Chosen

Brianna was waiting by the school entrance when Jael climbed out of the Suburban and waved goodbye to her mom. Her friend grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to a quiet spot away from listening ears.

  “Did your parents find out about last night?” she asked in a stage whisper that probably carried farther than if she just spoke in a normal voice. “My mom found your clothes in the backseat. You forgot to put them back in your bag.” Brianna handed her a plastic sack with her clothes all neatly folded.

  “Thanks.” Jael slipped her book bag off her shoulder and unzipped it. She shoved the clothes inside. “I didn’t get you in trouble, did I?”

  “No, Mom thought they were mine. She washed them for you.” She shot her a thin-lipped smile. “Sorry.”

  “What for?”

  “She tends to shrink things.”

  Jael shrugged. It was a small price to pay considering what would have happened if her mom had found out she’d lied, went to town without permission, beat up some high school boys, and then spent time alone with a Tracker.

  “Speak of the devil,” she mumbled as she spotted Shadow riding into the parking lot on his motorcycle. He wore a red bandana tied around his head to keep his hair back and a leather vest over a white t-shirt. His faded blue jeans fit like a well-worn pair of gloves.

  Jael glanced at Brianna and saw that Shadow had her full attention. So much for Aiden and their mutual love of science. Shadow rode onto the sidewalk and parked the bike up by the bicycle stand, ignoring the frowns of kids who had to move out of the way. He slipped his leg over the seat of the bike and stood there looking around. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but she could tell when he spotted them. His lips curved slowly up, and then he pocketed the key to his bike and took the stairs two at a time.

  “Hello ladies.” He pushed his glasses up on the top of his head. “What’s shaking?”

  Brianna rolled her eyes. “You are so lame.”

  Jael pushed the queasiness down. She better get used to it. Having Shad around seemed to be the new normal. Besides, if her intuition was correct, Brianna’s sarcasm was a feeble attempt at disinterest.

  “I thought you’d be sleeping in today, given the fact that you had to walk thirty miles into town last night,” Jael said. “Or did you get a ride from your friends?”

  “My friends?” He raised his brows. “No. Actually I walked back to the highway and caught a ride with a trucker. She was pretty friendly, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call her my friend.”

  Brianna made a sound of disgust and turned to go in. The warning bell rang through the school, reminding them that they only had ten minutes before class started. Jael shot Shad a warning look. He lifted his shoulders and spread his hands in a wide-eyed gesture of innocence.

  She hurried through the doors.

  Shadow followed, managing to look smug and sexy all at the same time. He walked past them when they stopped at their lockers, casually pushing his hair back from his face, and ignoring their stares. Jael leaned into her locker and watched him covertly through the hinged crack of the open locker door. Suddenly an eyeball stared back at her and she jerked upright.

  “What are you looking at?” Brianna demanded, moving around the door. “You don’t have a crush on him, do you?” Her voice was tight with worry.

  Jael shook her head, a frown drawing her brows together. “Of course not. I’m just curious to know what makes him tick. He did show up last night when we were in trouble. We’ve got to give him a little credit for that, right?”

  She crossed her arms, leaning on one hip. “Why should we? It’s not as if he really did anything.” She glanced down the hall where he’d stopped to open his locker. When he looked up, she whipped her gaze back to Jael. “He’s so full of himself,” she muttered.

  “I think thou doth protest too much.”

  Brianna huffed. “Whatever! I have to get to class.”

  “See you later.” Jael slammed her locker and hurried to Trig. She made it in the nick of time. The bell rang as she pushed through the door.

  Mr. Winchester was MIA. The kids were all talking loudly and laughing, taking advantage of the extra time to visit. She slid into her desk and drummed her fingers on the cover of the textbook. She never was much of a social butterfly.

  “Hey Jael, did you hear Lyle broke his finger last night in a fight? His face looks pretty bad too.” Sarah leaned across the aisle, her eagerness to divulge the news to someone was palpable. “I guess Jack and Toby were with him and they got jumped by a bunch of Indians down at the park.”

  Jael frowned. “Where did you hear that?” She glanced around the room. It looked like Lyle’s story was the talk of the school.

  “Stan said Holly told him. Jack called her last night.” She leaned closer and whispered, “They say Shadow was involved.”

  “Shadow?” Jael bit her bottom lip. Had Lyle and his friends started this rumor to cause trouble for Shadow because he’d come to their aid? Or because they needed a scapegoat? They certainly wouldn’t want people to think a girl had done all that damage to them. Their male egos would never allow it.

  Sarah nodded. “Apparently he was angry at Lyle for making out with his girlfriend or something.”

  “His girlfriend?” she tried not to sound too shocked but the news that she was Shadow’s girlfriend was a little unnerving. And they’d never even had a real date. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” she said, sitting back in her chair.

  “Well, Holly said Shad is jealous because Lyle is the star of the basketball team. So I guess since he broke Lyle’s finger, Shad will get exactly what he wanted.”

  The door opened and Mr. Winchester strode in, managing to temporarily quell the gossip machine.