Page 5

“So, you’re the new girl that Lila was talking about yesterday, then?” Beckett said. “Nice to meet you. I’m Beckett, but just call me Beck.” He stuck out his hand and she shook it. I was a bit jealous that he was touching her. He could feel her smooth skin. I’m not the one holding her hand right now. My wolf started growling, but I told it to be quiet. Brielle scoffed, and I rolled my eyes at her. “No need to feel jealous, love,” Beck said, looking over his shoulder at Brielle.
“And I’m Cruz,” Cruz said, smiling at my friend and shaking her hand.
“I’m Talia, but just call me Tali. It’s nice to meet you guys,” she said sincerely and smiled genuinely. She had a smile that took my breath away, and I was again feeling jealous that she didn’t smile at me. So, Tali was her name, right? I thought to myself. That’s a really sexy name. I quickly shook those thoughts away.
“Right, let’s get this class started,” Mr Brooks said, and I groaned. Beck, Cruz, and I sat down while Knox chatted to Mr Brooks. He was chatting to him about how tardy we were. Tali was watching him, curiously.
Knox was on his way back to his seat when I saw him smiling at my colleague and then wink at her. That was something he did a lot when he saw something he liked. Then, I turned to Tali, but she was looking down and blushing. She smiled. What on earth? I could feel the rage building up inside me, and I could feel my wolf itching to come out. It was scratching at my skin. I was already in the zone, and Knox gave me a curious look before sitting down next to me. But I just took a few deep breaths and told my wolf to calm down. I accidentally smacked Knox across the head, and he gave me a death glare.
“What the f**k, Kieran?” He made a low, angry noise. He was Beta of the pack, but I was still Alpha. I was still in control.
“Don’t look at her like that again,” I said between clenched teeth. My hands were shaking under the desk. Then I felt my pack’s eyes on me. Knox looked at me like he was trying to figure something out. “What war?” I asked, trying to keep my cool.
“Is she your partner?” Knox asked, but quietly so the humans couldn’t hear.
I felt like saying yes. To claim her as mine. But I told myself I couldn’t look weak. “No,” I said firmly. “She’s not my mate. What on earth are you thinking?”
“Sorry,” he said sarcastically.
For the rest of the class, I kept looking over at Tali. She was really focused on her notes. She had a little crease between her eyebrows as she concentrated. I thought it was pretty cute. I found a lot of things about her that I already loved. Like the way she bit the end of her pencil when she drifted off into space, the way she swung her legs under her desk, and the way her smile lit up her whole face when Brielle talked to her.
I quickly shook those thoughts away. I couldn’t love her. I just couldn’t. I could get over her. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge, though. The only question is, can I really do it?
Here’s Tali’s take on it.
“I think I can die happy now ’cause I’ve just seen a piece of heaven,” Luca said, grinning at me. I almost choked on my stale French fry.
“Are you talking about French fries?” I asked him as if he were crazy, but I was laughing on the inside.
“Gah! Can’t you just let me have fun for once! That’s already twenty pick-up lines and they usually work for most girls! Why are you so good at this?” He asked, sounding a bit annoyed, but then quickly wiped that off with a smirk. Oh no, here we go again. “I wonder what else you’re good at,” he said, arching his eyebrow suggestively. I threw him one of my French fries, and it landed on his grey shirt, leaving a bit of oil behind. “Wow, this is a new shirt!”
“Don’t you have a washing machine?” I asked, laughing.
“Darling, expensive stuff doesn’t matter. All I want is you,” he said, pouting. I couldn’t stop laughing. I was really enjoying myself with Luca and the Moonfire Pack. You got it – the Moonfire Pack. Luca, Brielle, Damien, Avery and Roman made it up. I guess this school runs in packs, not groups or cliques. I asked Luca why they called themselves ‘a pack’, but he just laughed at me like I was crazy.
So, there I was, having lunch with them. I was supposed to have a bite to eat with Lila, but I couldn’t find her. As I had Luca in the previous class, I followed him to lunch. The cafeteria was just like any school cafeteria on a normal day. It was noisy and the food was pretty gross. Surprisingly, the cafeteria was clean. The tables didn’t even have gum underneath them.
I was already getting used to the Moonfire Pack. They were easy to get along with. Yeah, Luca was always trying to flirt with me, but I knew he was just messing around. Brielle and Damien were in their own world, but I totally got it. They were head over heels. I felt a bit of a pang when I thought about my previous love life. But I just pushed those thoughts to the side.
Avery isn’t quite sold on me yet. He ate his lunch quietly and occasionally looked at me. It was as if he was trying to figure me out. Roman was busy reading a book. I found out he loved reading and he wanted to be an author one day.
