| |
When I climbed out of the car, Mila got out, too, and headed for the trunk to get my dress out. I had barely taken two steps up the dirt driveway when I heard a voice call out, “Camryn!”
I glanced over my shoulder to find Blair heading straight for me. Her long blonde hair fell in loose waves. She was wearing a short, mint green sundress and looked just as trendy as ever. It hadn’t really occurred to me before that Blair and Mila would probably get along great, considering they both lived to shop. Me? Not so much – unless it was book shopping and then I was always down.
“Hey, Blair. This is my friend, Mila. We just got back from the mall,” I told her.
“Wait, your friend? Wasn’t she the one who...,” Blair trailed off, but I knew what she was thinking: the awkward start with Mila that I’d told her about.
“The one who’s her boyfriend’s sister?” Mila asked. “Yeah, that would be me.”
Blair glanced over at me sharply. “Camryn, you have a boyfriend?” She stared at me through narrowed eyes.
Crap. I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her.
Mila shot me an apologetic glance for breaking the news.
At that moment, I noticed Roxy walking up the driveway. What was she doing here so late at night?
“Hey, Camryn,” she called as she continued her way up the driveway.
“Who’s that?” Blair asked.
“Roxy.”
“Another new friend who I haven’t met yet?” she said. “What have you been doing since I’ve been in New York? Trying to replace me?” She stared at me almost accusingly.
“You’re being ridiculous. Of course I wasn’t trying to replace you,” I replied, rolling my eyes at her. What had this jealous streak come from? She’d never been like that before. Then again, I’d never really made friends without her before.
“Sure seems like it,” Blair muttered, folding her arms over her chest in annoyance.
As Roxy approached me, I turned to her. “Hey. I have a question for you. It’s just been on my mind since we talked this morning.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“How did you know I wasn’t home? I don’t remember telling you that.”
“Oh. I bumped into your mom at the grocery store and she happened to mention it.”
Hmm. It wasn’t my mom’s usual day to go the grocery store and I’d never even mentioned to her that I was going away for the night. But maybe Mom had somehow managed to put two and two together on her own?
“Anyway, did you get all of your invitations mailed out?” I asked in my best attempt of changing the subject. Even though I still found the whole thing weird, I didn’t want to grill her in front of Mila and Blair. It was rude, and maybe I was overreacting.
“Actually, since the party’s tomorrow night, I ended up hand-delivering all of the invitations,” Roxy explained.
“Me and all of my brothers will be there,” Mila told Roxy as she handed me the bag that contained my dress and slammed her trunk shut. “I’m Mila, by the way – Jax’s sister.”
“I know who you are,” Roxy replied, meeting her gaze. “I look forward to seeing all of you at the party.”
“What party?” Blair asked, clearly feeling left out.
“Oh, I’m having a birthday party tomorrow night at the Purple Swan. It’s at six o’clock,” Roxy explained. “Would you like to come?”
“Actually, I have plans tomorrow night,” Blair announced, placing her hands on her hips and glancing away.
I knew my best friend well enough to know that she was lying, probably because she was upset that I hadn’t mentioned the party to her before now. But it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t even known until yesterday that she was going to be home in time for the party. It hadn’t exactly been the first thought that came to mind.
“Well, if you change your mind, the invitation is still open,” Roxy said. I got the sense that she somehow knew Blair was lying, too.
“I’d better get going,” Mila said. “I’ve been gone since yesterday. My brothers are going to start to question where I am.” She turned to me. “It’s been a lot of fun, Camryn.”
“Yeah, it has,” I agreed.
“I’ll see you ladies tomorrow,” Mila told me and Roxy.
“Bye, Mila. It was so nice to finally meet you,” Roxy said.
“Bye, Mila,” Blair said, a slightly bitter edge to her voice. Mila must’ve picked up on it, too, because she shot me a glance before climbing back into her car.
As she pulled the car out of the driveway, Roxy said, “I should probably get going, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye.” I watched as she walked back down the driveway and turned in the direction of her house.
That whole encounter was... odd. She’d just walked to my house and back? Why, when she hadn’t even known that I was home yet?
“So, do you want to have a sleepover tonight?” Blair asked.
