“Are you taking this as hard as I am?” Lauren asked, her voice still rough with sleep.
“Yep,” I replied dryly.
“I hate being a werewolf.”
Spotting more cracks in the ceiling then I ever noticed before, I repeated myself, “Yep.”
She turned her head slightly. “Is that all you’re going to say?” she asked, the corners of her lips turning up.
“Yep,” I said again, this time I couldn’t get it out without a small laugh.
She grinned. “At least we’re in this together. Nate didn’t have that. Neither did Joe, and he was with Charlotte, but what help is that? I’m amazed he didn’t turn out like her.”
I shifted my head to face her. Pieces of her sandy hair were sticking to the pillow and some were falling in her face. Her bright eyes were not as dull as they had been last night, but they had lost some of their shine. “I’d say that says a lot about his character.” I smirked at her, remembering the way she treated him last night.
She huffed out a breath, blowing the hair off of her left cheek. “I know. But I’m a little upset that he didn’t tell me I was his mate sooner. I had asked him many times if he was hiding something.” Lauren waved a hand at me absently, as if I was about to interrupt her, even though I hadn’t intended to. “I know it was my dad’s fault, but I wish he hadn’t listened to him.”
The sounds in the kitchen stopped. They must have heard what she said, and her cheeks flushed as she remembered their heightened hearing.
We froze, waiting for a reaction. It wasn’t long before there was one. A soft knock sounded on the bedroom door. Lauren’s head spun to me, her eyes round. We knew it was Joe because his scent drifted through the thin wooden door.
“Yes?” I called out.
“Can I speak to Lauren alone?” Joe asked, his voice sounded miserable.
She shook her head at me, clearly not ready for that.
I lifted the covers and made my way to the door. I opened it slightly, the hinges creaking softly. The smell of bacon and butter was stronger with the door open. Joe stepped back, an anxious expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, Joe, but she’s not ready to speak to you alone. Just give her time and let her come to you.”
His gray eyes washed with sadness as he nodded. “Alright.” His lip lifted at the corner, an attempt at a smile. “Breakfast is ready, if you girls are hungry.” He paused, his face looking thoughtful. “Unless you want it in the bedroom?”
I did, actually. I wished I could hide in here in denial. If we never left the bedroom, and ignored outside life including the full moon, would we still be werewolves? I groaned internally knowing the answer to my own question. Nothing I did or didn’t do would change what I had become.
I could see Nate peeking around Joe, peering at me with concern. “Tempting, but we can’t hide forever. We’ll be right out.”
Joe’s eyes flooded with relief, and he stepped away from the door so I could close it.
“Why can’t we hide forever?” Lauren asked, sitting up in the bed and leaning back against the headboard.
I turned away from the door to face her. “Because, we can’t.” I grabbed my blue yoga pants from the chair in the corner and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.
Lauren moved to my dresser. “Can I borrow a pair?” she asked, pointing to my pants.
I nodded as I leaned over, pulling the ring box out of the nightstand drawer. Opening the lid, I stared at the ring. Just a few days ago, I couldn’t wait to wear it, but now, I wasn’t sure. My feelings for Nate hadn’t changed—I still loved him. But I was different now. Maybe I couldn’t handle being a werewolf, or maybe I’d become a killer like Charlotte. Until I knew what was in store, I couldn’t put the ring on. It just didn’t feel right.
Lauren gasped behind me. “Wow, that’s beautiful.”
“I know,” I agreed as I closed the lid on the box, stuffing it back inside the drawer.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to wear it?” Her eyes were wide with confusion.
I shook my head and stood up. “Not yet.”
She was about to ask why, but I silenced her with a look. I didn’t want to talk about it, partly because Nate would hear, and partly because I didn’t want to voice my thoughts.
