Willow (Blood Vine Series) (4 page)

             
I approached the two with a bit of apprehension. “Rueben? How’d you get here first?”

             
He whirled around at the sound of my voice. “Willow.” I bit my lip in irritation. Why was he acting so surprised to see me? He was standing in front of my locker.

             
My gaze flickered to the boy in black. “Rodney,” he answered my questioning look.

             
“Huh?”

             
“My name’s Rodney.”

             
Rodney was just as muscular as Rueben, but he obviously wasn’t a football player. “Can I get to my locker?”

             
“I was just leaving.” He stared at me for a long moment before sauntering off down the hall.

             
“Friend of yours?” I had left my lock unlatched so I was able to open my locker easily.

             
“Rodney?” He seemed to have collected himself. “No.”

             
“You two seemed a bit … intense.”

             
“We were just talking about biology homework.” He avoided my eyes, a sure sign he was lying.

             
I nodded anyways. “Oh.”

             
“Where are your bodyguards?”

             
My temper flared up my neck but I bit it back. “Who?”

             
“Colby and Tyson.” He stared me down with a half amused expression but I could still see his anger showing in his brown eyes. “Not really the brightest crayons in the box, if you know what I mean.” I couldn’t really understand my sudden urge to wipe the smirk off his handsome face.

             
“They seem nice.” That was probably the safest thing to say.

             
He finally seemed to catch on to my mood because he suddenly flashed a heart-stopping smile. He leaned close to my ear and said softly, “I’m glad you’re making friends.” He leaned back, but his face was still way too close to mine. So close that I could feel his hot breath on my face. Breath that smelled strangely of … fresh kill.

             
Geesh, I really needed to hunt.

             
“You need help finding your next class?”

             
“Art?” He crinkled his nose as if I’d said something terrible.

             
“There’s nothing wrong with Art.” I finally smiled at him, but I still wasn’t sure about Rueben Massie.

             
“It’s on the bottom floor, in the dungeon.” He raised one eyebrow dramatically.

             
“Your school has a dungeon?” Not sure what I would need for an art class, I slammed my locker shut without taking anything out.

             
“It’s for the dorky classes, like Art and Home EC.” He grinned when my face turned beet red. Had he seen my schedule? “I’ll point you in the right direction at least.”

             
I wasn’t really an artsy type of person, but I figured Art would be better than Pre-Calc or advanced anything. Rueben led me to a short flight of steps that led to a darker part of the school. The dungeon.

             
I was so intent on finding room 142 that if I had been human I might not have noticed the boy watching me from the shadows. But I wasn’t human and I had been trained in the art of hunting. My senses took in every detail of the scene, not just the prey. I stopped to pretend that I was lost so I could study the boy without him realizing I saw him. He was wearing a white button up shirt tucked into pants that were pulled up too high. His dark hair was slicked into place and thick glasses perched on his nose. Complete picture of a geek. In fact, it was too perfect, as if he was trying to play the part of a geek.

             
I took in the thick muscles in his arms and shoulders. His face was so cold looking. He didn’t have any expression other than cold calculation. Something about the way he stood there trying to sink into the shadows, staring at me, made me shiver. It wasn’t idle curiosity for the new girl that had brought him here. I was sure of that.

Chapter Four

The Council Man

             
I drove home alone after school that afternoon. Ivy had gotten a ride from someone else, and I was glad for the small amount of solitude. I rarely asked Bella for anything, but I had begged her to buy me a car for my sixteenth birthday. I was kind of surprised to see the small red Taurus in our driveway on the morning of my birthday, but I loved the freedom it gave me.

             
I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine, cutting a good song off. My mind was on other things, though. I shoved my keys inside my bag as I walked the short way to the front door. Something was bugging me about the boys of Grover High, but I wasn’t sure what it was. The smell on Rueben’s breath … My hand paused on the door knob. I really needed to hunt, maybe that would clear my head.

             
“I’m home,” I called loudly after I deposited my bag on the floor by the hat rack.

             
“Thanks for the news flash,” Ivy called back with her usual cheerfulness.

             
I was shocked that Ivy had made it home before me. It must not have been a very entertaining ride for her. “Where’s Bella? I need to hunt,” I announced without preamble. I was further shocked when I discovered Ivy was not alone. Sitting in one of the oversized brown chairs in our living room was the green-eyed girl from school. Carlie.

             
She stared at me with a mixture of amusement and disgust. I stared back at her, but I think mine was more just shock.

             
“I don’t know where Bella is,” Ivy informed me, “and what do you mean hunt? Are you Jed Clampet now?” Carlie snickered.

             
“She’s not here?”

             
“Nope.” She turned away, dismissing me.

             
“That’s your sister?” I heard Carlie ask as I stalked to the kitchen.

             
I flung open the fridge feeling ravenous, but I knew that human food wouldn’t do me much good. A sick sheen of sweat formed on my top lip and I felt a shaking starting in my knees. I brought a fist up to cover my mouth. “Control Willow,” I whispered.

             
“What’s with you?” Ivy and Carlie had followed me out to the kitchen. My eyes darted to the nearest door. I was in no condition to be around a human, even a snobby one.

