by Reed, Zoe
“Seems petty for some werewolves as smart as Jonathan doesn’t it?” A nod. “Think this is worthy of an early end to patrol?” Luna asked, already pulling out her cell phone to call Carter.
With a final nod we left the store and met up with our brothers back at the parking lot. When we arrived home shortly after my family, along with Julian, met in the living room.
“What did you guys find?” Julian asked, standing at the head of the room with his arms characteristically crossed in front of his chest.
Luna looked to me to see if I wanted to explain, but I didn’t, so she began. “We found Gleeson’s scent leading to the chemistry aisle at the school supply store. It looks like he specifically picked up flasks and burners. Which wouldn’t be odd if the school didn’t supply chemistry equipment, but they do.”
Julian tapped his chin thoughtfully and then nodded in understanding. “They’re making some kind of chemical?”
“Unless they’ve suddenly taken up an extracurricular school activity,” Luna said sarcastically. “Camille and I were thinking drugs, but that seems like small money for some mutts as ambitious as these three.”
“Drugs,” my dad repeated to himself. “That explains them turning convicts into werewolves, and they could be just killing off others to make their jobs easier.”
“I agree.” Julian sat down on the couch and leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “But we still need to know what kind of drugs they’re making.” He looked at me expectantly.
I knew what he wanted. We only had one sure source to Jonathan. “Kyla’s already mentioned looking through his backpack. I’ll update her on this and remind her about it as soon as I can talk to her.”
“Well that was a quick meeting,” Sky said in characteristic impatience. “Can we patrol now?”
My dad glared at her lack of respect, to which Sky shrugged apologetically, but still didn’t seem to care much. Julian purposefully ignored the exchange and stood up. “Yes, we’ll continue patrolling as normal.”
Along with Sky and Michael who stood to go with Julian, I hopped up. “Mind if I come?”
Julian shook is head and waved me along. I didn’t have anything to do besides sit and stew in the fact that Kyla was now spending time with her boyfriend. Changing wouldn’t push those thoughts away, but it would make the time go by quicker. One by one each of us Phased and met at the beginning of the vineyard behind the house. Our run started right on the outside of town and spiraled out about ten miles past the townspeople’s farmland.
I took a deep breath of cold night air as we started our patrol, Julian in the lead followed by Sky, me, and then Michael. Even though we were doing all that we could, I couldn’t help but think about how futile patrols were. Jonathan’s gang were doing a damn good job of hiding, and they could be anywhere within at least fifty miles outside of Tranquility.
I didn’t mind though that these patrols were putting me in the best shape I’d been in for a while, and they gave me a chance to wind down. As much as I liked Kyla, even she was work lately. Every sentence and every reaction had to be reviewed before I allowed myself to complete it. I’d been doing okay at maintaining my self-control until the day before. I slipped, and now I couldn’t help but worry that my friendship with her was going to have to pay for it. Kyla hadn’t called or texted me since I left her house last night.
I just wanted to see her again, see that we would be able to joke and talk like before. See that I hadn’t made her uncomfortable. I could only imagine what she was doing with her boyfriend at the moment. But at those thoughts, I drew the line and focused hard on the ground in front of me. I’d rather talk to Jonathan again than to think of Aaron touching Kyla.
Finally able to push any and all thoughts out of my mind, I focused on running. We traveled at a steady pace. Not slow enough that it would take us all night, but not fast enough that any scents we needed to catch would fly right by our noses. It took us about seven hours to finally return home, empty handed, around three in the morning. Frustrated and tired I dragged myself up to my room and plopped down on my bed, falling asleep five minutes later.
“Camille.” Luna gently shook me the next day. “It’s already like, noon, wake up.”
Groggily opening my eyes I glanced at the clock – Luna was right, it was already twelve-ten. I sat up and rubbed my eyes while my sister sat down next to me. “What do you plan on doing today?”
“Nothing. Homework,” I told her, and she looked at me disappointedly. I sighed sarcastically, throwing my hands up in frustrated defeat. “I plan on staying here and hiding until Kyla’s boyfriend goes home. There, happy?”
