Page 56 of Tethered to the World
The girls stopped circling, most of them looking uncertain, which only served to piss Vicki off even more. “Why don’t we take her apart and see?”
She took a threatening step forward when a guy cut through the crowd, standing between her and the pack. “Knock it off, Vicki. She faced you once and won. Don’t humiliate yourself by trying again. Instead we should be celebrating.”
The cute guy flashed her a reassuring smile. “I’m Terrance. What do you say we have a drink to celebrate?”
Vicki gave a nasty laugh. “She didn’t win, she ran.”
Terrance rolled his eyes so only Annora could see, then heaved a sigh and turned. “Look at you. You’re covered with blood. Bruised. Still bleeding in spots.” He canted his head to the side. “And if I had to guess, you have a broken nose, possibly a broken eye socket.”
Terrance shrugged then glanced at Annora over his shoulder. “Then we have the new girl. Based on the blood covering your little rag-tag group, she stood up to all of you and doesn’t have a mark on her. Not one scratch or bruise. She’s not fatigued. She’s not even a little bit scared. If anything, the look in her eyes is…eagerness.”
He smiled at her, not the least bit afraid, then he looked at the group, his smirk wilting as he pinned them under his gaze. “She won. Do you really want to be embarrassed when she beats you again, this time publicly? I’ll make sure everyone knows the outcome, and you can kiss your ranking in the pack goodbye. You’ll never become mated to an alpha if you and your cronies can’t even beat a single girl.”
He shook his head in pity, most of the girls ducking theirs eyes in submission. Even Vicki eventually dropped her gaze with a little snarl.
“Everyone grab a drink.” The wolves turned and followed Terrance toward the bar. Cups were passed around, Vicki looking ready to throw the contents at Annora rather than hand it over.
“To victory.” Terrance raised his cup, then downed half the contents. The rest of the pack dutifully followed. Then he held out a hand, flicking his hair out of his face with a flip of his head and smiled. “Why don’t we leave them to sulk on their own?”
Annora eyed him suspiciously. He was short, only half a head taller than her five-foot frame. He was slim, but not skinny, dressed casually, but the clothes were of fine quality. He had straight sandy-blond hair, and his brown eyes were laughing, his face open and friendly.
He was the cute boy next door.
So why did she not want him anywhere near her?
He dropped his arm, but stepped closer, smiling charmingly, as if her rejection intrigued him instead of putting him off. The other girls began to scatter. The way they obeyed him said he was a shifter of some kind, but she didn’t feel the presence of his beast as she did with some of the more dominant shifters when they got too close.
So why did they listen to him?
“Are you enjoying yourself?” He took a sip of his drink, watching her over the rim.
She raised a brow. “Sure, everyone is so super-friendly.”
He burst out laughing, then dragged his fingers through his hair as he surveyed the rowdy crowd. “Yeah, they can be a bit much.”
“Hmmm.” She took a drink to avoid more conversation, peering over his shoulder to where she left the guys, but she couldn’t see them, and wondered if she should be worried about finding her own way back to the house.
“Since you’re new, a word of warning.” He stared down into his cup, his brows furrowed, a troubled look on his face. “You need to watch your back with that team of yours. The last alpha was killed when they turned on him.”
“Why tell me?” She rolled her cup between her hands, suddenly uncomfortable about being alone with him and his unsolicited advice.
He cast a critical look at the other students, disgust curling his lips. “You’re different from them and their never-ending hunger for power. You’re…” His eyes softened when he glanced down at her. “…special. You have no fear, no need to dominate anyone, because you already know you’re better than them. You don’t feel the need to prove it.”
He glanced away as if embarrassed, downing the rest of his drink as he turned away. “I just don’t want to see someone like you get crushed by the ambitions of others.”
Uncomfortable with how much he saw of what she wanted to keep hidden, she hid behind her own cup, hastily taking a sip to avoid answering. The alcohol burned down her throat, searing a path to her stomach, leaving a tingling in warmth in its wake. A few other people stopped to talk with Terrance, and she was grateful to have his attention diverted. She sipped the drink again, grimacing at the bitter taste, then unobtrusively dumped the remaining half cup on the ground.
“Annora, we need to go.” Logan hurried up to her and took hold of her arm, pulling her along with him without waiting for her response.
Terrance stopped talking to his friends and got right up into Logan’s face. “You need to learn to take better care of her. You don’t leave a girl like her alone at a college party.”
The air turned crisp, her breath formed a cloud in front of her even as Logan’s hand warmed on her arm. Terrance glanced down at her and smiled. “It has been a pleasure to rescue you. Call me if you ever need anything. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Logan stepped between them, pulling her close and glaring when Terrance put a finger to his forehead and gave a cocky salute as he backed away, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Logan inhaled deeply, his chest expanding as he struggled to control himself. He tucked her to his side, wrapping an arm firmly around her as he began to push his way through the crowd. “What happened?”
“Mean girls,” she mumbled, not proud of the way she acted. She was supposed to be keeping a low profile, not making herself the center of attention by getting into fights.
