In Our Blood

Chapter Twenty-Four

Pack Mentality

She burst into the blue double doors of their sad excuse for an auditorium. Jeffries had the large projector down and was rambling on about their lesson, glaring at Beca as soon as she walked in.

"Rebecca, you're late," he observed, drawing what little of the classes attention to her that wasn't already looking her direction.

She shrugged. "Thanks for the information, Jeffries."

He huffed in annoyance and told her to sit down, to which she found the seat next to Tom that was open and plotted herself into it.

"You find him?" He whispered - or, well, his version of whispering, which was more like hushed yelling.

"No," she lied. The doors opened moments later, revealing the "him" they were referring to.

They all looked over and Jeffries looked beyond pissed off. "Hurry up, Rhydian. You're already three months late as it is," he scolded, before going back to his lecture.

Beca was listening to the teacher's words as he flipped to a black and white picture of an old soldier who looked distressed. "Soldiers returning from the front were changed by their experiences. They returned uncommunicative, prone to mood swings and unable to adjust to their old way of life."

As if on cue, she met Maddy's eyes. The short-haired girl looked beside her soon after, and Beca focused on the presence next to her. Rhydian.

As soon as the bell rang, she was out of there. She heard the heavy footsteps behind her but she couldn't tell if they belonged to her friends or Rhydian. She didn't want to turn around to find out.

When she reached her locker, they were still there. She ignored whoever it was completely, quickly exchanging her books for the ones she needed to take home today.

"Beca," his voice stilled her actions for a moment, but she quickly returned to it. She heard his footsteps move closer and he called for her again.

She whipped around to face him, her dark curls following behind her. "I don't have time to talk, Rhydian."

She moved to turn but he stepped in her way. "Wait," he said. She let out a sigh, knowing full well the wolf would follow her home until she reached her door, and then her parents would invite him in, because he currently had no where else to stay. And then they'd end up ordering her to be social.

She met his eyes and nodded for him to go on, knowing the alternative was going to be a much longer night that Beca didn't need to face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean -"

"You're always sorry, Rhydian," Beca interrupted. "Then you do the same old stupid thing again."

He sighed, obviously trying to speak civilly. "Coming back from the wild, it's not like coming home from a holiday. It changes you."

Beca scoffed, grabbing the attention of Maddy, Shannon, and Tom who were all gathered at the end of the hall. "You've changed, that's for sure."

"What did you expect? I mean, the things you do in the wild, they're different, then you come back and you just feel -"

"Moody, apparently!" She interrupted again.

"Why does it always have to be my fault?"

Beca rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to help you, Rhydian. Can't you see that?"

"What, by asking questions all the time?" He shouted. "Just stay out of my head!"

He turned to walk off, but she stepped forward and got a tight grip on his arm, using her Wolfblood strength to yank him back. "How did this get turned around that I'm the one at fault here?"