Lone Wolf Rising (Paranormal Romantic Thriller) (The Winters Series) (19 page)

“I know what you did.”
  Rebecca told him as she eyed the crowd.  They went to a performing arts school, and it was a popular one, so the school was at full capacity.  That and the fact that her siblings were wearing the same colors as just about everyone else made it impossible to spot them.  The crowd of students and faculty was like an ocean wave weaving in and out.  If she wasn’t careful she would wind up with sea sickness.

“Oh?”
  He didn’t look up from his meal but was eating very slowly.  Carefully.  She noticed again his polite and well-mannered etiquette.  It was obvious he was raised with high society mannerisms.

“You copied all my classes so you could be at my side at all times.”  She took a bite of food.

“Yes.”  He didn’t bother denying it.  Which made the situation that more annoying.  “But it wasn’t just to keep an eye on you.”  He finally looked up from his plate and flashed a dimpled smile which only made his good looks criminal.  “Did you know that you’re in classes with a few other supernatural beings?”

She felt her forehead wrinkle when she realized it was odd for her to have not noticed something like that.
  Her wolf, or alpha, or whatever was very good at telling her when she was around other supernatural beings.  Now she was curious as to who they were.  “No, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Most of them are natural borns and they are pre-pubescent which means they haven’t undergone the full change so it would’ve been very difficult recognizing them unless you were looking for them.”
  His statement was meant to make her feel better about missing such an important detail.  It didn’t.

“That’s no excuse.
  I’m in a world that seems to care little about my inexperience or letting me learn on the curve.  A mistake like that could cost me my life or worse, my family’s.”

“I admire that determination.
  Tell you what, turn on those senses and tell me if you recognize any in the crowd over there.”  He pointed to the blue, white, and gold wave of students. 

Fantastic.  His test was like finding a needle in a haystack, literally.
  There must have been at least three hundred people outside today.  But her alpha wouldn’t be outmaneuvered.  They both loved a challenge.  She immediately zeroed in on possible outliers.  The outcasts were the obvious choice.  They had to know they did not belong and this would have only diminished self esteem and confidence; especially after Lucky pointed out that not even ten percent of the Phoenix area residents were supernatural.  It also would create a pack mentality which was something she was very familiar with as a wolf.

She pointed out
 Ethan McKenna who sat amongst a group of four Goth students.  Of that group, he was the leader.  He openly smoked a cigarette which she sensed was clove, catching a slight whiff of it on the air.  He was dressed in black and he wore piercings in so many areas of his body that one would have spent half an hour trying to count them.  It was rumored that other more private areas of his body were also pierced, not that she cared to find out. 

“Very good.
  He comes from a family of trolls.”

Rebecca held back her laughter.
  “Come on, he may be different but he is one of the taller students in
his grade.  He also lacks the frizzy stand-at-attention hair style.  I would have taken Jeremiah Jones for a troll before Ethan.”  She pointed at the punk rocker who wore his green hair in a spiked Mohawk.  “But I don’t think Jeremiah is a supernatural.”

“Trolls are not the undesirable little creatures who live under bridges trying to scare little girls crossing over, like the
 fairy tales have depicted.  They are gallant creatures that a protector would be honored to fight beside.  I bet he is one of the strongest and most agile students in your school.  You would do good to befriend him now that you share a common destiny.”

“Befriend Ethan the troll, got it.”
  She finished texting Savvy when Ethan turned to lock gazes with her.  She must’ve been staring at him too long, or he felt her eyes on him because he turned his gaze onto hers.  When their eyes locked she noticed something was off about him.  A warning caressed her skin in the form of goose bumps and she turned her attention away from him.  She would not befriend him.  Maybe there was another troll she could get to know.  He wasn’t quite right and her instinct was rarely wrong now that it was tied to her alpha.

Her phone buzzed but she ignored it as she searched the crowd again.
  Next, she pointed out Sundae Monroe.  Her name alone got her teased which was sad because she was a very pretty tiny girl.  The problem was she made very little sense when people spoke to her.  It was like she lived in another world, one that was made up of dreams.  “She is a dream weaver.”  Rebecca said softly as the answer came to her. 

“Very good.
  It appears your alpha is bonding with you quite nicely.”  Lucky couldn’t help but smile.

“Maybe so, but she isn’t telling me what a dream weaver does.”
  Rebecca’s phone buzzed again.

“You going to get that?”
  Lucky asked, curiosity written on his face.

“In a minute.  So, what’s a dream weaver?”

“They’re similar to the human idea of the sandman.  They used to help people sleep.  Now they’re more prone to creating nightmares that end in death.”  He finished the rest of his plate and pushed it forward. 

“But she looks so innocent and sweet.”
  Sundae’s hair looked like it was spun from the moon.  She wore it long and straight.  Her eyes, which seemed to stare off into space, were sky blue.  Suddenly Sundae’s eyes locked onto hers and Rebecca sucked in a deep breath.  Sundae’s angry glare told her all she needed to know about her; stay far away.

The phone buzzed again so Rebecca picked it up.
  Savannah had texted her four times asking where she was and telling her that she needed to see her urgently.  Rebecca sent her a quick text asking where she was, told Lucky, and took a few more bites from her plate.  She grabbed hers and Lucky’s plate and dumped them in the garbage. By the time she was finished Savvy sent a reply telling Rebecca she was at the football field with Hunter.

Homecoming!  Rebecca should have guessed that was why she couldn’t find her.
  She really needed to pay better attention to her siblings sometimes.  They made their way quickly across the commons.  Rebecca noticed multiple people she had never even spoken to were watching them with cautious eyes.  She guessed others could recognize her like she recognized them.  It could also be the obvious fact that she had a gorgeous guy walking beside her.

