12

Since yesterday, all I could focus on was the murder. Which of course was good on the one hand because it didn't make me think about Damian, on the other hand my teachers weren't really enthusiastic about my physical presence but mental absence.

But since most of the teachers were more concerned with greeting the new students, I didn't really mind that either. For the younger members of the Shadow pack, today was the first day at our school, which of course caused a lot of excitement. For much fuss about nothing. After all, it was just 20 other werewolves who were being forced to go to school and actually wanted to party much more.

So nothing unknown. However, my thoughts kept going back to Ella Mulm. Because somehow I couldn't shake the feeling that a werewolf must have been the culprit. A human just wouldn't be able to do a human like that. But a transformed werewolf... With his claws, he would definitely be able to eviscerate a human.

And that right after Damian's pack moved here. While that didn't necessarily increase my trust in Damian, I didn't think he had anything to do with it. Of course it would fit what Mr. Tally had warned me about, but that wasn't Damian's doing. I was sure of that. At least I thought so.

Damn it! I put my head on the table and closed my eyes. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Of course, I could just change the city. I've toyed with the idea since my first encounter with Damian.

However, it would be quite irresponsible to leave now. I just couldn't. And as if all of that wasn't enough, I've been followed since this morning. It started at my front door and went all the way to school. Only since my first lesson, after I was in a closed classroom, did my pursuer disappear.

But I was pretty sure that as soon as I left the room I had another stalker. But since he apparently went to this school, I wasn't too worried. When the doorbell rang, I packed up my things and was the last one across the room. Past the lockers and the first turn to the playground. I immediately felt the familiar tingling again, when I was shadowed. I had to smile. Somehow I started to like this game.

I quickened my pace and then blended in with the crowd in front of the substitution schedule. Bending down, I quickly walked around the bodies of my classmates and then around the next corner. There I pressed myself against the wall and waited for my pursuer. And indeed my plan worked. The next moment a boy darted past me, turning first to the left and then to the right. When he saw me there against the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief. he was young Maybe 14 or 15.

Medium-length light brown hair caressed his narrow face. Definitely a werewolf. I had never seen him here before, and he was too strong for his age. Although he hid this well behind his yellow and black striped sweater. I leaned against the school wall and looked at him invitingly.

"Maybe you want to explain to me why you've been following me since my apartment." The boy looked around briefly and then took a few short steps towards me. "Not here," he murmured. Then he walked past me and nodded forward. Great. Now I also followed a puppy into a closet. Because that's where he went.

However, that didn't seem to have been his real goal, because he wrinkled his nose in disgust, but a short time later shrugged listlessly with his shoulders. Then he went inside. I rolled my eyes and raised my arms in astonishment. I quickly checked to make sure no one saw me following the boy into the closet before I went in and then closed the door behind me. Darkness awaited me there. I sighed and searched and found the light switch. "After all, I want to be able to keep an eye on you in whatever we're discussing now."

"First things first: Hi, I'm Benjamin."

"Hello, bee."

"Biench-...oh, I see. Haha, funny. Anyway...um...well..."

"Yeah?" "I think that you are fantastic." I let out a laugh.

"Um, what?" "I think you're great. I have for years and eventually I started following you. I wanted to find out more about you and maybe ma-" "Hold your breath, bee." I took a few steps back and then sat down on one of the many stacks of boxes. "Who are you kidding?"

"I don't know what you mean," Benjamin fumbled. "You're new here. A werewolf. Damian's pack. And you've only been following me since today. But the interesting question is: How do you know where I live?"

The boy seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. I would almost feel sorry for him if I wasn't keenly interested in the question. Because nobody knew where I lived. No one but Mr. Tally and he would never have given that information to a 14 year old. Then the scales fell from my eyes.

