Wings of a Feather

Chapter 12

Heather blinked.

The intense grey stare did not waver, trained on her face as if to attempt to memorize every detail.

Heather blinked again.

It took another moment to gather her bearings, only to realize that they were still bent over, the two strangers' hands touching over her fallen books, that were long since forgotten about.

Her gaze moved away from the stormy eyes, to look at the strangers face. He was undoubtedly attractive, with sharp features, full lips, and dark tousled hair. He seemed to be around Heather's own age, probably another student, she guessed.

She watched him for another minute with an unknown curiosity, waiting for him to finally react to their meeting. He didn't. Instead, he continued to watch her with an intense stare that could burn through solid steel, and succeeded in making shivers roll down Heather's spine.

Heather flinched when a flurry stirred in her chest, leading her heart to accelerate and her breathing to quicken. Her mind was flooded with an unfamiliar emotion that she couldn't quite pinpoint, but if she had to guess, it was something along the lines of longing. Whatever it was, it was unwelcome.

Almost by instinct, she snatched up her books and hurriedly stood back up. She noticed with discomfort that a small crowd had gathered around the pair, and silently wondered just how long she had been stuck in her trance with this man, simply staring. Students were whispering and staring with wide eyes, and some even bowed their heads to her, confusing Heather to no end.

I have to get out of here. She was drawing far too much attention.

Heather forced her gaze to meet his again, steeling her emotions and forcing herself to behave rationally again. "I'm sorry that I ran into you." She said in a curt tone, void of any hint of emotion.

The man's eyes flashed in surprise, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Heather was already strolling past him towards the gym. She forced herself not to steal one more glance over her shoulder, and hurried away at the fastest pace she could go without drawing anymore attention.

When the blond was finally out of sight, Skyler unsteadily got to his feet, still staring after where she had disappeared around the corner. His eyes were as wide as moons, and his mouth was dropped open.

"Alpha?" Skyler's attention finally returned to the present, where Anna was calling him and gently tapping his shoulder. "Sky, are you alright?"

He nodded, blinking back into reality and finding his voice. "I'm fine, I just..." He glanced back to where the girl had vanished.

Anna gave him a knowing smile. "That was her, right?"

He nodded, and a small smile graced his lips. "Yeah, she's the one. I'm sure."

Mate.

Someone else snorted, and Parker emerged from the crowd of bystanders. "No kidding. You look like you've been hit by a truck." He moved to playfully slap Skyler on the back, grinning widely. "So Heather, huh?"

"Heather?" Skyler echoed, frowning at the dirty blond with a Cheshire grin on his face.

He nodded, his smile growing with mischief. "Yupp, that's her name. She's the other new human in town, the one who's buddies with Tristan's mate."

"Heather." He tested the name on his tongue. Mate.

"Don't you all have classes to get to?" Anna growled at the crowd still whispering around him. No doubt, news will have spread to the entire pack by the end of the day. The Shifters reluctantly dispersed, but Skyler could still feel the stares on his back as they walked away.