I barely had the energy to push a brush through my hair before exiting the bedroom with Lauren at my side. For some reason, I felt self-conscious, and I’m pretty sure Lauren felt the same. It was our first morning as werewolves. Would they feel differently toward us, or would we feel differently towards them? Because, even though I hated to think it, this wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t with these men. I winced as the thought crossed my mind. I would never say it out loud, though. I knew that Nate had probably thought the same thing already and was currently beating himself up about it. He was always blaming himself and carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Nate was just placing the food on the table when we approached. And by food, I mean big platters of eggs, bacon, mini breakfast sausages, and hash browns. I thought that I wouldn’t have much of an appetite after our ordeal, but I was wrong. I couldn’t wait to sit down and dive in. Everything looked and smelled so good. Nate glanced up at me and flashed me a guarded smile. He was nervous and didn’t know what to expect from me. And I felt unsure how to act. The air in the tiny cottage suddenly felt warm and uncomfortable.
“Good morning,” Nate said, pulling a chair out for me.
Joe did the same for Lauren. She avoided his eyes as she took the seat. It was obvious they were trying to do everything they could to keep it light and normal. Like everything hadn’t changed over the last few days. I sat down on the chair and let Nate push me forward. He bent down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. My body reacted to his hot breath on my skin, but my mind was still numb. He lingered just long enough to inhale my scent, and he smiled, taking the seat next to me.
“Are you girls hungry?” Joe asked, glancing between Lauren and me.
I nodded. “Starving.” I reached for the sausage and bacon. I didn’t care about the eggs; I just wanted meat—warm, bloody meat that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into. I shook my head feeling a weird sensation in my eyes. Everyone at the table stilled. Lauren’s fork hung in the air as she gaped at me. Nate looked horrified.
“What?” I asked, wondering why they looked so shocked.
Lauren pointed at me. “Your eyes are yellow.”
Dismayed, I reached up and rubbed, hoping to make them green again, hating that they changed in the first place. Would I ever have control of these changes? The others at the table went back to their meal, but Nate watched me out of the corner of his eye. Did he think he was being subtle? I knew he was worried about me, but I felt like a freak already. I didn’t need his constant scrutiny.
I began to eat again, this time as purely Megan, and grabbed a few eggs. I had never been this hungry before and knew it was because of my werewolf side. I had watched Nate and Joe enough to know that their appetite was heightened along with everything else.
We ate the rest of the food in awkward silence with everyone keeping their thoughts to themselves. The only sounds were the scraping of silverware and the occasional grunt from Joe as he chewed his food.
Lauren finished her meal and pushed the plate away. She tapped her empty glass with her discarded fork nervously trying to avoid the pointed looks Joe kept giving her. Right when Joe was about to open his mouth to say something to her, she spun her head around to face her cousin. “I’m sorry for taking your bed last night, Nate.”
Nate gave her a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s okay, Lauren. I know you two needed to be with each other after what you’ve been through.”
“Did you tell my father what happened?” she asked, a crease working its way between her eyes. I’m sure she was worried of how he’d react.
Nate sighed heavily, setting his fork onto his plate. “No. Just that we found you, and you
were staying the night. He wants you to go see them as soon as possible. Your mother is worried sick.”
She gulped visibly. “Should I tell them?”
He shrugged. “That’s up to you. But I know they will love you no matter what.”
Her lips twitched with a failed attempt at a smile. That was happening a lot this morning. I used to think of the cottage as a happy place. But this morning, the small house was dreary and depressing. All thanks to Charlotte. I really hated her.
“I wonder why Megan was able to change when Lauren wasn’t. They were injected with the same needle.” Joe asked, reaching for more bacon and sausage, changing the subject.
Nate turned to his friend. He was holding a water bottle up to his mouth about to take a sip. Now he set it back down and leaned against his chair, looking thoughtful.
“Maybe not.” He paused. “Maybe the one in Megan’s had less of the drug.” He shrugged. “We’ll never know until we find Charlotte. And I want to start the search soon. First, we help the girls with the transition, and then we go after her. I was thinking we could contact Stephen. You said she keeps in contact with him.”
Joe laid his fork on the table and glared at Nate. “I told you how I feel.”
Nate’s face went hard. “And I told you, I didn’t care.”
