“What? For real?”
He nodded, grabbing the burger from his plate. Staring at the spare tray that Jack had bought for Scarlett, he couldn’t help but wonder about the guy she’d been sat with. He was new, and Marshall didn’t like him.
“Fuck me. Isn’t that like—shit, she’s human, Marshall. She doesn’t know about our kind.”
“Not my biggest problem.”
“What’s your biggest problem?”
“She’s scared of me. I’ve just spent the last five years bullying her.”
Realization dawned, and Jack looked sheepish. “Fuck, man, I’m so sorry.”
“Please stop saying the word fuck.” He needed to talk to his father.
For the first time ever Scarlett enjoyed her lunch break. Trey stayed with her throughout telling her about his time growing up within the city. His parents had made a lot of money in some kind of mechanical venture and decided to settle down in the country. He was smart, and his brother liked to tease him.
She didn’t want to leave him but found that she didn’t have a choice.
“What class do you have next?” Trey asked.
“I’ve got English.”
“Damn, I’m history.”
“I’ve already had history.”
“Well, we’ve got gym together, right?”
She pulled out her class list and nodded.
“Great, I’ll see you then.” They entered the school again. She saw several girls were watching them.
“Erm, do you want to leave?” she asked.
“Why would I want to go?”
“You’re hot news here. I mean, you’re news.” Heat filled her cheeks as he smiled down at her.
“You think I’m hot.”
“No, I mean, yes, no, er, I don’t know.” She pressed a hand to her face wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“It’s okay. I’m teasing you.” He walked her to her door. “By the way I think you are,” he said, turning back to look at her.
“What?”
“I think you’re hot.”
She watched him wink at her before turning away. What the hell was happening to her? Marshall trying to talk to her even though she was waiting for something bad to happen because of him, and now Trey. No, she wouldn’t get ahead of herself. Trey was probably being nice to her even though he really didn’t need to. She wasn’t under any illusions about her looks.
The best anyone could say to describe her was mousy.
Entering the classroom, she went straight for her seat by the window. Only a few people were in the room.
“Hello, Scarlett,” Miss Kingry said.
“Hi.”
“Did you have a good summer?”
She nodded. “Did you?”
“Yes, I certainly did.” Miss Kingry had a secret smile.
Scarlett liked Miss Kingry out of all of the teachers. She was always nice to her.
Opening her work book, she started flicking her pen on the table when she heard Cheryl giggling.
Looking up, she saw Marshall and Jack entering the classroom.
Avoiding his gaze, she grabbed her reading book while waiting for the class to start. She was aware of his gaze on her, and when she chanced another look at him, she saw he was staring right back at her.
“Right, everyone take a seat. We’ve all had a chance to catch up. Come on, I want to get started.”
Marshall took the desk behind hers where he sat last year.
“So, are you coming out tonight?” Cheryl asked.
“No,” Marshall said.
“Come on, I can make it worth your while.”
“You’ve got nothing I want.”
Tapping her pen on the book, she kept her gaze on the front. Blowing out a breath, Scarlett wondered how much longer she could take of this torture.
Miss Kingry started her lesson. Behind her she heard Jack constantly talking. His voice was distracting the class, and as the minutes wore on, Scarlett saw he was annoying the hell out of the teacher.
“That’s enough, Mr. Rowlands, I want you over here, and Marshall, you will sit beside Scarlett now,” Miss Kingry said.
“But I’ve done nothing,” Marshall said.
“I don’t care. You’ve got to partner up for the next assignment. I’m not having you work with Jack.” Miss Kingry walked toward the back of the class.
Scarlett didn’t like her teacher all that much in that moment. Out of all of the people she could have put beside her, Marshall wasn’t the one she wanted to work with. He was a horrible person, a bully. He dropped his book on the table, causing her to jump.
Biting her lip, she flicked her pen on her notebook. She wanted the class to end.
