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  The woman shoved her scrawny hands into my hair, pulling it hard at the base of my skull. It hurt but not enough to give her the satisfaction of crying out.

  “That was stupid,” she said. “Now you’re all alone.”

  Her lover’s breath moistened my skin. It was disgusting, but I wasn’t afraid of him or any of them. The alcohol on their breaths saturated the air. They were all drunk. I took a step forward—only inches from her face. My face contorted into a fierceness I had never felt before.

  “We’ll give you a head start, go ahead,” he said, gesturing for me to run.

  “Run,” his buddy taunted.

  My lips parted, and I showed my teeth as I partially smiled. Rage erupted inside me, and a fierce growl emerged from my throat.

  “You aren’t running?” he said.

  “Oh. Should I be?” I asked. My sarcasm flowed freely, and my saliva ran through my mouth, making me hungry. I wanted to taste their blood, spill them open all over the ground, and feel the wet warmth of their flesh. Each of them with a unique flavor, marinated in alcohol. A buffet of stupid creatures waiting to die in front of me. The animal inside was consuming the girl. It was only a matter of time before I lost all control. I closed my eyes and let the primal need wash over me. I was only an animal after all. I licked my lips as I looked into the depths of his soul, but I couldn’t find anything worth sparing.

  I leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “One step closer, and I will devour your flesh while you still breathe.”

  He was scared—I could smell it on him. My promise was sincere. If he didn’t act on his fear, I wouldn’t be able to control myself much longer, and I would have their evil blood on my hands. He wouldn’t be able to let a scream slip out before I sunk my teeth into his flesh. I concentrated on Beth’s voice as I desperately tried to stay in control. She was the only one not screaming or crying; she was on the phone with emergency. That would be my way out. If I killed them right now, the girls would see it. If I let the attackers take me and killed them later, the police would question how I got away and what happened to them. If they just left, the girls would wonder why. But if I could just keep myself from being a stupid animal until the sirens came, no one would suspect anything.

  “Are you going to be my first?” I asked him. I could feel my lust for blood taking over my thoughts.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “She’s not worth it.”

  “Run, my little lambs,” I said, laughing as they started to run away. I wanted to chase. I needed to chase. It was in my blood, but the police cars raced into the parking lot, surrounding them. I had to play the part of a scared girl, I had to stop the beast inside.

  The van door flung open. “What were you thinking, Ashling!” Emma sobbed onto my shoulder. “I was so worried.”

  She was just the distraction I needed to separate myself once again from the animal inside. My true self. I wrapped my arms around her limp shoulders and let her cry on me, holding her tight, for fear she would fall apart. The girls mashed around us in one big group hug as we watched the police put the men and the woman in handcuffs. Only I could hear the leader thanking the police for arresting him.

  He pointed over at me, saying I was demented. Warning them to be careful. His eyes locked with mine, and I burned my glare into his. He jumped into the police car when the door opened. The handsome, young police officer looked back over our way suspiciously. I gave him my biggest, saddest puppy eyes, and I bashfully glanced away, turning my attention back to my friends.

  “I’m sorry, you guys. I saw a chance to protect you, and I didn’t see any other way. Please forgive me,” I said, covering my inner smile and victory. “It was stupid.” I shook my head for effect. In truth, I was proud of myself. It was my purpose to protect Old Mother’s humans from harm, and now they were my friends too.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe. Did they hurt you?” Beth asked.

  “I’m fine.” I smiled. “I promise.”

  The young police officer sauntered over to question us. The girls told the story perfectly. I just stood back bashfully and watched him. His blond hair wisped over his tan face, and the girls whispered about how cute he was in his uniform. Though I hadn’t noticed all the details they had, he wasn’t really my type, but I caught him stealing glances at me. Eventually I smiled in return, causing him to drop his pen. Normally I would have laughed, but it didn’t seem like the place, considering what had just happened. They answered all his questions, and Kelsey even asked him to the dance. He declined but still gave her his card, in case we thought of anything else.

