39 | INFIGHTING

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” I groan into the paper at my desk, only just out of ear-shot of the Calculus teacher marching back up the aisle to finish handing out our latest tests. My own test is the paper under my forehead - the one I want to destroy - maybe with a blow torch.

“I thought you said you studied.” Darine mutters close to my ear, the scent of her blood pulsing in her body letting me know just how my friend is leaning over my shoulder to peek at the red ink on the page. I groan in response and press my already aching head further into the paper - as if that will erase the thing or add another digit to the low score.

“I did,” I whine, forcing myself to move painfully slow as I sit up and grind my hands into my face.

“Scar, I know you’re not stupid, but how did you manage to get such a low score if you said you studied?” Darine chides me. I’m on the verge of blurting out that it’s not my fault that my information-absorbing is broken in my head after the visit from the Ancient. Instead, I press my lips together and drop my hands, giving my friend a grimace.

“I’ve…been preoccupied, I guess.” I mutter, straining to make the words come out in a truthful spew rather than fluttering lies. Ever since Darine’s seen what I am, I’ve made it a point not to lie to the human I call friend. Lying was easier. Darines wrinkles her nose, her mouth popping open to ask me more probing questions when the bell rings. *Saved*. I think, silently gathering my things into my bag and walking out of the class and down the staircase with her.

“Want to meet up and study during the free period?” Darine asks when we reach the branching hallway at the bottom. I let out a deep sigh and nod sheepishly to my friend. Her test score wasn’t a perfect score, but also nothing to sneeze at. She’s obviously grasping the material better than I am.

“You’re the best.” I tell her with a wave and wobbly grimace that was meant to be a smile.

“I know.” Darine grins at me, tossing some of her loose blonde hair over her shoulders before giving me a parting wave and heading down the hall towards her last class before the free period. I turn on my heel and stalk the rest of the way to my own last class, Astronomy. The class is what every senior in our year has called a slacker’s class, but I took it just for that reason, giving it a careful investigation before choosing it last year. I had made the mistake of thinking Ms. Jin’s Latin course would be easy last year and now consider it one of the more difficult in terms of learning. Calculus aside.

But even Ms. Peterson, the instructor, barely speaks during the class aside from giving us pages to read from the textbook. Sometimes she’ll give us an open-book quiz, but that’s the most we’ve done in the class thus far. I normally use the period to catch up on anything I’m behind in for my other classes or try to. The only thing is, Blue’s in it too. And he’s distracting as hell.

Not that he bothers me or really tries to bug me at all, but just him being near makes me take note of him. It’s bad enough that I barely have time to my assignments before the end of the period, my mind wandering and daydreams fluttering through my head on repeat. Today, however, I’m distracted for a whole other reason: he’s got still-healing scrapes on his arms that look suspiciously like claw marks, mottle bruises over his knuckles and a barely-visible black eye. An overwhelming desire to tear apart the one who dared to touch my mate stirs in my gut, twisting at my heart as my wolf snarls at the sight of the injuries. Blue avoids looking at me, and doesn’t say anything all period except the usual pleasantries I’ve grown accustomed too.

I don’t invade his side of the bond, knowing the open-doorway is still too new for me to be testing. Last thing I want is for him to start blocking me - no matter how much I want to know about why he’s all beaten up. By the degree of healing, I can tell it’s from sometime after my last class with him this morning, and probably done by someone in his Pack if it hasn’t completely healed by now. I deduce it had to have happened while he was here at school or right after lunch. Blue didn’t have any visible marks on him during lunch.

It takes everything I have to not pull Blue aside and question the shit out of him. But we’re in a class full of humans. Still, I can’t help but wonder if he and Yuri or one of the other Wolven got into a fight with him. The question of why keeps picking at me, distracting me to the point I’m left scrambling to get my stuff as the bell rings and dismisses us for our free period.

“Blue,” I barely catch up with him outside the classroom, wrapping an arm around his to make him slow to my pace and look at me.

“Red,” He murmurs, his voice sounding off. Rougher, as if it’s worn from use. My eyes disp to his neck and catch the pale scarred punctures around his windpipe in a familiar pattern. My hands tighten around his bicep, my heart giving a wild pang of fear and overwhelming protectiveness. The anger from before explodes into a searing fury so strong I feel as if I may combust on the spot. My whole body tenses, muscles twitching with the urge to kill.

