Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale
Chapter 9: The Attack of the Squirrels.

Nathan Underhill.

Life in Shadowdale slowly grew on me. A week after our meeting with the Supreme, she inducted us into her coven, much to my surprise. I was angry actually. As a habit, I didn’t grow attached to the places or people in the towns we hid in, knowing that we’d pick up our bags and flee soon afterwards. My mom, however, told me that we needed their help if we were to stay in Shadowdale permanently. The thing was... she did not include me as she used to and now she expected me to fall in line without questioning her judgment, which was difficult. I hated it to stumble around in the dark without a clear and safe way forward.

Joshua became my best friend overnight, not my choice though. He had the ability to bulldoze over your own feelings and, at the same time, had successfully convinced you it was for your own good. It was a deadly gift. I just rolled with it because he had bigger puppy dog eyes than I had and he knew how to wield them. For the last couple of days, he had shown me around town and introduced me to his other friends amongst the coven. It surprised me at how popular he actually was, but for me it would have been a drag to say the least. I was already tired for his sake.

Monday morning arrived and it was my first day at Shadowdale College. I was busy devouring a piece of bacon while my little sister sat eating her oatmeal. Yuck! Couldn’t believe she was actually happy to eat that muck, which was weird because she was also a werewolf. I took a piece of bacon and held it in front of her face.

“Ew! Get it away. Piggy murderer!” she bawled, slapping my fork away.

I chuckled while stuffing the last piece of bacon into my mouth. Even at her young age, Lilly had more moral convictions than most politicians had and one of those was that she was a vegetarian. Her wolf must have hated her guts. I felt sorry for the poor soul who would never experience the heavenly delight that was bacon. My sister’s eyes darkened while her eyebrows furrowed. She clambered off her chair and took her bowl of muck with her while keeping eye contact with me as she walked out of the kitchen. If the glare she threw at me could kill, I’d already have a bullet between the eyes.

My mom entered the kitchen, glancing at Lilly for a second. “What did you do?”

I shrugged and replied, “Nothin’.” I continued scarfing down the last of my scrambled eggs. “I just offered her a piece of my bacon.”

“You’re playing with dynamite.” My mom laughed while sorting through the first batch of laundered clothing.

“Mom knows she can’t keep up resisting eating meat. The next time someone comes close to her she might chew their legs off.”

“Come on, leave her alone.”

I picked up my empty plate and placed it in the sink. “I’m just giving you a fair warning.” I walked past my mom and pecked her on the cheek. “See you later.”

“OK, Honey. See ya later!”

I walked up to the front door and grabbed my backpack. I bolted out of the front door and got into the SUV. I reversed out of the driveway and headed off toward college.

***

As I drove up to the college, a massive building of glass and concrete appeared from behind a curve of trees. I had finally reached the top of a large hill. Yes, they built the college on a hill. Didn’t know why and I didn’t care, but it was a pain in the ass to get there, to say the least. I had to drive in a long winding circle to the top for at least ten minutes before I parked the SUV in the institution’s parking lot.

I climbed out of the car and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I made my way toward the main walkway that led to the entrance of the college’s main building. It was surprisingly different from what I expected the building to look like. Instead of old and regal, the building was a marvel of modern age construction surrounded by a massive sea of green grass. Dozens of oak trees offered shelter to the students who studied beneath them or just lounged around before their classes.

Out of the corner of my left eye, Joshua was busy shaking his little ass to the rhythm of a song blaring from his earphones. I glanced around to see if he was drawing any attention to himself. However, none of the other souls around the parking lot paid any attention to him, which meant it was a common occurrence for them.

“Why are we friends with him again?” Fenrus yawned annoyingly.

I watched on as he began to twerk. ”I have absolutely no idea...” I gulped down my embarrassment and quickly ran up to him from behind. I kicked him in the ass to get him to stop.

With a glass-shattering shriek, he spun around clutching his chest. He ripped his earphones from his ears. “What the hell is wrong with you? I could have blown your face off for scaring me like that!” Several of the students snickered at us while they walked past us.

“Then stop shaking your ass like that. Men aren’t supposed to be able to twerk like that!” I countered as I walked up the set of stairs.

“Oh, shove off. You’re just jealous.” He pouted while walking next to me.

I chuckled. Definitely not! I’d rather die a slow and painful death than be caught twerking around like that.

We made our way to the front entrance of the main building, passing a group of teenagers who sat near a fountain. I recognized three of them, but the other four I didn’t. They were all werewolves though. The hunk I knew as Adam sat next to Maisie on a bench in front of the fountain. By her aura, she was his beta. The other five lay sprawled out on the lawn. The beta’s irritating brother, Riley, caught me staring at them and began sneering at me. Doesn’t he have any other facial expressions?

Before I entered a stare-off with the irritating prick, Joshua pulled me toward a drinking fountain. “Come on, I need to refill my water bottle.”

I turned my gaze to him and followed close behind. Just as we reached the drinking fountain, a small fluffy squirrel darted off toward the nearest tree. Joshua shrieked and jumped into my arms.

“What a pussy.” Fenrus chuckled at my comment.

The group of five behind our backs laughed their asses to pieces before a mouse of a twink with blazing red hair called out to Joshua. “Ahh! Look who has found himself a boyfriend? Who knew that the collared witch boy could catch anything other than a nasty case of crabs?”

“Says the college chewed-up fucktoy!” Joshua shot back as he wriggled his way out of my arms. They all glared back at us.

“Who’s the loudmouth?” I asked under my breath.

“Oh! That’s the biggest whore on campus, Arno. Be careful he might want to jump your bones as well.” Joshua said as he began filling his water bottle.

