“Mom? Are you home?” I mind link her when I pull up to the house.
“Out in the garden, Honey,” her voice sings sweetly in my head, “Why are you here?”
I make my way to Mom’s vegetable garden. She is pulling carrots out of the ground and putting them in an enormous basket. “I can’t make time to stop and say hello to my mother without getting questioned?”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that, Honey but it’s true. You never stop by during the week. Did your meetings go okay this morning?” She looks at me with concern.
“Oh yeah. We should expect some big donations in the next couple of months from both companies.” I give her a convincing nod.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” She flicks dirt at me playfully.
“I can’t keep Rocky in check,” I squat down next to her, taking a serious tone. “I had to block him, Mom.”
“Oh Keller! I’m so sorry to hear that,” she tilts her head and looks at me remorsefully, “How long
I get off the elevator to the penthouse after eleven p.m. and find two male wolves are in the anteroom.“Who the fuck are these two?” Rocky snarls.“Dude, don’t start. Seriously. Just don’t,” I shake my head, already frustrated with his temper since I unblocked him, “I’ll handle this.”“Can I help you two with something?” I step forward, but don’t make a move toward my front door.“Hi, you’re Keller Marshall, right?” The taller one steps up to shake my hand.“Yeah, I’m Keller.” I look at his hand, but don’t reach out to shake it. “Only guests I approve of are supposed to be up here and I didn't give anyone approval for you.”“We’re just trying to find our friend. Her name is Zara Wilson. She’s been missing for a couple of weeks and we’re worried about her. Do you know her?” He holds up his cell phone to show me a picture of Zara standing in front of a field of sunflowers. Her long
“What if you accept me and we just keep it a secret?” She shakes her head and her brow furrows. “Zara, no. I won’t do that. You shouldn’t be anyone’s secret.” I frown, regretting that I have made her feel this way. “You deserve so much better.” “When I was growing up, my parents told me the Moon Goddess gives everyone what they deserve. They said that’s why she made me smart and not strong. Because I deserved to be a werewolf who could find solutions for problems in our community. That’s why I worked so hard in my science classes. So I could help people.” Tears slide down her face and her voice cracks. “I-I was wrong. The Moon Goddess didn’t bless me with anything. She tricked me. She turned everyone who loves me against me and even took my home away. I won't ever be anything to anyone, Keller. Hell, not even the guy destined for me wants to be with me. I didn’t believe it before, but I do now. The Goddess hasn’t blessed me. She curs
Zara’s POV Keller slams my door and runs down the hall. A couple minutes later, I hear the water from his shower running. I sit in shock on my bed, trying to figure out what I did wrong. “Lavender, what just happened? What changed his mind? He wanted to be with me, then he didn’t, right? Did it seem like that to you? That wasn’t my imagination?” I ask, dumbfounded. “I don’t know what that was. It certainly felt like he was enjoying himself,” Lavender says, but it sounds more like a question than a statement. “I guess he is more confused that I originally thought.” I don’t think I’ll be able to focus on homework tonight, so I pick up my books and laptop off of my bed and put them away. Keller’s shirt smells just like his rosemary and basil scent. I don’t want to take it off. After what just happened, I don't think he's coming back for it tonight, so I'll just leave it on. Since I’m going to be
I smooth down my uniform shirt while I wait for my bagel to come out of the toaster. I only got a little sleep, but I will wait until I get to the diner to have a cup of coffee. Keller’s coffee machine seems pretty fancy. I don’t want to figure it out twenty minutes before my shift starts.Oh! I almost forgot, I have a glass of apple juice in the fridge. I open the door and bend down to reach in when I hear a female voice behind me.“Look, Janice. Maid service! Can I get an omelette please? Ham and green peppers. Janice, what do you want?” The voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard.I stand upright and look at her. She has curly brown hair in a disheveled ponytail. Her gold dress is long sleeve, but backless. It's so short, it almost doesn’t cover her butt. I look around the room. Who is she talking to? When did Keller get a maid?“Oh, maybe she only speaks Spanish, Leslie.” A girl with short, fake blond
The library is not as busy Saturday as it is during the week. It makes it easy to find a table where my back is to a wall, making it easier to see if there is any danger I need to hide from. I wander away from the table to find a couple of reference books. When I come back, Keller is sitting in my seat. He jumps up and grabs the books from me, setting them on the table in a neat pile. “Are you following me?” I whisper loudly at him, not hiding my anger. I cross my arms in front of me, trying to show my frustration without making a scene. “Are you avoiding me?” He gives me a smirk but when he sees I’m not amused, his face drops, “Zara, look, I didn’t realize you were in the kitchen when I told those girls to leave this morning.” “Keller, if you think the problem here is that two bimbos thought I was your maid, you need to think a little harder,” I hiss at him. “Now, please leave me alone. I have a lot of work to catch up o
“Are you okay, miss?” The driver looks at me with concern. “Did you get into a fight? I can call campus police for you.” “No ma’am. I’m okay. It was dark out and I took a tumble down the library stairs.” I clear my throat, making up a story as quickly as I can. “Nothing an ice pack won’t cure once I’m home.” She nods, but I feel her watching me as I find my seat. I try my best to hold my arm against my side to avoid anyone noticing the blood seeping into my shirt. Once I find a seat, I open the selfie camera on my phone to see how bad the damage is. The entire side of my face is swelling, with dark bruises forming. My teeth feel wiggly when I press my tongue to the side of my mouth. The blood vessels in my eye broke, making my entire eyeball appear bloody. “I’m trying to heal you as fast as I can, Zara,” Lavender says. “It’s just a lot at once for me. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, Lavender. It could be worse.”
Keller’s POV Every breath is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced while Rocky tries desperately to heal me. Holding Zara against me feels like it might be the only thing keeping me conscious. I try to focus on her and away from the pain that is making my entire body throb. She leans heavily against me, but something feels off. I know she must be in pain too, but she also feels like she is intentionally distancing herself from me. “Zara, there are shorts in the back seat. Can you please get them for me?” I ask into her shoulder. “We should go upstairs.” I feel her nod and slide off my lap, being careful not to touch any of my cuts. She rummages in the back seat until she finds the shorts and lets me use her as support while I get them on. “I tried calling you,” she says timidly as tries to hold me up. “Oh, Pocket, I’m so sorry.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder, using her f
“Phil, get back here.” Mom grits her teeth when Dad storms off. She looks at the camera with a panicked expression, “Just a minute, Honey.”After a few crashing sounds in the background and listening to Mom chastise at Dad for losing his temper, they both come back into the frame. Dad smooths back his hair and looks above the camera, taking deep breaths, while he calms himself down.“So let me get this straight. Mom already told me you took in this girl because she was having trouble with some male wolves in the dormitory.” He crosses his arms in front of himself. “Tonight, you were picking her up on campus and you saw her being attacked by one of Williams’ trainees?”“Yes. He was wearing a trainee uniform, had his claws in her arm, and he was about to forcibly mark her.” I can’t help but snarl at the memory.He looks serious at the additional details and continues to confirm that he understands the