Arrowed (Arrowed Series Book 1)

by Gryffin Murphy

  “You’re all wet,” I said, standing up, “Let me get you a towel.” I turned to go to my bathroom, but he stepped in my way, placing one warm hand on my arm and the other on my waist.

  "No," he said, leaning in a little closer. I couldn't breathe as I looked into his pine-colored eyes. "Let me." Suddenly he was gone, and I found I was unable to move, still taken aback by the impact of his proximity. Within a second he returned again with one towel wrapped around his waist, another draped over his arm, and a small one in his fist. He ran the small towel through his hair as he handed me the one draped over his arm.

  I couldn't reach out to take it. My eyes were too preoccupied eyeing the towel that was wrapped around the lower half of his body. Tiny whispers in my brain made note of the dark trail of hair he had on his lower stomach.

  He followed my gaze with a curious expression. "Oh, do you mind?" he took a step back and looked down at the towel, "I stripped down to my briefs because I really hate the feeling of wet jeans."

  I shook my head vehemently and sat down on the bed, forcing myself to look away. He politely tossed my towel onto my lap and draped his jeans over my desk chair to dry. Not sure where to look anymore, I glanced down at myself and instantly felt even more self-conscious when I saw the skimpy little nightgown I was wearing in front of him.

  I had never been this undressed in front of a man, especially one who was just as unclothed, if not more. Looking away from him, I slowly wrapped the towel around the front of my neck, shielding my barely-clothed body from him. I knew I looked ridiculous, like those people in the commercials for blankets with sleeves, but I pretended not to care.

  In one swift movement, he was kneeling before me, his head reaching just below my chin. "Don't be silly," he said, looking deep into my eyes, as he removed the towel and wrapped it around the back of my shoulders. His eyes slowly made their way down my neck to my legs. A shiver went down my spine, a physical reaction that had nothing to do with being cold. He looked back up at me as he said, "I like your pajamas."

  I blushed instantly. A small smile crept up on his face, as he slowly lifted his body from the floor. I thought he was leaning up to kiss me, but abruptly he was standing upright, his eyes on my door.

  "Your dad's coming," he said low and swiftly. Oh, God, please, no.

  “Closet! Closet!” I pointed to its entrance, my heart racing. In a blink of an eye, he was hidden from sight and I only had a second to try and fan away the redness of my cheeks before my dad opened the door and poked his head in.

  “Soph?” he asked, his eyes squinting in the bright light of my room.

  “I’m fine. Go back to sleep, Dad,” I said softly. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. I held my breath as I prayed he didn’t take notice of the men’s pair of jeans that hung over my chair.

  “You’re wet,” he noticed when his inspection returned to me. His eyes fell to the towel around my shoulders and I shrugged.

  “My window opened and I got a little drenched trying to close it. I’m about to go back to sleep though, Dad. Everything’s all good.”

  “Ok, then,” he mumbled sleepily, pressing the light switch by the door. He closed the door behind him and I waited in the dark silently for both the sounds of my dad’s mattress squeaking and the subsequent muffled snores.

  Once his snoring had commenced, I leaned over to turn on the light again but the room lit up before my reach went far enough. I looked over my shoulder to find Noah leaning against the door, his finger hovering over the switch. He came over to me slowly and sat down on the foot of my bed.

  “I see you and your dad are getting along,” he mumbled, pinching the comforter.

  “Yeah,” I said, eagerly jumping into this new topic, “Ever since the accident he’s been really present. He was a little too clingy at first, but now things are really good between us.”

  “That’s good.” His eyes were sincere, but they tore away from mine too quickly. “Why didn’t you call, Sophie?” He asked finally. He turned his body to face me straight on, but his head remained low.

  “I…” I fought to find the right words to say. “I was scared.” His head snapped up and he gripped his towel, moving closer until our knees were touching.

  “Of me? Sophia Rose, I could never ever hurt you.” The intensity of his gaze made my breath come out a little shaky.

