He blinked and a moment later, grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door. “We have to get out of here.”
“Exactly.” I breathed a huge sigh of relief. As much as I wanted him, now was not the time.
Thankfully, Trevor and Maya hadn’t left yet and we climbed into the limo with them.
I don’t know what I was thinking, he told me silently. Then he said aloud, “You can’t blame me for losing it. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life.”
It wasn’t as good as saying he loved me, but his words made me quiver inside. I leaned toward Zack and kissed him on the cheek. “Then we’re perfect for each other, aren’t we?”
† † †
Getting pictures taken at Maya’s turned out to be a pretty big production. Her mother flitted around her daughter with watery eyes, cooing phrases like, “My baby’s all grown up,” and “I can’t believe how beautiful you look!”
By the time we made it to the front door, I couldn’t handle another second of her gushing. It reminded me how much my own parents used to hover over me. But as we made our way to Trevor’s for another round of pictures, I wished my own parents were around to gush. My chest tightened every time I thought of them.
At Zack’s, Aunt Cara and Mac double-teamed us — one camera getting shots for Zack’s mom and the other camera for them. Favianne had ventured out of her room for the occasion, resting on the living room sofa and choreographing our poses.
“Make sure to get some pictures of only Autumn,” Favianne told her sister.
Zack left my side to stand beside Cara. Before tonight, I’d only seen him in casual clothes and I’d been so sure it couldn’t get any better.
I’d been dead wrong.
As my gaze lingered on Zack in his classic black tux and bow tie, he grinned and my heart fluttered. It wasn’t his movie star looks or his musky scent that made me quiver. It was the way he looked at me, like I was the only one in the room.
At that moment, I knew with utter certainty that I’d never love anyone else the way I loved him. If he could return even a fraction of my feelings for him… well, it would be epic. My heart soared at the thought. An instant later, it plummeted to a crash landing when I remembered he wasn’t mine to keep. Soon, Zack would be gone forever.
~~~
Chapter Twelve
Not everyone gawked at us as we passed through the doorway of the school gymnasium — a few of the guests had their backs to us. Since Zack and I had a squabble planned, an attentive audience was convenient. But a ball of dread formed in the pit of my stomach just thinking about what we were about to do.
The gym was decorated in an Egyptian theme. Giant palm trees lined the entryway and gold lamé strips of fabric draped the tops of the walls along the ceiling. Busts of Pharaohs stood in the corners interspersed with mummies and fake sarcophaguses. A sphinx sat by a table covered in linens decorated with hieroglyphics.
The center of the huge room was packed with people thumping and gyrating to the beats of a rap song. It boomed through the speakers and vibrated into my toes. So much for anyone overhearing our fight. We claimed a table in the corner where we could watch the action. Just as I settled into my seat, the DJ switched to a slow song.
Zack offered me his hand. “Will you dance with me?”
I slipped my hand into his. “Absolutely.”
Leaving Maya and Trevor to hold our place, I let him lead me to the dance floor. Thinking he’d go slow like everyone else, I slid my arms around his neck. With one hand flattened against my lower back, he held out his other hand for mine. I frowned, wondering what he was doing. Before I knew it, we’d slid effortlessly across the room. With his thumb at my waist, he coaxed me away and raised his arm, compelling me to twirl. Then suddenly, I was pressed against him.
I laughed. “You’ve got some good moves, Zack De Luca.”
“My mom made me take lessons with her,” he explained, gliding us past other couples. “I hated it at the time, but now I’m grateful.”
“I’ll have to thank her for that later.” I wasn’t sure if my heart was beating faster from the exertion or from dancing with the guy I loved. His breath tickled my temple and I became aware of his hand resting dangerously low on my back, his thigh brushing mine. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on his shoulder as emotion flooded me.
“Mmm…”
“What?” I squeaked and cleared my throat.
“You smell really great,” he whispered.
