Xavier and the Wolf (Legends of Pinewood 1)

15. If you know his secret

I should get an award for best poker face.

After I arrived home, I greeted my parents, hid the book, and played video games with Iris in my room like nothing was the matter. I lied to Iris and told her Boris and Aquila were just inside minding their own business, exactly like we'd expected.

Once Iris finally left, I'd immediately started reading in Boris' little black book. I flew through the pages, which were written by a narrator who called herself Jessy. She described the giant wolves as the protectors of Pinewood's forests. She never mentioned people turning into wolves, at least not directly. Werewolf or shifting was not in Jessy's vocabulary. But if you already knew what was going on, you could read between the lines and understood what she meant with remarks like 'wolves with human intelligence behind their eyes' and 'the wolves hide in plain sight among us.'

I read tales like Mrs. Apple's and mine—how people got saved from life-threatening situations. Many never even knew they were in danger in the first place. I read about the wolves and their hierarchy, how some were born stronger than others and were destined to become leaders of packs. It was even more important for those wolves to be an example to the others: to be more loyal, more protective, and more responsible than everybody else. And to behave respectfully around humans.

Eventually, I must've fallen asleep. When my alarm clock rang at seven in the morning, I woke with a start, the book still open on my chest. I regretted staying up this late now that my eyes felt heavy with sleep as I dragged myself out of bed, yawning and groaning. 

My tiredness was instantly gone, however, when I realised Aquila was my first tutoring student of the day.

Boris had told me to go talk to him about this whole werewolf thing. Shit, would he even show up at school, though?

If he did, would I show up?

A nervousness settled in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it as I got dressed. Tutoring Aquila was my job. Officially. I couldn't stay away while I was getting paid for sitting opposite him and... well, not teaching him anything. It honestly surprised me Mr. Murray hadn't already approached me with the question why Aquila's grades weren't getting any better. He'd probably just been avoiding the entire having to talk to Aquila situation.

I couldn't blame the nervous old principal. I was also tempted to skip tutoring today.

What was I even supposed to say to Aquila? Hey, so you're a werewolf. That's cool. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone because they would put me in a padded room. Cool? Cool. Alright, glad that's settled. Let's go back to sitting opposite each other without speaking for half an hour three times a week then.

I thought I'd have at least until I reached the school building to think about how I was going to approach this. When I stepped outside the house after saying bye to my parents however, Aquila was waiting for me in the street.

He stared directly at me with his sharp, amber eyes and pressed his lips to a thin line when we made eye-contact. The discomfort was clear as day in his expression, his crossed arms, and drawn up shoulders. He didn't want to be here, and he definitely didn't want to talk to me.

With a sigh, I shut the front door and walked to him, my heart hammering in my throat. He looked like a normal person again today. No hair sprouted in places it didn't belong and no snout or tail. If Aquila told me again I had imagined everything that had happened last night, I might even believe him.

That was not what he said, however.

He didn't even allow me to start with a 'good morning.' The moment I was in front of him, he blurted, "Don't even think about telling anyone. Boris and I will hunt you down."