“Are you finished?”
She releases the final strand of hair and lays it softly on my shoulder. “Yes.”
It’s a narcissistic thing to say, but I look pretty. My hair is soft and wavy, my cheeks are rosy pink, and my eyes are highlighted with a heavy layer of mascara. Raine is a magician.
“I feel your confidence increasing,” She places a hand on my chest. “Seriously, do you feel it?”
I feel her apprehension and fear. “Everything is going to work out. You and Ozzy belong together. You always have.”
She gazes at the floor. “I keep telling myself that, but there’s something a little….” She makes a sour face. “Something is nagging at me, telling me this is a bad idea.”
“You’re just nervous. It’s normal, considering you’re about to get everything you’ve ever wanted. Freedom. Ozzy.”
“I’m being lame. Ozzy doesn’t care about matching, he’s just here to phase.”
Ozzy is a pureblood, unlike Daisy, he needs the ceremony to phase. At least that’s what I’ve read. Who knows if that is even true now that he was given the serum? I tell Raine about Daisy’s ability to phase. “She said it happened after her eighteenth birthday, same as Taylor.”
“If we can skip the ceremony, we won’t have to worry about matching with other people, and having to kill them later so we can be together!”
She’s joking. I hope.
“Rusty phased during an off-the-book ceremony with just him and Monte. Maybe you can do the same.”
Raine glows with the possibility of skipping the ceremony. “This is a game-changer! I don’t see any reason why we should stay. I need to go find Ozzy. Promise you’ll find Jay before the ceremony. You need to work out your kinks before you add an entire new set to the mix. I can’t live happily ever after if my best friend is miserable.”
I leave my room in search of Jay and run into Rory in the hall.
“Ho-ly shit, Abbi. You look hot.” Rory says. “If we weren’t related—”
“Practically everyone here is related,” I remind him. “Which is why we’re not focusing on matching, remember?”
“Yeah, whatever.” He’s holding two cups of ale. “Here. I was playing butler, but you can deliver this one to your man’s room.”
“Who’s room?”
“Are you lusting after more than one dude?” He shoves the cup into my hand and points to the room at the end of the hall.
“That’s Jay’s room?” I drink from the cup. “He’s in there right now?”
“Go get him, girl.” He does a little sashay and enters into the game room, yelling, “I got a winner!”
I drink half the cup as I walk to the end of the hall.
I knock on the door. There are others like it, but this one is Jay’s.
He yells to come in.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jay
I slip on a Howlin’ Ale T-shirt, the classic black with the white logo. It seems appropriate for the day. My phone buzzes on the bedside table with a text from my dad. I bet he’s wondering why the hell I ran away from Abbi earlier. He wasn’t always a runner, he was loyal to his family. When Dillan Dukes was my age, nobody could stand in his way when he set his mind to something. Lowell Duke taught him how to survive, but Kalysia showed him how to love. He lost them both the same year, not by death but by lies.
Someone knocks on the door, probably Oz with my beer. I welcome the interruption. “Come in.” I sit on the bed to put on my socks. He knocks again. “I said come in. Do you need a formal invitation?” Another knock, this one harder. “Okay, jackass.” I walk around the bed wearing one sock. “Don’t worry, I’m decent, wouldn’t want to shatter your manhood so close to Lunam.” I yank the door open.
“Surprise.” Lauren stands in hall wearing bright red lipstick and a fuck-you grin.
If regret had a face, it’d be mine. I gave Lauren a crumb to hold onto last week when I told her I’d circle back to Oregon. It was a lie, and now I’m paying for it.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” She pushes past me, her bag falls with a thud beside the bed.
“What are you doing here?” I remain by the door.
She lies down, her feet draped over the side. She isn’t the kind of woman to play games. She’s always been straight with me, but the challenging look on her face tells me things are about to go off the rails. She chews the corner of her mouth, stands, and creeps closer to me. “I changed my mind about the ceremony.” She places her hands on my chest. “About you.”