There was one person who knew where I lived. One that accompanied me home yesterday. I growled angrily. What a coincidence that a day later a puppy from his pack was chasing me. I quickly jumped down from my seat and overcame the last few steps to Bienchen, which I grabbed by the collar and then pressed a little roughly against the wall. But he was a werewolf. He could stand it. "What does Damian have to do with it?" Bee's eyes widened. "Oh God! You can't tell him anything. If he finds out that you know he-" He stopped mid-sentence. "That he what? Believe me, bee. No matter what your alpha told you, I can get pretty uncomfortable too. Especially when someone is following me for no reason. Or is there a reason?"

"Listen. I have no idea myself. Damian just asked me to keep an eye on you-" Startled, he covered his mouth with both hands. "What do you mean, keep an eye on me? Tell me, honey!" "Well, you're a human in a werewolf school.

And then there's the murder. He just said I should let him know right away. if I felt something was wrong with you." I let go of him, then angrily paced my rounds of the small closet, tearing my hair as I did. The ass had hired someone to watch over me like I was a small child who couldn't protect himself. I held my index finger up to Bienchen, whose eyes widened slightly. "Give my regards to your alpha and tell him to kindly stay out of my life if I don't ask him specifically about it!" "How? Now yes! Now!"

"O-ok." I opened the door with a bang and stepped out into the hallway, where a girl with brown, waist-length hair was waiting for me, staring at me with angry, heavily made-up eyes. I raised my arms to the sky in anger.

"What is it this time?" She staggered towards me and then stopped so close I could smell her sweet floral perfume. Way too cute. "Stay away from Damian, man!"

I narrowed my eyes in confusion before taking a few steps away from Blümchen. Meanwhile, White-faced Bee stepped out of the chamber. He must have conveyed my message to Damian. flowers and bees.

"You don't happen to be related, do you?" "Yes," snapped Blümchen. "He's my brother." I grinned "Very nice." Then I turned and started to leave, but was stopped by sharp fingernails in my shoulder.

"Celine," Bienchen murmured, watching what was happening. " Did you understand me, human?" I certainly didn't have to mention that the word human sounded like an insult to her.

"Yes, I understood you, Blümchen. And actually I would react quite angrily now and hit out at me with sayings like You can't tell me anything, but you're welcome to Damian. I don't want him." With that lie, I turned and left.

I was mad. And rightly so. Well, in a way it was my fault too. But I had no way of knowing that Damian was about to tell the whole world where I lived. On the other hand, he didn't know he should keep it to himself either.

But wasn't something like that taken for granted? I mean, I wouldn't tell any stranger where the Alpha lived with his pack either. Maybe I exaggerated a bit. Or - now something really crazy - maybe I was just looking for a reason not to trust Damian? Because then he would have played into my hands with this action. It had to be. But I couldn't follow my thoughts any further because at that moment the school bell rang, interrupting my train of thought.

Then I could finally go home. And find out something else about the Shadow pack right away, since Bee would accompany me home. Because although I had actually made it clear to him to kindly leave me alone, he was apparently more afraid of his alpha. He probably figured he was more skilful this time and I hadn't noticed that he'd continued to stalk me.

I'd also met Celine a couple of times - each time she gave me a deadly look that made me laugh out loud. Of course, my lie was constantly hanging over me. I kept repeating them in my head. I guess I hoped that would make it come true. Maybe Celine aka Blümchen was Damian's girlfriend too.

Pfft, sure. I quickly dismissed the thought. Because whatever Damian was and wanted Blümchen was not his goal. She just didn't seem to know that. I crossed the schoolyard and headed towards the forest. Then Bee stopped me.

"Hey, Alina. Aren't you walking the same way through town as you did this morning?" "No, I need some distraction today. So I'm going back through the woods. Don't worry, I won't get lost." Unsure, Benjamin began chewing on his bottom lip.

"Does it have to be that way?"

"Yes, it has to be.

Besides, I have a strong puppy at my side. So nothing can happen to me." I grinned at him. "I'm not a puppy," he replied stubbornly, crossing his arms. "All the better. Then there's no way anything can happen." Still unconvinced, Benjamin looked at me. So I decided to annoy him a little.

