Wren POV
Who the heck was this girl? She takes out my dad, a trained super hero, in a few seconds. Says
a few words about the future, something that really scares my dad, and then is put in sidekick.
That's not the strangest part. She thanked him! For putting her in sidekick. Perhaps most other
people might not have caught that, but I did, and clearly the front row did too. Then my dad gave
his reason directly into her ear! He knows that the only person who would have been able to
hear his response is me, so what was he hiding from me?
Warren's eyes flashed with concealed humor after the Stronghold boy spoke, with obvious fear
in his voice.
"No. He's looking at me," the strange girl said.
"Do you think that, or do you know?" Zach asked. There was clearly a difference between the
two, more than just was she sure.
"I know," she said, "And they can hear you. They're only 3 to 4 feet away."
The Stronghold boy relaxed, any paranoia or anxiety for himself fleeing, before stiffening, clearly
concerned for the girl.
"Took him long enough," Warren said, smile still in his voice.
I knew what he meant. The boy clearly was a bit slow on the uptake. He didn't make the
connection between the perceived danger to himself being transferred to the girl.
The girl looked at me. "You wouldn't mind telling me your name, would you? If you're going to
stare, I should at least know your name."
I chuckled. "I see how you gained my father's respect."
"Ah, the coach. Yes. Seems to respect people with 'spunk,'" she deadpanned.
Well, her mind was sharp. It usually took people more than half a second to figure out that the
coach was my father. There were so many other options that someone could find, but that was
the most likely. I nodded, confirming her guess.
"Wanna join us?" I blurted out. Warren snapped his head to me, clearly thinking I was insane.
"I'll tell you later," I promised.
The girl's friends looked at her weirdly when she froze after that sentence.
"What did you see?" the boy I heard her call Zach asked quietly, clearly unaware that I could
hear him.
1
"I'll explain later," she said, the vacant look fading from her face, clearly coming back to reality.
"But-"
She silenced him with a look, he nodded.
1
She saw him telling Warren that she was his mate, but he wasn't going to tell her until he knew her
better and she wouldn't run off screaming.
She turned towards me. "I'm honored." She got up and placed her things at our table before
sitting down next to me, despite Warren being closer to her.
"I prefer to see my friends panicking at nothing, at least when there's nothing I can do to prevent
the show," she said to Warren, clearly seeing that he might be hurt that she had traveled the
extra distance to sit by me. Her voice indicated she was telling the truth, but there was also
something left out. There was a second reason she decided to sit by me. She clearly wasn't
scared of Warren, so what was she hiding?
"Your name?" she asked.
"Wren," I replied. "And yours?"
"Sarah."
Zach POV
I watched incredulously as my best friend got up and switched tables. What is happening? My
best friend is put in sidekick, thanks the coach, and sees something that convinces her to move
from sitting next to me, to Wren and Warren bloody Peace! Of course, that isn't it, it seems that
Warren is being bloody social with Sarah. What has the world come to?
"Who is that guy?" Will asked.
"That's Warren Peace," I replied absently, still distracted by the phenomenon that is my best
friend.
"That's Warren Peace?" Layla added.
I didn't know why she was acting so scared. The dude was very nearly smiling at Sarah as she
talked shyly with the pair. Since when is Sarah shy? Secretive, sure, but shy? Ooh no. My big
brother senses are tingling.
Sarah POV
"So why do you separate yourselves?" I asked. It may be a bit straightforward, but they weren't
required to answer.
Flame boy looked at me like I had a few screws loose. "My name is Warren-"
"-Peace," I said, "son of Baron Battle. So why?"
He opened and closed his mouth like a fish. "That's rather fishlike for someone who can control
fire."
Wren burst out laughing while Warren's expression darkened.
"How did you know that?"
"Let's see. The flames on your jacket. Red hair streak. The almost unnatural heat emanating
from your body from across the table. The fireball you summoned on the quad while the buses
were arriving. Do I need to go on?"
He was giving me that expression again. I turned to Wren, "Is he usually this articulate?"
Wren gave a bark of laughter. "K then, what's your power," I turned to Wren, trying to keep any
hint that I knew out of my voice.
Wren POV
She knew. Somehow, she knew. She asked my power, but her scent gave away that she wasn't
curious as to the answer. I knew she was interested, as she didn't seem bored, but her voice
seemed really forced, as if trying to hide something. How the heck did she know? Wait, maybe
she didn't know, but she wasn't bored, she was forcing inflection out of her voice, and she
wasn't curious when she asked the question.
"Wren?" she asked.
I let out a hysterical laugh.
"You're starting to worry me, Moony." Her eyes widened, as if that slipped out. My laugh died.
"What. Did you call me?" I asked.
"Moony."
"Why?"
"You remind me of one of my favorite characters from Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, otherwise
known as Moony."
"Moony, the werewolf dude?"
"Yes?"
"He was depicted as caring, smart, with no ego, and good looking, though that last part isn't
really important. Why wouldn't I like him?"
She was telling the truth, I couldn't detect a lie in her scent. I could detect arousal though, and
my inner wolf snarled. The only one to elicit that reaction in her should be me! Not some
werewolf she was reading about! I felt like pinning her down and ravaging her. She didn't seem
to notice my problem, so mind-reading wasn't her power. Her display in the auditorium indicated
she could see the future. In how much detail or how far into it was unclear, but whatever she
saw made my dad go pale. I again remembered the only other time he had turned that color,
when my secret was nearly revealed.
All signs pointed to her knowing my secret. But if that was true, why wasn't she freaking out?
And even if she was really good at hiding it, why would she sit next to me, with barely an inch of
space between us and a whole bench available.
Sarah was interesting. She was different. What was I getting myself into?