by Morse, Jody
“Okay,” I agreed. “I can come over.”
“Great. I’ll tell Kristina to pick you up around three thirty,” Amanda replied. “And Skye? I just want you to know how glad I am that I met you.”
I smiled. “I’m glad I met you, too.
Chapter 17
“I’m so glad you were able to come!” Amanda cooed, throwing her arms around me in a loose embrace. “We wouldn’t be able to figure out this backup plan without you.”
“You wouldn’t?” I questioned. It was crazy to say, but it was the first time I’d ever felt like a human had really needed me. It made me feel sort of special.
“Well, of course we couldn’t,” Jenny replied. “There’s no way we would ever be able to figure out what Ashton’s interests are without you.”
My eyes widened. “You want to know what he’s interested in?”
“Yeah, we thought that if we knew what he likes, we would be able to figure out a way for Amanda to get to his heart, you know?” Kristina said. “For example, if he likes baseball, then we could find a baseball game and write a message to him on one of those TV screens for him and everyone in the stands to see.”
“Except I don’t think baseball is even in season, genius,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes. Turning to me, she smiled. “If you can think of anything that Ashton likes, it would be extremely helpful to us.”
I hesitated. I couldn’t tell them about some of the things that I knew Ashton liked: going hunting for meat and killing live animals with his bare teeth and staying out late at night, prowling around in his wolf form.
I thought about it for a few moments, but then I remembered something. I turned to the other girls. “Ashton’s in the poetry club. He must like poetry.” I wouldn’t tell them that I’d seen him write poetry about Lucia before; it was one of those private things about him that I just couldn’t share with my friends.
“Poetry?” Jenny wrinkled her nose. “Wow, that’s so lame.”
“I don’t think it’s lame at all,” Amanda said. “I actually think it’s incredibly hot. I love sensitive guys. They’re one of my weaknesses.”
“Since when?” Kristina asked with raised eyebrows. “You usually date football players. And, even though some football players can be sensitive, I don’t think you’ve ever dated one who was.”
“Well, of course they weren’t. If they were, they wouldn’t have been able to handle Amanda’s criticism,” Jenny muttered underneath her breath.
Amanda shot her a look before saying, “You guys should know better than anyone that I have very different types. I usually date football players, sure, but I also dated Gage Mason for months! And he used to be one of the most sensitive people I’ve ever known.”
“Used to be,” Kristina said pointedly. “The last time I talked to him, that boy seemed anything but sensitive.”
“That’s because Amanda changed him,” Jenny told her. “She turned him into the asshole he is today.”
“Gage doesn’t seem like an asshole,” I spoke up, but as soon as I did, I regretted it. All three of the other girls turned to look in my direction, gawking at me. I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I just couldn’t help myself. Gage seemed so nice…so perfect. “I mean, we’ve only talked to each other a few times and all, since we have gym class together, but he always seems really nice to me.”
“Are you sure you’ve only talked a few times?” Jenny asked, eyeing me curiously. “It was weird enough that you talked to him when we were at the mall, but it’s even weirder that I noticed you follow him into your house at the party last night.”
Amanda glanced over at Jenny. “How come you never mentioned that to me?”
Jenny shrugged. “I didn’t think it was that important at the time. Besides, you were too busy dancing with Ashton at that point, anyway,” she replied. “After that, I just didn’t think about it again.”
“Skye, why didn’t you tell us that you invited Gage to the party? I know we didn’t invite him. We even made a point of telling people not to invite him,” Amanda said. “We wanted to keep the weirdoes away.”
I shrugged, trying to pretend that I wasn’t angry that they had called him an asshole and now a weirdo. I tried to contain my inner wolf, even though it was difficult. “Well, I guess people didn’t listen that well. He saw the invitation at school and then asked me about the party. I couldn’t be rude and not invite him.” That was only sort of the truth. Gage had seen the invitation at school and he had questioned me about it, but there was no reason I had to invite him. If I didn’t really want him there, I wouldn’t have invited him at all.
“I hope you’re not thinking about dating him,” Amanda said, studying my face for a reaction.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” As soon as the lie had slipped past my lips, I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. What if Amanda, Jenny, and Kristina heard about my date with Gage next Friday night? I didn’t want them to find out that I was lying to them when we were supposed to be such good friends.
“Good, I hope not. It would be the biggest mistake of your life,” Amanda replied. She wrote something down on a clipboard that she held out in front of her. “Okay, so we know that Ashton likes poetry. Do we know anything else about him?”
I hesitated. If only she knew that I didn’t know much more about Ashton than she did—considering he wasn’t even really my cousin, and he was actually one of the more closed-off members of my pack. Why couldn’t she have had a thing for Chance or Hunter, instead? The two of them were like open books, and chances are, they probably would have been interested in her if she had been interested in one of them instead of Ashton.
Even though Amanda wanted to try out her backup plans, the truth was…I thought it was going to be a complete waste of time. If there was someone else I could convince her to be interested in instead, I would have, but I didn’t know enough people in school to know who was a right fit for her or who she’d already dated.
