FOURTEEN | LESSON NUMBER ONE

It's not hard to pay attention in Ms. Jin's class, but Mr. Barnaby's is a whole other story. He drones on and on in that monotone voice of his, only inviting the past to flare up in my mind. The seconds tick slower and slower - to an almost unbearable crawl. I don't even notice my head drooping or the heaviness in my eyelids until I'm suddenly engulfed by the past.

*"Wisty, c'mon!" Paris whines, clasping the edge of the chain-link fence. Ry is scaling it beside her, pausing at the top to throw his jacket over the razor wire at the top.*

*"Guys, I don't know about this-" I hiss at them from the ground. I keep looking around, waiting for someone to catch us.*

*"Don't be a wuss, Wisty!" Ry scowls at me when he drops from the other side. "C'mon, you wanted to us to teach you, so let's go." He nods to the forest behind him. I chew the inside of my cheek, debating on whether or not it's worth it... It doesn't take long to decide. I swallow my fear and begin scaling the fence behind Paris.*

*"Knew you had it in you, Wisty." Paris takes my hand, grinning when I reach the other side. Ry smiles down at me too, taking my other hand and the two pull me into the woods. It's dark, my Wolven senses aren't strong enough to illuminate the darkness around us, but I smell the life around us. Animals in the underbrush, birds in the tree, I hear their hearts.*

"*But...won't you guys get in trouble?" I ask after a second, still a little apprehensive.*

*"Only if we get caught." Ry shrugs. "But it's cool, Grandma was sleeping when we left and your mom won't be back for another day or two." Paris squeezes my hand gently*.

*"It'll be okay, Wisty." She tells me. I nod, still a little worried as we go deeper into the forest. I'm not afraid of the woods, I'm just scared about what'll happen if we're discovered*.

*"Here, stand right there. It'll help you focus on one direction." Paris helps me get settled into the crevasse in the tree*.

*"Okay, now, try to smell them. There's a family of rabbits that way," Ry instructs, pointing at the area opposite the us. I shut my eyes, letting the world fall dark and try to focus. Nothing changes*.

*"I can hear their hearts. Steady beats. Five or six..." I tell them, frowning. It's just their hearts, the sound of blood rushing through their bodies as the muscle pumps life through them*.

*"No, not their heartbeats, their* smell. *It's like...warm and earthy." Ry says slowly.* Smell. *I try to order myself. Still, nothing*.

*"It smells like meat." Paris adds on my other side. I close my eyes tighter, frowning more as I try to concentrate. I smell the woods around us, the slight salt in the air from the sea breeze*...

*"I can't smell anything like that." I whine, throwing my hands up in defeat*.

*"It's okay, Wisty, just relax." Paris wraps an arm around me, pressing her head against mine. I feel peace and love in the bond and nod. I take a breath as she releases me. Breathe...two...three... Suddenly the smells sharpen and I can pick out individual scents.*

*"I smell... salt and something..." I frown at the foreign scent. Empty and cold. "Like ice." Fear shudders through me and my eyes flash open. "There's someone else here."*

*"Naughty pups, you shouldn't be out here so late." The icy voice comes from the tree above. Paris shoves me back without warning, gritting her teeth. Her eyes are glowing cerulean, canines elongating slightly, right on the brink of shifting. Someone drops from the branches, tall and thin*.

*"C-craven, wh-what're you-" Ry stammers, Paris steps in front of me, push me back, deeper into the hollowed tree. There's a wet* thunk *and Paris growls at Craven, Ry crumples to his knees, coughing roughly. There's another flash of movement and Ry goes flying, hitting a tree before coming to a stop five feet away. Craven follows our cousin, raising a fist to strike him again*.

*"Stop it, Craven." Paris' voice trembles when she speaks, her fists are clenched, but I know she's not scared of him. She's trying to stop herself from hitting him. She hasn't been afraid of anyone since she first shifted two years ago. Craven pauses, turns very slowly to face her.*

*In the blink of an eye, she's gone. I look around wildly, only to see her near Ry, laying beside him. Her left arm's twisted at an awkward angle, cradled by her other arm. She spitting out low curse words that have Craven chuckling*.

