Watching Penelope practice cheer-leading on the bleachers was as bad as it sounds. My best friend wasn't horrible or anything, but I kept getting the feeling as though I'm being watched by someone.

The two co-captains of the squad, Odette and Abby kept barking out orders.

Next to the cheer leaders on the field were the football players, namely, Keaton, namely him being the one who kept throwing the ball in our direction, obviously trying to get Callie's attention. Callie also decided to join me, her quiet presence was welcoming. Blaine told me I needed to take a break from training, so this was my break.

Before I had to be at the elementary school babysitting the pups during and after school.

My heart twisted in a strange way when I saw West coming up to speak with Abby.

Seeing him this morning so...so broken broke me into a million pieces. I don't think I can ever recover from the pain that West was feeling. Something about the whole thing made me want to cry. For him. For smiling right now, acting like this morning didn't even happen.

He surely put on a brave front.

Like magnets, our eyes collided and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly at me. Behind that smile, was hurt.

My chest ached.

We had to go to the elementary school soon for our detention anyways. I'm really hoping he's not actually waiting for me. Horrified that he's coming towards Callie and I.

I don't miss the look Abby gives him, frowning, then she turns her glare to me and I quickly pretend that the gum under the bleacher in front of me is really interesting.

"Hey."

His voice is apprehensive and unsure about even speaking with me.

"Hi West," luckily, Callie found her tongue. At least she thinks we're all friends here because of gym class.

"Edith and I have detention," he said cheerfully, making me look up at him. A half-smile lit his face.

"Oh yeah," Callie said, a wry smile on her face.

"Heads up!" someone yelled, and the football flew towards our direction, almost in the face of Callie, but West's fast reflexes caught the ball with one hand.

"Sorry about that my aim is little off," Keaton looked anything but sorry.

I saw West's eyes flash angrily before he turned around slowly. In one quick movement, he spiraled the ball like a pro towards Keaton and it hit him hard in the stomach causing him to fall down. West grinned, "Sorry about that. You see, my aim is a little off."

Keaton clenched his jaw, looking up towards Callie before storming off.

"What's his deal?" I asked seriously. "I thought he was over it."

"Trust me, if a guy like him gets humiliated like that, it's hard for him to get over it. His ego won't let him," West answered, his eyes roaming to Callie who was sitting quietly. "He...hasn't done anything else, has he?"

Callie shook her head. "No, and thanks for... that."

"Ready to go? I'll drive us," West offered me. Callie raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uh..." being in the car alone with West wasn't what I wanted, but Blaine needed to get home. "If you could drop me off at my job."

"Of course," West nodded.

I gave Blaine the car keys, and told him that I'll be home late and to not wait up for me, I found myself in a strange position where I was sitting in West's passenger seat of his black Audi R8.

"Nice car," I commented sincerely, checking out his sweet ride. Life wasn't fair. It would take me eons to buy this.

"Thanks, it was my dad's," West responded.

Alone in the car with him made me think about earlier today. Made me think about all the things I didn't know about him. What I could know about him because he was my mate. His presence next to me was like a cackling fire. I could feel his essence- just so much that I wandered unconsciously towards him this morning and found him in that state. I wanted to talk to him, but that would mean West Stryder would be something much more than someone I wanted to avoid at all costs. And it was getting harder and rather difficult to do that. He was everyone. Consuming my thoughts.

Training could do so much.

"How was your day?" West asked me softly. It wasn't fair. Why was he so nice? Yes, it's a simple question, but he cared about my day.

"Good," I swallowed, "and you?"

"Better," West answered as he pulled into the front entrance of the school, and parked in one of the open spots. We had to ring some sort of bell to get in the elementary school, and the front office person asked us what we were doing.

"Ah," her frizzy blonde hair was put in a pony tail. "The principal was telling me about you guys. The one class you'll be assigned to is Miss Judy's class. It's a handful." She gave us directions to the classroom which we followed.

Miss Judy was a younger looking teacher who looked to be only a few years older than us. She has long blonde hair, tied up in a messy bun and was wearing a pink blouse and a black pencil skirt, accentuating her nice figure.

"Oh hello, you guys must be the after school assistants," she said, smiling warmingly...............at West.

"I'm West Stryder," West jutted out his hand in a polite manner to her, and she took it all the willingly, giving a cute smile and total heart eyes.

She didn't even notice me.

"I'm Edith Silva," I butted in, also taking my hand out in greeting. She slowly looked at me, her smile gone and took my hand for a second.

"Nice to meet you," she said, her eyes fluttering. To West. Again.

Great.

"Attention class!" Miss Judy commanded. The whole classroom quieted down and all the small pups looked at West and I. "We have two very special people that are going to be helping you guys in the class room. We have an Alpha to be, West here-" West waved at them- "and uh, Edith."