So, instead, I racked my brain for anything I knew about Ashton that could seem helpful. Finally, I came up with something, even though it wasn’t necessarily specific to Ashton, but all wolves, in general. “He likes food a lot.”
“That’s perfect!” Amanda squealed excitedly.
I blinked at her. “It is?” I couldn’t figure out why she thought that Ashton’s love for food would somehow convince him that he should date her or make him realize that he had feelings for her, or whatever she thought was going to come of this.
“Yeah, definitely. All we need to do is plan an event that he and I can both be at together where there’s food. The food will make him happy, and it will give us a reason to see each other again. And if I see him again, I can guarantee you that he’ll find me very charming.”
“I think I get it,” I replied, even though the whole plan sounded like a longshot.
“All you need to do, Skye, is hold a barbeque at your house and then invite both of us,” Amanda told me. “It will be really easy.”
“I want to be invited, too,” Kristina said.
“Me, too,” Jenny chimed in. “I haven’t actually admitted this to anyone yet, but I sort of maybe have a crush on Chance. Or Hunter.” She paused and then realized aloud, “I’m not really sure which one of them I like better, but that’s why I need to see them again. It will help me figure out which one of them I’m most interested in, so then I can ask one of them out.”
“Can you even tell them apart?” Kristina questioned. “Because I sure can’t.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jenny replied hesitantly.
“Chance is the one with the scar on his chin,” I told them.
“So, can you have the barbeque?” Amanda asked, glancing over at me hopefully.
“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed. “I don’t know when I should have it, though. What day works for everyone?”
“How about tonight?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah, tonight works for me, too,” Kristina agreed.
Amanda
shrugged. “And I’m in, of course. The sooner I get to see Ashton again, the better.”
“Okay. I guess it’s all settled, then. I’m having the barbeque at my house tonight,” I said, even though I had a feeling that I was getting myself into more than I ever could have realized.
Chapter 18
“Skye, there’s only two dozen hamburgers and two dozen hot dogs,” Chance said, peering at the groceries that I’d unloaded from a brown paper shopping bag.
“Yeah, what’s the problem?” I asked, as I pulled out some condiments. I’d asked Thane to research what humans typically served at barbeques, and his laptop had turned up things like mustard and ketchup, which were things that I’d never even heard of before.
“Well, we can eat that much just between the two of us,” Hunter explained.
I glanced over at them. “You guys need to control your appetite in front of our guests, okay? I don’t want you to look like pigs. I doubt they’ll put two and two together that we’re wolves based on that alone, but it will look weird if you guys eat all of this food by yourself.” I handed them a jar of pickles and a few other items that I hadn’t learned the names of yet. “Take these outside and put them on the picnic table, okay?”
“Okay,” Chance said, pouting a little because I told him he couldn’t eat everything in sight for once.
When the boys disappeared from the kitchen, I heard someone climbing down the steps. Thane came into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. “I know what you’re doing.”
I glanced over at him. “Of course you do.” With a sigh, I told him, “You can’t tell Ashton about this, though. You made a promise…remember?”
“Yeah, and I’m going to stay true to that promise. I’m not going to say anything.” He met my eyes. “That doesn’t mean I have to think what you’re doing is right, though. Ashton’s made it really clear that he doesn’t want to be with this Amanda girl, because she’s a human. There’s no reason for you to try to push her on him.”
I sighed. “I know. I feel the same way. It’s really hard for me to make her realize that he doesn’t want to be with her without telling her the real reason, though. She thinks that his mind can be changed. I figure that if I help give her the opportunity to change it, she can’t say that we didn’t at least try. It just makes me seem like a better friend.”
Thane shook his head and grabbed an apple from a fruit bowl. “Well, whatever. Am I invited to this barbeque you’re having?” he asked as he sank his teeth into it.
“Of course you’re invited,” I replied. “Our whole pack is invited.”
“Even Akar?” he asked, wiping some apple juice that had dribbled down his chin.
“Well, I haven’t told him about it,” I replied.
He raised his eyebrows at me. “Keeping secrets from him again? Remember, he threatened to send you back to Alaska if you don’t behave. Not that it would necessarily be a bad thing.”
I glanced over at him sharply. “What are you saying? You want me to go back to Alaska?”
Thane shook his head. “No, it’s not that I want you to go back to Alaska. I want to go back to Alaska.”
“Then go,” I said, waving him off with my hand. “Go back to Alaska. It’s not like anyone is really keeping you here.”
A look of pain filled his eyes. “It’s not that easy for me, Skye. I can’t just go back there. Not when you’re here.”
“Well, then, I guess you’re stuck here,” I told him. “Unless Akar sends me back to Alaska, there’s no way I’m going to go back willingly. And, even if he does try to send me back to Alaska, I’ve already decided that I won’t go back home. I’ll go somewhere else and join another pack.”
Thane shook his head. “You can’t do that, Skye. There’s no way Akar would let you leave the Koto.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “He let Kyana leave. Maybe I’ll join the Tala pack.”
“Kyana’s different,” he insisted. “Akar actually cares about her happiness. He couldn’t give two shits about yours.”
