What Lies Inside (A Blood Bound Novel, Book 1)

by Myers, J. L.

  With a shrug, I turned away from her. In the mirror my pale features were returning. “Tell Ty I’m okay, and I’ll be in touch, soon.”

  Vanessa’s reflection nodded. Then she turned and exited back through the bathroom door.

  After stalling for a few minutes, I left the restroom to brave Dorian and Kendrick. They both sat staring at me with mirrored looks of suspicion. There was no doubt I would have to explain everything to them. But I needed time to get my thoughts together. What could I say to lessen the impact on both of them?

  I sunk into my seat, ripped open the chocolate bar, and took a big bite. “Don’t ask,” I mumbled. “I’ll explain everything…later.”

  ~

  After my last class of the day, Dorian dragged me by the arm from the main building. Math was the only subject we shared, and he’d waited impatiently throughout the whole class. Now in the car park a light drizzle fell, clouding the air. When we reached our cabriolet he released me. “Okay. I’ve waited long enough,” he said, voice sharp as a tack. “Spill…”

  With eyes raking over the parking lot, I slumped against our car. Other students were talking in clustered groups, but Kendrick didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight. A breath of relief passed through my lips. Revealing what I knew—along with everything I had kept from Kendrick—to both of them at the same time would be hell. Just telling them would be hard enough without having to endure their matched reactions.

  “Fine,” I said. “But you have to promise to keep an open mind.” When Dorian nodded, I drew in a deep breath and blurted out what he needed to hear. “Marika is a werewolf, too. But there’s more to being a werewolf than either of us knew. They can transform themselves to resemble other people. It’s called imprinting. She…” I broke off, choking on my next words that felt like acid in the back of my throat.

  “I already knew that,” Dorian said. “Well, the part about her being a werewolf. She might not smell like one, but the heat of her flesh matched what I had encountered when Troy was pummeling my face.”

  Disbelief stole across my expression. “You knew? And you didn’t tell me?” Inside I felt betrayed, though I had no right to be. I had kept Ty’s secret from Dorian in the first place. I had been the one to start this deception.

  “You already hated her.” Dorian shrugged, winking at yet another girl, this one a pretty brunette from math. “I didn’t want to add any fuel to the fire.” His hand rose to settle on my shoulder. “But what does her being a werewolf have to do with Ty?”

  Dorian was far from dim. Of course I would never talk to Marika if it didn’t have something to do with Ty. I detested everything about her. A fact Dorian knew all too well.

  I looked up to his frowning face. What I was about to reveal would hurt, no matter how good he was at acting like he was over her. But he deserved to know the truth. “Marika was the girl in my bed, with Ty. She transformed herself to look like me. Dorian,” I said, hurting to see the expressionless and distant look in his eyes. “Ty didn’t know it was her.”

  Dorian shook his head and pinned his eyes shut. Tension-filled silence radiated from his body. “W-why,” he finally spoke in a broken voice. “Why would she do that?” The etched lines across his brow betrayed the pain of what I had revealed. The feelings he still held for that bitch were deep.

  I took his hand, squeezing in a show of comfort. “Because she knew I would find them. Dorian, she hates what we are.” Her hate-fueled words swirled through my mind, you’re not meant to be with him. It’s wrong and disgusting. I shook off the bubbling rage that threatened to rise. No. She’s wrong. “She used you, Dorian. It was her plan all along.”

  “I guess this means you and Ty will be patching things up,” Dorian said, eyes straining. He was clearly trying to bury the heartache he was feeling.

  “You’re taking that prick back!” Kendrick’s venom-filled voice sent a bolt of horror through my bones.

  My head snapped up, startled. Kendrick was stalking forward through the dispersing students, scattering now with the onset of heavier rain. Dammit! The sudden pounding force of my heart sent stabbing pain through my ribs. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want him to find out this way. Yet defensiveness that I couldn’t—and didn’t want to—control, painted my words black. “You don’t understand, Kendrick. It wasn’t Ty’s fault.”

  Kendrick’s face darkened. He moved forward, droplets of rain falling down his face as he clutched my arm. “That doesn’t excuse what he did. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

  Dorian had moved to lean against the side of our rain-slicked car. He seemed oblivious to the deteriorating weather as he stared into the hazy distance.

