His eyes twinkled as a wide smile spread across his face. “I’m not asking you to move in. I’m asking you to stay longer,” he clarified.
“Okay, just checking,” I said before brushing my lips against his.
Eli took control of our kiss. His lips worked over mine in the fiery way they had the night before and lust sparked to life inside me.
Holy hell, becoming imprinted had definitely intensified things between us. Like times one hundred.
Eli pulled away all too soon. “I guess I’ll let you head home. Remember though, we’re meeting with Dorian at noon to go over the game plan so we’re all on the same page before heading to Peter’s house today.”
The mention of Dorian and Peter killed the moment for me. It also reminded me of what today was—Drew’s funeral.
“Yeah, I remember,” I muttered as I headed to the couch to gather my clothes.
Once I grabbed them, I went to the bathroom and changed.
“You didn’t have to change,” Eli said as I emerged from his bathroom. “I liked the sight of you in my shirt.”
“I’m sure you did.” I held the shirt out to him. “But I think this is the only clean article of clothing you own, and it’s not even clean now that I dripped yoke on it.”
A wicked grin twisted across his face. “You’re probably right about that. I need to figure out this whole laundry business.”
“Laundry 101, coming up.” I headed back to his bedroom. Eli followed me.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he watched me from the doorway while I buzzed around his bedroom, scooping up his dark clothing first.
“Gathering a load of laundry so I can teach you how to use your washing machine.” I glanced at him from over my shoulder. “You do have laundry detergent, right?”
“Yeah. My mom gave me some as part of her moving out present.”
“That was sweet of her,” I said as I picked a few more dark articles of clothing off the floor. “Here, take these to the washer.” I handed him the clothes I’d been holding and then bent at the waist to grab a few more dark T-shirts.
I started down the hall and spotted Eli at the washing machine off the kitchen. He lifted the lid and crammed his clothes inside. At least he had enough sense to spread them around instead of keeping them lumped in one spot. There was hope for him yet.
“Okay, so here’s what you do first,” I said as I tossed the clothes I held into the washer as well. “Gather clothes, place them in the washing machine, pour a quarter cup of detergent in, close the lid, and press this button. Done. Wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Why did you grab all the dark clothes? Do they really have to be separated like that?”
“If you want your colors to keep their colors, then yes. Don’t ever wash whites with darks. You’ll end up with a mess. Trust me.” I’d learned that the hard way last summer when I ruined my favorite pair of white shorts.
“What about lights and darks? Can those be mixed?”
“No. Not unless you want faded colors quick. At least that’s what Gran says.” I looked through the cabinet above his washer and dryer, searching for dryer sheets. A box of them caught my eye. Thankfully, his mom had given him everything he needed to do his laundry. “Once the machine goes off, you move all of the wet clothes into the dryer and put one of the sheets in. Clean the lint trap. Press this button and voilà, clean clothes.”
“Sounds easy enough. Thanks for the lesson.” Eli smirked as he pulled me into him again.
“You’re welcome.” I brushed my lips across his. “I need to go, though.”
The longer I stayed, the more awkward it would be when I walked in the door at Gran’s.
“I’ll see you at noon,” Eli said as his fingertips dug into my hips. It made him seem unwilling to let me go. I loved that.
“Noon. Got it. Are we meeting here?”
“Yeah.”
“You better have lunch waiting then.” I slipped out of his grasp and headed for his front door. “A grilled cheese would be nice. It would be even better with tomato soup, though.”
“Hey, you’re the grilled cheese master. Not me.”
“You were there when I cooked them last time. You know my method. See you at lunch,” I said as I slipped out the door.
I wasn’t expecting him to cook me a grilled cheese with tomato soup; I was only teasing. However, it would be a nice gesture if he did.
Gravel crunched beneath my sandals as I started toward Gran’s trailer. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew the sun was growing higher in the sky by the second and the slight chill that always seemed to dampen the air on summer mornings had already started to dissipate.
The clanking of a glass caught my attention as I neared the Bell sisters’ trailer. I cringed as I spotted them on their porch, sipping a yellowish-orange liquid out of champagne flutes.
“Good morning to you, Mina,” the oldest Bell sister said.
I plastered a smile on my face and wondered if I’d be able to play it off as though I’d come from a walk at the lake instead of Eli’s. Probably not. The sisters would most likely smell Eli on me.
“Coming from Eli’s so early in the morning, are you?” the youngest of the Bell sisters asked. Her knowing tone made my heart beat out of its normal rhythm.
It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to have been caught leaving Eli’s trailer early in the morning, I just didn’t like the way she was looking at me. All smug and condescending.
I opened my mouth to say something in response, but caught sight of Gran carrying groceries into our trailer. “Looks like Gran just got back from the store. I should help her carry the groceries in. Have a good morning, ladies.”
I rushed toward Gran, not caring if she noticed I was coming from Eli’s after having spent the night, talking with her about it would be better than talking with the Bell sisters.