“Nope. That’s why Niko’s dragging us to a party tonight.” Luna stood her ground despite the near frenzied complaints I gave. “He’s making me go, and I hate parties as much as you do. So we’ll get through it together.” When I glared at her, she just smiled smugly.
“What time are we going?” I asked grumpily.
Luna grinned her happy thanks. “He wants to leave at nine-thirty.”
“Fine, but I do have homework I need to do,” I said, standing up and waving at her to go away.
Luna danced out of the room happily while I rubbed out a crick in my neck and grabbed a towel to jump in the shower. I devoted the rest of the day to calculus and a history essay until Niko slammed my book closed and dragged me out of the house. I resisted heavily until he threatened to physically throw me into the car, at which point the fear of humiliation made me give in, but that didn’t stop me from pouting all the way to the party.
I hated parties. Everyone at school getting drunk and using it as an excuse to be reckless wasn’t my idea of fun. Not to mention the horrid smell of closely crowded bodies and booze. Niko and Sky were the only two in the family who actually liked parties. I just considered them freaks of nature.
As the three of us walked in the front door of a girl named Sarah’s house I was greeted exactly as I expected to be, by a brick wall of smoke and teen stench. I walked through the living room and past the dining room, which for tonight’s event had been turned into a dance floor. I continued straight into the kitchen, where I smelled the various drinks until I found a bottle of cola that hadn’t yet been spiked. Before I found the un-spiked soda, I considered letting myself relax with a real drink, but as a werewolf, that wasn’t a good idea. Any kind of inhibition reducing substance made staying in control infinitely more difficult, especially at a young age like mine.
“Hey.” I turned to face a guy, who I didn’t recognize from my school and who reeked of alcohol, tapping me on the shoulder.
He said something that I couldn’t hear over the music and his slur so I turned my head, indicating he needed to talk louder. Instead of repeating what he said, he swiftly kissed me on the cheek and ran off to a bunch of his laughing friends, who high-fived him vigorously. I winced, disgusted, and wiped my cheek on my sleeve. He was lucky he ran off so fast or he would have gotten a nice palm to the face.
Still disgusted I went to find Luna, and we sat on the couch together where a girl from one of Luna’s classes talked to us for a good ten minutes before running off to dance. After a good twenty more minutes of being asked to dance by plastered schoolmates, and a few guys I’d never seen, I had had enough. I set my cup of soda on the coffee table next to the couch and desperately looked around for a place I could hide in the one story house. It took a couple frantic glances before I noticed a coat closet at the end of the living room.
As sneakily as I could I left Luna, opened the door to the small closet and shut it behind me. I inhaled deeply, relieved that while the closet was stuffy the air was cleaner than the rest of the house, with only a slight bit of stench leaking under the door. Leaning my body against the back wall I closed my eyes and breathed deep and slow, clearing my head. There wasn’t a whole lot I could do to entertain myself so I pulled out my cell phone, mindlessly clicking from left to right as I thought about whether or not I should text Kyla.
; A minute later the closet door opened just enough for someone else to sneak in, and whoever it was stepped on my foot closing the door behind them. Then a sweet, intoxicating smell permeated the closet, and a slight relief washed over me as I noted that the scent was alcohol free.
“You really like beating up on my toes don’t you?” I reached over and flipped on the dim light.
Kyla jumped and threw her balled fists up in the air, surprised that someone else was in the closet. After realizing it was me, she giggled. “You scared me!” Then she squeezed my hand for emphasis and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “What are you doing in here?”
“I hate parties, but Niko made me come. This is the only place where I could get a break.” I watched her lean against the wall opposite of me. But even on opposite ends of the two-foot deep closet, there was a small distance between us. “What time did you get here?”
“About an hour ago. I’ve been dancing, but I’m not big on parties either. I needed to get away,” Kyla told me, and I nodded understandingly. “How did the patrols go?”
