Chapter Four

Charlie

 

 

I slept restlessly and woke up feeling like my head had been stuffed with cotton. It was what I thought having a hangover would be like, except without all the fun parts that came beforehand. It wasn’t even like I’d earned feeling so terrible. Judging by my tangled sheets and shredded pillow, I had just been sleeping rough—really rough. Nightmarish images faded along with the last remnants of sleep. I couldn’t remember the dreams that had haunted me—only that they were filled with monsters, all of them out for my blood.

Somehow, I knew that training to fight with a vampire wasn’t going to make it any better.

I checked the time. I had promised to meet Owen in less than an hour, but if I made it quick, that should leave me just enough time. And I’d put this off long enough.

It felt like forever before my phone powered on. I waited until everything had lit up and counted the missed calls from my mom. Seventeen. Crap. It was past time for this. I dialed slowly, swallowing back the anxious feeling in my gut. It rang only once before the machine picked up. Mom’s familiar cheer was like a dart lodging straight in my guilty heart. It had been over a week since I’d been taken and brought here to Paradise, and I still hadn’t called…

The beep sounded and I started talking, secretly glad for the machine. Maybe it would break the ice. “Hi, Mom. It’s me, Charlie,” I added, feeling like an idiot for even saying that part. “I know I haven’t checked in but Regan says Dad contacted you … Anyway, I’m okay—”

“Charlie? Hello?” The click of the receiver being snatched and my mom’s shrill voice made me wince.

“I’m here, Mom,” I said.

She sighed so loud it created static over the line. “Thank God. Did they hurt you? William said you were unharmed but I had no way of knowing—”

“I’m fine, I promise. They haven’t hurt me,” I told her. Yet.

“Do you have a place to stay? Are you eating?”

“Yes and yes. Mom, why didn’t you tell me?” I asked before she could throw out her next barrage of questions.

The line went abruptly silent and then her voice came back, notably smaller. “I’m sorry, baby. I really am. I should have told you. I just didn’t think there would ever be a reason to. I didn’t think you’d ever have to go there.”

“Did you ever stop to consider maybe I’d want to come here?” I ask, my voice a little harsher than I’d intended. “They are my family,” I added.

Mom was silent and I hated to think I’d hurt her feelings—but it had to be said. She’d lied. For my whole life. And that lie was partly the reason I was here now, thrown into this unaware.

“Did you know about the competition?” I ask.

“I hoped…”

“Don’t lie to me, Mom. Not anymore. There’s no point.” My voice sounded dull even to me, but tears pricked my eyes. This is why I’d put off the call. I’d been afraid she’d known everything—including that I’d be forced to fight my own sister.

“Yes,” she said in a strangled voice. “I’d hoped if I kept you hidden, they’d overlook it or give up and just give it to Regan,” she said.

I pressed my mouth together until my teeth hurt and blew a hot breath through my nose. “Did you ever think I might want to be alpha?” I asked quietly. “Or did you assume, like all of the others, that I wasn’t capable of winning?”

“Charlie, no,” she insisted quickly—too quickly. “You are very capable but, well, I’m sure you’ve seen by now how different things are in pack life. It’s not like your life here. You have so much weight on your shoulders. As alpha, your life would never be your own again.”

“How would you know?” I asked, my voice raising and taking on a nasty edge that I hated even as I used it. “You aren’t welcome here. You have no place in the pack so how could you possibly know what it’s like?”

“That’s not fair—”

“Neither was lying to me. Or keeping me from my father and sister. You had no right then and you have no right now to decide what’s best for me,” I said.

She started to say something but I cut her off. “I have to go train for the competition now.”

“So, you’re staying?” she asked quietly and I could almost hear the tears running down her cheeks. I bit my cheek against the guilt that throbbed.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

I hung up before she could respond and powered the phone off again. I slipped it into the nightstand drawer where it’d been before just as a lone tear tracked down my cheek and dripped off my chin. I sniffled once and steeled myself against feeling anything else or shedding any more tears.

My mom and I had never spoken to each other like that before—but she’d never lied either. Or maybe she had and I still didn’t know all of the lies she’d told me. Either way, I couldn’t get caught up in her betrayal. I had a competition to train for.

I could figure all that out after.

Taking the time to make myself presentable—because I needed to look good for the pack, not because I was meeting a hot vampire—I snuck downstairs using the back hallway and slipped out the back door. I breathed a sigh of relief when no one stopped me. Only a little over a week had passed since I’d come to Paradise and already I used the back door far more than I did the front entrance.

I stopped short at the bottom of the steps, barely missing the front end of a two-by-four as it bobbed along on the shoulder of a pack member I didn’t know. He grunted a hello and kept walking, headed for the back acre. A second later, another man appeared behind him, also hefting two-by-fours on his shoulder. A younger boy followed behind with a work belt and hammer in his hands.