“Morning,” I said as I walked up to her and reached into the bed of my dad’s truck for the remaining groceries bags. “Let me help you carry these inside.”
“Thank you.” Gran stared at me. Her eyes soaked in every inch of me. Would she be able to spot something different? Would she know something had changed? “I thought I heard someone leave last night around three. Was that you?”
“Yeah. It was me. I couldn’t sleep,” I said without meeting her eyes.
“And you’re just now getting home?” She turned toward the trailer to start up the stairs. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to make me say I’d been with Eli?
“Yeah. I went to Eli’s to talk to him but ended up staying the night,” I admitted, trying to make myself sound as though it wasn’t a big deal.
Gran glanced at me from over her shoulder. “Oh. Okay.”
She opened the door and stepped inside without another word. I didn’t know what I’d expected her to say, but that wasn’t it.
“Okay? That’s all you have to say?” I asked as I followed her through the door. I closed it behind me with my foot.
“What more do you want me to say? I’m sure you don’t want to go into details about your night with Eli. Do you?”
“No, but I figured you’d have something else to say besides okay.”
“Like what?” Gran asked as she set the groceries on the counter.
“I don’t know,” I said as I placed the bags I’d carried inside beside hers and tossed my hands up. “Maybe I told you so. Maybe I’m glad you finally gave Eli a chance. Maybe the two of you were destined to end up together or some other woo-woo response. Anything besides just okay.”
Gran shifted around to face me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked me directly in the eye. “I’m glad you finally gave Eli a chance. I always knew the two of you were destined to be together. The heart wants what the heart wants. I’m glad you finally gave your stubborn side the boot where it concerns him.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes.
“There, now that’s out of the way, why don’t you put these groceries
up?” Gran insisted. “You might want to take a shower afterward because you reek of Eli, which is something I don’t think your father will want to wake up smelling on you.”
I pursed my lips together. Yeah, that might not be the best idea. While I knew he would find out Eli and I had imprinted soon enough, I didn’t think he’d enjoy learning about it within the first two minutes of waking.
I rushed to put the groceries up and then hightailed it to the shower.
9
After a long shower, I headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. My cell rang before I made it, and I backtracked to my bedroom to grab it off my dresser where I’d left it charging. Alec’s name lit my screen. Dread pooled in my stomach at the sight. I didn’t want to answer his call, but I knew I needed to. Especially after what we’d talked about last night and what happened between Eli and me.
I always thought I would never be cruel enough to break up with someone over the phone, but here I was, contemplating taking the easy way out while I stared at his name lighting the screen of my cell.
“Hey,” I said when I answered.
“Morning. I didn’t wake you, did I?” Alec asked.
“No. I’ve been up for hours.”
“Oh, okay. I was worried you’d still be sleeping. I don’t know what time you normally get up in the morning. It’s not something we’ve ever discussed—whether you’re a morning person or a night owl. I always assumed you were a night owl, because of…well, you know.” He fumbled his words a couple of times, but kept going.
It was clear I wasn’t the only one nervous during this phone call.
“I don’t have a preference, actually. I’m not either. I like to think I’m somewhere in the middle, I guess,” I said.
“That’s good.” He released a long breath. “Look, I couldn’t sleep last night because of everything I said on our date. I kept thinking about how I must’ve sounded… like I was only with you because of what you are and not because of who you are. I wanted you to know that’s not true. Not at all.”
Why did he have to be so damn sweet?
Imprinting with Eli and breaking things off with Alec couldn't have come at a worse time. There was no way for me to not make it seem as though I was breaking up with him because he knew what I was. There was no way to not break his heart, but there was also no way I could continue letting him think we were dating when I’d already given myself fully to someone else.
“Thanks, but umm, there’s something I have to tell you,” I said as I closed my eyes, forcefully pushing the words past my lips.
“You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?” Alec asked with a sigh. “I knew it would happen.”
My mouth grew dry. I licked my lips and picked my next words carefully. “It has nothing to do with you knowing what I am.”
“You don’t have to explain. Or lie. It’s okay. I didn’t think we’d last long anyway. I’ve always thought of our relationship as temporary.”
Was he joking? How was he was handling this so well?
It wasn’t as though I expected him to become irate and start calling me names, but I damn sure didn’t expect him to say he knew it would happen, that he’d thought of our relationship as temporary.
“Why would you think that?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
“I’m not a werewolf. I’m not like you. Things with us would never last or become long term, right? I mean, it seems like everyone in your trailer park is a werewolf. Unless you made me into one, I don’t see us being able to be together forever. It would break one of your pack laws or something, wouldn’t it?”
His words broke my heart, but he was right.
“I can’t make you into a werewolf. It’s something you’re either born with or you’re not. It’s not like in the movies were someone gets bit and turns into a werewolf at the next full moon.”
“I know that much, but only because I thought it would happen to my uncle. It never did. All it left behind was a scar. That’s how I figured out everything I’d seen on TV about your kind was probably a myth.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. He was too smart for his own good.