*"Seems like that mouth of yours needs some re-arranging too." He shakes his head slowly, like a teacher scolding a disobedient pupil. Paris' head whips to the side, her head smacking back into the ground. She groans, turning her neck cautiously and gripping the ground with her good arm. Craven stands over her, drawing his leg back for another, well aimed kick*.

*"S-stop!" I yell. "I told them to teach me!" I admit. Paris groans, trying to claw her way back over to me. We all know what's coming next*.

*"Come on out, Wisteria." Craven sings to me, kneeling in front of my hiding spot. Icy terror has frozen me in place, my eyes locked on my cousins on the forest floor, coughing what smells like blood. "You should know how big of a no-no this is. You need to be punished, too.*"

*"Stop. Craven. She-she hasn't even shifted yet." Ry spits, struggling to get his words out, still clutching his sides.*

*"A fact I'm well aware of," Craven nods, shrugging. "She should have thought of that before going against the rules."*

*"Craven, you psycho-" Paris hisses. Before she can say anything else, her head whips to the side again, and her body slumps. Craven's standing over her, shaking out his hand before coming back over to me. His face is no longer the calm, controlled mask it normally is, but something fear inducing. His eyes are icy blue, wide and half crazed as he kneels down and grasps the front of my shirt. Before I can react, he's pulled me from the hollow and thrown me to the ground.*

"*Let this be your first lesson, dear Wisty," Craven says from above me. "Wounds inflicted by fellow Pack members don't heal easily." My stomach explodes with pain, I cry out, tangy liquid fills my mouth and I roll into a ball. He doesn't stop there. Another kick lands in my back, just below my ribs, right into something else. I scream-*

"-Ms. Holland?" I jerk awake, my body achy and skin practically on fire. Mr. Barnaby is staring into my eyes, his normally very calm face a mask of concern. I blink, slowly becoming aware that the room is empty save for the two of us. My skin is slick with sweat, and my throat is aching even more than earlier. I swallow, forcing the almost painful thudding of my heart to slow to it's normal pace.

"S-sorry. I think I dozed off," I tell my teacher, wiping the wetness off my forehead and fanning my face to try an dry the sweat.

"Yes. Well, the bell rang, Ms. Holland." My old teacher looks uncomfortable as he glances at the opened door and back to me.

"Yeah. Thanks for waking me." I clear my throat and grab my bag before leaving, trying not to look my teacher in the eye as I pass. So much for flying under the radar.

There are few memories I actively try to block out, but that one. That one was one I thought was lost in the recesses of my mind, never to bother me again. Every year, though, like clock work, the closer it gets to my birthday, they start up again. Most of the time, they're harmless flashes of memory, brief little flutters of the past that make me feel nostalgic... But every once and a while, those nastier ones decide to step into the light. Looks like they're all coming back to haunt me this year.

- - -

Ms. Jones reprimands my tardiness in front of the entire room. I don't even register anything beyond the scathing tone she's using and the worry-tinged glances she casts as I stand on the risers and try not to throw up my lunch. The lights are annoyingly bright and the sweat has become a clammy chill on my skin. I'm temped to just skip the rest of the school day, but don't. I can't just go to the nurses' office and tell them I feel bad. My temperature isn't high, but my heartrate and scars will raise some very uncomfortable questions. Mom isn't even here and I know the number the school has listed for her is a fake.

So I just stand there next to Darine and take it. When Ms. Jones' rant is over, she leads us into a grueling session. My already throbbing throat only feels worse by the end of class and my voice gets ragged.

"Are you smoking or something?" Darine asks as we walk out o the class when the bell rings.

"No." I grumble, popping a peppermint candy as we go. "Maybe I'm getting strep?" I muse, rubbing my covered throat absently.