  And I wanted to rush to him, to comfort him, to not be dealing with my best friend’s jealousy. I ripped my arm free from Kendrick’s grasp. Anger at his disruption to my plans clouded my judgment. I swiped the rain-soaked hair back from my face and gritted my teeth. “He thought it was me.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? What? Was it too dark for him to tell he was about to screw some else? Is that what he told you? Are you seriously that blinded by him?” Kendrick’s fingers tensed as though he wanted to strangle someone. “You can’t believe this shit, Amelia. You can’t forgive him. I won’t let you.”

  Now you’re telling me what I can and can’t do? My eyes narrowed, turning cold enough to splinter ice. “I already have.”

  Kendrick’s face hardened. The muscles of his jaw and throat bunched. He whirled on the spot and darted back across the puddled asphalt. Spurts of water shot up, drenching the bottom-half of his black cargo pants. In seconds, he disappeared past the bordering oak trees edging the far side of the parking lot.

  My anger dissolved as I stared after him. Gut-wrenching guilt churned my stomach. I went to lunge, to take off after my best friend. A tight hand around my wrist stopped me.

  “Let him go,” Dorian said. He pushed back the rain-drenched hair from his forehead. “He needs time to process. Believe me, I know.”

  Defeated, my shoulders slumped. “How’d you become so wise?”

  Dorian smiled, a clearly forced expression that didn’t lift the dullness from his eyes. “You don’t have to be a genius to see that he’s in love with you.”

  “Oh.” The guilt within me flared, scorching me from within. This was all my fault. I searched my brother’s eyes. “Will you be okay?”

  “Of course,” Dorian said, walking around to the driver’s side door. “Now let’s go home. You need to figure out what you’re going to say to make Kendrick feel better, before he returns.”

  A deep groan escaped my throat as I opened the passenger door and fell into the seat. “Great!”

  ~

  I sprawled across my princess-style bed with Lifehouse’s album Smoke and Mirrors playing. Angst sat like a building mountain of stones in the pit of my stomach while I sniffled. In my ear ‘It Is What It Is’ was playing. The song made me wonder if Kendrick and I could get past this giant wall I’d built between us.

  It was almost midnight, and he still hadn’t returned home. Of the many calls I’d made to his mobile, every one remained unanswered. He hates me. Inside my heart felt hollow. Kendrick knew I was back with Ty. But did he know what Ty was? I groaned and rolled onto my side, burying my head within the throw of purple-clad pillows.

  A quiet buzzing, accompanied by the beep of my iPhone spiked my pulse with nerves. I bolted upright and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. The force sent pillows flying across the moonlit shadows of my room as I snatched my phone.

  Please be Kendrick. With my hands trembling, I stared at the text. The message wasn’t from my elusive best friend.

  ‘R we OK? XOXO Ty.’

  Instantly, I felt somehow worse than I already had. I hadn’t called Ty yet. It had been a form of penance, a resolve not to allow myself happiness until I had made everything right with Kendrick. Still, although I felt worse, there was an evident skipping of my heart. The feeling doused some of the worry for my best fri
end. I punched in a quick reply. ‘Sorry, I meant to call. But yeah, we’re okay.’

  I turned on the black-velvet bedside lamp, and then pushed aside the thick, mauve drapes. Their color matched that of the silk draped around the corner posts of my bed. Then I crouched on the wide base of the windowsill. Outside, the landscape was a ghostly blur under the night’s thick fog. The moonlight shining through the fog emphasized twining tendrils of growing mist. A shiver ran like a rippling current down the length of my body. Kendrick, where are you?

  My iPhone vibrated against my palm, making me flinch. ‘I have 2 C U.’

  It was Ty again. I began to type a rebuttal when a quiet tap stopped me short. Something had hit the glass windowpane right beside me. Swallowing my surprise, I threw open the window. A dark figure was standing by the large oak tree just below my window. The thick, browning foliage partly obscured my sight of him. The dense fog muffled his scent. Still, there was no mistaking who stood down there. His stance, build, and the flash of gold eyes were a dead giveaway.

