UnMasked

by Yara Gharios

  “I thought you weren’t ready,” he finally says. “I saw your rushing into sex as a sign that… you were just looking for some long-deprived affection. That’s why I was insisting on holding off even talking about it. I wanted to give you time to really think about it and then discuss it with you on your birthday.”

  It’s my turn to take a moment to ponder. I honestly have never thought of it this way. I have to ask myself, is there any truth to that? Am I just deprived of affection? Is that why I’m so eager to be with Logan in that way? The answer is instantaneous.

  No, that is not the reason.

  I love Logan. He is it for me. I know people say that a lot, and they turn out to be wrong about the person they’re with more often than not. But it’s different for me, because he is my true mate. There is no higher certainty. Plus, putting aside the hormones and the true mate aspects of it, I want to be able to have that bond with him, to communicate my love for him in a language without words.

  “So… you actually mean to talk about it on my birthday?” I question, disappointed. “That’s all you intend to do?”

  “It was,” he emphasizes. “Until your long speech ten minutes ago.”

  My heart jumps. “And now?”

  He smiles to one side, teasing me.

  “Now,” he drags on, “I’m thinking of putting you in suspense. Making it worth your while. And putting you a little on edge until your birthday.”

  I scowl, not liking that idea one bit. “Why?”

  He grins. “Because it’s amusing to watch you squirm. And,” he adds, “it gives me an opportunity to reconsider what to do for your birthday.”

  My eyebrows smooth apart, and I relax. “So you’re saying there’s a possibility now that, on my birthday, we will –?”

  Smirking, he cuts me off. “Talk about it? Yeah, sure.”

  Displeased, I frown again. “And when you say ‘talk’ –?”

  He interrupts me again. “Wait and see. How about a little mystery?”

  My scowl deepens. “I never liked mysteries.”

  “Well, I do,” he persists. “And I like pushing your buttons, so yeah, I’m sticking with vague for now.”

  “It’s amazing how fast you can flip from lovable to annoying,” I comment, sarcastic.

  “That’s just how I am, baby,” he replies smugly. “Take it or leave it. It’s up to you.”

  The thing is, it actually is going to be a mystery. Knowing Logan, there’s an equal chance he could go either way; he could actually end up simply wanting to talk about it, just because he knows how to tease me. It kills me not to know. However, it’s clear he’s not going to surrender anytime soon, if at all, so I have to be the one to take that step.

  “Fine,” I huff. “I’ll take it.”

  He smirks. “I thought so.”

  I roll my eyes. Eager to get past this, I quickly change the subject. “So are you actually going to teach me how to swim, or can I get dressed now?”

  He grabs my face and turns it his way, his expression reverting back to serious. “I’m sorry,” he says genuinely. “I may enjoy teasing you, but not annoying you. If at any point I do or say something that you’re not okay with, you tell me. That includes teaching you how to swim.”

  Sighing, I reassure him with a small smile. “No, it’s fine. All of it. I can wait a few days for my birthday to ‘talk’,” –I actually make air quotes. “As for the swimming, I’m really okay with that. A little nervous maybe, but… excited.”

  Logan studies me before coming to a decision. “How about we postpone the swimming lessons for another date, and we just talk on this one? I think I’d like to know more about Dylan, and I’m sure you’ve got some questions for me.”

  Finally pleased, I flash him a sincere smile. “I approve that idea.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Despite my bouts of confidence when we’re alone, I don’t know how to behave around Logan when there are other people around. I blush to my ears when someone calls us a cute couple or something of the sort.

  At first, he teases me about it. But after a few days, when I finally tell him what Cade asked me to do, he becomes serious alpha Logan again. He decides to ask Zoey what she knows about the guy. It’s kind of a bummer, since it replaces other, more fun activities we could be doing together. But I don’t complain. I want to know, too.

  From what Zoey tells us, it turns out that the guy has a name: John Brock.

  “John Brock,” Logan repeats, frowning uncertainly for some reason I can’t comprehend. “That’s the guy’s name? John Brock. John. Brock.”