“When I left for camp, we said—”
“I know what we said.” She lets out an agitated breath. “I had time to think about us.” She slides her hands down my arms and places her palms against mine. “I was wrong. This is—this could be—something.”
I’m careful with her. I’ve seen her rage. “Lauren, no.” I step back. “You were right. This wasn’t a real relationship.”
Her eyes narrow. “But you said I was special.”
Lauren doesn’t have control of her phasing. It’s something she has struggled with since she turned. Some say it’s because she’s tainted with human blood, Grace think it’s a mental issue. Lauren is naturally volatile, and its magnified in wolf form.
“You were—are— special to me, but we’re on different paths.” I can’t let her know my true feelings for Abbi. That would be disastrous. “You have a life in Oregon. This isn’t for you. Believe me, it’s all childish bullshit.” My timing couldn’t be more perfect. A group of kids run down the hall, girls squealing, doors slamming. “It’s like a frat house around here.” I edge her toward the door. “My dad is staying at a bed and breakfast. You’ll like it there.”
She frantically pulls away. “What the hell, Jay? You’re trying to get rid of me.”
“You don’t belong here.”
“Like you said on the phone, the ceremony is my birthright. I belong here as much as any of them.” She sits on the bed and removes her black leather, knee-high boots. I’ve taken off those same boots from her long, tanned legs many times, as well as the off-the-shoulder gray sweater and jeans she wore today.
“I thought you’d be happier to see me.” She scoots up against the headboard, wearing only her underwear. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. Now I want more. I want coffee on the dock.
“No more talking, that isn’t what we do best.” She reaches for me. Her fingers slide over my palm, and I feel nothing.
“Laur—”
“Come here.” She yanks my arm and I fall on the bed. Her lips assault mine. She tries to pry my mouth open with her tongue.
“You want me, Jay,” she orders. She cocks her head, waiting for me to join in the kiss. “I know you want me.” Her hands go to the zipper on my jeans.
I grab them and hold them between us. She smiles at my abrupt movement. She likes it rough.
“Punish me, Jay. I’ve been bad,” she purrs.
“I don’t want—” I pause, gripping her hands tighter. My skin tingles, heat rises from the back of my neck. “I want….” My eyesight is blurry, and my feet swell to the point where I feel the fibers in my socks stretch. “Something is wrong.” I sit up, and she moves behind me.
“Fighting your desire only makes it worse.” She wraps her arms around my chest and kisses my neck.
Images of Lauren, Abbi, Dad, the woods, and the lake twist and swirl behind my eyes. “What’s happening?”
Lauren presses her hand against my stomach, the tips of her fingers slide under the waist of my pants. “Focus on me.”
Her hand slides lower.
Someone knocks on the door. The term “saved by the bell” rings in my head. Ozzy’s timing couldn’t be more perfect.
“Come in,” I yell.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Two long seconds pass from the time I open the door to when the beer splashes around my feet.
An almost naked bombshell lies in the center of the bed. Jay faces me with a look
of absolute horror. A few more seconds pass, and I finally gain enough control of my body to move. I spin too fast and lose my footing.
The universe is pranking me.
My head hits the hardwood floor with a thud. My ears pound, my eyesight blurs. Jay appears above me. He lifts me in his arms, cradling me. I can’t hear his voice but I see his lips move. He’s yelling at someone.
Her.
He yells, and she scrambles unwillingly from the bed. She’s a haze of hair and skin and boobs. Jay lays me in the warm spot she vacated. My stomach turns. She stands to one side, hands crossed over her curvaceous chest, and I puke. It spills from my mouth across Jay’s pillows. She jumps out of the way as I spew vomit at her, then stomps away. My hearing returns with the slam of a door.
Rory is standing beside the bed, red-faced.
“I think she has a concussion,” Jay tells him. “Go get help.”
