Sharing

"I'll get him to come around," Addy whispers to me as Alastair walks away. "By tomorrow, he'll be eating lunch with us, trust me."

"With your impressive powers of persuasion, I have no doubt," I respond unironically.

"It's true that Al is weak for my baby sister act, but I actually think it was you that convinced him this time. I think he secretly likes you too."

Likes me? "Yeah, right." I'm still dazed that Alastiar agreed to even hang out with me.

Adeline doesn't pick up on the sarcasm dripping from my voice as she changes topics. "So… I've dropped several strategic hints already, but you have still failed to formally invite me to eat lunch with you, so I will be more direct. Statistically speaking, couples are more likely to last if their friends and family get along, so it would really be in your best interest to befriend me. According to the familiarity principle, friendships develop at a rate equal to the amount of time they spend together. Therefore, it is only logical that you invite me to eat lunch with you."

Her blunt manner of speaking makes me smile. "All excellent points. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay and accept my belated proposal to eat lunch with me and my witch-phobic pack," I say cheekily.

"It's difficult for me to tell, but I have to assume you're being sarcastic about the witch-phobic bit. I know for a fact your boyfriend defended some of the witches yesterday when a teacher said their marks were 'distracting other students'."

Oh, if only people were that simple. "Yes, well, I can't speak for the others, but David doesn't have a mean bone in his body... Except when he gets jealous, so maybe don't mention my crush on your brother?"

"Right, the whole monogamy thing. Werewolves are weird. Also, thanks for finally confirming that you do, in fact, like my brother." She grins widely. "Alastair wouldn't tell me, so I really didn't know for sure, just hypothesized."

I groan at being tricked into a confession, but I'm not actually mad. In fact, I'm pretty interested to see how much information I can pump out of her, so I'm not offended if she does the same.

"So, I'm confused about something," I start cautiously.

"My favorite emotion." I quirk an eyebrow at that. "So much possibility and room for learning," she explains. "Please go on. What are you confused about?"

"If werewolves are difficult for Alastair to... is 'read' the right word?"

"It works."

"Right, so if Alastair has a hard time with that, how did he take down three rogues last year."

"Take down?" Now Addy looks confused.

"Yeah. At least that's what I heard from Alpha Edmund."

"Oh. You must be referring to our relocation program. Al just helps capture werewolves who cross into the hallowed forests and then transports them to be released a safe distance away."

"Wow. That's actually pretty cool, but I still don't understand how he does it."

As we talk, we walk to the cafeteria.

"According to Al, stunning people is much easier to do than understanding their thoughts." Stunning? She must be referring to what Alastair did when he froze my warlock bullies. "It actually makes sense if you think about it." She goes on. "His powers focus on the frontal lobe of the brain."

"Frontal lobe? Sorry, anatomy is more of my brother's thing."

"It's the executive function center of the brain where planning and decision making occur. When he is 'reading' a person's mind, he is basically interpreting the firing of neurons as intentions or conscious thoughts. The more similar the neural pathways are to his own or the longer he has been in contact with the brain in question, the easier it is for him to interpret. Which is why the coven comes to him like second nature, but strangers and especially other species are difficult."

I'm having difficulty following her jargon, but I think I get the gist of what she's saying. "So, what you're saying is, everyone is wired slightly differently and the more different or new the wiring, the harder it is to follow."

"Exactly." Addy beams like a proud teacher.

"But that still doesn't explain how controlling someone's body is easier than interpreting their thoughts."

"Well, he's not actually controlling them. He is just interrupting the pathways in the motor cortex, which, unlike the other parts of the frontal lobe, is pretty much the same for everyone."

"You seem to know a lot about neurology. It's kind of cool. Do you want to be a doctor or something?"

"Nah. I just do a lot of research for Al's sake." She grins. "We have a mutually beneficial relationship built on the exchange of human resources... or witch resources, I guess."

I laugh, "What the heck does that even mean?"

"It means I help him, he helps me. Quid pro quo, Hamilton style, not the other guy."

"Pfft. You're really something, you know that Addy?"

"I know."

We arrive at the cafeteria and wait outside the doors for the bell to ring.

"So... if you're not a psion like Alastair, what is your specialty?" I ask.

"Oh, I inherited my grandmother's gift, air. Same as my uncle, but I'm not nearly as powerful as him."

"Yet," I interject.

"Right." Addy smirks as the bell rings. "Yet."

We are the first in and out of the lunch line and I lead Addy to the pack's regular table. Slowly, my friends begin trickling towards our seats.

My knees bob nervously as Taylor approaches us first with an enormous grin on his face. As I suspect, he says something horribly embarrassing right out of the gate. "Cam! You finally brought a girl home! Your father and I couldn't be more proud!" Why do I like this guy? That's right, I hate him.

