The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters Read online

  A spark of green lit in Dylan’s eyes. “Stay away from him.”

  Aiden squeezed her hand. “We can be your pack.” He knew what it was like to feel lost, to not fit in.

  “I don’t know if that will work, but thank you.” The corner of her mouth turned up.

  “Why wouldn’t it work?” Aiden asked.

  “Because you’re not werewolves.” She shrugged. “You don’t understand what it means to be a pack, the kinds of things a werewolf needs.”

  Was that what the touching was? Not a sign that she liked him, but some kind of werewolf need to be physical? Was he just, well… more touchable than Dylan? “Maybe you can explain it to us.”

  Hanna frowned, looking down at her tray. “I don’t know.”

  If she got lonely enough, would she go back to Conner? “What about the other pack?”

  Hanna’s face scrunched up like she smelled something awful. “No way. A pack with a ghoul and a vampire? That’s disgusting. And my parents would kill me.”

  Aiden dared to touch her hand again. “I just want to help in any way I can. Tell me what I can do, and I’ll do it.” Anything to keep her away from that girlfriend-beating asshole.

  She smiled and squeezed his hand back. “I know. You’re so sweet.”

  Maybe she did like him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  As soon as the last bell rang, Dylan turned to him. “Hey, want to go to the pit? It’s a little warmer tonight.”

  Aiden’s stomach tightened. How long could he keep turning Dylan down before his friend figured out what was wrong? At least today he had a suggestion for something else. “It’s still too cold, but how about dinner? If your parents are okay with it. I’m sure mine won’t mind. I… want to talk to you about something.”

  Dylan’s brows drew together and worry flashed across his face. Or did Aiden imagine that? “What?”

  “Just… something.” Embarrassment made him warm, and he hoped he wasn’t blushing. Maybe this was a bad idea. But who else could he talk to?

  Dylan looked at him for a moment. “Sure. Let’s go ask my mom.”

  Dylan’s mom was happy to have him over, so Aiden called his parents. They were fine with him going to Dylan’s if he didn’t stay out too late. Late had a whole new meaning here. School didn’t let out until after his old bedtime, and dinner was in the middle of the night. Aiden had adjusted over the past few months, but not entirely.

  Aiden told Dylan’s mom she didn’t have to do anything fancy for dinner, but she insisted she enjoyed cooking for company. Considering what Dylan had told him about how afraid everyone was of dragonkin, she probably didn’t get much chance. Dylan’s dad came in from his workshop to help, and Aiden followed Dylan up to his room.

  “So what is it?” Dylan asked as soon as the door was closed behind him.

  Aiden sat on the edge of the bed, then almost immediately got up to pace. “You know some stuff about werewolves, right?”

  Dylan shrugged. “Some, yeah.”

  “Are they really physical? Like with each other. Do they touch their packmates a lot?”

  Dylan arched an eyebrow. “You mean how Hanna keeps touching you all the time?”

  “So you noticed?” Aiden crossed his arms and kept going from the wall to the window. There was a lot more room to pace in Dylan’s room than in Aiden’s own.

  “Yeah. She likes you. I think she’s waiting for you to catch a clue.” Dylan smirked.

  “Really? Cause sometimes the way she looks at you… I think maybe she likes you. But then she sits next to me and brushes up against my shoulder. But then I wonder if maybe I’m just a friend to her, and she doesn’t sit next to you because you’re all intimidating and stuff—”

  Dylan held up a hand. “Hey, relax. She likes you.”

  Aiden took a deep breath, trying to calm his jittery stomach. “Okay. But my other problem is I’m not sure if I like her back. Sometimes I think I do, but then I don’t know, and it’s weird because she’s a werewolf, but then I’m a changeling, so it’s really not that weird.”

  This time Dylan held up both hands. “Dude, I am not the person to give you girl advice.”

  “I don’t know who else to talk to. Not my parents, that’s for sure.” It would be weird enough in normal circumstances. All the worse when the girl he might want to go out with was a werewolf.

  “You could talk to my parents. I bet they’d like to help.”

  Aiden shook his head. “No parents.”

