My mouth drops open and I reach for his arm but a swift step to the left has him just out of reach. “What the heck?”
He raises a brow and the corners of his mouth lift in a wolf smirk. “Heck? Really?”
I glower at him, my nostrils flaring as I brace for a fight. Tension is thick in the hall, traffic having screeched to a stop as all eyes turn to watch the oncoming show.
Zheng shoves away from the locker, his face red and angry, and for some reason I jump between them. I don’t know why I want to protect him when I barely know the guy, but I do. Maybe it’s because he was nice to me when almost everyone else wasn’t. I don’t know. But what I do know is that Rafael isn’t just the son of Clan Wolf’s Alpha, he’s the son of the Pack’s Alpha which means Zheng really doesn’t want to get in a fight with him. It won’t end well.
With my back to Zheng, I meet Rafael’s brooding stare and hold for five long seconds just to prove to myself I can. His lip curls into a snarl.
“School’s out. You don’t need to babysit me anymore.” Not that he was doing a great job of it to begin with. “Go away.”
Desmond and Jordy flank him, both leveling menacing gazes on the boy behind me. Rafael’s eyes lock on mine once more, rooting my feet in place.
“What is your deal?” I snap, not understanding where their hostility is coming from. They’re all shifters. They all belong to the same Pack. They should be looking out for one another. Not starting brawls in the hallways for no reason.
“You know him?” Jordy asks, tipping his chin toward Zheng. I force my gaze from Rafael and shrug.
“Sort of. Yeah. We have fourth together.”
I can feel the anger radiating off Rafael in front of me. His eyes are narrowed, burning silver, his hands clenched into white knuckled fists at his sides, but he doesn’t say anything. He just stares Zheng down behind me like he can kill him with just a look. It’s the stare of an emerging Alpha and even I’m having a hard time standing in the face of it.
“He’s bad news, vanilla. You can’t trust him. He has no loyalty. So if I were you, I’d stay away,” Jordy says.
I suck in a breath. Loyalty is everything to a wolf. It’s how bonds are forged. To claim a shapeshifter has none is like saying he has no value.
I’m instantly angry on Zheng’s behalf. He’s been nothing but nice to me. Went out of his way in fact to be kind, something no one else at this school has bothered doing.
“He’s a shifter. Why would you say something like that?”
He shrugs giving no further explanation.
“Do what you’re told and stay away from him,” Rafael’s voice is guttural growl.
“I don’t take orders from you.”
I feel Zheng’s hand on my hip a moment later. I turn to face him just as Rafael’s snarl builds. “I’ll catch you later,” he grits out between clenched teeth, refusing to meet my gaze. I give him a tight smile and a nod.
What else can I do? So much for the lift.
The three guys in front of me watch Zheng’s retreating form with varying degrees of hostility. When I turn to head the same direction, Rafael’s hand shoots out, grasping me by my arm as he presses me back against the lockers.
“Liu is bad news.”
I shove him but it’s like trying to push a concrete wall. He’s less than an inch away, the heat from his body seeping into my own. My breaths come out choppy and I struggle to form coherent words. “Am I’m just supposed to take your word for it?”
Jaw clenched, he nods.
I push on his chest again. “Look. I don’t know what your deal is, but Zheng is the only person who’s bothered being nice to me. I’m not going to stay away from him just because you say so. You have no right to tell me what to do.”
Rafael’s lip curls into a snarl. “I have every—”
“Hey!” Jordy interrupts. “We’ve been nice.”
Rafael takes a step back. My shoulders relax and I take a deep breath before turning to face the other guys.
“You two have,” I say, signaling to him and Des. “But he,” I stab a finger in Rafael’s chest, “along with the rest of this school, have been complete jerks.”
A tick forms on Rafael’s jaw but I’m not having it. I might look the part of a meek little submissive but I’m not one.
I storm off toward the school’s exit, ignoring him as he calls after me. He can screw off for all I care.
5 Isabella
The week goes by in a blur. After that first day, Rafael stopped playing guide and I was fine with that. Sure, I missed the glimmer of camaraderie we shared at lunch the first day, but I wasn’t looking for a replacement Clan. He’s a brooding jerk anyway.
I ignore him whenever I see him in first period or in the halls, and the rest of the school—aside from Zheng—thankfully decide to ignore me now that they’ve realized hanging out with the wolves was a one-time thing.
Adjusting to life in El Paso is a new experience, and it feels a lot like being trapped in purgatory. I see Brian’s assistant more than I see him. She’s there every morning at half past seven, eager and willing to cart me off to school, though all week I’ve had to catch a rideshare to get home.
It would be easier if I ran the seven-mile distance. I can maintain a four-minute mile with little effort but the look on Natalia’s face when I made the suggestion put an immediate end to the idea. No human runs seven miles in skinny jeans and strappy sandals. It would label
