THE MOMENT I SAW BRYNNER'S LIPS CURL INTO A SINISTER SMIRK, his eyes boring into my face, my stomach twisted with dread. I knew he wasn't just taking a shot at the hunter, but also at me, too.
Caleb looked confused as alarm spread across his face, unsure what Brynner was talking about. I twitched my lip in warning. Brynner ignored it. As he waited for Caleb to reply, he drew a furious, amber gaze at him.
Caleb looked distracted and uncertain when he responded. "I don't own a dog," he replied confusedly. He then chuckled lightly, and his laughter eased the tension in the class. "It's true, though, I'm more of a cat guy. I got one at home."
Brynner inhaled sharply, and I knew that wasn't the response he wanted from Caleb. Suddenly, a flash of pain flashed across Brynner's face, and his mouth twisted into a grimace. It looked like he was still feeling ill because his face turned green. Despite the pain on his face, he flared with annoyance and slammed his hands on the table.
"Fuck you, man," he yelled, looking like a total psychopath. Knowing this lunatic was part of my pack made my cheeks sting from secondhand embarrassment.
"Oh, my god, Brynner, what's wrong with you?" I hissed in horror.
"THAT'S IT! It's time to leave, Mr. Shorrock!! Get out! Principal's office, now!" Bones shouted, pointing at the door.
Brynner shot the teacher a venomous look and then glared at Caleb and me, his grim face etched with chilling fury. I caught a glimpse of myself in the depths of his angry, amber eyes, and I quickly changed my expression to annoyance to hide my distress. Then he scowled, snatched his book bag from the floor, and grumbled, "Whatever. I'm outta here." As Brynner forced his way past Caleb, he smacked the back of his head, growling, "Later, loser."
"Ow," Caleb said, frowning. "What was that about?"
Fortunately, Brynner ignored Caleb's question and stalked out of the classroom without answering. The class collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the door clicked shut.
Standing up, I took Brynner's empty seat, facing Caleb. I asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
Caleb rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah, I'm okay. He didn't hit me hard. Is that how he usually is? Do you know him?"
I opened my mouth to say no, but then I heard a familiar voice say, "Oh yeah, that's Brynner. He's a total jerk. He's Dianthe's cousin. Ain't it right?" I turned to see Liam, another one of Brynner's bullying victims, standing behind me, beaming at us. A flash of shame came over me when I remembered how Brynner nearly knocked this boy into the next dimension the other morning.
"Oh, hi, Liam," I mumbled.
Hey, Dianthe, sorry for ripping into your cousin this way, but I think the new guy deserves to know that he's a total jerk," Liam said carelessly, reaching out his hand in greeting to Caleb. "My name's Liam Smiles. Nice to meet you."
Caleb grinned as he grabbed Liam's hand, shaking it like a bro. "Caleb Knight, man. Nice to meet you, too."
"I'm like a total Bitcher expert," Liam said, plopping into his seat. I raised a brow at him and he stared at me wide-eyed, as if he were innocent. "Wha? Brynner, Bitcher. Get it? Cause he's super bitchy?"
My dry response was, "I got it."
"He's an asshole to everyone," Liam snarkily continued, " everyone except Dianthe." As my eyes widened upon being mentioned, Liam added, "He's in love with her."
Shocked, I froze. "What?" I sputtered, looking wide-eyed at Liam as he acted indifferent. "He does not. Brynner and I are not like that."
A few girls near me were snickering, and I could feel the tips of my ears becoming red. Liam snorted loudly in response. "Remember how upset he got when I flirted with you the other day? He wasn't mad for Peter. Bro was mad at me because he was jealous."
Caleb started to say, "Who is Peter--?" I cut him off, hissing at Liam, "It's not true. He was standing up for Peter."
"Trust me, I'm a guy. I know when another guy is jealous," Liam replied simply, turning to Caleb. "Peter is Dianthe's boyfriend. Bro got hurt on a hunting trip."
"Boyfriend?" Caleb said.
I snapped at Liam, "How did you know that? Who told you that?"
"Your boyfriend was hurt? Is he alright?" Caleb asked.
"Everyone knows," Liam replied, lifting his eyebrows. "Is it supposed to be a secret?"
I pondered my next words as my eyes tightened.
"When did this happen?" Caleb asked, his eyes wide with concern. "What did he do?"
"It's not a secret, I just didn't expect anybody to know the details yet," I said carefully, painfully aware of Caleb's confusion and frustration at being ignored. "Peter's mom didn't want the news out so soon. Violation of their privacy."
Liam shrugged his shoulders and said plainly, "Don't get mad at me. It was your cousin Emma who said it first."
Emma said it? I gritted my teeth. Why would she tell our classmates about her pack business? How did she explain the situation to them? After carefully choosing my words, I replied, "Oh, okay. That's fine." It wasn't okay or fine, but I didn't want Liam to say anything to Caleb that would reveal our hunting and preying connections. "She said it, so I guess it's okay to tell everybody."
