Protected (Book 1 in the Ariya Adams trilogy) (3 page)

Johnny was their goalie and another friend from freshman
year. He currently lived with Riley and was actually a pretty good goalie. They had high hopes going into this year since they had almost won the school’s intramural championship last year. Caroline and I made it a point to go to every game to support them. It was always fun to watch them play. Plus, with all our friends on the team, what else were we going to do Friday nights?

“So
, you’ve been roped into hockey, I see?” There was my inner social diva; I guess she just needed some encouragement.

He raised his eyebrow at me causing
my heart to start pounding so loudly that I was sure he’d hear.

“I hadn’t really played much before
, but it seems like the popular thing to do around here.”

Caroline leaned over and introduced
herself and Nick after that. We all stood talking for a bit before I decided I needed some air.

“I’ll be right back,” I said
, once I refilled my beer again.

I
t only took a momentary touch on Caroline’s arm for her to tell Nick she needed some air too. We went out back on the balcony. I was surprised to find it empty, since this was usually the hot spot for partygoers to congregate. The keg was in the house, instead of back here, so that was probably the only reason we had it to ourselves.

“Wow
,” Caroline said. “I mean, you must think he’s something else, right?” As I turned towards her, she continued, “If there was ever a time for you to break your I-hate-boys phase, it’s now.”

“I love that you knew that’
s what I wanted to talk about.”

“I haven’t seen you act that way aroun
d a guy in…well, ever, actually. Come on, you think he’s attractive, right?” She nudged my arm.

“I’m in an
‘I-hate-boys’ phase, Care, I’m not blind.”

“So
, that’s a yes! I gotta say this is a nice change. For once you have a crush that I don’t have to convince you to like! Let’s get back in there and have some fun, shall we?” She held up her arm playfully. I hesitated, though.

“You think I should go for it?
Ashley might decide she wants an upgrade from Devon and pounce,” I said, rather bitterly.

I wasn’t unattractive and I had enough self-esteem to get me through most days as a confident woman. However, when it came to guys, I felt I couldn’t really compete
with Miss Southern Belle 2012.

That was my one weak point. I could speak in
front of large groups of people. I loved volunteering, and being involved in sports. I hopped right into everything and typically didn’t miss a beat. When it came to flirting and guys, I liked to think I was decent at it, but my track record in the dating department proved otherwise. So many negative experiences can really mess with a girl’s head.

“Oh
, shut it with the self-doubt crap. You’re ten times the woman Ashley is!
Be yourself. He's probably as stubborn as you are when it comes to the opposite sex." She looked amused at her comment and I frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing." Her face continued to look like she was laughing to herself about something, which boggled me.

"A
ll right, keep your secrets. Let's go."

As the words ca
me out, Caroline held up her arm again, like she was escorting me to a ball. After giving her a ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ look, we walked back inside. The boys were still talking by the keg right where we’d left them. When we walked back up, though, James said it was nice to meet us and that he was sure he would see us soon and walked away. So much for breaking the I-hate-boys phase.

I pretended not to care that the meeting was over
. Then I headed back over towards Riley and some other people I knew in order to give Caroline some alone time with Nick. After all, they were still newly dating, so I was sure they probably wanted it.

After a couple more hours and a few more drinks, I decided it was time to call it a night. Snaking through the mass of people that now occupied Ashley’s apartment proved to be difficult. I finally ended up finding Caroline and Nick making out in the corner of the kitchen. Hearing me holler her name made her look up – glassy-eyed and smiling.

“I
’ll see you at home!” I yelled.

She nodde
d and went right back to Nick. Riley was by the front door with James.
At least I’ll get to say goodnight
, I thought to myself. I reached into Ashley’s closet and tugged out my jacket. As I went to slip it on, I felt hands assisting me from behind. Then I heard Riley’s voice.

“
You’re leaving? Are you sure you can get home safely? You want me to walk you?” He finished helping with my jacket and flirtatiously propped himself up on the doorframe in front of my exit. He had a tendency to be even more of a ladies’ man while drinking.

I duc
ked under his arm. “Goodnight Riley.” I smiled, and then turned to James. “Goodnight.” He nodded politely at me.

I heard Riley shouting after me
, “You’ll give into me one of these days, Princess.”

Silly b
oys, always thinking they were Prince Charming. Riley had been calling me “Princess” forever. He had seen a picture of me with my dad, dressed up as Cinderella and Prince Charming for one of my birthdays as a kid, and got a kick out of it. Since then, he’d been calling me “Princess.”

I headed down the stairs of the apartment building and rounded the corner to get to the path home
where I bumped into another couple going at it. Geez, love is in the air this year! Scratch that, it was probably just lust and alcohol.

The guy looked up at me
and I realized the couple was Ashley and Devon. Ah, love for her then and lust for him. I wanted to throw up at the sight of her tongue down his throat and his hands exploring her body in ways that should have been publically embarrassing for her.
Come on, Ashley!
When Devon made eye contact with me I could swear his eyes were glowing. His cheeks were a bit sunken in and his skin looked dull as well. He had definitely looked more attractive inside. Out here he looked crazy. Clearly, I must have had more to drink than I thought.

“
Ummm … sorry guys, I was just heading home. Thanks for the party, Ash. See you tomorrow!”

