"ever look away from your opponent. It leaves room for distraction." I instructed as I swept his legs out from underneath him. He fell with a loud thud. I helped him back up, letting him try again.

We'd been training for weeks but he hadn't really improved much.

"I wasn't looking away." Roan rubbed the back of his head.

"Then what were you doing?" I challenged. He didn't answer.

"I told you this was a bad idea." I sighed, running my eyes over the cuts on his forehead and the bruise that was already forming on his shoulder from where I kicked him. I was hurting him even though I never meant to. Werewolves always had the upperhand against humans.

"No, I'm good." He shook his head and got back into his fighting stance; bending his knees with his fists infront of his face. His skin was perspiring profusely while I didn't even sweat a drop.

"Are you sure? Be-"

He threw a punch at my face but I ducked out of the way and flipped him onto his back. I jumped on top of him, pinning his arms and legs down.

Roan hit his head against the mat, frustrated.

"You're dead." I grinned.

"Damn, it didn't work."

"You thought you could distract me?"

"It worked better in my head." He closed his eyes and I could tell he was exhausted.

I started to get off of him, "We're done for the day,"

"No." He grabbed my wrist and wrapped an arm around my waist so I couldn't move.

Roan's face was so close that I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. His heart rate spiked when I didn't try to get out of his hold. He was just as affected by me as I was affected by him.

Before I could react, Roan closed his eyes and pressed his lips to mine. He captured my lips in a shy kiss, as if he were afraid I'd reject him.

For the first five seconds, I didn't react. My brain was freaking out and just couldn't register that Roan Jackson was kissing me.

It was nothing like the first time he kissed me. Last time, it was for Asher. But this time, it was deadly real.

He was about to pull away, passion leaving him, but I grabbed the back of his neck and brought him back to me. I closed my eyes and kissed him, knotting my hands in his hair. He kissed me back more eagerly, more confidently.

Our tongues danced for dominance and with strength that surprised me, he rolled us so he was on top. He pinned my arms to my side.

When did he get to be so strong?

"Better." I mumbled breathlessly.

"That was the distraction."

Roan leaned down to kiss me again and I smiled. He propped himself up on his elbows so he wouldn't crush me. Our hearts were beating rapidly as we kissed more roughly. More touching, more passion, more everything.

"Excuse me."

We broke apart so quickly that I banged my head on the mat. I cursed under my breath.

Tori was standing in the doorway, covering her eyes.

"Tori? How did you get in here?" I asked frantically.

Roan slowly got off of me, scratching the back of his head nervously. His face was beet red and I wondered how red my own face was.

"You never lock your windows. Can I look now?" Tori asked, still shielding her eyes.

"Yeah." I said breathlessly. Roan grabbed my arms and helped me stand. I still yearned for his touch, my heart still beating furiously against my ribcage.

"I'm here to take you to the base." Tori announced.

"The base for what?"

"The hunter base. My superiors want to meet you."

"Wait, what? Are you sure I can do that?"

"Of course. Why not?"

"I thought you all hated werewolves."

"Have you been listening to a word I've said? Werewolves and hunters have already formed a truce years ago." Tori repeated and I actually do remember her saying that a long time ago.

"And what about me?" Roan asked and Tori shrugged.

"They want to see you, too."

I nodded and went to get my stuff, "Alright, let me just get my keys,"

I didn't question her.

.•*•.

The hunter base was well hidden. It looked like an ordinary building but on the inside, it was much more impressive.

It was wide open with plenty of room for training and running and whatever hunters did.

"This way," Tori led the way and I saw a few hunters looking our way. My parents always used to say that hunters were a werewolf's worst enemy. No matter how nice they seemed, they were still killers.

We walked passed the track when I saw a familiar face. Laurel was stretching in one of the lanes but once she met my eyes, she widened her eyes and took off running.

We kept walking until Tori got to the end of the hall and opened the door.

Once we got inside, I saw two people, a man and a woman, standing behind the desk. I looked around, deducing that we were in some sort of office. And that they must've been Tori's "superiors".

Here I was, expecting some huge, ruthless, indestructible giant to lead the hunters. But instead, I find two nice-looking people who looked kind of young to be in charge of the whole hunter base.

"This is Lia and that's Roan." Tori spoke up for us.

"I'm Jace." The man greeted.

"I'm Whitney." The woman smiled and she looked familiar somehow.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, breaking the ice.

"You're familiar with Jesse McCourty, right?"

I nodded and Whitney continued.

"Tori's told us about him and his family's actions. We know they are responsible for killing several werewolves and for spreading their sphere of influence to other people."

"What's this got to do with me?"

"We believe they're planning to harm you and the werewolves at your school." Jace said and I caught on.

"Was that what that siren thing was?"

"We think so, yes. Which is why you must be careful, especially when you're in school."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"We also learned that he's working with a few people from your school. We've spotted him with the same people at different locations. Specifically your friend, Stella Agron." Whitney added but I shook my head. So what? Jesse had a lot of friends, that didn't automatically make them the enemy.

"Oh, no, she's just spying on him. She's not actually working with him."

"Remember, Lia, you can't trust anyone."

"Not even you?"

They didn't say anything. All they did was look at each other.

Jace finally spoke up, "Okay, we need to talk to Roan." Jace and Whitney looked at me pointedly when I didn't move.

"Anything you have to say to him you can say-" I began but Roan put a hand on my shoulder.

"Lia, please. It's about my pack."

His pack.

That's right, he would become the Alpha of his pack someday.

"Okay," I nodded, feeling rejected, but stepped out of the room anyway. I tried to eavesdrop but I couldn't hear anything through the soundproof walls.

.•*•.

"Get out of the way, mutt," Jesse shoved me with his shoulder and I almost lost my balance if it weren't for Grace. She was behind me so I actually crashed into her but she stayed upright somehow.

"Oh, sorry, Grace,"

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"What class do you have?" I asked as we walked in the same direction.

"I'm in your bio class, remember?"

"I suck," Of course she was, she sat next to me, "Sorry, I have a terrible memory."

She laughed lightly, "It's okay, Lia. But I do have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why aren't you enrolled in Mystic High? You're a werewolf, right?"

I paused, not really having an answer.

"I don't know, it was my parents' decision."

"You can still transfer, you know. Everyone's pretty accepting." Grace said. I never really thought about that before. I liked the school I went to, it's where I met my best friends.

I didn't answer as we walked into the bio room, taking our seats. I sat behind Roan.

"Jesse just shoved me in the hall."

"Stay away from him."

"You think I haven't tried?"

I thought about how different my life would've been if I had gone to Mystic High instead of Rivier Prep. I would've had different friends, I would've been closer to Asher, I would've never met Roan.

But I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

After bio came English with Stella and the douchebag Jesse.

I got out my The Great Gatsby book and turned to the pages listed on the board.

"Who wants to read?" Mr. Hudson asked the class. Crickets. "Stella, you've been quiet, why don't you read?"

Stella groaned but started to read anyway. After she'd read only two sentences, she popcorned it to me.

"Popcorn Lia,"

"Ugh,"

I was about to read but didn't get the chance to.

Because a burning sensation consumed the skin on my fingertips and I howled in pure agony.