  “It’s just that…” I trailed off again. “With Benji, it just happened so quickly! One second he was Benji the boy and the next he wasn’t. He couldn’t control it. It was the scariest moment of my life and I-“

  “Wait,” he cut me off. “I’ve been a shifter a lot longer then Benji. I know how to control myself. You don’t ever have to worry about me randomly shifting like that.”

  “Noah, I’d love more than anything to believe that what you are doesn’t change anything, but I can’t easily look past something like this!”

  “I don’t want you to look past it!” He exclaimed. He took my hand into his and placed it over his heart, which was beating rapidly. “Sophia Rose, I want you and I need you in my life. Being a shifter, being a member of my clan, is a huge part of me, and I don’t want to share just a fraction of myself with you any longer.” I looked down at my palm on his chest, not sure what to say. He moved his hand under my chin and lifted my head, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I didn’t choose this life, Sophie. I was born this way. I’ll admit, the first time I shifted, I hated myself for what I was. I felt like a freak, a monster.”

  It hurt me to think about him seeing himself that way. He must have noticed the distressed look on my face because he reached out to lay a palm on the side of my face, rubbing a thumb across my cheekbone.

  “I don’t think of it that way anymore. I feel special, and I’m grateful for what I am because it means I’m better equipped to protect you.”

  Well that was a bit dramatic, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like I was in any kind of danger that a wolf could only save me from.

  “I really don’t need that kind of protecting, Noah.” I let out a deep breath as I got up from the bed, feeling the need to pace again. I worried about the consequences of what I was about to ask, but I had to know the risks involved. “Noah, if you genuinely thought you were a threat to my safety, would you stay away from me? Or would you at least be honest with me and tell me if being with you would put me in danger?” I half expected him to immediately say of course, but he froze.

  Oh no.

  ➹➹➹

  Noah

  I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. I swallowed dryly as a lump grew in my throat.

  I had always been a little selfish. I learned that with Chloe. I let my own selfish nature lead me into believing that fun came before responsibility, and as a result I broke her heart.

  Was it that same selfishness that made me believe Sophie would be safe with me? Or was it the work of my Arrow convincing me that I couldn’t live without her?

  "I am telling you the truth, Sophie," I decided finally, "Yes, I am a shifter, but I’ve lived a pretty normal life. Did you ever feel threatened before you knew this about me? Being with me is not dangerous; in fact, it’s probably the safest you can be. That being said, you need to know that my wants come second to yours. When it comes to you, I can't be selfish. I physically can't. I won’t lie to you just so you’ll be with me. I will be whoever and whatever you need, just so long as I can protect you."

  She looked down and nodded slowly as she processed all that I said. I worried she was about to take me up on my “whoever and whatever you need” offer and suggest I leave her alone, but instead she just raised her head and said “Okay.”

  ‘Okay’. Yeah, I heard that one before.

  “Sophie,” I slowly stood and walked over to her, placing my hands on her arms that hung limply at her side, “Do you want me to stay away from you?”

  “No,” she said instantly and my shoulders relaxed a bit. I pulled her into a hug, leaning my head down to breathe in the scent of her
hair, which always smelled of honey. I felt her arms wrap around my waist tightly and I took it as a hopeful sign that we were going to be okay.

  “Thanks for coming to me.” She pulled away before I was ready but I stepped back to give her more space. “You should probably go now. It’s really late and if my dad comes in again and sees you,” her voice trailed off as her eyes raked down my body. She bit her lip as a blush spread across her cheeks and I tried to bite back a smug smile.

  At least I knew she was still attracted to me. She had a point, though. It was early in the AM and I was dressed in only a towel with wet boxer briefs underneath. Not really the best outfit for a serious talk. I turned and took my jeans from her chair, dressing quickly. My Henley shirt was damp and icy and I hissed as it slipped over my stomach. I didn’t like feeling cold and wet but if it made Sophie more comfortable I was happy to do it.

