14 Potential (2/2)

He had started the nickname Boots because of the shoes she wore that summer when she first appeared at Saint Blaise's Academy, and while Hunter had always meant it to be complimentary---a testament to Ash's guts as an outsider---other students had taken the nickname and attached a sinister meaning to it.

”Orphan Scholar” was too formal to be a nickname, so some of the students in their year had also taken to calling her ”Boots,” but not because of her shoes. It was meant to be short for ”bootlicker.”

The other students could not believe that someone who came from a poor background could outperform them with their private tutors and exclusive advanced classes, so they started the rumors that the poor girl must have used a different advantage: pity. They believed that she sucked up to the teachers, to the Comtesse, and even the Headmaster.

They believed that everyone pitied Ash and that it was this ”special consideration” for her circumstances that allowed her to excel. They didn't believe that she was capable of competing with them at their level so they came to the mistaken conclusion that the playing field definitely had to be rigged against them and in favor of the underdog.

Hunter, on the other hand, had very different feelings toward Ash. In the beginning, he had been pleased to see the new student: she had crazy long black hair tied back in an intricate-looking braid and wore heavy boots---so out of place with the posh students and their stylish haircuts and light, comfortable shoes. The new student didn't even flinch, she looked like she had lived through the Zombie Apocalypse and was disappointed that the promised land was filled with preppies.

He thought it was a pity that the others gave her a hard time, but other than a protective feeling for the underdog and a general friendliness that he felt toward most people anyway, he hadn't really felt much for Boots.

But that day at lunch, he definitely felt more than friendly toward Ash Parker. Something about her had been slowly drawing him in. He had noticed it earlier in the morning when he had gone out of his way to run into her with her friends. And the days before, he had felt something building in him when he could suddenly sense her out of the corner of his eye.

That day, as his eyes had locked into hers, her gaze triggered something in him. He looked into her deep brown eyes and he had felt a sensation like warm honey spread across his skin, melting sweetly down to his sinews. It was so . . . satisfying. It had felt so good that he could taste it on his lips and feel it on his tongue. And then she looked away, and the feeling was gone.

It had bothered him throughout the rest of the day. The lack of it had itched away at his skin, leaving him frustrated.

The frustration had balled up inside of him and mixed with the adrenaline of swimming, the wolf inside him was begging to be let out.

He didn't know what that warm satisfying feeling was and how to get it back, so he was going to settle for the satisfaction of hunting something down and eating that instead. A good hunt in werewolf form always helped him get rid of frustration.

Only later, he hunted out something new to get frustrated over: a potential mate who didn't immediately appreciate his potential. To make matters worse, this rare potential mate was a strange girl he had no idea how to approach as a human.

After last night, Hunter had figured out what the connection between him and Ash Parker was. Her wolf had drawn him to her, and his wolf had answered hers.

He had always loved being a werewolf, and now with a potential mate around, he could be the ultimate werewolf---greater even than his father or his grandfather. He had the chance to be a true Alpha.

***

Back at the Girls' Dorm, however, Celia decided to chuck out Isabelle's advice and didn't mention Hunter at all to Ash. She was going to find out where Ash went some other way.

She knew that Ash liked Hunter, and assuming Hunter was just out to mess with Ash, she wasn't going to do his dirty work for him. If he wanted to get with Ash, he needed to earn her, and Celia wasn't going to help him with that.