I stopped to watch them and my gaze caught on the open acre of grass beyond them. It was the same space where my engagement party had been held two nights ago. It had been fully cleared of any leftover décor and already, they were erecting something new. So far, it was nothing more than an oddly shaped foundation of plywood. The crack of a hammer rang out and I jerked before steeling myself as it rang out again—and again.

I sped along the lines of people with wooden two-by-fours over their shoulders with my chin raised, trying to look as much like a potential alpha as Regan did.

When I got closer, I slowed my pace in order to inspect the construction.

The foundation resembled a stage, except if I understood it right, the audience was higher than the main platform, which was constructed out of bricks. There was a high fence built halfway around the circle, and beyond that, elevated bleachers. They were already half done with the bleachers but from the looks of it, there would be more than enough seating to accommodate the entire pack.

“For the first test.”

I was so fixated on the new construction that I hadn’t seen Regan approach. To my credit, I kept the shock off my face as I looked over at her. “You mean for our … competition?” I asked. She nodded and I turned back to the construction site and swallowed hard. “What is it?”

“An arena,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. I glanced over at her and found her mouth drawn into a deep frown.

An arena. Like the gladiators.

My stomach flipped. I looked at the clearing with new eyes. They were building the platform out of brick so it would stand up to whatever they planned on throwing at us. The bleachers were for an audience and, if Owen was right, it would be comprised of the pack and him and his family. The big fence was presumably to contain something—but there was no way to tell if it would be us, or something out to get us.

For some reason, it was the bleachers that made me feel the worst. They weren’t just going to test us. They were going to watch one of us fail.

A mental image of Regan standing over me dressed in Roman armor and a sword at my throat came to mind. I could already see Dad with his thumb turned up.

I banished the thought. They wouldn’t be that melodramatic.

Probably.

“When is the test?” I asked.

Regan shrugged. “They haven’t set a date yet. Just want to be prepared, I guess,” she answered and I suppressed my relief. “School starts day after tomorrow,” she added. “I’m supposed to tell you.”

I laughed. “Seriously? They’re building Thunderdome here and we still have to go to school?”

“That’s how it works. It’s kind of a year-round thing. We go every day for a few weeks, then get a couple weeks off.” At seeing my expression she added, “It’s good, though. You’ll want to attend a few lessons before we start with the tests. They’ll help you learn more about your animal strengths and skills and also about the pack, and … this isn’t making you feel any better, is it?”

“I feel great,” I lied.

Beside me, Regan shifted. “I wanted to apologize,” she began. I looked up, surprised. It took me a second to remember what for. “My mom’s … cause of death,” she went on. “I shouldn’t have lied about that. It’s just … we told that version to the local authorities to avoid questions, and when we met, you were still so…”

“Human?” I finished for her.

She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

I shrugged, not nearly as upset now as I had been the night I’d heard Sheridan mention it. “I think I get it,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to talk about it either and back then, I had no idea vampires existed much less went to war with werewolf packs.”

“Right.” Regan blew out a breath. “Well, thanks.”

Carter passed by pushing a wheelbarrow full of concrete mix, his broad shoulders flexing under the weight of the load. Regan’s eyes tracked him as he passed. Did she look unusually pale? She swayed a little on her feet and her fingers reached up to brush her neck.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

Regan shook herself a little. “No. Everything is fine. Do you want to go to town today?”

The change in subject almost gave me whiplash. “What for?”

She folded her arms behind her back, all military again, although she had lost a lot of her confidence. “We could do some ... shopping.”

My nose wrinkled. “Shopping?” I repeated.

“For shoes,” she said.

I floundered for an answer. I hated shoe shopping, and I was already late to meet Owen, but I didn’t want to be mean or raise her suspicions. “Or we could get coffee later, after my run,” I added, gesturing to my workout clothes and sneakers.

Regan tried one more time. “Or we could ... see a stylist?”

I stared at her, trying to think of a polite response. She was clearly uncomfortable and I got the distinct impression she wanted me to turn her down—so why was she bothering to ask? “Is that the kind of stuff you like to do? Shoe shopping? The salon?” I asked.

“No,” she admitted, her shoulders dropping as she unclasped her hands. “But I thought you might.”

I looked at my wrist even though I wasn’t wearing a watch. “Maybe later. I was planning on going for a run today. Get to see a little more of the forest and surrounding areas.”

Her eyes lit up. “I could come.”

“No!” I said, and the light disappeared instantly. Her expression shuttered. “I mean, I just want to be alone,” I amended. “Not that I don’t want you to come. I’m just used to being on my own so … we can go to town later, maybe?”

“Sure,” Regan said, her tone chillier than before.

She started to walk away to join the line of people bringing supplies to the arena. The urge to fix whatever I’d just damaged was overwhelming. I bit my lip and after a second’s hesitation, I called after her, “I like antiques.”