I could hear their conversation, but it faded into the background taking second place to my hyperactive thoughts. I was thinking about what Joe had said about my change, and why I didn’t have a problem. I remembered watching Joe bite Lauren and lick the wound, and with that memory, an image from the night Lauren had interrupted us popped in my mind. There had been so many feelings and sensations coming at me so fast I hadn’t noticed that night, but as the image surfaced, it all came pouring back to me. Nate scraping his teeth along my neck, and then I felt a puncture, his teeth sinking into my skin, and the soothing feel of his tongue as it wiped over the wound. I had been so lost in the feelings that Nate had created with his soft touch that I had barely noticed the bite. But from Joe’s question, the memory came to the surface.
“It was you,” I said, slowly. The realization fell over me like a ton of bricks. He did it; he saved me from Lauren’s torture.
Nate and Joe trailed off and looked at me. Lauren held a piece of bacon to her mouth that she had stolen from the stack, and her eyes shifted in my direction.
“What was me?” Nate asked as I stared at him.
“I was able to change because of you.”
His brow rose in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“The other night before Lauren came,” I couldn’t help the blush that heated my cheeks. “You bit me.”
His face went white, and then he smiled sadly, shaking his head. “No, Meg, I marked you. And I’m so sorry I did that without asking. The wolf has a mind of its own. But it was just a scratch. Marking is only meant to do just that—to mark the wolf’s territory.” He winced at the word. “I know it sounds bad, and I wouldn’t have done it if I had been fully in control. You can’t become a werewolf unless the skin is punctured, and saliva enters your blood stream.” Despite his words, his face appeared apprehensive.
I nodded. “You did puncture the skin, I felt it. Your sharp teeth poked through.” I paused suddenly feeling embarrassed, my head staring down at my lap. “I forgot about it because everything felt so good.” I looked up though my lashes and saw Joe and Lauren smirking at me.
But not Nate, there was a look of horror on his face. “No. You must not remember it properly. I just scraped with my human teeth. They can’t puncture your skin.”
“Nate, your eyes were yellow, and your teeth had lengthened. I felt them break through, and then you licked the wound.” I might not have remembered until now, but now that I did, I was certain.
His eyes widened.
Joe nodded in my direction and then faced his friend. “It makes sense, Nate. Why else did she change so easily when Lauren couldn’t, until I bit her?”
“That’s what made me think of it.” Joe and I were looking at each other. Lauren was frowning at the memory. The pain I went through when I changed into a wolf was nothing compared to the horror she had faced. We all glanced at Nate at the sound of a snarl.
His face was hard with self-hatred written all over it. “No,” he roared as he pushed himself away from the table forcefully. The table shook, and a loud shriek rang out from the chair as it scraped against the floor. He stared at me in disbelief, and his eyes quickly filled with pain. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered before stalking to the front door. Once he got there, he paused. Abruptly, his fist shot out, slamming into the wall with a loud thud. Pieces of plaster fell on the floor in a clump, leaving a round hole in the wall.
Lauren and I jumped at the noise while Joe just stared at Nate with his eyes full of shock as he watched his friend storm out of the cottage.
Chapter Twelve
Betrayed
After Nate slammed the door behind him, the room fell into silence. No one knew what to say. It was Joe who finally spoke. “This is going to be hard for him.”
I was beyond shocked as I watched the door, wondering why Nate was so upset. He helped me. Did he want me to suffer like Lauren had? His reaction was confusing, and I finally turned my attention from the door to focus on Joe. “What do you mean?”
Joe raised a brow, as if asking “isn’t it obvious?” “Because he hates what he is. He never wanted to be a werewolf, and after all these years, he still hasn’t fully accepted it. It wasn’t until he met you that I’ve seen him truly happy. He would never wish this on anyone, let alone the girl he loved. And to have changed you himself…” He trailed off shaking his head. “This might break him. His guilt will eat him up inside.”
His words stunned me, and honestly, I felt sick to my stomach. “Did you just say he changed me?” My mind was whirling with thoughts that I hoped weren’t true. My mind was in denial, it wouldn’t accept it.