Jack was dragged to the front of the class and put beside another boy. Scarlett didn’t see who it was and didn’t care.
She didn’t want to work with Marshall. He was a horrible person.
“Right, I want you to read the next two poems and start to make the necessary comparisons.” Miss Kingry started to walk around the classroom handing out the book they needed to read.
Marshall took the book, holding it between them.
You’ve got to get closer.
His breath fanned her hair as they read. He was bigger than she remembered him, but then she tried not to remember all that much about Marshall.
Marshall moved the book a little closer to his body.
Glancing up, she saw he was looking at her.
“I need to read it.”
“I know.”
He didn’t say anything else.
Licking her lips, she let out a breath. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy to get through this day.
Leaning closer against him, she read as much of the poem as she could. Scribbling the title and the author in her notebook, she would do the work online. It would be a lot easier than trying to work beside him. Neither of them spoke as they worked through the poem. She heard the rest of the couples in class talking through the poem. Scarlett couldn’t bring herself to speak.
In no time at all the bell sounded once again. She had gym, and the thought of seeing Trey again filled her with happiness.
“I’m sorry,” Marshall said.
He stopped her from moving around him. The desk behind her kept her locked in place as did the wall at her back.
“What?”
“I want to apologize for how I treated you.”
“I really don’t know what’s going on with you.” She tucked some hair behind her ear, staring at his chest. He was huge. Marshall had always been huge, but this was different. He was large, and it was all muscle.
He ran fingers through his hair. “Look, I was a total asshole to you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need you to apologize to me.”
“Then maybe we could hang out?”
Okay, it was official. She’d woken up in the Twilight Zone.
“No, we can’t hang out.”
“Marshall, Scarlett, you should be getting to your next lesson,” Miss Kingry said.
“Yes,” they both said, responding together.
He moved away giving her enough room to slide away from him. She walked toward the door, surprised to see Trey waiting for her.
“Hey,” he said.
She forgot about Marshall as Trey offered her his arm. “Hey.”
“Can I escort my lady to gym?”
Chuckling, Scarlett followed Trey toward their lesson. Jack was leaning against the lockers outside of the classroom. He stared at her for several seconds before returning his attention back to Marshall.
Whatever was going on there, she didn’t want to find out.
Chapter Five
Marshall watched as Scarlett laughed with Trey, the new kid. They’d gotten close, and from what he’d learned in gym, they lived next door to each other. He was pissed off and furious. His wolf was pacing against the surface.
“Are you okay, man?”
“Do I fucking look okay?” Marshall asked, snarling at Jack.
“I’m sorry.” Jack held his hands up.
They were waiting for their parents to arrive. If Trey didn’t walk away from Scarlett in a moment, Marshall was going to fucking kill the bastard.
Out of all of the women to be his mate, he couldn’t believe it was Scarlett. It was just his fucking luck. She wouldn’t let him get near her. During English he’d asked Jack to make a nuisance of himself so Miss Kingry wouldn’t have a choice but to move them. If she hadn’t partnered him up with Scarlett, he’d have done whatever it took to make sure they were. When they’d had to share the book, the floral scent coming off her had made it hard for him to focus. He’d given her no choice but to lean against him to read the poem. It had taken every ounce of restraint not to grab her and claim those lush lips.
“You’re staring,” Jack said.
“Who is this fucker?” Marshall growled the words out. His wolf wanted to go and claim his mate, not watch another man get close to her.
“I don’t know, man. He’s new around here. There’s not a lot we know on him.”
“Then find out what you can.” He didn’t want just anyone hanging around his mate. The scent of the pack swamped him, and Marshall saw his father pulling into the parking lot. “Hello, son.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Get in, Jack. Your father couldn’t make it.”
“No problem,” Jack said, climbing into the back of the truck.
Marshall slammed his door shut and was unable to look away from Scarlett. The door to her new car was open, but Trey held onto the doorframe, stopping her from climbing inside.