  “Miss Boru,” he said, turning toward me. “May I please have a word with you?” He gestured for me to walk with him toward his cruiser, and I did as instructed. We stopped out of earshot of the girls and the other officers. He studied me from head to toe—trying to discover if I really were crazy or not, I imagined. The men were petrified, which did make the officer suspicious of me.

  “Is there something you need?” I smiled up into his golden face and his unusual brown eyes. He smiled back, almost dumbfounded. Perfect white teeth. His mother must be so proud, I mused.

  “I just wanted to personally make sure you were uhharmed. What you did was brave, but you should never endanger your life like that.” He started fussing over me, checking my arms for bruises. Finally as he moved my hair, I winced. “Are you all right, miss? I can personally rush you to the hospital.”

  “Oh no. I’m fine,” I said, smiling.

  “Well, Miss Boru. I’ll let you out of my sight, this time. . . .” He pulled out another one of his business cards, but this time, he flipped it over and jotted something on the back. “This is my personal number in case you need anything. Any time of night or day,” he said.

  “Thank you, Officer Thilges.”

  He straightened himself up taller, puffing out his chest. “You can call me Gavin,” he said. “Now you get those other girls home safe, you hear?”

  I hid the card from the others. I didn’t feel like explaining it. Besides, Kelsey was in love with him. Well, as in love as her fleeting emotions made her capable of being. We piled back into the van for the ride home, and she gushed about how handsome Gavin was. In my culture, age was nothing; in her culture, the ten-year gap was significant. Kelsey was the only one not shaken up—she was also the cause of all of it. Someday, that girl was going to learn some life lessons the hard way. I shook my head.

  “Ashling, that was incredibly stupid what you did back there,” Kate said. “But thank you for protecting us. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

  I let them recount the whole night, and the embellishments were already starting. Clearly Beth and I were the heroes of the story. I was officially high school lore, as Kate put it. I didn’t admit it to them, but I was scared for their lives.

  13

  Wild Animal

  Grey was sitting on my front porch when Kate dropped me off. Distress was written all over his face. He looked as though he had spent the last few hours pacing. I almost expected to see a worn patch in the decking where he had walked back and forth. The wrinkle between his furrowed brows was prominent and really cute, but also troubling. A look of relief washed over his face as I walked up on the porch. I reached out to touch the side of his face, and he crushed my body with the fierceness of his embrace.

  “Ashling,” he said. “I don’t know how, but I felt you were in danger. I rushed over, but you weren’t here. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know how to tell your brother what I was feeling. How to explain to him you were in danger.”

  “Grey, it’s okay. I’m here now.”

  “Are you okay? What happened?” he asked.

  “The girls and I had an unpleasant encounter with some disturbed souls.”

  “You were in danger, weren’t you? I felt it. I felt your fear.”

  “They were afraid. . . .”

  “How could I feel that?”

&nbs
p; “I don’t know.”

  “Every moment we are together, I feel closer to you.”

  “Me too,” I replied.

  “Next time, I’ll find you. I’ll protect you,” he said. His handsome face was strong and confident. His lips were set in a stern line as love washed over his face, mixing with his determination.

  “I believe you, but trust me, we were okay. . . .” I said. “I love you.”

  His face softened and the worry washed away. “I want to be a part of your forever,” he said.

  “You already are,” I said with a smile.

  “I love the way you feel in my arms,” he said, holding me tighter to his chest, lightly running his fingers through my wind-blown hair. Each stroke sent tingles over my skin, intoxicating me. I breathed his masculine scent deeper into my lungs, hungrily devouring his essence.

  “So, do I get to see your dress?” I could nearly hear the smile on his face.

  “No. You have to wait until the dance. Speaking of, why didn’t you tell Lacey no?” I asked.

  The smile left his face. “I’m sorry about that. I thought it best not to tell her no there in public. She has an ugly side to her, a vengeful side, and I didn’t want her coming after you.”

