In the morning Eli got out of bed all by himself, no harassment needed from his dad, and was ready for school on time. Everyone was noting his good form, and nobody more than Eli. He’d gotten solid sleep last night, and his bones didn’t ache at all this morning. On the drive to school Eli messed with the radio station looking for something similar to the siren’s song.

“Who was downstairs?” Eli asked.

“Downstairs?”

“Last night, who heard me screaming?”

“Zack and David.”

“David?” Eli looked sideways at Noah. He hadn’t realised David was in the house. He grimaced just thinking how Cameron would respond to know they’d been within twenty feet of each other.

“Yes, David.” Noah shot him a look. “Just because your bf has beef with him doesn’t mean I do.”

Bf. Where did all these abbreviations come from?

It was weird, though. If David had been there, then surely he would have mentioned at home about the screaming, in which case Cameron would have broken down the door to check on him. But he hadn’t. There were no texts or calls either, which meant David hadn’t told them.

“Did you tell him not to say anything?”

“It didn’t need to be said, but I did anyway.” Noah confirmed. “Neither of them will run their mouths.”

When they pulled up at the school, earlier than necessary since Noah was a good student, Zack and David were sitting on the wall next to Noah’s usual parking space. Both the boys looked right at Eli, seemingly confirming he was alive, before then waving at them both, and nodding at Noah. Eli climbed out, now feeling awkward about the situation. He hadn’t been embarrassed in front of his family last night, but now he was.

Especially since David was breaking the twenty-foot rule, and that wasn’t good. Eli wasn’t looking at him, planning to just get to his locker in case by some miracle some of David’s scent got on him and Cameron noticed. That would lead to bloodshed.

“Eli,” David trotted up next to him. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Eli tensed. “Sure. Um, I’m fine.” He saw nobody was within ear-shot. “Last night I just—”

“Yeah, no, not about that.” David didn’t touch him, but he directed him toward the boy’s bathroom.

Eli stopped in front of it. This was not a good idea. “I don’t—”

“Wolf-business, Eli.” David said quietly, but stern.

He entered the boys bathroom, walking to the end and pretending he was doing it to check the stalls. “Nobody else here.” He turned, finding that David was as far from Eli as he could get, but opposite the door, so he wasn’t blocking the exit. Eli suspected that was on purpose.

Generally, Eli tried not to so much as look in David’s direction because of how Cameron reacted. When Eli finally thought through everything that happened that day, between him and David, he likened it to both of them being roofied, and neither having control over their actions. It wasn’t David’s fault. It wasn’t Eli’s fault. It was the Luna’s fault. To Cameron, it was the Luna’s fault, and David’s fault. Eli didn’t find that fair, but he was afraid of the blame moving to him if he challenged Cameron’s thinking on the matter, and that scared him.

“Wolf business?” Eli asked.

David had his arms crossed; his jaw locked. “You smell.”

Eli drew up. “I see why that was so important you had to tell me.”

“Eli,” David’s eyes flashed in his direction. “You smell like that. Like you did that day.”

Cold flushed through Eli. “What?”

“When you opened the car door it was so strong, I caught it outdoors. You cannot stay in school. There’s a dozen wolves who will react and Cameron’s not going to give a shit about keeping what he is a secret if someone goes near you.” David spoke in a strained tone.

“I don’t feel like I did on that day.” Eli touched his chest, but there was smooth skin and nothing else. “Are you sure? It’s not just my normal… scent?”

“I know your normal scent, this isn’t it.”

“Oliver said he could pick up wolfy scents from me.”

“It’s the same.” David said, in a tone that didn’t invite further argument.

Eli took a step to the side to get a better look at David’s face. His eyes flashed toward him, a quick glance taking in the movement, and there was discomfort in every inch of David’s body. “Your eyes are normal.” They weren’t even the luminous wolf-eyes, but human.

“There’s more distance than there was last time.” David said dryly.

Eli tensed, and clearly David sensed it, because his top lip curled back. “I’m not going near you now. I’m not a rapist, despite all of you acting like I am.” The bitterness in his voice shocked Eli.

Guilt, and not a small amount, filled his chest, tightened his throat. “I know.” He said.

The guilt got worse when David looked surprised at his admission.

“I think of it as us getting drugged.” Eli shared. “It wasn’t your fault. And if it had been, then it was mine as well.”

David stared at him. “Try telling that to Cameron.”

Eli bet something showed on his face then, because David’s expression soured. “Or keep blaming me. Cameron used to be my friend. First time we met, back at that house party, I was the one people got when we needed to calm him down. Now he’d rip my throat out first chance he gets.”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Eli said quickly. “He’s just—he’s territorial. After everything—I mean, I got hurt a lot, and Oliver explained that wolves are very protective of their pack, and Cameron’s set on high alert still. I’ll talk to him.” He felt bad about having said nothing before.

David’s expression didn’t soften.

