“Yeah, so? A few wolves managed to sneak in a couple of weeks ago.” I rise to my feet and stretch my arms above my head. “So, who’s to say I can’t sneak into it, either?”
His forehead scrunches. “Wolves snuck into the Common Realm?”
I nod. “That’s what Legend’s guard friend said.”
He runs his thumb along the silver rings on his hand, making the skin hiss. “Did he say what pack they were from?”
“No.” I flick his thumb away from the rings, the silver fleetingly scalding my fingertips in the process. “Stop doing that.”
“Sorry,” he mutters distractedly.
I rub my fingertips together where the silver rings briefly touched. The skin is already smoothed over. “Why does it matter what pack they were from?”
He shrugs, apprehension flooding his eyes. Before I can press him for details, he tangles his ring-less fingers through mine. “If you really want to try to go back to the Common Realm, I can walk you to the portal and see if I can get us both in.”
“You want to go to the Common Realm with me?” I question with skepticism.
“No, but if you really want to live there—to go back to that life—I’m not going to stop you. But I’m also not going to let you go there alone. Not now that you have a scent. And not when other werewolves are sneaking in.” His eyes flicker with faint violet light. “And not when I just got you back.”
“You don’t even know me,” I tell him. Still, his words make me feel strangely warm inside. “For all you know, I could be super annoying and mean and evil.”
He chuckles. “You’re definitely not annoying, mean, or evil. And I may not completely know you now, but I knew you back then, and I liked you back then.”
“But I could be different now.”
“So? I want to have a chance to get to know you.”
“Even if that means living in the boring human world?”
He gives a stiff but firm nod. “Even if it means I die of boredom.”
“You wolves are awfully dramatic,” I remark with an eye roll.
“You should probably fit right in then, at least from what I’ve seen,” he teases with a smirk.
I shake my head. “You know, for someone who supposedly didn’t smile for a very long time, you sure got that whole smirk thing down.”
He chuckles, but his laughter promptly dwindles as the clock chimes, announcing the start of a new hour. “So, what do you say, Lake? Are we going back to the Common Realm to live with the boring humans and watch me die a slow and torturous death by the hands of boredom? Or are you going to stay here, in your home, and rediscover who you are and the magic of your realm?”
Well, when he puts it that way …
“Fine. I’ll stay here for now and save you from a slow and torturous death by the hands of boredom.” When I roll my eyes, he grins. “And it’s nice to know that you’re a drama queen.”
Philip snickers, and Jules just keeps on smiling, looking happy as can be. It makes me feel a tab bit better about going home with a werewolf to a place where his entire pack lives.
A pack I’m supposed to be a part of.
Reality crashes over me, but I do my best to stay calm. I just hope that everything will be okay. And that all the werewolves in the pack are as nice as Jules seems.
Chapter 11
After we get the go-ahead from Philip that I won’t die when I walk out of his house, Jules leads me toward the door.
That doesn’t mean I don’t hold my breath as I move farther away from the sneaky cat.
“I’ll call you and give you an update within the week,” Jules tells Philip as we step outside, beneath the darkened sky. “I want to be careful of who knows what we’re doing, considering my father would never approve of it. Plus, the killers are out there still. I don’t want to risk them getting word of Lake. Her existence needs to stay in the circle of my pack. You’re the only exception to this. If I find out you’ve told anyone about her, I’ll—”
“You’ll kill me and then my family, slowly and painfully.” He makes a flapping mouth gesture with his hand. “Yeah, I remember the speech. And I wasn’t planning on telling anyone. I have a lot to lose if this doesn’t work out.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m trusting you.” They shake hands, and then Philip shoots me a smile before stepping back into his house and shutting the door.
“Are you okay?” Jules asks as we head down the porch stairway and onto the cobblestone road.
I shrug. “I don’t feel death approaching, so I’m assuming so.”
“I don’t mean that. I meant with everything I just told you.” He stuffs his free hand into his pocket as he steers me across the mostly vacant street. “I know it has to be a lot to take in.”
“I’m fine,” I mutter with a shrug.
He glances at me from the corner of his eye. “You don’t sound fine. You sound sad.”
I shrug again. “I’m not freaking out and running away, so there’s that.”
“I know. And I’m glad you’re not running. But I don’t want you to be sad, either.”
“I’m not really sure I’m sad so much as confused. There’s just so much to take in, and then finding out my parents are dead …” I swallow the painful lump in my throat. “That part does make me sad, especially because I don’t remember them.” I stare at the ground as tears prickle in the corners of my eyes. “What if I don’t ever get my memories back and I never get to know what they looked like or how their laugh sounded or if they were nice?”
He grinds to an abrupt halt. “Your parents loved you, Lake, more than anything.” He fixes his finger underneath my chin and angles my head up. “And we’ll get your memories back, I promise.”
I wish I knew if he’s the kind of person—wolf—who keeps his promises. For now, though, I choose to believe him.
“Thank you for saying that,” I tell him as we start to stroll down the sidewalk again. “I do have another question, and I’m guessing this is a no since you haven’t mentioned anything about it yet, but I’m still going to ask.” I take a deep breath. “Do I have any brothers or sisters?”