  “What about that girl that helped you in Minor?”

  “You mean Maggie?” Aiden almost said no, but he stopped to think about it. That might not be a terrible idea. “I guess so.”

  “Or Toby and his sister?”

  “Nooooo. If I said a word to them, half the school would know in like, ten minutes.” They weren’t malicious gossips, but God, they loved to talk.

  “And then Conner would come kick your ass.”

  That made Aiden go cold. He hadn’t considered that. If he decided to go out with Hanna, unless they were very sneaky, Conner would find out and come after him. But then another thought occurred to Aiden and he smiled. “No. You wouldn’t let him.”

  Dylan laughed. “True.” He pulled out his computer chair and sat backward on it. “But you could kick his ass yourself. You’re strong enough.”

  Aiden dropped his gaze to the floor.

  “I know you wouldn’t like to. That’s not your thing. But there’s nothing wrong with defending yourself. Or defending Hanna.”

  Maybe a month ago he could have accepted the idea, but that was before what happened in the woods. It wasn’t just Dylan he was afraid of. Aiden worried he could panic and hurt someone the way Dylan had hurt him. He’d been afraid of his powers even before he knew what they were. Everyone kept telling him he was as strong as Dylan, so he was capable of doing the same amount of damage. What if while trying to protect Hanna he accidentally hurt her instead?

  The silence stretched. Dylan stood. “Hey, wanna play some Call of Duty?”

  He couldn’t stomach that kind of violence right now. “What about that racing game we played last time?”

  Dylan shrugged. “Okay.” He went to pull the game from his large, well-stocked shelf.

  After a few laps and some friendly trash talk, Dylan asked, “If you were still mad at me, you’d say something, right?”

  Aiden swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Yeah.” Mad, no. Afraid, yes.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Thanks to his promise to Aiden that he’d seriously try to graduate, Dylan had to drag his stupid books and notebook with him. Pulling out his gym clothes, he jammed his bag into the narrow locker.

  “Hey, good match yesterday.”

  Turning, he saw the tall kid he’d faced off against. “Thanks. You too.” Dylan liked to be challenged, and being put in with the tenth graders was promising so far.

  “Hope we can do it again soon.” He smiled and headed for the door.

  Aiden came in and passed the boy with a nervous nod. “Who is that?” he asked Dylan in a whisper.

  Ms. Yang had said his name yesterday but Dylan hadn’t been paying much attention. “I don’t remember.”

  Leaning close, Aiden asked in an even quieter whisper, “Do you know what he is?”

  Dylan nodded. “Impundulu.” The scent of his power tingled in Dylan’s nose. The sharp ozone of lightning and the soft, light smell of feathers.

  “What’s that?”

  “A bird with lightning powers.”

  Aiden frowned. “Like a thunderbird?”

  The boy had been doing his monster research. “A little bit, yeah. Not as big. They’re human-sized, even in bird form.”

  “Hmm. Impa… What did you say it was again?” When Dylan opened his mouth to answer, Aiden held up a hand and set his books on the bench. “Wait. Let me write it down.”

  Dylan wasn’t sure how to spell it, but he sounded it out. “Im-pun-du-lu.”

  “Okay. I’ll look it u
p after school.”

  “Remember that most of what you read online is crap.”

  “I know, but what else am I supposed to do? Asking him directly would be rude.”

  Dylan shrugged. “If you say so.” He changed and headed out while Aiden was still dressing. Walking in, he saw the targets set up and made a little noise of disappointment.

  “We can’t have matches every day, Dylan,” Ms. Yang said with a note of amusement.

  With a sigh, he sat on the bench. Aiden came in a moment later and a look of relief crossed his face. At least someone was happy. When Ms. Yang told them to line up across from the targets, Dylan expected him to choose one next to him, but Aiden went down to the other end. Dylan moved to follow him, but the impundulu met his gaze and gave him a challenging grin.

  If he couldn’t fight, at least he could show off a little.

  Trying to do more and more elaborate things with his fire while the impundulu did the same with lightning was enough to distract Dylan during class. But when it was over, he caught up to Aiden as they left the gym.