“Tali, did I ever tell you that you look like a light switch? You’re… Luca started.
“Luca, pipe down. She’s not interested and it’s not working,” Roman interrupted. I laughed at Luca and immediately stopped myself when I saw the whole Eclipse pack standing by our table with their lunches. Beck looked at Brielle with a pained expression. Cruz looked like he was going to jump if anyone made a move. Kieran’s mouth was set in a thin line. There was one girl there that I didn’t recognise. She had white blonde hair that was sleek and perfect. Her eyes were sapphire blue and her smile was perfect. I looked at her in awe. She was stunning. Like Lila, they were both smiling. I had a good look at the Eclipse Pack. I could feel the tension in the air. It’s fair to say the two packs weren’t exactly best mates.
“Tali, do you want to join us?” Lila asked, smiling. “Hey, this is Maren,” she said, pointing to the girl next to her. “You’ve met all the boys already, right?”
“Not me. I’m Knox,” he cut in. He had a deep voice, but it was smooth. I shook his hand and said hi. I saw Kieran looking uncomfortable out of the corner of my eye, shifting from one foot to the other. Knox smiled at me. So, what do you say, would you like to join us for lunch?
“I don’t want some new girl sitting with us,” Kieran said angrily. His deep voice had me shivering. “For all we know, she could be insane. “Just look at her. She’s got ketchup at the corner of her mouth and she doesn’t even realise.” I took my napkin and wiped it across my mouth in one quick move. I looked a bit annoyed when I realised I had ketchup on my face. I looked down at my lap and saw that my face was as red as a tomato. I don’t know why, but his words really hit home.
“What the f**k Kieran?” Lila gave Kieran a smack on the head. He flinched and kept glaring at me. Lila looked at me and smiled, Sorry about that. “My brother’s a bit of an idiot, sorry about that. Something seems to be up his panties today.”
Roman and Avery were having a bit of a laugh, while Damien, Brielle and Luca were giving Kieran a hard time. “Don’t ever talk like that to her again,” Luca said in a low, threatening voice. His growl was seriously scary. My heart was racing just hearing it.
“You hardly know her and you’re defending her?” Kieran was a bit suspicious and didn’t believe it. “She’d go for a guy like you. You’re worthless.”
I looked over to my left and saw Luca looking down. He looked pretty beaten up. Oh hell no. No one talks to my friends like that, not one person. Who did this ‘Kieran’ guy think he was? I felt a growl rise up from my chest and everyone looked over at me. I didn’t care, I was angry. “Who the hell do you think you are?” I asked, standing up and facing Kieran. The whole cafeteria went quiet. I was really angry, the feeling spread through my whole body and reached my fingertips. “You think you’re all high and mighty, huh? Is it just because your dad found this school and pays for everything? You think you’re a king who could just humiliate everyone?” I shouted. He gave me a hard stare. I was face-to-face with him. “Let me tell you. You’re the king,” I said, pretending to sound defeated. Everyone started whispering when I saw the corners of his mouth twitch up. “Yeah, that’s right. The king of dumbasses.”
I shot him a smirk and strolled back to my table. “You’re going to regret that,” Kieran said, but I ignored him. I could see the rage in his eyes. But I ignored him and focused on the grins plastered on the Moonfire Pack’s faces. I sat next to Luca, and he put his arm around me.
“Did I ever tell you that you’re one badass chick?” Luca said something to me in a quiet voice and I laughed.
“Oh, about a hundred times, babe. But I love hearing it over and over again.”
Then Kieran yanked Luca’s arm off my shoulder. He shot a dirty look at Luca while a growl escaped from his lips. His hands were shaking like a leaf and his blue eyes were changing colour. It was blue one second and then yellow the next. I looked at him, pretty shocked. That was definitely not normal. But I quickly shook those thoughts away and looked at Kieran, ready to smack him in the face this time around. “Don’t touch her like that, ever again,” Kieran said in a low, threatening voice.
Everyone started whispering and there were gasps all over the place. The two packs looked pretty shocked. But before anyone could say anything, Kieran rushed out of the cafeteria, pushing anyone who got in his way.
I sat there, not saying a word. I was ready to throw something, anything. Kieran Redford wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He was selfish, self-centred, and a bit of a player. He was out with Kira, the head cheerleader, all day. And they almost had a thing in Mr Steele’s class, too. I had them for every class, and I felt really awkward every time I saw them. He had a girlfriend, and he shouldn’t have told any boy, for that matter, to stay away. I thought it was really unfair of him to be such a jerk to me. I felt pretty bad for wanting him to be nice to me. Most importantly, I couldn’t stand the way he affected me – he just hurt me.