Caleb asked, this time a touch more forcefully: "What happened?" There was no hint of malice in his face, and he looked genuinely concerned for my mate. He was completely unaware that he was the reason Peter was injured on that hunting trip in the first place. I realized with a pang in my heart that Caleb was the perfect antihero. My enemy, my soulmate, my poison, and my remedy, all rolled into one. This wasn't a conversation I was prepared to have with the hunter so soon after he destroyed my family and stole my only chance to fall in love with someone.
As I gazed sadly into his beautiful, clear eyes, I lied, "I don't know. I wasn't there." Caleb's expression softened, and he smiled empathetically at me as the class fell into silence and Mr. Bones' lecture began.
For the remainder of the first period, we did not speak to each other. At the end of class, I felt like a big lump of anxiety, and when I reached down to pick up Caleb's book bag, Liam grabbed it before me. "I have second and third periods with King Arthur," Liam explained to me, gesturing to Caleb, "Get it? King Arthur--because his last name is Knight and he fights dogs and stuff."
"Um," I replied, struggling for words. "You want to carry his stuff?" I asked, confused.
Liam threw Caleb's book bag over his shoulder and replied, "Yeah. You can take it over again for fourth period, OK?"
As I glanced at Caleb, my face was scrawled with uncertainty. "Are you OK with that?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows.
"No problem, Dee," Caleb reassured with a friendly smile.
The nickname he used took me completely by surprise, and I stammered, "Yeah, sure."
I wasn't sure at what point Liam became more significant to Caleb, since neither of them waited for me to get my stuff or leave the classroom together. My huffing got drowned out by the memory of Caleb calling me my new nickname. I mentally rehearsed how I'd respond to the nick name as my cheeks turned pink. As the boys walked down the hall to their classes, I turned around and walked down the opposite corridor.
During second period, I had my class right by the principal's office, so I instinctively peered in to see if Brynner actually came when he was told to. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't there. And the smell of stale clothing in the air led me to believe he didn't walk this way. Did he leave? As I glanced around, I saw Judas laughing at something a human student said to him by his locker. I caught his eye and he smiled, discreetly motioning to the corridor emergency exit that had been left open ajar. Did Brynner step outside?
I gritted my teeth and glanced around to make sure no one was watching me, and then I slipped out the emergency exit door. I couldn't see Brynner anywhere. I sniffed the air, catching the familiar scent of sandalwood and whiskey, and followed it into the woods. As I tracked Brynner's scent, the time kept ticking by faster and faster as I delved deeper into the woods to find him.
Shifting forms so I could cross more ground, I left my book bag near a fallen tree trunk and followed the scent. Eventually, after a few minutes of walking in the same direction, the scent became stronger, and I jumped out just in time to intercept Brynner by the river.
I watched him as I emerged from the thicket and shifted forms, and his expression remained stony. Taking a handful of water from the river and splashing it on his face, he grumbled, "What are you doing out here? It's not okay to leave the others unattended at school."
Walking up beside him, I said, "I came out here to see how you're doing." He looked at me sideways as water dripped from his bangs, down between his eyes, and off his nose. Despite the pain and nausea he was in, he still managed to look annoyed with me. "You're my responsibility too, Bryn."
Rather loudly, he scoffed and shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. As a few water droplets hit my face, my makeup foundation smeared. Immediately, he glared at the river and avoided my gaze, grumbling, "Your concern doesn't mean a thing to me."
My mind flashed back to Liam and what he said about Brynner loving me. As I stared at Brynner's face, I could feel my expression deadpan. He bent over to get more river water in his hands, trying to avoid catching my eye.
I muttered, keeping my face as stoic as possible. "Would it be too much to just say thanks?"
"What do I thank you for?" he asked, splashing some more water on his face. Upon realizing just how sickly his expression looked as he brushed his wet bangs back from his eyes, I felt a stab of concern. He looked worse than yesterday.
As I reached out to touch his face, I called out, "Brynner." His eyes fell to the ground, and he let out a sharp sigh as his gaze finally shifted to mine. While our gazes locked, I jolted, surprised that he allowed the tips of my fingers to graze his stickily smooth forehead. "Oh my god, Bryn. You're burning up! What's going on with you?"
Instead of replying, Brynner just grabbed my hand with both of his hands. He pressed it into his forehead, as if the coolness of my skin was soothing to his burning face. As his deep, pained amber eyes flickered closed and he took a deep breath, my heart thumped in my chest and a lump formed in my throat.
"Brynner--?"
His voice barely rose above a whisper as he mumbled, "I'm fine. I'm okay, Diane."
Unconvinced, I chewed on my bottom lip. Brynner didn't look well to me. But for some reason, Brynner wouldn't tell me how he really felt, or admit to the rest of us that something was wrong. After a few seconds, he let go of my hand and splashed more water on his face.
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a fluffy brown ball of fur. It was a rat, and a big one at that. "Don't tell Phoebe I was out here," he said, handing it to me. "For you. Lunch. Stop skipping breakfast."
Unsure of what to say, I took it in one bite and swallowed it whole. After looking at me for a moment, Brynner sprayed one last handful of water on his face.
"Well," he said, his tone darkening. "We've got to talk."