Chapter 4

POV Griffin

When Nik and the others got back, I met them in the bar.

"How was the rest of the mall?" I asked as I sat in the booth next to Nik. She shrugged.

"It was okay. Jasmine and Lilly were something though." Theo replied. My eyes snapped to him.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

Theo chuckled, "I've never seen anyone withstand Nik's icy moments of silence and Dolph's intimidation tactics."

I felt strangely proud and happy at that but I didn't know why. I felt my wolf stir. He's been riled up all day and I couldn't figure out why. Nik waved a hand in my face and I realized that they had been talking to my and I was staring off into space.

"You okay?" she asked as I took a deep breath, smelling something wonderful.

"I'm good. I like your new lotion" I replied as I got up to get a drink. She frowned and looked confused as I walked away.

POV Lilly

Jasmine and I booked it to the car and didn't speak until we had pulled out of the lot.

I sighed, "That was strange."

Jasmine nodded, "I've been here for a year and never had a conversation with any of them except for Theo and that was just because he's the boyfriend of my science lab partner, Lance."

"Should we tell Mom and Auntie?" I asked and Jasmine shook her head.

"Hell, no. They would never let us leave the house again" She replied and I chuckled.

"We will just need to avoid the Savages from now on" She added and I agreed.

When we got back to the house, Mom was in the front yard, gardening. She had a large sun hat on so you couldn't really see her face. Iris came out with iced tea as we got out of the car.

"Hi, girls! How was the mall?" Mom called with a smile.

We smiled back as we pulled all the bags out.

"Good" I replied and Mom chuckled at the large amount of bags while Iris shook her head.

"Jasmine Cabot and Lilly Fowler! Did you leave anything in the stores!" She fake scolded. I smirked at the fake last name Mom had insisted on us using in Hudsonville.

"Mom! Lilly has like no clothes!" Jasmine protested and Iris softened.

She shook her head, "Somehow, I don't believe that all those bags are just for my dear, sweet niece."

Jasmine shrugged and the rest of us laughed at her.

"What are you planting, Mom?" I asked and she shrugged. I looked closer and furrowed my brow.

"Is that wolfsbane?" I asked and Iris smiled.

"I see that you've kept up with your botany studies, Lilly. I hope that you can help my daughter catch up" Iris said.

Jasmine sighed and rolled her eyes but stayed silent.

"Why are you planting wolfsbane throughout the garden?" I asked looking around.

She had planted it all over but you wouldn't be able to see it unless you were looking for it. It was hidden with other plants.

Mom smiled, "Don't worry about it. I have my reasons."

I shook my head and followed Jasmine in with the bags. We went to our room and put away our clothes.

As I worked, I thought. I knew wolfsbane was toxic if eaten. It was used way back when to kill everyday wolves and that's how it got it's name. Of course, some of the books I had claimed that it weakened werewolves. Some said that the werewolf wouldn't even have to eat it. Just the smell of it would weaken their powers.

I had heard of werewolves. Hell, I was good friends with a couple. They didn't seem that bad to me. I mean, I wasn't really impressed either but, they didn't seem dangerous. The few that I encountered just seem to want to protect their territory and their pack. I couldn't figure out why Mom was suddenly so worried about werewolves now.

Even the sap of the flower of wolfsbane on someone's skin could affect anyone's heart for a few hours, making it a dangerous plant to have around. I wondered why Mom was planting it everywhere. It seemed risky for no reason.

"Lilly, you okay?" Jasmine asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, sorry" I replied and smiled.

"Lets get ready for school tomorrow" Jasmine suggested and I nodded.

The rest of the day and night passed peacefully except for the wolf howl that woke me up in the middle of the night. It was a howl of sadness and longing.

I looked over to see Jasmine still asleep. I laid back and heard the howl again. It made my heart hurt to hear it and luckily, after the second howl, it stopped and I was able to go back to sleep.

I got up early in the morning and took a shower before Jasmine awoke. She smiled and sat up as I walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey cuz." she called.

I rolled my eyes, "The bathroom's all yours"

"You're the best" she smiled and hopped up. She hurried into the bathroom as I got dressed.

