Shimmer in the Darkness

Chapter 2

Gwendyolnn 

I hear the door open, which is strange. Everyone is here already and class started 5 minutes ago. Maybe Mrs. Mable wants to talk to someone? As the Principle, she likes to sometimes come into class to grab people who are in trouble as a scare tactic. 

And let's be honest here, it freaking works. 

Nothing is scarier than seeing her walk into your classroom in her 4-inch stilettos and bright collared power suit. She is a tall and powerful-looking woman, only made more obvious when she ties her hair up in a tight bun emphasizing her high cheekbones and pouty mouth that somehow just makes her look more angry and aggressive. 

She looks like an avenging angel and it is terrifying. 

I look up slowly when Mr. Humble begins speaking and my world freezes. 

It is definitely not Mrs. Mable. 

Oh, My Goddess! 

No, no, no, no. NO! 

Why is this happening to me? 

Of course, the world is small enough that this person is in my darn Chem class. 

Goddess, I hope I don’t smell like the Franks…

My gaze is caught by his bottomless greys and I can't seem to make myself look away. I guess he will find out soon why I hide at lunch. 

All the seats around me are free because no one wants to sit next to Gigantor. Thankfully, there is one other seat near Molly, who is of course a wolf and Sally’s favorite co-conspirator. They have been planning since kindergarten, trying to figure out a way to snag an Alpha and one of his Betas so they can be the top two ranking females in the pack. Gaining titles and the privileges those titles give you with little to no work. 

Though, if they were smarter, they would just work their butt off and try to become pack Betas, since we all know that our future Alpha - Mason, wants strong people around him and doesn’t care what gender they are. Something his father is extremely unhappy about. Poor Mason will probably have to wait until his father dies to assume the role of Alpha rather than be given the title when he finds a mate as tradition dictates.

But, instead of trying to befriend Mason or working hard in training to prove she could be a strong asset, Sally tried seducing him. It worked at first, they were 16 and seemed like the happy power couple that would run the pack when they chose to official mate, which was expected to be at 21. But then it all fell to pieces. Not that I am surprised. She seriously has zero personality. The definition of vanilla. 

Anyways, When they broke up, she was crushed. She didn’t know what to do with herself after being rejected by the future leader of our pack. So she changed tactics. Now, she just runs her own click of she-wolves and goes to all the gatherings the pack hosts for our allied packs, hoping to gain the power they have always dreamed of through a different future Alpha. 

As I am musing about pack politics, the boy from earlier starts making his way over towards me instead of the open seat on the other end of the classroom. 

Oh no. No. No. No, no. 

This is so freaking bad.

Turn around and go back. 

Go sit by Molly.

Please, please, please...

I start to panic, breaths coming in short and fast until my nostrils fill with a scent I have never smelled before, smoke and leather. Not the smoke of cigarettes or weed. No, it smells like the smoke from a campfire, or barbeque. All ashy and smelling of charcoal. The strange scent surrounds me and weirdly seems to calm me down enough to keep me from having a panic attack right here in the middle of class. 

Crisis averted.

Having a panic attack right here in front of everyone would have been horrifying. Not only would no one rush to help me, but they would have more ammo for later. I have successfully avoided panic attacks at school for long enough that they don’t use them against me anymore. I think they forgot and I want to keep it that way. 

The scent gets stronger as my new stalker gets closer. He must be where this scent is coming from. It is such a strange smell, not something you would get with a human. Maybe a non-natural shifter? Or a witch? 

No, not a witch, there is no scent of ozone and magic. 

I guess it could be a human scent? Maybe the jacket is real leather and he likes to grill so much that he used his BBQ this morning? Maybe it's remnants of grilling the night before? I could see wolves easily mistaking it for the smell of a grill happy human. 

But I don’t think it is.

I am pretty sure it is the scent of a non-natural shifter.

A mythological. 

I have never met another mythological shifter before.

But, let’s be real. I will probably never find out what he is.

As he finally reaches the seat beside me, he gives me a small smirk and takes his seat. The teacher has already started going over last night's homework and is droning on in the background. 

Why is he sitting here? What is with the smirk? He’s probably thinking up insults to hurl at me. Everyone knows it’s the best way to get in with the popular kids. He’s been here a whole day, if he is a shifter there is no way he hasn’t spoken to any of my packmates yet. You don't come into shifter territory and insult the future Alpha like that. 

Even if my pack is prejudiced against his type of shifter, they honestly aren’t smart enough to notice he isn’t human and I am sure he isn’t stupid enough to go onto any pack territory without knowing the basics of the pack that runs it. Everyone on the west coast knows that the Blood Moon Pack and their allies are anti-mythological shifters. Honestly, they are anti-anything that isn't a wolf. 

Either you are a wolf shifter, or are a lesser natural animal shifter, or you are an abomination. 

He’s also way too good-looking for Molly and Sally to not have approached him yet. That conversation is sure to give him ammo against me. It would only take a moment for them to fill him in on my weirdness and initiate him into the crew. All he’d have to do is attack me the way they do and they will accept him. At least, until they realize he is a non-natural shifter and not a smoky leather-loving human. 

