Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 27: The Meeting

I was unable to contain the giggle that bubbled up in my chest.  But, as soon as the first hint of sound escaped my throat, the wolves both turned abruptly to face me.  Their expressions changed quickly from happy grins to threatening glares.  Their bodies went stiff.  The girl actually peeled her lips back and bared her teeth. 

"Who are you?" she asked me aggressively.

"Err..."

"Hey, ease up, you guys," Jewel said.  "She's a friend."

"A friend, huh?  I've never seen her around here before."

"That's because she's new, Mel."

The girl named melody looked me up and down, her eyes sharp, assessing every inch of me.  I stood very still.  I felt like it would be unwise to make any sudden moves. 

Finally, the girl offered me her hand.  "I'm Melody," she nodded at the boy, "this is Lance."

"Eve," I reached out to accept her hand.  I half expected her to bring it up to her nose and sniff, but she just gripped it very quickly and let go.

"Well, that's more like it."  Jewel looked pointedly at me.  "Don't take it personally, they're always like this with new people.  In a few days, you won't be able to get rid of them."  She put one are around me and another around Lance.  "Let's find a good spot, Deanna should be here any minuet."

"Hey, where's Reza?" I said as we walked.  "Isn't he coming?"

"Oh, he's over there with Selene."  Jewel gave her head a little jerk.

"Who?"

"His girlfriend."

My insides twisted into a knot.  Oh yeah, Reza's girlfriend situation.  It had nearly slipped my mind.  He never talked about her, and I hadn't seen the fabled girlfriend even once.

Curious, I scanned the crowds and found him almost right away.  He was holding hands with a younger-looking girl.  She was very pretty.  Her face was pale, smooth and unblemished.  She had full, red lips, a small nose and big brown eyes.  I thought her eyebrows looked a bit silly—they were plucked almost into non-existence—but that was probably just this strange, unexpected feeling of jealousy talking.

Also, she had the type of hair I had always wanted.  Pitch black with hints of reddish highlights.  Dead straight and beautifully sleek and shiny.  So, I sort of had to dislike her on principle.

When he saw me looking over, Reza gave me one of his big, friendly smiles and a wave.  His girlfriend pouted and yanked on his arm, drawing his attention back towards her.  Then she made eye contact with me over his shoulder.  It could have been a trick of the light, but her expression suddenly looked extraordinarily cold.

Weird.

The main door flew open, leaving me almost no more time to think about it.  I turned, expecting to find Deanna walking confidently into the room.  I almost gasped out loud when, instead of Deanna, I saw the blue-haired, silver-eyed young man I passed by earlier.

A hush fell over the crowd.  Every bit of noise and movement stopped as abruptly and completely as if someone had flipped a switch.

Completely unfazed by this, the young man walked gracefully to the front of the room.  Even surrounded by total silence, his footsteps did not create so much as a whisper of sound.  He might as well have been walking on air.

He turned to face the crowd, his slanted eyes bright and alert.  "Good evening, everyone."

His voice was much softer than I had imagined, yet there was something strong and compelling about it all the same.  I shivered as a strange chill ran down my spine.  I had suddenly forgotten all about Reza and his girlfriend.