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As I push open the doors to the outside, I have the distinct feeling of eyes on me, but I don’t dare turn to see if it’s those same dark eyes that I’m sure will haunt me in my sleep tonight. I’m only one day away from shifting; I’m not interested in fueling any girlish fantasies. I’m about to find my mate.
Chapter Two
Tess
“Don’t worry, if Warner hit on me, I would totally run away too.” Jade pats my arm sympathetically.
I glance her way and offer a grateful smile, but I’m fully aware I just missed the entire conversation of Morgan explaining to Jade what happened earlier today. I texted Morgan an update after Tevin picked me up, but clearly, she gave Jade the watered-down version of events. She can’t exactly tell Jade about how my internal organs are currently trying to rearrange themselves in anticipation of my entire being morphing into something that isn’t human.
This is the reality of being best friends with a human.
I smile and nod since that’s about all I can do. At least some of the pain has subsided enough that I can manage to be upright. Somehow, I don’t think the school administration would appreciate me rolling around in the fetal position in my rented graduation gown.
“God, could this go any slower?” Jade whines, changing the subject with ease. She cracks open the gymnasium door to peer out at the football field and its filled stands.
For a split second, I get a smell of something distinctly male and strangely… sweet. But a second later the scent is gone, and I kind of wonder if I imagined it. All my classmates smell like body odor and desperation at this point. We’ve been trapped in the gym with the air off for nearly an hour. Any minute now there will be pure anarchy if the principal doesn’t cue us to walk out.
“Hey, did your sister get in?” Morgan asks, ignoring Jade’s impatient whining.
“Yup. Her and Jimmy got in a few hours ago so the guys could tinker with their bikes.” We share an eye roll because it’s the pack’s worst kept secret that my brother Tevin hangs on the fringes of the local motorcycle club.
Jimmy avoids the club, but he shares my brother’s love of bikes. The two of them go straight to the garage any time they’re together for more than thirty seconds.
“Okay everyone, get into your lines please,” our counselor announces, clapping her hands to get the attention of a couple hundred restless graduates.
“See you on the other side,” Jade says with a mock salute as she abandons us to take up her spot in the alphabet two lines over.
“What did your sister have to say about your shifter pains?” Morgan asks, lowering her voice so our classmates don’t hear us. She’s one person in front of me in the line; Janz, then Jarreau, by last name.
“Just the usual. She thinks it’s some kind of family curse or something. She wants to run through a family history and see if she can track down the source. Apparently, there were some distant great aunts on our mother’s side living out west on a dude ranch at some point. She’s not sure if they’re still around to ask or not.”
“Your family is… infinitely surprising.” She laughs lightly.
“You only say that because your family is horrifyingly normal,” I tease back, knocking her shoulder with mine.
She heaves a dramatic sigh. “And this is why we’re friends. I need someone to live vicariously through.” She holds my eye for a minute before we both snort with laughter. My family might have some interesting dynamics, but no one would ever accuse me of living an enviable life.
Always a wallflower, Tess Jarreau.
I clear my throat to rid myself of something that feels awfully close to resentment. Here I am surrounded by excited classmates, and I’ll bet I’m the only one here feeling sorry for myself.
The rows start to move finally.
“Hey, Mo?”
“Yeah?” She throws an arm over my shoulder, ignoring the squinty-eyed look that Mrs. Huber shoots her for stepping slightly out of her space in line.
“Does something in the air feel…offto you?” It’s a feeling I haven’t been able to shake since waking up this morning.
She tilts her head, her face scrunching with sympathy. “Not really. Do you think it’s just the…” she trails off, glancing around surreptitiously, “the change?” She means my impending shift.
“Maybe,” I concede, though deep down it feels like something else. Something more tumultuous.
“Shake it off, babe. After tomorrow, everything is going to fall into place.” She rubs my shoulder comfortingly before stepping back into place when Mrs. Huber shoots us another dirty look.
I take a deep breath and try to relax my shoulders. Maybe Morgan is right. After all, she’s already shifted; she knows better than me.
It’s finally our row’s turn to leave the gym and cross the expanse of the football field toward the temporary stage at mid-field. Morgan starts to glide effortlessly forward, and I follow, narrowly avoiding tripping over the hem of my graduation gown, ruefully remembering too late that I meant to hem it so it wouldn’t swallow me.