I glanced over at her. “I’m not really in the mood. It wouldn’t be any fun.” And I wasn’t just making it up. Since I hadn’t slept a wink at Demetrius’s, I felt like I needed to catch up. But I knew that a sleepover with Blair would’ve meant staying up half the night.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “You’re not acting like yourself at all.”
“I’m sorry. There’s just been a lot going on since you’ve been gone,” I apologized. I really wished that I could just open up to her about everything, but I knew I couldn’t do that. Not without putting her life in danger, which wasn’t something I was willing to do.
“Well, I mean obviously a lot has been going on. I go away for a few weeks, and you somehow manage to find two new friends and get a boyfriend while I’m gone.”
“I’m sorry,” I began to apologize, but then I realized that it wasn’t a sincere apology. It was just a fake apology, one meant to pacify her. “Actually, I’m not sorry. Since when did we agree that we wouldn’t have other friends? And shouldn’t you be happy for me? Jax is my first boyfriend. You should find it exciting. You are my best friend, after all.”
My words must’ve hit her hard, because her face crumbled with sadness. “I don’t care that you have other friends or a boyfriend, Camryn. That’s not what this is about.”
“Then what is it about?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“The fact that you’ve made new friends and, more importantly, got a boyfriend, and you didn’t even think to tell me.” A tear glided its way down her cheek. “Since when don’t we tell each other things? We’re like sisters.”
“I’m sorry.” This time, my apology was genuine. I knew that if I was in her shoes, I would’ve probably been hurt, too. “I just got really caught up in... Jax.” It wasn’t like I could tell her what I’d really been caught up in: werewolves, meeting my biological father (who happened to be an Alpha), and Zoe being forced into an arranged marriage with a powerful wolf.
“Besides,” I went on, “I also didn’t want to bother you while you were in the city.”
“You wouldn’t have bothered me, trust me. My vacation was not that great at all.”
“But you said you were doing all these things,” I said, recalling her mentioning that she’d seen Aladdin on Broadway.
“For, like, two days and then my dad seemed to forget I was there. He got busy with work, which I understand, but even at night and on weekends, he would hole himself up in his office, give me money for takeout and let me fend for myself. Don’t get me wrong. I did some exploring on my own, but that’s not why I wanted to go to New York this summer,” Blair explained. “I went to see my dad, and he didn’t even seem to care I existed.” Her tears were flowing steadily now.
I hugged her. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you talk to me?”
“I just didn’t want to admit it was happening,” she explained. “
“I understand. And I am really sorry I didn’t fill you in, either.” I paused. “What do you think about having a sleepover tomorrow night after the party? Assuming you’re not busy.”
“Oh, come on. You and I both know I’m not really busy tomorrow night,” she replied with a laugh. “I just didn’t want to go to her birthday party.”
“Well, do you want to go now?” I asked hopefully.
“I don’t know. Why would I want to go to her birthday when I don’t even know her?” Blair asked. “Am I supposed to buy her a gift? Because I don’t know anything about her.”
“I just figured I would stick some money in a card,” I replied with a shrug. “But the party isn’t just for her birthday. It’s also a welcoming party, since she’s new in town.”
“It just seems odd.”
“She seems odd,” I admitted.
Blair lifted an eyebrow. “I thought she was your friend.”
“She is... I think. There are just a lot of things that don’t really add up about her,” I replied.
“Like what?”
I racked my brain for some way to respond without telling her the truth, like the fact that Jax didn’t think Roxy was human. But before I had to come up with a way to answer her, a pair of bright headlights shone in our faces as my mom pulled her silver Chevy into the driveway.
My mom climbed out of the car and walked over to us. “Blair, what are you doing home?”
My best friend wiped her tears away and shot her a smile. “Dad had to go to London for business, so here I am.”
“Well, I’m sure Camryn is glad you’re back. She’s missed you and Zoe this summer.”
“Where is Zoe, anyway?” Blair asked. “Is she still at pre-med camp?”
My mom glanced over at me, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. Neither of us was quite sure how to answer. It wasn’t like we could just tell Blair the truth, but at the same time, we both hated lying.
After a moment of awkward silence, I finally nodded. “Yeah, she’ll be back later this summer.”
I wasn’t sure what excuse we would come up with when Zoe never came back this summer, and people started to ask questions. How would we explain where she was?
