United We Loathe?

NIMUE

~~

"Argh! I hate him!" I groaned, clutching the soft lavender pillow to my chest. It wasn't working. No matter how much I smothered my face in its floral scent, the image of Kieran's smug face, his stupid perfect abs, and that infuriating smirk… it all remained burned into my retinas.

"Ugh, why Luna?" My voice came out muffled. "How can you possibly find anything remotely attractive about that lying, arrogant… Adonis?"

Luna, who was just a closet Kieran fangirl chirped in my mind, "He has a certain… alpha quality, I swear! And those eyes… they are like molten chocolate…"

"Molten chocolate that wants to melt my insides and then spit out the bones," I grumbled.

Umbra growled in agreement. She hated Kieran and I did too.

"Exactly! He's trouble with a capital T. Remember the whole 'scandal' fiasco? That was all him, Nimue. I could smell the lie all over him.” She pointed out.

"Ugh, don't remind me! The entire pack thinks I'm some gold-digging drama queen now, all thanks to his little photo-op scheme. Did you see the way he was practically shoving his dick in Lucille's face when I walked in? Disgusting!"

I had never regretted anything as much as I regretted going into Keiran’s room yesterday. It was such a big bad idea. Now, getting the image of him and Lucille doing their… you know… was proving difficult.

My blood boiled at the mere thought of it.

Luna chuckled mischievously, hinting that she was about to say something grating. "Maybe a little… stimulating, right? I mean, his dick, the size of it!”

My cheeks flushed. "Stimulating? Luna, you're a pervert!"

"Just pointing out the obvious," she retorted.

A knock on the door startled me. "Nimue, are you ready? The car is here," Mom's voice called out.

"Coming!" I shoved myself out of bed, feeling like a mess of emotions.

I was very sure I said ‘coming’ not ‘come in’. Yet, Mom came in with red-rimmed and puffy eyes. "Are you alright, sweetie? You look like you haven't slept."

Ah – easy for her to say when her eyes looked like overripe tomatoes themselves.

"Oh, I slept like a log," I lied, forcing a smile. My insides felt like a roiling storm, but I couldn't burden Mom with my teenage werewolf angst.

"Good. Remember, today's a new beginning. Don't let anyone get you down." She hugged me tight, her scent of chamomile soothing the unsurety in my insides.

“I won't, Mom," I promised, although a tiny voice in my head whispered, 'Except for maybe Kieran.'

.

Today was the official first day at my new school – Kieran's school, no less. The thought of being trapped in the same building with him, let alone the same car had me contemplating faking a sudden, debilitating case of werewolf flu.

If there was anything like that.

But duty, or rather the Alpha's decree, called. I threw on a pair of ripped black jeans, and a graphic tee that said "Don't Trust Pretty Boys…”

… subtle much? and a leather jacket. Glancing in the mirror, I decided a whiff of defiance wouldn't hurt. I pulled out a tube of bright purple eyeliner and winged it out dramatically.

"Alright, Luna, Umbra, brace yourselves. Operation: Survive Kieran Silverstein is a go!"

.

.

The car horn honked outside, jolting me back to reality. Double ugh. Reality meant facing Kieran, the bane of my existence - in the very same car for the next hour.

“Ready for school, filthy gold digger?” Kieran’s voice wafted through my window to my greatest surprise.

What the heck?! Argh, I left the damn thing open!

I gritted my teeth. “Just peachy, Romeo,” I muttered under my breath.

Luna squealed with delight. “See? He even called you a pet name!”

Was ‘filthy gold digger’ a pet name? Seriously?

“He’s mocking me, you furry airhead!”

Umbra snorted. “Finally, you’re catching up.”

I stomped out of my room after shutting the window right in Kieran’s face, the floral scent of the pillow reminding me of my previous thoughts.

Kieran was leaning against the black car when I got outside with a smirk plastered across his face. He looked good, infuriatingly good, in a fitted black t-shirt and dark jeans.

