Beonnie

Friday started in a nervous flutter as Hild was preparing for her interview. She looked like she was headlining a Wall Street movie when she finally donned a pencil skirt, black suit jacket, and hair in a tight bun. Discreet make-up was the icing on the business cake that was now Hild. She looked at me with a nervous smile and inhaled deeply.

"Wish me luck."

And I did, of course. She deserved everything and more. In the span of little more than a week, she had changed my life completely. From being a lonely, orphan runaway, literally chased by wolves, with nowhere to go, to someone with a home and a family. I knew she felt like she owed me one, but I owed her too. She was not only my friend but some sort of fierce protector against life in general, and I presumed she would be a fierce protector, in particular, should I ever meet a boy I liked.

I got up from the sofa to hug her goodbye.

"You will charm them, I'm sure."

"Heh."

She took her purse and left after a final check in the mirror next to the door. I debated going back to the sofa but decided that perhaps a walk would be time well spent. I could sneak a peek at the high school that apparently wasn't too far off from where we lived. Nothing actually was too far off as this wasn't the biggest town in the world.

I took a shower and let the hair dry on its own. It was a warm and sunny day in May, so I decided on a mid-thigh skirt and a grey T-shirt together with a pair of sunglasses I just bought. Oh well, everything was just bought, to be honest. A quick check in the mirror, and I was good to go. A small bandage strip was still covering my left leg, and I took it off, deciding it was time. The scar was red and still a little sore but closed and not bleeding anymore.

As I walked out from the side of the house, Harry joined me from the garden. We had bought a doghouse and placed it in the garden behind the house, and even though he was allowed everywhere in the house but the restaurant kitchen, he seemed to prefer his mancave outside. He slept outside Hild's bedroom during the nights, though, but every morning we let him out, and he always went down to his house. He followed us around like we actually had him on a leash, but there was no need. He seemed to have chosen us as his pack and loyally followed us around whenever we went somewhere.

Had I turned left when I entered the street, I would, after a few meters have entered the main street, but instead, I turned right and walked to the end of our street before following a small path between two green gardens to the other side of the houses. I now had the forest in front of me and a wide path stretching in both directions bordering it. Remembering what Vidar had said about where he lived, I figured that I would come close to his living area if I turned right. If I instead turned left, I would walk in the direction of the high school. Green lawns stretched out on each side of the path before the forest started looming, and I decided to turn right for a bit so that Harry could do his dog thing.

It was a warm and sunny day and soon approaching lunch as I started towards the right. On my right-hand side, neatly tendered hedges or white fences bordered most of the gardens on the back of the houses, and on my left, the forest loomed, but not darkly or menacingly but rather like a friendly reminder of nature just around the corner. As the houses ended, trees took over on that side of me too, and the path became a more narrow version going inside the forest.

Soon the forest was dense and thick and the sun less and less visible through the canopy. I found a side trail to the left and believed I could circle back, so I turned left with Harry in tow. I could see that the small path was used even though it was obviously not well-trafficked. After a couple of minutes, I faced a high fence, and much to my dismay, there was nothing else for me to do but turn around and go back the way I came.

It was lunchtime, and as soon as I came closer to the high school, I could see groups of students sprawled out on the lawns on both sides of the lane. The spring semester would end in a couple of weeks, and I supposed that classes had begun the easier regime now that summer break was approaching. Harry ignored most student groups but sometimes would let out a slight growl if anyone happened to walk toward us. He was discriminating, I could tell, but I had a hard time understanding his selection criteria.

I had just stopped and turned around to wait for him to catch up after sniffing an extra alluring spot on the grass when I heard a group of people behind me. I sniffed the air. Werewolves. An instant adrenaline flash came over me, but then I used the cloaking technique Vidar taught me. I had my back towards them, but apparently, they were also waiting for someone as I could hear them debate on whether they all should go buy food or if someone should go fetch it for them while they stayed on the grass.

"Why don't we have Tate fetch it for us all?" someone said, and I couldn't help but turn just a little, so I could see what they looked like. They were kin in some way, after all.

Three girls and one boy had taken a seat in the sun on the grass. All long and pretty and fashionable and everything I wanted to be. The one who spoke had long brown hair glistening in the sun, and she stretched her long legs out while pouting with her mouth towards a small mirror she had procured from her bag.

"Text him."

It was as an order, and one of the other girls instantly obeyed. I smirked to myself; even in high school, there were rankings. I noticed three boys approaching and felt awkward standing in the middle of the lane, seemingly doing nothing. My anxiety levels rose as Harry continued his examination of the spot on the grass with no regard to my current predicament and with no intention of solving his pee-or-not-to-pee question within the next couple of seconds. Remembering what Vidar said about pheromone releases under stress, I managed to calm down again.

"Henry! Saved you a spot!" the girl exclaimed and patted the grass next to her.

They were boys, and I was a teenager, and I couldn't help but look. They were all tall and friendly to the eye. But only one of them tall, dark, handsome, and familiar. It took a few seconds before I could place him, but soon I realized that he was the boy outside the pharmacy all those.. hum.. days ago. Someone's son. And also today, bringing newly baked buns with him as far as I could tell as that was the scent the wind carried towards me. I couldn't help but turn around a little more, curiosity getting the best of me.

