“How long have you been awake for?” I asked in a sleepy voice.
I could feel him staring at me for the last ten minutes. He was propped up on one elbow and was looking down at me with his piercing green eyes. I ran my fingers through his disheveled black hair and could see a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“I haven’t been awake that long, how are you feeling?”
I touched the side of my face and felt a jolt of pain shoot through me. I winced and quickly pulled my hand back.
I looked up at Kal whose lips were in a thin line and his face was bright red. I knew he was trying hard not to show his anger so I slowly brought up my hand and cupped it to his face. His eyes softened a bit but I knew his anger hadn’t subsided. I dropped my hand and let out a sigh.
“Does it look as bad as it feels?”
“No, I’m sure you won’t be able to tell by the end of the day. Your wolf blood will make it heal pretty quickly,” he said touching my jaw gently.
“Well if you think this is bad, I’m pretty sure Tommy can’t have children anymore. I kicked him pretty good.”
“Whitney you shouldn’t joke about this. He had no right to hit you or force himself on you,” said Kal, his voice gruff and full of emotion.
“I know Kal, I’m just trying to get you to calm down. The last thing we need is for you to hurt him and make my Dad go crazy. The punishment should be made by the pack leader, my father, not you. I do appreciate it though.”
“Okay,” he said and fell back on his pillow.
I looked around the room and my eyes fell on a picture of his family. It was a photograph of the whole family, including Mary. I couldn’t help but allow the hurtful words of Mary to invade my thoughts. I quickly got up and headed for the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” asked Kal.
“I need to get home; my mom has no idea where I am. I told her I would be spending the night at one of my friend’s houses and I think Rachel will notice that I’m not at school.”
“Please,” he said, gently pushing me back down, “Just stay for breakfast then I’ll walk you home.”
“Great Idea Kal, I’m sure you won’t draw any attention to yourself and my parents would just love it,” I said, sarcasm dripping from each word.
“I don’t care what anyone says, you’re not going home by yourself.”
I could tell that there was no arguing with him so I nodded and let it drop.
“Fine, then how about you make me your best omelet?” I said, offering him a smie.
I didn’t want to let what Tommy did ruin my time with Kal. He was a great person that took care of me when I needed him. Plus, I’d pay Tommy back sooner or later when he wasn’t expecting it. I’ll never let myself be that vulnerable again.
He gave me a playful smile and in the blink of an eye I was in his arms and being carried downstairs. I tried wiggling out of his grasp but only got tangled in his long white shirt.
“Kal I don’t remember putting this on, did you dress me?”
“Yes, as much as I didn’t want to I knew you would be upset this morning so I put a white shirt on you and a pair of my shorts.”
“Pervert,” I said laughing.
“I can’t help it if I think you look good,” he said growling in appreciation.
“Haha thanks. I’ll take bacon and cheese in my omelet.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said placing me gently in a kitchen chair.
I watched him take out a huge slab of pork and start cutting it into generous strips. He fried the strips then threw about half a dozen eggs. My mouth started to water as the mixture of yolk and bacon hit my nose. He cut the omelet in two and placed a dish in front of me and one the other side of the table.
“What do you want to drink? I have juice, water, and I can make some coffee.”
“I didn’t know you liked coffee,” I said taking a bite of my omelet.
“I drink it once and a while; I take it that’s what you like.”
He pulled out a bag of coffee beans and began grinding them with a little metal machine. I had never seen one but it was loud. After a few minutes he put it in a large metal pot filled with water and placed it over the stove. It was still a little strange seeing him use a stove. I thought they all cooked in big black metal cauldrons over a hot fire. Instead, his stove was powered by a propane tank that was filled twice a year; sometimes more.
I decided to wait for him before finishing my omelet. He put fresh milk in my coffee and a little bit of sugar before placing it in front of me. The fresh ground coffee smelled delicious.
“Thanks Kal this is great.”
He smiled sweetly. “You’re welcome.”