“I should probably go inside. My mom gave me this big lecture about how I shouldn’t go out late at night. Apparently there have been a lot of new dogs in the neighborhood,” Blair said.
“I haven’t seen any dogs.” Of course, I had a feeling that what her mom was really talking about were werewolves.
“I told my mom she was probably just being paranoid, being in the house all alone while I was gone. But she swears she’s heard a lot of dogs barking and howling lately. Who knows? Maybe all these new neighbors are bringing dogs with them.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She glanced over at my mom. “Is it okay if I sleep over tomorrow?”
“Of course,” my mom replied with a smile. “Will you be going to Roxy’s birthday party?”
Blair wrinkled her nose. “I think I’ll pass. Goodnight.”
“Night,” I replied, watching as she cut through our yard, into her own.
“I need to talk to you, Camryn,” my mom said. Her eyes darted back and forth, scanning the yard. “But not out here. Let’s go inside.”
I nodded and followed her up the front porch steps and into the house. Once we got past a barking, overly excited Dexter, my mom turned to me. “I spoke to your father today... for the first time since he left.”
“Really?”
Mom nodded. “I completely went off on him for what he did. I told him he had no right to force Zoe into marriage.”
“What did he say?” From everything I knew about Demetrius, no one – except for me – spoke to him that way.
She sighed. “It was like talking to a wall. He listened to me, but I know that nothing I said actually meant anything to him. As far as he’s concerned, anything he does is golden. He could never do anything wrong. It’s really very sickening.”
“It is,” I agreed.
“So, what I wanted to talk to you about is the wedding reception. Demetrius said he told you about it,” she said, sitting down on the arm of the sofa.
“Yeah, he mentioned it.” I paused as I plopped down on the other couch. “He said you’re going to have to go... as his date.”
“That would be true,” she replied sadly. “It’s one of those things that I just can’t get out of. I’m not looking forward to it. But what I wanted you to talk about is... your father and I both think it would be best if you didn’t attend the reception.”
“What? Why?” It felt like she’d just slapped me in the face. How were they going to tell me to stay home from Zoe’s wedding reception? She was my sister!
“Well, you are aware that you and Zoe are believed to have one of the most powerful bloodlines, right?” Mom asked.
“Because of Demetrius’s powerful bloodline, right?”
“Leave it to Demetrius to only mention himself,” she replied with a chuckle. “I wasn’t born a werewolf, Camryn, but we later learned that my great-grandmother was one. And her bloodline was very powerful – just as powerful as the bloodline Demetrius’s parents formed.”
“If your great-grandma’s bloodline was so powerful, then why weren’t you born a wolf?” I asked, my stomach twisting in knots. I knew that Jax was convinced I was going to be a wolf because the Shade had tried to use me as a Host, but I was afraid that he was wrong and I wouldn’t be, after all.
“Because it only passed down directly to girls, for whatever reason, and she was my great-grandmother on my father’s side,” Mom explained. “Anyway, when Demetrius’s bloodline mixed with the little amount of werewolf blood that was in my veins, it’s believed that we formed the most powerful bloodline in history.”
“I see. But what does any of this have to do with the wedding reception?” I questioned, not understanding why our powerful bloodline had anything to do with why they didn’t want me to go.
“Your bloodline makes you a target.”
“A target for what?”
“All sorts of things. As much as I wish I could tell you that everyone who’s going to be at the reception have good intentions, I can’t. Some of them aren’t good. Your father and I are afraid that someone might try to hurt you.”
“Would anyone do something like that at a public event?” I asked. “There are going to be so many werewolves there.”
“I don’t know, Camryn. But I really don’t want to find out.”
“So, you want me to just stay at home,” I said. “You know Jax is going to be there.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“He won’t let me out of his sight,” I insisted. “He’ll make sure nothing bad happens to me.”
“I didn’t even think of that.” My mom sighed. “I don’t know. Let me talk it over with your father.”
“Since when do you and he make joint decisions about me?” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Now that he’s walked back into our lives, I have no choice but to include him in decisions like this,” she replied. “Now, I am tired. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go to bed.”
“Whatever.” I shrugged, trying not to let my annoyance show too much but unable to help it. I was really, really annoyed that she would let Demetrius have a say in anything that had to do with me.
He hadn’t had a say for the first seventeen years of my life, so why bother now?