Jake MacKinnon was a throwback to the days when high-school bullies were a dime a dozen, and nobody gave them a second thought. These days there was plenty of talk about the problem of bullying, but not a lot of that talk managed to filter down into the hallways in the form of action. Or if it did, Jake MacKinnon wasn’t listening. He’d been suspended from school twice by Principal Terashita, but being told to stay home from school wasn’t much of a punishment for someone who was counting the days before he could quit school altogether and join a logging crew farther north. Knowing MacKinnon’s luck, he’d probably be a foreman, terrorizing the workmen in his crew in less than five years. Either that or he’d be dead, killed in a bar fight or perhaps by one of his own crew in a logging “accident.”

“Hold on a minute,” MacKinnon said. “I just wanna talk, that’s all.”

Harlan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. MacKinnon’s talks usually drew a crowd, and taking a quick glance up and down the hall, this talk would be no different.

Jake MacKinnon began his harassment of Harlan in their first year of high school. Harlan had been on his way to math class when his books suddenly flew out from under his arms, thanks to a well-placed kick. Everyone had laughed at him. Harlan was tempted to tear Jake’s throat out, but that very morning, Ranger Brock had warned the pack that they were not to use their wolfen powers on any of the students. So, instead of fighting, or even standing up to the bully, Harlan had simply picked up his books and moved on. MacKinnon had taken Harlan’s passivity as a sign of fear, and he’d bullied him off and on ever since.

“Don’tcha want to talk to me?” MacKinnon said, moving his body in front of Harlan to block his way.

MacKinnon’s shadow, a huge student named Del Zotto, giggled at MacKinnon’s words.

“I’ve got nothing to say,” Harlan said. That was true. He and MacKinnon had nothing in common other than both attending Redstone. They were rarely in the same class, had never shared a lunch period, and they rode to and from school on different buses. In fact, school aside, the two teenagers were exact opposites. Where Harlan was tall and lithe, MacKinnon was short and fat, weighing close to two hundred pounds. Harlan was quick and enjoyed playing games like badminton and table tennis, while MacKinnon had struggled to make the football team and had spent the last two years filling out a jersey on special teams. And where Harlan consistently had the top marks in all of his classes, MacKinnon rarely even attended them.

“That’s bull,” said MacKinnon.

Del Zotto snickered.