"Father?" I ask instead of voicing my seething feelings.

"Davy is obviously your school daddy."

"And that makes you my… mother?"

"Obviously." He grins.

I roll my eyes. "Addy, this idiot is my friend Taylor Mansfield. Taylor, Adeline Malum."

"Nice to meet you, idiot," Addy says. I choke on my juice, smothering a laugh.

"Real charmer you've got there, buddy," Taylor says behind his hand as if she can't hear him. "So, Addy, are you a member of the Cameron Berkley Fan Club?"

"She's a witch," I growl.

"So? Doesn't mean she can't fawn over my beautiful baby boy!"

"I'm actually not a member," Addy cuts in, "but I do know a warlock who is." She eyes me meaningfully and I stare back mortified. She can't seriously be talking about her brother?!

I'm rescued from that train of thought by Ellie who sits down next to me. "Hey Adeline! How's your first week of high school going?"

"The classes are boring, but the people are at least diverting."

Ellie giggles. "It's true, there's never a dull moment with Taylor around. You definitely chose the right table. And it seems like you've already met my brother?"

"Yes, we met in the library during his study hall. He was gracious enough to invite me to sit with you all." Cheeky brat. More like she ambushed me and practically ordered me to invite her.

"Well, it's cool if you sit with us, but don't you want to sit with your brother and the rest of the coven?"

"My brother is... indisposed at the moment. And even if he wasn't, he would agree that you all are much better company than the coven."

Taylor bellows out a laugh. "I've always wondered what those stoner hippies were really like! They all look like they have sticks so far up their asses it must hurt to sit down. Now we have a real insider to give us the scoop!" I wince at Taylor's wording. Taylor may not treat me like "just an omega", but that doesn't mean he's the most culturally sensitive. Although, I suppose Deron, Luke, and Barrette really are stoners, or at least they skip class to get high.

It's at this moment that David shows up with Tiffany trailing behind him. I swallow as I notice him glaring at Addy and that's when I realize that she is sitting in his usual spot. With Addy and Ellie flanking me and Taylor directly across from me, the only open space anywhere near me is diagonally.

"Davy bro! Look who we have here! A fugitive escaped from the Wiccans!"

"Oh, we aren't pagans. Common misconception." Addy begins, apparently not insulted by Taylor's flippant comment.

"Why are you just standing there staring? Sit down bro!" Taylor pats the seat next to him. Reluctantly David sits across from my sister while Tiffany appears more than happy to sit next to David.

Tiffany leans across the table and whispers to Ellie, "Ellie, what is that snowflake doing at our table?" She's loud enough for all the werewolves to hear, but I hope Addy won't from her spot three seats down.

"Oh, Cam invited Adeline to sit with us. Isn't that cool?" Ellie responds in a normal volume.

David's glare shifts from Addy to me when he hears this. Suddenly my food is very interesting. "Adeline," he says coldly, "Would you mind switching seats with me so I can sit next to my boyfriend?" Oh boy, here we go.

"Wait! I don't want to sit next to her!" Tiffany cries, completely forgetting her fake bitch persona, opting for full on bitch. "Please David, just sit with me today. You sit with Cameron everyday!" She pouts and I try not to roll my eyes.

"Don't worry trollop, you couldn't pay me to sit next to you," Addy says in response.

Damn, Addy really doesn't hold back anything. This is bad. I need to defuse the situation fast.

"Hey Taylor, didn't you want to ask Addy about coven life? How about I just switch with you?"

"Oh sure, bro!" Thank goodness Taylor is so easy going. We quickly switch seats and now I'm next to David and diagonal to Addy. I smile at her weakly and mouth 'I'm sorry.'

She just shrugs before she and Taylor dive into a full blown conversation about the percentage of witches that actually use CBD. I sigh in relief, hoping Taylor's insatiable curiosity will be a good match with Addy's encyclopedic knowledge, despite his tactlessness.

David wraps his arm around my waist possessively and pulls me close to him. "Why did you invite her? I don't like sharing you," he growls in my ear.

"She kind of invited herself," I mutter truthfully. "Besides, you don't have to worry about her, she isn't interested in me."

"That isn't the problem. I only get forty minutes with you during the school day and I want to spend it as close to you as possible." His grip on my hip tightens as he makes his point.

I hum in response, trying to suppress the way my skin crawls. "Where are Oscar and Ashley?" I ask.

"Oh, I don't think they are coming in today. I saw them making out under the stairs."

Typical mates. "That's too bad, I thought Ashley and Addy might hit it off."

He leans in close to my ear so we aren't overheard as he whispers, "What are you doing with a witch anyways?"