  “What are you doing here?” I whispered.

  Ty stepped out from the shadows, the glimmer of a smile lighting his face. “Stand back. I’m coming up.”

  Words of protest trapped on my tongue. I watched as he sprang from the soggy ground, grasping the lower trunk of the solid oak. His body tensed, muscles bulging as he swung, launching his body feet-first toward the window. I jumped aside just in time as he flew in, landing as silently as a cat on the sill.

  Ty dropped bare-foot and dripping wet from his crouched position to stand. All he wore was a pair of board-shorts, with steam rising from his bare chest. The sight caused my head to swoon. He stepped forward drawing me into his strong arms. His hot touch forced my pulse to quicken. While the flare of his scent flooding my lungs left me breathless.

  “I had to see you,” Ty said, burying his head in the disarray of my tangled hair. “God I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too,” I whispered, struggling to hold back the urge to extend my fangs. A question rose in my mind, spiked by the potency of his blood. “In the dreams, your scent…?” There the scent of his blood had been detectable, but not nearly as compelling as it was now. “It was weaker.”

  Ty’s arms loosened around me, and I noticed a new scar along his collarbone. I peered up into the mosaic of his sparkling gold, amber, and russet eyes. “Amelia, I control everything in a dreamscape. And I didn’t want to use your thirst for my blood to draw you back to me. I didn’t want to manipulate you into forgiving me.”

  The memory of Ty with who I now knew had been Marika, forced my eyes to squeeze shut. Bursts of light exploded behind my eyelids. I could still see everything so clearly. Their exploring hands. Their frenzied kisses. Their bodies screaming for one another. Worst of all, I could almost hear the labored breath as their intensity had escalated. He thought it was me, my rational mind reminded. And I believed that. Still, belief didn’t stop my heart from aching with the pierce of a tightening line of barbed wire.

  Ty’s hot hands found my cheeks, tilting my dropped face up to his. “It kills me to see you hurting. I would give anything to take it away.” His head dipped and his lips trailed over mine. “Amelia, please forgive me. I can’t bear to be without you.”

  “I forgive…” The sudden opening of my bedroom door killed my words.

  “Amelia, I’m sorry. I—” Kendrick’s words snapped off and he froze in the doorway, dropping the black calla lily he’d been holding. His nostrils flared, picking up Ty’s unmasked scent. Disgust twisted his face. “Werewolf!”

  Oh shit, oh shit! “Kendrick, please.” My voice shook and my limbs trembled. “Just let me explain.”

  “Get out!” Kendrick hissed through gritted teeth, poison-filled eyes boring into Ty. He shot forward, fingers tensing into clawed weapons. “Are you deaf, or just suicidal? I said, get out!”

  A warning rumbled from Ty’s chest. He squared his shoulders. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he spoke slowly, receiving a grunt from Kendrick in return. “But if you think I’ll back down, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  With a physical standoff imminent, I forced my shaking limbs to move and darted between Ty and Kendrick. “Stop it, both of you!”

  Kendrick paused, poisoned eyes narrowing at me. I turned to Ty. “I need you to leave.” When his mouth opened in protest, I held up a silencing hand. “Ty, please, I need some time with Kendrick, alone.”

  Ty’s expression had hardened, eyes turning as cold as gold chips. Still he nodded, leaning forward to briefly join our lips. The connection forced a hiss to rasp from Kendrick’s mouth, but he didn’t budge. Then with a single backward glance, Ty dove through my open window and disappeared into the night.

  I turned to Kendrick, my heart racing. He had folded his visibly shaking arms into tight bars across his chest, a barrier that separated us. His face was set in a frozen scowl.

  “I’m sorry!” My eyes turned glassy and I loathed how helpless I felt. “I wanted to tell you, I tried…”

  “You knew,” Kendrick cut in, irises blazing sliver. “The guilt was written all over your face the first time I encountered him. It wasn’t because you were worried I’d be against you dating a human. It was because you already knew what he was: our sworn enemy; a disgusting, filthy mutt. You’ve been lying to me this entire time.”

  My heart sunk to the depth of my stomach. It turned in bile and what felt like teeth lining my churning gut. “I didn’t want to lie. It tore me apart to keep this from you.”

