JUNE 2022 UPDATE: Go read "Lucy", a spinoff of the Masked SheWolf trilogy, now updating on Wattpad, and its "Behind the Scenes" companion book that includes character profiles and a complete recap of the trilogy, as told by the characters in interview format.
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Zoey is pouting a lot recently. She's been holing up in her room more than usual, and when she's not, she's always on her cell phone playing on one app or the other. Even Zack noticed her weird behavior, and he's ten. I tried to talk to her, but she shut me out like she has never done before, and I don't know how to handle that.
Mom and Dad suggested that we give her time by herself. Last week was the first time she visited Trent's -her and my biological father- grave. Our parents thought she might want to, now that we're moving and might not come back. It's still too new for her though.
"Just worry about what you're going to do on your first day and leave me alone," she retorts during the car ride to school when I try to get her to open up again.
We're already an hour late because she took her sweet time pulling out of bed and getting dressed. Our parents gave her a good scolding, but she responded with an indifference that puzzled even them. I have no idea what to say to make her feel better, and now we're going to be late for first period.
Cade squeezes my hand from the driver's seat, silently telling me to drop it. But it's not in my nature to let things go; I'm headstrong, and when I set my mind to something, I don't stop till it's done. And I can't watch my sister be miserable without trying to cheer her up.
"Zo, I just want to know what I can do," I insist. "How can I help if I don't know what's bothering you?"
"God, you're relentless! I don't want your help," she snaps. "All you're doing right now is annoying me more."
I'm shocked into silence for a moment. Zoey has never yelled at me before. We may have our differences but she is my sister, my only full sibling. Our mother got engaged to our stepfather Joseph when Zoey was in the womb. They knew each other years before that, although she never knew he was a werewolf until after Trent died and they fell in love. Zoey was born a couple of months before they were married.
Joe is a pretty amazing father, and Zack is the funniest little brother ever, but there's still a bond that only Zoey and I have due to us sharing a biological father. I may be difficult at times, but we've always been able to get along in spite of that. Whatever is bothering her must be more serious than I thought.
She takes advantage of my shocked silence to block me out by plugging her earphones in and playing loud music on her phone. This is the first barrier she has ever placed between us. I'm hurt by this. For obvious reasons, she and I never had friends we could share everything with, so we always confided in each other.
"Don't take it personally, Sade," Cade tells me. "Listen to your parents' advice; give her time. She'll come around on her own."
I sigh in surrender. "I don't like feeling useless."
"I know," he says. "But I think this is one of those times where you have to learn not to push her."
I nod wordlessly. I'll live with Zoey's silence, but I definitely won't like it.
"Hey," Cade calls my attention. I look at him. He's still driving, but his eyes are on me, and his entire face is smiling. "I love you."
My heart flutters happily hearing the words, and I beam. I'm still not used to the effect he has on me, or how deep my feelings for him are. It always takes me by surprise that I can still smile like an idiot whenever he tells me he loves me, even though I have been hearing it for years now.
I say it back to him, knowing he likes hearing it as much as I do. When I first said it, he was shocked for a whole minute. Initially, I thought he didn't feel the same, because I was the first to say it. But it was just because he was happy, and it was proven when he smiled wider than he has ever had before and kissed me for the first time.
Sometimes, I can't believe my luck. I've always been mesmerized by him; he's a natural born protector, and I've always felt safe with him. It took me years to get the guts to finally tell him how I feel; even before having any certainty that he would feel the same way. It turned out even better than I imagined. His only flaw is that he gets jealous easily, and when he does, he becomes over-protective. He's not controlling or anything, but he gets irrationally angry and possessive, and threatens whoever he's jealous of. It's kind of hot to think about, sometimes.
Minutes later, we get to the school. It's very orderly looking, with surrounding brick walls that make it resemble a military academy. As soon as Cade stops the car, Zoey rushes out in a direction I'm sure won't lead her to her classroom, but I don't say anything about it.
"See you after you're done," he tells me.
I lean over to kiss him. It's a quick peck, but it has a little stomach-flipping impact. When I start to pull back, he suddenly holds my waist and pulls me to him again. This kiss is more passionate, and I'm immediately lost in him, tangling my hands in his hair and pressing my body into his. Images of this morning flash in my mind, and I start to feel hot.
He pulls away after several seconds. I take a moment to catch my breath, resting my forehead against his with my eyes closed.
"What was that for?" I breathe out.
"My way of saying good luck," he says back hoarsely.
Somehow, I doubt it. This is what he usually does in front of the guy he's jealous of. But there's no one to make him feel that way here, so I can't really make sense of why he would do this now. I don't question it though. I can't complain when he kisses me like that. I can't do anything other than wonder when he'll do it again.