Grubby Gwen is probably too easy. He’s probably planning something devious like pretending to be my friend so he can get close to me and then stand me up and tell the class I was so desperate for attention that I threw myself at him or something. Like in all those teen movies when the QB or the most popular kid pretends to like the fat or ugly or nerdy girl just to embarrass her in front of the whole school. 

That must be it. 

Nothing else makes sense. 

Nobody is brave enough at a new school to ruin their potential reputation by sitting next to a loser on purpose. 

No one is that nice.

Gross Gwen.

Gargantuan Gwen.

Grotesque Gwen.

Ghastly Gwen.

Seriously. Do these kids google insults that start with G?

The boy turns to look at the teacher after flipping open his notebook to take notes allowing me a perfect view of his profile. 

Goddess this boy is gorgeous. 

I could look at him all day. 

Oh no, am I staring?

Goddess he is going to think I am even more of a freak than everyone says I am. 

From this angle, I can just make out his eyes lighting up with laughter, and for a second I worry he can read my mind. 

Oh, no, is he laughing at me? Am I being creepy?

Does he think I am desperate?

Shoot. It takes a herculean effort but I finally pull my eyes away from him and turn back towards Mr. Humble, hoping to keep myself distracted by this alluring stranger. 

Ryder

Gods this girl is adorable. 

She keeps staring at me even after I sit down and turn towards the teacher. She looked horrified when I started to walk over towards the empty seats surrounding her. 

Wait, why were all the seats around her empty? 

Whatever, it isn't important. 

What is important is figuring out what her name is and trying to befriend her. 

She is the first person here that has drawn my attention and I would like to be friends with her. Based on the anime patch on her backpack and the pink glittery Docs on her feet, I am going to take a guess that we have some things in common. 

She is dressed casually in a threadbare Metallica t-shirt, jeans, and a rainbow open sweater. The complete opposite of all the other girls here who are dressed up like they are going to a club. Ok, that might be an exaggeration. I haven't seen any skin-tight pleather dresses yet. But there are a lot of heels and really nice clothes. Like fancy, expensive clothes you see millionaire trophy wives wear on those weird reality TV shows. Who watches that garbage?

The book she was reading earlier just convinces me further. It had a dragon on the cover next to a bad-ass-looking heroine that makes me think she was reading a paranormal romance novel earlier. Which, as girly as it seems, is a guilty pleasure of mine. Don't get me wrong, I love urban fantasy and classic fantasy just as much as any other nerdy red-blooded male. But something about the mix of action, violence, fake paranormal stories, and, yes, romance, just sucks me right in. 

As I said, total guilty pleasure. 

As the class continues, the smell of her anxiety starts to fade away. The last thing I wanted was to make her nervous, but something about her just draws me in. I want to get to know her. I think we would get along. Plus, as the new guy, I am in desperate need of friends. 

My two best friends, Aidan and Rafael are still in Oregon. They graduated already. Although they wanted to come with me, they needed to get some things organized in our old community before coming to me. We were hoping to go back at some point, but for right now, we have a mission that involves all three of us being here in Mercy Valley. 

Unlike most wolf packs, which refuse to accept members who aren't wolves, I grew up in a community about an hour outside of Portland that accepted all animals. We were structured like a pack, with an Alpha and his Betas. Because our group was so large, with over 300 shifters total, we had six-pack betas, all ranked of course. Can’t have Beta’s who don’t know their place, at least that's always what Alpha Samuel said growing up. He believes that the pack hierarchy needed structure so that the pack members knew who to go to when they needed something. It worked for us. Each Beta had their own specific duties and everyone in the pack knew who the Alpa’s Second in command was and who his 7th in command was. 

Aidan, Rafael, and I are training to be future Betas. Samuel’s son will take over when Samuel is too tired to continue to rule and he will need Beta’s he can trust and have been trained by the best. The three of us have risen to the top of our training class and proven we are trustworthy and strong. This mission will help us cement our places in the pack. 

Our Alpha sent me to scope out the supernaturals of Mercy Valley and get our housing organized. He was hoping I could gain some intel that would help us on our mission before sending Adian and Rafael to me. He also thought sending me alone would force me to socialize and make friends, preferably members of the Blood Moon Pack. He had heard that the Blood Moon Pack discriminated against other types of shifters, doing their best to scare them out of Mercy Valley. A couple of the shifters who have come through this area before landing in our community, the Pepper Hills Commune, were terrified and convinced that the Blood Moon Pack and killed other shifters who refused to leave. 

This is where we came in, as non-wolf shifters, our appearance would be noticed. My role was to show up alone and see what happens when I try to get settled. My backup will stay in the shadows, for now, keeping an eye out to be sure that I stay safe but out of the spotlight so the pack believed I was alone.

As of right now, I was alone. Aidan and Rafael were setting up our house at home and getting people to agree to look after things for us while we were away since we didn't know how long we would be gone for but know that we will be back eventually. Pepper Hills is our home and we don’t plan on ever leaving it. 

Hopefully, they will follow me out here within the next few weeks. 

