BODY LANGUAGE IS AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL TOOL. Apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation comes from the body, not the words. Just by my body language alone, he could tell I wasn't in the mood to discuss the hunter or their brief exchange in homeroom earlier. However, the look he gave me kept me rooted in place, and I shifted uncomfortably on the balls of my feet, looking down at the ground.
I mumbled, hoping he wouldn't take it as an invitation to continue and would just leave it at that. "What, Bryn?"
"Caleb Knight is the hunter," he said matter-of-factually, watching my reactions carefully. "And yet you protect him."
As I stared wide-eyed at Brynner, I felt all the color drain from my face. By scent alone, I knew Brynner knew Caleb was the hunter, but it felt more real when he verbalized it. I shrugged hesitantly. "I'm not protecting him." That wasn't entirely a lie. After all, I did lead him straight to Brynner knowing damn well that he would recognize and react to him. "It's against the rules for me to react in public, Brynner."
That wasn't entirely a lie either. Lycans must keep pack business out of the human public eye, according to Griffin. It didn't matter to Brynner, though. He was constantly testing the limits by bullying people at school.
"Dianthe."
When he said my name, my eyebrows knitted together. He called me Diane so often that when he used my real name, it sounded cold to me, and I immediately got defensive. "What?" I snapped, annoyed that he thought he could use a berating tone against me.
"Why do you let him live?" he snapped back, as annoyed with me as I was with him. "Why didn't you rip his ass to pieces when he shot Peter?"
As memories of that night flooded back to me, a vision of Caleb beneath me sobbing, slick with piss and blood, struck me with such force that I shifted forms in front of Brynner. Brynner too shifted forms, and his massive build loomed over me like a ghost. My body tensed, ready to attack, as I gnashed my fangs at him. His teeth gleamed in the sunlight as he snarled back at me.
The same tension was palpable in Brynner's body as mine, as he demanded, tell me why, Dianthe!
Did he really think he could intimidate me into answering? I considered my chances of winning if I challenged Brynner in a fight as my ears flattened against my skull. For a female, I was quite strong. Some even said I was as strong as my father in his prime, but Brynner was built differently. He was massive, muscular, and hulking. Would I be able to defeat him?
I heard Brynner's voice soften as he pleaded with me. Diane, just answer me. I need to know what goes through your mind when you make these decisions.
While his voice was pleading, his body language was not, as he took a challenging step forward, ready to pounce on me. Growing angry, I took an involuntary step backward. Why am I doing this? I'm his alpha. I'm not scared of Brynner.
Changing forms once more, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. I spat, "You first. Tell me why you lied to the Senior Council on my behalf."
This again?
As I replied, I struggled to keep my voice firm and unwavering. "Yes. You knew I let the hunter go, so why did you lie for me?"
Brynner backed me up against a tree before I could blink. His stare pierced me. I couldn't breathe. I could hear his heart beating through the small space between us. It sounded like a drum when it hit his rib-cage, and it only got louder as he shifted forms, looming over me with his even taller human stature.
I stared at him tentatively, noses inches apart. All of his features were clear to me. The sun reflected off his eyes, highlighting the yellow in them, which reminded me of topaz. I glanced away sheepishly as the tips of my ears turned red. I could see why Judas called him handsome -- he was, and he had the prettiest eyes of all the guys in the pack.
"Diane," he said slowly. His voice was guttural and hushed, and I strained my ears to hear him say, "I'd do anything to keep you safe."
"What?" I asked, not because I couldn't hear him, but because I wanted him to say it again.
As he stared down at me, he pulled away, but kept me pinned against the tree. In addition to being pained, his expression was somber.
As firmly and sincerely as he could, Brynner repeated, "I'd do anything to keep you safe. No matter what."
Stunned, I stared at our shoes. It sounded like if it were up to him, I could get away with anything, even murder. I grabbed Brynner's shirt and pulled him into a spontaneous hug as I wiped tears from my eyes. I sobbed into his shirt as he jerked in surprise at my sudden embrace.
I thought Brynner would return the hug, but instead he shuddered against me and looked away awkwardly, making me feel uncomfortable. In spite of the urge to snap at him, I held him in my embrace for at least ten minutes before my sense of obligation returned to me.
I gasped, "Oh my god, what time is it?"
"10:15," Brynner replied in a dry voice.
Liam was transferring book-bag duties back to me after third period, so I said, "Shit! I have to get back to school. Will you come back with me?"
The blank look on Brynner's face told me everything I needed to know.
In my attempt to pacify him for now as I released him from my embrace, I said, "I promise I'll explain myself to you tonight." He looked down at me, and I could tell from the depth of his eyes that he did not believe me or that I would ever tell him the truth.
As he took a deep breath, he sighed in defeat, probably too sick to continue arguing with me.
"Whatever, Diane," he grumbled as he sat down on the ground next to the river.
As I turned away to go back the way I came, I said, "Okay, good talk."
"Diane?" he asked suddenly.
My stomach churned internally. Now what? "Bryn?"
