Twice Bitten (New Moon #1)

by Belle Harper

I wasn’t stupid. I had been called to the school office. The new English teacher, Mr. Becker, had told me that someone was here to see me. He was one of those weird teachers, you know, that spoke like they knew the Queen of England but dressed like they came straight from Woodstock and just put on a blazer to blend in. But I ignored that as he had been very helpful. At least now I was starting to make a decent grade. But I knew better. No one should be here to see me—I have no family, no friends. The only person it could be was the cops or even worse, my case manager. How could she have found me? I had crossed two state lines to get as far away as I could from her and my last foster home. I looked to see if security still lingered around the front doors to the school. This wasn’t a great school, and the security was lazy and uncaring. It was all clear as I suspected, but I had to run past the office to get outside the building. I held the strap tight to my chest and sprinted. I glanced into the office window as I flew past. I saw a uniformed officer standing next to a much shorter woman, who wore her blonde hair up in a bun. She turned toward me, and as soon as her eyes met mine, I picked up speed. She wasn’t my case manager, but I knew she was one. Fuck that. I am not going back into the system. I held my hands out in front of me as I slammed into the huge door. With a shove, it slammed against the brick wall outside, just as I heard a male shout my name.

With my heart racing, I knew the only place I could go to was the club where I worked. Maybe if I got there early, I could start my shift, get some cash, and make a run for it. Ugh, this cop seemed to have a superpower, and he didn’t stop chasing me. Fucking hell, this one didn’t eat donuts and took his job way too seriously. I turn eighteen in less than two months, fucker. Leave me alone. My throat was dry as my heart hammered in my chest. I was so close. If I went down that alley, I could double around and jump the fence and head to the club. I used the rest of my energy to push harder, my legs burning at every move I made to lose this guy. The sound of my feet slapping against the wet pavement flooded my ears as it bounced off the brick buildings around me. I saw the chain-link fence up ahead, and my breathing was ragged as I grabbed ahold of it and scrambled up, my wet shoes slipping on the wire. I was trying not to get my clothes caught as I jumped down, but it caught the pocket of my hoodie and I stumbled, trying to get away. I could see the cop, so I ripped the fabric away and ran through the backlot of an abandoned apartment complex that I sometimes stayed at. I could hear the rustle of metal as the cop started to climb the fence. I ran through the broken door and around to the left where there was a corridor. I knew there was a room just a few doors down that had a broken window I could jump out of. My feet crunched against broken glass as I slid into the room and...

I quickly touched up my makeup, giving myself a smoky eye look, when a loud bang shook the door. Fuck, Charlotte, give me a minute. I quickly finished as the banging started again. I unlocked the door, and it flew into me. I didn’t get a chance to think as a thick hand wrapped around my wrist. I looked down at the fingers that held me tightly, noticing that the hand was one that had seen some real work. This guy works with his hands—short, clean fingernails and a nice golden tan. I followed the arm up until I saw the dark blue of a shirt. My heart sank as I glanced across and saw a badge and name. Keene. “I’m sorry, girl, but this officer thinks you work here. I told him we had never seen you before.” I looked past the cop’s shoulder, avoiding his face as I pinned Gerry, my now ex-boss, on the spot. He told me this would happen if I was caught here, that he would deny knowing me. He gave me a small smile before he turned away. He just threw me to the wolves, but I couldn’t blame him. How did this cop figure out I was here? I was sure he wasn’t following me when I came inside. “Come on, Alexis.” The cop pulled me toward the door, and I felt the pull in my wound. I moved to grab my bag and hoodie, and held it tightly to my side. I let him walk me out of the building without putting up a fight, and I didn’t say anything to anyone as I passed by. Gerry had been good to me for the last few months, and I didn’t want to get him in trouble. As we got outside, I saw a car waiting f...

“Where are you from? What are you?” she asked. I just shrugged. I didn’t really know how to answer that question, but I wasn’t going to tell her shit. She had all the information she needed on me. She could tell me where I was from and what I was. “Okay, well, why did you leave your last foster home? They miss you.” That had my body tensing as my eyes flashed up to hers. Yeah right, they miss the paycheck. I gritted my teeth and didn’t speak. There was no point. I would be sent back to them, and then I would run again. This was just a small bump in the road. Well, an annoying huge bump. I would have to go somewhere else. I only had a few months left of school, and I had really started to like Seattle. “Okay, not one for questions? That’s fine. I’ll just fill in these forms to send you back. You’re lucky nothing happened to you. I don’t know what you are, but I’ll figure it out.” I sent her a puzzled look. Yeah right, she knew what I was. I was a runaway teen stripper trying to make enough money to feed and clothe herself to get through school. But I won’t be forever. One day, I will be free of all of this. “You can send me back, I don’t give a fuck. I’ll just leave again.” She moved toward me fast, and I sucked in a breath at the movement. “You will not run. You will stay there,” she said in a strange voice. Her eyes stayed pinned on mine, and I swear, they looked darker than before. I laughed, and her brows furrowed. “Yeah right, stay there. Fuck that.” It looked like I h...

“I promise you, I’m here to help. I think you could really use some help right now. You are a smart girl. You didn’t just run, you enrolled yourself into high school. Your grades are really good. Mr. Becker was concerned for you when he called me, and I think he was right to be.” Mr. Becker… My English teacher called her about me. What a fucking asshole. I thought he was trying to help me. He asked to meet my parents once, and I told him they both worked all the time. It was an excuse that had worked in the past. Hell, it worked when I enrolled myself six months ago. Only to have Mr. Becker be the one to call child services on me. God, I wanted to hit him so bad right now. “I can see you are not happy with him. But I promise, he was only looking out for you. I have a special home upstate. I think you’ll fit right in there. They are a nice couple, and I was going there tonight to drop someone else off. If it’s not a good fit for you, you can call me and we can work something out.” I rolled my eyes and turned my body away. I would run first chance I got. I had only been with one nice foster family. They’d wanted to adopt me, but then the father was killed in a car accident after he drove me to school one morning. His wife blamed me because if I hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have been on the road. After that, I was moved into another home. That was how I knew not to trust anyone. They both said they wanted me. I called her ‘Mom,’ and she got rid of me like I was trash. I was...

