Darkest Powers Bonus Pack 2 Read Free

to listen?”
    Now it was his turn to sigh. “Always worth a shot.”
    As people passed, they glanced over, and I remembered the rules and reluctantly stepped out of Derek’s arms. He grumbled that his dad worried too much, and it wasn’t like we knew people in this town anyway. It didn’t matter. People were looking over because we caught their attention, and for us, that’s bad.
    We caught their attention because, well, we kind of stand out. Derek’s a foot taller than me and twice my size. I’m hoping for a growth spurt, but I figure he’s just as likely to get one, so it won’t make much difference. I’m tiny and makeup makes my skin break out, so I look young for fifteen.
    Derek’s size means people think he’s older than sixteen. He doesn’t really look it, though. His skin has cleared up a lot in the last month, since his first Change, but it’s not perfect. His lank, black hair usually looks in need of a wash, even if he showers twice a day. All this means he’s learned not to tug me into back alleys for some private time, because someone’s liable to call the cops.
    “Dad said he told Tori that he’s her father,” he said as we started walking. “He saw you guys talking by the oak tree. Then when I got home, you were gone.”
    “She’s upset.”
    “Why? Her dad turned her over to her mother when she called him for help. I say good riddance. Now she has a real father.”
    That was his way of looking at it. The best I could do was try to get him to see things from her point of view, even if he didn’t agree with it. Now wasn’t the time for that, though.
    “I screwed up,” I said. “I let it slip that I’d known for a while.”
    “Yeah, you shouldn’t have told her that.”
    I gave him a look. “That’s not how I screwed up. I should have told her
sooner
. She considers me a friend.”
    “Does she? Huh. Never thought friendship started with one girl locking the other—bound and gagged—in a crawlspace.”
    “That was in Lyle House. Tori—”
    “—has changed? Right. Like when she left you behind to fight a gang of girls with knives, while she escaped.”
    “We’ve come a long way since then.”
    “Sure. Now she only throws you around in self-defense practices. She really enjoys that quality time with you, too. Won’t practice on anyone else.”
    I glowered up at him. “Yes, she’s never going to be my BFF. But what do you want me to do? Hang out with only you and Simon? Ignore her?”
    “Um, yeah, because that’s exactly what she’d do to you.”
    “Which doesn’t mean I should do it back. She’s been trying to fit in. You know she has. And if she doesn’t have at least one person she can talk to, she’s liable to just take off. Get captured or killed. She might not be your favorite person, but you don’t want that.”
    He hesitated a second too long.
    “That’s cold, Derek. Even for you, that’s cold.”
    “I didn’t mean—”
    “Just go back to the house, okay? You obviously aren’t interested in helping Tori. Or helping me.”
    “I—”
    “Just go.”
    When he didn’t, I did.

    Evading Derek in a crowded place isn’t hard. I can slip through gaps. Derek can’t and no one moves for him . . . until he starts scowling, then they move fast, but by then, I’m long gone. Even his werewolf nose isn’t that helpful in crowds. He can follow my trail, but it takes a while to tease it out.
    Derek and I don’t fight a lot. Okay, we do, but it’s usually spirited disagreement, not real anger. The subject of Tori was the exception. He’s frustrated by how quickly I’ve gotten over her past mistreatment. I’m frustrated by his inability to get over it. Even Simon sees she’s trying and treats her like a part of the group.
    Who’s right? I don’t know. I just know that Tori has lost more than any of us. First, her mother. Now her father. And although she tries to hide it, a big chunk of her self-confidence is gone, too. She’s gone from being the popular