  Dylan opened his mouth, got self-conscious, closed it, then forced himself to ask, “Why’d you pick a target so far away?”

  Aiden glanced over, not quite meeting his eyes. “I thought maybe I should meet some new people. I mean, I don’t know anyone in this class except you and the fox sisters.”

  First Hanna and now this. Dylan supposed he couldn’t keep Aiden all to himself. “So who did you meet?”

  “Paige, the girl I had a match with yesterday.”

  “You mean the one that kicked your ass?”

  Aiden cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Her.”

  “I thought you liked Hanna.” He pushed open the door to the locker room.

  “What? No! I mean yes.” Aiden held up his hands. “It’s not like that. I just wanted to meet her. I don’t like her.”

  Dylan shrugged. “Okay.” He considered teasing him just to see the reaction, but being in the locker room was always a little awkward.

  Dylan used to have a row to himself. Being the scariest kid at school had benefits. After becoming friends with Aiden, he’d asked him to use his row. Aiden had said no at first but eventually agreed. When they changed, he turned away from Dylan, looking at the walls, the lockers, the floor… anywhere but at Dylan. He understood not wanting to look at another guy’s junk, but Aiden did that even when Dylan just had his shirt off.

  They changed in silence, Aiden doing it with his usual super speed. A day without matches meant they didn’t need to shower, so they were spared that awkwardness at least. Even Dylan didn’t like showering in public.

  “Did you say something to Hanna yet?” Would having a girlfriend mean that Aiden spent less time with him?

  “No.” Aiden blushed. “I like her, but I’m not sure if I want date her, and I don’t even know if she likes me that much.” He shook his head. “It’s confusing and complicated.”

  The way she looked at Aiden and kept finding excuses to touch him didn’t seem confusing to Dylan. Those were the kinds of things Indira had done just before they went out. Of course, Indira had been a bit more… direct. And she’d taken it badly when Dylan dumped her.

  Dylan wondered about that sometimes. The only girl in school who wasn’t afraid of him— well, except for the fox sisters— and he’d dumped her. But Indira was just so full of herself he couldn’t stand it. Listening to her talk about herself got old real fast. That and the way she hung all over him.

  When they got to the lunchroom, Hanna was waiting for them at their usual table. That was another perk of being the scariest kid in school. Nobody sat at the table unless Dylan wanted them to. They took their seats and Hanna practically cuddled up to Aiden. Could she be any more obvious about liking him?

  “Hi.” Aiden smiled at her.

  Had he ever looked that dopey with Indira? Dylan tuned out while they chatted about school. For some reason they stared poking each other and giggling. Dylan sighed and rolled his eyes.

  Aiden caught her hands and the giggling stopped as they stared at each other. Dylan could practically see the tension crackling between them. Hanna leaned closer. Aiden leaned closer.

  Then a deep growl rumbled through the lunchroom and the other noises faded as everyone turned to look.

  Conner ran between the tables, his packmates right behind him. “Get away from her!”

  Dylan got up so fast he banged his knees, turning to face the werewolves with his fists clenched. “Try it. I dare you.” Anticipation hummed through him.

  Conner, several inches taller, leaned down and glared. “He almost kissed my girlfriend. I won’t—”

  “She’s not your girlfriend anymore.” Dylan wanted to fight, right there in the middle of the lunchroom. Where everyone would see. Yes. But he wasn’t going to start it. He was going to wait for Conner to touch him or try to hurt Aiden or Hanna. Let everyone see that too. Dylan wouldn’t start fights, but he would damn sure finish them.

  Conner’s eyes shone bright yellow as his teeth lengthened into fangs. This would be even better if he wolfed out. “She’s mine. I won’t stand by and let that scrawny elf bastard touch her anymore.”

  Dylan watched the other werewolves too, making sure they didn’t sneak around to attack from behind. “Oh, but you will. Unless you’re desperate to get your ass kicked.”

  “You got lucky last time,” Conner growled.

  Dylan laughed. “Is that what you think?” Please, please take a swing at me.

