Read with BonusRead with Bonus

THREE | ENSNARED

When the bell rang to dismiss us from Mr. Hale's class, I'd bolted. Again. Not to avoid Zane - well not completely for that reason - but also because my next period was lunch. I am never, ever skipping breakfast ever again. I swear to myself as I practically run for the shelter of the library, food laden foam tray in hand. Don't get me wrong, humans are great and their ruckus can be a nice distraction, but if I'm being honest - I'm avoiding the Azures. Yep, big bad Scarlett is running away from teen Wolven. But, hey, I'm doing it for a noble cause. Sort of. Being around them could lead to too many questions. It's too risky. In more ways than one.

A little annoying voice in the back of my mind whispers a term I haven't even thought of since I was ten. Mate. My wolf gets antsy at just the thought of Zane and that word isn't helping my denial to the rising attraction I've been feeling towards him. In a few hours, no less. If I feel like I've been sucker punched in the gut every time I see him, how much worse will it be in a few weeks? Or, if I'm unlucky enough to actually not get into trouble, a few months?

No. Nope. Not going there, Scarlett. I scold myself. If friends are off limits in mom's book, then boyfriends or the m word for sure is.

Rolling my eyes at the absurdity of it all I give my head a little shake and set my tray of food down on a table in the corner of the library. It's pretty much empty, the librarian is in her office, not even looking up as I begin picking at my food.

The now-familiar scent of pine, parchment, and the wild catch my attention as the door to the library clicks shut. The gods hate me. I just know it. I silently curse my very existence as Zane suddenly rounds the corner and makes his way over to the table I'm at. It's gotta be divine retribution. Maybe I screwed someone over in a past life or incurred their wrath in some horrible way to deserve the heaping, steaming pile of karma I'm being served right now.

"So is this the class we have together?" I ask Zane, returning my attention to my tray as he sits in front of me without invitation.

"Lunch doesn't count as a class." He flashes me that smug smirk again. "This was just a bonus." Is he stalking me?

"Good to know." I grumble, digging into the burger on my tray without a care. I really should have eaten breakfast this morning. The burger is gone in a flash, my stomach nowhere near being full with the measly human portion as I turn my attention to the sides on my tray.

"You do realize you need to breathe, right?" Zane suddenly interrupts my eating as I begin stuffing fries in my mouth. I'm too hungry to give a shit about manners right now.

"You do realize you're the one who chose to sit here, right?" I growl back at him around a mouthful of half-chewed potato.

"Touché." He mutters, still watching me with the same look in his eyes. I finish too quickly with the fries and chug the little carton of juice before popping open the little cup of fruit left on the tray. Without a seconds hesitation I upend the contents of the plastic container into my mouth and chew mindlessly, hoping this will settle more heavily in my stomach, but no luck. My stomach grumbles for more after a few seconds and I resort to picking at the sesame seeds that fell off the bun of my burger and onto the tray. "And there goes my appetite." Zane suddenly announces, picking up my tray before I can protest and sliding his in front of me.

"Hey, I wasn't finished with that-" I feel my face flame up. I try to reach across the table to retrieve my tray, but he's up in a second and tosses the foam thing into the closest trash can.

"Oops." He sits back down, pulling an apple from his tray before taking a bite. "You can eat that." He gestures to the rest of the food on his tray, inches from my itching fingers. My stomach growls again and I have to restrain myself from leaping at the tray. "I'm not hungry, really." I hesitate again. Is this a trap? Did he lace the food with something? "Eat." This time, its an order. Firm and commanding. Like an order from an Alpha. Even though he's not my Alpha, I don't have the strength to fight it.

"Th-thanks." I say quietly, looking at the contents of his tray. He hadn't touched a thing, save for the apple. A wave of guilt washes over me and I look up at him to see he's watching me expectantly.

"Thank me by silencing that," He waves the apple in the general direction of my still growling stomach. I take a second to study his suddenly blank expression, wondering if he really is just being nice. But it's like a mask - even his eyes give nothing away as he gazes cooly at me. So, I swallow down my pride and pick up the entree, taking a huge bite before my stomach can anounce itself again.

"Forgot to eat this morning." I mumble the explanation around a mouthful of burger.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." Zane replies dryly, grimacing at me. I swallow and stick my tongue out at him like a five year old. What is wrong with me? He grins, knocking the wind out of me yet again. I almost choke on the next bite of burger before my lungs decide to work again.

We fall into silence. Not one of those awkward silences that seem to plague me as an unsociable Packless outcast, but a rather comfortable one. Like nothing needs to be said. No explanations need to be given. No words of assurance or reassurance of any kind. Just peace, like we've known each other for years. By the time I finish my ravenous mouth-stuffing and I'm full, Zane's taken out a book from his back pack and seems to be engrossed in it. The thing is a worn paperback, the library's stamp on the spine. I look at it thoughtfully, the cover too worn to read or even make out the letters of the title.

"Hale has a book club every Wednesday after school." Zane mutters over the book, a slight blush flooding his cheeks before he clears his throat and his pale skin has gone back to it's normal paleness. Wish I had control over my emotions like that.

"Know him well?" I decide to play dumb. It'd be too hard to explain the fact I know Mr. Hale is part of Zane's Pack.

"Mhm. He's what we call 'out-reach'. Like a bridge or liaison for other Packs, Humans, and Covens." He shrugs, like its common to have a liaison. We didn't have one back at the Reinier Pack. In fact, I never knew that to even be a position, and if Grandmother heard of such a thing, I'm certain she'd shun the Pack who had one.

"Huh." I utter softly, pensively. "Is it any good?" I ask, nodding at the book in his hands. His eyes stay on the page intently as he removes another book from his book bag and passes it to me. I look over the cover and quirk and eyebrow at him in disbelief. "You've screwing with me, right?"

"Don't knock it before you read it." Zane murmurs over the top of his book, eyes still never leaving the page even as he turns the worn paper to the next part. I feel my mouth open in shock.

"Pride and Prejudice?" I echo the title of the book at him incredulously and he finally looks up. His silvery-grey eyes are slightly out of focus, like he really was engrossed in the story. He blinks a few times, studying my expression.

"Read it?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Me? No. Isn't it some mushy romance novel?" I wrinkle my nose at him, feeling a little blush color my cheeks as I say it. I've never read Pride and Prejudice, mostly because I would transfer out of school before or after the rest of the class had read it. If I'm being honest with myself, I was a little curious about what the book really would be about.

"Kind of, but not entirely." Zane sets his book down and leans over to his back pack again. This time, he pulls out a flyer and passes it over the surface of the table. "Why don't you join us and find out?"

"Mh." I mumble the noncommittal sound, looking over the fancy calligraphy of the printed flyer.

"Look, Red," My eyes snap up at the nickname, but he continues without missing a beat. "You're new in town, a lone wolf, and you seem like a nice girl. Why not try to make a few friends? Book club would be a good opportunity for you to meet equally nice people and maybe a few Wolven. You're gonna go insane if you just try to keep to yourself." The bell rings before I can open my mouth to say anything to that. "Think about it. I'll catch you later." He's out the door before I can ask myself what just happened.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter