My Stepbrother is a Werewolf?!

7.

***

The next morning, Amelia was quiet the entire time as we had breakfast. Asher was silent as well, his nose buried in his phone the entire time. He kept smiling like a lunatic, and I had a feeling he was texting Alicia the entire time. The mere thought of that made me want to barf.

I kept glancing at Amelia, wondering what was going through her head. We hadn’t really spoken since our conversation yesterday, and I had a feeling that she was avoiding me. Perhaps she had figured out that my questions were heading somewhere, and she was afraid of what I was going to say.

Asher was the first to leave the table, after eating only a single slice of bread and a banana. As soon as he left, Amelia bolted out of her seat. It was obvious that she didn’t want to be in alone at the table with me. Normally that would have bothered me, but I simply pushed it to the back of my mind and pretended not to notice. I hadn’t given up entirely, but I was going to give her some space and get her to trust me again before I started the next round of interrogation.

Since dad hadn’t returned from his trip, I was forced to ride with Asher to school. The thought of being in a confined space with him was nerve wracking, and I was afraid that I might end up saying or doing something stupid. But when I stepped outside and saw him leaning against his car, wearing his familiar black leather jacket and faded denim jeans, with his nose still buried in his phone, I blew out a breath and knew that I could do this. No doubt he was still talking to Alicia. And the thought of that alone was enough to remove any irrational thoughts that still lingered in my head.

He looked up as I approached, blinking as if he was noticing me for the first time that day.

“The princess finally graces us with her presence,” he said with a slight chuckle. “What took you so long?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, not looking at him directly. “Let’s just go.”

He paused for a moment, then he stepped so close to me that I shivered from his closeness, the scent of his cologne invading my soul and causing me to swoon. He stared down at me, before he pulled off a rubber band from his wrist and wrapped his arm around my hair. I didn’t know what he was doing, until I felt him grab a fistful of my hair and tilt my head upward.

“You should wear your hair in a ponytail,” he said as he arranged my hair neatly then secured it with the rubber band. “You look so much cuter this way.”

When he stepped away, I had to gasp for air and try to gather my thoughts again. While he didn’t even seem fazed by what he’d just done, I was a struggling to keep myself upright as my knees had turned to jelly.

What was this handsome devil doing to me?

I got into the car slowly, keeping my head down as I knew my cheeks were a bright shade of red by now. We drove off in silence, while Asher silently tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. I tried not to stare at him for too long, otherwise I would notice that he was wearing a tight black t-shirt underneath the jacket which clung to his body like a second skin and highlighted his abs, or that his veins were showing as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Focus, Enaya. Focus.

“What are you doing after school?” he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

“Why do you ask?”

“The guys and I are going to the mall,” he said. “I thought maybe you’d want to do something instead of being cooped up in the house all day. Besides, it’ll be a good idea to slowly ease them into the idea of us being related now.”

My stomach twisted into a knot, and I slowly managed to look up at him. Normally I would have pounced at the opportunity to spend some time with him. But then…

“Will Alicia be there?” I asked.

He glanced sideways at me, arching his eyebrow suspiciously. “Please don’t tell me the rumour mill at school has gotten to you too.”

“It was just a question,” I said. “No harm in that.”

“Yes, Alicia will be there,” he said, then for some reason he felt the need to add, “We’re not really dating, you know. We haven’t really had that conversation. It was just nothing more than a few make out sessions and…”

“And what?”

“You don’t need to know that,” he said, his eyes darkening. “Alicia and I are not there yet, okay? I know everyone at school thinks we’re dating, but we’re really not.”

“It’s fine, Asher,” I said as we pulled into the school parking lot. “I really don’t care about your love life.”

“Good,” he said. “Because you might want to turn around.”

I slowly turned my head and saw Alicia making her way towards us, and I froze in my seat. s**t!

“Please be nice,” he said. “I haven’t told her about us yet.”

I tried to slow my breathing and force a smile to my face, as my skin began to crawl the closer Alicia got. I wanted to snap my fingers and disappear from the car, but she was already close enough to see me.

And then, she suddenly stopped in her tracks as her gaze settled on me, then slowly shifted towards Asher with a hurt expression.

“f**k!” he exclaimed, taking off his belt. Before he could step out of the car, she’d turned around and stormed off into the building, and I released the breath I’d been holding this entire time. I didn’t even care that she’d misinterpreted the sight of me and Asher sitting in the car. At least that meant I could avoid talking to her.

