Heather

"The feeling’s mutual," Serena said to my brother.

West looked confused, so I filled him in. "You called her a hottie. Everyone here has excellent hearing."

He winked at her. "Thanks."

I elbowed West again. "Down boy."

The bell rang and everyone started filing out. "We’re going to head to class," Serena said. "See you last period?"

"Sure."

They said their good-byes.

When everyone was gone, Mom smiled. "Serena and the boys seem nice."

"Totally."

"What was that Leslie girl saying about teenage marriage?" Dad crossed his arms.

Oh sweet baby Jesus. This couldn’t be more embarrassing. "Don’t worry. I didn’t drink the Kool-Aid."

As I said that, Mr. Langdon and Brent walked into the cafeteria. The room felt ten degrees hotter as I watched Brent.

Boy did he make the Kool-Aid appealing.

West stepped in front of me, blocking my awesome view. "You’re supposed to be staying away from her. That was the deal. This is the second time I’ve seen my sister since you attacked her and both times you were there."

I slapped West on his arm. "What the hell, dude."

"Why don’t you go take over my class?" Mr. Langdon said to Brent.

"I think that’d be best," Dad said.

Brent nodded and left without a word.

I wondered how much of him staying away from me had to do with his guilt and giving me time, and how much was everyone trying to keep us apart. "I know everyone thinks I’m fragile right now, but I’m okay. I think with everything that I’ve had to deal with, you should trust me to figure out the whole guy thing on my own."

West got in my face. "You can’t actually want to date that guy. He attacked you—"

My cheeks burned. "Attacked is a bit of a harsh word for what happened." I couldn’t stand by and let them think that about Brent. "It was an accident."

"And the next time he hits you?" Mom asked.

My mouth dropped open. Holy crapola. They thought I was in an abusive relationship? "Not you too. Everyone can calm down. No after school special needed here. I’m not really in any kind of relationship, so it’s fine." I sat down in the chair, and everyone moved to take a seat around the table.

"It’d be best if everyone moved to the opposite side of the table from me and Heather," Mr. Langdon said.

I scowled at him. "I’m not going to hurt my family."

He laughed.

My scowl must not have been as intimidating as I thought.

"It’s a necessary precaution if you want to continue this conversation," Mr. Langdon said.

My family got up and moved across the table. The cafeteria was completely deserted. Even the staff had left, probably just in the kitchen cleaning, but it was enough to give me the feeling of privacy.

Which was essential because my blood was boiling. Keeping my cool was a struggle.

Mr. Langdon had a point, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. "Look. I’m not saying I’m going to marry the guy—"

Mr. Langdon cleared his throat.

My heart skipped a beat before it raced. "What? You know something that I don’t?"

"I wouldn’t confirm or deny anything at this point. Let’s wait and see what happens."

Dad did not like that. He slapped his hand down on the table. "No one is forcing a man on my daughter."

"I would never..." Mr. Langdon took a breath. It was the only hint that he was pissed. "We’re keeping this quiet, but I guess you should know that Brent Laurent is her mate. His wolf took control to claim her. It was an accident and one Brent wishes he could undo. Or re-do in an entirely different manner. But what’s done is done. Now’s the time to support Heather as she figures out what this means and what it is she wants."

West sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You can call it whatever you want, but that asshole turned my sister without permission. That’s not okay. Not in my book."

My parents nodded. My family was on my side, but it sure felt like they weren’t.

A man with chin length straight blond hair streaked with gray came to stand next to the table. He wore a charcoal three-piece suit—which was overkill for Cedar Ridge, Texas. "I see you’re still having trouble controlling your student body, Presley."

Mr. Langdon stood in one fluid movement, forcing the man to take a step back. Their gazes clashed, and the man’s fists clenched as he looked away.

"And what have we here? Three humans on campus?" His gaze fell to me. "Ah. This must be the bitten girl."

"Careful, Rupert," Mr. Langdon said. "You’ll not insult any member of this family."

I didn’t like Rupert standing over me, so I stood. Everything in the room fell away as I waited for him to look away. When he finally did, fur rippled along his face and was gone so quickly I thought I’d imagined it.

Mr. Langdon put his hand on my shoulder. His grin made me feel like I’d just done something awesome, and I couldn’t help but return it.

"This is Rupert Hoel. Nikki and Imogene’s father."

That didn’t surprise me in the least. I liked this guy just as much as I liked his daughters.

"This is the Jones family." Mr. Langdon turned to fully face Rupert, crossing his arms. "Is there a reason why you’re on my campus unannounced?"

