Free The Bad Wolf by Michelle Clay

and her eyes searched his face as she spoke to Chloe. “You live on the other side of those trees. Do you ever pick up anything around your house?”
    Chloe nodded slowly. “Sometimes, if it’s really close. The first night we were here, I saw a big black wolf on the road. Mom hit it, but not hard enough to hurt it. Then the wolf jumped on top of the car and I could sense all of its anger and hate for…”
    “What?” Jenna had to know. “What did it hate?”
    “Outsiders?” Chloe looked kind of confused. “It gets all jumbled, but it’s like he was saying we didn’t belong and just wanted us to turn around and leave. It was pretty scary.”
    Jenna stared at Ryan for a moment then back at Chloe. Ryan trusted her, knew she wouldn’t let anything slip, but still he cast a worried glance in Chloe’s direction. Ever since Jenna had revealed they weren’t an item, she’d been looking at him differently. He had to put a stop to it.
    He gripped Jenna’s shoulders and hauled her out of the way. “I’ll be back later.”
    “Wait,” she sputtered. “Where are you going?”
    “For a run.” He tossed the textbook on the counter. “I also told Trudy I’d help out at the diner this afternoon.”
    “Are you on the boy’s running team?” Chloe asked, her eyes dancing with excitement. She thought she’d found a kindred spirit and he hated to dash her hopes.
    “Get real,” he growled. This was the easiest way to push away any feelings she might have for him. He loved to run. In fact, he had thought about joining the boy’s team, but declined. Teammates and opponents would be at a major disadvantage against him. Unlike Tina and Dana, he didn’t think that was very reputable.
    Chloe’s eyes widened with shock and hurt. There, it was done. His harsh words should have squashed any desire she had of getting to know him.
    Jenna gripped his arm and squeezed. Her short nails dug into his flesh. “Stop it or I’ll put a curse on you.”
    “I’m so scared.” He said in mock horror. “Especially since your so-called spells always blow up in your face.”

Chapter Six
     
    Chloe bent in front of the bleachers to tie her new shoes. They were a bit tight in the toes and the laces kept coming undone. She hated them. They weren’t even the color she’d asked for. She’d wanted hot pink, but these were more of an orange color. Yuck!
    Karen had rolled her eyes at her complaints. “They’re running shoes,” she’d said. “They’re supposed to be snug. Besides, they’ll stretch out after you’ve worn them a couple times.”
    “She never compromises,” Chloe grumbled as she jerked the laces tight then double knotted them. It would be easy to blame Karen and the new shoes for the disappointing place she’d come in at during yesterday’s race. Eighth place was not acceptable. She’d given it her all only to trip over a stupid shoelace. Scads of runners had blown past her as she scrambled up, but it was too late. She hadn’t been able to catch up.
    At practice today Coach reminded them to give a full one hundred percent. Chloe felt like he’d spoken solely to her. He’d certainly looked in her direction more than a few times.
    The waning sun painted the sky a dusky pink. A dog barked nearby and she wished her mom would hurry up already. She searched the parking area just beyond the bleachers then groaned. This was the second night Karen was late. The school was locked up tight, practice was over and the parking lot was empty except for a familiar red Jeep.
    She climbed halfway up the bleachers then scouted the area. From this vantage point you could see forever in all directions. Just beyond the school, up on the hill behind it, she spotted someone. A head of black hair glistened in the late afternoon sunshine. He was probably too far away to hear, but she called out anyway. “Ryan! Hey, wait up!”
    Chloe didn’t understand why she wanted to talk to him. He’d acted weird ever since she’d admitted to