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Rainer’s bow, though, wasn’t very convincing.
* * *
Back at home,I chugged a bottle of Soju with Yakult in my room while stressing out over that epic fail of a confrontation. “Shit,” I cursed, gawking at the silver bullet in my other hand, its tip sharp and red. It had an unusualRengraved on it in gold casing. The bullet was from Willa’s corpse; I dug it out before we buried her last year. “What exactly am I supposed to do with this?”
My drinking was interrupted by a thud from the roof above me.
I was going to let it pass, but a growl startled me. I shot up immediately and listened to the lone animal’s cries.
It was Cole, crying out for help.
I slipped the bullet in my pocket and bolted outside, spilling Soju on the carpet as I ran with it in my grip.
My eyes widened when I spotted Keith lying unconscious on the veranda, a black dart stuck against his nape. I could still hear him breathing, though faintly.
As I reached out to check on Keith, Cole jumped over our porch in his wolf form, dark and furry with raging yellow eyes and teeth extended into large canines. He was panting and salivating with an ID card in his mouth. “What’s that?” I asked, and he laid it down on the wooden floor for me to see.
Rainer.
Once a pack, now an enemy.
“That son of a bitch,” I muttered as reality hit me.
First Love
First love hurts,and when it fails, it will hurt your grades—mygrades.
I skipped a day of school because of Cole Kimbrough, but I couldn’t hate him. He was a beautiful man; his caramel eyes knew how to hold me captive, and his smooth, naturally tanned skin sparkled like gold before my, figuratively, blind orbs. I loved everything physical about him. He could have been my giant mixed-race Ken, and I could have been his five-foot-five Korean Barbie girl. With that in mind, I groaned and flailed my arms on my bed.
After sulking in my room packed with BTS and Kim Taehyung posters during my day off, I finally summoned the drive to get up the next morning. I drank eggnog for breakfast, showered and performed a bathroom concert, grabbed my bag, and went to school in my lazy Friday outfit: an oversized black tee and wide-legged pants matched with plain white sneakers.
An hour later, I entered my homeroom and spotted Gray sitting on my throne, piquing my blood like an extra spicy Cheetos stuck in my stomach.
“What … is this sorcery, Gray?” As my nose flared in disapproval, I approached him, balling my hands into fists at my sides.
Gray swung his head to face me, his lips curved upward as he twirled his orange lollipop by its stick. “Small bean, it is good to see you too. New seating arrangement here. I personally picked this seat and threatened everyone to keep Cole’s empty for your sake, that way you can look at the board comfortably. Don’t worry, I found a better spot for my cousin. All the tall boys will be seated in the last row now.” He then offered his hand to shake, grinning wide. “Nice to meet you, new seatmate.”
I swallowed a bit of my annoyance, despite the fact that my grades would undoubtedly improve now that I couldn’t daydream at the back of Cole’s head. “Why are you smiling?”
“I love smiling. A smile a day keeps the doctor away. Didn’t you know?”
I grunted impatiently. “Where’s Cole?”
“At a meeting with The Nightstalkers. He’s not coming in today,” he provided. “They’re probably plotting a stalking game like kids bored out of their minds.”
Of course, he was with Keith and the hunters, skipping school. It was the second Friday of the month, and had I been thinking clearly, I would have expected all of them to be MIA today—probably skinning those monsters and using the werewolf furs to redecorate their homes.
I swatted away Gray’s hand and flopped into my new seat, slamming a book on my desk. He didn’t seem to have any plans of disappearing from my sight anytime soon.
During recess, he handed me peanut butter bread as a peace offering.
“I don’t like peanut butter,” I lied, biting my tongue to keep my mouth from watering.
Of course, I liked peanut butter, whether it be the extra crunchy or the creamy variety. I could even eat peanut butter stew, but my pride was as big as Mount Everest.
Gray ate it himself, and my stomach indicated my regret with a growl that was as loud as a dinosaur’s roar. Before our classmates could turn in my direction, Gray diverted everyone’s attention and held on to his stomach with a grin.
“Sorry, folks. Just hungry,” he said, laughing. “Off you go, please.”