  I smiled. “Well, I think she has finally met her match.”

  “So have I,” he said. He crushed my lips with his, igniting my body with his touch. He ran his hand over my hipbone, lighting caressing my skin. I pressed in hard against him, feeling his rock-hard body, and I gasped as he bit my earlobe. I nipped at his lower lip, gently catching it between my teeth. His green eyes sparkled with passion.

  I captured his lips with mine again and kissed him with all the ecstasy that flowed through my veins. I wanted every part of him.

  Suddenly, Mund opened the door and caught sight of us. He tensed at first, but he didn’t say anything. I knew he could feel the emotions flowing through our bodies, but he said nothing about it. He didn’t agree with my choice, but he was strong enough to stand by and let me choose it.

  “We were just going to sit down and watch a movie,” Mund said. “Why don’t you join us, Grey?”

  Without waiting for Grey to respond, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house. It was strange, the way everyone described him before he knew me. Even Baran was nervous about him. And yet, with me, he was sweet and protective. I needed to learn more about soul mates, the prophecy surrounding my birth, and where Grey fit in. I wondered if it had to be a wolf that claimed me, or if Grey could do it? We could run off and get married, and he could claim me. And life would be happy. How simple that would be.

  But life was never that simple. I sighed.

  Baran and Mund had chosen An American Werewolf in Paris. If nothing else, they had a sick sense of humor between the two of them. I wondered if Grey would pick up on the oddness of the movie selection while he sat in a house full of werewolves. It seemed ironic to me. Baran even made popcorn; I was starting to think he likedplaying human, or perhaps he had gotten so good at it over the years that didn’t even realize he was doing it.

  Baran sat in the leather chair, and Mund sat on one end of the sofa while Grey sat on the opposite end—as far apart as they could be. They left a giant spot in the middle between them for me. Enough room for three of me, actually.

  It felt like a test. If I had to choose between my beloved brother, who protected me for sixteen years, or the love of my life, whom would I choose? The only friend I ever had, or the only love I would ever have? I wouldn’t choose, because I would never have to. They both loved me. I took my seat on the floor in front of Grey. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and resting his chin on my head as we watched the movie.

  He fit so perfectly in our lives. I really didn’t know why Mund and Baran were so afraid of what he was. He was a part of me.

  Grey jolted during a fight scene, and I looked up at him, touching the side of his face. “You aren’t scared, are you?” I asked, smiling.

  Suddenly, he jumped back away from me. “What the hell!” he said. “Your eyes are glowing in the dark.”

  Instantly Baran was on his feet, and Mund grabbed me, spinning me behind him as he growled.

  “Stop!” I cried.

  Grey was standing in front of the sofa, and his eyes were glowing like ours. There was more wolf in him than they realized. I smiled at the thought. I wondered what color he would be if he were truly a werewolf. Gray like his name, or dark, chocolaty brown like his hair?

  I stepped around Mund toward Grey, but Mund pushed me back between him and Baran. “No,” Mund said.

  Grey’s eyes turned cold, and I could feel his rage rippling to the surface. Grey looked so much more animal than human. “Let her go,” Grey said.

  “You have no place here,” Mund said.

  “What?” I said, looking at each of them. “What is the matter with all of you?” I shoved Mund back into Baran with far more force than necessary and walked over to Grey. I was getting good at fighting back. Grey’s tension eased, and he sat back on the sofa. I knelt in front of him, my back to the TV, my eyes surely glowing. I rested my hands on his.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Your eyes glow in the dark,” he said. “So do theirs.”

  I smiled ruefully. “I know,” I replied

  “I’ve never seen someone’s eyes glow in the dark before. Except my own.”

  Baran sat back down, watching us. Though he looked casual, I knew he was ready to fly out of his seat at any moment. Mund stayed standing, his posture rigid. Why did this have to keep happening? I wasn’t a delicate flower. I wouldn’t just shrivel up and die or anything. Grey touched the side of my face.

