Lone Wolf Rising (Paranormal Romantic Thriller) (The Winters Series) (35 page)

By the time Danny and his three stooges; Bryce, Jacob, and Marcus entered the locker room he felt better.
  They made their way through the room high fiving, chest bumping and congratulating most of the other players until they reached Hunter. 

"Nice fumbles
, Winters."  Danny grinned darkly.  "When are you gonna learn that football isn't for everyone?"

"And when are you gonna learn that I’m not a quitter?"
  Hunter shoved his pads into the locker, taking his anger out on them, instead of the guys behind him.  Then he turned and faced them head on.  Marcus was flexing his pectoral muscles; overcompensating for something no doubt.  Jacob and Bryce puffed up their shoulders and tried to look mean and intimidating, but all they achieved was looking ridiculous.

Hunter didn’t bother
with them.  The one he was really worried about was Danny.  "Look, your sister and I are going to the dance and if I get my way we’ll be exclusive real soon.  That means I need to start looking out for you."

"As team captain
, you should’ve been looking out for everyone already."  Hunter locked his angry glare with Danny’s odd grey eyes. 

"
Maybe."  He pulled back as though he’d been slapped, and, shamefully, Hunter felt a twinge of gratification.  It was short lived.  "Unfortunately, there’s a hierarchy at schools and on teams.  You just happen to be on the wrong side.  It really isn’t your fault.  You weren’t built for this game.  You should be playing chess or on the debate team."  Danny sat on the bench beside him and Hunter scooted a few more inches away from him.  Danny always rubbed him wrong.  He didn’t know what it was that made him dislike his teammate so much, but Hunter could barely be in the same room with him, let alone sitting side by side.  Hunter had no clue as to the attraction Savvy had for the guy.  Danny’s three stooges created a fortified half moon around them, effectively cutting Hunter and Danny off from the rest of the team.

"I think I’ve proven that trying to intimidate me isn’t going to work."
  Hunter grumbled as he stared coldly at him.

Danny chuckled, "I don't want to do
th
at anymore.  I actually want to help
you.
"

"Yeah
,
right.
"  Hunter
 snorted
, "Like you helped me when you’re a-team crushed me into
the 
ground five times during practice today?"

He
shrugged
, "
hierarch
y, and
tha
nks to your sister you’re now moving up in th
at hierarchy."  Danny handed Hunter a small bag with two tiny pills, they looked like aspirin but something told him they were far more dangerous than aspirin. 

"What’s this?"
 Hunter’s voice shook slightly and he put his hands up, not willing to touch the bag. 
Drugs!  They want to offer me drugs?  I was right, Danny is a douche
.

"These little pills will make you bigger, stronger.
  They’ll make your life easier and send your social life into outer space."  Danny grinned and placed the pill bag next to Hunter on the bench.  "The first ones are free.  Be smart and take the offering."

"So you’re a drug dealer?"
  Hunter hissed in a whisper. 

Danny chuckled again, "Absolutely not.
  That’s Ethan's job.  Mine is to simply scope out new talents for the pills."

"What is it?"
  Curiosity getting the better of Hunter as he shoved the pill package into his pocket.  Fear of getting caught with the illegal substance on him overrode his adverse reaction to touching the pills.

"Blood."
  Danny grinned and he and his troupe left Hunter alone. 

Jackson
moved quickly to sit by Hunter on the bench.  "What happened?  Are you okay?"  He asked, concern reaching his brown eyes. 

Hunter nodded, "yeah
, you know how they are."  He shrugged, hopefully convincing Jacks everything was alright. 

"I would’ve been here sooner
, but his goon squad had everyone blocked."  Jackson smiled.  "How’s Becca?"  Jacks asked. 

Jackson and Rebecca were very good friends
.  At one point they pretended to be dating so that he could get his parents off his back when they noticed the lack of a girlfriend.  She became his cover story, allowing him to remain in the closet for a little while longer.  But all that changed when she started dating Lucky. 

"She’s good, I guess."
  Hunter continued on, feeling like Jackson needed more, "Lucky is good for her." 

Jackson
nodded, "that’s good."   

The silence stretched uncomfortably between them.  Hunter liked Jacks enough, but he was Becca’s
, friend not his.  Jackson and Danny were friends.  Hunter did not fit in with them.  Besides, the pills were burning a hole in his pocket.  "Well, I guess we should get to class." 

Jackson
nodded. “If you need a friend, I’m here for you.”  With that he left the locker room. 

Hunter sat there, wondering if the pills in his pocket really could make him stronger, bigger,
and a better athlete.  He wondered if taking them would bring him closer to his father's memory or push him further away.  Hunter knew his father would want him to be who he was; brainy average kid.  But Hunter wanted so badly to connect to his father’s memory, to prove he was as strong as him.  Lately, he felt his father’s presence more than usual.  It was that feeling alone that made Hunter decide what to do next. 

He made sure he was alone and took out the pills.
  They looked so tiny, so innocent.  It was hard to believe that something so small could make him stronger.  Hunter bit his lip as he considered the options. 

