Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(2)

That’s when a throat cleared behind me.

Oh. Fuck.

My whole body stiffened as I stood on the tips of my Converse shoes, preparing myself to come face to face with a teacher.

Being a wolf, I was categorized as a “predator student.” The only other species that got that designation here were the vampires, and the dark fey. The vampires were kept so well fed no one really bothered policing them, and everyone was terrified of the dark fey so they didn’t police them either. But me … if I partially shifted, growled, eyes went yellow, anything to show I was “threatening” a fellow student, it was all recorded and counted against me.

One more strike and I was out of here.

I inhaled as I spun around, and the first thing I smelled hit me right in the gut, sending warmth down my chest, trickling through my stomach and settling right between my legs.

Wolf.

Male.

Dominant.

Unmated.

One smell, that’s all it took for me to know these four things.

“Having a bad day?” His voice was deep, husky, undeniably sexy.

My eyes went from the dark-wash jeans that clung to his muscular thighs up to the powder blue t-shirt he wore that was so tight it was like a second skin. It strained against his muscles, showing every dip and curve, even his nipples, which were pointed tight. When I got to his face, my heart jackknifed in my chest. Eyes the color of honey looked back at me from behind thick black lashes. They were threaded through with a deep blue the color of the ocean. He had a chiseled jaw and a chin butt. Honest to God, I’d always wanted to meet a guy in real life who had a chin butt. It was a weird fetish of mine.

Bucket list achieved.

“You could say that.” I ran my fingers through my blond hair, taming any flyaways and trying to get my shit together.

Other than my mom and dad, I’d never met another wolf.

“You don’t have much control over your wolf.” His comment probably wasn’t meant to be cruel. By the tone of it, he was just making an observation, but it stung nonetheless.

I shrugged. “Why should I want to control her?”

His eyes went from warm honey to hot lava and I swallowed hard.

“New student?” I asked.

Please say yes.

Having another wolf at school would be amazing, especially this wolf.

Wolf Boy and Wolf Girl ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after in banishment.

He shook his head slowly. “Just visiting.”

Fuck.

I peered out at the parking lot to see two huge dudes standing on either side of a black SUV that was pulled up to the curb. They had their hands out, stilled at their sides like they were going to pull a weapon on me for talking to this guy. He must work for the alpha and be here on business or something.

“From Werewolf City?” I pried.

I was slightly desperate to know everything about the place my parents were banished from.

His eyes slowly transformed from orange to yellow, and then to that striking bright blue as his wolf fully retreated. The blue of his eyes held a sorrow I couldn’t place, a brokenness I felt in myself and recognized in him. It was just a flash and then it was gone. What could this perfect specimen possibly have experienced to be broken inside? This guy was insanely hot, movie-star hot. My wolf liked him immediately, but I was pretty sure she would like any decent looking male of her same species. We couldn’t afford to be picky in a place like this.

He nodded slowly. “Why are you here?”

Shame burned my cheeks. I didn’t answer, and dawning understanding lit up his face as his gaze fell to the cuffs on my wrists.

“Banished?” he asked, confused. I nodded and his lips turned into a frown. “Do they hurt much?” He pointed one meaty paw at my wrists and I chuckled.

“Only like I’m being burned alive.”

A possessive growl ripped from his throat and I stumbled backward a few paces, not expecting it. He opened his mouth to speak, then the doors opened and the school administrator, Mr. Darkworth, stepped out. He was short for a fey, just a touch over six feet tall, and the wolf next to me had a few inches on him.

“Sawyer, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.”

Sawyer.

Why was that name familiar?

When Mr. Darkworth saw me there, he looked startled. “Demi, I trust you are behaving?” He glared down his nose at me.

I tucked a chunk of long blond hair behind my ear and nodded. “Just, getting … a bit of fresh air, sir.”

I moved to go back inside, taking this as my cue to bolt, when Sawyer’s hand snaked out and grabbed me gently by the upper arm. My heart jumped into my throat at his touch, his eyes blazing yellow as I looked up at him.

“Do you like it here?” His voice was gruff, his wolf close.

I snort-laughed. “Are you serious?”

How could I be happy here? As a wolf I needed to live among my kind or I’d go crazy. Thank God for Mom and Dad or I would have to be put down. No one liked living here, on the outskirts of Magic City, crammed in with the humans. It was fucking awful.

He released my arm, blinked twice, eyes flashing from yellow back to blue as if shaking off his wolf.

Mr. Darkworth frowned. “Shall we, son?” He motioned Sawyer into the double doors that led to his office, and I took the other set back to class.

When I sat down, I noticed Raven had gathered up the contents of my bookbag and placed it on my seat. I gave her a smile of thanks and then spent the rest of the class staring at a spot on the wall and wondering what the fuck just happened and who that guy Sawyer was.