  “Careful, don’t wear it out,” I joke.

  Logan frowns seriously. “The name sounds familiar… But I can’t remember where I’ve heard it.”

  Zoey looks away at this point, and Logan misses the guilty expression on her face that says she remembers where he knows the name from but isn’t going to remind him. I see it though, and I throw her a questioning gaze. She shakes her head pleadingly, mouthing the words, ‘Not yet.’ In a split second, I debate whether or not to trust her, and let it go. She did keep a huge secret with my brother that concerned me. But her reasons were noble, which means that she must have a good reason now, too. I nod at her in acceptance.

  Oblivious, Logan shakes his head. “It’ll come back to me. Anyway, what can you tell us about him, Zo?”

  First, she tells us that he’s going to be nineteen in August. Then, get this, she says he’s in a band and would like to be signed someday. Apparently, he goes to Berklee, and lives there all year round. Except during the summer, when he stays with his mother in Maine.

  Seriously. Of all the brothers and all the colleges, my best friend’s brother turns out to go to the same college that I gave up. It makes sense that he lives in Maine, since that’s where Sadie’s family lived before meeting Logan’s pack. Her father’s illegitimate child had to have been somewhere in the area as well.

  Everything else, on the other hand, is unbelievable. Now I have to meet him. There’s no way the universe would put this big a coincidence in my path without it being a sign of something. Plus, there’s whatever Zoey is covering up for him that makes me itch with curiosity. This is why, after Zoey’s done telling us about him, I ask Logan to meet me in his office, and I tell him about how I almost got into Berklee. His reaction shocks me.

  “If your audition is in July, you still have time to get in, don’t you? You could still send a tape,” he says.

  I really can’t believe my ears. I honestly expected him to have the same opinion as my parents on this matter, especially after our fight yesterday. But here he is, taking my side.

  “Yeah, I could, theoretically speaking, but we both know I’m not going to do it,” I reply.

  “Why not? You’re talented.”

  “Logan, if Sadie could figure out I’m a girl by listening to my voice, don’t you think people at Berklee would too?”

  “I know that,” he replies. “But you also play the piano. Why don’t you apply for that? If you’re half as good a pianist as you are a singer, then they would be lucky to have you.”

  That stumps me. I’ve honestly never considered that. However, I’m using every argument my parents ever did, and there’s still one they always used that he hasn’t disputed. “But… isn’t it still a risk?”

  He hears the hesitation in my voice. “Wasn’t school a risk, too?” he points out. “Yet, you made it through that for eighteen years.”

  I try a half-hearted attempt to disagree. “I’m not eighteen yet, and kids don’t even go to school for that long.”

  Logan gives me a flat look. “Dylan.”

  I look down and play with my hands in my lap. No running away from it now. “I made it through that because… I had my brothers with me. And because I wasn’t far from home.”

  “So what you’re really saying is you’re afraid to be separated from your family,” he states in such a matter-of-fact way.

  Naturally, he hits the nail right on the he
ad. Maybe it’s stupid of me, because I’ve always felt suffocated under my parents’ strict rules. But I rely on them more than I would ever care to admit. I depend on their protection, and I don’t know what I’ll do on my own. I could become careless if unsupervised, and something could happen to me.

  “Everybody feels that way,” Logan reassures me. “It’s not just you. Don’t think that just because you have more to lose that you’re alone in your fear.”

  I don’t want to talk about it anymore, at least not yet, so I look away. Seconds later, Logan’s hand lifts my face up to look at him.

  “At least say you’ll consider it.”

  I frown. “Since when are you okay with me risking my secret by going public like that?”

  “I made you a promise,” he reminds me. “Whatever happens, when all of this is over, I’m going to stand by it. After all you’ve been through, I think you’ve earned your freedom, and I’m going to make sure you enjoy every moment of it, no matter what shape it comes in. Deal?”

  I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright, I’ll think about it.”

