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I wait for shame and embarrassment to kick in after that admonishing growl, but it doesn’t.
“Are you okay?” Morgan asks, looking me over as we leave Warner unmoving behind us. She’s looking at me like a circus freak, the same way the rest of the pack seems to be looking at me. I’m sure she’s wondering the same thing I am—since when do I not demure to an Alpha?
I look sheepishly at my friend and admit, “No. I don’t think I am.”
The nausea rises up again even though my stomach is empty. I couldn’t manage to swallow anything for breakfast despite the outrageous spread Morgan’s housekeeper sprang on us this morning.
“I need to—” I don’t even finish getting the words out before I’m forced to rip my wrist out of her grip and bolt for the nearest bathroom. I barely make it into a stall, not even bothering to lock the door behind me, before I start throwing up.
I stare down in alarm at the foamy substance escaping my body as my stomach retches over and over again. I’ve never seen anything like it. I can only imagine that I must look like I have rabies or something.
I send up a silent prayer of thank you to the Moon Goddess that the bell rings without anyone stumbling in on me.
The second I have a reprieve from foaming at the mouth, I slide my phone out of my pocket and call the one person I know can sympathize with what I’m going through. The phone rings and rings before eventually kicking over to voicemail. Refusing to accept that, I redial immediately and let the phone ring again.
“Tess?” my sister answers breathlessly. “Is everything okay?”
“Tasha, something is wrong with me,” I whine.
She blows out a long breath. “Oh, honey. I was worried I would get this call from you. It’s bad, isn’t it? Where are you?”
“I’m at school.” I close my eyes and pull my knees close to my chest, trying my hardest to ignore the fact that I’m sitting on the dirty school bathroom floor.
“School? Tess, why didn’t you stay home?” I can hear her cover the phone and muffled talking in the background for a moment. “I’m going to send Tevin a message to come pick you up. This is liable to get worse before it gets better. In fact, you should probably go see Dr. Ross.”
“I’m not going to the pack doctor,” I protest. It’s one day. Surely, I can survive one day.
She hesitates for a second before conceding, “Okay, but at least go home for the day. Jimmy and I will be there in just a few hours, and tonight, you’ll probably be feeling better enough to still make it to graduation.”
“I’m not missing graduation,” I tell her seriously. But what I really mean is that I’m not missing tonight’s graduation party.
Sky Nielson has spent the last six months bragging that she’s throwing the biggest graduation party our town has ever seen. It’s the closest thing I’ll get to having my own birthday party considering I don’t have the money or social clout for a real party of my own. Sky’s party is exactly how I want to celebrate my birthday. And as long as I’m home by six thirty-seven tomorrow morning—my official birth time—there’s no reason I can’t enjoy the party alongside everyone else.
Devil’s migraine and upset stomach or not.
But preferably not.
The halls are empty as I slip out of the bathroom and head for the front doors. I know it’ll take at least fifteen or twenty minutes for Tevin to make it here to pick me up, but I desperately need the fresh air. I’m mere feet from freedom, my footsteps lighter as I come within reach of the exit.
I’m too distracted to notice the main office door opening just as I’m passing, and I collide with a freaking giant.
I’m small enough that I bounce right off of him, and apparently, he’s no gentleman, because he doesn’t even make an effort to steady me despite his role as a human trampoline. Luckily, being small means I have a low center of balance, so I manage to right myself rather than end up sprawled on the ground.
I open my mouth to apologize for barreling into the man and get my first good look at him beyond his massive physique. He has dark, close-cropped hair on his head and across his jawline, and dark eyes that I can barely see because he’s busy looking me over, his lip curling up in a not-so-friendly way.
There’s a twinge in my gut that saysshifter, but he’s not one of our pack, and that makes me uneasy. The last thing I need is any rogues hanging around just as I’m about to have my first shift.
His eyes seem frenzied as he looks at me, taking in all five-foot-nothing of me and then grunting in a way that distinctly tells me he’s found me lacking somehow. Nothing quite like being judged by a horribly attractive stranger when I’m having the worst morning of my life.
Whatever scent my pack is smelling on me today, apparently this guy’s immune to it. I might as well be wolf shit on the bottom of his shoe.
I shift uneasily from foot to foot, and that seems to break the spell.
“Watch where you’re going,” he snaps belatedly.
“Sorry,” I mutter. I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks to give away my embarrassment. Unlike Warner’s attempt to admonish me, this one actually manages to sting a little.It’s just because he’s an attractive man,I rationalize.
He’s still staring at me, a sneer on his face like he can’t stand the sight of me. It’s off-putting coming from a complete stranger. I fight the urge to act like a complete child and tell him he looks constipated in favor of fleeing the scene.