Mind made up, he made his way to the bathroom area
of 
the locker room.  He opened the package and tossed the pills in the toilet.  He
flushed 
them for good
me
asure. 
Good riddance
, he thought as he grabbed his bag and left for class.
 

Chapter Twenty-Four

~”To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”

~
Sun Tzu

Rebecca

School was
so
borrriiiinnnng
.  It w
asn't really the subject matter; it was that Rebecca
ha
d
other
, more pressing issues on her mind.
  Issues like who wa
s
bra
zen enough to try and kill off the entire Arizona pack?  Or how they were going to tell Savvy and Hunter the
s
ecret of their family h
istory?
  What Rebecca was going to do about Sundae and her dream trick from last night?  Not to mention the conflict she was dealing with choosing between Lucky and Gabriel.  And then there was
Celes
tia, the
Co
venant, and the Authority.  And of course, the intense task of rebuilding her pack. 
While
Rebecca’s parents’ deaths were originally the most important thing in her life, now, that had somehow worked its way onto the back burner.  Seriously, with all the drama that had developed in her life over the last week, it was a surprise that anything was interesting at this point.

And if the truth was important, she wouldn't be able to absorb anything else at this point anyways. 
Not even if she tried.  The sponge that was her mind was completely saturated. 

So when the final bell rang she almost exploded from her seat
.  Lucky did his best to keep her calm as he ushered her out of the building.  Savvy and Hunter had a late practice so Savvy drove her car to school that morning.  That meant Lucky and Rebecca could simply head out to his house for training; not that she was extremely excited about being beat up by her pretend boyfriend under the guise of training.  But she had an extreme amount of pent-up energy she needed to expend.

“Did you find out anything from the police last night?”  Rebecca asked on the drive over to his house.

“My contact said it had been moved to cold cases.  She said there was little to no evidence pointing to anyone.  It was a clean crime scene.”

“Well, that does us no good.”  Rebecca couldn’t hold back the disappointment in her voice. 

“Actually, it is more help than you realize.”  He turned towards her with a weak smile when they stopped at a stop light.

“Really?”  She raised her eyebrows to accentuate the question.

“Yes.  It tells us the killer was a professional.”  The light turned green and they were off once again, maneuvering quickly through traffic.

“Which opens up an entire new group of suspects.”

“Yes and closes another group.  Believe me; this information is actually very helpful.  The person who ordered the hit had to have good reason to pay for their deaths.”

Rebecca hoped he was right.  She wanted to find an ending to this investigation, some closure to her parents’ deaths.  They had waited for far too long, she had sacrificed too much.  She was silent for the rest of the trip to his house, lost in her own thoughts.     
   

The house was empty when they arrived.
  They grabbed some snacks and water. He went upstairs to change and Rebecca made her way to the training room and changed in the back room.  She decided to pull her long blonde hair into a braid while she was waiting for Lucky to join her.  It took everything she had to keep her from snooping around the oversized training room; she was pretty proud of the fact that she managed to stop herself. 

When Lucky
came downstairs he was barefoot.  His familiar yoga pants and t-shirt fit his body like a comfortable glove.  It should have been illegal for him to be walking around with that dimpled grin and gold-amber eyes.  He took his position on the mat, standing in a fighting pose, and motioned for Rebecca to join him.  “Shall we begin?” 

She
did.  "So what are we learning today?"  It was a logical question since they weren’t holding any bamboo sticks this time.

"Hand to hand.
  I want to teach you some techniques you can use to get out of compromising enemy holding patterns.  For example, what would you do if someone held you like this?"  His speed was amazing.  One minute he was in front of her, the next he was behind her holding both her arms hostage.  It brought back memories of the dream and the way Gabriel was holding her and she blushed knowing he had the same dream. 

In truth she
had no idea why Sundae did what she did, she was missing in action from school today.  She honestly thought things were good between them after their talk in the dress shop.  But tomorrow she would find out.  Lucky jerked her backwards, jarring her from her thoughts.  She tried twisting and turning but the more she struggled the tighter his grip got, and the closer their bodies moved towards each other.  It was like a gravitational pull that was irresistible. His rough voice whispered against her ear, sending shivers down her spine.  "Do you give up?"  His breath was as shallow as hers.

'Becca
, are you okay?
'  Gabriel's voice echoed in her mind.  It was enough to break the spell and royally piss her off. 

'Yes, I’m in training!
  Leave me be.
'  She hollered back, irritated once again at the intrusion.  Mental telepathy wasn’t as great as one would think.

'Sorry, I just felt like you were in trouble
.'  He sounded hurt which made her feel even guilty about the situation.

"Rebecca
, are you paying attention?"  Lucky whispered harshly.

‘
Step on his foot.  Then turn around and kick him.  Once he is off balance twist his arm back and spin him to the ground.
’  The wolf offered direction. 

‘
Thanks
.’  Rebecca followed the instructions.  But instead of twisting his arm she squatted down and kicked his legs out from under him.  He fell hard against the mat.  Rebecca straddled his hips and placed her arm against his neck, applying the slightest amount of pressure.  “You’re dead.”  She smiled.  “Was that good enough for you?”  Rebecca asked with a dazzling smile.