Bombs Away

Unfortunately for me, Ben is a goodie two shoes along with being a complete moron, so he refused to leave school early to warn the Elders about the hunters. So, here I am, fuming in Biology, staring daggers at the back of his big, stupid head, waiting for 3pm to come. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to tell the Elders about the hunters—making sure I avoid the part where I lusted after one of them. My scowling and pondering distracted me too much, though, and I never even saw him come in.

“Ahh, you must be Mr. Beaumont,” I hear Mr. Richards ask.

My eyes shoot to the front of the room, and there stands Thunderstorm Eyes, talking to Mr. Richards. No! He cannot be in this class. Oh, shit! My head slowly turns to eye the empty chair next to my own. Jesus H. Christ, please don’t let this be real…

“Well, it looks like your new lab partner is…Miss Whitmore!” Mr. Richards says excitedly while I try to keep my lunch down and my face neutral.

Ben spins in his chair to look at me, and I look him dead in the eye and project a plethora of f-bombs into his idiotic head. One of the dragon perks we get is communicating with our minds, but most shifters can only do it when they’re in dragon form. I, being the freak, can do it even when I’m not in form. So, I decide to let Ben know how dumb he is.

‘I’m going to kill you, Benjamin! You have to be such a fucking kiss-ass! We should have left while we had the chance, but now I’m stuck next to a Beaumont. A Beaumont, Benjamin. Ugh!!’

He hangs his head in shame—as he should—and turns back around as the hunter slides into the chair next to me.

“You’re Katherine Whitmore, right?” he asks me.

Do I answer? He was looking for me earlier, but Mr. Richards kind of ruined the whole he’ll-never-find-me-now deal by saying my name. This sucks so hard.

“Yeah,” I respond without looking his way. For some reason I think by not looking at him that maybe he won’t remember that he sensed what I am and chased me down the hallway earlier; which is pretty stupid considering he knows my name and my insane platinum blonde hair would give me away anyway.

“I’m Alex Beaumont,” he says, confirming what I already knew. He’s a part of the most infamous hunter family in existence. I feel him staring hard at the side of my face, almost like he’s trying to set me on fire—which he probably does want to do.

“Mmm,” is my only reply, again thinking I’ll give too much away.

Just as he’s about to say something else, Mr. Richards starts the class. Alex turns back to face the front of the room, but continues to sneak the occasional peek at me. I have never been more thankful for human school in my entire life!



The clock is taunting me. It’s ticking slower and slower on purpose, I know it. Time isn’t supposed to move this slowly!

7 more minutes to freedom. 7 more minutes until I’m away from the hunter’s prying eyes. It doesn’t help that all I want to do is stare into them and get lost in the storm that is his irises. Stop it, Kat! You do not want to stare into the eyes of the guy who wants nothing more than to eliminate you and your entire race. That would be sick…

6 minutes and 15 seconds.

Ben has been fidgeting since Alex sat down, and Alex can tell. He keeps giving Ben these weird looks, and I just want to smack the dope! Alex looks to the front of the room and I slam my foot into the back of Ben’s chair; he jumps and sits more still.

Alex looks over at me curiously now, but I, unlike Ben, have an impeccable poker face. I act like I’m paying perfect attention to Mr. Richards’ lesson, while in reality I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest.

4 minutes and 27 seconds.

You can do this, Kat. Only a little longer. Just a few more minutes and you can pack your things and get out of here as fast as you can without being too suspicious. You go back to the compound and explain everything to the Elders and they’ll move us right away. They’ll probably get the kindred out tonight. It’ll be okay.

2 minutes and 45 seconds.

I leaned down, along with the rest of the class, starting to gather my things. I put my notebook in my backpack and grab my keys. Having them in my hand makes me feel better. I let Ben know telepathically to be ready as soon as the bell rings and to go right to the car. The faster we get there, the faster we get back to the compound to warn the Elders; the faster we get away from the Beaumonts.

Alex is watching me; he’s gathering his things, too. He’s going to try and come after us, I can feel it. But, I can’t let that happen. I have to protect the kindred; I have to protect mom and Izzy. I start to inch my chair away from our desk, slow enough that Alex won’t notice.

12 seconds. 8…5…3, 2, 1. The bell rings and I’m out of my chair grabbing Ben’s arm, practically ripping it from his body, and out of the room before Alex can even stand.

“Kat, you’re hurting me!”

“Shut up, Ben! This is your fault; we should have just left when I said and warned the Elders! But, you have to be so fu—”

Dammit! He’s behind us.

“Katherine!” Alex calls through the crowd.

Ben looks at me and I glare at him, but keep moving. The parking lot; just get to the parking lot, Kat. I keep pulling Ben, and Alex calls again. I ignore him and reach the front doors; I burst through them and head to the row where my Volvo waits.

5 more cars and we’re there. I hold up my key fob and hit the unlock button. I hear the double beep of the doors opening for us. We get there, Alex still on our heels, and I push Ben toward the passenger’s side.

“Get in the fucking car, Benjamin.”

He obeys and climbs in the passenger’s seat without even removing his backpack. I yank mine off my shoulders, throw it in Ben’s lap, and climb in the driver’s side. I shove the key in the ignition and the car comes to life. Sweet relief! Alex is coming, I can feel him getting closer, so I throw the car in reverse and back out.

Once I’m out of my spot, I put the car in drive and gun it. No one was as fast as me, so I can get out of here quickly. I shift my eyes to the rearview mirror and they fall on Alex staring right back at me. I watch as the other two hunters flank him; the bulkier one asks him something I can’t make out, and Alex shakes his head and walks away.

I peel out of the school’s parking lot, heading toward the compound to warn the Elders of the danger that I just left behind.