Twice Bitten (New Moon #1)

by Belle Harper

she lingered at the door of the bathroom, I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see her face. Did she hate me? I knew I wasn’t making it easy for her to like me. I didn’t make it easy for anyone to like me. If I did, I was sure my uncles would take that from me, just like they took my mom. I never made friends, dated, or had a girlfriend. All the things normal teenagers did, I didn’t. I wouldn’t give them anything they could use against me again. I saw her eyes, the most unusual amber color—almost gold, it was like they glowed in the florescent light. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for earlier. I wanted to explain that I didn’t mean to snap at her. It was the venom from one of the Kenneally Pack members when they thought it would be funny to bite me before the end of school. The asshole knew I would have this reaction. If a shifter injects venom into another shifter, it causes them to become more aggressive, like it messes with their hormones or something. It lasted in your system for about twelve hours, but it was out of my system now. I’d been slowly becoming immune to it over the years. My uncles used to bite me every day as a game when I first shifted. They were sick fucks. I was only eleven.

I knew I couldn’t tell her about the shifter world and what she just walked into. She didn’t know we existed, not yet anyway. But maybe if she saw, she would understand why I acted the way I did… Maybe. I could smell a hint of her arousal in the air as her eyes drifted down my chest. I wanted to take a deep breath, but instead, I held it and waited to see what she would do. “What the hell, Raff?” Her voice was loud, almost angry. She just stood there, looking at my leg. I didn’t know what I expected her to do, but that wasn’t it. She moved in close, and I had to breathe. I couldn’t help it—I smelled her arousal in the air, but it was laced with fear. It was too much. She called to my wolf, and I didn’t know why. I darted around her and straight to my room where I closed the door with a loud bang. I pressed my back against the door, taking deep breaths, trying to get her scent out of my mind. I rested my head against my door as I liste...

When I couldn’t hear anyone, I quietly opened up her bedroom door and slipped in. Her room held her scent, and I took a deep breath, like I was an addict chasing my next hit. Her clothes were laid out on her bed. She’d made it this morning before I got a chance to roll in it. Fuck. I rubbed my cheek and neck over her clothes, especially the hoodie, which seemed to be the only one she had. I stood back then took a deep breath. Mine. That was what I could now smell. I marked her clothes, now maybe the assholes at school would back off from her. I took her pillow and rubbed it on myself—it wasn’t as strong as rubbing myself in her sheets, but it was better than nothing. I could hear Grayson, his voice deep as he asked Alexis if she was finished. I quickly put her pillow back, opened the door, and slipped out the room as if nothing happened. Only a moment later, as I walked toward the bathroom, Alexis turned the corner. I didn’t look at her, I couldn’t. I was ashamed of what I’d done. But I would do it again, over and over.

I wasn’t going to apologize for what I did. And when I didn’t say anything, he continued, “It’s hard when you can’t just be yourself at home. When was the last time you shifted and took a run?” I tried to think back, but it was the day I got busted with my uncle’s drugs. I’d run that morning, but that was it. I refused to let the guys at school bully me into shifting. I was stronger than that—even though my wolf had been screaming to bust out at them and protect me. But I held him back, I wouldn’t give in. I wasn’t some weak wolf, and they knew it. “Look, come with me tonight after school, I’ll run with you. It’ll be good for both of us.” I just shrugged and threw my bag over my shoulder, then made my way out of the house into the crisp spring air. Alexis finally came and stood beside me. She stood a little closer today, and I couldn’t help the way my heart sped up a little at that. I left my phone in my pocket, not that I’d actually been on it yesterday. I was pretending to be doing something while I watched her from the corner of my eye. The wind picked up and blew the cool air toward me, and I could smell our mixed scent. That made me smile a little, something I hadn’t done in forever.

Day two of school was…different, and so was day three. I hadn’t seen much of Raff. It was as if he was avoiding me after the bathroom incident. But I also didn’t see that annoying Ranger at school, either, and everyone left me well enough alone. Day one, I’d had half the males in school as my stalkers, as well as day two, but I was now the school pariah, and no one wanted to talk to me. Well, except for Ada, which was fine by me. But this was different. Today there were stares…a lot of them. At least no one came close to me. It was nice, but it was also not right. I had a bad feeling, and I was waiting for some epic prank to happen.