I heard a commotion and looked up to see the cop who drove me here holding onto someone. They were putting up a fight, and I smiled to myself. So I wasn’t the only one who hated this shit. When I looked up again, I was met by the most amazing blue eyes, like sunshine on a crystal blue lake. How can that even be a color? His hair was so blond, it was almost silver. It was slicked back, but some had fallen loose, giving him a sexy messy look. His hands were behind him, and I could hear the commotion from around the corner. Keene was gone. “Sit here, kid, and don’t fucking move.” The cop pushed him into the chair opposite mine.

a big, older man with hair the same blond color as the hot guy in front of me came barreling through the cops and into the hallway. “You can’t take him, you blood-sucking bitch. Just try me! We will fucking kill you. He is ours, not yours.” I could see the guy across from me slightly flinch. I turned my head to see Shelly exit her office. She had such a casual air about this whole situation, like there wasn’t some overgrown man screaming at her tiny five-foot frame. “As I have told you, Thomas, time and time again, if you don’t stop using your nephew, I will take him. He was caught again this morning, doing your dirty work. I pulled strings to keep him here. If I let Keene and Stoker take him in and officially book him, he’ll be gone for many, many years. I only hope he is smart enough to leave you all and never go back.” Oh man, this uncle was physically shaking. His fists were balled up, and he growled low as Keene and Stoker held him back. The way he was slightly unsteady on his feet and the way he smelled told me all I need to know about this guy. Drug addict. Was he going to hit Shelly? She was so tiny compared to him. Animal. “Go, Uncle T. I’ll come back.” I looked over and saw the guy watching his uncle, who made a deep growling sound again in his chest. I sat back in my chair a little more to get farther away from him, but that was a bad move. He saw me, and his hazy eyes turned on me. “What the fuck are you?” He sniffed at me, and his brows furrowed. What the hell...

We had been driving for a while, and Keene was behind the wheel. The way he acted with Shelly was like we weren’t there at all—which suited me fine, since I wasn’t up for casual chitchat. We stopped and Shelly grabbed some burgers for us, before we continued the journey to this foster home upstate. It was dark and late when we arrived. I was exhausted, but I wasn’t about to fall asleep in the car. I was used to not sleeping much, but I think it was the little workout with Keene after school that had made me so sleepy. We drove down some streets in what looked like a cozy neighborhood. It was hard to see when we finally stopped outside the house. The porch light was on, and I could see a window with a light on inside. “Alright, you two, come on. And be nice, they’re good people and there are some younger kids here. Please don’t wake them up by fighting this.” I nodded. I didn’t want to scare some kids, and I wasn’t going to do anything. Yet.

When the door cracked open, a man in his forties greeted us with a huge smile. He had short dark hair with a bit of gray mixed in, wore a dark tee, and was barefoot. Another man with a much larger build and longer dark hair opened the door wide and said, “Come in.” The house smelled nice when we stepped in, like someone had been baking. “Oh, huh… Shelly?” I turned to see the shorter guy staring at me, his mouth slightly dropped open. Did she forget to tell him I was coming? “Um… I—this… Sorry, I’m Jack. I just wasn’t expecting a girl, we… Oh, Grayson,” he called out to the other man, who had disappeared before we even got inside. Shelly put her hand up to stop Jack from talking anymore. “Hold on, Jack, we spoke on the phone. I told you this one needs to be here, at least for now. Until we work out… Look, can I talk to you?” She moved away from me, and they both walked off into another room. Grayson was back with a cupcake in each hand, chocolate with vanilla frosting. He froze when he saw me. “Oh, you’re a girl.” Holy shit. Had I walked into a boys-only house? Had they never seen a girl before? Not once had a foster family I was with made cupcakes to greet the new kids, or even made them in general. He held it out to me, and I took it. I took a bite and wanted to moan, it was so good. Dang, if he baked cupcakes every day, I might need to stay a little longer. I listened to Jack and Shelly as their voices rose a few times before they returned with fake smiles plastered on t...

The light flicked on as I stepped into the room. It had blue-colored walls, two single beds with matching sheets and comforters, and a lamp on a bedside table between the two beds. I glanced around and saw a desk in the corner with a computer. There was a real computer here in my room? I must have given a funny look, as Jack started to apologize. “Sorry, that it’s blue. We never have girls here—you’re the first. Maybe we can paint it to your liking if you don’t like blue?” I looked to this guy. Was he serious? “I turn eighteen in two months, so I won’t be here long.” He smiled and nodded. “We don’t mind. You’re welcome to stay here until you finish out the school year.” His smile was genuine, like he really meant it. But I knew about these types of promises. They could take it back at any moment.

I didn’t sleep well, but I never did. Bad dreams. The clock on the desk read four twenty-three am, and I decided it would be as good a time as any to see what I had with me, what I needed, and to figure out where the hell I was. I knew I was still in Washington state, but where exactly was unknown. I was startled slightly when the soft knock sounded at the door. I looked over and watched as the clock switched over to a minute after seven. “Alexis, breakfast will be ready in thirty. Soap and towels are in the bathroom. You won’t be disturbed in there. The younger ones have been instructed not to come down to this end of the house.” I held the sheet up to my chest and looked around the room. “Yes. Okay,” I called out and listened as his footsteps went down the hallway. I grabbed some clean underwear and socks that I had set down for today and pushed the single bed back against the wall. Stepping out into the hallway, I could hear people talking down from where I came into the house last night. I took my things with me and made my way into the bathroom. There was no lock on this door, either. I groaned to myself. What was with these people? No locks at all? Well, I guess that makes it easy for me to leave.