Rory looks at the almost naked female pulling on a pair of jeans. “You go, and take your side-piece with you,” he snaps. “I’ll stay with Abbi.” He snatches the towel from Jay’s hand and sits on the side of the bed I didn’t puke on.
For a few moments, neither man moves. The room grows uncomfortably warm.
The female places her hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Come on, Jay. You need some air.”
He shrugs off her hand, gives Rory one last menacing glare, then looks down at me. “I’ll be right back, Abbi.” He reaches for my hand. I snatch it away.
“Miss Patsy is here, she’ll know what to do.” Rory pushes Jay out the door.
It’s just me and Rory. He strokes the hair off my forehead and wipes vomit from my mouth. His gentleness is off-putting. This isn’t the prankster party-boy I know.
“Help me up.” I hold out a hand.
“That isn’t a good idea.”
“Rory,” I warn. He hoists me up. “I don’t want to be on this bed.”
“Why not?”
I swing my legs over the side and plant my feet on the floor. “Use your imagination.”
“Oh, ooohh.” He helps me to a chair, kneels, and examines my face. “I don’t think you have a concussion.”
“You can tell that by looking into my eyes?”
“No. I can sense it. You try it. What am I feeling?” He places my hand in his. I get warmth, then pleasure, desire. He rubs his thumb across my palm. His yearning to be touched overwhelms me, and I pull away. He leans towards me.
I hold his shoulder to keep him at bay. “No. No way. We’ve never, I don’t even—”
“I didn’t either, until I saw you all dolled up. I don’t know, something clicked.”
Lunam changes things, feelings, people. The idea of matching with cousin Rory sends a shiver down my spine.
“You feel something about me too.”
“You’re way off, Rory.” I push him harder.
“We could end up together, Abbi.”
“I’m going to puke again.”
“Don’t fight it.” He cups my chin, holding me in place so he doesn’t have to shoot at a moving target.
“Rory, stop.” As hard as I try to jerk away, he’s stronger. “I don’t have feelings like that for you,” I plead as his mouth grows closer. He’s moving a hand up my leg.
He’s suddenly gone and crashing against the wall.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Jay yells. “Just get out of here.”
Rory jumps up as if there isn’t a Rory-sized dent in the plaster. He stands in front of Jay, ready to retaliate. When he notices the onlookers in the hall, including our Uncle Rusty, he snaps back to himself.
“I don’t know what happened.” Rory grabs his head. “Something isn’t right,” he mumbles and runs out of the room. Rusty chases after him.
Patsy takes me to a room off the kitchen so Dr. Wyatt can check me out. The space is full of medical equipment. I recognize the vials and needles used to draw our blood. Everyone will pass through this room after the ceremony to submit samples. Monte will analyze the results against the data they’ve collected over our lifetime. Once he has the figures, he will complete the last stage of trials for the preservative.
“You have a slight contusion. Nothing to worry about. Despite the fancy equipment in the room, he goes old school with a stethoscope to check my heartbeat. “Everything will be made right after you phase.”
“How does that work?”
“The physiological change from human to wolf alters your abilities to hear, see, run, and heal. When these changes occur before Lunam, your body creates the needed antibodies to combat sickness or injury, which is why major injury would hinder one’s ability to turn. Since you kids have received the serum, it seems this isn’t the case. In the past, over-producing white blood cells killed the gene. The serum put your wolf gene into a dormant state, so your body was able to heal without any negative effect to the gene.”
“Do you think I will turn?”
Dr. Wyatt turns on the faucet and rinses his hands. “I don’t know what your parents have told you about the serum or your dosage—"
“I think Abbi is okay to return to the party.” Patsy helps me off the table and shoves me towards the door.
Dr. Wyatt agrees. “Take it easy for a bit, and make sure you eat.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Patsy stays behind with the doctor. I stand in the hallway, unsure where I should be. Raine is busy with Ozzy. Jay is with his slut. I want my mom.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jay
“I’m going to kill you!” Raine charges down the stairs. Ozzy tries half-heartedly to keep up. “How dare you humiliate my best friend like that.” She shakes a finger in my face and chest bumps me. “Abbi was right, you aren’t worth forever.”