He shakes his head. “Sorry, but you were the only wolf cub your parents had.”
I crinkle my nose. “Am I even a wolf cub? I mean, I can’t shift.”
“That’s because you were never taught how. Most wolves don’t complete their first shift until they’re seventeen, and they have to be walked through the process step-by-step.”
“So, you’ve only been shifting for, like, a year?”
The muscle in his jaw ticks. “No, my father made me do my first shift at fourteen.”
I’m starting to get the impression he’s not a fan of his father.
“Is it painful?” I wonder. “Shifting, I mean?”
“The first couple of times it is, but after that, it feels amazing.” He smiles wistfully.
“How much pain are we talking about? I’m kind of a wimp.” Plus, the idea of shifting into a wolf is scaring the living nightlights out of me.
“I doubt that.” His gaze skates to me, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. “However, if you really want, I know a way to bypass the pain during your first few shifts.”
“What sort of way?”
His teeth sink deeper into his lip as he cups the side of my face then places his mouth beside my ear. I hold my breath, waiting for whatever words are about to pass his lips.
“I don’t know … I probably shouldn’t tell you right now.” His tone is all flirty humor. “It might be too scary for you.”
I gently push him away. “So overdramatic.”
He chuckles for at least the tenth time in the last hour. For a guy who everyone said didn’t smile, he sure as hell laughs a lot.
After his laughter fades, he grows quiet, seeming lost in thought. I use the quiet moment to take in the Midnight Realm: the cobblestone streets; the fanged, winged, glittery—all sort of creatures—the starry sky.
“Does the su
n ever shine here?” I wonder as we veer down a slender alleyway that dips between two glass buildings.
Immediately, my guard goes up at the sudden seclusion.
Why are we here?
He nods. “Yeah, it’ll come up in the morning. You must have slept through the last sunrise.”
“Stupid Philip,” I joke. Well, partially joke. He did poison me, after all.
“He’s definitely annoying. But don’t worry; I’ll make sure to wake you up bright and early in the morning so you can see the sunrise.” He comes to a stop in the middle of the alleyway. “The sunrises are one of the best parts of the Midnight Realm.”
“Seems pretty contradicting to its name,” I joke, anxiously peering around at the stairway above me and the large metal boxes stacked around.
“Don’t make that assumption yet.” His hand leaves mine, then he retrieves something out of his pocket and the entire area illuminates.
I squint against the brightness, shielding my eyes until the light fizzles out. Then the fragrance of moonlight overtakes the air as figures transpire from the darkness.
Figures that belong to werewolves.
Chapter 12
Blood roars in my eardrums as werewolves form a wall around me.
I cover my ears. I don’t know why. It’s not like I can shield out the sound inside my ears. But I can’t think. Can’t breathe.
Can’t do this again.
“No, no, no, no, no,” I whisper repeatedly, the scars on my stomach throbbing. Every part of my body is throbbing.
My vision spots as tears fall from my eyes and shallow breaths rip from my chest.
When someone touches my arm, I jerk back, a whimper fumbling from my lips.
I’m trapped and there are so many of them. Too many of them.
“Lake,” someone whispers. “Lake, you’re going to be okay. Lake!” Legend’s face appears in my line of vision.
Legend is here. Everything is going to be okay.
I lower my hands from my ears and throw myself against him, a sob wrenching from my chest.
“Shh … It’s going to be okay. No one’s going to hurt you,” he whispers, circling his arms around my waist. “They’re just the prince’s guards.”
“Why’d they come out of the dark, then?” I hold on to him for dear life, just like I did that day.
“I sometimes have a faerie put glamours on them.” Jules is the one to answer, sounding pained. “I usually do it when I go into the city so I don’t alarm creatures when we all march into a club.”
“Oh.” I feel kind of embarrassed for overreacting. But the scent of werewolves and this alleyway … it was too much, and I was temporarily thrown into the past.
I stay in Legend’s arms for a minute before pulling away and wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Sorry,” I say to no one in particular.
“You don’t need to be sorry,” Jules tells me while Legend gives my hand a comforting squeeze.
Silence lingers. The alleyway is too shadowed to see any of the guards’ faces, but I can feel them watching me.
Unable to take the silence any longer, I ask, “So, how do we get to your home? Do we have to, like, walk or something?”
Jules slips his fingers through mine. Since Legend is still holding my other hand, I feel sort of uneasy, yet extremely safe, which literally makes no sense.
“We are. But don’t worry; it’s not very far.” Jules gives a pause. “I think I need to warn you that all of my guards and myself will be shifting.”
My grip on their hands strengthens. “Why?”
Jules reaches out to brush away a few lingering tears on my cheeks. “Because, in order to get to our kingdom, we have to go through a field covered with whispering dream daisies, which is basically like a sleeping drug for every paranormal creature out there. And the only way we can get through the field without falling asleep is in our wolf form.”
“Why would you build your kingdom near a place like that?” I ask, apprehensive about the idea of falling asleep around a bunch of werewolves.
