each other for a better view. They hummed like fallen power lines, ready to do some damage. How blind my mom had been to human failings. One schoolyard squabble revealed their potential for violence. The kids shoving to get a better view proved wolven weren’t the only beasts who enjoyed a good brawl.
My breath whooshed out on a relieved sigh as Alec and Wade were forced apart. Chests heaving, each turned away to inspect his vehicle for damage.
Matt ran his hands over the truck’s smashed-in hood, then shot Alec a dark look. Clearly, the brothers would have their own battle over Alec’s stunt.
“We were right.” Brit’s mouth twisted in an ugly grimace. “Wade’s paranorm through and through. If he were human, we’d be scraping pieces of his cabbage brain off the dashboard.”
I scrunched my face. “Lovely image. And what a way to prove it. I hope Alec has severe whiplash or something.” I linked my hands to hide their trembling. “He deserves it for pulling a lame stunt like this. Now’s probably not the time to say this, but didn’t Matt accuse me of being a hothead liability?”
Brit heaved a sigh. “Yeah, how’s that for irony? A week ago this wouldn’t have happened. But in the last few days Alec has started acting a bit…”
“Out of his mind?” I supplied.
“Unpredictable.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled, watching Alec run a frustrated hand through his black hair. “In the last few days?”
“Right.” Brit cocked an eyebrow at me.
“You mean since I moved to town?”
Brit sighed like my dimness was too much to bear and nodded. Once.
“Ohhhh....” I stared at Alec with renewed curiosity. So I had Alec all twitterpated, did I? I pulled my gaze away from his broad shoulders. All the more reason I should steer clear of the crew. Hunting and flirting went together like a land mine and a clown on a pogo stick.
Mr. Riggs brushed between me and Brit. “Show’s over folks. Move along.”
Everyone groaned in disappointment at his words. “Pick up the pace, or you’ll be running suicides after school all next week. Hustle, hustle, hustle.” His threat scattered the stragglers.
“Girls,” he yelled in our direction. “Wade says you saw the accident. The police will be here soon to take your statements. Don’t go running off.”
The weight of Wade’s and Alec’s gazes both pulled me in different ways. A speedy escape would be so good right now. Being held for questioning because I’d witnessed the school’s hottest guys smash up their rides and brawl in public wasn’t exactly keeping a low profile. Wait till the Hunter Council got a whiff of this.
But I wanted to take off for reasons other than keeping my nose clean. I had issues with uniforms. Doctors, nurses, shrinks in suits. And I wasn’t too comfortable with the whole stop-or-I’ll-shoot thing cops had going either. After my parents disappeared, the police interviewed me, looking for clues, anything to help them figure out where my parents might have gone or who might have wanted them dead. I told the officers nothing. They were out of their league. No way were they ready for the monsters of my world.
I couldn’t believe the way the cops treated me, though. Like I was on their list of suspects, me—the kid with the missing parents. The victim . I’d woken that morning to find my parents gone. That was all I could tell them. They’d wanted more. They’d asked questions, the same ones over and over. Phrased a hundred different ways. But my story never changed, because paranormal or not, that was what happened. My parents vanished.
The finer details of those few weeks were a blur, lost in a haze of pain and fear, but I no longer had any illusions. Chivalrous cops didn’t exist. Today’s breed of law enforcement was jaded and suspicious, and generally not so nice. And who knew? In Redgrave, they might also be vampires.
I had bitten my fingernails down to ravaged stumps by the time two officers arrived in a police car. It
My breath whooshed out on a relieved sigh as Alec and Wade were forced apart. Chests heaving, each turned away to inspect his vehicle for damage.
Matt ran his hands over the truck’s smashed-in hood, then shot Alec a dark look. Clearly, the brothers would have their own battle over Alec’s stunt.
“We were right.” Brit’s mouth twisted in an ugly grimace. “Wade’s paranorm through and through. If he were human, we’d be scraping pieces of his cabbage brain off the dashboard.”
I scrunched my face. “Lovely image. And what a way to prove it. I hope Alec has severe whiplash or something.” I linked my hands to hide their trembling. “He deserves it for pulling a lame stunt like this. Now’s probably not the time to say this, but didn’t Matt accuse me of being a hothead liability?”
Brit heaved a sigh. “Yeah, how’s that for irony? A week ago this wouldn’t have happened. But in the last few days Alec has started acting a bit…”
“Out of his mind?” I supplied.
“Unpredictable.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled, watching Alec run a frustrated hand through his black hair. “In the last few days?”
“Right.” Brit cocked an eyebrow at me.
“You mean since I moved to town?”
Brit sighed like my dimness was too much to bear and nodded. Once.
“Ohhhh....” I stared at Alec with renewed curiosity. So I had Alec all twitterpated, did I? I pulled my gaze away from his broad shoulders. All the more reason I should steer clear of the crew. Hunting and flirting went together like a land mine and a clown on a pogo stick.
Mr. Riggs brushed between me and Brit. “Show’s over folks. Move along.”
Everyone groaned in disappointment at his words. “Pick up the pace, or you’ll be running suicides after school all next week. Hustle, hustle, hustle.” His threat scattered the stragglers.
“Girls,” he yelled in our direction. “Wade says you saw the accident. The police will be here soon to take your statements. Don’t go running off.”
The weight of Wade’s and Alec’s gazes both pulled me in different ways. A speedy escape would be so good right now. Being held for questioning because I’d witnessed the school’s hottest guys smash up their rides and brawl in public wasn’t exactly keeping a low profile. Wait till the Hunter Council got a whiff of this.
But I wanted to take off for reasons other than keeping my nose clean. I had issues with uniforms. Doctors, nurses, shrinks in suits. And I wasn’t too comfortable with the whole stop-or-I’ll-shoot thing cops had going either. After my parents disappeared, the police interviewed me, looking for clues, anything to help them figure out where my parents might have gone or who might have wanted them dead. I told the officers nothing. They were out of their league. No way were they ready for the monsters of my world.
I couldn’t believe the way the cops treated me, though. Like I was on their list of suspects, me—the kid with the missing parents. The victim . I’d woken that morning to find my parents gone. That was all I could tell them. They’d wanted more. They’d asked questions, the same ones over and over. Phrased a hundred different ways. But my story never changed, because paranormal or not, that was what happened. My parents vanished.
The finer details of those few weeks were a blur, lost in a haze of pain and fear, but I no longer had any illusions. Chivalrous cops didn’t exist. Today’s breed of law enforcement was jaded and suspicious, and generally not so nice. And who knew? In Redgrave, they might also be vampires.
I had bitten my fingernails down to ravaged stumps by the time two officers arrived in a police car. It
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