Chapter Eight

“No,” he said abruptly, keeping his eyes on his book. “Eric Bleu. He brought you here.”

The son of the mayor of Advania?!

It couldn’t get any weirder than that. Jameson wasn’t just any country bumpkin, he was the son of Mayor Watkins of Advania. I always thought I saw a resemblance, but I couldn’t quite place a finger on it till I stumbled upon the Wikipedia page of Mayor Watkins for an assignment. What was the son of a highly reputable man doing, threatening people, I thought.

Just when I thought I was getting rid of that schmuck from my head, I was tasked to write a report on the peace treaty postulated by his father. I nibbled at the base of my pen when someone dropped a cold can of soda in front of me. I looked up to catch the gaze of the one who had dared to challenge Jameson – Christian.

“Mind if I join you?” He said. I thought for a second, wondering if I should allow it or not, but then I thought to myself that this lad had challenged Jameson in the first place because of me. I shook my head, and he sat opposite me, pushing the can of soda toward me. I wondered what he meant to achieve by that, but I kept my cool.

“I should have introduced myself properly.” He said. “My name is Christian Hammel. I am the school’s student council president.” He smiled. He was probably the first person who ever smiled at me genuinely at Advania High. “Truce?” he said, gesturing the soda towards me.

“We aren’t in any sort of conflict,” I said, honestly as I took the cold can in my palms. “His scent was strong and there was no denying that he was like me, a werewolf. His bushy brows and dark eyes screamed alpha male, but I couldn’t jump to a conclusion. If Cassie was here, she would mock me for my lyrical and over-the-top imagination.

“I must have startled you.” He said. To be honest, he did, but I couldn’t fault him at all for wanting to curb someone as insolent as Jameson. “And also, we’ve met before that.” He said, biting his lower lip. Looking at his face now, I could see the definitive handsome and mature features he possessed and I could understand his position. Asides from being a calm talker, he also looked reliable and that added to the smorgasbord of qualities a students’ council president should possess.

But, what did he mean by we’ve met before? Was he the black wolf? I shot to my feet immediately. How could someone with such a calm face and persona be the third person threatening… my thoughts trailed off as he stood up as well, his height was overshadowing me but not enough to strain my neck from looking at him.

“I think our conversation is over…” I said and turned to leave but his voice stopped me.

“That was my brother, but I was there that night as well. I came a tad bit late to stop them.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I frowned.

“If you could only sit for a second and let me explain to you. Since you are new here, you might not know about the gangs and clans and might fall into the wrong hands.” I eyed him suspiciously, wondering if there was an ulterior motive. If there was something Advania high had taught me, it was not to trust anyone. However, Chris’s eyes shifted my notion a bit, and if I wanted to get to the root of the matter, I needed to know the truth – at least, that way I will be able to protect Cassie from her incessant urge to be reckless, and I can curb her from even thinking about Eric’s proposal.

I hesitated for a second before sitting. I looked at Chris’s face, and he had a pleasant smile – he must have learned to smile a lot because of his position, I thought which was also refreshing. It sort of put me at ease. He leaned forth to open the can of soda. I looked down at it for another second before conceding. I sipped from it and felt the satisfying burn down to the base of my throat.

“As you guessed, Jameson, Eric and my brother, Colton are in a clan. It started out as a simple friendship but as you know it gets to a point when a group of wolves decides to choose their alpha.”

“So… Jameson… Is the alpha.”

“No.” Christian shook his head. “There is more than one Young Blood Southern clan. The elders are tired of their constant bickering, and suggest they merge so, this is their turf war. The ones who are chosen by their sub-colonies would have to compete in the end.”

“So, let me guess – You are also aiming for the post?"

Christ threw his head back and laughed like a child. “Me?’ she scoffed. “You must think I am some power-hungry bloodhound. He reached for his jacket pocket and brought out another can of soda. He opened it and took a swig of it before exhaling deeply.

“I am fine being a guard. I stand guard for my father’s clan. I am meant to keep an eye out for unfair practices, you know… Young bloods can be wild. They don’t know when to stop.” His smile didn’t leave his face. “So, let’s just say I had to thank you and your…”

“Sister.”

“Sister.” He nodded. “For making my job a bit easier.”

It felt nice to have a pleasant conversation about a change. At least I have some clarity on the issue. What happened that night might be easily resolved than I thought. It also gave me a different insight into the system and structure of clans in Advania. In River Valley, everything was more methodical. There was one major colony of wolves, and was headed by the Royal family.

We were still talking when I suddenly felt the presence of the Silver wolf. I had not even turned to know he was the one. He seated in the space beside me and propped his bag on the table between us. There was a cold stare in his eyes as he looked at Christian and I didn’t know what it was all about. Since there was a major seat of elders that Chris was guarding, doesn’t it mean they were on the same side?

I suddenly felt uncomfortable – the last thing I wanted to do was be caught between them again. I stood to my feet, but Jameson’s hand shot forward to stop me. ‘It must be a nice conversation you are having, what is the haste to leave?” He cocked his head to one side to get a better view of my glare. “Are you annoyed that I am interrupting a romantic moment?” His snide remark felt so disrespectful to me and to Christian. Using the book in my free hand, I slapped his arm away from my view and started walking briskly away from him.

I felt him rise to his feet. Chris puts an arm out to stop him, but Jameson pushed him aside and came after me. I knew I had to put a foot down, or the continuous pestering will continue. I needed to ask him what he wanted so I will be able to be free from the incessant pestering. I turned towards him so swiftly almost tripping, but it didn’t startle him one bit. Instead, he caught me in my middle to avoid me from falling flat in humiliation. I pushed away from his grip as quickly as the adrenaline that swerved through my veins and cleared my throat to cover up for my slack.

I could still feel his hands pressed against my back and the after-effect of the hold that lasted about two seconds left a warm throb on the spot. He must have realized his overall effect on me because his cocky smile came alive at the corner of his lips in an attempt to mock me.

I raised my chin defiantly and held him at eye contact even though his indigo eyes seared into my soul. “What do you want?” I asked him.

“You took something away from me,’ his wry smile came in full. “And I want it back.’

“It was mien, to begin with.’ I said. “The hair band belonged to me…”

“What are you talking about, snow white?” The light in his eyes died, and seriousness settled between his brows, creating a cold chill between us. “The girl – have you forgotten?”

How could he be so brazen? How could he openly admit that he had been threatening another student? What would happen if I reported him? Would that put me in the spotlight as well? I hated that I was in such a situation.

“She was never yours, to begin with.’ I barked in his face. I looked over his shoulder to where Christian stood. He was going to intervene, but he didn’t know the right time to. I also felt that there was a limit to what he could do. I pushed Jameson away from me, and stormed away. I could hear him laughing as I walked away.