I walked down to where I could hear all the voices and smell breakfast. I rounded a corner and could see a large table, laden with all types of breakfast foods. There were two bench seats on either side, and three young boys were talking loudly with their mouths full. “Oh sorry, Alexis,” Jack said as he quickly avoided crashing into me. His hands were full with three glasses of what looked like orange juice. The smell in here was amazing, the bacon and eggs on the table tempting me forward. I had never had bacon and eggs for breakfast like this. A head popped out from a door, and Grayson smiled and waved a spatula in the air. “Good morning, Alexis. I hope you slept well.” He waited for me to answer, but I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded. This was not your average foster family. Or if it was, I had been sorely unlucky with my past ones. “Take a seat. Do you want orange juice? Coffee?” Jack was pointing to a space at the end of the table. I went over and sat down, and he placed a plate in front of me as I mumbled, “Orange juice.” A little boy with beautiful, silky jet-black hair was seated beside me, and I smiled down at him. His big brown eyes were so expressive as he looked up at me. He was maybe six or seven. His little mouth dropped slightly. “You’re a girl,” he stated, and I snorted a little. Gotta love the honesty of a child. “Yes, and you’re a boy,” I replied, and he smiled and nodded. I realized then that the whole table had gone quiet. I thought it was bec...

“Let me introduce the boys. This is Joshua.” Grayson pointed to the little boy clinging to me. “And the other two rascals are Harry and Jaxon.” They looked like they could be brothers, real ones. Harry had dark red curls, a sprinkling of freckles across his nose, and big blue eyes, whereas Jaxon had a more auburn-colored curls and hazel eyes. They didn’t smile, and you could see in their body language that they wanted to be as far away as they could from Raff. When no one said anything, Jack leaned over and took Joshua’s hand from my arm. Finally, I was able to get some bacon, eggs, and toast onto my plate. I could hear Joshua sniffle again. “Are you okay?” I asked. He gave me a puzzled look and turned to Jack. “She don’t smell like no shi—” Jack’s hand was over his mouth before he could finish. I slid away from them, and the sudden movement had my heart racing and my hands shaking. Was he going to say I smelled like shit? I know my jeans weren’t the best, but I showered. Jack removed his hand just as fast as he put it there, and he looked like he was in shock that he had reacted that way “Oh, Alexis. It’s not what it looks like. He just… He forgot his manners, is all.” I could see him look down to Joshua as he apologized, but that still made me uneasy. There was a tense silence in the room. I looked out the window into the backyard, trying to distract myself from what just happened. The sky was gray, and there was a forest that backed onto their yard. The trees swayed gen...

Jack drove a new silver hatchback. It was clean and still had that new car smell. “So, where are we?” I asked as he backed us out of his driveway. At least if I knew the town we were in, I could find a map and figure out the rest from there. Shelly wouldn’t tell us where we were going last night. All she said was it was the foster home I needed to be in. I didn’t know what she meant by that, but so far, these people were alright. Maybe too nice, which worried me more. “We live in a small community called Kiba, which is about ten minutes from Port Willow, where your new high school will be. That’s where we are off to do some shopping. There is a Walmart where we can grab some stuff from.” I nodded. I was only going to get jeans, maybe a new hoodie if it was on sale. But otherwise, I would just stitch the one I was wearing. With it being the winter, it would have to do. I shuffled my bag between my legs, I wasn’t going to leave it behind. Jack watched as I took it with me, and if he wanted to say something about it, he didn’t. I wouldn’t have cared anyway. I never leave my bag behind.

At Walmart, Jack grabbed a shopping cart and watched me as I readjusted my bag on my shoulders to equal the weight out. With so much jammed in there, it was never going to be easy to carry, but having two straps was a lot better. Jack cleared his throat. “Would you like to go to the ladies’ clothing first?” I shrugged. “Let’s go over. Maybe we can find you something you might like.” I walked behind him as he pushed the cart through the aisles, but he kept checking over his shoulder at me…I guess to make sure I was still there. A guy, maybe in his mid-twenties, stared at me for the longest time. It made me uncomfortable, so I moved closer to Jack. This happened a lot with guys, so it wasn’t new. Fucking creeper. The world was full of them, but the weird ones that sniffed at me were the worst.

Jack stopped suddenly, and I almost walked right into him. I looked around. We were in the underwear section. I stepped away from Jack. “Sorry, I haven’t shopped with a female before. Just pick what you would like and put them in the cart. I’ll wait for you over there.” He pointed over to a rack with umbrellas and quickly made his way over, making sure to put distance between the female section and himself. I looked around at the different types of underwear—boy shorts, thongs, lace, and cotton. I picked up a pair of black cotton boy shorts and checked the price. It was on sale. That would do me nicely. Maybe if there was a cheap pair of socks… I couldn’t find any on sale in my size, so I pushed the cart to Jack and he glanced in. His hand went to his face as he rubbed the dark stubble on his jaw before he looked at me with his face scrunched up. “Ah…just one pair?” I nodded. I wasn’t spending my money on more than one, it’s hard enough to carry around what I have. He hesitated for a minute. “You know I’m paying, right? This shopping trip is for you… We get a generous allowance by a local benefactor to do so. The money is yours to spend, Alexis.” My heart began to race. He gets an allowance from someone to buy me clothes? The other homes just gave me whatever they had, and everything was second-hand and usually full of holes. I never got to keep it. “How much?” I asked. It took him a few seconds to register what I was asking. “Oh, um… They give us whatever we need. Do you ...

I grabbed the first thing I saw and threw it into the cart. “Did you want to try some things on? We have all day, and this is a very large shirt. Did you mean to pick this size?” I looked back and saw him holding up what I thought was a maternity top. Try it on… That’s a good idea. “Yeah, I should try it on.” There were changing rooms close by, and Jack stood outside and chatted to the worker. Turns out there were two exits to this changing room, so I left the top, doubled around, and walked as calmly as I could to the front of the store. Creeper guy was there still. He turned to me and watched as I walked out the sliding glass doors. I pushed my hair behind my ear, looking up and down the street, and saw people going about their normal day. A little girl was holding her mom’s hand as she crossed the stre...