All of them now stood up as the group was debating who should go get food. One of the boys finally caved in and ran towards my direction to apparently fetch something from Patty's. He passed me in a hurry, and that was when Harry decided that enough was enough and rushed from the edge of the forest towards me and after the guy. He barked and growled after the boy and caught the attention of the remaining group. I knew that they, as werewolves, would not be afraid of a dog. Still, the girls were apparently annoyed with Harry's behavior, even though I suspected that it also had something to do with them wanting attention. As if Harry could hear their mutters, he turned around and charged back towards them.

"Harry," I wheezed through gritted teeth as he had the audacity to pass me again without even a glare in my direction. He actually did stop, just behind me, and stood there fur on all ends, baring his teeth and growling at the group. There was nothing to it, was there? I had to turn around.

"Hey, you!" it was the girl again. "You! Take your fucking dog away from here!"

I turned around. Maybe it was her condescending tone. Could be it was the situation. Perhaps it was because she had grabbed hold of tall, dark, handsome pharmacy stranger's arm in a possessive manner, but whatever it was, it made me instantly annoyed.

"Excuse me?"

She frowned in disbelief and took a step forward. Releasing his arm.

"Are you some kind of idiot? Take your stupid dog away from us, or I'll kick him in the face."

I don't know if it was some sort of survival mode that kicked in, but Harry now finally heard my pleas, and even if he was still growling, he backed away from the group and placed himself beside me. I took a step forward.

"You kick my dog, and I will.." I was interrupted by the sudden movement of the boy next to her. The tall, dark, handsome one. He held up his hand and took another step forward, and was about to put his other hand on the girl's arm in a calming motion when he stopped. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, looking first at Harry and then slowly directing his gaze to me. His eyes scanned my body and stopped. I followed his gaze and noticed that he was now staring at the red scar under my knee. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he again looked up at me and at my forehead. Some heavy thinking was going on behind those onyx-colored eyes of his. I was glad that the sunglasses covered some parts of my cheeks as they blushed under the intense stare.

The girl looked at him in confusion, he looked at me in confusion, and I just wanted the earth to open up and please swallow me whole.

"Where did you get that scar?"

What a funny thing to ask at a moment like that.

Harry, the traitor, was now not wagging his tail, but his growl had subsided, and the fur was not standing up anymore. I turned towards the girl. It was time to salvage what I could.

"Sorry about my dog. He is a bit of an asshole, actually," I smiled, hoping that she would bite. Not literally, of course. But I was praying that my dream of making friends didn't end here as I knew I was on the verge of being branded non-grata again.

Assuming that dogs could scowl, Harry did just that to my comment, but the girl nodded royally and made to turn back toward her friends.

"Whatever," but when noticing that tall, dark, pharmacy stranger did not follow her motion, she furrowed her brow. "Henry?"

His eyes were still narrowed, and he was eyeing me intently, not letting go of his question.

"Where did you get that scar?"

"I.. I.." I started, scrambling my head for some sort of lie that would sound plausible.

"Ah, there you are, babe!" a warm arm was suddenly placed around my shoulders, and soft lips pecked a kiss on my cheek. Vidar. "Is Harry causing a commotion again? He really is an asshole."

The last part was directed towards the brown-haired girl and delivered together with one of those award-winning smiles of Vidar's, and of course, she smiled back.

"Oh, none at all."

I gave her a half-hearted smile and put my arm around Vidar's back. He did smell good. I knew I shouldn't have, but I took advantage. I turned towards him, his arm still around my shoulder, and put my arm around his waist and nuzzled into his chest. Then I waited just a couple of seconds, seconds of pure bliss before I pushed against him to make us turn around and leave. I heard him murmur "tease" against my hair before he obliged and turned around. I glanced back over my shoulder to see tall, dark, pharmacy stranger take half a step towards us before stopping, clenching his fists. Harry seemed to apologize for his behavior by offering a half-hearted wag of his tail towards him before he loomed after us.

As we rounded the corner into the small path leading to our street, I let go of Vidar's waist, and he let go of my shoulders. He raised his eyebrows towards me with a crooked grin.

"Well? Did I do good?"

Too good. I stopped to answer, but he beat me to it.

"Aw, come on, girl. Now you are not just the new girl in school, but you are the new girl with an older boyfriend. A cool one nonetheless."

I laughed. I actually was unable not to.

"You did well. Thank you, Vidar."

He grinned, and we started to walk again.

"You're welcome, girl."

We walked towards Patty's, and it almost felt like he was dropping me off after our first date or something. Well, how would I know? I had never been on a date. An awkward silence followed as we arrived at the door. He scratched his neck and opened his mouth to say something, but this time I beat him to it.

"B."

He gave me a puzzled look.

"My friends call me B."

His face lit up, and he gave me such a tender smile that my knees almost buckled.

"B. What a good place to start."