“Oh.” A million butterflies in my stomach flapped their wings in unison. I was in way too deep with Zack and couldn’t imagine not being with him. What if they came for us tomorrow and this was our last moment together?
“You’re trembling.”
I grimaced, not wanting to spoil our night with a dose of reality. But if I avoided the question, he’d just be more persistent in finding out what was bothering me. “Just wondering if we’ll make it to graduation before more werewolves show up.”
“Shh. Don’t think about any of that. Let’s just enjoy ourselves tonight and forget they exist.” He lightly stroked my spine. “You look beautiful, as always.”
“Thanks.” Zack was right. Worrying wouldn’t change anything. Except maybe suck the fun out of my time with him. I smiled, determined to stop stressing. “You clean up well.”
Something vaguely familiar in my peripheral vision drew my gaze to the gymnasium door — the black girl we’d seen when we’d taken Zack’s mom to the doctor. I went rigid in Zack’s arms. “That’s the girl from the hospital.”
The she-wolf was just as lovely as when I’d first seen her. She wore a slinky black floor-length dress that clung to her slim curves — but not too much. Her tight black curls had been straightened and fell past her shoulders. She turned to face the guy next to her, giving us a view of the back of her dress — or lack thereof — revealing her back and shoulders.
“What’s she doing here? She doesn’t go to our school,” he mumbled as he twirled me again.
I snuck another quick glance at her. Greg, our senior class quarterback, slung a beefy arm around the she-wolf’s shoulders. “I wonder what she sees in that scum.”
My very first day at Verdugo Hills Academy, I’d had to return to my car after the bell rang. The parking lot was deserted except for Greg who’d been standing by an old faded sedan. He gingerly untied a plastic bag and dumped the contents through the open window into the back seat. I only got a glimpse of the brown blob, but that was enough to know I didn’t want my nose anywhere near that car after the sun had baked it into the upholstery. From that day on, I always kept my car windows shut tight.
“What are the chances that her being here at our prom is just a coincidence?” I couldn’t see her anymore without craning my neck and I didn’t want to be obvious. But I could see Zack and he was still staring.
“Slim, I’d say,” he answered, eyes narrowed.
When the song ended and the tempo picked up, Zack escorted me back to our table. Maya and Trevor huddled together, lost in their own little world. I scanned the room for the werewolf girl, wanting to keep tabs on her.
Instead, my eyes found Gina. Her auburn hair had been pulled tight against her scalp and knotted at the nape of her neck. Long beads of clear crystal hung from her ears with a matching necklace and bracelet. Her hooker-red gown was open at her waist with thin strips of fabric connecting the rest of the dress parts and revealing an awful lot of skin. With each step, her legs peeked through a slit that ran all the way to the top of her thigh.
Scanning the faces of the other students, I saw a lot of guys ogling her. “Gina looks pretty,” I said to Zack.
He squeezed my hand. “You’re worth a hundred of her,” he whispered in my ear. “And it isn’t just how you look, but… just everything about you.”
I flashed him a smile, but concentrating was difficult with a strange werewolf nearby.
“Let’s get something to snack on. You two want anything?” he asked Trevor
and Maya.
They shook their heads. “We’ll get something later,” Trevor said.
A dozen people stood in line for food, so I wanted to be sure it was worth the wait. I took a moment to check out the spread — even though my stomach was probably too nervous to do anything with it.
“Hi.”
I turned around, startled to see Greg’s wolf-date.
“I saw you two in the hospital waiting room a couple days ago, didn’t I?” she asked with a friendly smile.
I nodded, afraid she’d keep talking. As nice as she seemed, she was still a werewolf. Zack didn’t say anything either.
“I’m Alura. Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, her smile widening when I took it. Then she shook hands with Zack.
“How’d you hook up with that douche bag?” He nodded toward Greg as he released her hand.
