I spun back around and put up a hand to stop him. “I can’t do this right now, Dom. Just tell Mac I’m not feeling well. Please.” My voice sounded as hollow as I felt, and it really didn’t sound like my own. I tried to close the doors. I wanted to hide my feelings, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t focus. I could barely breathe. Each small breath I managed to suck in hurt, burning down my throat like a lit fuse, and into my lungs.

But Dominic didn’t seem to have the same problem. His face hardened as he closed himself off from me, and it made my stomach drop. I could see the doors slamming shut as he proceeded to lock me out and cut me off, and I hated him for it. He nodded. “Take the sidewalks.”

I offered a weak smile and a little wave, but he didn’t respond. He just looked at me with those cold, uncaring eyes and waited for me to leave. And that’s exactly what I did. I left. Just like he had left me two years ago. Without a backwards glance, I weaved through the empty hallways, and out the front door of the school.

My key was stuck in the lock. It wouldn’t turn and I couldn’t get it out. It was frustrating as all hell, and without thinking, I kicked the door. Hard. It hurt. I yelped, and my big toe throbbed.

But it was worth it. I yanked on the key again, and it came out, just as the door flew open.

Dad smiled at me. It was the kind of smile that only a dad could give. A bit excited, a touch worried, and a lot happy. It was one of those smiles that encompassed every emotion he had, and it was exactly what I needed.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, and without warning, I launched myself at him for one of his epic bear hugs. “Welcome back.”

He caught me just as I knew he would, squeezing me tightly and spinning me over the threshold. But the hug didn’t last nearly long enough. He put me down and held me at arm’s length, giving me one of those concerned fatherly looks. “Hi, honey. What are you doing home?”

I wiggled out of his soft grip, and slid by him, kicking the door shut with my heel. “Wasn’t feeling good,” I lied, and padded into the living room. I dropped down on the couch, focusing all my effort into looking sick.

He didn’t buy it for a second. “You never get sick,” he said bluntly, following me into the room. He sat down beside me and asked, “What’s going on?”

Dad looked tired but relaxed. His silver-dusted black hair was flat on one side, as if he had been sleeping on it, and he had pillow creases indented on his cheek. He had on his favorite navy blue jogging pants, and a gray T-shirt, and by the tightness of his lips, I guessed he was fighting against a yawn.

“Sorry I woke you up,” I said. “How was your trip?”

“Jade,” he said with a no nonsense tone, “what are you doing home?”

I bit my bottom lip, and wiggled on the couch as I considered lying again. But then I looked into his bright blue eyes, and I saw the concern painted on his face and the floodgates burst open. Everything rushed out in a mess of words. I told him about Erika and the locker room. I blurted about the black wolf. About Dominic. About Ray. About how no one was supposed to know he was dead. I told him about Mom being all jumpy. I talked about losing Dominic, and about how much I missed him. It was as if I was stuck in a tornado, gushing everything out in a spinning gust of wind, unable to stop.

But just like a tornado, I touched down, and ran my course, and when there was nothing left, I flopped back on the couch, feeling drained and a little deflated.

Dad considered my story for a long and way too silent moment before he asked, “Does Dominic know about the black wolf?”

“What does that matter?” I asked a little breathlessly. Out of everything that I had blurted out, he had to focus on the black wolf. I wanted to be upset, or angry, or anything, really, but I couldn’t. It all seemed like too much energy. And all I felt was empty. Not in a bad way. It was more of a contented kind of empty, as if I had expelled all the badness and all that was left was … exhaustion.

“He has always watched out for you, honey,” he said softly, and he reached out, brushing some hair from my forehead. “Even if it didn’t feel like he was there, he was. He always will be. You know that.”

Did I? Not really. But I nodded and smiled anyway. “I’m going to lie down,” I said, hauling myself up from the couch.

“Wait,” he said, taking hold of my wrist and pulling me back down. He wrapped me in a hug, leaning his chin on the top of my head. “I know you think we are pushing you, your Mom and I, to join them, and I don’t want you to think I’m trying to give Dominic an excuse. He hurt you. He knows that. You know that.” Dad sighed and his shoulders slumped a little against me. “But you can’t judge them all from his stupidity. I just want you to be safe, honey. I know you can’t see it, but the pack is safe. They always have been, and having the wolves as friends isn’t as bad of a thing as you think it is.”

I knew he was trying to be comforting, or give me some kind of life lesson full of wisdom, but it really wasn’t helping. There was nothing safe about the pack. It didn’t matter which way he tried to spin it; werewolves were not safe.

