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Blair
Elias was so hot. I mean, I had known that from the first time I had ever laid eyes on him, but ever since we were mated, it was almost as though I saw him in an entirely different light.
He was still the same attractive guy, but he looked even more gorgeous to me now. I wondered if this was a normal thing that happened between mates. A part of me wanted to ask, but the only one who actually knew I was a wolf or had a mate was Elias. And I felt awkward asking him.
As we began to head through the woods again, it was as though Elias had completely regained newfound confidence in his search. He looked everywhere. He kicked through all of the leaves, examined the tree bark, and even checked in holes that critters had apparently made to burrow in. And so far, nothing.
I was trying to stay positive, but all I really felt like doing was crying. I was so afraid of losing Camryn. Really, what I wanted to do was find her in the woods and spend what may have been our last few hours together, but in reality, I knew that wasn’t an option right now. Our only hope was finding this gold thing that wouldn’t break when shaken, whatever it could have been.
At that moment, I heard a voice say from behind me, “Have you guys found anything?”
I glanced over my shoulder to find Mila walking towards us. “No,” I replied. “Have you guys?”
She shook her head. “I’m getting really frustrated. This thing has to be out here somewhere, doesn’t it?”
“I hope so,” I replied quietly.
As Bash approached us from the other direction, he said, “Of course it is. It’s just apparently very well hidden.”
Zoe paused hesitantly. “I’m pretty sure I know the reason we haven’t found whatever it is yet.”
“Why?” Camryn’s familiar voice said as she and Ace reached the clearing.
“Well, so far, we’ve only been looking for something – anything – that might fit the description,” Zoe explained. “We haven’t actually tried to solve the riddle itself.”
“I think you might be right about that theory,” Mila agreed with a nod. “How can we find something when we don’t even know what we’re looking for?”
“Well, does anyone know what the riddle might be about?” Elias asked as he came to stand next to me.
I glanced over at him. “If we had any idea, would we be standing here talking about solving it?” I asked him.
“Now isn’t really the time to be a smartass, Blair,” he replied quietly.
“I wasn’t trying to be one. But, hey, thanks for calling me a smartass and not a dumbass.” I grinned.
He rolled his eyes and then turned away from me. “Let’s come up with some theories, here.”
“Actually, why don’t you guys do that and see what you come up with? I need to talk to Blair privately,” Mila told him.
He eyed her curiously before shrugging. “Whatever.”
As he turned back to Bash and Ace, Mila grabbed my wrist. “Come on, let’s go over here and talk.”
I raised my eyebrows at her, but I didn’t protest. Mostly, I was curious about what she wanted. Mila and I didn’t really know each other that well. I couldn’t seem to figure out what in the world she could have wanted to talk to me about – and in private, nonetheless.
Once we were standing a few feet away from the others, she glanced over at me. “What is going on, Blair?”
I just stared back at her blankly. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? Let me see. You and my brother have been acting strange as hell around each other since earlier today. I can’t really tell what’s going on between the two of you.”
I shrugged. “Elias and I have never really gotten along. He doesn’t even think I should be here. He wanted me to stay back at the motel while you guys went to Natalia’s house, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. But this is completely irrelevant. It’s something else. Something that changed between the two of you. Ever since this morning, the two of you have been strange around each other. It’s almost as if you were...” Mila trailed off.
“Almost as if we were what?” I asked, even though I knew what she was already thinking. It was almost as if we were mates.
“Nothing. Never mind. That was just crazy for me to even think.” She paused. “You’ve just been oddly... secretive.”
“I’m not being secretive,” I insisted.
“Yes, you are. First, you’ve been wearing that same black sweatshirt, even in this heat. You’re not taking it off for some reason.” Mila paused. “And if we’re being perfectly honest, Elias basically told me that you have a secret.”
“He did?” I glanced over my shoulder at Elias, who was deep in conversation with Bash and Ace. I couldn’t help but feel slightly betrayed. These secrets of ours were meant to stay between the two of us. They weren’t for him to share with Mila or anyone else.
“I mean, he told me that something was going on with you, but he refused to tell me what it was,” Mila explained. “He told me I had to ask you if I wanted to know. And truth be told, my curiosity has begun to get the better of me. I need to know what you’re hiding.”
“Mila, it’s nothing,” I told her quietly.
“If it was really nothing, then it wouldn’t have mattered if Elias told me. You wouldn’t have looked at him like you wanted to strangle him just a minute ago because you thought he told me,” she pointed out. She paused for a moment. “I asked him if you were a Hunter. He told me that’s not what it is, but how can I really know that for sure? How do I know you’re not hiding a weapon under that sweatshirt? How do I know the whole reason you’re here isn’t to kill us?”
“I’m not here to kill you,” I assured her. “And how could that even be possible? I’ve been Camryn’s best friend my entire life. Do you really think that I’m a Hunter?”
“I honestly don’t know what to think about you right now, Blair,” Mila replied. There was an accusing look in her eyes – a look that told me she didn’t trust me at all right now.
The last thing I wanted was for my mate’s sister to absolutely hate me. I wanted the two of us to be friends, eventually. But there was no way that could happen if she thought I was hiding things from her.
“Fine. Do you want to know what my secret is?” I asked her.
“I sure do,” Camryn said from behind me. “What is it, Blair?”
Knowing that I had no choice but to tell them now, I rolled up my sleeve and showed them the bite mark. “My secret is that I’m one of you. I’m a werewolf.”