I sat on the bench and placed my bag between my feet. I reached in and picked up my favorite novel. Pride and Prejudice. Yeah, I liked to read. If you had nothing else, reading was the next best thing, and I loved this book. It was the first one I ever got. It looked rough, but that was because I’d read it so much. Plus, Mr. Darcy was hot. When the bus pulled up after only a few minutes of waiting, I quickly looked behind the bus shelter to check if Jack was following me. Fuck. Jack was looking for me, and he had a Walmart security guard with him. I ran up the steps and dropped my cash in, taking a seat as far to the back as I could, praying the bus would leave right now. Come on, leave. That was when Jack spotted me. I got down as low as I could, but he had already seen where I was. He started running, but before he made it over, the bus had closed the doors and we were leaving. I sat up and watched as he quickly turned and ran toward his car. Fuck, I didn’t think about that part. I honestly didn’t think he would care that much to chase me. None of the other foster parents ever had. Okay, Plan B then. I would get off at the next stop and wait for him to pass. Then I’d be long gone before he realized I wasn’t on the bus anymore.

I walked into the warm house, my shoulders slumped in defeat. It smelled amazing in here, and I couldn’t stop my stomach from rumbling as I wrapped my arms tighter around my waist. It was late, the sun had been down for hours. I’d thought I did good. I’d made it to Port Angeles and spent the afternoon exploring until this fucking asshole cop found me. Said he sniffed me out, so I called him a dog. He just laughed and threw me in the back of his cruiser. “Thank you, Nash,” Grayson said as he shook the cop’s hand. I had to say, for a cop, he was kinda young and cocky, but the asshole had one of those panty dropping smiles. I rolled my eyes. Still an asshole, though.

I looked around the living room and saw three sets of eyes follow me into the kitchen—the younger boys were all still up. Jack prompted me to take a seat at the table and to leave my bag on the floor. “Here you go.” He placed a hot meal of chicken and vegetables in front of me and took a seat beside me with a mug of black coffee. Dinner smelled amazing, so I picked up my fork and dug in. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and was hungrier than I thought. I was used to skipping meals or just having one a day, but if there was food in front of me, I wouldn’t let it go to waste. “Would you like something to drink?” My eyes shifted to Jack. He hadn’t scolded me, hadn’t yelled. Shit, he hadn’t said anything about me running away from him. I didn’t say anything, and he got up suddenly. I flinched and wrapped my arms tightly around myself. “Oh, Alexis, I’m… I was going to get you some water.” I didn’t look at him. I didn’t need to see the pity in his eyes. I already heard it. I could hear him tell Grayson what had just happened. I could feel the lump in my throat and my chest felt tight. I grabbed my bag and ran off to the room I was in last night.

I closed the door behind me. There was now a lock on the bedroom door. I quickly locked it and ran to the window, pushing the drapes to the side. Huh, it had a lock on it also. I wondered if it was there last night. I tried it, but this one was different. I couldn’t open the window. They’d locked me in. In frustration, I threw myself on the bed.

I needed a shower. I opened the bedroom door and listened to see if anyone was around or looking for me before running over to the bathroom. I knocked and waited. When there was no answer, I pushed open the door, and my heart jumped a little in fright. Raff was standing there, the red towel tucked around his waist. I saw he was covered in tatts, not just his arm or neck. I was talking a whole body worth of art. He had a huge skull on his stomach, words and roses ran up both pecs—that was what I could see earlier on his neck, the tip of a rose. I looked down to his legs. They were inked, too. How old was this guy? These would have taken years to get and a lot of money. I stood frozen, completely ogling him. I glanced up and saw he was watching me too. His eyes were heavy-lidded as he lazily took me all in. He had a deep purple bruise under his left eye and a cut on his lip. My mouth dropped open. I was going to ask if he got into a fight, but that was pretty obvious. His eyes burned into mine as he stalked toward me like he was hunting prey. I didn’t move as I felt my insides heat up. His nostrils flared slightly as he brushed past me on his way out of the room, our eyes only breaking apart once he’d left. I wanted to reach out and touch the skull, feel his skin beneath my fingertips, but I made a fist to stop myself from doing something stupid. When I heard the click of his door closing, I quickly scrambled to close the bathroom door. Okay, now I could think straight. I wa...

I woke up in a cold sweat. My chest was pounding as I tried to draw in breath. I’d had another nightmare. I had them a lot, but it was just as scary each time. I didn’t think they could get any worse, but they did.

I applied some makeup, just a little eyeliner and mascara. I flicked my hair and tied it up into a messy bun, then pulled down a few extra strands to frame my face and soften the look. I didn’t have some amazing hair color—it was just brown, boring and plain. I took a deep breath and looked at myself. I was wearing all black. The eyeliner made my unusual eye color pop. People often asked me where I got them from, my mom or dad, but I had no idea. I didn’t remember their eye color…or much of what they looked like. I tried my best to forget them. They weren’t worth remembering. My eyes were amber, but people said they were yellow copper, or sometimes kids thought I had yellow eyes like a cat. But they weren’t that yellow. Just the way the light hit them sometimes made them appear more that shade. With my lip balm in my pocket, I left the bathroom, ready to be yelled at for the whole running away thing.

Jack sat down and started talking to the boys about going to the mall after school. He mentioned that I forgot to buy some things, so they all have to help me. I looked at Jack, waiting for him to say something, anything about what I did yesterday, but he just smiled and nodded. Ugh, I couldn’t take this. They didn’t say anything, like they were ignoring the elephant in the room. I just wanted to get the yelling over and done with. When I was done with breakfast, I went back to my room to grab my bag. As I left my room, Grayson was standing next to my door, his shoulder on the wall, looking very casual. “Today, I think it’s best you just take your books. Nothing else.” His head tilted toward my heavy bag. I stared him down for a few minutes, and when he didn’t move, I went back into the room and dumped my bag on my bed. I put my books back in and left the rest on the bed. I had made the bed, but now it looked like shit. I guess this was their way of telling me off for running. Well, I could assure them, after yesterday’s attempt to run, I needed a better plan. Apparently, I didn’t count on fosters who actually gave two shits about me. I hated to admit it, but I was okay here, for now. If I could just finish high school, then I would be set. I could go anywhere…finally start my life.

