16. I’ll Bite Back

"Let me go!"
"I can't do that," Jett said, arms steel cages at my waist.
I thrashed in his hold, marveling at how everything had happened in a flash. My fingers closing around the mask, the tattooed arm that suddenly grabbed the hand- mask and all, Kane turning his head as arms closed around my middle- and then I wasn't in the classroom anymore.
Jett had brought me to the school's parking lot which was very far from my classroom. From my target.
"I'll kill him," I snarled.
Jett pried the mask from my hand, threw it out of reach. It landed on the cement a few yards away, the open mouth seeming to sneer up at us, angry at being tossed aside.
Abruptly, Jett let me go, twisted me around to face him.
His face was blank, the scar above his eye more ragged in the daylight. "He's a new alpha. If you attack him in public it'll be seen as a challenge. He'll have no choice but to discipline you swiftly and without mercy. I don't think you'd like that."
That gave me pause. Challenge? Omegas never challenged authority, it wasn't in our nature. Any action that might prove otherwise- intended or not- was avoided like a plague. I stopped struggling.
"I liked her better angry."
I turned. Kane was leaned against a black Mercedes, his arms folded, expression observant. Cold. Very unlike when he'd been kissing me.
Maybe he'd been pretending.
I lunged for my mask.
Jett caught me. "What did we say about attacking him in public?" He asked, then to Kane, "You’re not helping."
He shrugged. "I want her to bite." His gaze, suddenly dark, dragged itself over me, from head to toe. He bared a set of straight white teeth. "That way I'll have an excuse to bite back."
I stiffened. Jett's firm hands, at my shoulders, gave me a reassuring squeeze. I relaxed, it almost felt like it was two against one. Odds I wasn't used to, but found I didn't dislike.
Hand shaking only slightly, I brushed my braids away from my face. "It's not going to work," I said.
Kane raised a brow. "What's not going to work?"
I waved a hand, Jett stepped back, apparently deeming me stable again. And this time I was. It was now blatantly obvious that Kane was trying to rile me up. But if he wanted me angry and making a fool of myself by throwing tantrums left and right, then I was going to give him the exact opposite. Petty was my middle name.
I walked to my mask, bent down to pick it up calmly, using the few seconds my face was out of view to take a quiet deep breath. I knew they could hear it anyway, absolute privacy wasn't a given when you were around werewolves. Jett handed me my book bag. I stuffed my mask inside it, slung it over my shoulder and finally graced Kane with my attention.
"You reeling me in with physical attraction. It isn't going to work." I paused. "Asshole."
He tilted his head to the side, blue eyes freezing ice. "Say that again."
I breathed in, the image my mind conjured up vanishing.
The real Kane said nothing, unfolded his arms. He stalked over to me, leaned down until we were on eye level. He waited. Probably expecting me to cringe away or maybe, just maybe close the few inches of space between our lips. I pressed said lips together, stared back at him. Not a challenge, but not me being entirely submissive either.
I knew I was skirting dangerous waters, but it was one thing to let someone shun and oppress you- and entirely a different matter to let them toy with your feelings. The Kane I knew never played with physical attraction (at least not with me), he snarled and threatened to get what he wanted. Inflicted hurt. But I was no stranger to pain, I knew how to deal with it, ignore it, and swallow it down. Affection... That was uncharted territory. I wouldn't have that weakness used against me- I was no one's pet, the faster he understood that, the better.
Do your worst, I said quietly to those blue orbs.
He didn't close the distance, instead those two long hands of his grabbed both my cheeks.
He studied me quietly, face hard. "You think I'm playing around?"
I lifted my chin. "Just because I'm a submissive wolf doesn't mean I'm a stupid one."
His thumb moved, traced a path to my bottom lip. "You don't want me to touch you then?"
"No," I said curtly.
He didn't blink. "I'll touch you anyway. You're mine."
I bit his finger.
Pretty hard too. The jerk (sadly) did not flinch.
He pulled his finger away slowly. "I told you I'd bite back."
"Who said I'd stick around for you to?"
I ducked out of his reaching hand, sprinted over to Jett. I wasn't looking for protection, only putting some distance between the crazy douchebag and I but- to my surprise- Jett gently pushed me behind him.
"Restraint," Jett chided.
Quickly regaining my senses, I moved out of his cover. Jett was one of Kane's henchmen, I wasn't going to make a habit of depending on him. Plus, I needed to see when my enemy pounced.
Kane wasn't charging though. He was only scowling in my direction. "I don't want to restrain myself."
I wrinkled my nose. "You're insane."
He smiled, the kind of smile he'd given me in the infirmary. Kind, innocent, alluring. He offered his palm. "Come here."
I stepped towards him- and would've walked all the way if Jett hadn't spoken.
