Page 137 of Poet & Protector

I grabbed the books I needed and stuffed them in my bag.

“Hey, Logan,” I said, shutting my locker as he stopped beside me.

“I’m glad I caught you,” Logan said.

Right. As if he’d have any hesitation pulling me out of class when he wanted something.

Nev lowered his chin ever so slightly. “Logan.”

“Neville.” Logan’s mouth tipped into an unfriendly smile.

Nev leaned casually against the locker beside mine, indicating he wasn’t going anywhere unless he was ordered to. It wasn’t the wisest move on Nev’s part, but I couldn’t make that choice for him.

I expected Logan to tell Nev to leave, but he simply returned his attention to me.

“Good news.” His smile became noticeably brighter. “I have an unexpected opening in my schedule.”

Stifling a groan, I forced myself to say, “You do?”

That was why Logan hadn’t sent Nev away; he wanted Nev to hear this.

“Wednesday. Does that work for you?”

It took all my will not to cringe. Why did it have to be Wednesday? I was going to miss another night at the Bunker with Nev.

I thought about making something up, like saying I had a test on Thursday I needed to study for. But Logan would probably counter by telling me I could study at his house. I’d already done homework there. I had a feeling Logan would always have a countermove. If I tried to cancel at the last minute, saying I was sick, he’d send Nurse Flynn to check on me or something.

“It works.”

I could feel Nev’s gaze. He wasn’t happy. Neither was I.

“Good.” Logan pulled out his phone and typed. “It’s in my calendar.”

“Cool.” My throat was suddenly dry.

I was going back to Logan’s house.

“Meet me at my car after school,” Logan said. “You know where I park.”

I nodded.

Logan caught Nev in a cool, assessing gaze before he walked away.

I turned my head at the sound of screeching steel. Four lines were torn into the locker where Nev’s nails had dragged down its surface.

Twenty-Three

The Mountain School

Wednesday, the week of the union

By the time Wednesday arrived, I knew this was going to be the longest week of my life. Every second felt like I was being dragged closer and closer to the edge of a cliff. Waiting for the union would have been stressful enough, but the addition of a second ‘date’ with Logan had me so anxious I was ready to gnaw one of my paws off.

At school I did my best to pretend everything was normal. I paid attention in class, kept up with my homework; at lunch I chatted and joked with Ansel, Bryn, Nev, and Shay. Sabine and Cosette took turns hanging with us and with Ren, Dax, and Fey. Yeah, our pack had factions now. It didn’t bode well for the future.

Calla did her best to be diplomatic, floating between our group and Ren’s. She seemed even more strained than last week. I was sure she was nervous about the union like me, though for different reasons, but she also was oddly watchful around Shay. She always kept an eye on him like she’d been ordered to, but now she was more edgy, as if she expected something bad was going to happen and it was up to her to stop it.

Shay was pretty much the same as always, though I could swear his scent had gotten stronger, more pronounced and layered like a Guardian’s, but he’d always had a much more noticeable scent than other humans, so I was likely imagining it.