Read The Bad Wolf for Free Online

have to bend the rules a little. This is one of those times, Chloe. Get in.”
    “Um…”
    “Haven’t you ever skipped class before?” Of course she hadn’t. She was probably the type who loved going to class and being Miss Popular.
    She looked like a wounded animal when she gazed up at him. He had to get away from her. He didn’t care about her, didn’t want to be sucked into her dilemma. “Would you feel better if Jenna went with us?”
    Chloe wiped her cheek with the back of a hand and nodded. Her gaze didn’t quite meet his.
    “ Wait here.” Ryan jogged toward the building. He rushed down the hallway toward Jenna’s last class of the day. When he reached it, the teacher gave him a skeptical look. He offered a charming smile and lied, “Mrs. Grimes already signed her out.”
    The irony of relying on Jenna to rescue him from a bad situation was not lost on him. He paced the hall and muttered to himself while she grabbed her things.
    Moments later, she scurried down the hallway after him. Her long purple skirt flapped behind her like some sort of crazy sail. “Wait up! What’s going on?”
    “Just deal with this,” he said as he navigated the rows of cars.
    They found Chloe right where he’d left her, sitting on the curb next to his red Jeep Wrangler. Thankfully, she had stopped crying.
    Jenna ran the last few steps and inspected the younger girl. “Oh, Chloe. Don’t worry, we’ll get you cleaned up.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ryan. “It was the pack, wasn’t it? Why can’t they just leave people alone?”
    Ryan handed over the keys and stepped aside to allow Jenna access to the driver’s door. He studied the mess in Chloe’s hair. “Hurry, before I change my mind.”
    “I’m all sticky.” Chloe wiped her hands against each other in an effort to remove the sticky glue. “What if it ruins the seats?”
    Ryan unbuttoned his shirt.
    A fierce blush crept onto Chloe’s cheeks and she looked the other way. “What are you doing?”
    “Where’d you get that bruise?” Jenna demanded when he shrugged out of the material.
    “Doesn’t matter,” he grumbled, having forgotten about the ugly mark on his lower back.
    “You’ve been fighting?”
    He chose to ignore her and instead extended the shirt to Chloe. “Here, put this on.”
    He draped the soft cotton over her shoulders then buttoned the top button to keep it in place.
    Jenna got into the car after Chloe was tucked safely inside, but hesitated. “Aren’t you coming?”
    “No.” Already he was headed toward the other side of the parking lot. It, like most areas in town, was bordered by trees and mountains. “I feel like running.”
    He reached the other end of the parking lot when Jenna started the engine. Trees surrounded him by the time he dropped to his hands and knees.

Chapter Four
     
    Today marked a full week in Hunde and it seemed like absolutely nothing had changed. Each morning Chloe’s alarm clock went off and she hit the snooze button until her mom forced her out of bed.
    Karen was prepared for the argument this morning. “Before you even ask, yes you have to go to school today.”
    “I hate it here!” Chloe rolled over then covered her head. “I want to go home.”
    “Just try to make some friends, honey.”
    “I have!” she wailed. “Everyone hates me.”
    “They don’t hate you,” Karen answered, clearly not understanding the enormity of the situation.
    She groaned at Karen’s inability to see or sympathize with her dilemma. Talking to people used to be easy for Chloe. It came so natural and people usually wanted to be her friend. Here in Hunde, it was awkward and painful. Aside from Jenna no one spoke to her unless they were being cruel. The pack, and even some who didn’t hang out with them, took immense joy in tripping her or making fun of her. Amy had shoved her against a locker yesterday and she still had the bruised hip to prove it. No one in Hunde was willing to give her a chance.
    “They