Page 26 of Conner's Luna

The coffee she sets next to me. I grab it and take a sip, ignoring her angry sputter. The thick taste of hot coffee hits my tongue a second later. "You drink black coffee?" I ask her, astonished. I would have thought a girl who smells like honeysuckle would drink some sort of caramel-candy frothy la-chino. With sprinkles.

"No." She snatches the mug back from me and selfishly places it on the opposite side of her, out of my immediate reach. "I drink it with skim milk, no sugar."

"That's disgusting, but we can still be friends."

The look Bailey tosses me from the corner of her eye is wary as hell, but she doesn't immediately question or deny my claim of friendship.

My wolf circles once then lays down with his head on his front paws and closes his eyes. I suck in a low breath, shocked at his placidity. At first, I think the coffee may have killed him, but he's breathing and showing his typical anxiety-ridden aggression. At least he isn't pacing. Maybe I should give up my creamer and sugar and drink tar like Bailey.

The first students arrive, and I come back to the moment to take up the mantle of king-asshole-of-campus, leaning back in my seat with a casual, don't-fuck-with-me posture. Resting bitch face completes the look and I know it's working when the three new students do a double-take as they walk into the room.

"Who usually sits here?" I ask Bailey in a low voice when I determine that the three kids are humans, not wolves, and can't hear me from across the room.

Her eyes slide to me. "Carson Bennet and his girlfriend, Kenna, but there aren't assigned seats. I would have told you if there were."

I know she would have. Bailey might as well have a tattoo on her forehead that reads 'stickler for the rules.' I hide my smile. Carson is in Trey's pack. Not very highly ranked, but he probably thinks he's the shit in this classroom. Big fish in the little pond syndrome and all that. My wolf wags his tail a couple of times but doesn't open his eyes. He's ready to put some wolves in their place.

I pick up one of Bailey's pens and start clicking it. I smile when I see who the teacher is. Professor Janey Lane. She's a lone wolf with ties to RedMoon, but she knows who I am. She knows that ClearHowl is a smaller pack than RedMoon, but we have the best wolves. Bailey's tough time in Statistics is about to come to an abrupt end.

Professor Lane hesitates when she sees me. Her eyes widen, but when I stare blankly back at her she recovers her composure and begins to greet the class. I try to meet her eyes and see her wolf, but her gaze skitters away, her wolf refusing to parlay with mine. It's a smart, instinctual move from a wolf who knows she doesn't have a pack standing behind her.

Carson and his mate walk in just a few seconds after the professor does. My wolf is on his feet a heartbeat later, staring down the couple. The mate-duo have a very different reaction than their professor. Carson turns red, glaring at me, while Kenna becomes ghost white. They both stand stock-still, and I can hardly contain my urge to rub my palms together gleefully. I really hope they confront Bailey and me for being in 'their' seats.

Professor Lane clears her throat and Carson and Kenna quickly take their seats in the front of the classroom. I slump a little, disappointed. My wolf resumes his pacing. His dark fur ripples in agitation as his upper lip curls to reveal the tips of his canines. Just like that my temporary reprieve from his mania is over. He starts to snarl at the RedMoon wolves when a soft voice distracts him.

"You're trying to start trouble, Conner Grim!" comes a low hiss from next to me.

I turn to Bailey and widen my eyes innocently, slowly shaking my head. My wolf mimics my action, good and caught in the honey-trap.

She huffs, then mumbles a low, "you're helping me take notes. Don't just think you'll sit there doing nothing all class."

I grin at her bossiness and take out my laptop. Opening it, I show her the speech to text software and turn it on along with the app that will record the lecture.

Bailey rolls her eyes at me again. "Your new laptop arrives tomorrow," I murmur to her. I keep my voice low and intimate and am rewarded when I see Carson's back stiffen. This is the first time acting like some cliche bad-boy jerk has excited me since we got to State.

"I-"

I lean forward and put my finger over Bailey's lips to stop her inevitable and completely useless protest. Big mistake. Her lips are puffy and soft. I can't stop my finger from rubbing against that pouty mouth, just a little. My wolf sniffs, inhales, snorts, then edges closer to the front of my mind with his eyes fixed on the fascinating little human.

I force my hand to withdraw. Playing off the intimate contact, I shrug, "that's what friends do, Bailey." Her eyes stare into mine, surprise in their depths. "It's a Mac," I tease her softly, "latest model."

Her eyes light up. A feeling of smug superiority settles over me. I knew she'd be a Mac girl. Called it. My wolf sits back on his haunches, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Grim, if I could continue my lecture," Professor Lane sounds cold and efficient, but I hear the shake in her voice and the quiver of her wolf. I hope she didn't think my wolf was snarling at her earlier. Not that it matters, for the second time in ten minutes my wolf's acting... normal.

"I apologize, Professor," I tell her easily. The older female looks surprised and I see her gaze flit to Bailey in speculation.

Kenna whips out her phone and starts to text madly. Professor Lane doesn't say anything to her, and I don't mind. Let Trey's pack wonder about Bailey and me. That's the point of sitting here in a class I already aced.

Bailey scribbles furiously in her notebook. I hide another smile as she 'fixes' my laptop, making sure it's pointing at Professor Lane (because I didn't have it centered perfectly).

I lift a curl that floats down her back and start whirling it around on my finger. Her hair is just as soft as her lips.

---

8 - Lab Rat in a Maze

Conner

---