A giggle escaped her. “Barely know him. I saw him a couple times at a coffee place near our hotel. He mentioned going to prom and I told him I’d never been to one so he invited me.”
“Probably best if you kept it that way. You know, the barely knowing him part,” I said, melting into a little imaginary circle with her. I found myself liking her despite my reluctance. She was so warm and open and hard to resist.
“I believe you,” she grinned. “Especially since he’s already hinted twice about a hotel reservation and he only picked me up a half hour ago. As if I’d go there with him.” She made a gagging noise and her eyes darted to Zack — as they frequently had the last couple minutes. I sensed something. I hoped it was just an innocent camaraderie, a recognition of their mutual werewolfness.
Zack’s fingertips made contact with my arm as though he wanted me to hear what she said silently.
My uncle said he met a young werewolf and three of his human friends at a coffee shop the other day. Was that you? Alura moved ahead in line, leaning over and taking a paper plate as though she weren’t carrying on a telepathic conversation with another werewolf.
That would make Renzo your uncle, Zack replied, breaking contact with me, mimicking her actions and handing me a plate. I took it and reconnected with him again by resting my other hand on his arm.
Who’s your supervisor?
Charles.
I didn’t sense any other werewolves at the hospital or near here. Did he go out of town or something? Alura loaded her plate with crackers and cheese.
Great, that’s all we needed — someone asking questions about someone I’d killed.
Not that I know of. He’s around somewhere. Zack set two cookies on his plate then one on mine. What brings you here? Haven’t you been assigned?
Yes, but since we haven’t married yet, I’ve been granted special permission to accompany my uncle on vacation.
That’s cool. Zack poured some punch into a plastic cup, briefly glancing my way. He handed me the cup and fixed another. How long is your vacation?
A few weeks, I think, depending on when I’m needed back.
“These desserts look great.” She plopped a chocolate number on her plate, then stepped away from the table. “Well, I’d better get back to the douche. Maybe I’ll see you guys around. I’m at the coffee shop a lot. If you see me, say hello.”
“We will,” I said. “Nice meeting you.”
She waved and swished gracefully away.
Zack surreptitiously watched her leave. “She’s absolutely perfect,” he whispered for my ears only.
“What do you mean?” Perfect for what? Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“To break us up.”
I stared at him, rooted to the floor. “I hope you’re kidding.”
He headed toward our table. When he noticed a moment later I wasn’t behind him, he doubled back. Up close, he lowered his voice. “Not for real. You can pretend to be jealous. You know, accuse me of cheating on you.”
“Oh.” It was slightly alarming to be so relieved. And disconcerting to discover how precarious our relationship truly was. Realizing those things did not give me a good feeling at all. Sure, I was still one of the most popular girls in school. But popularity was a façade, an illusion. It was all about who was the better actor and who was more convincing, not who was the better person. Greg was proof of that. Me? I was the same insecure girl who just last week so easily believed that the boy I loved didn’t like me back.
What was I doing with Zack anyway? Trying to keep a werewolf who could never truly be mine. And through all our kissing, playing and cuddling, he couldn’t even verbally express his feelings for me. What if they weren’t strong enough? What if the only thing that carried our relationship forward was physical attraction? Something that shallow could only be temporary. I needed more.
“Autumn, what’s wrong?” Zack asked.
“Just not looking forward to our breakup, I guess.” I smiled even though I didn’t feel it.
“Don’t worry. We’ll make it fun. You could slap me and make a scene.” He grinned then, noting my expression, lifted my chin to look into my eyes. “It’ll be okay. We’ll just have to get through each day, then we’ll be together again at night.”
Right. We’ll still have our nights. He wouldn’t say something like that if he didn’t really care about me, right?
Gina tapped Zack on the shoulder. “How about a dance?”
I couldn’t believe she had the balls to ask knowing Zack would say no. Her only purpose had to be to piss me off. It worked.
He seemed to consider her offer then turned to me, a questioning look in his eye. She could break us up too, Zack told me silently.