“Can I say something?” Asking permission is a sign of respect.
“Nothing you say can fix this.”
“Let’s hear him out,” Abbi says, and everyone turns in her direction. Me, Raine, Ozzy, and the sizeable audience watching.
“Not here,” I suggest.
We move the shit-show to the game room. To our surprise there are half a dozen guys hiding inside.
“You’re never gonna get laid if you’re up here playing video games,” Ozzy yells at them. “Get the hell out of here.”
Abbi sits on the couch, with Raine glued to her side. She is almost smiling, as if this is amusing, but I feel something else, something stronger coursing through her. The strongest emotion a human can have, and it isn’t love.
Raine leads the conversation. “Who is she?”
“Her name is Lauren. I met her a few months ago at the sanctuary. She showed up looking for help.” I pace in front of them. Ozzy stands behind the couch with a sympathetic expression.
“Did you date her?” Abbi’s cheeks flare red. It hurt her to ask.
It kills me to tell her the truth. “Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three months, give or take.”
“Give or take what?”
“She would leave for a week or two, then come back and—”
“I get it.” Abbi doesn’t care about the details. She just wants to torture me. “Do you love her?”
“No.”
“Does she think you love her?”
Oz makes a face, warning me to tread carefully. This is a trick question, one without a good answer. The truth is the only way out.
“Yes.”
Abbi flinches. Raine growls.
“I thought it was love until I met you.”
Both females look like they want to rip my balls off.
“She’s the female on the video, the one who phased.” Abbi breaks away from Raine and moves to the window.
“Yes.”
“The one you said was a friend.”
“She was.”
“Why did she come here?”
“I don’t know.” I step toward her. Raine springs from the sofa and blocks me. “I didn’t think she would show up.”
“But you kne
w there was a chance, and you said nothing?’ Raine pushes my shoulder, preventing me from getting close to Abbi.
“Oz, have you spoken to Lauren?” I ask. This surprises the hell out of Raine.
“Why would Oz talk to your floozy?” Raine grabs Ozzy by the arm and spins him around to face her. “Please tell me you didn’t know about her and Jay.” She doesn’t let him reply. “You just stood there and let him make Abbi a side-piece?”
“Baby, please.”
“Don’t you baby me. You should’ve told me about her.”
“I don’t keep tabs on who Jay is banging.”
“Dude, come on.” I motion at Abbi, who refuses to look at me. “I haven’t banged anyone in weeks—months.”
Raine grabs Ozzy by the collar and drags him to a corner of the room. While they whisper-yell at each other, I explain to Abbi. She likes answers. I’m going to give her tons.
“Is she the reason you wouldn’t—” She glances at Raine and Ozzy. “Guys, can you give us a minute?”
Raine morphs back into best friend mode. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Go deal with… that.” She flicks a hand at Ozzy.
The door shuts with a loud bang. I hear Ozzy say the game room is closed for the rest of the day. I look at the clock. It’s nearly sundown. I only have six hours to make this right.
“Did you tell her you loved her?”
Honesty, Jay. Even if it feels like your intestines are being pulled from of your body. “Yes, but she never said it back.”
“Why did you think you were in love?”
“She was the first female I’d met like me.” I can’t think of anything beyond that. All the reasons I loved Lauren seem superficial now. Every conversation I had with her was about revenge. When we weren’t plotting, we were in bed. I mistook lust for love. Abbi is worth so much more to me than a toss in the boom-boom room. I have no doubt sex with her will be a mind-blowing experience, but I want it to be more than a name on the wall.
“Is this why you were so adamant about me being in the ceremony? You wanted to make sure it was real? We were real?”
The Lunam Legacy (The Lunam Series Book 3) Page 17