"Or don't you trust yourself?"

"Pah, of course. Let's go!" Definitely werewolf. So typical. The constant feeling that they were always and everywhere the strongest and best.

For some time now we have been walking through the forest. I kept asking Bee a few questions about the pack, but he avoided them. Now it wasn't long before we were at my house.

Suddenly there was a crack to our right. Benjamin's gaze shot to the spot immediately after pushing me behind him. I watched the whole thing with amusement. Because I had noticed a while ago that Jack had followed us in his wolf form.

I would recognize its unmistakable smell of scotch and salt water anywhere. Of course, Jack could have just come straight to us, but since he hadn't, I assumed this was some sort of test for Benjamin. And I wouldn't stand in the way of that. Bee growled at the golden wolf, which slowly came out of the bushes. Apparently he didn't even recognize his own beta.

Jack and I made eye contact and I gave him a superior grin. He should know that I had already noticed who the oversized wolf in front of us was.

In the next moment, Jack jumped at Benjamin, who turned into a smaller brown werewolf with dark spots on his fur in the same second. They fought a bit with each other, whereby Jack definitely held back, since Bee got almost nothing.

At some point it seemed enough for him because Jack pushed Benjamin away with a strong push and then growled at him so low that the boy bowed his head in surrender. Apparently he finally understood who was standing in front of him. They both transformed back and Jack gave Bee a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Luckily you don't have to protect her, you just have to keep an eye on her," he said with a quick look at me. Immediately my good mood disappeared. "So you knew it too?"

"What? That Damian just wanted you to be safe?

Yes, I knew that."

"That's not the point. He shouldn't just mess with my life." Jack scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Maybe you better tell him that yourself." The next moment a huge black werewolf jumped out of the bushes. His black eyes seemed to look deep into my soul. He walked towards me with his ears back until he stopped in front of me. He was up to my shoulder. Damian transformed back but didn't move. I took a step back demonstratively, which I'm sure he noticed. He turned to Bee, who had shrunk a great deal in his alpha's presence. "What are you doing here? Why are you in the forest?" he asked in a dark voice. "We just wanted something-"

"I didn't ask you," he snapped. My eyes instantly narrowed. Damian too seemed to realize that he had gone too far. Still staring at me, he growled,

"Get lost!"

"Damian, I don't know-"

"Get out!" he interrupted, yelling at Jack. In the next second they were gone. I fixed my gaze on Damian. His anger didn't seem to let up, nor did he want to try to placate me. "You know how dangerous it is now to walk around in the forest."

"Oh, do I know that?" He bared his teeth and trembled all over with suppressed anger. "Alina, you're only human and it's very dangerous for you out here. You're weak and can't defend yourself. I just want to help you."

For the first time in my life, I felt a strong urge to show a werewolf how weak I really was. "You have to understand that-"

"No," I hissed at him. "Now you listen to me. Nothing in this world allows you to treat me like I'm a little kid. Nothing in this world allows you to follow me, patronize me, and now tell me what to do."

I stepped closer to him and stood on tiptoe, our mouths inches apart "You have no idea who I am. Because actually you should all be afraid of me. Because I'm the only being in this damn world who could get your ass off all with just one thought." I looked deep into his eyes, expecting to find anger there again. But what gleamed in his eyes was something else entirely .

Something that ran through my body like electric shocks.

Damian's eyes were black and full of lust.He looked at me, like I was the only thing that mattered right now. He looked at me like my speech just turned him on more than anything else ever could.

I smiled and decided to go a little further. I ran one hand up his back, lingered briefly on the back of his neck, then grabbed his hair tightly to pull him further down to me. He gasped.

Then I began to lightly trace his lips with my finger. I gently traced the contours of his mouth. When he parted his lips slightly, I gripped his hair a little tighter and moved my mouth to his ear.

"I have you in my hands, you know that. And you like it," I breathed. Then I let go of him and turned to complete my walk home alone.