  Fortunately for me, I don’t get much time to do that, because the next day, just three days away from my birthday, I get a text from Cade asking me to come over. It’s a welcome escape from thinking about college. But I don’t plan on missing my birthday, so I immediately tell Zoey and Logan to pack. The latter, of course, isn’t too happy with me leaving the compound and breaking our deal.

  “You promised you’d stay here until we figure this out,” he reminds me. “It’s too soon for you to leave. Sadie will be fine.”

  I pause and stare meaningfully at him. “Would you be? If you found out your dad not only cheated on your mom not long before their wedding, but he also had a child with someone else, would you be fine?”

  He’s still stubborn. “Cade is with her.”

  I pretend he didn’t say a word. “And then, if I –for lack of better word– forced you to go meet this sibling of yours, and you’re still having a hard time stomaching everything, would you still be fine with just me, the person who made you do this and can’t understand what you’re going through, by your side?”

  We stare at each other for a long time, neither of us backing down. Then, he exhales heavily, giving in. “Fine. But if Sadie needs you for more than one day, I will personally drive us all back here until she can do without you, and then return Sadie and Cade to Maine if they need to,” Logan swears.

  Knowing this is the best I’m going to get, I agree. “Fine.”

  The fight, although very minor, makes the car ride to Maine a very silent one. Logan is sulking like a baby. There’s so much tension in the air that it’s almost palpable. Poor Zoey sitting in the back seat is very uncomfortable. She forgot to bring earphones with her so she could listen to music, and she’s just sitting there in the silence. I feel kind of bad for her, so I try to maintain a conversation with her that Logan might be interested to jump into.

  “So what kind of instrument does John Brock play?” I awkwardly ask.

  “Guitar, mostly, but he does a bit of drums, too,” she tells me.

  “Nice,” I comment. “So what’s his favorite kind of music?”

  I can tell she smiles by her voice. “He likes all kinds of music. Rock is what he listens to the most, since he’s in a rock band and they mostly do covers. You’ll like him. He has a taste in music similar to yours.”

  “What bands does he listen to?”

  “The Scorpions are his favorites, but he also loves bands like Skillet and Breaking Benjamin.”

  This is where the conversation becomes really interesting for me. I twist around in my seat to look at her. “Awesome! I’ve never met anyone who listens to them. Although, granted, I haven’t met that many people, and I’ve never asked anyone what their taste in music is like.”

  We talk that way for a long time. Logan remains silent the whole time, but that’s fine because Zoey and I can have fun on our own, it turns out. Before we know it, it gets dark out. We stop for food and gas once. Unfortunately, by that time, Zoey and I have started getting tired, so we gradually stop talking and fall asleep.

  I dream of live concerts where I’m in the headlining band. I’m the lead singer on keyboards, and someone who looks a whole lot like Kit Harington accompanies me on the guitar. The lights, the atmosphere, the screaming fans… it’s all I’ve ever wished for in my wildest dreams, and it is exhilarating. It’s not real, and I know that even in my dream. Still, I bask in every moment of it. In my dream, I’d even graduated from Berklee before all this happened.

  Unfortunately, I am given a rude awakening before the dream is over. At first, I don’t know what the noise is or why I’m being jostled around. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize the car has swerved down the hill due to Logan having fallen asleep. Fear grips me and takes the air out of my lungs. I hear Zoey’s scream for a second before we topple over and land on the roof of the car. The airbag pops out suddenly, and my head gets knocked around, but on what, I don’t really know.

  When we finally stop moving, I inspect myself for any damage. The only thing wrong with me is the bump on my forehead, and a headache because of all the blood rushing to the top of my head due to being upside down. I try to unbuckle my seatbelt, but it’s stuck, so I just rip it off and sit upright on the roof of the car. It’s uncomfortable, but I need to make sure the others are okay.

  Then, I turn to Logan. He’s okay too, but his eyes are closed. I touch his shoulder and try to shake him awake.

  “Logan. Hey, Logan, can you hear me?”

