Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (8 page)

The need to touch him, just to have some kind of contact with him, was almost painful. I wanted to cry, wanted to laugh, wanted his arms wrapped around me. I wanted him to nuzzle up against me again.

What the hell was wrong with me? Surely, he was feeling this too, right? Oh God! What if he wasn’t?

I kept my eyes focused on the winding road ahead of us fearing that if I looked his way, he might sense what I was feeling, what I was thinking. No, I couldn’t let that happen. I forced myself to keep at least an inch or so between our arms so that they wouldn’t touch.

That is until Aiden opened his big mouth to ask how much further the school was. Cade turned his body toward me to answer him, and not only did his arm brush against mine, but I felt his warm breath brush across my face as he answered. He smelled of honeysuckle and brown sugar, and I had to fight the urge to grab his neck and pull his lips to mine. Lost in his scent and the closeness of his body, I wanted so badly to reach out to him just to feel that spark once more. The need was so strong I almost couldn’t stop myself.

Just as I thought all control was lost, we pulled into the parking lot, and finally I was able to breathe again. I opened the car door, all but stumbled out, and sucked in the fresh air, hoping to ease the pain in my chest.

Cade followed me out, and as Kendall followed him she threw herself into his arms and whispered something in his ear. Kendall took Cade’s hand and started toward the front entrance, leaving me walking behind the group.

Just as we reached the school’s entrance, Cade looked over his shoulder at me. We just looked at each other. There was no smile, no frown, no expression at all. There were so many emotions running through me that I didn’t know how to feel. Was I hurt? Disappointed? Angry? No, just lost.

Chapter 12

Kendall

I saw it. It was there. I would have to be blind, completely oblivious, not to notice the connection between Cade and Allison. If that little tramp thinks she is going to go and screw everything up, she’s got another thing coming! It’s not going to happen. Cade is mine. He has always been mine. I’ll be damned if anything comes between me and that ring, or my position in this pack.

He will be the alpha male, and I will be the alpha female. Not some little half-breed whore. My mom would completely freak if she found out about this, and I guarantee Marcus and the elders would have a major problem if Cade up and fell for Lillian Wright’s daughter, of all people. It’s no secret that Lillian ran off with that human when she was promised to Marcus, which, in my opinion, should have been unforgivable. It was only because her parents are high-ranking elders that she was even allowed back after all these years.

At this point, there wasn’t much I could do. I could alert Marcus, but I need to play my cards just right. So for now, I will have to pretend that I don’t see it. Pretend it isn’t there. But I
will
make it go away, one way or another.

When the bell for first period rang, I told Cade to walk me to my class. He gave me a half-hearted smile and followed me toward the west wing. I could tell that he didn’t want to, but I also knew that he would do it regardless. Cade doesn’t have the nerve to embarrass me in public. He knows better. When the halls were finally clear, I pulled him aside.

“Are we good?” I asked.

“Yeah… we’re good,” he replied, but his eyes refused to meet mine.

Just to be sure I had his attention, I ran my hand down his firm, flat stomach and whispered in his ear, “I really, really hope so.”

He didn’t move away or look around. He even moved a little closer and kissed me on the cheek before he left for class.

I know that things may not be normal between us, but at least I know that he’s not completely lost to me.

If Allison knows what is good for her she will forget all about Cade Walker, and if she doesn’t, that little bitch better be ready for a war.

Chapter 13

Allison

“Al, you okay?” Aiden asked as he turned around and waited for me to catch up.

I nodded and added a small smile, but I didn’t really mean it. How in the world could I be okay? The guy that I was sure I was destined to be with just walked into the building with the supreme bitch of the universe on his arm.

“Come on, Sammy said the office is this way,” Aiden said as he tugged lightly on my bag.

As we walked toward the office to get our schedules, the familiar stares, giggles, and ooh-la-la’s followed in Aiden’s wake. I swear he can’t go anywhere without the crowd admiring his every step. Of course, Aiden was eating up the attention, giving little half-smiles and what’s-up nods to the giggling girls.

