his mention of Dominic stirred up other considerations. The memory of Dominic braced over me, our bodies not quite touching, reinforced my desire to avoid him. Nothing screamed bad idea like him being in close proximity just now. I couldn’t trust my own control must less his.
I started to relax when nothing jumped out at us. I hoped it meant Caleb was right and the Hanley’s weren’t completely stupid. We’d made it to the clearing and even though Dominic hadn’t caught up yet, I was more at ease.
A few seconds later though, a low growl raised the hairs on the back of my neck and I felt Caleb bristle next to me. We paused, our movements cautious as we turned to see an enormous dog at the edge of the forest, its eyes locked on me. Terror coursed through me, for not only myself but also Caleb, who had dropped into a crouch, his body slightly in front of mine.
Wolf, I thought, quickly recognizing the familiar shape. I wasn’t positive it was the same wolf that had followed the Jeep, but Caleb wasn’t taking any chances, as he herded me backwards.
I eased back a step, hoping slow movements would prevent it from attacking. It followed, his eyes tracking me and I let out the breath I’d been holding. I’d never once considered the wolves who howled at night to be bad, but staring into the eyes of this wolf, I knew I’d been wrong. There was a wrongness to him, a malevolent energy I wouldn’t have expected in a wild animal.
“Dominic is on his way,” Caleb murmured softly. “When it attacks, run straight back the way we came. He’ll protect you while I hold this one off.”
“I don’t like this plan,” I muttered, tugging at the edge of Caleb’s shirt. “It’s a bad plan. That wolf is probably rabid.”
His fur was matted and there was blood around his muzzle, but he was painfully thin compared to some of the pictures I’d seen of wolves in the wild. For a second, my mind blanked as I considered another possibility, but the sound of a branch snapping dragged my attention away from the growling wolf.