"Wear that cute dress you got yesterday at the mall" she called as I heard the shower turn on.

I rolled my eyes but did as she said. The black dress was cute but a bit short for my liking. Jasmine was the fashonista though so I didn't argue or complain.  I dried my hair and curled it into loose curls that framed my face. I put on a bit of make up and then moved on.

I packed my school supplies along with a few emergency spell ingredients, just in case. I knew that we were forbidden from using magic outside the house but I wasn't going to go out defenseless. I grabbed my bag, purse and phone and hurried down to the kitchen.

Mom and Iris smiled at me as I walked in.

"Where's Jasmine?" Iris asked.

"She's showering. She'll be down soon" I replied and she nodded.

I ate a quick breakfast and made Jasmine a bagel. I just finished as she hopped into the room. I handed it to her and she smiled her thanks.

"We should probably go. We want to be early to get everything settled" Jasmine said to our mothers. They nodded.

Iris handed us both a couple of pieces of paper.

"This is your locker numbers and combinations and the other paper is your schedules. Like I said, you have the same classes and your lockers are next to each other. Just be sure to stay together" She reminded us as we hurried out the door.

"You ready for this?" Jasmine asked after we parked next to the medium sized school.

I took a deep breath and nodded. We both got out and linked arms as we walked into the school. As we walked in, I noticed that we were getting lots of stares.

"Why are they staring?" I whispered and Jasmine shrugged.

"They did the same to me last year. Well, maybe not as much" she replied as she looked around.

Everywhere I looked, I saw kids in black leather Savages jackets looking at us. Jasmine and I glared back and they looked away. We made it into the school and to our locker without anyone saying anything to us, though.

"Jasmine Cabot!" a male voice yelled over the typical hallway clamor that surrounded us.

Jasmine smiled and turned to hug a smiling blond haired boy. When they split, he turned to me.

"Now, who is this stunning creature?" he asked. I smiled and Jasmine chuckled.

"This is my bestie Lilly. She's living with us now" Jasmine explained.

"Lilly, this is my friend Lance." she added and I nodded remembering the name.

"Oh, yeah. I think that we met your boyfriend the other day." I said as we shook hands. Lance grinned.

"You did? Isn't he the cutest?" Lance gushed and Jasmine and I laughed.

"You better be talking about me" a voice growled. I looked over Lance's shoulder to see Theo walking up.

"Nope. I was talking about my other cute boyfriend" Lance joked and rolled his eyes.

Theo put a possessive arm around Lance who laughed.

"Of course I was talking about you" Lance add and Theo calmed down.

I exchanged a look with Jasmine and frowned as Nik, Dolph and another dark haired boy joined us. I caught the newcomer staring at me out of the corner of my eye but I didn't look at him.

"It's nice to see you both again" Nik said. Jasmine nodded.

"You too, Nik." I replied and heard the other boy gasp.

I ignored him and looked at Jasmine.

"You remember Theo and Dolph, right?" she continued and we both nodded.

"This is another one of our good friends, Griffin. This is Jasmine, you probably remember her from last year and this is Lilly." she added and I looked up at the boy.

It was like the world stopped and it was my turn to gasp. Griffin had piercing blue eyes that felt like they were seeing right into my soul. He was the tallest one of the group and he had muscles for days.

"Hello, Jasmine. It's nice to see you again." he said as he continued to stare at me.

"Griffin" Jasmine replied and pulled on my arm.

Griffin growled at the action and Jasmine stopped and looked confused. He stared at me for a moment longer and took a deep breath.

"Lilly, is it?" he asked and I nodded, numbly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" he added and held out his hand.

I looked at it and hesitated. It was like everything would change after I touched him. I shook my head to clear it and took a deep breath. I smelled the most amazing smell and looked back up at Griffin. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at me.

I reached out and he grabbed my hand. Suddenly, I felt shocks go up my arm and moaned at the feeling. He didn't let go though. Instead, he gently pulled me closer. He took another deep breath and I swear that I heard him mumble something that made the rest of his friends stiffen.

So much for avoiding the Savages.