A door slammed open, and I jumped, my heart going a few extra beats. I looked up through my lashes as I zipped up my bag and saw Raff. He had his bag over his shoulder and was glaring daggers at Grayson. Grayson was a huge guy, but I would put money on Raff in a fight. Where Grayson was big and full of bulky muscle, Raff was smaller but lean. I bet he would be quick on his feet. “New cologne?” Grayson asked. Raff just held himself taller. “I don’t know if that was the right move, kid.” Grayson shook his head. “If you have trouble, go see Galen Donovani. You didn’t yesterday. I understand being new is going to bring out the worst in some, but you can trust Galen. He will help you.” Raff pushed to move past, and Grayson grabbed his shoulder. Shit. Maybe I should make that bet now. I think there was going to be a fight. “Just think about it,” Grayson said as he let him go, and Raff shouldered past him. I swung my bag over my shoulder and tried to push past Grayson the same way Raff just did, but it was like hitting a wall. Ugh, I think I broke my shoulder. Maybe I was wrong…maybe Grayson would be the safer bet. But Raff was a wildcard. That’s for sure.

The bus pulled up, and I had been standing about a yard away from Raff for a good five minutes too long. He spent the whole time on his phone. I got that he wasn’t up for talking, but still…it would be nice to know one person at school. I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared at the sky, then at my feet. Eventually, I looked over at Raff, noticing his hair looked even more silver in the daylight. It was pushed back and had some real style, and dang, it looked good. His lip was healed, and his eye was no longer the purple from last night, just a slight tinge of yellow coloring it now. When the bus pulled up, I practically jumped on to get away from him—and maybe to stop my thoughts from going over how attractive he was. The whole bus watched in almost deafening silence as I made my way toward an empty seat where a girl sat. She seemed younger than me, and her hair was a pretty ash blonde color in two braids. She smiled at me and gestured with her head, so I sat down beside her. I guess they knew which one was the foster kids’ house. Great, so much for a good start at a new school. There were growling sounds coming from behind me. I looked around to see what it was, and a bunch of guys were staring, some even standing and looking to the front where Raff had just got on. Some bared their teeth. What the fuck did Raff do yesterday? He certainly had an interesting way of making friends. When the growls died down and the bus started moving, Raff took a seat up front. The guys...

There were stairs across from me, and I thought I saw Raff run up there earlier. I wondered if we had any classes together? We were both seniors. Well, Shelly had said that on the car ride up here, which was about all I knew about him. He had an uncle who seemed to think he owned him and was obviously into drugs—that was easy to see. Yet Raff didn’t seem that type at all. And yet he got into fights on his first day of school and made a lot of enemies in a very short amount of time.

I noticed all the female students were looking at someone. I glanced to where they were focused and saw a hot guy stroll through the crowd of students. They were parting for him like the Red Sea. He wore dark, fitted slacks and a black turtleneck. His jaw was smooth and defined, his eyes never strayed from where he was going, and his brown, almost curly locks framed his face in such a perfect carefree way. He had an air about him, and I, like the other girls, stared openly at him. I was totally fucked. I bet this guy was Mr. Popular and had half the student body wanting a piece of him—male and female. There was no way to deny that the guy knew he was attractive and probably starred in many fantasies. When his feet slowed and he stopped beside a tall blonde girl, I knew straightaway I wouldn’t be his type. Not that I was wanting to be his type. No, it was better that I wasn’t. I needed to hide under the radar, get schooling over and done with, and leave this place. I watched the tall blonde as she flicked her hair and puffed out her chest, which was already on display in the very tight red tank top she wore. But he took no notice of her flirting gesture. His eyes closed and when he opened them, they flashed straight to mine. I sucked a sharp breath through my teeth. His head cocked slightly to the side, and I turned to see the office lady still messing around in the back office. Fuck, hurry up. My cheeks were burning hot. I totally got caught staring at him, and he knew. Ug...

I left the office and stood outside the glass doors. I glanced down at the map and found my way to my first class. There were a lot of stares as I passed other students in the hall. I subconsciously rubbed my mouth on the back of my sleeve. Did I have food on my face? Or were new students not very common? It wasn’t a large high school, but I still thought I could blend in.

the time I found my class, I had three tall guys following behind me. It might have been flattering for some girls, but not for me. I shot them my best I’m gonna fuck your balls up if you don’t leave me alone look just before I stepped into the class. I took a spare seat in the back as I heard the teacher yell at the tall guys to leave before she slammed it shut. I slumped into the chair and grabbed my text for English. “You seemed to have yourself a fan club.” I spun to the girl seated beside me. She had on a pink shirt that looked like it actually needed to be ironed, a headband to push her ash blonde hair from her face, and a big grin. “Ah…yeah. I don’t want a fan club.” She laughed, then quickly sobered. “Oh, really? I’ve been here my whole life, and I have never seen the basketball team stalk a girl anywhere like that. Let alone a new girl.” Well, I guess this was my lucky day.