We ate in silence, occasionally casting glances at each other. Kal was a wonderful cook, his mom taught him well.
“Whitney, why did you leave the other day?” he asked, staring at me intently.
I wanted to lie but Kal deserved the truth. He helped me in so many ways and I was grateful.
“I heard the conversation you and Mary had,” I finally said.
“I see,” he said, letting out a long sigh. “I’m sorry you had to listen to my sister say those stupid things.”
“Kal she’s right, if anything happened between us it would jeopardize your pack. We need to focus on getting my pack to help you so no more people die. I talked to my Dad a bit and I think I’m starting to get him to change his mind.”
“You think she’s right?” he said. His voice dropping slightly.
“Kal I don’t want to get hurt anymore or do the same to you. You’re an amazing person that deserves the best.”
He shoved his chair aside and knelt in front of me so our faces were level.
“I will never hurt you and I don’t think you would do that to me.”
I saw the hurt and passion mixed in his eyes and it made my heart ache.
“I know Kal but it just wouldn’t work. My Dad wouldn’t approve and you deserve better than me.”
“No you’re wrong I want you, I deserve you, I need you. I know you feel the same way and I don’t care what anyone says.”
“Kal,” I said, resting my hand against his cheek, “Don’t do this, I just broke up with Tommy…”
My voice trailed off as a look of disappointment crossed his face. He stood up and plopped down on the couch with a sigh. I couldn’t help myself; the guilt settling in my stomach was a horrible feeling. I walked over to the couch, sat down, and rested my head on his shoulder. Shock registered across his face but was quickly replaced by hurt.
“Whitney I was stupid for saying that. I’m sorry you’re right let’s just forget that conversation even happened.”
A million things ran through my head. Agree with him, tell him being friends is perfect, walk away. All of these seemed like great solutions. Instead, I interlaced my fingers behind his neck and pulled his lips to mine. He hesitated before starting to kiss me back gently. A growl escaped my lips which made his kisses become more aggressive. He wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me closer. I gasped as the fire between us intensified. His touch brought jolts of pleasure to my body, making me want more. It was something I had never felt before.
There was a knock at the door which made both of us jump.
“Go away,” growled Kal.
“I just want to remind you we have a pack meeting tonight,” yelled a familiar voice.
“Shoot,” mumbled Kal slowly sitting up. “Okay Thanks Jason.”
“You forgot,” I said chuckling and running my fingers down his chest.
He shivered and gave me one of his beautiful smiles. “No, I just want to stay here with you all day.”
I rolled my eyes and he gave me a playful nudge.
“It’s okay; I really do have to get back. I have my last practice for volleyball today before our big game.”
“Volleyball?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t picture you playing any type of sport.”
I puffed out my chest and flexed my arm. “I’ll have you know I don’t just play volleyball but I’m also the captain. We almost won state last year but our stupid rivals beat us.”
“Sounds so tragic,” he said, giving me an exasperated look.
“Whatever tough guy, I wasn’t a wolf last year so I’ll kick some butt now. Anyway how does my face look?”
“Hmmm let me check.”
He put his face an inch in front of mine and grinned. I felt my breath catch in my throat as his lips traced my cheek and went down to my jaw line. He placed his lips gently on my bruise and pulled me onto his lap.
“Everything looks fine. By the time you get home no one will be able to tell.”
I laughed and ran both hands through his hair. “Kal you make it so easy to like you but you now this is still wrong.”
He sighed and laid his forehead against my chest. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his hair and imagined what it would be like if we were together. He kept his head like this for quite some time and I didn’t mind. He finally pulled back and looked up at me with his brilliant green eyes.
“We better get you home before I change my mind,” he said, his voice low and gruff.
I nodded, unable to break eye contact. “You’re right.”
“I’ll go grab you one of Mary’s shirts and a pair of flip flops. She left them hear a while ago and won’t even notice they’re gone.”
