I had eaten. The only thing that came to mind was the coffee I’d had yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday.
I followed Kyle down the line, mindlessly accepting helpings of food without realizing—or caring—what any of it was. How was it possible that so much had changed in less than twenty-four hours?
“I asked her to come to Denver.” The words carved a hollow in my chest. “I’m responsible. If anything happens to her, it’s my fault.”
“I know the feeling.”
We reached the end of the line. I lifted my tray and glanced up at him. “You didn’t ask me to come after you.”
Kyle held my gaze for a handful of heartbeats and then shrugged. “But you’re still here.”
Before I could respond, he headed for an empty table at the far end of the room.
My sneakers squeaked against the linoleum floor and I could feel curious eyes on me as I crossed the cafeteria. Eve sat at a table with a bunch of kids I dimly recognized from last night. At orientation, we’d been told that packs were banned in the camp—like Thornhill was a big, happy family or one of those colleges that outlawed sororities—but it looked like the Eumon wolves were intending to stick together.
I slid into a seat across from Kyle and halfheartedly pushed my food around with my fork. “The program coordinator didn’t seem big on answering questions,” I said, stating the obvious.
“None of the staff are.” A boy with a blond crew cut was suddenly towering over my right shoulder. “Cool if I sit?” Without waiting for a reply, he set his tray—and himself—next to me.
Kyle made introductions. “Mac, this is Dex. He’s in my dorm.”
The boy turned his head and I bit back a gasp.
He had the kind of rugged jaw you saw in shaving commercials and wide-set brown eyes that a girl could lose herself in, but his right cheek was covered in a network of intricate white scars. It looked like someone had carved symbols into his flesh with a scalpel.
“Freakish, isn’t it?”
“Umm . . .” I had seen some horrible scars before—Kyle’s back, Ben’s chest—but never anything like this. They had the pull of a car wreck on the side of the highway: I didn’t want to stare, but I couldn’t look away. “Are those . . . letters ?”
“I think so.” Dex rubbed his cheek with a hand big enough to palm a basketball. “But don’t ask me what language it is or what it says. A werewolf decided to use my face as a Post-it after I broke into his car.”
“What . . .” I swallowed. “What happened to the wolf who did it?” There were other questions I wanted to ask—things like Were you conscious? —but I figured I was better off not knowing the answers.
“Curtis dealt with it.” Eve slid into the seat next to Kyle and snagged a piece of toast from his plate. I had been so focused on Dex’s scars that I hadn’t noticed her arrival until she sat. “The wolf wasn’t one of ours, but the Denver packs have an agreement not to draw attention to ourselves.”
“And my face is pretty high profile.” Eve started to object, but Dex swept her words aside. “It’s not like I haven’t seen a mirror, Evelyn.”
She shook her head and a smile flashed across her face. “Damn, it’s good to see you. I think I even missed you calling me that.”
Dex pressed a hand to his chest. “Don’t tell me you were actually worried about me.”
“Kinda. But tell anyone and I’ll deny it.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” He sobered. “I heard the club got raided.”
“Raided and torched.” Eve dropped the toast back onto Kyle’s plate, her appetite apparently lost. “Where’s your girlfriend?” she asked as though trying to distract herself from the memory of last night.
A pained look crossed Dex’s face, twisting the shape of his scars. “Don’t know.”
Eve stared. “What do you mean you don’t know? Everyone said you got picked up during the same raid.”
“We did. Six weeks ago, Corry and I arrived together. After we
Yesterday.
I followed Kyle down the line, mindlessly accepting helpings of food without realizing—or caring—what any of it was. How was it possible that so much had changed in less than twenty-four hours?
“I asked her to come to Denver.” The words carved a hollow in my chest. “I’m responsible. If anything happens to her, it’s my fault.”
“I know the feeling.”
We reached the end of the line. I lifted my tray and glanced up at him. “You didn’t ask me to come after you.”
Kyle held my gaze for a handful of heartbeats and then shrugged. “But you’re still here.”
Before I could respond, he headed for an empty table at the far end of the room.
My sneakers squeaked against the linoleum floor and I could feel curious eyes on me as I crossed the cafeteria. Eve sat at a table with a bunch of kids I dimly recognized from last night. At orientation, we’d been told that packs were banned in the camp—like Thornhill was a big, happy family or one of those colleges that outlawed sororities—but it looked like the Eumon wolves were intending to stick together.
I slid into a seat across from Kyle and halfheartedly pushed my food around with my fork. “The program coordinator didn’t seem big on answering questions,” I said, stating the obvious.
“None of the staff are.” A boy with a blond crew cut was suddenly towering over my right shoulder. “Cool if I sit?” Without waiting for a reply, he set his tray—and himself—next to me.
Kyle made introductions. “Mac, this is Dex. He’s in my dorm.”
The boy turned his head and I bit back a gasp.
He had the kind of rugged jaw you saw in shaving commercials and wide-set brown eyes that a girl could lose herself in, but his right cheek was covered in a network of intricate white scars. It looked like someone had carved symbols into his flesh with a scalpel.
“Freakish, isn’t it?”
“Umm . . .” I had seen some horrible scars before—Kyle’s back, Ben’s chest—but never anything like this. They had the pull of a car wreck on the side of the highway: I didn’t want to stare, but I couldn’t look away. “Are those . . . letters ?”
“I think so.” Dex rubbed his cheek with a hand big enough to palm a basketball. “But don’t ask me what language it is or what it says. A werewolf decided to use my face as a Post-it after I broke into his car.”
“What . . .” I swallowed. “What happened to the wolf who did it?” There were other questions I wanted to ask—things like Were you conscious? —but I figured I was better off not knowing the answers.
“Curtis dealt with it.” Eve slid into the seat next to Kyle and snagged a piece of toast from his plate. I had been so focused on Dex’s scars that I hadn’t noticed her arrival until she sat. “The wolf wasn’t one of ours, but the Denver packs have an agreement not to draw attention to ourselves.”
“And my face is pretty high profile.” Eve started to object, but Dex swept her words aside. “It’s not like I haven’t seen a mirror, Evelyn.”
She shook her head and a smile flashed across her face. “Damn, it’s good to see you. I think I even missed you calling me that.”
Dex pressed a hand to his chest. “Don’t tell me you were actually worried about me.”
“Kinda. But tell anyone and I’ll deny it.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” He sobered. “I heard the club got raided.”
“Raided and torched.” Eve dropped the toast back onto Kyle’s plate, her appetite apparently lost. “Where’s your girlfriend?” she asked as though trying to distract herself from the memory of last night.
A pained look crossed Dex’s face, twisting the shape of his scars. “Don’t know.”
Eve stared. “What do you mean you don’t know? Everyone said you got picked up during the same raid.”
“We did. Six weeks ago, Corry and I arrived together. After we
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