She stopped and looked at me, brows raised. “Antiques?”

“Yeah. Are there any antique shops in Paradise?”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “There are a couple.”

I forced a cheerful expression. “I’d love it if you showed me.”

“Tomorrow then.” Regan gave me a small smile, and then disappeared around front.

Relief rushed through me. For a moment there, I had been afraid she would insist on following me.

I hurried in the opposite direction and ducked into the forest. True to my word, I ran for the first few miles. The sounds of construction died away. Soon it was just me and the crunch of my feet against the ground. Branches crackled around me. I heard the occasional patter of tiny feet as a rabbit darted past.

The quieter things became, the more I relaxed. Tension I hadn’t realized I was carrying eased. My pace picked up. This was where I belonged. Not with all those people—those strangers—who expected me to lead them. I wanted to be with the trees, and the musk of small furred animals, and the towering craggy rock faces that watched me pass.

When I began to notice the difference in terrain, I slowed to a walk and caught my breath. I had a feeling I was in Owen’s territory now and I wanted to be on guard. It seemed a little warmer and less hostile than it had two days ago, but maybe it was just that I was getting more used to it. The breeze made the trees sway and cast sparkling patterns of light on the ground, illuminating my path into the deeper, darker parts of the forest.

After another few steps, every sound vanished—even the natural ones. The trees grew closer and closer until the sun disappeared. There hadn’t been a cloud in the sky, but suddenly, no light reached the earth. A chilled breeze still managed to slip through, but it only made me shiver. It didn’t seem to touch the bushes.

Owen’s smell was easy to pick up. It was a blend of sweet and stale and definitely inhuman. I followed it to a long but narrow clearing between a wall of trees and the slope of boulders so steep that only a few weeds grew on their surface. I was farther in than I had been before, and still, I hadn’t spotted him.

I paused where the ferns stopped growing. From here, empty ground stretched in front of me like a natural road in the forest. It was so dark it could have been early morning.

I hesitated, glancing back the way I had come. Any sign of my passage vanished, like the forest closed up in my wake to keep me from turning back. Low-hanging branches dangled toward me, like skeletal fingers reaching for my hair.

Something tickled the nape of my neck. I slapped at it and turned around. Nothing there.

“Hello? Owen?” I whispered. I meant to call it out, but it felt too vulnerable to be loud.

I just about jumped out of my skin when someone responded.

“What took you so long?” he asked from behind me. I turned again, and there he was, right where I had been looking a moment before. He must have dropped out of the trees. How had I missed him when I came through?

My pulse thrilled in my veins at the sight of him. Hair waving over his ears, perfect skin, sculpted jawline. And those eyes. Their piercing intensity always affected me more than their unsettling crimson center. Even my wolf was distracted by his combination of ferocious sexiness.

Swallowing hard, I made myself smile to hide the trembling. “I have responsibilities, you know. Mostly a responsibility to not get caught sneaking out to meet a vampire.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

The way he said “bad” sounded like an invitation. When I shivered again, it wasn’t from the chill. My gaze wandered from his face. Owen was dressed casually this morning—or at least, what I thought must be casual for him. He wore a black V-neck shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders in all the right places and black jeans to match. He was even wearing high-top sneakers. Like, actual Converse. The idea of vampire royalty in Converse would have been unbelievable if I hadn’t seen it myself. He managed to pull it off, though.

Even in casual clothes, he made me feel frumpy, out of place in my running shorts and razorback tank. But I did my best not to show it. “Are you going to pick on me or teach me?” I asked.

He scanned me up and down with eyes that seemed to leave a heat signature behind. A smile played on his lips. I probably shouldn’t stare at his lips … shapely and blood-red as they were. Even if he might be my future husband.

“Can’t I do both?” he asked.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” I said, tapping my toe.

Was that disappointment I saw flash across his face? “Okay. All business, then. Come on, darling.”

He took my hand in his cool fingers and tugged me through the trees. He had no problems navigating the darkness. He took me down into a valley where the trees weren’t so low and we had plenty of room to maneuver. When we stood in the center, he let go of my hand and turned to face me.

“Are you ready to begin?” he asked.

“Hang on,” I said.

Owen watched with amusement as I limbered up, stretching my arms over my head and touching my toes.

“What?” I asked, straightening as my cheeks heated.

“Nothing. I can’t say what I’m thinking if teasing is off the menu.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right,” I said, and then added in a more serious tone, “I appreciate this, by the way. Helping me train.”

“It’s my pleasure.” He kept his lips shut as I finished up, but he didn’t look away from me for even a second. Whatever. He could pick on me in his head if he wanted to, as long as he was quiet about it.

When I faced him all stretched and warm, he gave a little cough to clear his throat. “There are some things you need to know before you could ever hope to beat me.”

