Destined for the Lycan Prince

Stranded

"This is quite literally my worst nightmare."

I grimaced at Jessica's melodramatic groan as our ratty old school bus lurched over another pothole on the deserted mountain road. Talk about overstating the obvious.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad," I tried reassuring her, keeping my tone light even though I was low-key terrified too. "The bus just got a flat tire. I'm sure the driver is going to have us back on the road soon."

Famous last words.

Fifteen miserable minutes later, we were still stranded in the middle of practically nowhere as the heavens opened up and rain started pelting down in biblical proportions. Our bus driver had given up trying to wrestle with the deflated tire and was on the CB desperately calling for a tow truck to come to our remote location.

"Idiots should've sprung for a more reliable ride if we were gonna be trekking two hours into the mountains," a low, irritated voice grumbled a few seats behind me.

I instinctively knew who it was without even turning around - Hunter Westbrook's gravelly timbre had been haunting me since his surprise arrival at Shiny Heights.

Of course, he was on this doomed bus trip, because what teenage disaster would be complete without the human embodiment of tormented hotness throwing off everyone's hormones?

Ever since his first day, I'd found it impossible not to be hyper-aware of his presence whenever he was nearby, like my subconscious was now hard-wired to his energy signature or something.

Ignoring the instinctive thrill that zinged through me at the mere sound of Hunter's voice, I turned to Jessica with a tight smile. "See? No big deal. Maybe they'll even cancel the rest of this lame trip if the weather stays nasty."

I was doing my sincere best to stay positive in our cruddy circumstances, but deep down I knew we were properly screwed. Our bus had gone completely kaput almost two hours off from main roads and civilization. The cell signal was virtually non-existent, and the downpour was rapidly turning into a torrential nightmare.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of loud thumps and the heavy bus door crashed open, letting in a ferocious gale of wind, rain, and - to my utter disbelief - none other than Hunter Westbrook himself.

His clothes were drenched and rainwater slicked back the tousled chestnut waves away from his chiseled face. Eyes smoldering with irritation, he stalked down the aisle and dropped into the empty seat next to me, muscles rippling beneath his soaked shirt.

I blinked in shock, unable to process why the hell he'd just gone for an impromptu shower in the downpour. That's when I noticed his clenched fist was gripping the flimsy plastic bus door handle. With a powerful whip of his arm, he launched it toward the front of the bus, embedding it squarely in the driver's seat headrest.

Everyone froze in terrified silence as the driver flinched and scrambled to get away from the volatile new kid.

Hunter's frustration rolled off him in waves, mercifully not aimed at anyone in particular, but just...emanating from him like a feral beast ready to strike. The only other time I'd seen anything like it was from cage fighters right before their bloody matches.

My throat went dry as he brusquely brushed his wet hair off his forehead. It was impossible to miss the defined cut of his biceps, the rugged angles of his jawline, the wild spark in his hazel eyes that suddenly seemed...otherworldly in their intensity.

Part of me wanted to shrink away in terror at his ferocious display of unleashed alpha energy. While another deeper, more primal part felt bizarrely drawn to it in a way that made zero logical sense. Like his feral aura, it was a steel door I also desperately wanted to get through.

What in the actual hell was wrong with me?

Subtly gulping, I slid as far across the sticky vinyl seat as possible, trying to put some polite distance between me and the human personification of untamed masculine power beside me.

Of course, he noticed my micro movement immediately, those eerie eyes locking on me like I was his sole focus. Just as I thought he might start growling at me for no reason, he seemed to exhale, and the tension seeped from his impressive frame.

"Sorry about the thing with the handle," he mumbled gruffly, a muscle working in his chiseled jaw. "I just...get a little stir-crazy when I'm cooped up too long."

I swear my brain short-circuited because I couldn't seem to remember how to form words.

Luckily, Jessica came to my rescue by inserting herself right into the conversation, batting her eyelashes at Hunter in full-on thirst mode.

"Is that the understatement of the year? Being trapped in close quarters with nowhere to let off steam?" She practically purred the implication, leaning across the aisle to shamelessly put her cleavage on full display. "There are ways I could help you...relieve tension, Hunter..."

I wanted to spontaneously combust from the levels of over-the-top flirting she was deploying right in front of me and the entire bus. For Hunter's part, he barely reacted except for a subtle clench of his chiseled jaw, like she barely registered on his radar at all.

Jessica frowned, flustered by his underwhelming response. Determined not to be brushed off so easily, she licked her glossed lips and tried again in a sultry tone.

"Why don't you come sit next to me and let me help you blow off some steam..."

"That's enough!" I blurted out, cutting her off sharply.

Everyone's heads swiveled toward me in surprise, Hunter's gaze searing through me like I'd just run into a raging wildfire instead of simply opening my mouth.

Fuck it. I'd always been afraid to call out Jessica for her blatant mean girl antics, but this was too far.

"You need to have more respect for yourself, Jessica," I said in a low voice, amazed at the steadiness of my tone even as my heart thudded with adrenaline. "Stop throwing yourself at him like a desperate..."

"Excuse me?" She cut me off incredulously, a flash of her old demeaning venom sparking behind her eyes. "Since when did you become such a self-righteous prude, Lai-Lai?"

Taking a deep breath, I stared daggers at my so-called friend, refusing to back down. "Take it from someone who knows what it's like to be humiliated and degraded. Hunter clearly doesn't want your sleazy advances."

To emphasize my point, I glanced back at the brooding enigma on the seat beside me, mouth going dry from the intensity of his focused stare. It was like he saw me right through the surface, into all my secret insecurities and fears. It should have been terrifying, but instead that strange gravitational pull toward him only intensified.

"So do yourself a favor and retain your dignity. No guy is worth degrading yourself for."

A shocked silence fell over the entire bus. Jessica gaped at me, stunned by my unexpected outburst and standing up for myself for once. Half the girls looked impressed by my uncharacteristic moxie, while the other half snickered behind their hands at my ballsy call out of the most popular girl's hoe-ish behavior.

Slowly, Hunter inched closer, the blazing heat of his body igniting sparks across my hyper-aware skin as he leaned so close I could feel his hot breath on my ear.

"You really are something else, Leila," he murmured, a voice like liquid s*x dripping in my ear. "Maybe it's a good thing we got stranded together after all..."

I shivered despite my efforts to control the delirious tingles coursing through me. Stay cool, Lai, you're better than this.

Maintaining my stony mask despite his deliberate attempts to fluster me, I forced my voice into an even monotone. "We'll see about that, Westbrook."

As our eyes met and held in a tense stare-off, my blood rushed with the electric current of heady tension suddenly sparking between us. Like a brewing storm with no idea which way it would strike.

Jessica gaped at our fraught exchange for a long beat before rallying with a scathing sneer. "Whatever. You two deserve each other."

I schooled my features into passive defiance, tamping down the gnawing sense that I might have just inadvertently made things even worse by standing up to Jessica in front of everyone. It was a small triumph not to be walked over by her cruelty for once, even if I didn't know where this unexpected friction with Hunter was headed.