2 | SUPER HOMEROOM

I’ve made it into Homeroom before Blue can catch up and find a seat at the back of the class. The Homeroom instructor is a tall woman with straight ash-blonde hair twisted into an elegant up-do. She seems young in profile, maybe late twenties or early thirties, her alabaster skin almost as pale as Hale’s but she doesn’t reek of blood or overly ripened fruit like vamps generally do. She’s focused on writing her name on the board: Mrs. Salinger. When she turns, I try not to flinch when I note the unnatural flutter of a glamor roll through the room. Something’s off about her, and not just the scent of her, but the way she looks.

Her makeup is too perfect. Face too symmetrical. Eyes the color of glacial ice, a nearly grey-blue…and something about them seems to be false. But I can’t pin point what. The longer I glare, the worse a little pain gets at the back of my head. My wolf pacing back and forth at the blaring alarm bells echoing in my head. I need to leave. I’m not safe. They seem to screech, but I can’t move an inch. All I can do is move my eyes and mouth - even grinding my teeth is hard.

A heaviness aches at the back of my eyes, and not from almost crying a few moments ago. A sleepiness almost too forceful to combat pulls at my eyelids as the woman levels me with a little smirk, the blue in her eyes becoming a little more pronounced. We’re alone, I realize after a beat, blinking hard to keep my eyes opened. But it’s more like I’m fighting to open them rather than keep them open. I grit my teeth, snarling at the unnatural force of whatever she’s doing.

“That’s enough, Lina.” Blue’s voice breaks through the spell and I’m suddenly wide awake again. He moves coolly into the room, his slightly glowing silvery eyes trained on the teacher.

“Just checking out the future Luna, my Alpha.” Lina/Mrs. Salinger purrs at Blue in a slightly accented voice. He doesn’t buy it, and neither do I for that matter. This lady was just trying to do something. Something other than ‘check me out’. I continue to glare at the woman, wondering what the hell she is and how she could be almost so powerful that I nearly succumb to the effects of whatever she was trying to do.

“She’s an Alp.” Blue mutters to me, slipping effortlessly into the seat beside me. “A nightmare-walker or causer. Kind of depends on the place of origin for their kind and lineage.” He leans back in his seat, still watching our Homeroom teacher icily. I only relax when I feel the side of his leg rub against mine, the contact, though through the layers of our clothes, soothes my frayed nerves. The caged animal in me instantly quiets and I can feel the calm he’s projecting through the bond.

It annoys the hell out of me.

I pull my leg away from his, scooting my chair a few inches away as I lean back in my chair and try to look anywhere aside from the creepy Homeroom teacher and my mate.

“Scarlet?” I’m saved. Oh, thank all mighty creatures of the earth! I nearly jump out of my chair and bound over to Darine as she walks over to me. She sets her books and a few binders on the table in front of me, claiming the spot directly in front of mine. “I need to see your schedule.” She tells me urgently, her eyes wide and almost desperate. I immediately pull the folded paper from my pocket and fork it over to my human friend, smiling as her desolate expression breaks into one of relief. “We’ve got three classes together!” She just about explodes, passing the wrinkled sheet back to me and flopping down in her seat. I grin, feeling almost as relieved as she seems to be at this news.

“Figured we’d have Jones’ together,” I remark, folding up my already memorized schedule back up and putting it in my pocket.

“Yeah, I think I’d die if we didn’t.” Darine nods, her blue-green eyes locking on mine. “We have PE together next period with Coach Lyle.” She sits at an able so she’s partially facing me, her back to the door to the class. So I have a perfect view of a certain grinning mountain-like-man stalk into the room. I keep my face neutral, trying not to look as Yuri comes closer, his finger to his lips as he oh so silently takes the seat beside Darine as she talks. “We’ve got Choir together, and Lunch. But also Calculous.” She tells me, completely oblivious as Yuri leans just into her line of sight and her whole face turns beet red.

Everything I need to know about the two’s relationship flares in her eyes. A torrent of surprise, swooning, and scathing reproach betrays just how similar our last few months must have been. In the relationship department, that is. Oops.

“Mornin’ again, gorgeous.” Yuri greets me as smoothly as he usually does and I cock an eyebrow at the idiot while Darine glares daggers at him. “I was hopin’ we’d have Homeroom together again.” He adds, either purposefully trying to get Darine to explode or just feigning ignorance as Darine’s face turns a darker shade of red. I think I’ll call it murder-red.

“Hm.” I hum, pointedly looking between my two friends. Yuri’s always been an insatiable flirt, but he normally refrains from being so blatant about it in front of Darine. Or, at least, he had last year when we all had lunch together.

“Yuri, you’re doing it again.” Blue mutters to his cousin, his head nodding at Darine in acknowledgement as she seems to notice him sitting there for the first time. Huh.

“Why do you two always sneak up on us like this?” Darine scowls at the hot Azures, the annoyance in her eyes winning out, and red in her face dying a little.

“You just need to be more observant.” Blue shrugs. The morning bell rings and people fill the room before Darine can reply. I take the few minutes to organize the stuff I’ve brought with me and pull my thermos of coffee to my mouth. I’m seriously hoping the creepy teacher/Alp isn’t going to cause any problems for the humans or my friends.

But Mrs. Salinger is all business, explaining how the class will be the usual thirty minutes of each morning, etcetera. Everyone seems to be awake and alert, listening to her or choosing to pay more attention to their phones. Either way, it doesn’t seem like the woman really cares, and ends the brief lecture with ‘free-time’. Now there’s twenty minutes of class remaining.

“Darine,” I ask my friend, the wheels in my head turning as I recall the list of classes we have together. PE is the one setting off warning bells in my head. Last year, Blue and Yuri were in the class with me so we didn’t necessarily have to hide our Wolven abilities from each other. But I have a feeling now that Darine’s been added to the mix, things will have to change. Assuming Blue and Yuri are still in my same period - and considering the influence of the Azures, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be seeing them as much as I had last year.

“Mh?” Darine hums at me, replacing the stuff she’d unleaded from her neat bag while Salinger was talking. I wait until she turns to face me.

“Are you athletic at all?” I try to pose the question in a not-so-rude way, but by the darkening look of annoyance now taking over her face, I can tell I didn’t succeed. Just as she opens her mouth, however, Blue comes to my rescue.

“What Red means is that the three of us can get a little carried away during PE, we just want to make sure you’ll be okay if we do.” Blue’s tactful words seem to soothe my friend and I can almost see her hackles lowering as she looks between me and Blue. That too-careful and calculating awareness in her eyes nearly breaking me. I want to tell her about us, what we are, but if Yuri an Blue haven’t explained it to her yet, I sure as shit won’t. Last thing I want to do is put her in more danger than she has been or had been in last year.

“I can see Blue and Yuri maybe getting competitive in PE, but you too, Scarlett?” Darine asks, tilting her head as she examines me carefully. I give her my most congenial smile and shrug - using all my will power to not look at Blue for help.

“May not look it, but I love running.” I tell her honestly.

“I see.” Darine murmurs, her eyes still locked on me. “Yeah, I think I can keep up. I’ve never been super athletic, but there’s no hard feelings if you guys leave me behind.” She tells me, the light of curiosity dying out in her eyes.

“We’ll do our best,” I promise her, hoping I don’t go crazy this year with keeping supernatural existence from this strangely observant human.