  “Yours are like the color of candle-lit, warm honey. Beautiful, actually.” I felt like warm honey in his hands. His compliments made my heart soar.

  Mund growled, but we ignored him.

  “I know mine glow, and I thought I remembered my mom’s eyes glowing, but it was so long ago that I figured I’d imagined it,” he said, shaking his head at the memory. “But then here you are. All of you . . .” his voice trailed off.

  “Indeed,” Baran said.

  “Ashling, I know I said I didn’t care what you are, and I don’t. It doesn’t change anything I feel for you. Whether you are heavenly or not, I’m yours, but I do need to understand,” he said, looking at all of us.

  Baran looked worried, and Mund looked furious. Was I the only one unfazed by this? It seemed only natural that Grey would figure out something was different about us. Especially when more of us were together. I didn’t care if he knew what I was, I wanted him to know, but I didn’t dare speak first. The look on Mund’s face could silence me in a heartbeat. He was afraid of telling a human what we were; we could be chased out of town with pitchforks, or far worse.

  “I think the time has come, Grey. You should know what I am,” Baran said. “We are more than mere animals. We are werewolves, shape shifters. The eyes of the night.”

  Mund spit on the floor. He was furious and frightened. He paced between the two exits, the front door and the kitchen. I knew he didn’t agree with Baran’s judgment, and he wanted to pull rank with his royalty, but he didn’t. He just paced back and forth, his eyes trained on Grey’s every movement. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, bringing every cell in my body to life. I held my breath as I waited for him to respond.

  “Werewolves . . .” Grey said.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  He stood up, pulling his hands away from mine. Mund was instantly at my side, and in that split second, he backhanded Grey into the door. The sound echoed all around me, sickening my stomach. Grey licked the blood from his lower lip and turned his back on all of us as he put his hands on the doorframe for balance. The muscles in his back pulsed with strength.

  “What do you eat?” he asked. There was an accusation in his tone, and Mund growled in return.

  I stayed sitting on the floor to not further upset them all. “We prefer to cat
ch our own wild game, but we can eat everything humans eat,” I said.

  “You don’t eat humans?”

  “No, Grey. We do not. There are some who have forsaken their vows of protection and do kill humans, but we do not,” I said.

  “So the legends are true? Werewolves are real?”

  “Yes, the legends are true for the most part. We live forever. We shift form at will. We are supreme beings. We protect the balance of life and protect all humans from danger and from each other,” Baran said.

  “You’re being careless, he’s not one of us,” Mund said.

  “He has a right to know. If he’s going to love Ashling, he should understand what we are and what he’s committing his life to.” Baran continued, “Our appearance is varied, usually by our genetic makeup, matching our hair color. Our physical stature in our wolf form corresponds to our stature in human form, and other similarities cross over, such as hair color and eye color. Ashling, for instance, is a small red wolf.”

  Grey smiled at me shamelessly. “I’ve seen you,” he said. I didn’t take my eyes off Grey, but by the sounds in the room, Mund swallowed his own tongue. “The little red wolf that day in the woods . . . I knew it was you.”

  I nodded. He touched his cheek where I had licked him that day.

  “Werewolf,” he said.

  “You’re the one running with wolves, you fool.” I playfully batted at him.

  “He’s seen you?!” Mund roared, advancing toward Grey, but Baran stepped between him and us.

  “Care to explain?” Baran asked me.

  “I was at the falls, trying to learn the different sounds and scents of all the animals, when I got caught in one of the game warden’s traps. Grey set me free,” I said, smiling at him. “I had been running through the woods, and Grey ran with me. Stride for stride.” I couldn’t hide my admiration for him.

  Their faces wore every emotion: gratefulness, anger, and fear. I had been reckless, I knew that, but I wouldn’t change it. My reckless behavior brought Grey to me.