Page 11 of Poet & Protector

Of course he did.

“How long is the project?” she asked.

“Four weeks.” I groaned. “And we’ll have to meet at least a couple of times a week to get it done. Collaborative writing is hard.”

“That’s assuming you need your poem to be good.” She shrugged. “If you can get over yourself and be okay with turning in something that sucks, you probably could meet with him once or twice and be done with it. The first line could be ‘one wolf, two wolf, old wolf, new wolf.’ It’s only kind of plagiarism.”

I gave her a long look.

“Yeah, yeah, I know it’s impossible for you to not take a writing assignment seriously or turn in a poem you think is bad.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s on you.”

“Pretty sure Mason would rather get an A than a C,” I muttered. “He always makes the honor roll. So it’s not just on me.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” she replied with a laugh. Lowering her voice again, she asked, “Are you going to talk to him about the thing?”

I looked away. “Probably not.”

I’d broken a cardinal rule of the Bunker by letting it slip to Sabine that I’d seen Mason there. It had been completely unintentional, a side effect of my long friendship with her, one in which I told her everything. Fortunately, Sabine was a steel trap when it came to secrets. She would never break my confidence.

“Really?” I could hear the frown in her voice. “Don’t you think you should?”

“I don’t see why it matters.”

“Nev, you are such a stubborn dolt sometimes.” She pinched my arm. Hard.

“Ow!” I rubbed the sore spot. “What was that for?”

“That was because we’re at school and I can’t bite you,” she told me. “Don’t be stupid. You should talk to Mason. We’re going to be in the same pack next year. Of all the Nightshades, he seems the most tolerable. Maybe he could be a friend.”

“Unlikely.” I was surprised by how appealing that idea was. I was going to pretend it wasn’t.

“All I’m saying is that you have an opportunity to find out what he’s really like,” Sabine pressed. “You’re stuck working with him; might as well make the best of it.”

“I don’t need a pep talk,” I grumbled.

Sabine grinned and batted her eyelashes at me. “I can’t help you if you won’t help yourself.”

“Why do I even talk to you?” I started walking toward the cafeteria.

“Because you love me, remember?” She fell in step beside me. “And that’s why you’re going to eat this delicious Tofurky.”

“No, I’m not,” I said, then sighed. “Goddammit.”

I traded lunch bags with her and she skipped. “You’re such a kind soul, Nev. Always helping those in need.”

“You’re going to make up for this by rehearsing with me,” I told her. “I wrote a couple new songs and I’m still working out the harmonies. Tom wants me to take a Friday night gig sometime in the next couple of weeks.”

“Happy to help.” She opened her new lunch and sniffed. “Ooh, roast beef. My favorite domesticated meat.”

When we reached the cafeteria the rest of our pack was already gathered at our usual table.

I sat beside Ren. When Sabine took the seat next to mine, Cosette picked up her chair and carried it over so she could sit closer us. To Sabine really.

I watched Cosette with a mix of sympathy and frustration. She was young, yes, but eventually she was going to have to find a way past her timidity. Guardians’ lives were too demanding and too dangerous to move through the world in constant fear the way Cosette did. She behaved more like a frightened fawn than a wolf. Sabine was incredibly protective of the younger girl, with good reason, but sometimes I worried her attempts to shelter Cosette might carry a heavy cost.

“What’s up, guys?” Dax asked us, then bit into a chicken drumstick and chewed loudly.

“Nev has some wonderful news,” Sabine told him.