It’s best not to be alone in wolf territory for too long.

**BRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG**

The bell rings kicking me out of my musing and reminding me of a particular girl sitting right next to me. 

As I look up to check on her, I see that she is getting nervous again and is trying to stuff her stuff in her backpack as fast as she can. 

I want to talk to her but have no idea how to start up a conversation. I quickly grab all my stuff and put it away while I think about what to say.

Hey, garbage girl, fancy meeting you here? 

Ok, that’s just plain dumb.

Hey, looks like we have class together.

Ok, too basic. 

Uhhggg I better think fast because this girl might as well be a cheetah for how fast she is moving. 

I dart out of my seat and dash after her. She is already in the hallway and hauling ass on her way to her next class. 

When I finally reach her I grab her shoulder to get her attention and all of a sudden she is spinning around and socking me in the gut. 

Holy Hades, that hurts like a mother. 

I try to breathe in and out as she runs off down another hallway without even apologizing or acknowledging that she hit me. 

Dang, that girl throws one hell of a punch. 

After I have calmed down and taken enough breaths to minimize the pain I straighten up and look around for her. I catch a whiff of her lingering scent and start to follow it. 

One punch isn't gonna stop me. 

Hades, if anything, it has encouraged me. How can I not want to be friends with a kick-ass girl like her? 

I continued to the hallway I saw her run into and turned to follow her scent. I am not surprised that I don't see her anywhere around her. She is fast. Faster than I would have expected to be honest. Hopefully, my excuse of being lost will work again when I am late for my next class. 

I follow the delicious scent down two more hallways before finally seeing her at a locker quickly changing out books. 

Score. 

Hopefully, this encounter goes better than the last.

Fingers crossed.

Leaning against the locker next to hers I smirk as I say, “Hey, you got a nice jab there. Knocked all the air out of me for a second.” 

She turns towards me with a look of disbelief and terror, completely frozen to her spot. 

A few moments go by and she just continues to stare at me.

Am I really that scary?

“My name is Ryder. What’s your name?” I ask, trying to knock her out of whatever thoughts she is having. 

“Uh… are you talking to me?” She asks quietly as she looks around to see if there is anyone else around.

“Of course I am. Is there anyone else here who just punched me in the gut for absolutely no reason?” I say with a chuckle that I am sure is showing my laughter in my eyes. 

She scrunches her brows together looking even more confused. 

“You're not upset? Mad? Going to call me names and yell at me for daring to hurt you?” She continues to stare at me with disbelief clear on her face. 

“What is happening today?” she whispers under her breath so softly if I was human I probably would have missed it. 

Now it's my turn to look confused, why would I be upset that she defended herself when she felt uncomfortable. Lots of people panic when strangers approach them from behind. 

“Why would I be mad? I startled you. I am a stranger who is possibly more than a foot taller than you and came out of nowhere. A lot of people would have reacted the same way. It really is fine. No harm, no foul. Quick healing, remember? Anyways, you never answered my question. What's your name?” I try to say as soothingly as possible. The last thing I want to do is to scare away this frightened filly when I am trying to befriend her. 

“Uh, Gwendolynn.” She says while looking into her locker like it is the most interesting thing in the world. 

“Gwendolynn, that’s a really cool name. Like Merlin’s wife in the legend of King Arthur?” 

Her head snaps towards me with a look of utter surprise. 

“Yes, That's exactly it. My mother loved Latin literature and her favorite was the poem The Life of Merlin. In the poem, Merlin’s wife's name was Gwendolena which is just another version of the name Gwendolyn. No one has ever gotten the reference before.” She trails off looking even more confused than she looked before, drawing a huge satisfied smile to my face. 

“Well I have always loved the legend of King Arthur, well mythology in general really, so I know some very nerdy facts about him and the knights of the round table. My brain is a well of useless knowledge. Anyways, I am a little lost. Mind walking me to my next class?” I shoot my shot hoping it pays off. 

She huffs a bit like she has been defeated, which matches the expression of defeat that settles onto her face soon after. 

“Sure, why not. What class do you have next?” 

She looks so resigned I am about to change my mind and tell her I changed my mind, that she can just point the way instead of walking me when she grabs my schedule out of my hand to look for herself. After about a second her eyes round and she starts breathing faster and shorter. 

Something is wrong. 

This is the beginning of a panic attack if I’ve ever seen one.

“Is everything ok?” I ask softly as I lean towards her, debating if I should rest my hand on her arm to try and soothe her or if that would make things worse.

Her eyes shoot up to mine with a look of resignation on her face like today is the worst day ever and she takes a deep centering breath. 

“Your next class is English with Mr. Howard?”

I can't figure out what is going on with her but the smell of her anxiety is steadily rising and we stand there staring at each other. 

“Uhh I think so, it's room 110 right? Why? Is he a horrible teacher or something?”

She sighs her resignation and turns around to stride off with my schedule still in her hand.

“No, he’s great. One of my favorite teachers actually. Looks like I can take you to class since we apparently are both in it,” she says with a huff.

My unease lifts and a satisfied smile spreads across my face. 

My day just got a whole lot better.