“So... what’s your problem with squirrels?” I glanced back at the tree, seeing a bunch of squirrels darting along the lawn.

“They creep me out.”

I laughed.

“That’s not funny!” Joshua rushed up to me and punched me on the arm.

Before I could say sorry, I sensed another werewolf gunning for Joshua. I only had a split second to push him out of the way before the werewolf tackled me to the ground. The small group roared as they cheered on.

“Get the fuck off him, Dillon!” Joshua shouted.

The guy who tackled me got up to his feet and ran off to join the group, chuckling his guts out as he went along. “Sorry, my bad. Wrong dummy!”

Still lying on the soft grass, I quickly got back up to my feet.

“Let me kill him! I’ll gut him and skip with his entrails!” Fenrus howled, trying to gain control of my body. It took a lot of willpower to keep him down. My body shook while my canines extended and the tips of my fingers began to sting as my nails started to grow into claws.

Before things could escalate any further, Joshua grabbed my hand. “Nate! Don’t. Control yourself.”

I slowly dragged the urge to rip them to shreds deep within me while my body reverted to human proportions. “Thanks for that,” I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. The situation could have turned ugly very fast.

“Don’t break your head over it. I too had the overwhelming urge to turn them to ash.” Joshua glared over at the group. Arno, with a sneer, blew us a kiss while he jumped on Dillon.

“Urg! Can’t the whore keep it in his pants?” We had the unfortunate sight of seeing Dillon and Arno eating each other’s faces off.

I noticed that the Alpha was glaring at them. “What’s up with the Alpha-to-be? He looks pissed.”

Joshua opened his bag and retrieved a small packet of almonds. He grabbed one of them and started chewing. “Oh, you’re talking about Adam. Yeah... You see... Arno and Adam had a thing going on about a year ago.”

I chuckled. Should have guessed. “Wow! I wouldn’t have thought he’d stoop so low.”

“Believe it or not, but Arno wasn’t always like that.”

I huffed and muttered, ”I really doubt that.”

“There was a time when he was a decent guy and a loyal friend, but then he got into the wrong crowd when he stayed with his father in LA last summer. After he came back, he had changed. Adam and Arno were in a committed relationship for four years before Arno turned into the fuck-monkey he’s right now.”

“And who’s this Dillon dude then?”

Joshua said, “Oh that’s his latest conquest, the college’s star quarterback, Dillon Macmillan. Dumb as they come and horny as any wolf I’ve ever come across. Just be careful where you stick your head. They have a reputation for having sex in the most unusual places.”

Just then, Arno shrieked as one of the squirrels came near them. “Kill that thing!” he shrieked while straddling his oaf of a boyfriend.

Their small tormentor scurried a few feet away from them, chewing away at an acorn. Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it? The squirrels darted along the campus grounds. A devilish idea crept out of the bowels of my brain.

Joshua turned to me and frowned while chewing on an almond. “What’s with that creepy smile?”

I turned my back on the group and faced Joshua. My eyes started glowing copper as I reached out toward the little minds of the squirrels that scurried around. There were around sixty of the small critters.

“Wow! What are you doing?” Joshua whisper-yelled at me. “We’re not allowed to use magic here! The dean will know instantly if you use it!”

“I’m not using magic.” I countered while nudging all of the squirrels to group together a few feet away from the group. “Squirrels assemble.” I turned around and saw all the squirrels group together, forming a neat line like soldiers going to war.

“What’s happening?” Joshua squealed, taking shelter behind me. He peeked out from behind my shoulder. “How is that possible?”

I chuckled at his nervous behavior. “I have an unusual ability. I can connect my mind to any animal I focus on.”

“Wait.” He glanced up at me. “You can mind-link with other creatures, not just werewolves?”

“Yip,” I said with a pop of a ‘p’.

“Wow! That’s awesome! What are they about to do?”

“I convinced the squirrels that Arno and Dillon are hiding acorns in their pockets. Acorns that they stole...” I replied with a cheeky grin.

“Remind me never to get you mad.”

Without wasting any more time, I nudged the squirrels along for a last time, telling them that Arno and Dillon hid their acorns in their jeans and coat pockets. In an instant, the squirrels darted toward the two. High-pitched screams echoed throughout the campus grounds as the group of five scattered. Arno jumped around trying to fight off the endless assault as the furry squirrels quickly enveloped him. Luckily, for Dillon, he grabbed his backpack and bolted for the safety of the building before the squirrels could overwhelm him, leaving the twink to fend for himself.

“Get off! Get off! Help!” Arno screamed as he fell to the ground.

Immediately upon hearing the cries for help, Adam leapt into action to drive off the pesky buggers. Killjoy... He grabbed Arno’s hand and hoisted him off the ground and over his shoulder while the squirrels jumped the boat before they got hurt. Realizing that the fun was over, I mind-linked my little army and told them that I’d reward them the next day with a whole bag full of nuts. They scampered back to the safety of their trees, leaving the group nervously laughing amongst the group of bystanders.

Joshua’s eyes narrowed on me. “Wasn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Not even in the least.” Fenrus chuckled at the back of my mind. ”They got what was coming to them.”

I started making my way toward the entrance of the main building. “No, it’s not. They can’t treat people like shit under their shoes and expect nothing to happen to them.” I wouldn’t allow people to walk over me just because they felt they were entitled to do so.

“I get what you’re sayin’, but look at the guy. He’s shaking his ass off in fright. He’s probably scarred for life.”

We watched as Adam carried the whimpering Arno into the campus building, followed by Maisie and their fellow pack members. I sighed.

Shit! What have I done?