Blooded Mate

Chapter 10 - Dead Chemistry

As Ethan entered the school hallway, all chatter ground to a halt, and eyes turned to him. Zyga gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then branched off towards the teacher's lounge.

Ethan was accustomed to people stealing glances but was not used to the open stares he received today.

Guess it's going to be spotlight-on-Reyn today.

He made his way to his locker as usual, and the conversation rose around him in hushed whispers.

"Heard he's friends with the Dhampir... "

"Probably why Ben beat him up..."

"He broke Ben's jaw, didn't he?"

"No way... he's pre-moon..."

Gasp. "Really?"

Ethan ignored them.

With bursts of shuffling feet, the crowd parted before him as he got to his locker. He sifted through the books and chose what he needed for his first period: Chemistry.

Then he slammed the metal door, causing a few around him to jump. Without a backward glance, he walked away.

It was by sheer luck that Ben Ryden and his goons were nowhere to be found. For if they had appeared before him, he was not sure he could have kept the promise he made to Zyga.

The balding Chemistry teacher was already at his desk.

"Hi, Mr. Shelby. I finished the last two assignments." He handed over a sheaf of papers, half of which contained answers from Emily.

"Oh hi," the soft-spoken man answered. "I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon. I heard you were involved in an accident."

I'll bet, Ethan thought. He would not put it past Alpha Ryden to downplay his son's misdemeanors.

Mr. Shelby went on. "How are you? Are you fully recovered? You shouldn't stress yourself too much. Here, let me have those. I'll mark them and use the same scores for the test you missed. Go, sit next to Emily. She'll bring you up to speed."

The short man shooed him off like a mother-hen. Ethan wanted to laugh. Being human himself, Mr. Shelby was one of the few people who probably did not know he was a Lycan.

Hurray! No test, he mused. And I get to sit next to beautiful Emily. Maybe Luna has finally decided it's time my luck changed for the better.

Emily was at a bench, setting up their table for the practicals. She wore her lab coat and gloves for the project. Ethan pulled out his crumpled coat from his backpack and shrugged it on, ignoring the rest of his gear. With her as his partner, he could slack off today.

'Hi, Emily." He took the seat next to her, whipped out his notepad, and prepared to jot down whatever she said. "Thanks for the notes."

She smiled at him, her face slightly puffy. "Sure thing. Feeling better?"

"Yeah." His eyes swept over the rest of her, his brows climbing up higher on his forehead the more he studied her. "You?"

"Huh? I'm good. Why do you ask?"

The bell rang, signifying the beginning of the period.

"Uh, nothing ... sorry."

He muttered, turning to his notes. She went back to work while their teacher read out the instructions for the lesson. Today was about litmus tests for reagents.

Ethan's mind was still on Emily, trying to process what his eyes relayed to him. There was something off about her; that was certain. He just could not put a finger on it. From the side, he watched her as she laid out the strips of colored paper next to the vials.