“Who hurt you?” I hiss at him, my throat feeling tight as my heart constricts in my chest. Blue wraps his arm around my shoulder, quieting some of the fear on contact, and pulling me towards the rarely-used back staircase as we make our way from the Astronomy room to the ground floor. “I’ll kill them.” I bite out when we’re alone. Blue’s sharp intake of breath lets me know he knows how deadly-serious I am about this. Family or no - you don’t go for another wolf’s throat unless you’re trying to kill them. Every Wolven knows that. And if one of the Azures wants my mate dead, they won’t live to see another day.

“It was an accident-” Blue rasps in my ear, pulling me to a stop on the second landing and pressing my shaking body against the wall. Like he knows I’m seconds from trying to invade his mind and find out just who’s responsible.

“Like hell-” I hiss back, pressing my hands between us to try and give us both space as my body heats - not all of it from my growing anger and protective instinct. Blue grips my shoulders and ducks down close enough to level our faces and stares into my eyes. His silvery-grey eyes are warm as always, gentle and…full of regret.

“It wasn’t their intention to go for my throat.” He insists, reaching up to cup my cheek, the pad of his thumb scraping against my skin and distracting me with wishful thinking. “I took care of it, Red.” His words don’t soothe me. Not in the least.

“Who the hell would even think to fight with you-?” I growl at him before the only two possibilities smack me in the face. “Yuri or Cole?” I ask point-blank, the ice in my bones thrumming as I stare into Blue’s eyes. At the mention of Yuri his silvery eyes flare the tiniest degree and I have my answer.

“It…was justified, Red.” Blue hesitates before admitting it. I narrow my eyes at him, getting ready to make a leap for the remaining part of the staircase and sniff out the Beta myself to rip his own throat from his body- “He wanted to tell Darine. I said no. We fought. He was pissed and…” Blue shrugs, his palm moving to gasp my chin and force my eyes back to his as the solid wall of his body presses me into the wall. His furnace-like heat chasing the chill of my vengeance into the deepest recess of my mind as a warm smile blooms on his face. It destroys every bit of anger from the forefront of my mind and makes my stomach flutter. “I appreciate the offer, though.” He murmurs, leaning in so our lips brush. A spark of electricity zings through me and sets my whole body afire.

“You’re not being fair,” I note on a sigh, my knees all but turning to jelly as his other hand moves up the side of my neck. The second his palm grazes over my mark, my breath hitches, kicking up as desire pools low in me and heated thoughts pulse across my conciousness.

“Who’s not being fair?” Blue mutters against the side of my jaw, pressing ghost-like kisses along the suddenly sensitive flesh. An involuntary shiver creeps along my skin and I find myself reaching to grasp at his shirt, the cotton material bunching under my grip.

“*Ahem*!” A snide voice makes an exaggerated coughing sound that all but dunks ice water over the moment. Blue lets out a heavy break against my neck, his head dropping for the briefest second to press one last, lingering kiss to my skin before turning to glare at the person who interrupted us. Ms. Salinger is standing on the landing with us, her face pinched into a mask of disgust. “Perhaps you two should go somewhere private to mate?” She snaps at us, looking up and down the stairwell as if she half-expects someone else to join us. And then I remember we’re not in some secluded alcove where it’s just me and Blue, but in a stairwell at school.

“I-I’m supposed to meet Darine in the library for the free period.” I mutter to Blue, smoothing out my curled fingers around the material of his t-shirt as I take a deep, steadying breath. My foggy thoughts clear, despite the mouth-watering smell of Blue’s parchment and pine scent - and okay, maybe a *little* from the raging of his blood I’m sensing beneath the surface of his still-flushed skin. The reminder that I’m supposed to be in the library with my human friend and not here with Blue and the Alp brings back my anger and annoyance. Not to murderous levels, but maybe a serious beating would be in store for Yuri next time I see him.

“Let’s get you to the library then.” Blue tells me, ignoring the *Alp* and taking my hand as he guides us the rest of the way down the last flight of stairs and towards the library. As we get closer, however, the rest of my Blue-high is drowned by the sound of Darine yelling at someone.