“Well, if he doesn’t let me join another pack, then I’ll just go off on my own,” I replied.
“You’re going off on your own?” a voice asked from behind me.
I whirled around to find Akar standing behind me, with wide eyes. “Sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured him, even though I knew that I wasn’t the one who technically had say over whether I stayed or went. It was ultimately up to him.
“Well, I’m happy to hear that. We do need you, Skye,” Akar said, a newfound softness in his voice today. Apparently, he was already over the party, but now I was going to need to tell him about tonight. I just hoped he wouldn’t mind.
“Um, Akar? I’m having a barbeque at our house tonight, as long as that’s okay with you.”
I studied his face for a reaction, but his expression remained stony. “How many people are you planning to invite?”
“It will just be the pack and three of my friends,” I explained. “Nothing crazy like last night.”
He nodded. “I think it’s a really good thing, to be honest. We need to seem like a normal human family, and normal human families hold barbeques for their friends sometimes. I approve, just as long as your guests leave before midnight so it doesn’t interfere with the initiation tonight.”
“Oh, yeah.” I had completely forgotten about the initiation, even though he’d only just told me about it earlier that morning. Maybe it was because I wanted to forget about it.
“Are you going to come to our barbeque, Akar?” Thane asked.
Akar shook his head. “Nah. I was out late last night.” He shot me a look, and I knew it was because he didn’t want me to mention his habit of not coming in until sunrise. “I think I’m gonna take a nap.”
“Okay.” Thane shrugged. “More food for us, then, I guess.”
“And, Skye?” Akar asked. “I’m glad you’re not really planning on going anywhere.” When he met my gaze, there was a look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite identify. As he headed for his bedroom, though, I tried not to put too much thought into it. I had a barbeque to host, even though I’d never been to one and I had no clue what to expect.
*
We crowded around the picnic table we’d set up for the barbeque while Ashton cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.
Amanda was the first one to take one of the hamburgers from the platter. “So, Ashton, I didn’t know that you like to cook.”
“Sometimes,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m not sure that I’m any good at it, though.”
“Well, I’ll let you know in just a second.” She put some of the pickles, ketchup, and mustard on her hamburger and put a bun on top of it, taking a bite. “Not bad. You could use a few lessons in the kitchen, though,” she said, winking at him flirtatiously.
Thane glanced over at me sharply, and I knew that he was thinking the same thing as me: if Ashton caught onto Amanda’s plan and that I had helped organize it, he would be seriously pissed off at me.
But he didn’t seem to catch onto anything. For now, at least. He shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Maybe if I get some free time,” he replied, sitting on the bench.
Amanda seated herself next to him and tried to start a conversation with him about Alaska when Chance tapped me on the shoulder. “Skye, we have to ask you something.”
“What is it?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“Come over here with us,” Hunter said, tugging at my arm. “We need to talk to you in private.”
I allowed him to pull me away from the rest of our guests and then turned to him. “What is it?”
“What do puppies eat?” Chance asked.
“But it’s not a—” Hunter started to say, but he closed his mouth when his twin shot him a glare. He glanced over at me with an obviously forced smile. “Yeah, Skye, what do puppies eat?”
“Well, I’ve never actually had a dog before,” I replie
d hesitantly. “But I do know that Kyana and Orkos used to buy dog food for Nuka.” Nuka was Joe McKinley’s immortal dog, who Akar’s father and sister had taken care of for years. “They used to buy the food from this werewolf woman who sold homemade dog food, but I’ve seen it at the grocery store before. What makes you ask?”
“Oh, nothing,” Chance replied nonchalantly. “So, say that puppy food wasn’t available. Then what would it eat?”
“Meat? That’s what we eat,” I replied.
“That’s good to know.” A hint of a smile touched his thin lips, even though it was obvious that he was trying to conceal it.
I raised my eyebrows. “You guys know that Akar wouldn’t let you get a puppy, right? I’m pretty sure it was one of the things that the landlord wrote in our tenants’ contract when we moved in. No dogs. If you want a cat, though, I think it said we were allowed to have one de-clawed cat.”
Hunter wrinkled his nose. “I hate felines. They’re such moody animals.”
“Yeah, we’re good. No cats for us. No puppies, either,” Chance replied before turning away from me and heading back over to our guests.
As his twin followed him, I wondered what they were up to. Knowing that I would never figure it out, though, considering they were always up to something, I grabbed a hot dog and sat down at the picnic table, too.
Amanda glanced over at me as I sat down. “Skye, Ashton was just telling me how beautiful it is in Alaska.”
“It is,” I agreed.
“I would love to go there sometime.” She glanced over at Ashton, hopeful that he was going to tell her that they should go together sometime.
Instead, he just shrugged. “Then, maybe you should go.”
Amanda huffed frustratedly. “I hate traveling alone. It’s always much more fun with a friend.”
“I’m sure Skye would go with you sometime,” Ashton replied.
Amanda glanced over at me for help, but I just shrugged. I wasn’t sure how to spark Ashton’s interest in her, and even if I did, I had Thane staring at me like I was doing something wrong.