I rushed away from them as quickly as I cou
ld without breaking into an all-out sprint and headed towards the path. Why had this been such a weird evening with Ashley’s beau? Had his eyes actually been glowing?
No, don’t be silly
, I laughed, shaking my head at how ridiculous that sounded, even if it was just in my thoughts.

Ashl
ey’s apartment is only about a five-minute walk from our apartment, so after a minute or two on the path, I could see the lights of my complex. The clearing of the woods was visible when a low snarling noise caught my attention. It sounded far off in the distance, but it was still definitely a sound I was not used to hearing on my walk home. I turned around in order to look back towards the woods I had just passed through. The news story I’d heard earlier flashed through my head, almost like a warning. Then, I felt a chill down my spine.
Just hurry home and lock the door
,
simple enough
. It wasn’t that much further. Turning back around to continue towards my building, I was abruptly stopped in my tracks.

Standing right in front of me was a shaggy, growling animal. It was barring its teeth at me and almost looked
like it was trying to make eye contact. Closing my eyes, I shook my head in an attempt to regain some sobriety. When I reopened them, the scene in front of me hadn’t changed. Between shaking my head and the sobering adrenaline pumping through my veins, I was provided enough respite from the effects of the alcohol to feel certain that this was no illusion. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know how to react.

If
I screamed, I was sure someone would hear me. I was close enough to my apartment where neighbors should be around. That is, if they weren’t out partying. I almost always headed back earlier than the rest of my friends. What if I had headed back earlier than the rest of the college student population in general? No one would hear me.

We were at a standstill. Do I scream and make the animal nervous or do I just stand the
re waiting for it to leave? I’d never even seen an animal like this up close before. It worried me how similar this animal looked to the drawing the news crews had been showing on T.V. earlier in the evening. This wasn’t a hiking trail, though. This was a path near a town with lots of people. What in the world was the thing doing in a populated area like this?

As if
it were reading my thoughts, the beast growled and put a paw forward towards me, its sharp claws digging into the dirt path. I held up my hands, trying to somehow get a message across that I wasn’t going to hurt the stupid creature.
The huge wolf tilted its head as if it was enjoying watching the panic trickle over me like melting ice. I was frozen in place, and unable to make any kind of movement at this point. This was bad.

To my right there was rustling
, as if trees and branches were being pushed out of the way. A blur shot across the path at the wolf. Both the blur and the wolf disappeared the second it happened. That's when I felt something like a truck plow into me, knocking me off my feet, but surprisingly, not injuring me in any way.

I was on the ground
, dazed and a bit winded from the sudden jolt. My eyes had been closed from the impact and when I opened them, I was alone. There was no wolf, no blurry hurling objects, nothing. It was as if none of it had been real.

Sitting up
, I shook my head as if trying to shake off a bad dream. What in the world had just happened to me? I rolled myself up onto my hands and knees carefully. Am I dreaming?

"Ariya?"

A soft voice came from the path in the direction of Ashley's apartment.
Please, please, don't let that be who it sounds like
, I prayed. Struggling, my body refused to cooperate in time for me to get to my feet before the person calling my name came around the bend. My worst fears were confirmed. It was James. Of course he'd be the one to find me like this.

"Ariya, are you a
ll right?" Concern laced through his beautiful voice.

I forced myself to chuckle
through my embarrassment.

"I
'm the biggest klutz ever. I'm fine." A smile came easier than I thought it would.

It's not like I could tell him the truth. I didn't even know the truth. What should I say,
Well James, a second ago there was a wolf looking like he wanted to attack me, and then two blurry objects came out of nowhere. One hit the wolf and one hit me, which is why I’m on the ground out here
. No, he already probably assumed I was crazy after finding me on my hands and knees in the woods in the middle of the night.

I finally had the
 wherewithal to stand. I felt his hands clasp around my arms, helping me up. It felt like he had just shocked me and my stomach filled with, well, actually I wasn’t sure what this feeling was. Desire? I can’t say that it was a familiar feeling.
Holy cow, Ariya
, I thought,
knock it off!

He continued helping me until I was fully standing
. I pulled away, feeling like if he continued to touch me, I'd do something embarrassing like try to kiss him.

"Sorry
," I mumbled. A perfect sounding laugh came from him. I was sure my jaw had dropped slightly at my amazement that such a sound even existed.

"Why are you apologizing?" It was rhetorical
, so I chose to ignore it.

"What are you doing out here?”
I asked, curiously.

He smiled, "I live
in one of the houses past these apartments." He nodded his head in the direction of my complex.

"You live on
 Shab Row?"

Shab R
ow was the only set of houses past our apartment and it tended to be the wealthy area. I knew the Dean of Kingsbrook lived in one of those houses, and that they were some of the oldest, but fanciest in Mineral Point. He seemed uncomfortable at my shock.

"My
... uh, parents thought it would be best that I had a quiet place for myself. To study." He shrugged, and I was impressed. Smart and gorgeous, he couldn't be real, could he?

"Nice. Well
, I’d better get going. Thank you for the help." Walking away now could end all further awkwardness, on my part.

"May I escort you home?" He took a step towards me.

 Escort me? What century was I in?

"I live
in those apartments," I said, nodding my head towards the direction of the lighted area ahead of us. "It's not far."

"Well, you did fall already. Maybe I'll just walk behind you to ensure it doesn't happen again." He
grinned, and it was my turn to laugh.