  “All this time…” A dry mirthless laugh rolled from Kendrick’s lips as he shook his head. “I thought we were friends. I thought I had earned your trust.”

  Tears spilled from my eyes and down my cheeks. I clutched Kendrick’s still crossed forearms in desperation. “Kendrick, I’m sorry. You’re my best friend. I love you.”

  Kendrick’s eyes pinned shut. “Don’t say that.” He yanked his arms free from my grasp, his expression sealed with visible anguish. “It just hurts.” He turned with slumped shoulders and began walking away. I started after him. “Don’t,” he murmured, “I can’t be around you right now.”

  The teeth clamped shut around my heart as I watched him escape out my door. A flood of icy tears streamed down my face.

  Kendrick, I’m sorry.

  ~

  The ride to school the next morning was excruciating. Kendrick sat in the front passenger seat, staring out the window and refusing to acknowledge me. Dorian as chauffeur, tried to cover the thick tension by blasting rave music. It didn’t work.

  Soon enough Dorian veered into the student parking lot. Surrounding the rectangular space was a barrier of skeleton oak trees. Their browning leaves had almost entirely dropped with the progression of fall. I groaned. Inside the border the asphalt was filled with arriving students. Great, an audience! And Ty was waiting for me, leaning against his reflective-blue WRX with his training bag on the trunk. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his leather bomber jacket and he wore a pair of black shades. With the cloud-masked sky they seemed overkill.

  Trying to limit my enthusiasm, I crossed the asphalt. Ty’s arms spread wide to draw me in with an intimate embrace. His hot lips found the crown of my hair, his scent ballooning around me. “So, what’s with the shades?”

  Ty eyed me with bright-gold irises over the rims of his black-framed Oakleys. “Full moon’s coming. Which usually wouldn’t pose a problem, but with your kind around,” he said without even a hint of aversion, “controlling our body’s metaphysical changes seems a bit more…challenging.”

  “Oh,” I breathed. Guilt at being the reason for Ty needing to disguise his appearance tried to impede on my subconscious. But I had bigger problems to deal with. Dorian and Kendrick were fast closing in.

  Dorian glanced up with a forced smile.

  But Kendrick completely ignored us, eyes glaring ahead. He brushed past, knocking shoulders with Ty who was forced to take a step back. “You don’t deserve her, mutt.”


  Whispers escalated around us. The angry interaction was hot on every student’s lips. I stared after Kendrick as he disappeared into the sea of students entering the main building. My tongue felt like sand in my mouth.

  Ty curved his arm around my waist and we began walking in the same direction. “Guess your talk didn’t go too well.”

  My hand rose to my neck, scratching absentmindedly at my flesh. Ty didn’t know that Kendrick’s anger stemmed from more than just me seeing a werewolf. It was because he was in love me. My heart was pounding against the clarity in my head. No more lies. I pulled us to a halt, and spoke past the tightness clogging up my throat. “He’s pissed because of what you are. But that’s not all he’s pissed at.”

  “He’s in love with you,” Ty said abruptly, a troubled smile thinning his lips.

  “What?” I frowned, unable to read the rest of his expression hidden behind his dark Oakley lenses. “How do you…?”

  “I’m not blind, Amelia. I see it in the way he looks at you, the way he watches you.” Ty took a slow breath then exhaled. “The only question is…do you feel the same?”

  My pulse thrummed through my ears, beating almost in time with Ty’s. He’s nervous, I realized, worried that my heart could already belong to someone else.

  I collected Ty’s hands and lifted them to the flutter of my heart. “Feel that?” I asked, staring into my likeness reflected in his black lenses. Ty nodded and I smiled. “My heart beats only for you.”

  ~

  When I entered the cafeteria at lunch, my stomach was already knotted with dreaded expectation. Our two groups were still divided. With wet hair and smelling of chlorine from swim practice, Dorian sat by Kendrick’s side at our new table. Ty sat at our old table with his friends, his training bag at his feet. Kendrick’s eyes were set across the room at Ty, glaring with avid loathing. This’ll be fun, I thought sarcastically, making for Ty’s table.