by Wendi Wilson
“But,” she said hoarsely, then cleared her throat before continuing, “I hurt him. Did I break some kind of pack law or something? Am I in trouble?”
At that, several people in the room burst into laughter. Melanie wanted to crawl under the table, but Jeremy’s warm hand on her knee kept her in place. The laughter halted as abruptly as it started when Darren held up a hand.
“Melanie,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “you are not in trouble. I couldn’t be more proud of you, actually. You protected your mate from a threat. That’s rule number one in the cynanthrope handbook.”
Melanie felt Declan tense beside her at the word “mate,” but her mind was reeling too fast to make much of it. “There’s a handbook?”
Darren’s smile widened. “Figure of speech, sweetheart. Don’t worry. You’ll learn everything you need to know while you’re here.”
Melanie nodded and looked back down at her barely eaten food. She stirred it around with her fork, willing her hot cheeks to cool. She was extremely grateful when Darren changed the subject, even to a distasteful one.
“I got a call from one of my police contacts in Amblin. Your former teacher has been indicted and the trial is set for September. They’ll be calling you, Melanie, as a witness for the prosecution. We’ll have to go back to Georgia for the trial.”
“Okay,” Melanie said in a small voice. She had no intention of living here that long, but she didn’t voice it. She had agreed to give Wilkes a chance, so she kept her mouth shut and let her parents think what they would.
“Well, enough of that subject,” Elaine said, cutting through the silence that had fallen on the room. “Melanie, your birthday is in just a few days. What do you want to do to celebrate?”
Melanie was in the process of drinking a sip of her water and nearly spewed it across the table. She coughed and gagged for a few seconds before choking out, “Um, I think I might be a little busy, you know…shifting.”
Declan snickered beside her and Melanie saw several other people hiding smiles behind their hands. She looked across the table at Willow, who was biting her lower lip. Melanie’s eyes shot back to Darren who had one side of his mouth quirked up.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“The first shift doesn’t automatically happen on your seventeenth birthday, sweetheart.”
“But I thought…” She trailed off and her eyes shot to Jeremy.
“It did for me,” he said quietly.
“Sometimes it does,” Darren said. “Most times, not. The first shift is always after that birthday, but usually closer to the next full moon.”
“But I thought the moon didn’t cause the shift.”
“It usually doesn’t. There’s something special about the first shift, though. The moon seems to pull it out of us.”
Jeremy grabbed Melanie’s hand and looked into her eyes. “There was a full moon on my birthday. I didn’t think anything of it, especially since the moon had nothing to do with any of my subsequent shifts. Something else my parents failed to mention to me, I guess.” His mouth pulled down into a frown.
“Jeremy,” Darren said, “don’t hold that against them, son. They were trying to protect you the only way they knew how. I’m sure they figured the less you knew, the better. If they started having all this information about what they are, what you are, you would have started questioning how they knew so much about it.”
“I guess,” Jeremy mumbled, sounding unconvinced.
“When is the next full moon?” Melanie asked, to no one in particular.
“On the ninth,” Declan answered.
Melanie did the math quickly in her head. “So I have about a week…”
She trailed off, lost in thought. She had worked so hard to prepare herself, thinking her life was going to change dramatically in only three days. She wasn’t sure if having to wait an extra four was a good thing or not.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Declan said, putting his warm hand on her shoulder as he spoke. “You have a lot to learn and the extra time is a good thing.”
“Were you reading my mind?” Melanie asked, staring into his aquamarine eyes.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “No, Mel. I don’t need to be a mind reader. We’ve all been there. We all know what you are going through and we’re here to help. All you have to do is ask.”
Melanie stared at him for a few seconds, trying to read him. His words sounded genuine, but there was something in his voice, like there was more he was trying to say. She looked across the table at his parents, and they smiled encouragingly at her.
Turning her head, she caught Jeremy staring at Declan’s hand, still resting on her shoulder, with a slight frown marring his brow. He quickly erased it from his face and smiled, squeezing her hand once more. Melanie squeezed back and gave a slight shrug of her shoulder, hoping that Declan would take the hint.
Declan caressed her shoulder lightly with his fingertips as he pulled his hand away. She felt tingles, almost like static electricity, where his fingertips brushed against her. She shivered, but tried not to show any other sign that his touch had affected her. What the heck? she thought.
“Are you cold, Mel?” Jeremy asked.
“No. I’m good, thanks.” Of course he noticed, her mind screamed. What the hell is going on?
She spent the rest of the meal wrapped up in her thoughts and no one tried to pull her into a conversation again. Everyone assumed Melanie was worried about her impending change, but that’s not what had her freaked out. Her mind was tied up in knots, thinking about Declan and that damned feather-light stroke of his fingertips. She shivered again.
Why had he done that? Is he actually interested in me? she thought. He knows I’m with Jeremy, that my heart is taken.
