Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand

It was the brown haired jock from my Defensive Maneuvers class; the one who’d thrown the rock. He was wearing a dark green jacket that was definitely school issued, for sports, and had that permanent wet-hair look you got from wearing too much gel.
    “ Hey,” he said, leaning towards me with a too-wide smile.
    “ Hi.”
    “ Tara, right? I’m Levi.” He didn’t offer his hand, just leaned in closer and leered at me.
    “ Nice to meet you,” I mumbled.
    “ So, listen. My friends over there.” He pointed behind him to a table by the window where a group of look-alike jocks were watching and listening. “We’re a little confused about something and wondering if you could help us out.”
    “ Okaay,” I said, drawing out the word.
    “ So, you’re like half-Werewolf right?”
    “ Yeah.” I didn’t see a point in denying it. Everyone already knew.
    He leaned closer. “Well, my friend Dave says that wolves are in the dog family or whatever. So what we want to know is, does that mean you do it doggy style?”
    The entire table erupted in hoots and laughter while I stood there, glaring back at jock boy and gripping my tray with white knuckles. I could feel the burn in my cheeks, and I knew he could see it, but he kept playing into it. He gave an overly dramatic shrug, for the benefit of our audience, and then looked back at his friends. Hot tears blurred my vision and I blinked them back. I bit my lip until I tasted blood; I refused to give them a reaction.
    “ She’s pleading the fifth I guess,” he called.
    When it was clear I wasn’t going to be any more fun for him, he picked up his tray and went around me to pay for his food before heading for his table. A few more kids copied and darted around me to get through the line. I didn’t move until a hand fell over my arm; I jolted even though the touch was light and the hand jerked away. I looked up at Logan.
    He didn’t say anything, and I was grateful for the silence. We started moving towards the cashier and paid for our meals. I kept my back to the rest of the cafeteria as we inched forward, unsure who else might’ve witnessed the side show I’d become. I managed to get myself composed enough that I was almost sure I wouldn’t have a break down until we found a place to sit, and turned to follow Logan to a table. Some kids at a nearby table stared at me and whispered, but I forced myself to ignore them and scanned for a seat. A body stepped in front of me, blocking my view of the room and cutting me off from Logan. I looked up and focused on an already sickeningly familiar face.
    Victoria Lexington stood in my path.
    “ We don’t serve doggie biscuits so you might as well stop looking,” she said.
    Something tenuous snapped inside me and I felt the humiliation give way to anger, hot and liquid in my veins. I was not going down like this, not on my first day.
    “ You would know. I hear you answer to bitch,” I snapped at her. I gripped my tray with both hands and tried not to shake.
    Victoria’s eyes narrowed at my words and she glanced around before focusing even more intently on me. She was clearly unaccustomed to being challenged. “You might be half-Werewolf, but you are not the alpha here,” she said, taking a step closer.
    “ What is your problem? You don’t even know me.”
    “ You are the problem. You think a little bit of palm greasing can open any door. As if having money gives you the right to be here. While I can admire that trait, there are limits to where you’re power can reach. ”
    “ What are you talking about?”
    “ Don’t play dumb. You think you’re so much better than everyone here, but you’re not. You’re a dirty blood and should be banned from school and from… life.” Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and stalked off – towards the table at the window.
    My eyes began to blur and I blinked back tears, mortified that they were there in the first place. I was not that girl; the girl that