this once. I love you, Amelia. You're my sister and I care about your opinion usually, but not this time. I'm friends with Millie and you need to get over it," I tell her. The moment the words leave my mouth she growls, and stands up from the chair. If looks could kill, I'd be a dead vampire right about now.
"Hunter!" she screeches.
Sighing, I walk to the door and hold it open. She stares at me like she has never seen her brother before. I smile as she stomps to the door, coming to a halt right in front of me. "If you won't save yourself, then I will have to."
I grab her arm before she can escape. "Hurt Millie and we will have a problem."
She smiles sweetly as I let her go and she leaves my room. As I shut the door, I rest my head against the cold wood and pray to the shifter goddess that Amelia lets this go.
I will protect Millie, even against my sister.
Chapter 16
Maybe it was the story that changed the dynamic between the five of us, or maybe it was just the fact that we were all stuck in detention together. Whatever the reasoning, by the time the dinner bell rang and we were allowed to leave, I felt a strange sense of camaraderie with the other guys. It wasn’t like we suddenly became friends or something, but even after the professor who was still half-asleep at his desk, waved us out the door and we went our separate ways, I found myself hoping I would see them all again. Even Hunter, as quiet and broody as he is.
I ate dinner with Hazel, and she spent the whole time asking me questions about detention, about the brawl, and about the others. I didn’t mention Isaac’s past, as it didn’t seem like my story to tell, but that didn’t stop her from being intrigued, her eyes wide as she gave me the update on what I missed on campus. Having someone to socialize with continued to improve my mood, and by the time I went up to my room to turn in for the night, I was feeling almost as good as I had been before the whole Amelia business went down. I spend the night sleeping like a baby, exhausted from the first day and ready to put the unpleasantness behind me. I’m so comfortable in bed that when the first light of the morning makes me stir, I almost nestle back into my covers. Then my eyes fly open and I sit up in bed. I said I would meet Shade today before class.
By the looks of it, we’re well before the breakfast bell, but I can’t tell by how much, so I scramble out of bed and get dressed rather than waste any more time. I feel a surge of nervousness as soon as I poke my head out of the door; the dormitory is quiet, with only the occasional scuffling of feet on the floorboards to break the silence. There’s no rule against getting up before the bell, as far as I’m aware, but I can’t help but feel like a delinquent as I pad down the hallway, off to more illicit shapeshifting under the tutelage of the wolf shifter I met yesterday. At one point, I nearly jump out of my skin when I pass one of the housekeepers, who is in the middle of distributing fresh uniforms to each of the dorm rooms. But she barely spares me a second glance, and I tell myself to calm down. Nobody seems to care what I’m up to, and besides, Shade seemed pretty well-acquainted with rule breaking yesterday. In all likelihood, he has unsupervised shifting down to a science.
Shade is waiting for me in the quad, shielding his eyes from the rising sun as I make my way across the lawn to him. “I almost thought you weren’t going to show,” he says when I approach.
“Sorry,” I reply, feeling sheepish. “I almost overslept. Almost.”
“Well, you’re here now,” he says, grinning, and I find myself admiring his gray eyes once again. Boys have never really been a big part of my life--always moving from place to place makes it hard to date, let alone form a relationship with someone. But I can still appreciate his sharp features, and the effortlessness with which he carries himself.
A blush begins to creep into my cheeks and I say, “Well, shall we?”
“Here?” Shade snorts. “No