I thunked my head against the tree. Shit. Why did I have to lose my temper? I’d probably lost the only friend I had at St. Ailbe’s.
A group of girls had gathered in the courtyard to watch the scene. The whispers and giggles annoyed me.
“Show’s over, ladies,” I said.
They laughed again. If I concentrated, I could hear what they were whispering, but that wouldn’t do me any good. Humming to myself I trudged back to the school building.
I grabbed my backpack and the books I needed from my locker and slammed it shut. This was turning into a disaster of epic proportions. There was no way it was going to work. I pulled my schedule from my pocket, and looked down at what I had left. As I scanned the sheet, I realized another awful gem. Didn’t Meredith say that Dastien taught martial arts?
The bell rang, echoing through the now-empty hallway.
Great. I was late for the class taught by Mr. Dawson. That would really make him want to go easy on the “implications.”
I dropped my head back against the locker, its metal cool against my skin. I had to stay strong. I’d been through bad times before. Nothing this bad, but still, I’d get past this. I had no other choice.
Chapter Twenty
Everyone was already in their seats when I finally walked into Were history, but Mr. Dawson had yet to arrive. The people in the room looked so much younger than the seniors, but that made it that much more apparent that I didn’t belong. Having another incident was not an option. Ever. I made myself take a deep breath and then searched the room for an empty seat.
Guilt weighed heavy on my shoulders. Meredith really had made facing class easier, and I paid her back by being a raging bitch. I promised myself I’d apologize as soon as I saw her.
For now, I had to sit down. I spotted a space behind a guy with scraggly brown hair.
He twisted in his chair as I walked by. “What was it like being bitten?”
I paused for the punch line. He had to be kidding with this. “Are you seriously asking me?”
He nodded. “Did it hurt a ton?”
I dropped my backpack on the desk. “If you really want to know, you could always go find a rabid dog to bite you.” I sat down and grabbed a notebook.
The girl next to me tapped my shoulder. “Excuse me, but I—we were wondering if you knew he was a werewolf?”
I scanned the room. All eyes were on me. Where in the hell was Mr. Dawson?
“The thing is Dastien is really, really nice,” the girl continued. “He wouldn’t have done something like that without a reason. So maybe you wanted to be a werewolf?”
Talk about an invasion of privacy. These kids had cajones for sure. “No, I didn’t know. And I most certainly did not want to be a werewolf.”
“But it’s the rule,” the girl said. “Before biting someone you have to make sure they’re clear on what they’re getting into. Plus you need their permission and the local alpha’s.”
“Well, if that’s the rule then maybe you should be asking Dastien why he broke it.”
She scoffed. “That would be rude.”
I narrowed my gaze at her. “And it’s not rude for you to ask me?”
At least she had the decency to blush at that.
“Imogene has been saying that—”
I growled. What was Imogene’s problem? I forced myself to take ten deep breaths before speaking. “What’s she saying?”
“Well, you know, she’s Dastien’s girlfriend and all…” The growl got louder and she shrank in her seat. “Well, maybe ex-girlfriend, I guess? I’m sure now that you’re up and about, you’ll be able to set the record straight.”
I clenched and unclenched my gloved hands a few times. I had to get my emotions under control. Why should I care if Dastien had a girlfriend anyway? It just showed how much of a creep he was. I grabbed one of the sandwiches Meredith had given me this morning, took a big bite and chewed. If these people weren’t going to stop asking me questions, then I needed to get a better handle on the whole hungry-wolf thing.
Mr. Dawson swept into the room, taking the focus away from me. A frenzy of movement rippled through the class as everyone pulled out notebooks and pens.
I noticed a weird phenomenon with the teachers. Whenever they walked into a room, there was this feeling—almost like a compulsion—to sit up and pay attention. It was worse with Mr. Dawson, and that bugged me. I kept my gaze on him as I slouched in my chair, slowly tucking into the second sandwich.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I trust that you are making our newest student feel welcome.” He glanced my way, smirking when he saw how low I sat in my seat.
“Continuing from last lecture—Tenet Number Five of the Were Law. Who can tell me what that is?”
A blonde in front raised her hand. “Excuse me, Mr. Dawson.”
“Yes, Nikki?”
“We were discussing Tenet Number One before class. There seems to be some issue with that right now, and the punishment for it.”