He gave me a soft kiss on the lips and walked upstairs. Kal reappeared in a few minutes with a white tank top and white sandals. He tossed them to me and sat back down on the couch.
I turned my back to him and took off my shirt.
“No peaking Kal,” I said teasingly.
“Hurry and get changed. I’m a few seconds away from changing my mind about letting you go home,” he growled.
I quickly put on the shirt and sandals. I was still wearing his shorts but they were comfortable and smelled good so I didn’t object.
We went out the back and through the woods. I took his hand in mine and we walked silently almost the entire way. At the edge of his woods I hesitated.
“What’s the matter Whitney?” he asked.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea if you come and walk me to my house. My parents aren’t home but I don’t want anyone else to tell them who I was with.”
He dropped my hand and turned back towards the woods without saying a word.
“What the hell Kal? Did I say something wrong?” I shouted.
“Nah, nothing I haven’t heard a few times before. Good luck with your volleyball game.”
“Nothing you haven’t heard before?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. “So is this what you do with all your other girls, pretend to care just so you can get your way with them?”
“You nailed it Whitney,” he said spinning around and giving me a bow before heading back into the woods.
I kicked the fence and hit a nearby branch, almost taking my head off in the process. I didn’t care how stupid I looked I wanted to throw a fit and that’s exactly what I did. I hoped over the fence and continued my tantrum all the way home. I’m sure I looked crazy but that wasn’t anything new these days.
He confused me so much, one second he was hot the next cold. It was partially my fault though. I egged his emotions on by kissing him and touching him. This situation was just getting too complicated.
“I feel bad for my team,” I said out loud to myself. I stomped upstairs, changed into my outfit, and ran out the door.
I was going to wait for my mom to take me but it was a better idea to walk to school. She would be able to tell that something was wrong and I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Besides, this would help me blow off some steam.
By the time I got to school my bad mood had gotten worse. I felt like I could tear somebody’s head off. The walk didn’t seem to help at all.
“Man Whit you look like shit,” said one of my team mates.
“Good, I want you guys to know what you’re going to look like when I’m done with you,” I snapped back.
They all groaned but followed me outside. We started off running a few miles around the track and then ended in suicides. After two hours of practicing we all headed inside, dragging our feet and drenched in sweat. I rinsed off in the showers and made a quick decision to run home. My arms and legs were achy but Tommy had football practice and I didn’t want to see him. I put on my little blue back pack and ran out the back of the locker room. The girls said their good byes as I zipped past them and shot out the door.
I made it home in less than ten minutes and pawed at the door anxiously. I was starting to think my Dad’s idea of a doggie door wasn’t so bad. It was embarrassing but at least I wouldn’t have to wait outside until someone decided to open the door.
“Hey Whitney,” said Rachel brightly opening the door.
I yipped at her and ran upstairs to get changed. I lifted up Kal’s shorts and was almost tempted to put them on but changed my mind at the last second. I put on a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt.
“Hey Mom,” I said taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“Hey sweetie, how was school?”
Scott and Rachel both gave me a look but didn’t say anything.
I shrugged and tried to avoid eye contact. “It was the usual, nothing too exciting.”
“That’s good. I hope you’re hungry; I made some fried chicken with baked potatoes. We’re going to eat now since your Dad has to work late the next two weeks.”
We all took our seats, ate, and talked about my volleyball game. Rachel was really excited to go since she had never seen a live one. Scott said he might be there and my Mom couldn’t go because she had picked up a shift for one of her friends. Being a nurse and getting overtime was great. She would make a lot of money off her extra shift.
The phone rang and my mom got up to answer it. “Sure one second, Rachel it’s for you.”
Rachel looked confused but stood up and answered it.
“Hello? Oh Hi. No come on,” she whined, stomping her foot. “Okay fine I’ll do it. Yes I heard you. Talk to you later.”
“Who was that?” asked my Mom.
“A friend from school. He was out sick and needs notes from our math class.”