“What?” Eli asked.

“You’re afraid of me.”

“I’m not.”

“It’s why Cameron still reacts so strongly, every time I’m near. Because you react whenever I’m near.” David said, blame in his eyes.

“It’s not because I’m afraid of you. That wasn’t a pleasant experience for me, and I’m sure it wasn’t for you either—”

“Oh the pack would disagree with you there.”

“No way would you have gone near your friends’ mate if something wasn’t fucking with your head.”

David didn’t argue that point.

“And the pack isn’t against you. Oliver knows it wasn’t your fault, Shane knows, Quint knows.”

“And nobody says a damn word to Cameron about trying to bite my head off, which tells everyone else that he has a valid reason for keeping me away from you.”

The door swung open and a first year came in, looking suspiciously at David and Eli. Eli realised his heart was pounding hard. David took in a deep breath. “Whatever,” he muttered. “Point is, go home.”

The first year gave David a weird look.

Eli moved toward the door. “Kaylen should be in now,” he said lowly, “I can get a second opinion.”

“Wait in the hall for her.”

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.” David replied stiffly.

Eli left him in the bathroom, feeling shit about their situation in general, and went to wait next to his locker. He understood a little better why Noah had sounded annoyed talking about Cameron going off at David. Eli didn’t like it before, and now after talking to David, he really didn’t like it. It bugged his conscious. That was a situation that wasn’t David’s fault, and he shouldn’t have been blamed for it.

The halls were still empty when the front door swung open and an early morning group wondered in. Among them was Kal, who nodded at Eli as he passed, then came to a stop. He told the others he’d catch up.

Kal leaned his shoulder against the lockers. “I can detect a hint of… David.”

“I was literally ten feet away from him the entire time.”

Kal shrugged. Eli liked Kal primarily because he was one of the most chilled out of the wolves. Noah liked him too, since they read a lot of the same books—sci-fi stuff that didn’t interest Eli. “Cameron might not notice.”

It was a lie, and they both knew it.

“Who are you waiting for?” Kal asked.

“Kaylen,” Eli said, “Or Oliver.” He dug out his phone, deciding that texting them would be a faster option. If something really was happening with the soul, then he needed to know. He needed to do something about it, even if he didn’t know what that something was.

Eli glanced sideways toward Kal, who also had his phone out.

“Do I smell funny?”

“Like a wet dream.”

Eli tensed, and Kal raised an eyebrow. “Best way I can describe it.”

“Should I move away from you?”

“In other circumstances, among other wolves, maybe. But I don’t see it being a problem for anyone at school. Except Cameron.”

Eli didn’t like this. Even if Kal said it was fine, David had told him to leave. And yes, Eli agreed with David in identifying that the problem would be Cameron, and not necessarily other wolves trying anything. Kal was talking to him normally. David had warned him, but also remained very much in control.

Maybe, even if his scent was funny, it would be fine?

The consequence of the ‘maybe not’ was too much for Eli to dismiss. “I’m going to go home.” He text Cameron, who didn’t answer, and then got onto his dad about heading home. Immediately his phone rang. Eli’s back was turned, but he felt a warm spot on the back of his neck. Turning, he spotted Oliver.

“You aren’t feeling well?” His dad asked.

“Sort of.” Eli said, trying not to cause too much worry.

“I’ll call to reschedule the doctor appointment for this morning, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Have Noah wait with you.”

Eli winced. More doctors. He was sick of them by now, and after the dream, he was pretty sure this wasn’t going to be settled with a flu shot. “Sure.” He said. Oliver stood in front of Eli, looking at him intently. He could obviously sense something too.

Eli only just hung up when Oliver was speaking. “Can you bring it out?”

Eli touched his chest once more. The soul was calm. “No.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll call Monroe, he can check you out.”

Eli’s options were the human doctor and the wolf doctor. He sighed, since he’d end up doing both regardless. As much as this was worrying him, it was just as annoying. “Where’s Cameron?”

“Quint took him out for some special training,” Oliver said.

Eli digested that. “Is that because he growled at him?”

Kal grinned. “So that’s what happened? We were all wondering why Quint called him over all of a sudden. Cameron wouldn’t tell us.”

“Is it bad?” In the moment, Eli hadn’t given much thought to Quint being Cameron’s alpha, he only wanted him to leave them alone. He knew Cameron had growled, so that Eli wasn’t the one confronting him. He should have been more considerate.

“Not really,” Kal shrugged. “I had to do training with Quint for months, and so did Oliver. All of us spend some time with the alpha, he likes to get to know us, and whip us into shape as he does. He probably moved up the bonding time with Cameron because of what happened.”

“Eli?” Noah interrupted them with a worried expression. “You’re not feeling good?”

Eli nodded. Noah brought him to sit outside the offices and Eli didn’t get the chance to tell Oliver about the dream. Dream or memory. He didn’t know.