Wolves of the West

HAVEN

“I heard that Melanie hooked up with Brody at Mitch’s party last weekend,” Rachel said with a smirk.

“Ew! That is so gross!” Cecily exclaimed, pretending to vomit.

Cecily and Rachel were gossiping—as usual—on the way to school. I was in the front seat, watching as houses and trees and strip malls flew past the window.

Jude looked over at me and smiled. “Looking forward to school?”

I slumped down in my seat. “Not really.”

He chuckled. “I think we made Logan pretty mad; he didn’t come out of his room for the rest of the night.”

I laughed. “Serves him right for sticking his nose in my business.”

We pulled up in front of the school and hurried inside.

Jude and I were sitting at the back of the classroom, laughing our butts off, when Logan walked in. He glared at the both of us before begrudgingly sitting in front of Jude.

Then he turned in his seat and glared at both of us. “Can you stop being so damn annoying now?”

I stuck my tongue out at him, which was super childish and probably made me look even sillier, but at that moment, I didn’t care. “Why don’t you mind your own business?”

Logan’s jaw tensed. “You are my business.”

I snapped my mouth shut when he turned around and turned my attention to the teacher, who had just walked in.

I could feel Jude’s gaze on the side of my face, but refused to meet it.

What did Logan mean by that?

English passed in a blur, and before I knew it I was off to history.

Ugh. I had been dreading this class since it ended yesterday. Not only was Jude not in it, but I was stuck with Deacon and Logan for a whopping seventy-five minutes.

I walked to the back of the classroom and took the same seat as I did yesterday. When Deacon and Logan entered, they resumed their previous seats as well—much to my dismay.

“Okay class, we are going to be doing a project,” Mr. Gades said. “You will need a partner for this.”

Most of the students looked at each other excitedly, but I kept my eyes on my desk.

“Each pair will be given a certain country that they have to study,” the teacher continued, “and at the end of the semester they will give a presentation to the class on their country.”

He looked around the class. “All pairings must be approved by me beforehand. Once you have found a group, I will give you your country and rubric. Alright, go!”

I looked around wildly, dread filling me. I didn’t know anyone in this class.

I watched as everyone found partners, hoping there were an odd number of students, so I could work by myself.

But once everyone was paired off, there was one other girl left out, who seemed just as distressed as I was.

“Hey there, I’m Haven. Would you like to be my partner?” I asked her.

The girl looked up at me and smiled before nodding, her brown curls bouncing.

“I’d love to. I’m Christine, by the way.”

I smiled, and we shook hands before going over to our teacher.

Mr. Gades looked at us and nodded. “You two girls have Australia.”

Christine and I looked at each other before smiling.

“I’m sure you two will do a good job. Off you go then.”

Christine and I were discussing ideas for our project when we were called back up to Mr. Gades' desk.

“Yes, Mr. Gades?” I asked, wondering why he had called us back.

“I’m sorry, girls, but I’m going to have to split you up.”

Christine and I looked at each other, outraged.

“What? Why?” I asked.

Mr. Gades sighed. “Because Logan and Deacon would like to be partners, and that would not be good—for anybody. So I’m splitting them up.”

I groaned aloud. “That’s so unfair!”

Mr. Gades sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

I felt a little guilty for complaining and hoped I wasn’t one of those students who made teachers fall out of love with their profession.

“I’m sorry you think that, Miss Mathie, but my decision is final. You will be working with Deacon, and Christine, you can work alongside Logan.”

I looked at Deacon, who was smirking at me, and almost gagged.

“Actually, Mr. Gades,” Logan cut in, “I was hoping that I could work with Haven. Her house is on the same road as mine, so we’d be able to get together more frequently.”

I bit my tongue and prayed that Mr. Gades would say no. Even having Deacon as a partner would be better than having Logan.

“Sure, that’s fine,” the teacher conceded. “You two will be covering Sweden.”

Logan grinned and took my hand, pulling me toward his desk. I pulled my hand back when the sparks started to invade my body and glared at Logan.

“I hope you know that I am not happy about this,” I hissed.

Logan smirked. “Trust me, I already know that. It’s written all over your face. I just don’t know why you’re not happy with it. I mean, let’s be honest here. I’m hot.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, you’re just cocky.”

Logan shrugged. “I’m confident, can’t fault me for that. But then again, you’re more into blondes, aren’t you?”

The way he said it sounded like he was almost jealous.

“You’re rude,” I retorted.

Logan seemed to appreciate the insult. “Because of last night? Let me formally apologize, Miss Mathie. I am so, so sorry.”

I stuck my nose in the air. “Actually, I prefer guys who aren’t total jackasses, Jude just happens to be sweet.”

Logan snorted. “Sweet enough to get into your pants?”

I barely stopped myself from slapping Logan across the face. Mr. Gades was already eyeing us and I didn’t need to reveal my strength, or get a detention slip, on my second day.