Was it crazy that even as he was dressed, my eyes trailed to the spot where his penis was hidden and I gulped down in fear?

This must be Luna’s doing!

“Took you long enough,” he sneered.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I grumbled, shoving past him.

The car was luxurious, with leather seats and a built-in mini-fridge. Of course, Kieran would get the best of everything. Alpha’s son.

I slid into the passenger seat, practically slamming the door shut. Kieran chuckled at my defiance, clearly enjoying watching me miserable.

“Someone’s grumpy this morning.”

“Maybe it has something to do with a certain someone’s… extracurricular activities,” I shot back allowing a smug smile to curl my lips.

His smile wavered for a second, but he shook his head.

“Oh, you mean Lucille? Yeah, we had a blast,” he said, throwing his arm dramatically over in the air.

“Blast, huh?” I raised an eyebrow, relishing the way his eyes somewhat darted - indicating he was telling a lie. “Maybe you should have locked the bathroom door a little tighter next time, Romeo.”

Kieran clutched the air and groaned in frustration, opening his mouth to retort, but just then, the huge figure of the Alpha’s driver, Mr. Bruno, appeared in the doorway.

“Ready, young master and mistress?” he boomed with his kind and gruff voice.

“Yes, Bruno,” Kieran replied formally. He flashed me a fake smile. “After you, dummy.”

Luna, the lovesick traitor, almost shoved me out of the car with a mental nudge. “See? He’s being polite!” she chirped.

Umbra growled in response. “Don’t let him fool you, Nimue. He’s still the same arrogant jerk.”

I ignored both of them, adjusting well in the backseat with a forced smile. There was no way I was letting Kieran win.

The ride to school was pure torture. Kieran naturally, took the shotgun seat, leaving me to stew in the back with my simmering resentment.

The silence was deafening. I could practically feel the heat radiating off Kieran with a combination of anger and… well, something else I didn't know.

I decided to break the tension, mostly because the awkward silence was starting to grate on my nerves. "So," I started, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "how's the cruel picture business treating you?”

Kieran didn't even turn his head. "Thriving," he muttered.

"Oh, good. How about the whole 'mate' charade?" I couldn't resist pushing his buttons.

He finally turned, his eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Nimue. Don't forget your place."

Umbra grunted within me. "Don't let him bully you!"

Luna, however, piped up, "Maybe he has a point. We don't want to cause a scene at school on the first day, right?"

"Fine," I grumbled. "But when we get there, all bets are off."

The rest of the ride was spent in a tense truce. As the school building came into view, I saw that it was a colossal structure of gleaming glass and steel.

Gosh! A nervousness lapped in my stomach. This was it. Pure-Blood College, population: me, a bunch of strangers consisting mainly of wolves, vampires, humans, and one very irritating alpha-wannabe.

Bruno pulled up to the curb, and the car door chimed open. Stepping out, I took a deep breath of fresh air. Before I could even think, Kieran leaned in beside me.

"Remember, Nimue. Act like you don't know me. Not a word about yesterday. Got it?"

His closeness sent a jolt through me. I could smell his cologne. It smelled of a mix of citrus and something I didn't want to know but know I hated because of him.

I blinked at the closeness, mortified.

"Yeah, yeah," I finally grumbled, pushing past him. "Just stay out of my way, Silverstein."

In reality? I was scared. I didn't normally do well with hiding my wolf nature. My wolves were oddly hyperactive unlike the average werewolves’. This was why I could already communicate with them even though I wasn't eighteen yet.

They would be fully awakened when I was eighteen and would pick their mates then. Still, the fact that I could not shift yet didn't stop me from having trouble with hiding my true nature.

I fear getting caught. The general werewolf and even vampire rule was that no human mist discover our true nature. This was why everyone usually stayed away from a mixed school.

Yet, the Alpha council sent me here. Alpha Viktor sent me here. I feared this would be my doom. Anyway, time to find out.