My Girlfriend Bites (Young Adult Paranormal Werewolf Romance)

Chapter 24

Bree

Word about the fight spreads like a hurricane through Wiley Post High School. On Aiden's first day back from suspension, our normal walk down the hallway is anything but. Aiden receives fist-bumps from everyone. Seriously. Kids stop Aiden every few feet and thank him for getting Kirk suspended for an entire month. Seems like there were a lot of students totally sick of Kirk and his bullying. Even a few seniors stop Aiden. One calls him Bruce Wayne...Batman in disguise.

"Don't ever piss off Bruce Wayne," another senior adds. "Or you'll get Kirked."

Getting "Kirked" becomes the new verb at school.

Aiden smiles the whole morning because he can't believe this is happening to him. I have to pitch myself, too, because this situation turned out better than I could have hoped. Not only did I wipe out the problem, I also found a way to boost my boyfriend's confidence. I'll have Aiden jumping off a cliff in no time, becoming the fearless boyfriend I can rely on. But this new Aiden and his sudden popularity that I created does come with drawbacks.

I leave Aiden at his locker while I head for sixth hour, making that old familiar turn around the corner, when my wolf instincts slam on the brakes and slow me to a stop. Something feels different. Something that shouldn't be in my vicinity. Kind of like a piece of dirt stuck on a white bed sheet. What am I feeling? It's not danger, but something feels off.

I turn and a strong scent smacks my nose. Voldemort mixed with Chanel.

What is she doing on this side of school? I peek back around the corner. The long hallway swims with students shuffling to get to class. Voices call out while others chat with their friends. Lockers open and close. Nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe I'm...no, there she is.

Pamela Osterhaus meanders down the hall, a female slug digesting the floor polish off the tile as she slithers along it. Her elephant hips sway like a pontoon boat on a lake. She angles herself towards the left side of the hallway, near a set of lockers where a cute boy is searching through his locker for a book.

My cute boy.

Pamela leans those hips against the locker and tries to act seductively. Flames tickle my stomach as the wolf stirs, wanting to put down the threat. I should move over there and pretend that I forgot something. Then give Aiden a kiss on the cheek or hug him extra tight to give Pamela an ice-clear message to back off.

But the human wins. I stay back to spy because I want to see what my boyfriend does. There was a time when Aiden was so in love with this girl that he tried to kill himself. Does he still have deep feelings for her? Will Aiden be loyal to me?

I strain my wolf ears to hear what they're saying. It's not easy with all this hallway noise. Aiden shuts his locker with a clank, and his eyebrows twitch up in surprise. A smile rolls out.

A smile? Why are you smiling at her!

"Hi," Pamela purrs as her body shifts like a cobra ready to strike. "I heard about what happened in the parking lot. Are you all right?"

Is she only being nice? Showing gratitude like everyone else? I could be wrong about her.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Aiden's shyness keeps his eyes down.

My heart sinks. Don't disappoint me. I couldn't take that now. Please don't let me down.

"Kirk is a douche bag," Pamela says. "I dated him once, and it was tragically awful. Did you really take on all three of those boys?"

Aiden slings his backpack over his shoulder. "Um...yeah...didn't have much of a choice. I don't like fighting."

Pamela slips closer. "It was still brave." She flips her blond hair back and lets it settle on her shoulders. I get a strong whiff of her hair product, which reminds me of toilet bowl cleaner. I step forward...but stop myself. No. I want Aiden to do this. I want him to show me that Pamela is past history.

"Something has been bothering me for a while." She pauses and sighs. "I want to apologize for saying all those awful things to you and for making fun of you after the fact. Basically I was a real bitch to you." Pamela brushes back more of her hair. "I thought I had you all figured out. What type of guy you were. However, you proved me completely wrong." Pamela leans in close, but only enough to force Aiden to look at her. "Do you still have feelings for me?"

Aiden's green eyes search hers.

I will kill them both.

Pamela brushes against him, as if it were spontaneous and not planned. "Are you and Bree hooked up?" she asks while picking off a hair or a piece of lint from his shirt.

I can't take more of this. Tell her no. Tell her that you have a super girlfriend that you love and would never ever cheat on. That human girl can't change into a werewolf. Or run fast. Or treat you as awesome as I would.

My boyfriend hesitates.

Really, Aiden? You better say something or I swear I'll march over there and...

"Yeah, I'm going out with Bree right now," he says.

Yes! Thank you! You get a kiss for that.

Pamela's smile weakens. "I see." She traces her finger across his chest. "Let me know if that ever changes because...I don't want to lose my place in line."

Keep this up and she'll lose her place in life.

Why is Aiden grinning? He so better knock that off.

Pamela slinks down the hallway. I want to run up to Aiden and strip off all his clothes and hose him down to wash her disgusting scent off my boyfriend, but I shove myself around the corner and sprint off to class.

Walking out of school with Aiden, I wrap my hands around him like a gift I don't want to share on Christmas morning. I rest my chin on his shoulder and cling on to him because I'm not letting him go. Soon his cheek leans against the top of my head, and his closeness turns up the sweet burn inside. I'm on the edge of mating season...a month when werewolves get extremely frisky. The intensity increases every year as I get older. In Colorado my pack enforced separation between the teen boy and girl werewolves during mating season. The Lycan Commandments dictate that both a girl and a boy must be eighteen before they can officially mate, but the pack encouraged young werewolves to choose a mate within the pack, wanting the love and the companionship between them to be strong before anything else was allowed.

During my mating separation last year, Mom bought some magazines of cute beefy boys with no shirts on that I could focus all my feelings on. Most human girls can satisfy their cravings with chocolate or a pint of Ben & Jerry, but I don't think human girls could deal with the intensity a female werewolf goes through when it's her time of the year, so to speak.

Aidensqueezes my hip, and that sweet burn rages into an inferno. I bite my lip sothe pain can distract my hormones. Poor Aiden might have to fight me off with a stick.