"What did you just do?"
I shook my head violently, jumped back. Jett regarded me with a puzzled look.
Kane lowered his palm, the frown returning. "Darius advised me to smile if I wanted anything from her. It worked the first time. I didn't really think it'd work twice."
"Hmm," Jett put a hand in his pocket.
I heard the crackle of the candy wrappers.
Jett showed Kane the jolly ranchers in his palm. "I gave her these last time. She listened pretty well."
Kane raised an inquisitive brow. "Did she..." He turned that questioning look at me, eyes glittering. "I have a packet at home, come with me and it's all yours."
Unbelievable. Here he was, joking around, flirting as if he had the right. Waiting for me to swoon into his arms.
I jabbed a finger at him. "Stay away from me. And that applies to the both of you." I swirled around, stormed away.
"You should've offered her two packets," I heard Jett say.
***
He cracked a joke. He kissed me in public, teased and even smiled at me. None of which I've seen him do with anyone else- not even Helen. I smiled.
No, no, no.
I slapped the grin off my face, the sting bringing me back to reality. He was playing with your feelings, using you to get what he wanted. Don't fall for it.
I needed a run. The familiar activity would clear my head of all the jumble and I figured the loneliness of it would remind me of what Kane's rejection had cost me. Pack runs occurred once a month, when the full moon dominated the night sky. For obvious reasons, I didn't attend them and my mother never suggested we run together. I'd asked once and she'd said it was lonely without Dad. Guilty, I never asked her again.
So it was always solo runs for this wolf.
I was going in broad dayling but I could risk being seen by a human or two- pack glamour protected us in our wolf forms. Normal humans will probably see a stray dog- a bit larger than usual- but a dog nonetheless. It was always best to stay out of sight though. I almost got caught by the dog pound once.
It wasn't a fun experience.
I grimaced at the memory, pulling my shirt over my head. The woods were alive with chattering birds and buzzing insects. No human activity for miles, I'd triple checked. I abandoned my cloths, lowered to a crouch.
I reached inside, calling to my baser being- and as if answering my call, a lightning bolt of pain struck my spine. I flinched, bit my lips, the teeth there sharpening a second later. I felt the blood trickle down my chin as the joints in my legs snapped. Crack. Crack. Everything seemed to be breaking, a hammer shattering the bones in one place and quickly moving onto the next before I could even register the pain. No matter how many times I experienced it, the change was always painful.
In the end, it was always worth it.
I slumped onto the forest floor, jumped onto four feet with a shake a moment later. The ground was much closer now, the small insects crawling through the grass visible through sharper eyes. The sky overhead was a brilliant blue, impossibly far but that was okay. The woods were mine.
I- the wolf- sniffed the air.
Soil, decay (that was most likely a dead forest creature) and something else. Something delicious. A rabbit.
I bounced forward eagerly- then the animal settled in more firmly, the human shoved to the back seat. The next steps were swifter, quiet as I stalked towards my prey, occasionally sniffing at the air. The leaves gave way to my paws, a squirrel stumbling in front of me, its cheeks soft rounded balls. I gave a huff and it scurried away with a squeak.
I resumed my hunt.
I found the rabbit among a thicket of small bushes, its ears twitching as it munched at something.
Gently, I lowered myself on my belly so as to not startle it. But it jerked its head- searching suspiciously for an unseen visitor. I leapt then, fell on it just as it was probably considering running. I killed it with a single snap of my teeth, the blood warm as it spilled onto the ground.
The wolf ate gingerly, and I realized I hadn't eaten any meat since after the weekend fight. I should've, especially after those bullet wounds. Meat helped werewolves heal faster and usually I always had a half a dozen hot dogs or so after a fight. I blame my forgetfulness on Alpha Douchebag.
I finished my meal, gave a satisfied yip and trotted away. The wolf knew its way around here, it ran, branches, air and a few flying insects whipping into its fur. The wolf jumped over a fallen log with a bark, the human inside laughing. There was only a slight pang while it soared over soil and grass, a hole that couldn't be filled.
I roamed the forest for who knows how long before stepping out of the thicket of trees. There was a small river, the water streaming gently along, glittering where sunlight danced on the surface. The water was cool on my snout, even more so as it went down my throat.
I stretched after my drink, content. It was near afternoon, time for my shift. I started towards the trees again.
And that's when I saw him.
A faerie man- leaning on another one of those fallen logs, his head resting on the wood. His black hair cascaded against the brown bark, long enough I almost mistook it for a cape. His face was all elegant angles, too perfect. His eyes were shut but I knew they'd be perfect too, if open. His skin was lined with bruises, the cloth of his white robes torn.
The wolf sniffed. He smelled familiar.
I moved closer.