Joe sat up in his chair and glanced from me to Lauren, both of us staring at him waiting for an answer. This couldn’t be true. He gulped, running his hand through his hair roughly. “Um…maybe you should talk to Nate. This isn’t my business.”
“Joe, tell her,” Lauren said sternly. Her hand smacked against the table, shaking the dishes. She seemed as affected as I was.
He cleared his throat nervously, glancing between Lauren and me. “The night Lauren interrupted you and Nate, he bit you, just like you said.” I nodded. I already knew this part; he had helped make the transition easier. Joe looked uncomfortable, squirming in his chair while Lauren and I glared at him waiting for him to finish. He cleared his throat. “Charlotte didn’t make you into a werewolf. He did.” I gasped and Lauren swore. “If Charlotte didn’t show up, you would have turned anyway, because of Nate.”
No, No, No. My boyfriend, my fiancé, the man I loved with all my heart, and who I knew loved me, had turned me into a monster?
A sharp stab of betrayal pierced my soul. “NO!” I rasped, pushing myself away from the table. I grabbed my coat and rushed out of the cottage. Where was I going? I had no idea, I just wanted away from here. I needed distance from everything werewolf. As I stormed onto the porch and down the steps, I heard Lauren call after me. I didn’t hear what she said though. The word “No,” was chanting over and over in my head. This wasn’t happening, my mind wouldn’t accept it.
Lauren watched me from the porch as I tore out of the driveway, my tires spinning in the gravel. I vaguely noticed as I went that Nate was nowhere to be seen, even though his car was still parked in the driveway. I couldn’t worry about his whereabouts. I refused to think about him. HE DID THIS TO ME! The words screamed in my mind as I drove out of the Riley Estate.
Tears drenched my face, and my chest burned from the sobbing as I turned onto Old Trench road. I hadn’t been here since I was a kid, but right now, it was where I needed to be. I slowed to a stop and turned off the ignition, resting my head on the steering wheel. The hard plastic dug into my forehead
. The silence around me was welcoming. I just needed to find a way to make my mind go quiet. How could I have not put it together? When I realized Nate bit me, the first thought in my mind was that Nate had rescued me from the pain Lauren had suffered… not this. And when Joe spelled it out for me, I felt betrayed.
I couldn’t stop replaying the night this happened in my mind. What I had considered an innocent scrape of his teeth on my neck had changed my life forever. How could he do this to me? I looked to him for protection, love, and friendship, and even though he didn’t mean for it to happen, didn’t change the fact that it did.
This might break him—his guilt will eat him up inside, Joe had said. I pushed the memory down. I couldn’t feel sorry for him. I was the victim here, and I needed to feel anger and hurt, without the guilt of his pain tainting that. I had to stay away from him—but for how long? I didn’t know. I just couldn’t face him right now. What could I say?
It had been easier when I thought Charlotte was the bad guy. Instead, it had been Nate, the love of my life, all along. How could I possibly get over this? The shock and confusion that I had felt last night was coming back, but for so many different reasons. I trusted Nate. What Charlotte did wasn’t surprising, but what Nate did, I couldn’t comprehend. I was stunned…speechless, at a loss with how to act, how to feel. I didn’t know what to say to him. We were happy and engaged merely two days ago, and now everything was different. He was the one who was responsible, and I just couldn’t process that.
Lifting up my head, I gazed out at the scenery. I was parked in front of a rock quarry not far from my family home. When I was a kid, I thought it was a big bowl for a giant. Now, I just enjoyed the peacefulness of the place.
I opened the door and made my way over the rocky terrain, stopping at the edge. I lay down on the hard, flat, cold stone and gazed up at the clear blue sky. Too bad I hadn’t thought to bring a pillow. The rock wasn’t what you’d call comfortable. While my favorite thing to do at night was stargaze, my favorite activity during the day was staring up at the clouds. I loved making shapes out of them and just watching as they streaked slowly though the sky. I hadn’t done much of this lately, since I had started working full time at the Riley House.
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