Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,49
off the mountains. Instead of irritating her, the noise steadied her. Was that what she had done at the Cirque show — let out her inner wolf?
A text came in from Justin: Are you back? and feeling daring, she called him.
“Are you all right?” he asked, and she heard the tension in his voice. She felt her throat tighten; she was afraid he knew what had happened.
“Yeah,” she said. “It was great.”
“Any problems?”
Was Trick being there a problem?
“No. It’s all good.”
“Okay. G’night, darlin’,” he said, and disconnected.
She stared at her phone. He had called her “darlin’.” Well, Trick called her “darlin’” too. It was just a Southern thing. And yet she fixated on it — how his voice had sounded all sweet, as if he had really meant it.
Doesn’t matter, she reminded herself. He was taken, and werewolves fought to the death if a rival tried to move in on their mate. She wasn’t that kind of girl, anyway — one who would try and steal a guy from a girl once he was taken.
He’s not mated. But from what Cordelia had told her, he might as well be. And she didn’t really want him either, did she? Trick was who she wanted, wasn’t he? Justin’s near irresistibility was just about her wolf hormones; once that all settled down, she’d be okay. Wouldn’t be attracted to him anymore. Are you kidding? a voice inside her head persisted. A guy that hot?
The phone rang, distracting her from her dangerous train of thought. Speak of the devil: Justin again. She took the call.
“I missed you,” he said, and hung up again.
The drums and howls echoed in her ears. She looked down at her phone, and then up at the moon, which had been sliced into shards by the obsidian silhouettes of the trees. Her heart picked up speed.
If she was completely honest, she had missed him, too.
Monday came way too early, and Katelyn felt tired and achy. As she sat through history, which Mrs. Walker from Admin was actually trying to teach, she stared at the back of Gretchen’s head and then at Cordelia’s empty desk. She refused to so much as look at Beau, who seemed to know that he should keep his distance.
The hour from hell was finally over, and it was time for P.E. She slammed through the open door to the gym, and nearly collided with Mike Wright, who frowned at her, then smirked, and looked over her shoulder in disgust. She looked to find Trick close behind her. She didn’t know what he was doing there. It wasn’t his hour for P.E.
Mike’s piggish face stretched into a sneer and he planted himself in front of Trick with crossed arms.
“Where you going, freak?” he demanded.
Trick said nothing. He gave Katelyn a nod and started to walk past Mike as if he weren’t there.
“Hey, I got detention because of you.” Mike flailed at the air, too far away from Trick to actually hit him.
“You got detention because you’re a psychotic moron,” Katelyn said.
Both Trick and Mike stared at her, and she narrowed her eyes at Mike. “A moron, and a bully, and a jerk.”
Mike’s mouth dropped open. Then he lunged at her, as if to scare her, and everything inside her snapped. She lunged forward, too, then brought up her knee and rammed it upward into his crotch. He let out a howl, doubling up, and she slammed her fist against the side of his face.
“I hate you!” she shouted at him.
“You’re gonna die!” Mike shouted back at her. “Just like your trashy slutbuddy—”
She threw herself at him again, only this time Trick grabbed her and dragged her backwards. She struggled against him, getting one arm free. He wrapped his hand around her wrist.
“Katelyn, stop,” he said. “Stop.”
“What’s going on?” The coach stuck his head out of his office, then walked up to the group. Students were coming over, too. In L.A., people who fought on campus were considered bigger losers than stoners, and clearly fighting must also be a big deal at Wolf Springs High.
“Chill,” Trick murmured in Katelyn’s ear. He let go of her and stepped toward Mike. “Just got me some payback, sir,” he said calmly.
“No, it was Ka—” Mike said; then he fell silent as he took stock of the other kids gathering to catch the drama. He clenched his jaw and glared at Trick, as if Trick really had attacked him.
“Okay, you two, come with me now,” the coach said.