“Well, we found out part of what they’re doing,” I began to explain. As I did I realized that Kyla hadn’t yet let go of the hand that she’d grabbed, and now she started to thoughtlessly play with my fingers. I pretended not to notice so she wouldn’t stop, and did my best not to let it distract me from my thoughts as for the next few minutes I told her about the weekend. “Um, we followed one of their scents into the school supply store, to the chemistry aisle. We think they’re making drugs, but we just need to figure out what kind, and why.”
“You know, I have seen Jonathan with a bottle of stuff,” Kyla said thoughtfully, like it all made sense.
I would have been more shocked that she already knew, but her alluring scent assaulted me from every angle, and the way the gorgeous brunette was playing with my hand was starting to cloud my thoughts. “We’re hoping that when you search his backpack you might find it.” I looked at Kyla who, while I knew she was at least half-listening, seemed to be in deep thought. I had to take Luna’s advice, even if I didn’t make a move I had to do something. I glanced down shyly, scared to see her reaction as I playfully tested the boundaries. “You know, I never realized how much I was going to miss you before I couldn’t hang out with you.”
She smiled sweetly and laughed, and in the dim of the light I saw what faintly looked like a blush. “You missed me?”
“Famously.” I gave a coy smile and glanced down at my hand, with which Kyla had stopped fiddling and intertwined her own fingers. “I always like being with you.”
She gave a shy giggle, and the fact that she wasn’t pulling away built my confidence. So I studied her face, gauging the girl’s reactions as I delicately slid my fingers down the inside of her other arm, tracing a trail to her fingertips and interlacing our free hands. My heart was pounding now, as I was unsure of what I thought was about to happen. Then Kyla pulled her back off the wall, moving a couple inches closer and putting a flurry of nerves in my stomach.
Kiss me. I barely, and very gently pulled Kyla’s hands toward me. Kiss me! Everything in my body was screaming at me to just close the distance, to take what I wanted, but as clouded as my mind was, I couldn’t do it. This was a delicate moment and I knew it. It had to be under her control.
My breath hitched as Kyla closed the distance between our bodies, the warmth of her front pressed delicately against me. With our faces only inches apart, her green eyes unsurely scanned every bit of my expression. I could feel her thumb running mindlessly over the back of my hand as she was thinking about what was happening. Would she really do it? Unsure and not wanting to risk the answer being no, I unfolded one of my hands to wrap around her, and set it low on the small of her back. Then I tilted my head forward so my nose brushed the tip of hers, letting her know that I wanted it too.
Our lips were less than an inch apart now, and I could practically feel them. Now kiss me. My heart and stomach were going crazy, and my body was begging me to finish it. I heard Kyla take a deep breath and lick her lips, mustering the courage to finally kiss me. I was so close. Then a loud thump on the door caused her to jump away, tearing her hand from mine. My heart stopped, and in my mind I let out a long list of profanities at whoever had ruined my chance.
Kyla stood there awkwardly, mouth hanging open in shock as she just stared at me. A pit formed deep in my stomach as I struggled for something to say. Sorry? I had nothing to be sorry for, and wasn’t, not in the slightest bit. It’s okay? Clearly something wasn’t okay to her.
“I should… go find Aaron.” Without a backward glance she practically ran out of the closet.
I quickly followed, and as I burst out of the closet I almost plowed into Kyla, who had stopped in her tracks. I followed her gaze to two people making out on a loveseat near the couch. I stood there confused, telling myself that the boy, who reeked of alcohol, couldn’t be Aaron.
“Aaron?” Kyla confirmed it, and he stood up, and having been caught scuttled away from the other girl. “What the hell?” I could hear Kyla’s voice breaking.
Aaron’s expression turned from shock to anger, and his voice came out slightly slurred. “You’ve been gone for like twenty minutes!” Kyla stood there, obviously unsure of what that had to do with it. “Oh whatever, don’t act like you care. We haven’t had sex since I got here. Every time I try to kiss you, you find some excuse to avoid it.” I looked around at the increasing few that had stopped to watch the commotion. “I don’t know why I even came out here. All I’ve heard for the past two days is Camille this, Camille-fucking-that. I don’t even know who Camille is! I hope you guys have a nice life together.” Bitterly he sat back on the couch and turned to the girl he was with earlier, leaving Kyla to stand alone and face all the inquisitive glances from around the room.
