The Pack (The Pack 1)

“Wow, if that’s preferential I hate to see what the standard treatment is.”

He gave me a hard stare, which so far was the only type of stare he’d given me, before choosing to ignore my comment.

“I figured Regina would say something and when Anna said she held you after class…” Dominic trailed off as Caleb finished.

“We thought you might need rescuing.”

“Surprisingly, thoughtful of you,” I managed, glancing up at Dominic. He caught my glance and frowned.

“Not my idea.” He jerked a thumb at Caleb. “Chivalry over here wanted to do it. I thought you could handle her.”

“I did handle her!” I exclaimed, irritated at the idea he might believe I needed rescuing.

“She did,” Caleb admitted with an easy smile. “You might even have cracked a smile at witnessing that putdown, Dom.”

Dominic snorted as if that would never happen, and I took a second to notice we were walking away from the school and directly into the surrounding forest.

“Where are we going?” I asked, stopping. While they didn’t seem like bad guys, walking blindly into the woods with them was also not on my list of smart ideas.

“Home,” they answered in unison and I shook my head.

“I don’t live with you,” I replied tartly.

“Thank God,” Dominic muttered under his breath, not even pretending to be apologetic when I glared at him.

“Same here,” I retorted before looking over at Caleb, the easier of the two. “I don’t want to get lost. I’ll just take the road.”

I turned back toward the school when a hand wrapped around my bicep. Heat radiated from his palm, seeping into my bloodstream and sending warmth curling through me.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Dominic informed me roughly, his hand dropping from me as if I’d burned him. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, the imprint of his hand still branded on my skin. “It’s not safe.”

“To walk home? Or to walk home with two men I barely know? One of whom could break me in half without a second’s hesitation.”

“There would be at least a second’s hesitation,” he replied comfortingly, his lips tilting upwards slightly, but not enough to be considered an actual smile. “There are wild animals. Dangerous men who would think nothing of kidnapping a single woman off the road,” he continued, his eyes hooded as he listed the dangers. “At least with us, you know what you’re getting.”

“Do I?”

“We’ll protect you,” Caleb promised his eyes sincere. “We’ll make sure you get home safely. Dom is right. Not everyone is friendly.”

“You don’t say,” I agreed, my eyes darting to the least friendly person I’d met since I’d arrived. He smirked as he caught my glance, not concerned in the least with my opinion.

“You don’t even know where I live,” I told them, waving at the woods in front of us. “How do I know this is even the right direction?”

“Where do you live?” Dominic asked patiently, his confidence making me hesitate. It was almost as if he already knew.

“The motel,” I finally muttered, noticing neither seemed surprised. “Apparently, my Dad just bought it.”

“Nice place,” Caleb commented and I blinked at him.

“Is that a joke?”

A choked sound next to me almost had me thinking I’d made Dominic laugh, but a quick glance showed his normal stone faced expression.

“No?” Caleb said hesitantly, confusion written on his face.

“You might be the first person since it was built to call it a nice place,” I explained. “I prefer dated and borderline criminal.”

“And you worry about us escorting you home,” Dominic mentioned lightly. I sent him a sideways glance only to see him gesture for me to go ahead.

“I take it the motel is on the way home?”

“Actually it’s a little past our turn but like the gentlemen we are, we’ll escort you to your door.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said flatly, brushing past him. “Next you’ll be carrying my book bag.”

No sooner had I said it then I felt my backpack slide from my shoulder, the heavy weight disappearing. I turned to see the bag dangling from one of his fingers and smiled.

“I’d protest about feminism or something, but you look like you can handle it.”

He hooked it over his arm since there was no way it would fit over his shoulder, following Caleb and me as we started walking. I was marginally less uncomfortable having my back to him with Caleb walking next to me, but I could still feel his presence. It was impossible to forget, even as silent as he was.

“Did you happen to put every textbook you have in here?” He grumbled a few minutes later and I laughed, glancing at him over my shoulder. The weight didn’t seem to bother him as he kept his strides in check with ours.

“I didn’t get a chance to go to my locker today. My bag was locked up during lunch and I was shanghaied after school,” I informed him.