  When I turned around I saw she had turned her back away from me. She was bouncing up on her toes, her physical tell for being nervous. I put my hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around to face me.

  “Are we good?” I asked. I wanted so badly to kiss her to be sure, but her responding nod came off a little too stiff. “Okay then,” I said, walking over to her window. I opened it up and was grateful to see the downpour had lightened. This would make climbing down the tree a lot easier.

  “I’ll call you,” she said from behind me. I froze. This was all-too-familiar. My gut was telling me things were not okay and here I was pretending to go along with her pretense when clearly she was not convinced she should stay with me.

  “I don’t believe you,” I said defiantly, turning back around. I started walking towards her and she backed up nervously to the bed.

  “Noah, please, my dad,” she whispered. I threw my hands up in the air in frustration.

  “I don’t care! Let him come in! I’m not leaving until we have an honest conversation about things and I’m positive I’m not going to go another four days getting the silent treatment from you!”

  “Noah, come on,” she whined, glancing at her door nervously. I placed my hands on her shoulders and pulled her in, resting my forehead against hers.

  “Why are you fighting this, Sophie? Why are you shutting me out?”

  "Noah, please," she pleaded, "Everything will be fine if you just go." My Arrow was telling me to give her space that she wanted, but another side of me was still fighting to give us a chance.

  "You really want me to leave you?” I couldn’t understand it. Was this really what she wanted? It was my worst nightmare come true.

  " It's really late, and I'm not…decent." Oh, was that why she wanted me to go? Relief flowed through me as I let out a breath.

  "On the contrary," I murmured, my index finger moving underneath one of the thin straps of her slip, "I think you look much better than decent."

  “Noah!” She pushed my arms away, scandalized. Okay, Noah, it was clearly not the time to try and act seductive.

  "Fine." I pushed my hair out of my face as I thought about things. Perhaps it was time to call it a night after all. "I'll go,” I conceded, “But I'm coming back tomorrow night, and the night after that until this is fixed."

  "Noah, you can't do that," she said with a roll of her eyes. She could scoff all she wanted at the idea, but that was absolutely my plan. I wasn’t going to leave her alone until she was upfront about her fears with me!

  “See you tomorrow night,” I said casually, making my way over to the window again. She grabbed my elbow and pulled me back. The look of anger that I was well acquainted with and had grown quite fond of had displayed itself across her face. Finally a response other than apprehension or false nonchalance!

  “You’re just going to climb that tree and come through my window every night? Who are you- Peter Pan? Don’t be ridiculous! That’s crazy!” That set me off.

  “I don’t care!” I yelled, “If you need more time to think about us, you’re going to do that thinking with me right beside you. If you expect me to just leave you alone or forget that any of this ever happened well then you’re the crazy one!”

  “Will you stop yelling?” she whispered harshly, her eyebrows still furrowed in rage, “What is your problem?”

  “My problem?” I couldn’t believe her nerve. “My problem is that I’ve had the most amazing month of my life from knowing you, and you’re acting like it’s meant nothing! My problem is I’m madly in love with you and you keep pushing me away!” Her eyes widened and I was struck with the realization of the confession I had just made. I deflated completely. “Yeah, Sophie. I know we haven’t been together for that long, but I do. I love you. Okay? I love-“

  Though I would have been happy to say it a third time, my declaration was cut off by Sophie’s mouth slamming into mine. Overjoyed, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up, eliminating any possible space between us. Finally. I never wanted to go so long without kissing Sophie again. It was like I had been strangled for days and was only now able to breathe.

  Even as I lowered her back onto the floor, she refused to stop kissing me. Fisting her hands around my shirt, she pulled me with her as we backed up towards the bed. We clumsily fell onto it, breaking apart to laugh as quietly as possible. Our laughter quickly faded, however, as we looked into each other’s eyes and we collided once more.

