The Bad Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

surprised if she dotted each i with a tiny heart.
    “Have you lived here all your life?”
    He pretended not to hear her. He pretended not to feel the electric rush of being close to her.
    “I just moved from Fort Collins,” she whispered.
    It seemed once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Ryan poked at the frog’s smelly innards then grimaced.
    “This is a little different than what I’m used to. Actually, it’s a lot different.”
    Ryan glowered at her. Hadn’t Jenna explained that he was to be left alone? He wasn’t interested in being anyone’s friend or confidant, especially not to an outsider like Chloe Williams.
    “So, w here does everyone go shopping? Thank god for the internet, right?” When Mr. Sanders looked up in search of who continued to disrupt the class, she leaned a bit closer. The ends of her hair tickled against his arm. “So what do you do to have fun around here?”
    Kelly twisted on her seat and glared. She elbowed Amy who also swiveled to stare. Kelly mocked Chloe by winding a finger in her long auburn hair. She moved her mouth as if she was talking and rolled her eyes. Ryan glared at them and they immediately turned to face the front.
    Chloe fell silent when Mr. Sanders moved down the rows to check class progress. Once he’d returned to the front, Chloe turned to stare at him. Ryan’s muscles tensed and his nerves prickled.
    “ Jenna seems nice. Are you guys together?”
    Kelly and Amy giggled. Mr. Sanders looked up in search of who was still talking.
    “Do you ever shut up?” Ryan growled. He didn’t bother to lower his voice.
    Chloe snapped her mouth shut and focused on the paper lying in front of her. Her face was bright red as she studiously wrote the frog’s organs in the correct spaces. She even named the ones he hadn’t gotten to yet. The remainder of the period was hushed with only the occasional question directed at Mr. Sanders regarding the frogs.
    When the bell rang, the room erupted in a flurry of voices an d moving bodies.
    Chloe grabbed her biology textbook then moved toward the exit as quick as her legs could carry her. Amy was still seated, but smirked as Chloe drew closer. Before Ryan could react or even shout a warning, Amy nudged the stool next to her into the isle. Kelly gasped in surprise, but didn’t bother to try and stop it. Chloe wasn’t fast enough to avoid the metal stool. One of the legs banged into her right shin.
    She threw out her arms to catch herself and the book struck the floor. As if in slow motion, her head aimed for the corner of the opposite worktable.
    Ryan darted in front of her. Chloe’s body smacked into his and thrust him backward. The edge of the table slammed into his back, forcing him to suck in a sharp breath. Her arms were wrapped loosely around his hips, her head against the flat of his stomach. He placed his hands beneath her arms then yanked her to her feet.
    Amy and her sidekick ran from the room. Chloe straightened then gripped his forearms. “ Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
    “Go away,” he said through gritted teeth. He gave her a somewhat gentle shove then loped from the room.
    It was hard enough preventing the pack from misbehaving without worrying about this scrap of a girl. Why they had focused their malicious attention on her was beyond him. Even if he liked her, which he didn’t, it wasn’t his place to play protector. If she was going to make it in this school, she’d better learn to stand up for herself.
    Last period was art class . He almost skipped the class, but decided to go at the last moment.
    “Sit with us?” someone at the back of the classroom said.
    He gl anced over at the pack’s table with mild curiosity.
    Travis curled his fingers around Chloe’s wrist as a sly smile warped his face. She looked somewhat uncomfortable and more than a little wary. Her stammered excuse was ignored.
    Amy and Kelly were there, as was Josh. Amy’s upper lip curled in a snarl when her brother