Kyla turned and looked at me just in time so I could see the single tear making its way down her cheek, and then she ran out the front door. Fury welled up inside of me. Who was this guy to yell at her and embarrass her in front of everyone? Who was he to make her cry?
Before running after her, I made a pit stop. “Hey asshole.” I tapped Aaron’s shoulder, and as he let out an aggravated sigh and got up to look at me, I pulled back my fist and sent it flying at his face. “I’m Camille.”
I stood there a second longer to see all my peers wince at the blood that trickled from Aaron’s nose, and a few let out an ‘oh’ of amusement, before sprinting for the door. When I reached the porch I looked around for Kyla, who I found leaning against the side of her car, tears streaming down her face.
“Kyla?” I touched her shoulder, but she pulled away and stared at the ground. “He had no… He shouldn’t have embarrassed you like that.”
Kyla looked up, her seemingly angry expression hard to read. “You think I care that he kissed that girl. He just did the same thing I was about to do with you. I’d be a hypocrite if I cared. But I don’t, and he was right. All I’ve been talking about is you. All I’ve been wanting to do–” I stood there in shock as Kyla started an emotional rant, tears now flowing freely. “But I don’t do that. I don’t almost cheat on my boyfriend in a coat closet. I don’t let my closest friends suck on my neck. A month ago I would have told myself I was crazy. Falling for a girl. And not only that, a werewolf! So yeah, Camille, he should have embarrassed me like that. I haven’t cared about him since I moved here.”
The anger I had felt at Aaron seconds ago had faded into confusion. “I don’t understand. If you don’t like him then why are you crying?”
“Because I’m confused!” Kyla practically shouted at me. “Because I have done all those things, and because I don’t know how you feel. You flirt and you joke, and you kiss my neck and you say how great it is to be friends. Because I’m falling for you and I don’t know what to do about it.”
As a few more tears fell down Kyla’s cheeks I stood there speechless, searching for something to say. Wasn’t it obvious how I felt?
But Kyla wiped
her tears away, either impatient or not really looking for a response. “I have to go.”
Say something! I screamed at myself as I watched Kyla jump in her truck. Fuck. Don’t just stand here! But I didn’t know what to say, or even if it was the right time. I just stood there. Stood there and watched her taillights disappear.
“Okay Cami, you have to get up. It’s almost four in the afternoon.” Luna pulled on my arm, trying hard to yank me off the bed.
I used my free hand to cling to the mattress, making it impossible to be pulled away. “Go away. I’m a horrible person. Leave me to die.”
It was the afternoon after the party, and I’d been lying in bed mentally kicking myself all day. Since I let Kyla leave the party without telling her how I felt, it was like everything I’d worked for was lost. There was no point to waking up, and definitely no point to leaving my bedroom.
Luna’s hands rested on her hips as her face hardened into an angry scowl. “What the hell are you talking about? Kyla likes you! And now she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Get out of bed and stop pouting – you’re starting to get me all depressed.” In hopes of appeasing her and getting her to leave, I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “That’s a start.”
“Luna, she drove away and I didn’t even try to stop her. I choked. She was emotional and freaking out, so I choked. I let her drive away without telling her how I feel about her.” I sighed and leaned my head back in defeat.
“Oh my God,” Luna growled in frustration. “Camille, you dumbass. How many times do I need to say it? Kyla likes you. So stop acting like a pussy and go see her.”
I looked at my sister, and even in my desolation I couldn’t help but render a smirk. “Did you seriously just call me a pussy?”
“Yes, because you’re acting like one!” Luna laughed, finally succeeding in pulling me off the bed and beginning to throw clothes at me.
The small blonde’s energy gave me a burst of confidence, and I began stripping my pajamas and throwing on the clean clothes. “But I don’t know if she wants to see me.”