Chapter Two: Protector
It was Saturday; Esme Renée and her sister were doing some shopping in downtown Port Angeles. Window shopping, mostly; they had gone in one store so far, and hadn't bought anything even then.
I was trailing them from the rooftops, jumping easily from building to building and counting on the light drizzle to keep humans from looking up.
As they passed a dim alley, two men wolf-whistled. Esme Renée kept walking as if she hadn't heard, but her sister turned briefly to look back.
One of the men laughed, and as the two girls moved on, both men started toward the end of the alley after them.
I growled softly. No mere human was going to touch Esme Renée; she was mine!
I dropped to the ground, landing silently in the shadows at the end of the alley, and sauntered up to the girls. "Fancy meeting you here, Esme Renée."
She turned, smiling at me. "Hi." She swallowed. "Jazz, this is my biology partner, Xander. Xander, my sister Jazzie."
The girl looked up at me, her upper lip curling slightly. "Jasmine," she corrected firmly.
I smiled and held out my hand. "Pleased to meet you, Jasmine."
She ignored my hand, looking squarely into my eyes until, again, I was forced to look away.
"You girls want anything to eat? My treat," I offered.
Esme Renée smiled and was about to accept, but Jasmine turned away from me, grabbing her sister's hand and tugging her away. "We can't; Mom expects us home. Come on, Renée."
Esme Renée glanced over her shoulder at me, shrugging helplessly.
I caught up to them in one easy stride. "At least let me see you to your car, then."
Jasmine glared daggers at me, completely unaware of the fate I had saved them from. Though no doubt the little spitfire would have tried holding off both attackers on her own…
I held Esme Renée's door for her, leaning nonchalantly on the top of it. "See you in school Monday?"
She smiled shyly. "See you."
I pushed the door shut, leaning against a lamppost as they drove off.
"We could have stayed," Esme Renée said, sounding a bit annoyed; "Mom wouldn't have cared."
"I don't like him."
"How can you not like him, Jazzie? You don't even know him."
"I don't know…I just don't trust him, Renée. I wish you'd stay away from him."
I started walking down the sidewalk, not wanting to let them get out of earshot.
"He's my biology partner."
"So, ask to switch."
"I can't."
"Want me to ask for you?"
"No. You're being silly, Jazzie; Xander's nice."
"I don't trust him," Jasmine repeated darkly, "and you shouldn't either."
Next chapter coming next week!
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