The thought of Declan wanting her made butterflies erupt in her stomach. The memory of his touch and the spark of electricity between them derailed her brain and made her body go haywire. Movement on her left caught her eye and she focused on Jeremy’s strong hand pushing a fork around his plate.
No, she thought resolutely. I’m reading too much into this. He was just trying to comfort and reassure me. It was just static electricity. And I shivered because it tickled. That’s all it is. Definitely.
She leaned over to Jeremy and whispered, “I love you.”
Jeremy put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. She snuggled her head against his chest and rested her hand on his thigh. The loud screech of a chair jerked her upright, and when she looked back Declan was stomping from the room.
Melanie looked at Jeremy with surprise, but his eyes were on Declan’s receding back. His eyebrows were pulled down and he was frowning. When he realized Melanie was watching him, he shook his head as if to clear the bad thoughts and smiled at her.
“You okay?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah. It’s all good.”
Knowing that everyone in the room would likely hear him, he decided to wait until they were alone to reiterate his frustration and distrust of Declan. The beta’s son wanted something and he had a feeling that “something” was Melanie.
Over my dead body. The thought played over and over in his mind throughout the rest of the meal until he was able to escape with Melanie and head back upstairs.
Chapter 13
Melanie awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. Jeremy had snuck into her room after her parents went to bed and snuggled with her until she had fallen asleep. He was gone in the morning, but she could still feel his warm arms around her and his soft mouth on her lips.
A light tap on her door had her rushing from the bed and across the room without a thought. She turned the knob and pulled the door open saying, “Jeremy, I…”
Her voice trailed off as she realized her mistake. The smile vanished from Declan’s face as his mouth dropped open at the sight of her. His turquoise eyes lowered down her body and back up again slowly. His mouth snapped shut and he swallowed hard as he met her gaze.
Melani
e blushed and crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing her standard sleeping attire- a thin tank top and boxers- which didn’t leave much to the imagination. She was used to Jeremy seeing her like that, but Declan was another story altogether.
“What do you want?” she asked harshly.
He flinched. “Ouch. Not a morning person, I see.”
Her blush deepened. “Sorry. You just surprised me, is all. I wasn’t expecting it to be you.”
“Obviously,” he said, a roguish grin on his face. He let his eyes drop and dragged them back up again.
“Declan.”
“Sorry, sorry. Jeez, I was just kidding.”
“Okay.” She dragged out the word and laced it with impatience. “Did you need something from me?”
Declan’s eyes lit up and his nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath. He released it slowly and gave his head a slight shake. He flashed her a killer smile and leaned against the doorjamb.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot, so I want to start over.” He stuck his hand out and said, “Hi, I’m Declan. Nice to meet you.”
Melanie looked at his hand hanging in the air in front of her and scrunched in her eyebrows. “Seriously?”
“Come on, Mel. I want to start over. I feel like I didn’t make a very good first impression on you.”
Oh, you made an impression, alright, she thought. “This is silly,” she said to him, staring at his still-outstretched hand.
“Pretty please?” he cajoled.
She took a deep breath and sighed. “Oh, alright.”
She stretched her arm out and took his hand. A jolt of heat shot from his palm to hers and she felt the tingle all the way up her arm. She started to sway toward him, then regaining control of her senses, snatched her hand back quickly and held her palm to her chest.
“Is that all?” she snapped.
With a knowing grin on his face, he winked and said, “See you at breakfast, Mel.”
Melanie shut the door with a little more force than necessary and leaned back against it. Her body sagged with relief at Declan’s departure. She jumped and tensed at the sound of knuckles rapping against the wood once more.
Swinging the door open, she said, “What now?”
“Well, that’s not exactly the greeting I was hoping for.”
“Jeremy, hey. Come in,” she stammered as she grabbed his arm and dragged him into the room. She stuck her head out and looked both ways. Seeing that the hall was empty, she took a step back and closed the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Jeremy pulled her arms down and held her hands between them. He looked at her with an arched brow, but didn’t say anything.
“Okay. Okay. Declan was just here,” she blurted out.
“Really?” Jeremy deadpanned. He had smelled Declan’s scent as soon as he walked in. “What did angel boy want?”
“Will you please stop calling him that?” She rolled her eyes. “He said he wants to start over. He doesn’t like that we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Okay,” he said, drawing out the word like a question.
“What?”
He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to change his mind and sighed. “Nothing.”
Melanie tugged him over to the bed and sat down, pulling him down next to her. “Talk to me, Jeremy. What’s wrong?”
“Mel, he wants you.”
Melanie burst into laughter. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she managed to get out between giggles.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Jeremy,” she said as the laughter died down, “he does not want me. Boys don’t see me that way.”
Jeremy cocked his head to the side and looked at her skeptically. “Really?”
“Well,” she backtracked, “except you. You’re the only guy to ever show any interest in me at all. You and Mr. Hughes.”
Jeremy grabbed her hand. “Don’t go there, Mel. That guy is a psychopath.”