Inside the building, I waited at my locker for Lily to show up. Eventually she showed up in a bright blue dress, looking like she’d just stepped out of a magazine cover. “Don’t ask,” she said as soon as I opened my mouth.

“Where have you been?” I asked.

“My parents wanted me to wait for a guest,” she said. “Apparently I needed to look presentable.”

“Well, you look beautiful though.”

She glared at me, then turned to her locker with a scowl. “Hey, I saw your brother and his girlfriend arguing just now. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“He’s not my brother,” I said. “And Alicia is not his girlfriend. He told me that this morning.”

Lily glared at me out of the corner of her eyes, while I tried not to look at her directly. She regarded me for a while, then slowly let out a sigh. “Just stay out of her way, okay? Alicia has a few screws loose in her head. Trust me, you don’t want to get caught up in that shitstorm.”

“I’ll remember that, my lady,” I said, curtsying before her. She glowered at me, but then she laughed as we headed for Calculus.

Taking her warning, I decided to keep my distance from Alicia for the rest of the day. And it was going so well, until I headed for the bathroom when the final bell rang and I ran into her standing with her minions by the entrance.

“Hello, Enaya Warren,” she said in a calm, sweet voice that was dripping with venom. “Long time no see.”

“Maybe for you, but I’ve been seeing you every day, Alicia,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“We just want to talk,” she said. “Asher told me some very interesting things today, but I’m not buying it. I need to hear your own side of the story.”

“Alicia, with all due respect, I don’t believe I owe you any explanation,” I said. “If you don’t believe him, then that’s on you.”

Her eyes darkened as she stepped towards me, the rage in her eyes evident.

“You will stay away from him, Enaya,” she said. “Know your place. Asher is mine, and you’re not going to swoop in here and take him.”

“I don’t even want him,” I snapped. “If you want him so badly, he’s yours. I honestly don’t give a f**k!”

“Don’t expect me to believe that,” she said. “You will stay away from him, otherwise I’m going to make your life a living hell. I already got the whole school to ignore you and keep you at the bottom of the hierarchy. If you ever try to crawl up from your designated spot, you won’t like what I’m going to do to you.”

“You’re crazy, Alicia,” I said. “Just stay the f**k away from me.”

Suddenly she lunged at me, pinning me against the wall so fast that I didn’t have any time to react. She was surprisingly strong, and I didn’t think she’d be able to hold me down like this.

“I think you’re misunderstanding what’s going on here,” she whispered coldly. “This is not a game, Enaya. If you think you can say whatever you want to me and I’ll just stand there and take it, then you’re sorely mistaken. I’ve had to put up with you all these years, but I’ll be damned if I let you take anything else from me.”

Something sparked in me just then. Maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was all my pent up rage suddenly exploding. But my vision turned red, and I was sick and tired of just taking all the pain and humiliation from everyone around me. So I decided to fight back. In the blink of an eye, I ripped Alicia’s hands away from my neck and twisted her whole arm behind her. She cried out in agony, while her other arm came up and tried to pull my hair. I moved away easily, then kicked her in the shin so hard that she dropped down to one knee and screamed.

“You f*****g b***h!” she screamed, while her minions closed in, preparing to attack me as well. But then…

“Enough!”

Asher’s voice cut through the air, a harsh and chilling sound that caused all of us to freeze. He stormed into the bathroom, his eyes almost glowing with rage as the girls stepped out of the way and let him pass.

“Asher,” Alicia cried, “thank goodness you’re here. Please get this b***h off me. She attacked me for no reason.”

“Give it a rest, Alicia,” he said, before placing his hand on mine and softening his gaze as he looked at me. “Please let her go.”

I slowly loosened my grip, and Alicia scurried away as soon as I did that. Asher kept his back to her, his gaze fixed solely on me. I thought he was furious, that he was angry with me for doing this to her. But then he shook his head and took my hand in his.

“Let’s go,” he said. And without even sparing another glance in Alicia’s direction, he led me out of the bathroom and into the hallway. He ignored the looks we got from everyone, and he led me straight to the car. I didn’t know what to say or do, so I simply let him. And when he finally let me go, his eyes were darker than usual.

“Did she attack you first?” he asked.

“What do you think?” I replied.

He shook his head, and then his scowl disappeared as he laughed out loud. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.”

***