With effort, I remove myself from him and get out the car. I walk up the steps of the building slowly, forcing my heartbeat to calm down. Once at the top, I turn around and wave at him, and then he pulls out of the school's parking lot.
Just as I predicted, I'm late for class. The hallways are completely empty. I take out the piece of paper where I wrote my classes. Unfortunately, I've never been in this building, which means I have no idea where the classrooms are. There aren't any students for me to ask, and I have no idea where the administrative office is either. Looks like I'm going to have to walk around to find my way.
I sense that this might take a while, so I take out my iPod and plug the earphones in, playing whatever song was on last. Then I start walking. The rooms are labeled, which is lucky for me, but I don't see the one I'm looking for. However, I do find a pattern, and I presume that I'm supposed to go to another building, to the second floor. There are only two others, thankfully, so it will be easy to deduce which is the right building.
The one I enter first turns out to be the right one, and I smile in victory; although I might have already been smiling anyway, since my good mood hasn't died down yet. I find the cafeteria on the first floor, which means I won't have trouble finding it during lunchtime. On the second floor, I also find the girls' bathroom just at the end of the hall.
As I'm walking I collide against someone coming from around the hall. My bag and books drop from my arms. The other person staggers while I yell in surprise and almost fall, but he grabs me by the arm.
"Whoa," I say. "Thanks."
The other person is not much taller than me, so I don't need to look up to see his face. It's a boy, though his baby features confuse me at first. He has one of those that faces that look soft and delicate. The more look at him, the more it's obvious that he's around my age. He stares at me with puzzlement as I pick up my stuff.
"Hello?" I say. "Are you alright?"
At the sound of my voice, he jumps a little. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says dismissively.
There's a strange quality to his voice that makes him sound young. He clears his throat and speaks again, with more politeness this time.
"Sorry about running into you like that."
That's a bit better. I put my iPod on pause and tuck it with my earphones into my back pocket. Still giddy from Cade's kiss, I smile widely at him
"It's okay," I assure him. "It's partly my fault; I didn't think anyone would be here, so I just amped up the volume."
He seems surprised by how casually I'm talking to him. This is how I usually am with everyone, even new people I meet, but it's kind of amplified because I'm in a good mood right now.
I chuckle. "What? Not used to having pretty girls talking to you?"
He grins to one side. "Actually, I'm used to pretty girls nagging until my ears bleed, so this is a nice change, hearing an apology for once."
The joke takes me by surprise, and I laugh louder than I intended. Then I remember we're in a deserted hallway, and if someone walks over, they'll think we're skipping class. In a childish moment, I clamp my hands over my mouth.
The guy seems amused by my reaction. "You can stop suffocating yourself; I don't think you're in danger of being heard here."
Pretending to be suspicious, I narrow my eyes. His easy-going manner is encouraging, and I find myself joking back effortlessly. "So you plan on torturing me where no one can hear me scream?"
"Oh, I don't need to torture you," he says, his face completely poker. "You're going to tell me all your secrets without me doing anything about it."
One of my eyebrows shoots up. "Really? How do you figure that's going to happen?"
He taps the side of his finger against his lips and whispers, "It's a secret."
When I laugh this time, I don't hold it in. I'm enjoying myself too much. I extend my hand out toward him. "I'm Sadie."
Smiling back, he shakes it. "Dylan," he says, and then seems to backtrack. "But everyone calls me Michael."
His statement puzzles me. The names have nothing to do with each other. "Why?"
"That's my first name," he explains. "Dylan's my middle name."
"Then why did you say Dylan first?" I wonder.
He shrugs, looking at a loss himself. "I don't know," he admits.
I stare at him for a moment, trying to make sense of his character. Then I do what I always end up doing; I roll with it. "Alright, well that's what I'll call you," I decide. "So what are you doing out in the hallways during class, Dylan?"
Falling back into a light mood, he grins. "Why? Are yougoing to rat me out?"
I make a sound of mock-indignation. "For your information, I have a very valid excuse for being here at this time."
"And what's that?" he humors me.
"I was lost."
Dylan is surprised at first, but then he realizes that I'm new, and that it's normal for me to be lost.
"Maybe I can help you," he suggests. "Where are you going?"
"I'm not really lost anymore," I tell him. "It's not hard to figure out where each classroom is. I'm going to BA217."
"That's not far from mine," he reveals. "Why don't we walk together?"
I smile. "Sure, Dyl. Thanks."
The nickname takes him by surprise. "You're calling me Dylnow?"
I begin walking in step with him, a smug smile on my face. "Yes, I am. You better get used to it."
He seems really cool, and I really want to have at least one good friend here. Even if I won't be able to tell him all my deep dark secrets, I'd still like the company.
"I have a feeling I'm going to have to," he plays along.
I sure hope so, I think.