I eyed her suspiciously but didn’t say anything. I didn’t know of any friends she had outside of my own and she seemed a little reluctant to talk about it.
Rachel and I helped my mom clean then headed upstairs. I could tell she wanted to talk when she stood in the hallway, practically blocking my door.
“What’s up?” I asked, slightly irritated.
“Where were you today?”
“I needed sometime to myself after breaking up with Tommy so I stayed at Ashley’s and came home a little after school started.”
Rachel put both hands on her hips and stared me down. “Oh yeah, how’d that go?”
“He was a little upset but everything worked out.”
A little was an understatement. He was angry and probably still in pain from my kick.
“I’m glad it went well and I can’t wait for your game tomorrow,” she said giving me a sly smile.
“Okay cool, see you in the morning,” I said nervously not liking the way she looked at me.
I walked into my room and opened the window before lying down in bed. It was a bit hot in our house and the cool air felt great. I was still upset with the way Kal acted but I needed to forget about that and focus on my game tomorrow. I started thinking about our plays we had mastered over our last ten practices and how our rotations were going to be. In a matter of minutes my eyes shut and I crashed out.
***
“Honey wake up or you’ll be late,” shouted my mom.
“Okay Mom I’m up,” I yelled in return.
I pulled myself out of bed and felt refreshed after a goodnights sleep. After changing into my uniform, brushing my teeth, and pulling my hair into a pony tail, I ran downstairs to eat breakfast.
“Do you want me to make you something?” asked my mom.
“No that’s okay, I think I’m going to have some cereal and fruit. My stomach has the nervous feeling I always get before games.”
“You’re right dear. Since I picked up that shift today and your father doesn’t have to be in until later we decided to let you take his car.”
“Thanks Mom!” I exclaimed, my grin stretching from ear to ear.
“You’re welcome, now I have to get going so good luck and kick some butt Whitney.”
She kissed me on the head after grabbing her coffee and headed out the door. I poured myself a big bowl of cornflakes and took out the orange juice. Nobody had come down yet so I decided to do my usual and drink from the carton.
“Hey Whit,” said a sleepy voice.
I jumped in the air and grumbled a few choice words after my head hit the top of the fridge. “Geez Scott you scared the crap out of me.”
I sighed loudly and grabbed the nearest cup. He glanced at the orange juice in my hand and knew exactly what I had planned on doing. Scott wisely kept his mouth shut and slumped down into the nearest chair.
“We have to go in twenty minutes, where’s Rachel?” I asked.
“Oh I heard her and Mom talking this morning so I went out in the hallway and she told me that she had to meet her friend from Math class first, then she was gonna head over there.”
“Okay squirt, do you want some cereal?”
“Sure.”
I got another bowl and the milk out. He poured himself almost as much as I had and we both ate in silence. After breakfast Scott went upstairs to change and then we both headed to my volleyball game. As we got close I could already hear the taunting coming from the other team’s stands. We hated the shifters from Bakers Grove. They were all the way from upstate where the weather was a lot cooler.
“Hey idiot, ready to lose again?” shouted the opposing team’s captain.
I smiled and batted my eyelashes. “I’m glad you country folk could make it. Where did you park your mules?”
This seemed to piss off the other team’s captain because she went from a lovely shade of red to an even pretty dark blue.
“You’ll regret that!” she shouted.
“Okay, sounds great, good luck,” I said smiling and waving.
I found my other team mates who were giggling at my comments. We walked onto the court and began our stretches. I spotted Rachel and Scott up in the stands and waved to them. I froze when I noticed a handsome man sitting next to Rachel. He was wearing long jeans and a tight black shirt. He had on a black hat to cover his face but my wolf nose picked up his scent and I knew right away who it was.
“Everything okay captain?” asked a team mate.
“Yeah everything’s fine. You guys ready?”