“My point, exactly! You and the psycho are the only two members of the male species to ever want me. I still wonder sometimes why you do.” She looked down at their joined hands in her lap.
Jeremy put his hand under her chin and lifted it. “You still have no idea how beautiful, funny, charming, and outright wonderful you are, do you?”
“Stop it,” she said, pushing him lightly on the shoulder. “I know you love me. I don’t know why you do, but I can feel it. That doesn’t mean everyone else sees me the way you do.”
Jeremy stood up and quickly pulled her to her feet. He led her over to the full length mirror that hung on the closet door. He pushed her in front of it and stood behind her, looking at her reflection over her shoulder.
“Look, Melanie,” he said when she didn’t move her eyes from his in the mirror. “Look at your hair, so shiny with gorgeous waves. Look at your eyes. They’re blue today. Your nose is as cute as a button.” He tapped it with his finger. “And that mouth.” A low growl emitted from deep in his throat.
Melanie looked at each feature as he named it, trying to see herself though his eyes. She had always seen herself as plain. Plain and fat. She’d lost a lot of her pudginess recently, but she wasn’t anywhere near as thin as Tara or the other girls deemed beauties by the male population at their high school.
“And this body,” he continued, placing his hands on her waist and letting them trail over the swell of her hips. He turned his head and whispered in her ear, “I’m so glad you didn’t lose all your curves. I haven’t had a chance to kiss them all yet.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her backwards into his chest. He moved one hand up to sweep her hair to the side and kissed her neck. His tongue darted out to lick the spot where her pulse beat erratically and her eyes closed.
“Melanie,” he continued in a whisper-light voice, “you are so beautiful, inside and out.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Everyone sees it but you.”
Melanie turned in his arms and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his waist. When he tried to gently end the kiss, she was having none of it and kissed a hot trail down his cheek to his neck. Jeremy chuckled as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
He smacked her lightly on the butt before striding back to the bed and tossing her on it. He stood there smiling with his hands on his hips while she righted herself and swiped the hair out of her face.
“What was that for?” she pouted.
“Things were getting a little out of control and that was the quickest way to break the tension.” One side of his mouth quirked up in a smirk.
“Ugh. You’re such a jackhole sometimes. I don’t think you really even want me,” she retorted, only half joking.
“It’s time for breakfast,” he said, changing the subject. “I’ll see you downstairs.” Just before he walked out, he turned back. “Nice shirt,” he said with a grin before strutting through the door then closing it behind him.
Melanie looked down in confusion and her face grew hot with a blush. She had on a white tank top and she wasn’t wearing a bra. It was really thin and practically transparent.
“Oh my God,” she whispered to herself, hearing Jeremy’s laughter fade as he walked down the hall.
Chapter 14
“Sundays are a day for rest and leisure.”
Melanie heard Darren’s voice from the hallway as she tried to get up the nerve to enter the dining room for breakfast. She had made her peace with Declan, but facing his parents and the rest of the pack after that embarrassing conversation at dinner the night before was causing her nerves to jump.
“Are you going to stand out there all day?” Darren’s boomed out into the hallway and Melanie jumped.
She turned the corner and looked at her father incredulously. “How did you…”
“Shifter hearing, sweetheart. Mine’s better than most.”
Melanie shuffled into the room and over to the side whe
re a buffet table was set up with all types of breakfast foods. Melanie chose scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast with grape jelly. After loading up her plate she walked over to the head table and sat down in the same chair she had used the night before, next to Jeremy, who was already half finished with his breakfast. He and Darren were the only two there.
She looked around at all the empty chairs and glanced at Darren with the question in her eyes. “I was just telling the boy here that we don’t work or train on Sundays. Everyone sleeps in, so we’re the first ones here for breakfast. You two are free to explore as you want today. After you finish that mountain of food, that is,” Darren said with a grin.
Melanie blushed. “Sorry, I, uh… I’m just really hungry this morning. I have no idea why.”
“I’m just teasing you, darlin’. Cynanthropes need extra calories for all the energy we expend when we shift. Your hunger is just your body’s way of telling you that your first change is nearing. Once it happens, you’ll eat like this most of the time.”
“I never noticed Jeremy eating a lot of food,” Melanie said, looking over at him.
“Well, I was trying to hide what I am from everyone. If people saw how much food I actually eat and I remain this toned and muscular, they’d start to wonder about my metabolism. I always keep trail mix and protein shakes in my backpack and sneak it during classes.”
“Huh,” Melanie said, lost in thought. She shook her head to clear it and said, “Well, I’ll scarf this down and we can go. What do you want to do today?” Without giving him a chance to answer, she looked back at Darren, “What would you suggest?”
“Well, let’s see. You could explore the grounds. There are several hiking trails in the woods, if that’s your thing. The pond down at the edge of forest is a great swimming hole. You could head over to Danville and check it out. There are shops and diners, even a movie theater.”