Hidden Fox

Ten

Monday came, and I was an absolute ball of nerves on the drive to campus. It coiled inside of me, preventing me from eating that morning or focusing on my first class. When Bio came, I fiddled with my pencil in a very annoying manner as I waited for Everlee to show up. When she did, the coils sank and I felt like I was going to be sick.

She took her seat next to me and I watched an agonizingly slow process of her grabbing her books from her bag and placing them on her table. She placed her pencil on top before finally meeting my eyes. Neither of us spoke for a solid thirty seconds at least.

Losing patience, I broke. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you dying to know why I was at the Williams' Friday afternoon as much as I am dying to know why you were?" Great plan, April: play dumb. I mentally rolled my eyes at myself, knowing when she realized how not-so-dumb I was, I would really be in for it.

Her eyebrows raised and I saw her thoughts flash through her eyes as if I were physically reading them. She knew she couldn't mention anything about pack business or wolves at all. She bought into the human act. One point to April. Maybe.

Everlee blinked, thinking through her choice of words extremely carefully. "I guess I was a little shocked to see you barge through that door. I could see on your face that was not what you were expecting. You said you usually babysit for the Williams'?

I, too, had to word everything carefully. "Yeah, I live down the street." Lying was becoming far too easy, but I prayed I hadn't previously told her I was from Utah. If I had, that lie would not end well.

She seemed to buy it, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. "Oh fun! The kids seemed to like you. They came looking for you right after you disappeared to find them. Kind of funny how you didn't cross ways in the hall."

I laughed nervously, "Yeah! You know, that house is so big I tend to get lost often!"

She laughed with me until the professor decided to stroll in and start his lecture. I turned away from her and set up my notebook and pencil, hoping the conversation would permanently drop with that.

After the lecture hour, she said goodbye and hurried on her way to her next class. I turned the opposite direction and headed down the sidewalk towards the library. I really needed to get some homework done before it piled up any further.

I reached for the door handle when a different hand came out of nowhere and swung it open for me. When I glanced up to thank the random chivalrous stranger, I nearly had a heart attack. Staring down at me were those piercing blue eyes, shining through dark strands of hair hanging in front of his face as his head tilted down at me.

It was him. The alpha from Friday.

"Thank you." I squeaked, feeling intimidated by his presence. Suddenly nervous my body language would give away the fact I knew what he was, I straightened up and walked through the open door. I didn't have look back to know he had followed.

I found an empty table to claim and placed my bag on the floor, pulling out my laptop and books. The alpha sat down across from me. I avoided his eyes.

"This isn't being saved, is it?" His voice was rough, almost like he was holding back, shielding any true emotions that might leak out of his guardedness.

When I didn't answer and just opened my laptop and biology book, he smirked. A close-lipped half-smile that stirred a different kind of coil than that morning's. Damn you. I told my stomach.

"I'll take that as a no."

I scribbled something in my notebook.

"What are you working on?" I supposed that was better than "what's your major?"