“So, you’re from Kiba? Dang. The Kiba boys won’t like the Kenneally boys stalking you through the halls.” The what? I tried to answer her questions as quickly as I could while trying to listen to what the teacher said because I was not exactly some honor roll, genius student here. I had to work hard for the grades I had. But in the end, curiosity won out. I needed to know the social hierarchy of this school if I was going to survive here. “Okay, tell me what that means.” Ada scooted her chair and desk closer, and you could see her eyes gleam from wanting to tell this information to anyone willing to listen. “Okay, well, I’m from Watson. It’s the second biggest town around here.” I nodded for her to continue. “Well, there are a few smaller towns in the area, and the boys who come from them are like super crazy over it all. Like, you know…their turf. No one gets it, but they take it seriously. The boys from Kiba don’t associate with the ones from Kenneally or Rawlins. And same for the Rawlins and Kenneally boys. They get into fights a lot. “So, I guess with you being from Kiba, the boys there might feel the same way about you. I’ve seen the Rawlins boys start a fight with one of the Kiba boys when he tried to date a girl from there. “So, all in all, it’s like a regular high school, but you know, with weird turf wars that have been going on for as long as even my parents remember. But Watson and Port Willow are the only ones that don’t have these groups of hot guys.” Great. I...

The room went quiet, and I glanced up. Raff appeared in the doorway, and as soon as his eyes caught mine, he moved and took the seat in front of me. Great, now I could stare at his pretty neck. I could still see the hint of his tattoo creeping up there. My eyes were drawn away when Raff’s books ended up on the floor. There were two tall guys—the ones from earlier, who were stalking me. The taller one, with what looked to be a permanent scowl on his face, grabbed Raff by his long sleeve top and yanked him to standing. I backed up, dragging the desk with me. Holy shit. The teacher was in the classroom, and this guy was going to fight Raff? What the hell did he do yesterday? “Scum like you should go back to your trailer park pack.” His friend took a swing, but Raff moved and turned his body before hitting the guy in the face with his elbow. Holy fuck, they were fighting, in class, with a teacher present. The guy’s nose made a crunch sound, and I cringed. It was broken for sure. The teacher finally yelled out to them to stop, but they either didn’t hear it or they chose to ignore him. The taller guy was still holding onto Raff and shoved him, causing Raff to lose his balance, and the asshole took that opportunity to punch Raff in the stomach. Hard. Raff’s whole body bent over from the impact. Fuck. “What is your problem, asshole?” I smacked my desk loudly with my hands, and both guys flicked their gazes to me. Raff was more tense than before. He spun, and I could see the way h...

the bell rang, I moved quickly so I could talk to Raff, but he left in a hurry. I guess he didn’t like me standing up for him, but I couldn’t just sit there and watch it. He could hate me all he wanted, but I would never sit back and do nothing while someone was being bullied. I walked out of class and found the asshole there. In fact, he had all his friends with him—all five of them tall and intimidating. I felt so tiny as they boxed me in, and my heart started to race as my palms got real sweaty. I did not do well with this type of situation. I could feel my chest starting to constrict as a panic attack was coming on. I was stronger…I wouldn’t let them see me like this. “What are you? A pussy? Tell me you’re a pussy… I would eat your—” The guy stumbled to the left, and I looked to see silver hair. Raff. He shoved another out of the way and growled lowly. “Leave her the fuck alone.” His voice was so deep that I felt it through my body, and it was so sexy. “My father said you can’t make a claim. You have no pack,” one of the guys growled back, baring his teeth. Okay, this shit was getting weird now. I moved to get away, and Raff stood taller, blocking my escape and ready to fight all five of them, even though he was much smaller than them. I could see their fists curled—this was not going to be an even fight—and I couldn’t just leave him here after what he had done for me. All the kids in the hall moved away or stood to watch this all go down. I was only a couple of hours ...

I saw Raff had grabbed some lunch, and as he was leaving the building, some guys pushed him, so he stalked off in another direction. I hated seeing that shit. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what. I looked around at the tables. I wasn’t used to eating with others. Honestly, I would rather be on my own, but maybe being alone wasn’t the best idea right now. This school was harder to nut out than others. I looked for Ada, but I couldn’t see her, so I turned and saw what must be the jock table. Okay, that was a regular clique. All the guys there looked like football players, some were like seriously ripped, and most of them had tattoos. Holy crap. What the hell was going on with all these seniors and tattoos? I think I lingered for too long, as two of them turned and saw me. The one with the full sleeve of colorful tattoos caught my eye first. His lips were full, his dark brown hair styled in a messy look, and he looked almost bored at the table with all his friends. Like he wished he was somewhere else. Me too. The white T-shirt he wore was tight and showed that he worked out, because there was no way he could get that body without a gym and weights. There were so many hot guys in this school…and I wasn’t complaining. Just, I wasn’t expecting it. When the guy next to him turned to speak to his friends, he didn’t. He kept his gaze on me. It felt like my body was drawn to him, like there was a strange connection between us. I wanted to know who he was, what he was t...

When I saw more seniors walk through the hallway, I quickly turned on my heel and walked the other way. I looked over my shoulder to see if they were still there, then groaned when one smiled and started to follow me. Far out. This school was worse for stalkers than any other place I had been. When I got far enough away, I saw another group of tall guys, all staring at me. Yep, fuck this shit. I wasn’t sticking around to find out what they wanted. I quickly turned a corner and slammed into Raff. Oh fuck. He grabbed my shoulders and held me steady. My heart skipped a beat. I breathed him in, and he smelled amazing, like rain on a hot summer day. What the hell? How was that even a smell someone could have? I loved that smell. He was warm and solid beneath my hands. When he looked down to my hand that was still clenched on his tee, I let go and, in my embarrassment, I ran. I didn’t know why I ran, but I just wasn’t ready for all this…whatever this was. I had to escape, but I didn’t know if it was to get away from the school, this town, the foster family…or Raff. My heart was racing, and I didn’t know what was going on with me. I was confused and emotional—he made me feel things, which was something I didn’t let myself do. When the bell rang, I gathered myself together and pushed all the emotions down again, took a deep breath, and walked to art class like nothing had happened.