I realized Gina was perfect — just as perfect as Alura. Gina would enjoy it, that’s for sure. It’s your call. I left them standing there, returning to Maya and Trevor.
“Sure,” I heard him answer to Gina. The contents of my stomach churned.
~~~
Chapter Thirteen
I glanced over my shoulder and watched Zack lead Gina to the dance floor. Seeing them together was like being buried six feet under and slowly running out of air.
Maya’s eyes narrowed. “Why is Zack dancing with that whore?”
“He likes to dance. Besides, they have a science project they’re doing together.” I shrugged, making an effort to get the words through my constricted throat. I wasn’t sure if what I’d said was still true, but it was the best I could come up with.
Maya glanced at me, then Zack. Trevor did the same. She rose unexpectedly, marched to them and cut in on their dance. Gina could’ve made a scene but, thankfully, she had enough sense to see that fighting with Maya over someone else’s boyfriend would’ve made her the talk of the school for days. Gina held her head high, smiled and casually walked away. I laughed and looked at Trevor.
“Maya’s amazing, isn’t she?” He grinned.
“Yes, she is.”
† † †
Trevor and Maya went inside for the after-prom party, but Zack and I lingered in the limo. He dragged me onto his lap, then pushed a button and the divider rolled up to block the driver’s view.
“This is our last weekend in public as a couple.”
“Yeah…,” I said. “And I’d like to enjoy this time together, so can we not talk about the end, even if it’s only pretend?”
“We don’t have to talk at all.” With his hands at my waist, he gently pressed his thumbs against my hips to coax me backward, until I lay horizontally along the seat. His eyes roamed my face, slowly, like we had all the time in the world. “It’s like… you’re too perfect to touch.”
I made an extra effort to force my lungs to work. Breathe. “But you’d better touch me or I’m going to be super pissed off.”
Zack laughed softly, scooting to the edge of the seat at my side. “The first time I saw you…” He moved a lock of dark hair off my shoulder and trailed a fingertip along my collarbone to my shoulder. “I thought you were super pretty. But I also thought you were totally stuck up. You can’t imagine my annoyance when I couldn’t stop staring at you.
It was frustrating being drawn to someone I didn’t like.”
That’s why he had always seemed to be scowling at me.
“A couple times, I picked up your scent and followed you, just out of curiosity.” He held each side of my waist and took a long slow breath. “I didn’t think you could get any prettier but, I swear, you have since you’ve started maturing into a shape-shifter.” His voice quieted. “Everything about you makes me want you more.”
It was difficult to determine which would lead to trouble faster — his words or his touch or the way he was looking at me. A hum worked its way through me, building. If he didn’t kiss me soon…
Lowering his lips to mine, his inquisitive tongue brought the hum to a purr. He kissed me deeper. Caught up in Zack, I hadn’t realized he’d shifted his full weight onto me.
“Maybe we should have the driver drop us off at your house,” he said between kisses on my neck.
Zack had made it clear multiple times that my place was the riskiest place for us to be. Apparently he no longer possessed clarity of thinking. It was up to me now to keep us strong.
Reluctantly, I pushed my palms against his chest. “We should go inside, don’t you think?”
“No.” He stared at me a moment longer, then nodded. “Yes.”
I chuckled as I straightened his tie and checked his suit. After making sure my dress wasn’t askew, I let him usher me out of the limo.
John and a few of his friends had saved up all semester for an after-prom party, knowing they would never be invited anywhere by the popular crowd. One of their dads owned a packaging plant and agreed to let them use it, providing they paid for a cleaning crew. The most important requirement, though, was that they not allow any alcohol on the premises. They happily agreed and handed over their meager savings. The boys had spent their Saturday moving things around and preparing. John deejayed and Janine took turns with the other party masterminds, making sure no rules were broken.
The place was jammed with people. And it was louder than the gymnasium, if that was possible.