Changed (The Hunters #1) (7 page)

Matt grinned. “With this
hair, I’m not so sure,” he said as he ran his fingers through his
own hair.

Rosa smiled. “Your hair is great. I
like it—so soft and fluffy.”

Matt got up and offered Rosa his hand.
“Come on, let’s go. The teacher is probably wondering where we
went.” Rosa took his hand and stood. His face only inches from
hers; she could feel his breath on her cheek. His eyes looked
intently at her.

Matt smiled and took a step back.
“Let’s go,” he said as he led her out of the woods.

There was a new tension
between them that made Rosa confused–why did it feel so different?
Rosa glanced down at Matt’s hand that had closed around hers; it
was warm and strong.

Matt had felt Rosa’s eyes on him. He
turned his head and threw her one of his beautiful smiles. “Why are
you watching me, Petrova? Or are you just staring at my tight
ass?”

Rosa laughed. “You wish,
Blair!”

He grinned and turned his head forward
again. They traveled the rest of the way in silence.

“
I must go to the toilet,”
Rosa said as they entered the school.

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll wait at the
door for you.”

Rosa let go of his hand, going in to
the girls’ bathroom, and disappeared through the door. She stopped
in front of the sink and looked in the mirror.

Meeting her own gaze in the mirror,
she saw what she could only describe as a complete mess. Her eyes
were red and puffy from crying, and there were splotches all over
her normally clear skin. She moved in closer to the mirror,
searching for the revenge and anger she knew was there, hooded
behind her blue eyes. Her mouth formed a distinct frown when she
found what she was looking for. If only she could avenger her
father, maybe then that shadow would go away, and she could finally
be happy.

Rosa sighed as she looked away. She
turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her face, scrubbing
away the dirt caked on her hands. She wiped her wet hands on her
clothes, not caring to find the dryer as she left the
bathroom.

Matt grinned at her, “You look nice,
Rosa.”

She gave him a punch on the arm.
“Don’t make fun of me, or it may end horribly for you.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh, are you
threatening me?”

She walked past him. “I’m just telling
the truth.”

He fell into step beside her. “Do you
think you can beat me in a fight?”

She
smiled, “Of course. I
’
m a hunter and I have the gift to fight. Fighting is in my
blood.”

“
Then let us fight,” he
suggested.

She stopped and looked at him. “You
aren’t serious?”

He did not smile, which told her he
was serious.

She shook her head. “Matt, this isn’t
a good idea. I’ll hurt you.”

“
No, you
won’t.”

Rosa crossed her arms, raising an
eyebrow. “Why do you want to fight against me?”

Matt shrugged. “I want to know which
of us is stronger. Besides, you have provoked me by telling me you
will beat me. You know, Rosa, a boy doesn’t like to hear that from
a girl.”

Rosa smiled. “And what if I don’t
play?”

Matt grinned now. “Then I will provoke
you until you hit me, and then the fight can begin”

“
I can’t talk you out of
this?”

“
Nope.”

She sighed. “Okay, but if I hurt you,
or you break something, then you can’t blame me.”

He patted her shoulder. “It won’t come
to that, Rosa.”

When they reached the classroom, the
bell rang for break. Rosa was glad the lesson was over, and she
would not have to suffer under the stares of her classmates. As the
students filed out of the classroom, a few of them threw Rosa
curious glances, of which she ignored. After everyone had cleared
out, Matt entered and began explaining to Mr. Black in a hush as to
why Rosa had run from the room.

As Rosa
approached her seat, she saw the two Nephilim. Suddenly her already
bad mood soured, but she didn
’t
show it. She grabbed her bag.

“
Are you okay?” Philip
asked.

Rosa tried to smile, but she didn’t
accomplish it as well as she hoped.

“
Yes, I’m
alright.”

“
I am glad you’re ok,” he
said as he reached his hand out to her again.

Rosa jumped back. “Don’t touch me,
please.”

Philip looked at her,
confused.

“
Don’t take it personally,
Philip,” Matt said as he stepped up behind Rosa.

She shouldered her bag and
said to the three, “Come on, let’s go.” Rosa started to turn around
when she heard the voice of the other Nephilim.

“
Are you a
hunter?”

Rosa froze as Matt held his
breath. She turned around and looked at the boy who had asked her.
It was Jason.

He had his arms across his chest,
holding something in his hand that looked like a drawing
pad.

Jason looked damn sexy and he knew it.
His blue eyes glittered with self-assurance as he leveled his gaze
at Rosa. The glint in his eyes made Rosa nervous. He was dangerous,
and his scar reinforced this fact. His eyes seemed to penetrate to
her soul.

Rosa swallowed her fear, as she kept
her face serene and void of any kind of emotion. She would not show
him that his question had frightened her.

She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why do you ask?”

Jason smiled a straight toothed,
pearly white smile. Everything about the Nephilim was perfect
except their character.

He flipped open the drawing pad as
Rosa suddenly realized was her own.

“
I leafed through this and
there are a lot of drawings of hunters killing Nephilim,” he
replied and turned the page.