I pushed out of his arms, giving him what I hoped was an agreeing look. “I’m going to take a nap,” I said, and I left him sitting there with concern marring his face, and I headed to my room.

It wasn’t until I got to my room that I realized he hadn’t told me about his weekend, but at that point, I was just too drained to care.

I screamed. There was something on me, smothering me. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to push it off, flailing my arms around, pulling at the comforter. I couldn’t move. It was dark. Too dark. I was drowning. Suffocating. Another scream ripped from my lips, but it was muffled and distorted with barely any sound to it.

“Chill out, Jade.” Marcy’s voice belted out, wrapping around me like a soothing blanket. She grabbed hold of the comforter and pulled it down. I sucked in a ragged breath and it burned through my empty lungs. She was laughing and grinning, and she was sitting on top of my stomach.

I pushed her off of me, giving her a dirty look. “What the hell?”

Marcy giggled. She flopped on to her stomach and made herself comfortable on my bed, resting her chin in her hands. “What happened to you today?”

I grabbed my powder blue comforter, pulling it back up to my chin, and wiggled under the covers, trying to find the sweet spot again, and hoping that she’d just go away. I closed my eyes, and kept wiggling, but I just couldn’t get comfortable.

Marcy cleared her throat dramatically loud. I opened my eyes and gave her another dirty look, but she just grinned.

“Nothing happened,” I said. “I just wasn’t feeling well.”

“Liar,” she said, pursing her lips. “You never get sick.”

I groaned and rolled onto my side. “Whatever.”

My curtains were open, revealing the star speckled night sky. The silver moon was almost full, and there didn’t appear to be a single cloud. I must have slept for hours, but yet, I was still exhausted, and I was sure if Marcy would just leave, I would have no problem falling back to sleep.

Marcy had another plan. She smacked at my legs. “Get up. We’re going out.”

“Just let me sleep, Mac,” I said, snuggling a bit deeper under the blankets.

“Not happening.” She laughed evilly, and crawled over me so we were nose to nose. She was grinning mischievously, and her eyes danced with laughter and what looked a lot like secrets. “We’re going to get ice cream and you are going to spill everything. Especially the part about why Erika was asking about you. Whatever you said to Dom, she's fuming about it.” Her smile widened, and she giggled a little. “And I have awesomesauce news of the boy variety.”

CHAPTER 12

~ AIDAN ~

That night, Dominic was the moody one. Not that I was overly moody per se, it was just that Dominic was never really anything, except when Jade was involved. Again, I found myself wondering what that girl had done to make my pack so uneasy around her. It wasn’t just Dominic and Erika; it was most of them. They all watched her with leery eyes, and she seemed oblivious to it. The girl was too busy being overly sure of herself, and I couldn’t help but think it was a complete act. No one could be that tough, not when they knew what they were up against.

Dominic hadn’t spoken a word to me since lunch. After Jade left, he had talked to her friend, and then stormed off. I still couldn’t believe that Jade tried to drag him out of the cafeteria by his ear, and if I hadn’t been the reason for her anger, I’d probably be laughing about it now.

We were sitting in my motel room watching the night descend upon us; well, I was sitting. Dominic was pacing. I had figured he would have come around by now, but he hadn’t. Every once in a while he would stop his relentless pacing to slam something around, but still not a word.

The first challenge was scheduled for tonight. I was sure Dominic wouldn’t be here otherwise. Erika wasn’t wasting any time. She was determined and strong and competent, and I absolutely hated it. She was a bitch and not really someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But then, none of the challenging females really sparked my interest. They were all just so … bitchy and conceited and fake.

But Erika, she had to be the worst of them. Actually scheduling a challenge … it just wasn’t normal. Females were usually more creative, not relying solely on strength to beat their opponents. They picked their times carefully and rarely broadcasted when the attack would happen. It gave them the edge of surprise. As long as there was one witness to testify to the outcome, the winner would move forward.

Erika though, she wanted an audience. Most likely, she was trying to intimidate the others, letting them see what she could do. And I didn’t like it. She was too full of herself, and conceit wasn’t really a great leadership quality.

A frustrated growl penetrated my eardrums, and Dominic slammed a coffee mug onto the dresser, shattering it.

“Stop slamming things around and just spit it out already,” I said, sprawled out on my lumpy bed, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. I couldn’t take much more of his brooding. The stress of tonight was eating at me, and he was only making it worse. And at the rate he was going, I wouldn’t have a single mug left in this crap hole of a room.