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“Have you heard about a new mission getting assigned?” I asked, glancing over at Felix. My tone had softened; maybe I was approaching this from the wrong angle. Maybe this was a team mission, but Kazu didn’t want me to go. Which was stupid, since I was the only one who knew strategy craft. “To us or to another team?”
Felix whipped his head in my direction, his second sandwich dropping back on his tray. Which was a lot. No one loved food more than Felix.
“You heard about a new mission?” he asked, his blue eyes widening with innocent hope.
I almost regretted asking. Not because of his eagerness, but because I didn’t want him to think…
Felix and I both wanted Dade back. He’d been part of our team since we were fourteen and each of us was recruited to Kazu’s team. Back then, Kazu really was our sensei and went deeper with physical training, tactics, and strategy than basic combat training every student within the academy learned and participated in. But then, Dade left and once Felix and I hit eighteen, we both took our Elite level exams, and now, we were on more equal footing with Kazu, even though he was technically our captain now, rather than a teacher. He instructed less and commanded more.
I shook my head, trying to stay focused. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the possibility that someone might want me to go on a mission without my team. Then again, maybe it had to do with me being a strategist – but why not just tell me that? Why be cryptic and cold and mysterious? And Kazu said it had nothing to do with me being a strategist.
“You’re saying there’s a mission?” Felix asked again, his blue eyes still wide.
I whirled around in both directions, hoping no one overheard. In a dining room full of other wolves, it was hard to decipher who actually paid attention and who was focused on their food.
“Would you keep it down?” I whispered in my harshest voice I could muster. “Jeez, we’re not even supposed to be talking about it in the dining room where anyone can hear us –”
“You’re the one who brought it up!” he exclaimed, throwing out his arms and making himself a spectacle — as usual.
“I just…” I bit my bottom lip, glancing down at my tray of food. Besides the initial bite of the baguette I had when I first sat down, I hadn’t made a move to eat anymore. “I just wanted to know if you’ve heard anything?”
“The only thing I’ve heard about is the new girl,” Felix said before slurping on his soda loudly. “Unless she’s part of this mystery mission you’re talking about, I don’t know anything.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, swallowing down a retort. This didn’t surprise me. Unless it pertained to training or getting Dade back, Felix was oblivious to pretty much everything else around him except food.
“Why?” he continued before shifting towards me. His shoulder pushed into mine and he leaned in close. “Hey, is that what Kazu-sensei wanted to talk to you about earlier?” He frowned, eyes narrowed on my face. “Don’t look so surprised, okay? I notice things.”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother to correct him. I reached behind my head and pulled out my ponytail before running my fingers through my hair. It went to the middle of my back now; I considered cutting it so I didn’t have to worry about taking care of it as much, but if I did that, it would get curlier and frizzier, and I hated that too.
“Like how your pink hair actually matches your eyebrows so ithasto be natural,” he continued.
My left hand twitched, ready to punch him and then ask if he noticed that.
My pink hair wasn’t exactly something I was proud of. If anything, it was a target on my back, something that made me stand out in a world where I shouldn’t want to stand out. Even when I transformed into a wolf, the color was the same. I had no idea where I got the color from because my parents had regular,normalhair. In fact, my father apparently moved out for a year, certain my mother cheated on him until they took a test and it was proven he was the father.
“WhatdidKazu-sensei want to talk to you about?” Felix asked in a low, conspiratorial whisper. “You can tell me, Embyrlyn. You know that. I’m a good secret keeper. I’d never tell —“
I snorted. “Oh, please, Felix,” I said. “All anyone has to do is offer you food, and you’re like a stray cat. You spill everything.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” he said. “Remember when I found you crying the night Dade left? And you confessed that you loved him, and it totally wasn’t obvious at all? I didn’t say anything to anyone about that! Come on, Embyrlyn. I just want to know! I would tell you —“
“No, you wouldn’t!” I snapped. I grabbed my sandwich and took an obnoxiously large bite out of it. The baguette was difficult to chew but I made it a point to get through it. Once I swallowed, I washed it down with a long gulp of water before angling my torso back at him. “How many times has Kazu-sensei trained you and Dade or just you or just Dade, and you guys never tell me anything? You just went on your merry way, leaving the academy for days, and I found out because some maid dropped off a note under my door that night. And, when you got back, you didn’t even say anything about it.”
“Was it about the Marriage Law?” Felix asked, completely ignoring my tirade as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I can’t believe you would even —“ I blinked when his words settled in. “What are you talking about?”
“I mean, even you have heard of the Marriage Law, haven’t you, Embyrlyn?” he asked. He popped open an eye. “Right?” Suddenly, a gleeful grin slid onto his face and he leaned back in. “Are you telling me I know something that you don’t?Me? Oh, my gods, this never happens. Usually, you know everything, but not this time!” He chuckled obnoxiously to the point where people at the bench to our left began to look at us.
I elbowed him in the ribs, cutting him off and causing the air to flee from his middle. I didn’t bother to hide my smirk as he took a moment to compose himself through his dramatic coughing.
When he finally stopped, he glared at me from his peripheral. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “That doesn’t change the fact that I know more than you.” He smirked again. Before I could elbow him again, he continued. “The Marriage Law is supposed to unite the wolves and the humans by forcing them to marry each other.”
I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of his words. There was no way that could be true. It sounded ridiculous. It sounded completely out there.
“How could that unite humans and wolves?” I demanded. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Hey, don’t get mad at me.” He glanced at my sandwich. “Are you gonna eat that, by the way? I could take it off your plate, literally, if you wanted.”