“You totally suck.” I couldn’t help being irritated. Everything came so easily for him. I guess he could have said the same thing about me before everything fell apart a few months ago, but a little part of me secretly wished that he wasn’t so damn perfect. It’s just not fair.

“What? Don’t be mad. I can’t help it if girls are a little more obvious than guys,” Aiden said in my ear, and as he did, I noticed three girls giving me dirty looks. That was all I needed; girls hating me because my own brother was talking to me. There was something totally wrong with this situation.

After a trip by the attendance office, I left Aiden to his own devices and headed to my first period, hoping to find at least one friendly face among the throng. I wandered into room 302 and looked around, not sure what to do when the teacher lumbered over and snatched my schedule out of my hand and announced, “Ah, Allison Wright. Welcome. Well don’t just stand there. Go sit down.”

Ms. Whoever ushered me over to an empty seat, and to my surprise, the girl sitting next to my new desk glanced my way and smiled. Stepping completely out of my comfort zone and hoping for the best, I held out my hand, and said as confidently as possible, “Hi. I’m Allison.”

“I’m Teagan. It’s nice to meet you, Allison” she responded.

Overjoyed to have someone acknowledge my existence, I smiled and said, “Nice to meet you too. I’m new… obviously.”

“Well it sucks to be new. I should know. I just moved here last year.”

I sat down at my desk, and after a few seconds of silence, I turned to Teagan to ask, “So, where did you move here from?”

“San Antonio. It’s in Texas.”

I could hardly contain my excitement. “Omigod! I’m from Houston, or League City, really. It’s right outside of Houston closer to Galveston. How funny.”

Teagan smiled a genuine smile this time, and I found myself hoping that I had found a real friend here, in this strange place.

“That is too weird. It’s freakin’ cold here, huh? I remember when we first got here, it took forever to get used to it. I bet you had to go buy those boots, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did actually. My brother and I had to go shopping yesterday. We had absolutely nothing to wear.”

“I can relate. I had no idea what to expect when I got here. I was so worried about what everyone else would be wearing,” Teagan admitted.

“Me too.” I sat back at my desk, relieved to have made a connection here.

“Yeah well, I barely made it through the front door on my first day here when this horrible girl named Kendall made fun of my Wal-Mart snow boots.”

“Kendall, huh? Maybe I should keep my distance from her,” I replied, not wanting her to know that I was already well-acquainted with the horrible girl.

“So what else do I need to know about this place?” I asked.

“Well, let’s see… this school is kind of crazy, but most people are really nice. I think you’ll really like it, but let me be the first to warn you, because nobody bothered to warn me. There is this group of students here who act like they run the school, and well, they kind of do. But anyways, they are all crazy-beautiful, and from what I can tell, complete jerks. They only hang around with each other. And as you may have already guessed, the aforementioned Kendall is their lead mean-girl. Seriously, stay away from her at all costs if you can. You’ll know who they are when you see them. I tried to be nice to one of them when I first got here, but she totally blew me off.”

She gave me a once over and then shyly said, more to herself than to me, “But who knows, from the looks of you, maybe they will make an exception. You look like you just stepped off the runway.”

For whatever reason, it didn’t exactly sound like a compliment. I smiled, not sure how exactly to respond to that.

So my group of were-friends aren’t so nice to the non-were people here at Carson High School. Interesting. Not that I was surprised that Kendall was a bitch, but I have to admit, I didn’t take the rest of them for being such asshats, to quote my beloved brother. Maybe I should have listened to their what-to-do and what-not-to-do lists in the car, instead of thinking of ways to “accidently” brush up against Cade.

Looking at Teagan, she looks like she would fit right in with the pack. She’s definitely pretty enough to hang with them, though she’s shorter and curvier. But I guess the mere fact that she’s human immediately made her an outcast. It’s weird that they would only hang out with other weres. It made me wonder if they talk to any humans or if they strictly keep to themselves.

“So, you have a brother? Older or younger?” Teagan asked, knocking me out of my dazed and confused state.

“Oh… yeah I do. He’s a senior, Aiden. I’m sure you will see him around. The girls are already throwing themselves at his feet. It’s so annoying. So, what lunch do you have?”