“Because it keeps paranormals out.” He gently tugs on my hand, pulling me toward him and causing me to lose my grip on Legend’s hand. “I can tell you’re afraid of us, but I promise nothing will happen to you. These guards took an unbinding oath to protect me.”
“To protect you,” I stress. I wish I wasn’t so afraid. Wish I could forget that day. Wish. Wish. Wish. I wish I wasn’t so broken. “Not me.”
His other hand settles on my waist. “If any harm comes to you, then harm comes to me. I promise you that no harm will come to you.”
“All right,” I utter, hoping I’m not making a huge mistake. “But, what about Legend?”
His fingers twitch on my hips. “What about him?”
“Can he come with me?” I glance over my shoulder at my vampire friend. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t,” he says. “I’m cool with hanging with wolves for a bit. I will have to return to my lair sometime, though, to grab some shit. But I can ride with you through the field first and then do that.”
“Ride through the field …?” I return my attention back to Jules. “Wait, I don’t have to, like, ride on a wolf or anything, do I?”
“What, that doesn’t sound like fun?” Jules teases.
“Not really,” I say. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Jules replies with a hint of nervous amusement. “We actually don’t prefer to be rode unless we’re having sex.”
Someone snickers. A snicker that sounds an awful lot like Shade’s.
My cheeks practically smolder with heat. Thankfully, the alley is too dark for anyone to see. At least, I think so.
Wait, do werewolves have night vision?
“We should get going.” Jules tilts his head up to glance at the sky. “I want to get you home before sunrise to avoid causing a scene. I’ll have Legend take you to the field while we shift. It’s on the other side of this building. There’s a sleigh near the far east corner. Get inside it and wait for us to come. Don’t go anywhere else, okay?”
“We’re taking a sleigh?” I get all giddy like a little kid. “A sleigh like Santa’s?”
“Who’s Santa?” Jules wonders curiously.
“A big, old, fat dude with a beard who supposedly travels around the world in one night, dropping off toys for all the good kids, and gives coal to the bad ones,” Legend replies. “Honestly, I never really understood how that worked, since humans don’t have magic. Plus, why doesn’t anyone get creeped out that an old dude is shimmying down their chimney in the middle of the night, yet Lake’s next-door neighbor freaks the hell out when I sneak into her place to borrow some milk because Lake forgot to go grocery shopping again?”
I can’t help giggling. “Santa isn’t actually real, you doofus. It’s just a story that parents tell their kids to try to get them to behave.”
“Why don’t they just bribe them with toys?” Legend asks, astounded. “That seems much more reasonable than telling them it’s okay that a large, old dude sneaks into the house through the chimney.”
We’ve had a similar conversation before about the Easter bunny, which actually freaked him out more.
“A large bunny comes into your house at night!” he exclaimed, horrified. “Aren’t you afraid it’s going to eat your face off while you’re asleep?”
Yeah, apparently, there’s this ginormous bunny demon that roams the Midnight Realm, and it sometimes likes to nibble on paranomals’ faces.
“I don’t know why they don’t,” I tell Legend. I’ve learned that it’s best to agree with him when he freaks out like this. “Humans are just weirdos, I guess.”
“That they are,” Legend agrees. “It’s a good thing you aren’t one anymore.”
“Yeah, but apparently, you never thought I was.” Irritation leaks into my tone.
“Do you want to have this conversation now?” Legend whispers in a low tone. “Just say the word and
we will.”
I peer around at the silhouettes of at least twenty werewolves, then lean closer to Legend. “No, but we definitely need to talk about it.”
“I know we do,” he says. “So, let’s plan on having a little one-on-one time tomorrow after I make a quick trip to my lair.”
I nod. “All right, it’s a date.”
A growl thunders through the darkness, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.
“Not a date,” Legend stresses, shifting uneasily. “Just two good friends hanging out.”
“Okay.” I sneak a glance at the werewolves again, wondering which one growled and why. “I didn’t mean an actual date. It’s just a term I use sometimes, which you should know by now.”
“I do know that.” Legend scratches the back of his neck. “But not every creature here does.”
“So what? Who cares if I go on a date with you?” I don’t really want to date Legend. I’m just trying to prove a point. My point being: why does it matter? Because it feels like it matters, yet no one will say why.
Violet light pierces the night.
“Okay.” A werewolf claps his hands together as he steps forward into the silvery moonlight. I recognize the wolf immediately.
Shade.
He points a finger at me. “You, gorgeous, little creature, are a troublemaker. We’re going to have our hands full. But I sensed that when I first saw you in the club.”
I gape at him. “What the heck did I do? And how the hell did you sense that when I was hiding behind Legend? That’s hardly anything a troublemaker would do.”
“Yeah, but then you opened your mouth and nothing but trouble spewed out of those pretty, little lips of yours,” he jokes, then winces at the noise of a rabid growl and teeth snapping. He shakes his head, looking to his right, at Jules. “Will you chill out? I’m just teasing her.”
“You were the one doing all the growling!” I shake my head at Jules. “What’s your deal, dude—”