Year One

18

He ran his fingers through his short auburn hair.

“Hi, I’m Ra …”

“I know who you are.” He held my gaze as he grabbed his orange juice and took a long sip.

Okay, this was going great. I took my seat, which had me directly facing Rage. My body began to betray me, and I held my breath. The last thing I needed was his earthy scent causing me to be even more confused than I already was.

“Do you know how to stay out of trouble?” Rage leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

“No, I don’t.” There was no reason to lie to him. I gained nothing from his dislike.

Cole reached over and put an arm around me, glancing at Damien. “See, she’s straight-up honest.”

“Yeah, but dangerous.” Damien snorted and shook his head. “She doesn’t have a hold on her wolf at all.”

“You’re just pissed because she whooped your ass.” Cole pointed at Damien and placed an elbow on the table. “I mean, you really didn’t have a chance.”

“Shut the f**k up.” Damien stood and growled. He grabbed his tray off the table and walked toward the exit. “I’ll meet you outside in fifteen. Don’t be late.”

As he sauntered off, the guy who grabbed my food set down three plates in front of me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He brought me an entire plate of bacon and sausage, another plate of French toast and pancakes, and the last plate had a mound of eggs with cheese. I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat one full plate, but there wasn’t any way I could let it all go to waste. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” The guy smiled and winked at me. “Enjoy.”

He was cute with chestnut hair and almond eyes.

“Now scram.” Rage waved the guy off, and his charcoal eyes held me in place. “You better eat.”

As Jess peeled away from the buffet line, she glanced around for a place to sit.

I figured she was coming to sit with us, but she passed by us, heading to an empty table.

“We have an open seat here.” I pointed to the seat that Damien had vacated.

“No, we don’t.” Rage lifted his feet and placed them in the chair. “Keep going.”

That definitely wasn’t going to happen. “Yes, we do.” I reached over and grabbed the chair, pulling it closer to me and making his feet drop. “Come sit next to me.”

“Uh …” Jess bit her bottom lip. She looked at me and then back at Rage. “I’m going to go over here instead.”

“I’ll go with you.” I stood and reached down, lifting my overflowing tray.

“No, you stay.” Rage’s jaw twitched as he watched. “You’re welcome here. She isn’t.”

The girl from last night entered the cafeteria and headed in our direction. Her forehead was creased, and she scanned me up and down. “Hey, baby.”

Rage ignored her as he kept his eyes locked on me. “I said sit.”

“You heard the man.” Cole’s face had a huge smile on it, and I swore he would’ve been eating popcorn if there was any around.

“Shut up, Cole.” Both Rage and I yelled at him together.

“What’s going on here?” Ashley placed her hand on the seat I’d just vacated.

“Sorry, we’re all full here.” Cole pointed at the chair Rage had his feet on and the vacant one next to him. “This is Ravey’s seat. You heard the man.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ashley took a step back, and her mouth dropped open.

This whole situation was strange, and for some damn reason, I wanted to listen to Rage. However, Jess had been sweet to me and seemed like she could be a good friend. “They are. They were saving this seat for you.” I forced a smile at the hussy and turned to walk away. “Come on, let’s go find another table.”

As we made our way to another table, it was obvious how quiet the other three had become. That was until Cole cleared his throat, and ice laced his voice once more. “How does it feel to be given the seat by a newbie?”

I cringed. Cole was blatantly antagonizing her. I didn’t need another enemy so soon.

“Girl, I can’t believe you.” Jess rushed to an open table and set down her food. “You turned down one of them after you got invited to their table.”

“That’s not a big deal.” I was really uncomfortable with the attention and just wanted to eat.

“No one outside their little tribe has ever been invited to their table. Ashley has sat there only a handful of times, but Rage never requested it.” She took a bite of her French toast that was somehow swimming in syrup. “I’ve never seen Rage act that way.”

Ashley leaned in and was talking to Rage, but his face remained emotionless. Eventually, he stood and took a few steps our way.

“Are you f*****g serious right now?” Ashley’s face almost matched her hair color perfectly. Somehow it turned even darker as Rage ignored her. She picked up the tray he had left and slammed it on the table. “You’re even leaving your f*****g trash.”

He stopped when he reached our table, and his eyes locked on me. He turned his head to address Ashley. “If it bothers you that badly, then you throw it away.” His tone was harsh, and he stood rigid in front of me.

“Oh, here, take mine too.” Cole jumped up from the table and saluted me as he exited the room.

Rage pointed to my food and sighed. “Hurry and eat up. Damien will be pissed if you don’t arrive on time.”

“What?” I had assumed he had been talking to him and Cole. “Me?”

“Yes, he’s the one training you today.” He turned on his heels and walked out the door.

“This year might be fun with you here.” Jess giggled and began stuffing her face with food.

She was thinking about having a good year whereas I wasn’t sure I was going to last through the end of the day. This was Damien’s chance to kick my ass after what I did to him last night.

A

ll the food that I’d eaten was sitting hard on my stomach. Had I known I was going to be training with Damien, I wouldn’t have stuffed myself. At least I hadn’t finished that last plate … not completely.