There was a loud bang and laughter as the door flew open, and two guys pushed someone inside. When he straightened himself up, I realized it was the guy from the cafeteria. The one with the colorful tattoos and a handsome face, and who stared at me with eyes I was mesmerized by. Oh god. He was looking at me again, but this time, he narrowed his eyes at me. I guess he didn’t like me. Ugh, what was up with me being attracted to bad boys with issues? And yes, him not liking me was an issue, but I guess that meant I would be safe near him. Even though I felt this pull to him, he obviously didn’t to me. “Maverick,” the teacher said in a raised voice. “Go get your work and stop distracting class. It’s not like you to be late, that’s your brother. Don’t turn into him.” He moved about the room, and I tried to distract myself with what I was going to sketch, but I couldn’t help but watch him out from the corner of my eye. Eventually, he sat with his back to me. I let out a deep breath and relaxed.

I made my way to my last class of the day, following my map. It wasn’t too far, just up on the second level. I needed to speak to this teacher because I wasn’t supposed to be taking world history. As I got up to the classroom, I could see all the students entering. Crap, I wanted to chat with him before class started. I ran in last and closed the door behind me. When I spun around, I saw him. Butterflies danced in my belly as I took him in. It was the guy from this morning, the one the students parted for… Wait, he was my teacher?

I received a call yesterday from the case worker, Shelly, who often sends wolf shifter kids to us up here. Usually they were under the age of ten, but she was sending a teen here for the first time. The packs didn’t like the older ones, since they were harder to bring in and ended up a lone wolf without a pack more times than I could count. That was why it was best if they were younger when we got them, and before their first shift was always the best. I was told about Rafferty because the Alpha of Pack Kiba was worried about him. The other packs were warned about a teen shifter and to leave him alone. I tried to keep an eye on him yesterday, but he was great at evading. I had heard from Grayson last night that Rafferty had come home covered in blood from a fight. I was hoping to help him, but when I found him this morning, he wouldn’t speak to me.

Shelly also told me about a young woman who was also staying with Jack and Grayson Rawson. She’d told me she smelled almost like a shifter, but she had never scented one like her before, and she wasn’t sure if she even was one. When she couldn’t compel the young woman, Shelly knew she needed to be up here. Alexis was alone, living on the streets of Seattle while she worked at a strip club and put herself through school. The fact that she still cared enough about her education meant she was at least determined to have a better future. But Alexis wasn’t a shifter, that had been clear from Jack when he spoke to me last night. He said he could tell from her scent she wasn’t one, but it was a confusing scent. At times, she gave off an almost-shifter smell, then at other times, she almost smelled like a vampire. But most the time, he said that she smelled like neither, so it was very confusing and bizarre. No one knew what she was. She didn’t know anything about the shifter world, and everyone was warned not to speak to her about it until we figured out what she was. Females were never born as shifters—wolves and even bear shifters had the same curse. A shifter in their animal form had to bite the female and inject her with their venom, and that would turn her into a shifter. Then she could produce shifter sons, but never daughters. The only shifters I knew that weren’t affected by this were the big cats—panther and tiger shifters. They still bore females, but at a much lower ra...

When I walked into school this morning, I didn’t know what I was smelling. It was clean, sweet, and it drew me in like never before. I had walked toward it before I could stop myself. Then I saw her and knew this was what they were all talking about—her scent. Alexis Turner. I was all but frozen at the sight of her. She was beautiful, her hair a light golden brown that was up in a loose messy bun, little wisps of it falling around her amber eyes. I had never seen eyes like that in all my life. It might mean something, a hint at what she was, but what, I didn’t know. I held my breath, but I couldn’t help it, I wanted another hit of that sweetness. Her scent was strong, even through the glass doors. My fangs slid out, and my body hummed with the need to taste her. That had never happened before, and I was embarrassed that I didn’t have better control of myself. I quickly left to my office, where I took a shot of whisky and calmed myself. I had fed earlier, so I didn’t need to feed again, but this response to her scent was worrying. Shelly had never mentioned having this reaction to her, but come to think of it, if she affected all vamps like this, she wouldn’t be here right now. They would have taken her a long time ago. No, this was something that just affected me. And now she was walking into my class. I knew she would be in my world history class. I had seen her transcripts and altered them so she would be here. I had wanted to keep her safe, but I was sure I wasn’t prepa...

I heard the door slam open, and I knew that scent anywhere. I hissed low, just for him to hear. He was the only shifter in this class. Most avoided world history because I taught it, but not Ranger Lovell. He took this class because of me. I turned to him, saw his big playful grin spread from ear to ear, and I rolled my eyes. He made me laugh and infuriated me at the same time, but he was forever smiling and joking. “No need to get grumpy with me, Galen. You know you love me.” I wanted to smack him upside his head. He liked to push my buttons and in a teasing way, which was even more maddening. “Take a seat at the back.” I pointed to two spare seats back there, but Ranger had already spotted Alexis…and she had noticed him, too. When he walked over to her in what was known as the ‘Ranger swagger,’ she rolled her eyes at him and looked away. I wanted to laugh, as it was funny that he didn’t affect her. The female students were usually falling all over themselves to be noticed by Ranger. He sat beside her and leaned over. “Hey, pretty girl.” His voice had a seductive tone about it, but she didn’t look at him, and I could see the confusion on Ranger’s face from the corner of my eye. Damn. I chuckled to myself. I think I could really like this girl. “I saw my twin brother notice you at lunch today… You must be special because no girl has ever turned his head before. I was starting to think he was gay or something.” That had her expression changing, and not in the way Ranger had...

I could hear Ranger grumble about me being an asshole and to go fuck myself, but I just smiled and started class.

I couldn’t wait to leave for the day. As soon as the bell rang, I was up and out the door. I could hear the teacher, Mr. Donovani, call out my name, but I didn’t turn around. I just kept going forward. He was the one Grayson had told Raff to speak to this morning if he got into any more trouble, which was even worse. This teacher would have known my background, and I didn’t want to see him give me the same sad eyes I’d get when someone found out I was an orphan and foster kid. No, thank you. Not today. I would have to talk to Jack or someone about being transferred from this class. But funnily enough, I learned a lot today. I found it really interesting, and I was a little disappointed that I never thought to take world history before. But then again, it could have been the teacher. He was so young to be a teacher. I really thought he was a student.

