Allison noticed the girls' reactions, raising an eyebrow.
"Girls?" she asked.
"Ah… nothing," Lydia blurted, immediately straightening her posture. "It just seems…" She squinted, pretending to analyze the image. "A big wolf." She grabbed her bag. "I've got class now. Bye!" And she walked away, slightly trembling.
"Same…" Erica said quietly, getting up as well.
Allison frowned but shrugged and returned to her book.
Asher stood, brushing crumbs from his tray.
"Hey, Asher, where are you going?" Stiles asked, suspicious.
"To check on my girlfriend," he said casually, striding toward Erica.
"But you can't—" Stiles started.
Asher just raised a hand. Stiles sighed, shaking his head. This was definitely a different Asher—confident, composed, fearless.
He caught up to Erica and gently covered her eyes with his hands.
"Who am I?" he asked softly.
Erica's eyes widened behind his hands, and then she ran toward the nearby storage room, holding the door shut.
Asher sighed and leaned against the door. "Erica… I know Derek said to stay away from me…"
Erica listened silently on the other side.
"Your emotions fluctuate too much," Asher continued, voice soft, "and you risk losing control. I know you don't want to hurt me again."
Erica clenched her fists, her heartbeat racing.
"But…" His low, smooth voice made her pulse race even faster. "I would risk death a thousand times if it means I can stay with you."
"Asher… please… I… I don't want to hurt you…" she whispered.
"I know you don't want to hurt me," he murmured, "but you're hurting me more by staying away from me."
The door unlocked, and a pouting Erica stepped out. "When did you get so smooth?" she asked, a faint smile on her lips.
Asher followed her inside the storage room, locking the door behind him.
"Huh, Asher—" Erica began, confused, but he silenced her with a quick press of his lips to hers.
He pulled back slightly. "Stiles said he gave you and Scott a heartbeat detector…" he said.
"Yeah…" Erica admitted, flushed, showing her phone with her heartbeat rising.
"He said he still needs to find a way to raise your heartbeat quickly… to induce your transformation," Asher continued, trailing kisses down her neck. "But I happen to know the perfect method."
Erica's heart jumped, her breath catching.
"So… let me train you," he said, guiding her close, pressing her back against the wall as her legs wrapped around him. Her pulse raced, and her body reacted instinctively to his touch.
"But we've got class—"
"Let's just skip for today..."
...
Evening had fallen, and the classroom was mostly empty, dark.
Erica was perched on a desk, Asher standing in front of her, both caught in the quiet intensity of their closeness. Erica, clad in only her underwear, pressed lightly against shirtless Asher. Their lips met again, slow and heated.
"Wow… you've gotten great, Erica," Asher whispered in her ear, his breath sending shivers down her spine. "You only nearly transformed twice… now, even when I… eat you up, you don't show any signs."
Erica's cheeks flamed red. She pushed him, spinning around so that he landed on the desk. Her hands rested confidently on his shoulders.
"You know…" she purred, smirking, "I preferred you when you were shy… I could order you around as much as I wanted…"
Asher's lips curled into a smug grin. "Oh, really? Decide now, huh? Our first time, you told me to take the initiative more… what now? You can't handle me?"
"No—" Erica purred in response, just as a sudden loud sound cut through the room.
The school entrance door had been thrown open.
"Someone's getting in," Erica whispered urgently, her eyes widening. "Hide!" She grabbed Asher's arm, pulling him down under the desk.
"Hmmm… Erica…" Asher started, but she immediately cut him off with a finger to his lips.
"Shh… they're in two," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Asher squirmed slightly under her foot, wincing. "Erica… your pressing on my injuries…"
"Sorry," she whispered back, carefully lifting it. "I thought they were completely healed… they didn't hurt while you were 'training me'…"
Asher smiled faintly, his chest rising slightly with each breath. "You know… I wasn't exactly focusing on the pain…"
Before he could finish, a strange sound burst from the school's speakers.
Awoooo!
The mournful howl of a wolf... well, really of something like a strangled cat... echoed through the empty halls.
"What… was that?" Asher asked.
Erica's eyes went wide. "That was… Scott," she murmured, her voice tense. "What's he doing?"
And then—
Rooooooar!
A guttural, bone-shaking roar erupted from the school's speakers, vibrating through every wall and floor. The door to the classroom Erica and Asher hid in began to tremble violently.
To be continued...
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Are you liking the new Asher? Does this change of personality seem coherent?