The Protective Wolf

I hadn’t seen or made any form of contact with any of those boys—well, anyone really at all, other than Molly—since I had gotten back from Lukas’s and Markus’s room. Once I’d gotten back, I went straight into my pajamas and slide into a cocoon of blankets on my bed. Molly and Markus were quiet the entire time, quickly abandoning their prank phone calls to bid each other goodbye. Molly never asked me what was wrong and I never told her. I attended my classes, ate my meals, and functioned like a completely normal human being.

Until I saw them for the first time three weeks later.

And Shelby called us over to sit with them where they were eating in the middle of the wide open cafeteria in the Union. I felt every bone and muscle in my body tense up as each boy lifted their head in fluid sync. Molly brushed against my arm as she passed by me to take a seat next to Markus. He greeted her with a large smile and a nod.

“Are you okay, Reagan?” Shelby piped up, concern evident in her voice as she stared at me. I must have been standing there for a while, just staring at them all and holding my tray full of food. My book bag slung over my shoulder without a care. I felt Lukas watch me sit down between Shelby and Molly, despite there clearly being more room between Hudson and him. I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to shake off the small bubble of fear pooling in my stomach before giving her a smile.

“I’m fine, just tired from all the work,” I answered, keeping my eyes fully on the blonde girl beside me who was nodding along to my every word, “you know how it is.”

“I completely get what you mean, Reags,” Shelby sighed, jabbing her fork into some fried chicken with the most concentrated look on her face, “I am swamped with stuff. It’s mostly my stupid gen eds, but I should be done with them this year.” Her eyes flickered up to me and then back down to her food before her. Molly sat beside me, her elbow awkwardly jamming into my ribs at certain times when she would move her arm. I gave her a sincere apology face since it was my fault we were all so close in the first place. I just couldn’t sit by those…guys though. I couldn’t.

“So,” Markus spoke up, gently and with the utmost caution, “we haven’t seen much of you guys lately.”

Molly stiffened, making a point to turn her head and study my face as I stared over at Markus with absolutely no emotion. I shrugged, glancing over at Lukas who was glaring down at his mash potatoes, appearing deep in thought. “Yeah, we really haven’t. Huh, must be busy. Have you guys been busy?”

“Not really, Reags,” Jackson shrugged, but the look in his green eyes told me exactly what I needed to know: not to push anything too far. Not to push them at all. Not to mess with anything related to them unless I wasted trouble. The only problem was I sure as hell wanted trouble, but I also was still frozen in fear at what they claimed to be. What kind of sick people claim to be a monster? Then there is always the ridiculous idea that they could be telling the truth, in which I had no wish to die by the mouth of a wolf creature thing. “How about yourself? Been busy? Learning? Reading? Avoiding us maybe?”

“Okay,” Shelby piped up, placing down her fork with a calculated calmness, “things are getting a little weird at this table and I think we should all just stop talking and start eating. We all have things to study or do or whatever, at least I do, and I really enjoy being with you all, but I’m completely uncomfortable. I should not be uncomfortable. Thank you.” She shifted her gaze to lock with each and everyone of us, no matter how awkwardly she had to sit or lean. “We’re done.” I kept my gaze on her for a while, just watching her eat her food and shift her eyes around. I know it was creepy, hell, it was beyond creepy. It was also rude, but there was something about the way she was acting that made me think she knew actually what was happening. I turned my gaze over to my other side and watched Molly, my best friend.

She seemed so clueless, like the only one who had no idea what was going on.

“Hey, Lukas,” I spoke up, bringing my eyes onto the large, and now stiffened guy a cross the table from me. He looked at me, well, more like stared at my chin while he held his mouth open with food and his fork mid-air. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course, Reagan,” he answered.

I glanced around the busy lunch space—nicknamed “The Garden”— to find somewhere we could talk. After finding a bit of open space between the sitting space and the area outside the school’s bookstore, I brought my gaze back to Lukas. He watched me, almost with a look of sorrow in his eyes. Something shifted inside me and I almost would have been fine dropping my questions and my fear and my disgust and my angry and everything I felt, but I would not. “Um, how about over there?” I jerked my chin toward the bookstore.

He didn’t answer, just picked up his nearly empty tray and began to walk over to the spot. I hesitated at first because honestly, I had no idea why I was having us go talk over there. I just knew somewhere inside of me I had a lot of questions for him and a lot of threats, but I wouldn’t dare say any of them. Eventually my body kicked in and I grabbed my own tray to meet him where he stood.

“What is it, Reagan?” His tone wasn’t cold like I half expected. Instead it was overrun by complete carelessness.

I frowned slightly, “Um, I-“ have no clue what to say, “I have questions.”

He narrowed his eyes down at me, and only then did I notice how close I had gotten to him before I had stopped walking. We were inches a part from one another. “About what?”

“You know what, Luke.”

“What makes you think I would want to answer any of your questions?” he asked, taking a tentative step back, creating bigger gap between the two of us. I watched Lukas cross his arms and all the thoughts my brain could muster was how much I wanted to pul them apart and place them around me. But that was awkward and not happening. It was probably just a result of going from lots of contact to barely any communication.

I pursed my lips, staring back at him. Why should he answer me?

“Exactly, Reagan,” Lukas replied, giving me a small nod before he walked away. Part of me was happy to see the back of Lukas making his way through the cafeteria to the garbage, but the bigger part of me had apparently completely lost her mind because before I could stop myself, I’d begun to follow Lukas and grab ahold of his arm. He tensed, I could feel it. I swore I heard him release a breath, for good reason or bad I couldn’t tell. “What?” Lukas shifted his arm so I continued to hold it but he was also able to turn and face me.

“Please,” I said, keeping my eyes focused on his no matter how uncomfortable I felt, “just answer my questions so I can feel-I don’t know, Luke-“

“Lukas.”

“Lukas, I’m so confused and I might check out a hospital soon,” I replied, “and not for me, for you guys. I just need something.” His eyes softened as he studied my face for something. I wasn’t sure what exactly, but eventually he bit his bottom lip and nodded.