“Dana?”
“Yeah, you’re going to meet her. She’s Daniel’s twin sister, and you’ll meet him, too.”
“Anyone else I should know about?” Suddenly she was extremely nervous. She forgot that there were pack members her age, other than Jaeden, that she’d have to see every day. Would they all be as friendly as Jaeden? Somehow she didn’t think so.
“There’s Sebastian. He’s the same age as the twins, so is Mal. Their little brother Finlay too, he’s fifteen.”
“So … you’re a senior, like me?”
“Yeah, so is Alexa. But, you know, we eat lunch with Mal, the twins, and Sebastian as well. So, you’ll have nearly all of us to keep you company.”
That’s not what Caia was worried about.
Jaeden was full of questions about her life in isolation with Irini, and Caia tried to answer as many as possible, but the girl was like a machine gun. Before she knew it they were pulling into a parking lot behind a large, modern school building. There were lots of kids already buzzing around; the air filled with the scent of teenage pheromones. Caia blew out air between her lips. Although Lucien had come up with an excuse no doubt the school thought it incredibly inconvenient her transferring one semester away from graduation. It wasn’t going to interfere with her school work, but she had a 3.8 G.P.A. and had scored a 1250 on her SAT’s last year, which meant she would have to go another round of explaining to teacher’s why she hadn’t applied to any colleges. Irini had told her she couldn’t because they didn’t know when the pack would call them home, and since she didn’t know where home was going to be, she couldn’t even apply for a college nearby. However, Dimitri had told her there was a community college here. Joy.
Yup, she sighed, feeling the twinge of disappointment again that she wouldn’t be able to go off and enjoy the thrill of college life elsewhere.
“Here we are.” Jaeden smiled at her. Her eyes suddenly softened when she took in her expression. “You’ll be fine. I promise. And if people think it’s weird that you’re transferring at such... well... a weird and pointless time in your high school education then we’ll do what we usually do. Ignore their very existence.”
Caia smiled tremulously, grateful to the girl. Her immediate acceptance of her into the pack was going to get her through what she guessed was going to be a rough first year. She took a deep breath, her nostrils filling up with those icky pheromones and a hint of damp earth scents mixed with individual fragrances she would soon come to identify with the other pack members her age.
They were close.
“I hope you’re right.” She blew out her breath and got out of the car.
“I’m always right,” Jaeden teased. “Come on, the guys will be waiting,”
Jaeden led her across the parking lot towards a group of teenagers standing around a Ford SUV.
“Jaeden?” she asked, as her eyes wandered over the group. She recognized, due to his immense height and build for a sixteen year old, what could only be Malek. He was standing in the center with five other teenagers crowded around him.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know why Lucien pulled me out of school and back to the pack now? Doesn’t it seem like a stupid time? Couldn’t he have waited until after graduation?”
Jaeden smiled. “I heard my dad talking about this with Mom.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
She shrugged, and grinned cheekily. “Well... anyway, I heard him say that Lucien wanted you to connect as much as possible with the pack. He thought a semester at school with lykans your own age would do that.”
“I guess that makes sense.” In actuality she wasn’t entirely convinced by that excuse but it was just then that Mal looked up as they approached and any overhanging anxieties she had over Lucien’s reasoning disappeared. She felt Mal’s black eyes burn through her from head to foot. He murmured something to the others and they all turned towards her. Caia was struck by disbelief that humans could possibly think these ‘kids’ were just like them. They moved with an unbelievable grace that bordered on predatory.
“He’s doing it again,” Jaeden grumbled.
“Huh?”
“Looking at you like you’re a snack.”
Caia was confused. Who? What? “Huh?”
“Didn’t you see the way Mal was looking at you last night? You’re fresh meat, baby.”
Caia winced at the thought. From what Irini had told her, when pack males turned sixteen they were fully matured (somehow she doubted that) and were more than welcome to start sniffing around the females to find a possible mate. Vice versa for the females. Caia had no intention of becoming involved in this part of the lykan life cycle.
No mating for her.
No. Uh-uh, Haaades no.