We did our school chant and all took our places on the volleyball court. The other team stepped out with sneers across their faces. Most of my team had already come to the age where they could shift and I could tell the same had happened to theirs. Having extra strength was part of our sports but it was forbidden to play with humans. Our werewolf blood, especially if you had some alpha, made us about ten times stronger than them. Most of our surrounding cities were full of shifters but some were mixed and others were mostly human. We got along with them just fine but I think they could sense we were different and it made them uncomfortable.
“Captains come to the center!” yelled the referee. “Remember make this a clean match and try not to hurt anyone this time. Are you guys ready?”
“Yes,” I growled, staring my opponent down.
She nodded and we both walked back over to our team. I was serving since I was shorter than the rest of the girls. I threw the ball up lightly and pounded it over to the other side. They didn’t even have a chance to react.
“First point to the city of Brooks!” yelled the ref.
A cheer erupted through the crowd and I looked up to see Scott, Rachel, and hat guy smiling. I noticed Ashley and Shannon had sat in front of them and were shouting my name. My blood began to boil when I noticed that Ashley was being a little too touchy with the guy.
“Come on Whitney, what are you waiting for?” shouted a girl to my left.
“Oh sorry right,” I said blushing.
I served again but this time it was returned. It went back and forth for a while until one of our team mates in the front spiked it and nailed a girl in the face. There crowd started booing and chanting horrible things.
This kind of stuff went on for quite a while. We had won a set and so had they. We were now playing the tie breaker set and needed one more point to win. I found the team captain and locked eyes with her. Her demeanor faltered for a second but then she quickly stared me down and let out a snarl. I smiled and threw the ball, serving it directly towards her. The ball hit her in the chest and set her flying backwards onto her butt.
“The winners are team Brooks,” shouted the referee.
My team mates piled on top of me and chanted my name. It felt great beating those jerks.
“We’ll see you in the finals,” shouted the other captain as they walked towards their bus.
After I was finally able to breathe again I looked around anxiously for Rachel and Scott. I found them lingering by the benches and staring at me. After saying good bye to everyone I walked over to them and folded my arms.
“Hey great game! You were amazing,” squealed Rachel, giving me a hug.
“Yeah you were alright for a girl,” mumbled Scott.
“Thank you,” I said ruffling his hair.
I looked over at tall, dark, and handsome who was staring at the ground nervously.
“I don’t get a congratulations Kal?” I finally said breaking the tension between everyone.
He grinned and held out his arms for me. I closed the distance between us and gave him a long hug. After a brief moment Scott cleared his throat and I could feel the blush rise to my cheeks. I slowly backed up and smiled at everyone.
Ashley and Shannon came running over, giggling and wrapping their arms around me.
“Hey guys,” I managed to get out.
“Great game Whitney!” said Shannon
“Yeah you did an awesome job,” exclaimed Ashley.
“Hey booger, hello Rachel,” said Shannon. Ashley smiled and waved enthusiastically at both of them too.
“Hey guys!” giggled Rachel.
“Well there was a rumor going around that you dumped Tommy but I guess it’s true and I wouldn’t blame you. Who’s your new friend?” asked Ashley touching his arm.
I let out a low growl and everyone except for Scott jumped back. This set him into a fit of laughter and I couldn’t help but smile a bit.
“Relax Whitney, I didn’t mean anything by it,” said Ashley. She held up both hands and slowly stepped backwards.
“We have to go; I’ll see you guys later,” I suddenly announced. I grabbed Kal’s hand and we walked towards my Dad’s car. I could see him grinning stupidly under the hat.
“What’s so funny?”
“I didn’t know you cared,” he said faking an exasperated look.
“Oh shut up,” I grumbled. “By the way Kal, have you met my little brother?”
“This cool guy here? No way he’s related to you.” He winked at Scott and nudged him playfully. “Yeah Rachel introduced us when I first came here.”
“Am I the only one that doesn’t know what the hell is going on?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in defeat.
“Kal was the one that called last night. He asked me to meet him at the edge of the woods and take him to your volleyball game,” said Rachel quietly.