             
“Nothing,” I fired back.

             
Ivy’s eyes widened slightly but she made no move to leave. “You know Carlie?”

             
“I … uh … ” I ran a hand across my moist forehead and pushed my hair back haphazardly. “Yeah.”

             
“You know my boyfriend too, don’t you?” Carlie asked hotly, one hand coming up to rest on her slender hip.

             
“Um … ” Why couldn’t I focus? Oh yeah, because I’d been thinking of hunting for too long and I should have hunted this morning.

             
“Rueben Massie.” She crossed her arms and pursed her pale pink lips.

             
“Mmm.” In my current delirium I could only register that no one’s lips were really that shade of pink. Who was she trying to fool anyway?

             
“He’s taken and you need to stop following him around.” Her words sounded far away but I understood what she was saying.

             
“He’s the one that’s following me,” I shot back. I hated that my words came out slurred and I lurched forward. At least the girl had enough wits about her to take a few steps back.

             
“Maybe you need some air,” Ivy suggested.

             
I tried breathing deeply through my nose but it was no use. Without a word, I rushed out the back door. It was lucky for me that Bella felt the need to live close to the woods in this town because I was morphed before the back door could slam behind me.

             
One second I was hyperventilating on two legs and the next I was on four legs and running so fast that the wind couldn’t even catch me. It was exhilarating being a wolf. When I was in my wolf form I could understand why Ivy loved it so much. A surge of joy welled up in my chest, pushing me faster and faster through the trees.

             
A scent on the air brought me up short, halting me in my tracks. Dirt skidded up around me at the suddenness of my stop. What was that? I pushed my elongated muzzle into the air and inhaled deeply. I knew that scent, werewolves. But it wasn’t one of Bella’s boys. Who …

             
There was an excited yelping sound to my right, distracting me. Ralph shoved his huge head into my side excitedly. I had not hunted with the pack since we had moved to Grover and even before that it had been weeks. It was nice to see that I’d been missed.

             
“Hey, Ralph,” I called to him. I knew he couldn’t answer me back in his wolf form, only the females had the distinction of telepathy, but he waved his oversized head up and down several times.

             
Ralph was the youngest of Bella’s pack and his youth often showed. I liked him though, which was more than I could say for the others. A low growl signaled a warning and Ralph’s ears flattened to his white head. Simon glared at me with distaste.

             
“I’ve come to hunt,” I growled back at him. His expression didn’t change. I wasn’t afraid though. I brushed past him and into a dense part of the forest.

             
I craned my neck forward, listening for the sounds I wanted to hear. My eyes slit in concentration. I wasn’t as experienced as the boys but I was still wolf. I sensed six bodies behind me, tense and ready.
So Simon had decided to join us after all
, I thought smugly.

             
Then, two miles west, I heard what I had been listening for. Footsteps. It was big, but light on its feet. My breathing hitched up along with my heartbeats. Rabbit was okay for a quick fix but I loved bringing down deer. My head jerked in the direction of the footsteps. The creature wasn’t moving very quickly. With an excited growl I took off in that direction.

             
I saw flashes of grey, black, and brown as the rest of the pack flew by me. The boys were faster than me, but they wouldn’t take my kill. I pushed my head closer to the ground and dug in for more speed.

             
It wasn’t hard to find the deer and even easier to bring it down. If I had been in my human form I probably would have felt sorry for the animal. It didn’t stand a chance against six male werewolves. In my wolf form I was disappointed that I hadn’t been there to help kill the creature.

             
The boys all dropped to their bellies to let me eat first. Ralph whined impatiently and tried to crawl to me but one look from me and he fell silent, ears pressed to his skull. The warm meat slid down my throat, filling my stomach and rejuvenating my body. Only once did Simon approach me while I ate but a quick bite to his left leg put him back in his place.

             
After I was full I laid down a few feet away from the kill. Alex and Pierre lay with me and eagerly cleaned the blood from my muzzle and paws. The other four brothers fell on the leftover meat with fervor. I wished I could just find a stream to clean up in but Bella had told me this was how the boys bonded to a female. If I refused them, they may eventually turn hostile to me. So I endured it as best I could.

             
Ten minutes later I was loping through the trees on my own. The boys had found some shade to sleep under while their bellies were bloated with meat. I smelled the water before I heard it, so I veered off my path in search of the small stream. The sight didn’t disappoint me; in fact, I was delighted at the sight. It was bigger than I had expected. Without pausing to scan my surroundings I dipped my head and began drinking the cool water greedily.

             
I figured I should probably morph back so I could make sure all the blood was off of me. I wouldn’t want to give Carlie a heart attack when I showed up back at the house covered in blood. I chuckled slightly at the thought, making water go up my nose. I shook my head from side to side quickly from the burn.

             
That wasn’t very smart
, I thought with amusement. I sneezed twice, which felt weird in my present state.

             
I arched my back and gathered my energy for the morph to two legs. The heat traveled along my spine and quickly through my limbs. My whole body quivered and then I was upright. The whole process took only a few minutes but Bella was much faster. Her morph was like a flash.
At least I’m
faster than Ivy
, I thought with a grin.