  “Dylan, please don’t,” Aiden said in a shaky voice. He sounded terrified.

  “Don’t worry. I can take all of them.”

  Conner lifted a hand, his fingers tipped with sharp claws.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Aiden wanted to get away, but he couldn’t make himself move. Hanna gripped his hand. She was afraid of Conner, but he was afraid of Dylan. He knew Dylan wouldn’t deliberately hurt him. Even when he’d burned Aiden, it had been an accident. But if Dylan attacked the werewolves, he might not think about the other people around him. Dylan might hurt Aiden, Hanna, any of the other kids in the lunchroom.

  Conner brought his hand up and Aiden tensed even more. Maybe he could roll under the table if he could just make himself move. Oh God.

  “Break it up,” an adult voice boomed.

  Dylan was blocking most of his view, but he saw someone grab Conner and another teacher came up through the aisle, putting herself between Dylan and Conner. “You guys again.”

  “I didn’t touch him,” Dylan protested.

  Some of Aiden’s fear eased. Adults were here. They would take care of everything.

  “All of you, to the principal’s office. Now.”

  “He threatened my friends,” Dylan said, glaring.

  “We’ll figure out what happened later. Let’s go.”

  The teachers escorted Dylan, Conner, and the other werewolves out of the lunchroom. As soon as the door shut behind them, the room erupted with chatter. Aiden leaned against the table and let out a shaky sigh.

  Hanna squeezed his hand. “He really could’ve fought them all. I’ve seen it.”

  That’s not what I was afraid of.

  Toby slid in across from him, where Dylan had been sitting moments before. “What was that all about?”

  Hanna gave Aiden a look.

  “This is Toby. He lives across the street from me and we have math together,” he said. Great, just want he needed. To Toby, he said, “This is Hanna.”

  “I guessed,” Toby said with a grin. “So?”

  “I… I think Conner wanted to reclaim me.” Hanna’s cheeks turned slightly pink.

  I almost kissed her. In front of the whole school. This was crazy. An almost-kiss was enough for Conner to threaten a fight. What if they actually had? What if they started dating? Dylan would protect them, but Aiden didn’t want that. Dylan was also right that Aiden had enough power to protect himself.

  The matches near the end of last semester had shown him that.
He’d been able to hold his own against everyone, including the fox sisters and Dylan. The incident in the woods— which was the way he always thought of it— had also proved it. Aiden had felt his power mingle with Dylan’s and Mr. Johnson’s, and all three of them had similar strength.

  The problem was that Aiden was afraid of his own magic again. It could get out of control. And even if he wasn’t afraid, he didn’t want to use his power to hurt people. Not even an asshole like Conner.

  “Alphas.” Toby rolled his eyes. “They think they own everything.”

  Hanna’s slight giggle surprised Aiden enough to snap him out of his thoughts. Then another problem occurred to him. “Oh God. I hope Dylan doesn’t get into trouble. He was just trying to protect us.” Well, that wasn’t true. Dylan was also looking for an excuse to fight.

  “They didn’t actually hit each other, so maybe he won’t?” Toby said.

  “He got in trouble last time for protecting me,” Hanna said. “He’s so brave.”

  Aiden was surprised to feel a sting of jealousy. He really did like Hanna. “He likes to fight. He wasn’t being noble.”

  “Would you fight for me, Aiden?” She looked at him with those pretty brown eyes.

  The urge to keep her safe battled with his fear. “I’d protect you.” He wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth.

  Liking a girl was complicated enough, why did there have to be all this monster crap on top of it?

  * * *

  Aiden texted Dylan and waited impatiently for a reply. When the phone buzzed to let him know he had a new message, he pulled it out to check. If he got caught checking his phone in class, he’d get in trouble, but he had to know.

  Sent home 4 rest of day to cool off. :P

  Was that a suspension? Would he be back next week? Aiden considered texting back, but made himself wait until after class.

  Is that it? He asked practically the second the bell rang.

  Play nice w others blahblah. Back Monday.

  That must mean Dylan had gotten a lecture. I’ll let you know if we have bio hw.