“
Do you
always look through other people’s belongings?” she asked, as she
clenched her fist at her side. She didn
’
t like anyone touching her things
without permission.

He grinned again. “I’m a very curious
person—it’s one of my better qualities,” he said as he winked at
Rosa.

Rosa held out her left hand without
the mark. “Give it back. It belongs to me.”

He hid it behind his back. “First you
have to answer my question.” Rosa could see from the look on his
face, that he was amused with his little game.

“
I don´t have to do
anything. Come on, give it to me.” Rosa took a step toward him. She
felt the urge to hit him, but she couldn’t allow further skin
contact with the Nephilim.

“
Jason,
give her the book,” Philip said. He seemed to be bored. Apparently,
he
’
d become
accustomed to his friend playing these games.

“
Answer my question,”
Jason said to Rosa as he ignored Philips words.

She sighed. “I’m not a
hunter. You have your answer. Give me my notepad.”

The smile that graced his face made
Rosa uneasy. It made her realize that he did not believe her, and
he had something else up his sleeve. She knew he was toying with
her.

She held out her hand.
“Please.”

Jason looked at her for a while, then
handed her the pad. “You can draw very well, Ice Princess,” he said
as he walked past her without touching. She stared angry after
him.

How in the hell does he
know my nickname?

However, that was the least of her
concerns. Jason had seen her drawings. Of course, he became
suspicious that she was a hunter. She had to be more careful, and
keep an eye on him. Something inside told her Jason could learn her
secrets.

“
Rosa,” Matt said, and
brought her out of her thoughts. She looked at him and saw him
watching her anxiously. He knew how dangerous it was for Jason to
be suspicious.

“
Yes?” She asked as she
put her notepad in her schoolbag.

“
Let’s go,” Matt
said.

“
Rosa, I’m sorry. Jason’s
like that sometimes,” Philip apologized.

She just nodded as they all
went to the canteen.

Jason sat on the bench with three
girls surrounded him. They were laughing at something he had said
when Rosa approached the table. Jason gave Rosa an amused smile as
she threw him a dirty look.

“
I’ll see you later,
Jason,” one of the girls said, as she and the others walked away.
Philip sat beside Jason as Matt and Rosa sat on the other bench.
Somehow, Rosa had managed to sit directly across from the
black-haired Nephilim.

“
Man, Matt. You didn’t
tell me that there are really hot girls here,” he said without
taking his eyes from Rosa.

“
Now you know,” Matt
answered shortly. He did not like the way Jason looked at
Rosa.

Rosa sighed before turning
her attention to Philip. “And how do you like it here in Boston?”
she asked.

“
It’s nice. Thanks for
asking,” Jason replied.

“
I didn’t ask you,” Rosa
muttered.

“
Well, that’s direct,” he
said as he took a swing from his cola.

“
I’m pretty direct. It’s
one of my best qualities,” Rosa said, smiling at him.

Jason snorted. “Good
countered.”

“
I already can see that
there will be a wonderful friendship between you two,” Philip
said.

Rosa took a bite of her sandwich, “I
don’t think that we’ll become friends,” she said coolly.

Jason gave her a look. “Why
not?”

“
Our characters don’t
match. We would always argue.”

“
Well, I was told that my
friendship is a really great gift.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re arrogant.
I hate arrogant people.”

Matt stood up suddenly. “Shit,” he
swore. “I need to go to the statutory committee.” He looked at
Rosa. “I’ll be back in sports.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and
started walking away.

“
Hey! Wait!” Philip
called. Matt turned around.

“
Yeah?”

“
May I come along? I’ve
always wanted to be on a committee.”

Matt smiled. “Sure.” Philip said. He
waved to Rosa and Jason as he followed Matt.

Rosa did not want to be alone with
Jason. He made her nervous, and she knew he was dangerous. She took
a deep breath and then took one of the chips on Jason’s untouched
tray.

“
And you call me rude,”
Jason said, grinning.

“
I never said that you
were rude,” Rosa said as she took another chip. She felt his gaze
on her.

“
Why are you staring at
me?” she asked.

He smirked, “How do you know that I am
staring at you?”

“
I could feel
it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you like
it?”

Rosa looked at him. “What? That you
have been staring at me?”

He nodded to her.

She
snorted. “If I
’
d
liked it, then I wouldn’t have told you to stop.”

Jason leaned forward. With his blue
eyes fixed on her, a smile played across his full lips.

“
You haven’t said that I
should stop. You asked me why I was staring at you. I guess I can
conclude that you enjoyed it.”

Rosa stared at him, her anger welling
up inside her. It took all she had not to punch him.

“
Do you want to provoke
me?” she asked angrily.

Jason
leaned closer, making it difficult for Rosa to take her eyes from
his.
His eyes really are
nice…

“
I want many things,
love,” Jason said.

Rosa took one of the chips and threw
it in his face.

“
You suck.”

Jason took the chip from the table and
put it in his mouth. “You know, you’re easy to provoke.”