were sore, growing numb to the feeling of the prickling grass and moist mud. Surrounded by nothing but trees and fog, I'd found myself walking straight up a path to Goddess knew what. Al

fore prepping for school. Perhaps because of the fight we had before my nightmare, I couldn't face my mother to say much. I was sure she would try to link the nightmares to my bruises from school and try to do something about it. I didn't want her to. She was barely doing well in the pack after her daughter was publicly rejected by her mate. I didn't want her heading out to confront the alpha in an attempt to stand up for me. Higan would use the opportunity to torment me more whilst pretending to help and she would be ridiculed. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if she was hurt, especially with my dad out of town on some mission. Stepping out the door, I let out a shaky sigh. Another day in school, another day confronting my cold reality. "Maybe I should transfer to the public school," I muttered to myself contemplating yet another way to avoid Higan. Suddenly a loud oomph resonated through the morning air pulling my attention to the side of my house. Frowning, I approached the source of the house. To my surprise, I caught a sandy blonde boy lying flat on the floor. "Are you alright?" I asked, staring at his pitiful demeanor. I stepped closer to approach him but a shoe dropped on his face. His face contorted into a bemused expression and I'm tempted to laugh. But a question crossed my mind. Where did he fall from? Where did the shoe fall from? My sense of alarm began to settle. "Were you on my roof?" The question flew out of my mouth in shock. He shifted to look at me, seemingly caught off guard by my presence. It was obvious he wasn't paying enough attention to hear my coming. Was he human? I doubted it. No human would be that calm after falling from a roof. "Creep!" I shouted but before I could get the word out completely, he ran at me with alarming speed and slapped a hand over my mouth. "Please don't, I was just -" he paused as if gathering his thoughts. "Parkour!" He explained. "I was practicing my parkour skills and It didn't end well." His eyes were so vividly blue, that I'd almost believe he stole a piece of a clear morning sky to wear them as eyes. His smooth skin had a rich tan and his sandy blonde hair sat in waves atop his head. He was obnoxiously beautiful. However, I caught on to his accent immediately. It was quite the same as Ethan's and that vague girl, Abigail. Where are these people sprouting from? I bit his hand and attempted to push him off me. But to my dismay, he rarely budged. I blinked in surprise at his core strength. Was he a bodybuilder of some sort? "Please don't struggle, or bite, I'll remove my hand if you do promise not to yell," he pleaded, his eyes wearing his sincerity. Somehow this was scarier than the wolf. I didn't want to trust him but if he wanted to hurt me, I believed he would have snapped my neck to effectively shut me up. I nodded and his eyes gleamed at my apparent compliance. He stepped back, moving his hand away from my mouth. "I'm Khalid," he reached out his other hand for a handshake. "Khalid Lockwood." Not entirely sure what was happening I shook his hand anyway. It had been a while since anyone reached out to shake mine. "Harlyn Sage." "On your way to school? Shall we walk together?" He chirped excitedly. What a strange boy. I doubted he knew who he was abo