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“She’s going to talk to you after school,” Anna squealed over our link and I flinched at the piercing sound. “She wants to know, so don’t scare her off, Mr. Broody pants.”
Her excitement made up for the insult as I retorted, “I don’t brood,” and as Caleb smirked, I added exasperatedly, “I don’t.”
“Uh huh,” he nodded, clapping my shoulder as he took Anna’s side. “Not the brooding type at all.”
“For that, you can tack on a dozen suicides to your workout,” I told him, smiling when his face fell. “That’ll teach you to forsake your Beta for a pretty girl.”
“For that pretty girl, I’ll do ten thousand more,” Caleb sang and I shook my head as Anna hurried to break the connection, a faint pleasure humming over the link.
***
Only half my attention was on the guy’s practice as I waited impatiently for the final bell. I knew the instant she stepped on the field and her gaze found mine. I jerked my head toward the bleachers, indicating she should have a seat and she nodded, making her way carefully over the metal stands.
I cut practice short, impatient to talk to her, and Caleb shot me a knowing look as he headed to the locker room with the other guys.
Her head came up as I started toward her, and it was all I could do to keep my pace at a normal speed as she watched me. Control kept my back ramrod straight and I kept my face neutral. I didn’t know what she expected from this encounter, but clearly my default expression was unacceptable.
I kept a few feet between us as I took a couple of shallow breaths. Her scent was strong but not overwhelmingly and I took a deeper breath, relaxing slightly as my wolf crooned in contentment. I stepped closer, a reluctant grin tugging at the corner of my mouth as she lifted her chin, her eyes never leaving mine.
“You’re brave. Foolhardy, but brave,” I complimented, hearing the quick beat of her heart.
“Trust me, I’d rather be anywhere but here,” she lied snappily. “Anna told you I was coming.” I took a few slow steps toward her, careful not to frighten her away. She didn’t run, her body bending slightly to keep me in her sight as I settled on the bench, only three small feet separating us.
Awareness was a live wire linking us and I had to think carefully before I spoke, “You have questions.” She nodded, expecting me to know what they were, and it amused me at how easily she accepted that Anna had told me every detail of their private conversation.
“The Hanleys are a family that live in the next town. High Valley. One of the reasons I warned you to stay away from there.” I pointed in the direction of their land, sparing a thought for how the meeting was going, before focusing back on Jess. “They’re our rivals.” I’d thought long and hard about how I wanted to present the information to Jess. I wanted her to be aware of the threat but not terrified. I wasn’t sure how much she was willing to hear so I kept it simple.
“Like school rivals?” I heard the doubt in her tone as I tipped my head in partial agreement.
“Yes, they actually are, but it’s more than that.” I studied her for a second, risking another deep breath, but instead of riling my wolf, it seemed to settle him further and I relaxed. “But it goes a little deeper than that. They don’t like us and we don’t like them.”
“A feud?” She laughed and I knew her mind was conjuring images of coonskin hats and rifles.
“Yes and no,” I answered and her laughter faded. “It’s a rivalry and feud rolled into one. We don’t cross onto their land and they don’t come onto ours.”
“But the road?” She asked, narrowing in on the big issue.
“The road is different, but they shouldn’t have chased you into the woods or followed you home yesterday,” I answered, infuriated once again by their boldness.
“You know about that,” she sighed, squirming on the cold metal bleacher. I nodded, not giving away how close that single action had come to starting a war between our Packs. “Hank Navarre is your dad,” she stated.
“He is. He wanted to check the place. Make sure the Hanleys hadn’t come sniffing around,” I explained as our eyes met and seeing the fear in them, my jaw clenched. They would pay, I vowed. Both of those bastards would bleed.
“Why are they coming after me?”
The question was innocent enough but I was not prepared to explain shifter biology at the moment, and cleared my throat as I felt my cheeks heat.
“That’s a….complicated question,” I hedged, rubbing my hands over my thighs. “Suffice to say, you’re here and not there.”