“You’re such a jerk!”

Logan smirked. “Don’t lie, sweetheart. You’re undeniably attracted to guys like me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Only in your dreams.”

Okay, so that wasn’t the strongest comeback, but I was too mad to come up with anything else.

Logan’s smile grew wider. “That’s true.”

I gawked at him, then watched in horror as he winked at me. All I wanted to do was slap that frustratingly irresistible smirk right off his face.

The bell rang. I jumped up from my seat and booked it out of class, eager to see my friends and to escape my new history partner.

I met Jude, Rachel, and Cecily in the cafeteria. “You will never believe what just happened to me!” I nearly screamed as I took out my lunch.

Cecily frowned. “What happened?”

“Logan happened, that's what! Ugh, he drives me insane!”

Rachel’s brown eyes widened as she leaned forward. “What did he do? Kiss you?”

I looked at her as if she were crazy but ignored her comment. She was eager for gossip, that was all.

“No, he asked the teacher if he could be my partner for this huge assignment we’re doing!” I took an angry bite out of my sandwich and chewed with vengeance. “We’ll be paired up all semester.”

“What’s so bad about that? He’s hot,” Cecily pointed out.

I threw my food down on the table. “That’s the point!”

Rachel frowned. “The point is that he’s hot? Are you listening to yourself?”

I glared at her. “No, the point is that he knows he’s attractive, and he’s full of complete and utter bullshit, and I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that I hate him.”

Cecily laughed. “You two are going to be dating in no time. I can already feel the chemistry, can’t you, Rach?” Cecily nudged Rachel’s shoulder, and they both laughed.

Soon they were gushing over what a perfect couple Logan and I would make. I could tell they were teasing me; they both knew exactly how terrible Logan was.

I turned to Jude for help. “Isn’t this horrible?”

He shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Remember, I told you he has a good side too. You might just get to see it.”

I scowled, upset that no one saw the issue that I did. “But I don’t want to see his good side. I don’t want to see any side.”

When am I going to stop lying? I scolded myself.

Gym class proceeded as slowly as it had yesterday, although today the boys' class did not join us.

We played a game of soccer outside, and I somehow managed to score on my own team’s goal.

I rushed home straight after art, not in the mood to socialize with anyone. The past two days had been a little overwhelming and all I wanted was to let loose, relax a little.

My wolf had been literally begging me to let her free since my birthday and I felt as though I could not deny her freedom anymore.

I dropped my bag off at the backdoor of the house and looked around the woods timidly, unsure of what to do next.

I decided that removing my clothes would be a good start, so I stripped down and folded them neatly, resting them beside my bag.

Now I was even more self-conscious than before. I closed my eyes and called to my wolf, asking her what to do next.

About time you let me out, she growled. I rolled my eyes at her grouchiness.

Either you tell me what to do or I am just going to put my clothes back on… I answered.

My wolf howled in protest and hurriedly agreed to guide me while I shifted.

I stepped into the forest, shaking a little. The last time I’d shifted it hurt like hell although my wolf promised this time I would feel no pain.

I closed my eyes and let her take over, I felt my body transform entirely and didn’t open my eyes until I felt myself lying on the ground.

I stood up and wobbled a bit, not used to walking on four feet as opposed to two. I took a few steps until I felt comfortable enough to start a slow jog.

That’s it, Haven, take it slow. You’re doing great. My wolf sounded so happy, which in turn made me happy.

It was nice to hear her being nice to me, instead of throwing her usual bitch fit. I trotted through the forest taking it all in. My senses seemed enhanced in this form, and I loved it.

I came to a small pond and trotted over to it, leaning my head down and sipping some water. While drinking, I caught my reflection in the water and gawked.

Not only was I a wolf, but I was also huge. The only thing familiar about me was my eyes—they remained their vibrant green color.

I heard movement to the right and felt my ear twitch toward the sound.

I bowed my head and raised my hackles, letting a low but threatening growl slip through my barred teeth.

I looked over and saw a dark wolf emerge from the trees.

If I’d thought I was big, I was wrong. Compared to this wolf, I was tiny.

The wolf had shaggy, dark brown fur, and an aura of power radiated from him. My wolf whined at me to go down on my belly, but my human side was too stubborn, too proud.

I stood my ground and growled again, not anticipating that the other wolf would view that as a challenge.

Within five seconds, I was pinned underneath the wolf, and he was growling and snapping in my face. I whined in defeat, although the fight had never really gotten started.

I licked underneath his chin out of instinct to show my obedience. When I tried to wiggle free of his grasp, he growled again and snapped at my face.

I shrunk back into the grass and panted hard, afraid of what he might do next.

The wolf peered down at me and froze. I did too because I knew those eyes, those light gray eyes that sparkled and danced.

It was Logan.