Henry

Lunch was approaching, and Annie had decided that we should go to Patty's to get lunch instead of the cafeteria. I was not entirely keen on it or anything at all, but everyone else seemed to think it was an excellent idea. Tate even went as far as grabbing my arm when I protested and pulled me with him.

"Oh, come on, Henry! What is up with you these days? School is almost over, and we have an entire summer break before us. I know Annie will want to hang with you."

And there was the problem. I didn't want to hang with Annie. Which, I know, I know, was not very nice of me. She was sort of, kind of, my girlfriend after all. And.. as I was the alpha's son and she had powerful alpha blood in her family, everyone expected us to be fated mates or become mates, and wasn't that lovely? Well, I had been fine with it, and I probably would be fine with it; I just kind of had to snap out of this.. this infatuation I had with the girl from last week.

It was stupid. I hadn't spoken to her, I hadn't even seen what she looked like properly, and she probably wasn't even aware of my existence at all. Still, I had attributed her to so many good things that I had started to compare Annie to this fantasy creation I had in my head. And Annie fell short. It wasn't fair. I knew that. I decided to force myself to snap out of it, and with renewed resolve, I hurried a bit to catch up with Annie and the others waiting for us on the lawn outside the school property.

As I approached, I felt a whiff of vanilla, as if my resolve to forget the girl was against some sort of natural law. Tate was gifted with the task of bringing us food, and as he passed a girl standing on the lane, a big black dog came out of nowhere and charged first after Tate and then turned against us. Annie, who was clutching my arm by now, was instantly annoyed.

"Hey, you!" she cried out to the girl on the lane to take her dog. The girl stiffened and slowly turned around.

"Excuse me?"

Uh. I was pretty sure that this would not go well with Annie, and I was right. She let go of my arm and took a step forward.

"Are you some kind of idiot? Take your stupid dog away from us, or I'll kick him in the face."

"You kick my dog, and I'll.."

Hang on.

I was just about to grab Annie's arm to stop this from escalating when something stopped me. The dog.. the dog, was.. THE dog. And if he was the dog, that meant that this was.. the girl. The attitude certainly seemed correct. She frowned and looked at me in confusion as if waiting for me to say something since I had moved. The sunglasses covered her eyes, so it was difficult to see if it actually.. was.. the girl. I had, after all, only seen her passed out and bloodied, and this girl sported a T-shirt and a skirt that looked.. hum.. good on her. Very good, actually. Long legs. With.. a.. fresh scar.. under.. her.. left.. knee. I looked up; the forehead on my girl had been bandaged, and wasn't that another new scar I could see there?

"Where did you get that scar?"

The words were out before I could stop myself. The girl ignored me and apologized to Annie. Eh, excuse me?

I stood frozen, unaware that Annie was motioning for us to move away, and sniffed the air.. I detected nothing. Nothing. No unknown werewolf scent and certainly no vanilla scent. Still, the scars.

"Where did you get that scar?"

I repeated it like an idiot. Apparently, out loud too, as she looked at me and opened her mouth to answer.

I couldn't detect what she was saying as suddenly my attention was directed towards a tall, blonde guy slinging his arms around her shoulders and kissing her on the cheek. For some reason, this made me almost flinch. She said something, but all I could focus on was her arm slipping around his back and her cuddling up to him. I thought I got a whiff of vanilla again, and unknowingly I took half a step towards them before the scent disappeared.

They walked away. I clenched my fists to assert power over my limbs and turned back towards my friends. I wanted to run after them and take a deep sniff of her close-up, but if that wouldn't be considered highly awkward, I didn't know what would.

No vanilla scent. No werewolf scent. This was probably just a completely normal girl taking a walk with her completely normal boyfriend and her completely normal dog. A completely normal girl, with completely normal, long, toned legs and completely normal blonde hair that cascaded completely normal down her probably completely normal back, sometimes straying with the wind into her completely normal beautiful face, speaking with completely normal but probably very soft and plush lips that sometimes turned into a completely gorgeous smile. Aw, hell.

Not werewolf. It was the defining factor that tipped me over. Not werewolf, not the girl. No vanilla, no girl. I had finally managed to convince myself that this was just another drop-dead gorgeous and cute and lovely and more girl until the dog kind of gave me a look and a slight, almost undetected wag of his tail as if in apology and ran after them.

Not werewolf. No vanilla. But scars. And dog. But.. not a werewolf. Get that into your thick skull.

I was happily interrupted in my thoughts by the return of Tate with a big bag of sandwiches which he handed out to everyone. From Patty's.

"Uhm.. No problem with the dog again?" just a simple question. I'm breezing. Just asking out of concern for my friend.

I got a curious look from Tate.

"Uhm. No?" he shot our friend Trevor a skeptical look. I could almost hear him mind-link and ask why I was so concerned about dogs all of a sudden.

"Ok, good. Just looked like a fierce one, that's all."

He leaned over towards me a patted me on the shoulder in mock comfort.

"Don't worry, child. The dog was behind his fence again when I got out from Patty's."

Bingo. The dog had a home near Patty's. Still breezing, though. Just concerned about my friend. Nothing to see here. Move on.