Chapter 8: Not Good

8: Not Good

Anyra

I rush to the lunch table, my heart leaping from my chest. I gasp, breathing raggedly in the humid cafeteria air. Jenna instantly puts down her book as I sit across from her. Her eyes zero in on me, face stern, lips pursed.

“What is it? What happened?” she asks with genuine concern.

I tell her in a flurry of words spewing from my mouth like an avalanche.

Jenna waves her hands up and down in front of her. “Slow down. What the hell are you talking about?”

I stop speaking and take a deep breath, ensuring my next words are slow and understood.

“Logan asked to meet me after school.”

Jenna’s eyes go wide, and food flies from her lunch tray as she lunges across the table, laying her palms flat on the artificial wood. “He did WHAT?”

Her voice is a touch too loud, and I motion for her to quiet down.

“Logan,” I say in a whisper, “asked me to meet him after school.”

“Oh, my goddess!” Jenna squeals. “Where? What for? Did he say?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. He said to meet at the library to work on our biology project. It’s just some dumb paper on the Moon’s effects on culture or some crap like that.”

Jenna sinks lower in her seat. “Oh, well, that’s not too bad. Still, I would be careful.”

I roll my eyes. “Why now?” I say.

“Amy,” she explains. “She’s attached to that man like gum on a shoe. He says they’re not together anymore, but I see the way she eyes him. Whether he likes it or not, she’s attached to him. I don’t think she’s going to give up without a fight. Her mom is on the school’s board.”

“Really?” I try and think of an adult Amy. All I can imagine is a tall, blond woman with too much makeup and stilettoes that push against the laws of fashion.

Jenna nods and looks behind me. “She’s not there anymore. Might be she’s been ousted for the time being. Oh, look. He’s watching us.”

I straighten my spine, my stomach twisting and my nerves igniting. I hesitantly turn around, and, sure enough, those electric blue eyes are on me, filling me with a flash of heat traveling all the way to my center.

Fire leaps between my legs, and I feel the lingering presence of moisture as I see his muscles bunch beneath his thin white shirt. His hair hangs loosely about his head, not long but not short. His eyes sparkle like crystals.

He’s standing up, still looking at me. He leaves his table and moves to me. He’s moving toward ME!

I spin around in my seat, feeling the rush of heat in my cheeks.

“Stop that!” Jenna whispers to me. “You’ll be fine,” she tries to reassure me, but it’s not helping. My palms grow clammy as I sense his warm body move in closer to me. The air wafts past me, and I see him sit DIRECTLY next to me at my table.

“I forgot,” Jenna announces. “I need to turn in this book before I get a late fee. I’ll see you later, Anyra.” She smiles at Logan and then vanishes into the crowd of students lingering in the cafeteria.

I let my hair fall over my face, obscuring the blush I desperately try to rid myself of, to no avail.

“Hi,” Logan says, his silky voice tingling at the base of my skull. I resist the shudder that tries to run through me.

“Hi,” I squeak and then pale as my voice cracks.

CALM DOWN. YOU ARE NOT A CHILD. HE’S JUST ANOTHER GUY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT.

Of course, there is something to worry about because he’s NOT just another guy. He’s my MATE, and I feel the supernatural pull to him as if I’m starved for food, and he’s the only meal for miles.

“What were you and Jenna talking about? I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

I shake my head. “No, we were finished anyway.” I let my voice die, unsure of what to say next.

I sit awkwardly and know that he might leave if I don’t say something soon. Wait, that’s good. I NEED him to leave. But I WANT him to stay.

Quickly, I get up and mumble, “I’ll see you after school,” and I bolt from the room, feeling his stare on my back, digging into my soul.

I can’t let myself get close to him. Whatever supernatural CURSE that has deemed him fit for me is wrong. This is not the time. My first change is THIS WEEK. I don’t have time for relationships. I don’t have TIME!

I growl, the sound reverberating in my chest. Anger flashes through me, and sweat trickles down my brow. I stride through hallway after hallway, nearly running and not caring at all the stares I receive as I let my animalistic side out.

I’m panting heavily by the time I reach the women’s restroom and bang the stall door shut behind me. Taking in a large inhale, I let out a loud scream that I’m sure can be heard from outside, but I don’t care. I just want these feelings to stop. I can’t handle them. Not right now!

I begin to hyperventilate, my body flushing hot and the air growing thin. The light becomes almost blinding, and the sounds from the outside increase in devastating volume.

I crouch down, holding my hands to my ear and wishing that I could cry, but the tears don’t come. I just sit and beg the Moon Goddess to take away this thing that makes my legs grow weak, that makes me think of him…and me….together.

“Anyra?” I hear from outside the stall, and blue boots stop in the view from the bottom of the stall door. A small knock vibrates around me.

“Jenna?” my voice is soft yet strangely fierce. Is that possible?

Without me touching it, the lock slides open, and Jenna slips inside. Her face is sympathetic as she bends down to me. She holds out a hand holding a water bottle.

“Here,” she tells me. “Drink this.”

I take it and open the lid. The first whiff I get tells me that it’s the same stuff her mom had made for me.

I gulp the liquid greedily and rejoice when the noises die and my breathing becomes even. I’m even glad to notice between my legs has stopped its needy throbbing.

“Thanks,” I say and hand her the bottle back.

“Keep it,” she says. “You might need it for later.”

Damn it. She’s right.