The clouds above cast a shadow on his face, making him look even darker, angrier, and colder than usual. "Don't get too close to him," he said, cutting his eyes sideways at me. I couldn't ignore the seriousness of his voice. It said, "Use your discretion."
Realizing how serious he was made me shudder. In fear of what he would do to Caleb if I didn't listen, my heart dropped to my stomach. I grumbled, "You don't need to worry. He's just a human. I don't care about him."
Except he meant everything to me, and the imprint made that clear.
Brynner nodded slowly, then looked away, signaling the end of our conversation.
After staring at him for a few seconds, I turned and walked back to the school. It was just the end of third period, and thankfully neither of my second or third period teachers had asked me where I had been. I found Liam and Caleb waiting for me by their lockers. Caleb's eyes lit up as I approached them.
As I drank in the sight of his smile, my heart began to beat faster. As I reached out to grab Caleb's bag from Liam's hand, I coolly said, "Hey boys. How did it go?"
"Turns out, I'm not that good of a servant," Liam chuckled playfully, elbowing Caleb in the side. "Left him behind after the second period. Forgot he couldn't carry his own s**t."
Caleb laughed and pushed him back. I forced myself to keep a smile on, but my side tingled with jealousy. I wanted Caleb to have friends, but I didn't expect him to make friends with someone like Liam so quickly and easily. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of how fast they bonded.
"And check this out!" Liam said suddenly, snatching a notepad out of Caleb's pocket. "Caleb got a hot girl's number on day 2! Not bad for an ugly cripple, right Dianthe?"
Both Caleb and I turned red. He probably had embarrassment on his mind. I had wild, involuntary anger. Liam handed me the paper and I saw the name of Zoe Taylor, the prettiest and most popular human student in our high school, written on it in big, glittery red ink along with the infamous phrase "call me."
As I thrust the paper back into Liam's hands, jealousy almost blinded me. "That's great," I all but growled, trying to keep a smile on my face. "She's pretty."
"Isn't she?" Liam asked, oblivious to my mounting rage and Caleb's obvious discomfort. "Man, I'm jealous. You should've seen her shoot that shot, girl. She had her boobs in his face and even did the wink."
I pictured in my head Zoe Taylor slipping the note into his arm sling, winking at him flirtatiously and heading back to her seat. My blood bubbled, and I curled my smile downward into a frown. As hard as I tried to rationalize that it was harmless, and that humans do this sort of thing all the time, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the waves of jealousy that were crashing into me all at once.
He's not even yours, my subconscious whispered, but I shrugged and flashed my teeth, trying to hide any trace of jealousy on my face. "Wow, Caleb. Mr. Popular, I see!" I said, trying to sound cheerful.
Caleb rubbed his head sheepishly and said, "I don't know about that. I think she's just being polite."
Zoe was anything but polite. She was Silvermill High's number two bully behind Brynner. However, his gaze lingered on her name after Liam handed the paper back to him before he put it back in his pocket. Could it be he liked her? The sharp pain in my chest ached as I tried to ignore it.
"Alright, you two, catch you later," Liam said before turning and walking down the opposite hall to his fourth period class. "Hey, Bait Dog, text me, man!" he shouted when he reached the door.
Caleb shouted back, "Sure, Smiles!"
Caleb chuckled, looking down at me as I lifted an eyebrow.
"I guess that's my official nickname. Today our English teacher looked up our names and their meanings, and mine means dog, so Liam started calling me Bait Dog." He pointed to his arm sling and smiled softly. "Bait Dog. It doesn't make sense to me, but eh, whatever."
He's right. That didn't make any sense. Bait dogs are like punching bags for fighting dogs, except they don't punch, they bite and rip. Dog fighters use bait dogs so their game dogs can practice mutilating another dog without getting hurt. The night he shot Peter, Caleb wasn't a harmless pup. Both pistols and knives were deadly tools for Caleb, especially now that we know he uses silver-based weapons.
Earlier, Caleb had told Brynner it was a dog attack that left him in the condition he was in. What was the point of lying? It's not like it's a crime to say you were attacked by wolves. Unless he didn't want the public to know he trespassed on federally protected lands.
"Well, at least you weren't attacked by wolves," I said, still annoyed over the whole Zoe incident to stop myself from implying that I knew the truth. "A dog's teeth don't hurt nearly as much as a wolf's fangs."
Caleb's face turned pale as he stared down at me wide-eyed, but I shrugged and smiled at him dismissively. I tried to keep him from asking more questions by hoisting his book bag over my shoulder and saying, "We have to hurry up and get to the class before we are going to be late!"
Taking my wolf fang statement completely by surprise, Caleb stammered, "Umm, yeah." He pulled out his school schedule and tried to read the name of his next class, but I could tell he was having a hard time concentrating. "Next is Mr. Meyers' class. Social studies."
I lurched forward, yelling, "Let's go!" I tried to keep my distance, resisting the urge to rip up the note in his pocket. I led Caleb down the hall to his next class, and he tried to keep up with me. I handed his book bag to another student who attended the class with him and said, "I'll be back after class."
When he looked at my face, he said, "Thanks, Dee. You're the best."