‘Supernatural’s are different from humans and they can sense it.  It becomes more obvious when multiple supernatural beings are in the same area.
’  Her wolf piped up to answer her thoughts.

‘
That can make it difficult to blend in
.’ Rebecca responded, more out of courtesy since she knew the wolf could read her thoughts.  The wolf didn’t show the same courtesy, she simply shrugged in her mind.

When they were clear of the crowd she asked Lucky, “What are blood brokers?”
  It wasn’t a random thought; she had been marinating on it since Saturday night’s council meeting.  She had skimmed the ‘rules’ book from front to back and found no mention of ‘blood brokers’ and figured now was as good a time to ask as any other.

“Let’s save that conversation for later.”
  His fingers laced with hers and she felt safe. 

Rebecca nodded her understanding, took three more steps, and stopped dead in her tracks.
  That unnerving feeling of being watched was back again. 

“What is it, Rebecca?”
  He asked as he bumped into her.

She gave no answer, just surveyed the horizon on all sides to see if she could locate the stranger.
  Whoever it was made her skin crawl to a level that she had never felt before.  Her wolf began to pace in her mind, ever alert.

“Rebecca?”  Lucky wore a worried face.

She did not want to be rude but she put up a hand to silence him.  Her ears were perked; she sniffed the air, nothing.  But that had no affect on the hair rising on her neck and the warning tingles on her skin.  Someone was watching her and she was getting tired of their cowardice. 

“Sis?”
  It was Savannah’s voice that pulled Rebecca out of her search.  But seeing her was not as much of a surprise as seeing Gabriel sauntering towards them only a few steps behind her sister.  Rebecca’s first thought was that it was the rogue-wolf that was spying on her.  But while his emerald green eyes were intense and held many secrets, the eyes that were watching her from a distance were much colder and felt more evil than his creepy stares.

Savannah
 looked so genuinely concerned it made Rebecca’s heart ache with the desire to tell her everything.  But she knew the consequences would be dire if she did so she held her tongue and smiled.  It was something Rebecca was really becoming quite good at.

"Are you okay?"
 Savvy asked, her brows raised and lips pursed with concern.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?”  Rebecca asked.  “I was just worried when I couldn’t find you for lunch.”  It wasn’t a complete lie.

"You just looked, never mind.  This is …” Savvy didn’t get to finish her sentence before Rebecca interrupted her.

"What are you doing here
, Gabriel?"  She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I see you two do know each other.
 He was..."  Savannah started talking only to be interrupted again, this time by Gabriel.

"I was looking for you when I got the lovely pleasure of meeting your sister and brother."
  Gabriel stated simply.  "She offered to help me find you."

"I told you that I would contact you.
 So, I ask again, what’re you doing here?"  Rebecca did not like him around her family, not until she trusted him.  There was obviously a reason why he was a rogue wolf and not a member of the pack.  A reason she had not discovered up to this point and until she did there was no reason to trust him.

"I didn’t know that my presence would be unwelcome."
 He glanced over at Lucky.  "Perhaps that’s because you don't want the others to know you have a guard dog."

"Guard dog?"
  Savannah's forehead creased in confusion.

"Lucky is my boyfriend."  Rebecca said the words too fast.

Gabriel chuckled.  "Really?  How convenient."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"
 Lucky took a step forward but Rebecca motioned for him to stay beside her.  She needed to show strength.
 

"I’m sorry, just the fact that you met a few days ago
 and today you’re dating."  He flicked something off his dark green t shirt which accented his emerald green eyes perfectly.  "Seems a little suspect, don't you think?"  

"A few days ago?"
  Savannah continued to get confused and this time the expression she sent Rebecca was one of hurt, she felt she was lied too; Rebecca could see it written all over her face.  Rebecca could tell Savvy wanted to ask more but Gabriel continued on with his deductive reasoning and Becca’s heart thumped a little faster at the danger zone they were quickly entering.
 

"That morsel of information coupled with the fact that I have known Lucky for most of my life
, and he has
never
settled down or made any kind of commitment to another woman, even his mother, makes me question the validity of your relationship."  Gabriel somehow maneuvered himself between Savvy and Rebecca as he tilted his head in a look that made Becca think he was judging her.

The heat that rose between them was instant and made her forget everyone else. Something about Gabriel intrigued Rebecca like no other; not even Lucky.
 Her wolf wanted to control him, her heart wanted to know him, and her mind wanted to trust him. But none of that would happen anytime soon.  There was too much happening, too many things that needed to be worked out before other matters could be addressed.  He was going to have to take a back seat on this ride for a while until she figured things out.

"What can I say, I’m a changed man."
 Lucky stepped in the tight space between Gabriel and Rebecca.  He pulled her close and before she knew what was happening his lips crushed hers.  Rebecca’s senses pressed the overload switch in her mind as sensations shot through her body at super speed.  One thing was for certain, Lucky knew how to kiss.  It was earth shattering.  Rebecca was compelled to reciprocate as her hands wrapped around his neck and her body pressed against his.  

The kiss was abruptly ended when Gabriel spun Rebecca around.  Her body slammed against his rock hard chest.
 Without a word he crushed his lips on hers and adrenaline shot through her once more, only this was different; her wolf was increasing the intensity. It was like a roller coaster ride of emotions as her body reacted to his kiss. Her wolf assumed the control.  All sense escaped her mind when his tongue rolled over her lips and she mentally cringed as a sigh escaped her lips when he pushed through the barrier those lips made with ease.  The kiss was almost violent as he alternated between licks and tiny nips on her lips.  One even broke the skin.  When that happened it was all over.