Kal closed the distance between us and rested his large hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry about yesterday Whitney, I overreacted.”
“I knew you were there when I didn’t see you at school!” said Rachel pointing to me.
Scott smiled. “Ohhh I’m telling Mom.”
“Okay all of you shut up. Kal, don’t ever do that again. If I didn’t want to hang out with you then I wouldn’t risk coming there in the first place. Rachel,” I said, locking eyes with her, “Thank you for not saying anything to my parents. And Scott if you tell Mom or Dad I will make your life a living hell.”
Scott held up both hands and took a step back. “Okay I was just kidding sis.”
I sighed loudly and pulled a stray piece of hair out of my face. Kal still hand one hand resting on my shoulder and was looking at me intently. I took his hand in mine and gently pulled it off.
“Since you’re here Kal, do you guys want to go grab something to eat, my treat,” I asked, giving his hand a squeeze.
“Yeah,” said everyone in unison.
We all got in my Dad’s car and drove to my favorite dinner. They had the best food in town; anything from chicken fried steak to big sloppy chili burgers.
We sat down and I noticed Kal was looking around uncomfortably. I took his hand in mine and smiled brightly when he finally made eye contact.
“Don’t be worried you’re fine. My mom’s at work and my Dad’s sleeping, no one will recognize you,” I whispered.
“Yeah you’re right,” he said interlacing his fingers with mine.
Three of us ordered chili burgers and Scott got his favorite, the chicken club sandwich. We were almost done eating when I saw Tommy walk in. I froze and without realizing it gripped Kal’s hand tightly.
“What, are you okay?” he asked.
“Umm,” I said, my eyes flicking back and forth, “Yeah everything’s fine.”
“Who invited the jerk?” mumbled Scott. He stuck out his thumb and gestured towards Tommy. Just then I felt a sharp pain shoot through my hand.
“Ow Kal you’re hurting my hand,” I said, trying to keep my voice down.
“Sorry,” he said quickly letting go.
I rested a hand on his chest and could feel his heart pounding like crazy. “Don’t, just leave him alone.”
“I’ll try, I can’t promise anything though.”
We stood up to pay our bill when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Tommy with two of his football friends. He was smirking but I could see the nervousness in his eyes.
“We need to talk. Nobody breaks up with me you bi-“
Something flew past my head and I saw Tommy fall to the ground with an explosion of blood. Kal was standing beside me growling.
Oh crap this was bad.
One of his friends came running towards me and I landed an elbow to his gut. He fell to the ground and Scott threw a stool on his head, knocking him out cold. The second one lunged at Rachel but Kal grabbed his shirt midair and slammed him into a nearby table. He tried once to get up but fell back down in a heap of blood.
“Thanks Kal, we need…”
Before I could finish Kal tossed me out of the way and ran forward. I heard a painful gasp and turned around to find a blade stuck in his side and Tommy holding it. Kal glared and picked him up by the collar of his shirt.
“If you ever come near Whitney or her family again I will kill you. I don’t care who you are.”
He snapped Tommy’s wrist and threw him into a solid brick wall. He collapsed to the floor and didn’t move again.
I ran over to Kal who was swaying back and forth. His face was pale. The only thing I could focus on was the blood staining his shirt at a rapid pace.
“We need to get you to a hospital,” I said, swallowing hard.
“No take me home, I’ll be okay.”
“Please Kal,” I said and felt the tears running down my cheeks. He brought up a shaky hand and wiped a few of them away.
“Okay Whiney, for you.”
All of us jumped in the car and headed towards the nearest hospital. Scott kept telling me to drive faster and Rachel was sitting in the back quietly still in shock from what happened.
I knew what was going to occur once I took Kal in but I didn’t care. The nearest hospital was the one both my parent’s worked at. My Mom would be the first to see him since she’s and E.R. nurse and my Dad would be the second since he’s the best surgeon in this city.
“Well here goes nothing,” I whispered.