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. This was the weirdest break-up to ever go down in history.
“You don’t have to be sorry. I knew this was coming, remember? We’re good. At least on my end. Are we good on yours too? I don’t want you to disappear on me.” He chuckled.
“I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to worry.”
“Good,” Alec said. “You wouldn’t only hurt my feelings if you disappeared, you’d hurt everyone else’s feelings too. Benji’s especially. He really likes you.”
“I like him too.” I smiled even though he couldn’t see me. “Except for when he has all that black crap stuck in his teeth.”
“I know. No one likes that,” Alec said.
Silence built between us. I didn’t know how to go about wording the next thing I needed to tell him.
“We’re heading to the track later to blow off some steam since today is Drew’s funeral,” Alec said before I could speak again. “Did you decide if you were coming to pay your respects? It’s at one.”
“I don’t think it would be wise of me to come.” Shane didn’t want me there, and frankly, I didn’t want to be there.
“You’re probably right,” Alec muttered, and I wondered what Shane had told him. Did Alec think I had anything to do with Drew’s death? “If you’re not doing anything around four, I’d love it if you headed out to the track to ride four wheelers with Benji and me. I doubt Shane will be there. He’ll probably be spending time with his mom and oldest brother. Becca will be out there later tonight, Ridley too. If you don’t feel like it though, I totally understand. I just wanted you to know that’s what we’re all doing. I don’t want things between us to be weird.”
“I can’t make any promises about tonight, but it’s something I’ll keep in mind.” It felt like an honest answer, even though deep down I knew it wasn’t. I wouldn’t be going out to the track tonight because I had no idea how scoping out Peter’s house might go. “I have something pack related I’m supposed to do. Also, I have to be honest with you about something else. You might not want me coming to hangout after you hear what else I have to say.”
“You’re with that Vargas boy, aren’t you?”
How did he know that? A shiver crept up my spine as I wondered if he’d somehow saw me heading to Eli’s last night.
“I am.”
“Figured. I saw the two of you in the woods a few weeks ago at the last full moon. I couldn’t hear everything you were saying, but I did manage to catch a word here and there. He said something about some sisters knowing he would be lying. I didn’t understand it, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way you looked at each other. There’s something strong between the two of you, and it’s easy to see that it’s a lot stronger than anything we ever had.”
How did he pick up on so much in such a small chunk of time? The moment he was talking about had only lasted a few minutes before Eli walked away. The memory of how much I’d wanted him to go to the lake with me shifted through my mind, causing a yearning to be near him to sweep through me. I shoved the sensation away.
“I swear to you I’m not as much of a stalker as I sound like I am. I was in the woods close to where you were that night and saw the two of you together. I knew then that I’d been right and what we had wasn’t going to last. I’ve been waiting for you to let me down easy ever since.”
I didn’t know what to say. Alec had been dropping bombs on me lately left and right, but this one blew me right out of the water. “Yeah, I’m not going to lie and say you’re not freaking me out.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to. Trust me, that’s not what I’m going for.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Okay?”
“Yeah. You asked me to trust you. Considering everything I was keeping from you, I think I at least owe you th
at. You’re right. There is something larger than life going on with Eli and me.”
“Like you’re fated to be mates?” he asked.
“Yuck. I hate that word.”
“Fated?”
“No, mates.” It left a bad taste in my mouth just saying it.
“Why? Isn’t that what your kind calls it?”
“Not always. Some do, but we choose to call it imprinting in our pack.”
“Okay, so the two of you are imprinted then. I guess, congratulations.”
The sadness to his words tugged at my heartstrings. This conversation had grown past awkward. It was time to nip it in the bud.
“Right. Listen, tell Shane I’m sorry for his loss at the funeral today. I’m not going to make you any promises about tonight and four-wheeling, but thanks for the invite,” I said, hoping he caught on that I needed to get off the phone.
“I will.” He cleared his throat. “I guess I’ll just say I’ll see you when I see you.”
“That works,” I said. “And thanks for being so cool about everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. It just is what it is.”
“Bye,” I said before I hung up.
I leaned against my dresser and replayed the entire conversation in my head. Alec had known about Eli and me. He’d seen us in the woods, and he’d never said a word to me about it until now.
Maybe Eli had been right. Maybe I did need to be more cautious when I was around Alec. There seemed to be a lot about him I’d underestimated.
10
I felt like all eyes were on me as I walked from my place to Eli’s at a little before noon. Eli’s mom was outside tending to her flower bed, but I swore she stared at me from the corner of her eye. The Bell sisters were on their porch still, their orange drinks replaced with something a translucent yellow. They smiled and waved as their eyes continued to follow me to Eli’s. Even Mr. Russell sat in a chair outside beneath the shade tree at the corner of his trailer. In his lap was a gun he appeared to be cleaning. I could feel his eyes on me, though.
The news of Eli and I imprinting had spread through the park like wildfire.
Moon Severed (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 3) Page 8