Alex leads me to a small room, simply furnished with a bed, a small chest of drawers, and mirror. If you expect homes in a pack base to be rustic, they’re not. In fact, this furniture looks antique and much nicer than what I have at home.He sets my overstuffed backpack down against the wall and looks around the room. He puts his hands in his back pockets and begins rocking on his heels. “It’s not much, but it’s clean.”“It’sss perfect.”I sit down on the bed and bounce a few times to test it. Alex takes this as an invitation and sits
It’s a long three days waiting for Alex’s birthday. I don’t leave the house much. Most of our meals are taken with just the family, and Alex disappears frequently to either sit with his brother or take care of pack business in his brother’s stead.His parents are also out most of the day, and Rita is gone to meet with the Malkeye pack, so I’m often left with my thoughts. Which is not good.But the first thing I do each morning is talk to my mom, to continually reassure her I’m okay. But to be honest, these talks also reassure me of the same. I need to know she’s not in danger, and when I ask her if she’s seen or hear
The next morning, the air in the house feels cool. I should have taken that as another sign. I wake up early with the anticipation of telling Alex happy birthday.I know his parents are planning a small, intimate breakfast celebration in spite of his wishes to be left alone. I helped them put up a few balloons the night before, and I hope this will lighten his mood a little.Honestly, I was surprised they thought to ask me to help, especially Mr. Hewlett. It made me feel included, like maybe they don’t disapprove of me being here after all.I was surprised to see Rita in the k
Rita and I haven’t spoken about it. She told me what happened with Ryan, the Malkeye Alpha, which is discouraging enough. If none of the Malkeye members have been attacked, then the rogues are exclusively after the Ayzena.And Cynthia. My heart aches just thinking about her, my damsel in distress. If there has ever been anyone—human or otherwise—I’ve felt the need to protect, it’s Cynthia.But I felt something stronger this morning. My body hummed with…adrenaline? Hell…I’m not sure. I was amped up, is all I know, which may explain the temper tantrum I threw. In hindsight, I think I may have overreacted.That’s embarrassing enough, but Rita? That my body so unmistakably reacted to her was not something I expected at all. I’m not sure I even like her as a friend, much less a mate. I’d even started to imagine myself with Cynthia. Living with her, being with her…I shake it off. I knew better. I only allowed those thoughts to make myself feel better in this shit show of a predicament I’m
What Alex doesn’t know, is that I made him—well, a card, yes—but also a birthday cupcake. Not a full cake, because I don’t know how he would react after his display this morning. But something sweet to show him that I care for him, no matter what.Because it’s true. I can’t just stop loving Alex because I know he’s mated to someone else, anymore than I could stop when I found out he isn’t exactly human.We walk, hands clasped, in silence toward the stream. We both know what’s going on, and what each one of us will have to give up. Even if we haven’t spoken about it.When we enter the clearing, Alex smells his treat before he sees the blanket and the unlit candles.The sky still hasn’t cleared, and the stars and moon are hidden beyond dark clouds that have been threatening rain since yesterday.I can’t see him in the dark, but his scent changes. The tanginess that tinged it is now gone; he smells…clean.“What did you do, Cynthia?”I pull him over to the blanket and sit down, feeling ar
I didn’t sleep well last night. My heavy heart and scattered mind kept her awake with fitful dreams of being chased and of getting separated from Alex.I send my mother a good morning text, as I’ve done every day since I arrived here, then climb out of bed.Alex’s words last night weigh on me. No one has ever spoken the words “I love you” to me except my mother. Even now it makes me want to hug the pillow and cry.Only I can’t cry now. I need to be strong for Alex. It isn’t fair to make him regret the inevitable more than he already does. He can’t help his fate anymore than I can, and I can’t make him feel guilty for choosing to follow the path set before him. It’s not like he has a choice, anyway.But I don’t have to like it all the same…or Rita.Speak of the devil, as soon as I walk into the kitchen to get a glass of milk, I see Rita is seated at the table, drumming her fingers. Her scowl sets me on alert. If looks could kill… I try not to make eye contact, picking up my pace and be
We run for hours, barely stopping, when I finally collapse from exhaustion. Rita reluctantly slows, then stops, and backtracks to where I’m seated on the ground, my arms pretzeled over my head to open up my chest so my lungs can take in more oxygen.Rita folds her arms over her chest and cocks her hip to one side. “This is why you needed to stay behind. We can’t afford to stop.”And I can’t afford the breath to argue with her. I lift my head and close my eyes, willing my body to stop hurting.Rita releases a long sigh and sits down beside me. At first, she doesn’t say anything, just scans the area with her eyes.Finally, she says, “Look…I know you really care about Alex and that’s why you stubbornly insisted on coming along.” She emphasized the word stubbornly. But before I could argue, she added, “I think it’s brave—especially knowing that dangerous werewolves are waiting to tear you limb from limb.”Was this her way of intimidating me or apologizing? I don’t know exactly how to take
With the assailant down, I’m able to get to Rita. She can’t stand in her present form, despite several efforts at getting to her feet.“I don’t know what. To do,” I admit to her. “I—I can’t. Help you. Too big!”With great effort and a lot of pain, Rita shifts back to human. It’s a slow process, and hard to watch. I have to turn my head because of the nature of the process and how coarse it really is. They’ve always changed so quickly that I never noticed the details.The details. Are. Gross. So is the wolf who is barely alive. He isn’t shifting, and his large body twitches sporadically. I wonder if he’s going to die here.After Rita has finally taken human form, I hear her ragged breathing. She sits up, gasping and trying to calm herself.Then she turns to me, and for the first time, I see real concern in her eyes. “Are you okay?”“I—yyy-yeah,” I say giving my body a glance over again. Amazed as I am at my fortune, I’m still too shocked to be grateful. “How are you? Your leg?”I kneel