CHAPTER 17

KATHERINE. Music played from the speaker above the stairs as tryouts for the swim club began. Lenore and Josie were back at the stands in their swimwear, waiting for their turn, while the swim coach walked alongside the participants swimming in the pool, her eyes fixed on her stopwatch. “What are we doing after this?” Josie asked while stretching her legs. “I’m not doing anything.” Due to the club fair, classes had been canceled for the day and Professor Helton told me I didn’t need to show up, so I had nothing to do till five pm which was when I’d be going to work in the library. “Pri and I are going to help the guys with the booth,” Lenore replied. “The CMES thing?” Josie asked, scrunching her face up, and Lenore nodded. “You guys are lame.” “You’re the one in an animal-themed swimwear,” Priyanka stated, a small frown on her face as she ran her gaze over Josie’s swimsuit which had koalas printed all over it and a snort escaped me before Josie shot me a look that said ‘traitor’. “Ignore her. You look amazing,” I told her and her face immediately lit up. “Don’t encourage her,” Priyanka said while Josie said, “Thank you.” Josie then gave Priyanka a smug look. “You know you love it.” “No, I don’t.” The swim coach blew her whistle and Lenore stood up before pulling Josie to her feet too. “Cheer for me, bitches,” Josie called out while they headed to the end of the pool that had diving boards and as I watched them go, Poppy and her friend suddenly stepped into my line of sight. Seeing her stirred up the same level of happiness as animal euthanasia and the way my smile fell seemed to elicit her own before her friend, who was staring right at me, whispered something in her ear that made her let out a loud laugh. I didn’t need to hear what she said to know it was about me and I gritted my teeth as they drew closer. “Kathy,” Poppy started, a bright smile plastered on her face like we were the best of friends. “I didn’t know you were trying out for the swim team.” “I’m not.” “Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Why are you here then?” “Why are you asking?” Priyanka cut in and I glanced at her to see her frowning at Poppy. “No reason, and I’m talking to Katherine–” “You’re blocking the view,” Priyanka retorted, giving her a dismissive wave, and Poppy’s head reared back. “Excuse me?” “Fucking move.” Poppy’s face flushed and her left eye twitched as her gaze bounced between me and Priyanka. It seemed like steam was going to shoot out of her ears any moment from now and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. “I didn’t know Dawson’s daughter was hard of hearing,” Priyanka commented, tilting her head to the side, while my heart rate picked up as Poppy visibly got angrier and I placed my hand on Priyanka’s to stop her from saying anything else because I was worried Poppy was going to attack us. ‘Isn’t she worried too?’ I thought before remembering that she was also a fire elemental. Still, I didn’t want her to get attacked because of me. “What?” Priyanka asked me, her expression softening, before, surprisingly, Poppy huffed and furiously stalked huff. “...Are you intimidated by her?” It was a simple question but she might as well have slapped me. “No!” I answered way too fast, my voice way too high, before looking away from her because she definitely knew that was a lie and I didn’t want to see a pitiful look on her face. I knew I shouldn’t be intimidated by her but it was hard to do that when she was stronger than me and had other strong people backing her up. I had lost most of the people who could back me up and if I didn’t find my mate before the next Administration meeting, I would lose my pack too. My predicament sucked. “Don’t be. She’s all bark and no bite,” Priyanka added and thankfully, she didn’t say anything regarding Poppy again after that. The swim coach blew her whistle again and I glanced at the end of the pool to see Lenore, Josie and other participants taking their positions on the diving boards. “You got this, Lenore,” Priyanka cheered loudly and the baffled look Josie shot at her when she didn’t cheer for her too brought a smile back to my face. “Crush them Josie,” I added and Josie rewarded me with a grin and graceful bow before the swim coach cut in. “Don’t take that literally, Baxter.” “I’ll try,” Josie replied cheerfully and with another whistle from the coach, the participants dived into the pool. Cheers rang out in the room as people spurred their friends on while Priyanka and I got to our feet so we could get a better view. Lenore was in the lead while Josie was currently third and I found myself walking down the row when they swam past us, thrilled by how easily they moved through the water. ‘Maybe I should learn how to swim.’ “‘Scuse,” a voice muttered behind me, letting me know that I was standing right in the stands’ exit. “Oh. Sorry.” I moved out of the way before glancing at who it was and a frown instantly made its way onto my face at the sight of Theo. He paid me no mind though and just walked past with the same attitude he’d used to tell me ‘Whatever’ after I apologized to him on Monday, and I pinned a glare at the back of his head, wondering exactly what Lenore liked about him. I finally took my gaze off him when he headed into the hallway that led to the changing room and returned my attention to the pool just as Lenore got to the other end of the pool, finishing in first place. Cheers rose from people in the stands, including me, and I made my way back to Priyanka as Josie finished fourth. Thankfully, it was the first six participants that would become members of the club. They pulled themselves out of the water and as they walked over to the coach, Theo re-emerged from the hallway in swimming trunks that stuck like a second skin. Every edge of his body was honed beautifully, all sharp lines and defined muscles, and I couldn’t help but stare at him as he walked over to the benches next to the far wall of the room. ‘Is he on the swim team?’ I thought just as Poppy sidled up to him with a coy smile on her face. ‘Ugh.’ A displeased look crossed Theo’s face at her appearance and it became my turn to smile as her face fell. He walked away, heading towards the other end of the pool while she followed him, and as they walked past Priyanka and me, she said something that made the color of his eyes blaze before changing from green to red. “Do you know why Theo’s eyes change color?” I asked Priyanka, who had also been watching the interaction, while Poppy stopped in her tracks, leaving him to continue walking alone. “I can’t say I do. The textbooks I’ve read gave different reasons and Theo doesn’t know why either. He likes it though,” she replied and I tilted my head. “He likes not knowing why?” “Not having to tell people when to fuck off. He says it comes in handy,” she said and the corner of my mouth turned up before I glanced at Poppy who was sulking while still watching him walk away. ‘That it does.’