"Ew." Darine makes a cross with two fingers and waves it in my face. I laugh, her tactics to cheer me up working. "I'll bring you some tea tomorrow. My mom has this life-saving blend she makes for me whenever I start getting sick. You'll be good as new in no time." She decides and pulls the hastily written schedule for this weeks' practices and taps the scheduled times for sopranos, tomorrow and Thursday.

"What would I do without you?" I ask her, smiling and waving in farewell as we reach the branching hall and staircase.

"Lunch tomorrow, the bleachers. I'll give it to you then." She grins and takes off. I nod to myself, dragging my still achy body towards the gym.

- - -

Yuri and Zane wait for me outside the gym doors. After dressing in the usual sweatshirt and pants, I'm feeling a little better. Less sticky from the dried sweat clinging to my skin and a little more at ease. Still, without looking in the mirror in the locker room, I know I look like I'm a zombie. The ache in my throat has only gotten worse and I'm now convinced I'm coming down with something.

"You think maybe that shit's poisoning you, Scarlett?" Yuri asks as I pop yet another peppermint candy into my mouth. I flip him the middle finger before stretching out my now achy muscles. What makes things worse about all this is my hunger. I was fine after lunch, but that dream seems to have zapped away a good chunk of my energy and now my stomach is threatening to devour itself.

"Maybe you should see the nurse, Red." Zane tells me after a minute. I roll my eyes and look over at him, giving him the same salute I gave his cousin. He scowls at me, clenching his jaw and looking off to the path we usually take.

"Bitchy," Yuri chuckles, ruffling my hair - then pausing and moving his cool hand to my forehead. "You've got a fever, babe." His amused look becomes one of concern. I swat his hand away and scowl at him.

"School day's almost up." I remind the two, moving past them to the trail leading into the woods. "I'll pop some ibuprofen when I get home." I have some at home...probably. Though it came in a little medical kit Mom had put together for me after we went separate ways four years ago so it might be expired.

"I guess, but you shouldn't push yourself either way." I grumble at him, tucking my hands into my sweatpants' pockets and shuffling down the path.

Yuri follows behind me closely, Zane keeps to my other side, maybe a foot away. And he keeps that distance the whole time we walk. I feel the heaviness that comes with fever weighing me down. Normally, when we heal, there's a slight spike in temperature. Like a degree or two. So I can associate this feeling to that, but what I don't expect is the overwhelming sleepiness and leadening of my feet after thirty minutes. Or the huffing. By the end of the period I'm struggling to get enough of the icy air that's ripping up my throat. I cough a few times, wincing a little more with each cough as the become more and more congested.

Five minutes before the end of the period, Coach calls us in to shower off and change. I welcome the shower, getting the water to the highest setting to enjoy the heat and get any residual sweat off my skin. By the time I've finished, the bell has rung and I get the room almost to myself to change. When I get out of the locker room, Yuri is waiting for me. I give him a questioning look, raising an eyebrow at him and casting a quick glance around the hall - looking for a certain someone as we start to walk out of the side door.

"Z went to the car already." Yuri notices my wandering gaze. I feel heat rush to my cheeks, but don't deny I was looking around for his cousin. "Here." He passes me torn piece of lined paper.

"The hell is this?" I wrinkle my nose at the little slip of paper with a phone number on it. *He's getting pretty bold*.

"Easy, babe. It's just the number for the Pack's resident Doc. She makes house calls 'case you need it." Yuri smirks at me, slinging his pack over his shoulder as we walk out to the parking lot.

"Oh. Thanks." And just like that, I feel like an ass.

"Sure," He nods and we rejoin Zane in the lot full of cars. Zane cast me a quick once-over before turning and getting into the driver's side of his car. "We'll see ya tomorrow." Yuri gives me a parting wave before following Zane as people start pouring out of the school. I nod at the other Azures from inside my car. The three wave back, their faces bright and cheerful enough to lift my spirits just a bit. I look down at the paper still in my left hand and study the number, almost automatically committing it to memory.

I drive home, thinking maybe I should tell Mom and see what she thinks about me getting sick. But the second my nose starts running, about five minutes after I walk into my room, I give in and dial the Doc's number.