Chapter 4 – Wolf Games

Luca's Pov

The garage smelled like hot rubber and oil as always. 

Students sprawled beside their cars or their friend's cars talking animatedly. This was an F1 academy which meant that everyone's idea of lunch break or breaks of any kind was spent with their cars.

I leaned against my black Porsche with my arms crossed pretending to listen to my pack mates argue who was the best driver between me and that dick head Adrian.

But I wasn't listening to them. I was looking at her. The new girl, Sutton.

She stood by that red rhinestoned Hellcat like it was a throne. She was holding a pink towel and using it to wipe grease off her fingers. She had a tiny scrape on her knee from the crash. Her auburn hair was pulled up with a ribbon that shouldn’t have looked good in a garage but somehow did.

I pushed off my car and started walking to her, ignoring the whistles from my friends.

“Hey, princess,” I called.

She didn’t even glance up. “Not my name.”

“Sure it isn’t.” I stopped right in front of her. “Nice spin-out today. It was real graceful.”

She tossed the towel onto the hood of her hellcat, finally looking at me. “Better than you expected, though.”

A few heads turned, and some students leaned in like it was free entertainment. I rolled my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. You almost took out half the track.”

“And yet,” she said, folding her arms, “I kept up with you and I passed you. What was it?” She placed a finger on her chin like she was thinking. “Third place? Imagine how embarrassing that must be.”

The crowd made that sound people make when someone crosses a line. I scoffed, she was a fiesty one. 

I took a step closer, so close that I saw the smudge of engine oil on her cheek. Damn she was so hot. “Do you really think you're in my league Sutton?”

Her chin tilted up. “I don’t think. I know. You wouldnt be here if I wasn't out of your league.” she tossed her shiny hair behind her shoulder.

No girl was ever above my league, but her words made me even more interested in her. I bit down on my teeth resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. 

Most girls would’ve dropped their eyes by now. Not her. She stood her ground while my wolf clawed under my skin.

I planted one hand on the Hellcat’s hood, trapping her. “Careful, sweetheart. If you keep talking like that, I might think you’re challenging me.”

She parted her lips and sneered at me. “Move your hand.”

“Make me.” I challenged, noticing her brown eyes flecked with gold. 

She stared up at me, and her lips parted. She leaned in and for one reckless second, I thought she was going to kiss me. Then she slipped sideways, ducking under my arm.

“Not interested,” she said flatly. 

The crowd burst out laughing and my hand clenched on the hood before I forced myself to smile. “Keep telling yourself that,” I called after her.

She didn’t look back. I turned to my packmates, smiling to cover the burn in my gut. One of them, Astrid shook his head. “She’s not biting, Luca, you should give up.”

“She will.” I retorted. I wanted her. She consumed my mind, and my wolf for some reason could not keep calm whenever she was near.

“I doubt it,” he said. “That one doesn’t bend.”

I laughed. “Hey Astrid, want to bet?”

They exchanged looks. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” I leaned against the Porsche, eyes still on Sutton’s retreating figure and her carefully moulded ass. “Give me a month. She’ll be wrapped around my finger.”

****

Audrey's Pov

By the time I got home from school that evening, my head was pounding like someone was playing drums inside.

Between the crash, Mechanics 101 assignment, and Lucas’annoying personality, I was seconds away from screaming.

I shoved the villa's door open and dropped my helmet on the kitchen island. I kicked off my Prada shoes so hard they ran across the floor. 

The villa was quiet, the maid must've left. I poured myself a glass of water, took a long sip and went to look out of the floor to ceiling glass window.

The roses outside the glass doors which were dead yesterday, were now blooming, with petals that were full and red, wet with dew that hadn’t been there this morning.

I set the glass down slowly. “No.”

The lights above my head dimmed suddenly, then they became brighter like it would burst. “Not again.” I whispered aloud.

I walked to the door and stepped outside to the roses and vine curling scores the stone like a time lapse footage.

“Stop it.” I whispered aloud like it would stop my Fae Magic from showing out. The roses didn't stop spreading and now they twisted towards my bare feet.

No one could know I was Fae, but lately, it was getting hard to control my magic. I went back inside and slammed the door shut. not being able to control my magic was everything my father had warned me about.

And everything that had gotten him killed. 

I pressed my back to the glass, breathing hard. “It’s nothing,” I muttered aloud. “It’s just stress. Especially with these Wolves.”

The lights shook and then went out completely. Darkness swallowed the villa. Great.

A whisper slid through the silence, like it came from inside my head. “They’ll find you before you can find out who killed your father.”

I forced a laugh that cracked halfway through my thoughts. “Great, now I'm talking plants. Love that for me.”

But my hands were shaking. Because deep down, I knew it wasn’t just plants. 

And if Adrian, Luca, or any wolf at that academy caught even a hint of what I was… I wouldn’t survive long enough to graduate.

I crossed the kitchen, flicking the light switch. Nothing. The bulbs stayed dead. I snapped my fingers and fire danced on the tips of my fingernails. 

The roses were beginning to enter the house. Tiny green lights fluttered between the roses, and humming softly like bees.

“No, no, no…” I whispered, “This isn’t happening.” A loud knock on the door jolted me and I crept to the door, putting out the fire on my fingertips. “Who’s there?”

But there was no answer when I yanked the door open. Just the empty porch. When I turned back, the roses had stopped moving. The vines were still, and the sparks were gone. I pressed a hand to my chest, and exhaled. “Get it together, Sutton.”

Then I heard a voice behind me. “What the hell was that?”

I spun so fast my elbow hit the counter. He looked at the roses and the back at me. “I saw that…what…what was that?”

“Adrian, what…what did you see?” I choked out, filled with cold fear.