“Third lunch, which kind of sucks because it’s so late, and the group I was telling you about has that lunch. What about you?”

“Same,” I replied, thrilled to hopefully have someone to eat with.

“I’ll show you who I mean, even though I probably won’t need to. They aren’t hard to spot. I mean, if you want to sit with me at lunch, that is.”

I smiled and gladly accepted her invitation. Entering the cafeteria was the part of the day that I was dreading most, and knowing Teagan would be there made the thought a little less terrifying.

Not long after the bell rang, Ms. Whoever began shushing the class so that she could take attendance and make announcements. She didn’t bother to wait for everyone to get quiet before she began, but apparently, she had things under control being that it only took about five seconds for everyone to get seated, quiet, and attentive.

The entire class worked silently and diligently until the dismissal bell rang, and I might be completely pathetic in admitting this, but I really didn’t want to leave Teagan’s side. I secretly wished that she was in more of my classes, so I didn’t have to be the new girl with no one to talk to, and she was genuinely nice to me. It has been a seriously long time since a girl was nice to me, genuine or otherwise.

On our way out of the classroom she told me to meet her in front of the cafeteria before lunch, and I silently thanked the good Lord above that I didn’t have to wander into the scariest place on earth for a new student alone.

***

Before I knew it, it was almost time for lunch, and my morning classes weren’t so bad. Nothing too exciting. Ryder was in my second period. I walked in and found an empty seat near the back, and when he entered the room, he walked right up to me and sat down like it was the most natural thing in the world. We made some small talk before the teacher began class, and he was actually really nice, not a jerk at all, but maybe, that was only because I’m not human.

Kendall’s friend, Shari, was in my third period, and even though she was not all that friendly last Saturday night, she still waved me over when I walked in the room, like she had saved a seat just for me next to her, but then she hardly said three words to me, which, by the way, was awkward. I mean, just don’t sit by me! All I could figure was that just because I’m part of the pack, she felt, I don’t know… obligated? Too weird. I wondered if Kendall would have sat by me. God, please don’t let me have her for any classes. Anyone but her.

The bell for lunch rang, and I followed the masses into the hallway. I found myself looking around for Cade. I couldn’t help it. Obviously, he didn’t seem all that interested in seeing me this morning, but I hadn’t seen him all day, and for some stupid reason I felt like I needed to see him. Yes, I know. It’s almost as pathetic as missing Teagan, my only new friend.

In my search for the one person I shouldn’t be searching for, I saw Teagan coming my way, so I waved.

“Hey Allison. So, how was your morning?” she asked as we headed toward the cafeteria together.

“It was okay,” was all I had the chance to say. because as soon as we walked in I immediately heard my name being shouted. It was Aiden and Sammy, waving me over to their table. The pack’s table.

“You’re friends with them?” Teagan asked, her eyebrows furrowed in a confused-disappointed-shocked combo.

“Not really. Well sort of. My brother is, I guess. Do you want to sit with us?” I asked hesitantly.

“Uh… I’m going to go with no. But thanks. It’s okay. Really. I’ll see ya later.”

“Sure,” was all I managed to say before Teagan high-tailed it toward the other side of the cafeteria. Bummed to see my new friend leave, I warily headed over to join the pack; definitely not sure if I would ever consider them as friends.

Before I could even sit my bag down at the table Kendall said, “Look who made a friend. That’s sweet really, but just so you know, we don’t usually mingle with the
domestics
, especially that freak. She seems a little damaged if you know what I mean.”

Was the girl serious? Channeling my inner mean girl, I snapped back, “She doesn’t seem damaged to me, but I’ll keep that in mind, Kendall. You do realize that my dad is a
domestic
, right?” Not giving her the pleasure of waiting for a response, I chose a seat as far away from her as possible and then proceeded to dig in my bag for lunch money.

Seconds later, Cade, looking a bit stressed, dropped his backpack on the table near Kendall and let out a small huff. Kendall immediately stood behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. “What’s wrong with my baby?” she cooed in his ear.