"I wasn’t aware I needed to announce myself." Mr. Hoel smoothed down his vest.

"It’s always necessary. This is a closed campus and you know that. Wait in my office."

Go, Mr. Langdon. I snickered as Mr. Hoel stormed off, slamming the cafeteria door behind him.

Mr. Langdon winked at me. "He’s not going to like my office much. Donovan and Sebastian are there and the three of them don’t get along."

"I won’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of what’s going on here, but I’m learning fast." Dad had his no-bullshit face on. "I want to be perfectly clear—what might be normal for you is not normal for my daughter. She is—was—human and I won’t have anything forced on her that she’s uncomfortable with. Or that her mother and I are uncomfortable with."

Thank God the cafeteria was empty. I shifted in my seat. "I don’t think anyone is going to forget that I was bitten, Dad."

"I think the thing to remember is that this is a transition for all of you." Mr. Langdon’s voice was calm and even. He was taking Dad’s intimidating stare better than I could. "You’ve lost the old Heather, but she’s not really gone. She might have had a rough time before, and maybe at the moment it’s harder—but I think it’s all set her up to become a very strong person. I think you’d all be surprised by what she’s already accomplished here."

My cheeks burned. I wasn’t sure I’d accomplished anything.

"I would never intentionally make a member of my pack uncomfortable. I swear that I will watch her as if she’s my own. I’ve given you full access to St. Francis’s. Feel free to visit her whenever you feel the need. She’s not my prisoner. I’m only here to help as she learns her new abilities."

The rest of the conversation went normally enough. They asked about classes and my friends, and ignored all things Brent-related.

After a bit, I walked them to the parking lot with Mr. Langdon supervising so I wouldn’t accidentally wolf-out on them. They’d brought me my car, just in case I needed it for some reason. My parents said their good-byes, promising to come back and visit whenever I wanted them to.

It was harder to say good-bye to West. He was going to college, and I wouldn’t see him for months. I knew that he was always going to go, but the reality proved to be a bit harder than I expected.

West held out the keys to my car. "I picked out an awesome car for you."

I snatched them from his hand. "You better have been good to her."

He pulled me in for a hug. "I might be farther away, but I’ll always be here for you."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Me too."

My heart was heavy as I watched their car disappear from sight.

Mr. Langdon put his arm around me, and turned me back toward school. "Come on. Let’s get you some ice cream. I hear it can help at a time like this."

"That’d be good. Thanks."

When we got back to the cafeteria, he disappeared into the kitchen. He came back carrying two light brown pints with gold lids. "Here you go." He slid one to me.

"Blue Bell?"

He set his spoon down. "Please tell me you’ve had Blue Bell."

I shook my head. "But I like Cookies ’n’ Cream, so I’m sure this is fine."

"Blue Bell is more than just fine. It’s the Cookies ’n’ Cream. Trust me. I’m a connoisseur of all things ice cream."

I pulled off the top. It looked like ordinary Cookies ’n’ Cream to me. "If it’s so amazeballs, why haven’t I heard of it before?"

"Because you’re from California. They make it in Brenham, Texas and they only deliver it themselves to locations that they can easily get to in their refrigerated trucks. Although when I’ve lived other places, I’ve had it shipped to me from the factory. Costly but necessary."

I shook my head. Dude was out of his mind. I took a bite and moaned. "Holy shit. This is good."

"Told you."

"So you and ice cream, huh?" It made him more of a real person, instead of this odd authority figure.

"Food. All kinds. When you’ve got to eat so much of it, you get to know the difference between good, bad, and excellent." He pointed to the ice cream with his spoon. "This is excellent."

"So do you cook too?"

He nodded. "Most wolves do. Especially those my age."

That made sense. I wanted to ask him how old he was, but he beat me to the next question.

"Can you cook?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "Mexican food, for sure. With a recipe—anything else."

We got into a conversation about Mexican food, most importantly the differences between Mexican food among the border states.

A pint of Blue Bell Cookies ’n’ Cream later and I was feeling better.

I stared down at the empty carton. "I can’t believe I ate the whole thing."

Mr. Langdon laughed. "I can. You’ve got to eat more. And you’re about to burn all that off, so it’s not even going to do you any good. Let’s go."

I patted my stomach. "Just when I thought I had a nice food baby going on, you gotta ruin it."

As we walked to class, I was more relaxed. Everything felt a little more okay.

But then again, it could’ve just been an ice cream high.