“Hey, pretty lady, wait up.” Ugh, I ran. Ranger. Who the fuck calls their kid Ranger? Honestly, it was a dumbass name for a complete dumbass asshole. And the asshole had no idea how rude he was about his brother’s sexuality. It shouldn’t matter who turned his head. As long as he was being treated with respect and was loved, who cared? This was the twenty-first century, for fuck’s sake. I pushed my way past everyone and noticed some of those tall guys standing near the bus I needed to take. They weren’t on there earlier. Were they waiting for Raff? Or me? I didn’t want to wait around and find out. I pulled my hoodie over my head to keep the chill out and started walking away from the bus. I remembered the way back to the foster house from the drive in, so I would walk back, maybe clear my head… Or I could walk into town and take the bus back to Port Angeles. After the shitty day I just had, that sounded like the best thing to do—get away from this messed up school.

I started to walk toward the main township of Port Willow when I felt someone following me. My heart sped up a little, and when I glanced back, I caught the silver hair of Raff. I wasn’t headed back to the foster’s, so why the hell was he following me? I stopped suddenly, and I heard his feet shuffle to a stop. “Why are you following me?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips and looking him right in the eyes. He didn’t speak, he just stood there. After an awkward moment, he looked away, then brushed past me and continued walking into town. “Fuck you then,” I called after him and started to walk the other way, back toward the foster house. Fuck it, the food was nice and the room was warm. It was a nicer day today, as the sun had broken through the clouds for all of five minutes, but it didn’t rain, and it was only going to get colder as the day turned to night. I really had to stop thinking of running away. I only had, what…like just over two months left of high school, then I was done. I would turn eighteen, graduate, and figure out something from there. Save up, find somewhere to live, and eventually go to college. That was the plan, but I needed a new job since I wasn’t wor...

Jack opened the door with his hand on his chest, breathing rapidly. “Oh, you’re home,” he panted, turning back into the house. “Grayson, they’re home! Call off the search.” I stopped just outside the door as Grayson came running out. His hands went to his knees, and he started taking in deep breaths before he stood. “I’m sorry. I get worried easily. The bus just drove past, and it didn’t stop. I panicked, thinking that something had happened to you both, and I called Jack to come home from work. Can you call me if you’re going to walk home? Please? My heart is getting old. If you need a lift, just call me, I’ll come get you.” I was a little stunned. Actually, I was more than stunned. I didn’t know what to say. Grayson wasn’t angry, he was worried. About us. Raff was watching the scene unfold just like me. I wanted to point out that I didn’t have a phone, try to brush off the strange feeling in my chest over this. So, I did what I did best…I deflected. “Raff got hurt,” I said as I walked past Jack and Grayson into the house. It smelled amazing again. I heard Raff behind me as he stomped past, Jack following him and asking him questions. I stopped and looked at little Joshua layin...

I had been in my room for the last hour just thinking, something I should really stop doing. I was worried about Raff, and I was worried about school. I didn’t want to be part of whatever the assholes at school were playing at. The weird stalking shit, it needed to end, and it would tomorrow. I let them have today, since I didn’t want to draw attention, but tomorrow…fuck them. I heard Raff’s door open. I rolled over, trying to stop myself from getting up. He was fine, Jack said he was when Raff didn’t show at dinner. I rolled over again, then again, until I gave up and flipped the covers off. I had on a tank top and the sleep pants I got from Shelly, and I had thrown my bra off hours ago. I took the elastic band from my wrist and pulled my hair up into a messy bun. Then I slowly padded barefoot across my dimly lit bedroom and unlocked the door. The lock was loud. Shit. I could see the bathroom light was on and the door wide open. I snuck down the hall to see…you know, to make sure he was fine. I didn’t know why I cared so much about him. Okay, that was a lie. I peered in and could see Raff slumped over the basin. He was topless and only wearing tight black boxers. I bit my lip to stop myself from speaking. I could see all of his tattoos. He was covered in ink head to toe, and they even went all the way under his boxers. I wondered if everything was covered in tattoos. Oh man, my mind was going places it probably shouldn’t right now. Is he crying? Bandages covered his shoul...

I could smell her before she even opened her bedroom door. That lock that Jack had put there at my request was loud. I knew Alexis didn’t feel safe here, but for me, I’d never felt safer in my life—and I was in another pack’s territory. Living with five other shifters, I shouldn’t feel safe. But I knew from living even with my own pack, a lock made you feel a little safer. It wouldn’t stop anyone, most of all a shifter. But you could hear someone breaking down your door and give yourself a chance at least. Jack put one on her window, which I wasn’t impressed by at first and I protested, but when I heard her go to her window last night, I realized she would have run off again. I didn’t want her to run. I wanted to keep her safe. My wolf wanted to keep her. I tried to do that today, but it didn’t go as planned. There were three different wolf packs at Port Willow High. How they all functioned in one school surprised me, but for the last two days, they had one common enemy—me. I was considered a rogue wolf around here. I knew this would happen before I got here. I knew it would be hard. They only place young pups in other packs, not one that was almost of age. Fuck, I should have let Shelly do this years ago when she first met me. I would be eighteen in three weeks, but Shelly had told me that Grayson and Jack would let me live here for as long as I wanted. My aging out of the system, the fact that I was from the Russet Pack just outside Seattle…none of that mattered to them....

I leaned my head against the basin. I could sense her coming toward the bathroom, and I wanted to hide my leg from her. She’d been so worried about my neck, and I’d snapped at her. I didn’t mean to. I almost shifted when she grabbed me. I didn’t want to act that way around her, and I felt so ashamed when I told her to fuck off. I’d been told we had to hide our shifter sides from her until the elders of the packs worked out what she was. She was no shifter, that was for sure. But I’d never smelled anything like her, and it drove my wolf crazy. Fuck, it drove all the wolves here crazy.