Also an Alpha to be, I added silently in my head, and smiled at the pups. They reminded me of Rosie. If I could handle my cousin, I could handle these little ones. Easy.

I was paired up with this little pup with two braided pigtails and a runny mouth names Lucy.

"Can we go to the water fountain?" Lucy asked.

"Sure," I answered, wondering if her teacher would allow her to. Miss Judy was preoccupied with West, however. "Let's go." She stood up and we exited the room, I was following Lucy to see her. "Do you know where the water fountain is?"

There was a spark in Lucy's brown eyes. "I want to go to the playground!" Lucy clapped, and like a bolt of lightning, she's headed out the door to outside, and pushed the door open, running outside and laughing in utter glee all the way there.

Wasting no time, I run after her. "Come back here! You need to be in class!" I pushed passed the door, chasing after Lucy who is already at the playground, about to go up this huge yellow slide.

"No! Play!" Lucy yelled out.

Panting, I'm standing at the end of the slide, and I put both my hands on my hips, trying to be stern with her. "Come down here Lucy!"

She stuck her tongue at me, and turned around.

I gaped.

Pups nowadays are so rude.

"You need to be in class right now," I tried to reason with her again.

"No! Playground."

"You'll have your time at the playground," I said, coming around the stairs so I can catch her. I was going to drag this pup back to her class. The teacher expected me to.

Lucy was smart. She was eyeing me as I slowly made my way up the stairs and up to where she was.

When I was just a few feet away from her, she giggled- giggled- as I ran to her, but she was too quick for me and took a dive, laying flat on her stomach, on the slide.

"Whee!" she yelled as she was going down the slide, but in a flurry of motion, she was stopped at the end of the slide.

"Yup that's enough for you there," West suddenly appeared, and grabbed her with one hand, as he curled his arms and rested her on his hip. Our eyes met and he cocked an eyebrow at me as Lucy was pretending to be Superman.

"Thanks," I sighed deeply.

"Come on Edith, slide down," West grinned up at me.

"Slide!" Lucy sang.

"I'll take a hard pass," I said, going down the playground the civilized way.

"Well you're no fun," West teased, making my cheeks heat up.

"She isn't," Lucy agreed, the little brat.

My feet touched the wood chips and I gave a hard glare to Lucy.

I only had to be at the school for two hours. Mainly, we were there to help after school so the parents or any pack members could pick up the pups, and West and I watched over them for the teacher until they came.

The last one still at the school?

Lucy.

Luckily, she was sitting down coloring and Miss Judy was talking to another elderly teacher, talking about some seer. "She's about four hours away from here if you go by car. The city is nice- it even has a hot spring."

"I think I need to get my life re-evaluated," the elderly teacher chuckled. West looked uneasy at the overheard conversation.

"I'm going to the front office to give this to the principal- are you guys good?" Miss Judy was so blatant at this attention towards West I don't know why he didn't catch it.

No, we were not good.

"We can handle her," West nodded, not seeming to notice her staring. Miss Judy exited the room with the elder, leaving the three of us alone.

"I'm going to run away!" Lucy stated to us. In the corner of the classroom, there were all these toys, and she took a small luggage toy with her.

"Try it," I humored her. Lucy walked outside- again- and we followed her to the parking lot. She stopped by West's car, crossing her arms, waiting.

"Drive me so I can run away," Lucy looked at West with her round eyes and pout that I'm sure got her parents forgiving her for all her shenanigans.

West's too good nature winked at her, "But where's the running away part, Luce?"

When Lucy took her miniature cartoonish luggage and sprinted outside the road, I couldn't help but smack West's arm. "You just had to didn't you!?"

West was cracking up, and we both ran to chase after Lucy the second time this afternoon.

"Your parents are going to come out soon!" I yelled out. Dear gosh, I sounded like a worried mother. For some reason, it wasn't easy to pick up her scent.

West could also not sense either. "We shouldn't split," West frowned at something. I wondered if he picked up on something. "We're not alone in these woods." Before I could ask him about it, Lucy ran towards us, and I saw her eyes were wide and tears were threatening to come out.

"T-there's a wolf. A big wolf."

I sucked in a sharp breath, exchanging glances with West. Sure, Lucy was the devil reincarnated, but she wasn't a liar. Alarmed, I looked around, all my senses heightened at the trees around us. West noticed something was wrong. And so near the school too...

Lucy started crying, and West scooped her up, comforting her as she buried her head in his shoulders, sniffling. He rubbed her back soothingly and rocked her a little.

"Hey, it's okay Luce, I wouldn't have let anything ever happen to you."

"Promise?" Lucy sniffed. West looked over to me, his amber eyes molten.

"I promise."