Arianna climbed onto the bus, and found a seat located at the back. Thomas stood hesitantly nearby, wondering if he should sit beside her or not. Arianna smiled up at him.
“I won’t bite,” she said. This was her usual comment when he wouldn’t come near her. Tengu were not very trusting of dearg-dul, and since Arianna was part dearg-dul, he always hesitated with her. “At least not without asking first.” She grinned at him. Thomas sat beside her. He had watched her for a year, and he knew that was true. He just could not stop the basic instincts that every tengu had around dearg-duls.
“I wish he could see Andrew the way I do,” Arianna added, staring off to the street as the sky began to dim and street lights flickered on. Arianna felt both Devin and Andrew turn back to follow the bus. Running away was never really an option when she was the sun that everyone gravitated around.
“You know, he never will let you be alone with him, so why do you keep pushing his buttons on the issue?” Thomas asked. “I think Devin could be persuaded to let you be near Andrew if you had more guards, and not just me. You could have had someone else come with us.”
“They all kind of hate Andrew,” Arianna replied.
“Turner seems to be able to control himself around him,” Thomas added.
“Yeah, but the two of them in one car is way too much tension for me.” Turner and Andrew had both made their intentions for her affections obviously clear. “Have you ever been crushed by love? And jealous love at that?” Thomas laughed. Arianna smiled at the sound. Thomas was serious most of the time, and his laugh was something Arianna never grew tired of.
“Then your stint as my protector is almost done. One more week and you’re free. What’s next?” Arianna asked trying to change the subject to calm herself down.
“Fixing my grades. I think I need to get extra credit in every single class,” Thomas replied, pushing up his wire-rimmed glasses to stare out the window with her.
“Sorry about that. I bet spending half the week away didn’t help much this year,” Arianna replied.
“Nah, it was fun,” he added. “I just found it was easier to slack since the dog was setting such a good example for me.”
“You always blame Turner for everything.”
“Well he’s almost always at fault,” Thomas added. Arianna couldn’t disagree. Turner brought trouble everywhere he went, and slacking off of school work was his style. “Let me restate that—not almost. I actually think he is at fault every single time I can remember.” Arianna laughed. The war between Turner and Thomas was more personal than just the difference in their night human forms. Lycan and tengu never got along. It was why they each sided with the baku and dearg-dul. Arianna figured the dislike came from the food source. Baku and dearg-dul needed blood to survive and were thus in constant competition for day humans, while tengu and lycan could use blood, but preferred meat to survive, and so they were also always in competition for food.
“And after high school?”
“It will be college. I’ve already been accepted into three colleges, just not my favorite.”
“So, once you get away from this crazy life, what will you do?” Arianna asked. Getting away wasn’t an option for her. She was born into her life, and she couldn’t change her destiny if she tried. Her grandfather was the head of a family of dearg-dul, and she was the sole heir to it. The baku based their leadership on strength, so she was the head of the clan simply by being twice as powerful as the next baku in line. Thomas could hear a slight hint of jealously in her question.
“Med school,” Thomas replied. Arianna turned back, shocked to hear the answer. “What? I don’t seem like the doctor type to you?”
“Not really,” Arianna replied. The bus stopped at their stop, and Arianna led the way off. “More like the mad scientist type.”
Turner was standing outside the diner that was run by Arianna’s aunt and uncle. Arianna gestured to Thomas to be quiet. She walked quietly behind Turner and jumped on his back. Turner laughed as he caught her in mid-jump and twirled her upside down. Arianna slid out of his grasp and twisted to land on her feet. Turner swept her back up and locked her in his arms. It had become a game to practice sneaking up on Turner. He had the best senses of anyone else in her protection unit, and if she could beat him, then she would be able to sneak up on anyone.
“You thought you’d get a jump on me?” Turner asked. He slid his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her hair. Thomas, moved by the display of affection, walked into the diner. Turner held her hand as she slid to the ground. He began to lead the way into the diner, but Arianna stopped him.