  He doesn’t answer. He must have gotten knocked out in the fall, because his airbag hasn’t gone off for some reason. I rip off his seatbelt too and lay him down. Finally, I look at Zoey, and my heart almost stops at the sight of her. She didn’t have her seatbelt on. Her body is sprawled in a twisted position on the roof of the car. She’s knocked out as well, and she has some cuts, but the real damage is to her arm, twisted to one side in a way that can only mean it’s broken.

  First rule after having a car accident: don’t move someone who might be hurt. Just call for help. Panicking, I reach for my cell phone and start dialing 911. My fingers are so shaky that I misdial several times. But then a noise from outside stops me. Someone’s coming. I drop the phone and focus on that.

  “Help!” I shout in desperation. “Over here!”

  Footsteps approach us. I don’t see the person until they’ve crouched down next to my open window. My shock and terror increase a hundred times over when I see who it is and realize this was no accident.

  “You,” I breathe out.

  The response is a fist to my face, knocking me out.

  CHAPTER 25

  Have you ever had a brick thrown in your face? And then got dragged across a granite road, with your head banging against it every two seconds? Then finally was hung upside down long enough for all your blood to rush to your head and make it feel like an expanding balloon about to blow up any second? Consider yourself lucky that you haven’t.

  Me, I haven’t experienced those things either, but it sure feels like it when I open my eyes. The first thing I register is that I’m lying on my back on a cold rough floor. What appears in my line of view is too fuzzy and bright for me to tell what it is. My eyes hurt at the sight. I hiss and close them again.

  It doesn’t take me long to figure out I’ve been drugged. Werewolves may not be affected by drugs the way humans do, but it’s a chemical that, like alcohol, dulls our shifting ability completely. Given how dizzy I feel right now, it seems like I was injected with a high dosage, too. Not enough to kill, but just enough to make me groggy for an hour or so, all while it remains in my system for about twelve hours, and prohibits me from shifting for just as long.

  It also has a calming effect on me, so I’m not freaking out. Obviously, I’m worried about Logan and Zoey. But I have a feeling I’m the only one who was taken. What I’m afraid of is that they were just left there a
t the car crash and no one has found them yet. Plus, my family would be worried sick if they knew. I need to concentrate on getting out of here so I can go back to them.

  Unfortunately, while the drugs have made me very calm, they haven’t given me immunity to pain. I’m not going to be able to open my eyes while I’m this nauseous. So I wait a little bit. I can’t tell how long I’ve been here, but I must have been injected a while ago, so it shouldn’t take long. A few minutes later, I tentatively open my eyes again into little slits. It doesn’t hurt as much anymore. I blink and lift my lids all the way.

  Slowly, I hoist my heavy weight up and twist so that I’m leaning on my stomach against my arms, with my head raised up straight, although it’s still bobbing from the dizziness, and my legs sprawled behind me. I examine my surroundings. The room I’m in is dark, with only a dim yellow bulb over my head to provide me with light. I can’t see how big the room is. The only wall I can tell is there is the one I’m pressed against from one side. There’s no window or door that I can see, though I’m sure at least the latter must be here somewhere.

  Unless I’m in a pit.

  I stop myself. Now’s not the time for sarcasm. This isn’t some superhero comic book. I just feel this way because of the drugs. Once my eyes adjust, I’ll be able to tell my surroundings with more precision. There’s a door somewhere, I just can’t see it. The sooner I find it, the sooner I can get out of here.

  Stupid Tyler, I mentally groan.

  I might have understood this from Jason, since he pretty much hates me. But I was beginning to think of Tyler as a friend. Why would he turn on me all of a sudden and help Jason arrange a car accident so they could kidnap me? I was never anything but friendly with him. This just doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know how Jason could benefit from kidnapping me, other than getting revenge for his sister.

  I have got to get out of here. Who knows what they’ll do when they get back. Looking around again as the dizziness lessens even more, I finally spot a small window, too high up for me to reach. The ceiling itself must be about ten feet high. Judging by the lack of light coming through, it must be the middle of the night. The walls and ground are made of dark stone rectangles of the same size lined up parallel to each other.