  I tried my best not to combust with happiness when she rolled herself over me, or to pant too loudly as she straddled my waist and kissed her way down from my jaw. There was a sudden pinch from her teeth on the most sensitive part of my neck, and I hissed in a breath when she took it into her mouth to kiss away the sting.

  Had I known this would happen when I told her the obvious truth of being in love with her, I would have done it a very long time ago.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sophia

  After I calmed down from essentially throwing myself at him, Noah and I cuddled together under the covers. I had given him dry clothes to change into, which more or less fit him as well as something from a toddler store would fit me. The sleeves and pant legs were about five inches too short, and the shirt looked so tight it looked as if it could have been painted on.

  Smiling at his ridiculous outfit, I nuzzled into his chest while he gazed up at the ceiling. He was running his finger over the outer edge of my ear and he had the most relaxed expression I’d ever seen. It’d been too long since I’d seen him look so peaceful.

  “What’s it like?” I asked, unable to help my curiosity, “Shifting?” Once we had gotten in a comfortable position I more or less blurted out every question as it came to mind.

  “Well,” he said as he moved his finger to trace shapes across my back, “It’s not painful, if that’s what you’re worried about. I barely feel it. It’s like a wave that moves through the entire body. Just as quickly as it arrives, it’s gone, and then you find your mind and consciousness in a whole other form. It’s not even disorienting, because it’s just as familiar a place as my human body.”

  Another moment of silence filled the room as I contemplated this. Now that I was getting over my tenuous reservations, I was beginning to feel a little excited about the whole thing, like I had been invited into a secret society very few people knew about.

  “I love having you in my arms, talking about all of this,” he said with a happy sigh, “There were so many moments I just wanted to blurt it out and tell you everything, but I was so scared of the consequences. I can’t tell you how good it feels for it to be safe enough to open up to you.” I pouted and raised myself up on my elbow, stroking a dark curl out of his eye.

  “I’m sorry it took me a couple of days to come around to things.”

  “Four days,” he blurted. He looked up at me with a smile in an attempt to ease the guilt I felt, “But who’s counting?”

  “I counted,” I asserted. I didn’t want him thinking he was the only one who felt miserable during the time we spent apart. “I spent almost every hour of every day trying to bring myself to
call you.”

  “But you were too scared,” he guessed, moving to sit up against the headboard.

  “Not of you,” I sat up and faced him, hoping to keep the tension from reappearing on his face, “Sure, I may have had a couple low moments of doubt but I mainly stayed away from you because of my fear of…the other kinds. When I came here it was important for me to live a normal, peaceful life and I guess I sort of thought being with you meant being in a world with those other creatures too.”

  “That world is the real world, and being my girlfriend isn’t going to put you at risk for a werewolf attack.” He took my foot in his hands and started a slow massage. “There’s a reason everyone is under the belief that we’re mythological. We’re good at keeping a low profile. In fact, you’ve probably interacted with at least three different types of secret creatures in your lifetime and never even noticed.”

  “Now that I know about it all aren’t I a liability, though?” I was sure there were plenty of species that wouldn’t be happy to hear about some human girl learning of their existence.

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he insisted, “And I won’t tell you any of their secrets so they would have no reason to harm you. Besides, you’re good if you’re with me.”

  “So I’m a shifter by association?” I raised an eyebrow, and he laughed, leaning down quickly to kiss my toes. I jerked a little at the adorability of it, but he pretended not to notice.

  “Exactly. With me by your side, you have a VIP all-access pass to the secret club of the supernatural.” I smiled and watched his thumb move across the pad of my foot. I know I had essentially beaten the truth out of him, but I still couldn’t believe how much he trusted me. From the hospital bills, to the car repair, to now letting me in on his family’s secret, I wasn’t sure if I was worth all this trouble.

  Reminded of the accident, I looked up at him with a sudden thought. “Noah,” I asked slowly, “How did you get hurt that day?”

  His eyes widened as he shifted uneasily. “Uh,” was all he said in response. Was he hesitant to tell me that Benji had attacked him? Did he think it would make me run scared again?