Bloodlines

Dean

"It's a lot to think about. But Warren is handcuffed to his hospital bed. I have time to think about him, and I'm going to see Ruben's parents today."

Sara checks her phone. "I have to go."

"Where?"

"I have to pick up Anna."

"I'll go."

She narrows her eyes. "No, you have responsibilities here."

"I have to talk to her." I pause. "Privately."

#

I know she's coming around the corner before I even hear her. My wolf senses it. I step from my car and slide on my glasses.

"What the hell?" she says upon seeing me.

I roll up my sleeves and lean against my car. She wears a skirt with a low cut top tucked into it. She's with two guys: a human and a wolf. An East Wolf.

"Who's he?" the human asks.

I push off the car as Anna approaches. The anxiety coming off the wolf almost has me laughing.

"What are you doing here?" She fingers her camera. Her hair is down. I resist trying to run my fingers through it.

"Sara was preoccupied. She asked me to get you."

The wolf approaches with the human at his side. The wolf has curly brown hair and brown eyes. He's fairly tall, probably matching my height. He also has a camera around his neck—the human does too.

The human is short and nervous. He pushes his glasses up and looks away.

Anna rolls her eyes.

"I'm Tristan," the wolf says.

Anna turns around. I lean over her. She smells like oranges. "Dean." Tristan and I shake hands. His shake is firm and he stares at me a few seconds longer. I'm surprised he even spoke.

Anna presses her hand against my chest. I look at her. She's irritated, I can sense it, but she's also happy. "I have to get my bag. I'll be a minute."

I nod. "I'll be here." I smirk.

She turns and leaves. No one says anything except the human. He keeps asking who I am. I watch them until they're in the school.

Anna comes back out of the school with the wolf a few minutes later. The human comes out shortly after. They stop several meters in front of me. Anna turns to the wolf and hugs him. I clench my jaw a look away, trying to block out the satisfaction coming from her.

She walks toward me, saying over her shoulder, "Bye guys."

"Bye," the wolf says. He looks at me. "It was nice meeting you."

I smile. "Yeah. Tell Alexia I said hi."

The wolf drops his smile and looks forward.

Anna hits my shoulder. "Ow."

"Get in the car." She slams her door.

She flicks through her photos when I get in. I start the car but I don't drive. It's not until I notice that she's been staring at the same photo that she speaks. "Why are you picking me up, Dean?" She stares out of the window.

"I told you why."

"I spoke to Sara." She looks at me. I look away and grab the wheel. "We're not going to talk about what happened last night are we?" I pull away from the curb. "You're acting strange and I don't like being ambushed in my room like that."