Lash's POV

The new girl had guts. And, Lash hated to admit, a decent bit of talent. For a sidekick anyway. She clearly didn't have superhuman reaction times, just trained. She was a quick thinker, having easily found someone whose powers negated both his and Speeds then proving to be a distraction while the kid they couldn't touch but underestimated stole their title as undefeated.

The duo's street cred had suffered for that. Speed had decided to make it his mission to knock the girl over. To beat her somehow, but Lash knew that was an uphill battle. His buddy had become obsessed with proving that he could beat her. Lash knew better. Neither of them could surprise the girl. Whatever her power was; it wasn't physical. But she was powerful. You didn't have to have super strength to be dangerous.

Wren's POV

Wren watched as the bloated blur kept attacking his mate. His wolf had wanted to intervene...before he saw that the speedster was never able to actually hit Sarah. The girl hadn't sat with them at lunch since. But she also hadn't been invited. He really wanted to get to know his mate and his wolf howled in his mind in agreement. And it seemed he had competition. He knew Warren, despite liking the girl, had grown to see her as a potential little sister. However, the Snake Prince seemed to be impressed with her. And while she was impressive, Wren couldn't help but suspect that the prince was taken with her in a not-so-friendly way. They had been hanging around each other as Wren tried to get his courage up to approach her.

Despite being his mate, she was still in sidekick class. The Snake Prince may have popularity immunity for being literal royalty and one of the best heroes in training as well as an all-around nice guy, but Wren didn't have such freedom. He and Warren could get targeted if they spoke to her. And she had her own friends and seemed to be able to handle herself. His wolf disagreed about not approaching her but seemed to be respecting Wren's wishes about keeping his distance. But if Lash did any more staring at her abs (at least he wasn't staring at her chest), then his wolf might just revolt.

His wolf gave as much of a smirk in their shared mental space as one could convey with a wolf's snout. It wasn't a snarl or growl, but his lip definitely curved upwards. Sometimes his wolf scared him. His wolf gave a chuckle at the affectionate yet serious thought.

'You know. I have a name.' Sounded in his head. 'As flattered as I am to be referred to as your wolf, it would be nice if you had bothered to ask.'

'And what, pray tell, is your name?' Wren asked sarcastically in his head,

'I am called Coen, the Australian indigenous name for thunder.'

'How come you don't have an Australian accent?'

'Cause you don't, kid. My voice is what you think of as mine. And you didn't imagine me with an Australian accent and changing it seems foreign to you.'

Wren took one last look as his mate disappeared into the school towards the basement for sidekick class. He sighed, resigned to another day of not seeing her.

His wolf growled at the thought. He could feel the difference in opinion stretching the mental distance between the two as Coen settled down to nap. He hoped this was just a nap, and not gathering the energy needed to take over. Coen didn't respond to his thought, worrying Wren further. But before Wren could attempt to strike up a conversation, the bell rang, signaling he was nearly late for class. He sprinted in the direction of the classroom. Why did his classroom have to be on the opposite side of the school?

At lunch, he sat by Warren. His wolf was gearing up for something, having even foregone the opportunity to snark at the teacher as she taught material that was quite incorrect on werewolves. Seriously. Dark creatures? What was this? Harry Potter?

Coen POV

He was so close! So close to his mate yet so far. She was literally just six feet away, sitting at a different table. Well, Wren didn't want to abandon Warren, but two people could better move than six.

His partner had been dithering long enough. Coen gathered his strength and took control.

Sarah POV

Something about Wren shifted. She could tell something had changed. It was his posture. She had been trained too much by Jetstream to miss the change in the way he held himself. After all, reading body language was how you determined if someone was going to attack.

The boy stood up, more gracefully than he typically did. She watched as Warren's eyes widened. Clearly, he noticed something too. Wren grunted something in Warren's ear, his voice gruffer than usual but too far away for words to be discerned.

When Wren turned, she could see a slight gold glint in his eyes. His wolf was in control. Sarah would have tensed had she been any other person. But this wolf was her mate, and she knew it. Despite the gaze of a predator being upon her, she knew what to expect. When a wolf was in control, they were a separate but very similar person. They were more instinctive but no less intelligent. Their senses sharpened, being able to better pick up shifts in emotions due to pheromones. Hearing also improved, to catch the breath of their prey.

Of course, Sarah knew she was not prey. She was a mate. And that meant he would not harm her. Be possessive? Probably. Get angry if any males came too near to her? Definitely. Unfortunately, her friends were not aware that Wren had a wolf, nor were they aware that she was his mate, or that the wolf was in control. It wasn't her secret, so she didn't tell them. Hopefully, they wouldn't set off the wolf.

"Hello," she said, her voice too soft for human ears, but clearly looking at the boy who was making his way around the table towards her.

He paused in his approach.

"What should I call you?" she continued.

"You forgot my name already?" he asked, playfully. He was loud enough for others to hear.

"Yes, Wren," Sarah emphasized the name, making it clear she knew his game. Surprise flitted across his features before his gaze hardened.

Her friends had paused to watch the show. Warren stood behind not Wren, not for intimidation as the people watching the scene would think, but ready to grab his friend if he had to. Warren knew that the wolf would regret it if he acted in anger towards his mate.

The wolf seemed to get over his surprise at not being able to fool her. Maybe most people would believe it, but she knew something was different. And she had the background information to jump to the right conclusion.

"Coen." He mumbled, despite his eyes staring straight at her. He was now alert. Not as if he thought she was a danger to him, but that he thought she might flee. He watched her carefully.

"Coen." Sarah smiled softly. "I like it."

A small whine came from his lips. Sarah smiled at the noise, happy that her mate was happy with her words.

By that point, Coen seemed to realize the whole cafeteria was staring at them. He cleared his throat, a human noise that he had likely picked up from Wren, and gestured towards the seat

"May we sit?"

"Please," Sarah smiled.