“Oh yeah? Don’t think I could take you?” I asked.

He failed to hide his grin. “Not at the moment.”

“I didn’t do too bad the other day,” I said, feeling defensive. I mean, it had been my very first fight. I couldn’t expect to win the first time.

“You’ll do even better as soon as you know this simple fact: you can’t win a fight against a vampire by tracking it with your eyes, your ears, or your sense of smell. Your senses are too slow—yes, even a werewolf’s senses.”

“So what, then? Am I supposed to use my magical psychic powers?”

His eyes sparkled. “Something like that.”

“That’s stupid. Come on, let’s just fight. I can take you. I’m more ready this time.”

“You don’t believe me, do you? That you might have some greater, as-yet-untapped power than your five known senses?”

“Come on,” I said again, more insistently. I fell into a crouch, my muscles twitching in anticipation.

Owen didn’t have to be asked a third time.

One second he was standing in front of me; the next second, he was gone. All I felt was a rush of air as he blurred around and came in to attack from behind.

His hand smacked into the back of my head. I spun and swung a fist, but he had already moved again.

Owen came around, ducked low, and pinched my thigh. Hard. “Ow!” I tried to slap his hand away, but it somehow came around and pinched me on the butt.

Okay. Now that was just insulting.

He darted back, laughing. “Are you ready to listen to me now?”

Instead of responding, I let my human form fall away and became the wolf, dropping to all fours on the fallen leaves. My wolf was practically gleeful with the opportunity to finally sink its teeth into the vampire. The change only left me vulnerable for a few seconds, but those few seconds were too much, because by the time I was done he was gone again. The clearing was empty. I hadn’t even seen him move.

He was right. Even as a wolf, my eyes and ears were way too slow.

Something clamped down on my tail and yanked hard.

I twisted and snapped. My teeth missed—unfortunately—but I actually managed to see him step out of the way. I lunged into his legs and knocked him over.

When I tried to jump him, he snaked an arm around my neck and hauled me to the ground, pinning me with an incredible amount of strength. I wriggled and thrashed. It was like fighting against iron bars.

I huffed out a hot breath. Like before, the only way out of his grasp was to shift. I closed my eyes and pushed the wolf away. It was harder than usual. The animal in me wanted to stay and fight. I focused on my human form and felt arms and legs slide into place. Owen’s grip eased as my shape changed. I slid away, half smiling at my clever escape.

I felt him behind me and began to turn, but it was too late.

His hand pressed against the small of my back. He bowed me backward so far that I would have fallen if he wasn’t holding onto me.

Owen’s breath whispered across my throat like a cool breeze. “Bang,” he said. The tickle of his lips sent shivers racing through my body. “You’re dead.”

I didn’t move for a long, aching moment. How could I? He lifted his head to gaze at me with that piercing red stare, and I couldn’t remember how to breathe or think or move. Then he dipped his lips again, and I felt the brush of hard points against my throat.

Fangs.

My instincts immediately kicked into high gear. Unable to move forward, I instead threw myself backward and dropped to the ground. My insides quivered. The wolf in me pushed to be released, to attack, but I squared my shoulders and remained human even as my hip hit the hard ground.

With my weight suddenly out from under him, Owen unbalanced. His eyes went wide. His arms pinwheeled comically, and he collapsed beside me.

I took the chance to sit on his stomach and pin him down.

“Who’s dead now?” I taunted. “Grr.” I pretended to slice at his throat with the claws I no longer had, and he caught my wrist gently.

I expected him to laugh at me. I mean, it was a joke, after all. But he had gone serious, and those burning red eyes were gazing so deep into mine that I shivered. His hold on my wrists tightened and I was instantly aware of all of the places our bodies were touching. In that moment, with Owen staring up at me like I was the most interesting specimen ever created, I forgot everything the other werewolves thought about vampires.

My heartbeat skipped as my adrenaline dropped. I was suddenly very, very aware of the rise and fall of his chest beneath me.

His gaze focused on my lips.

“Did you say something?” he asked, bringing my fingertips to his lips, and brushing a gentle kiss over them.

“I said ... uh ...”

But all I could think about was the very powerful mental image of kissing him, really kissing him, right that second, on the dirty ground of the dark forest. I wondered if his lips would be as cool as the rest of his skin, and if he tasted anything like he smelled. It was intoxicating and so powerfully tempting that I almost leaned forward and acted on the impulse right that second.

Instead, I blinked hard and stood up, offering him a hand.

“Rematch?” I asked with a weak smile.

It took Owen about a nanosecond to recover. Vampire reflexes were enviable when it came to awkward moments.

He was on his feet faster than I could blink, ignoring my outstretched hand. I had the distinct impression he was choosing not to touch me. He cleared his throat and blinked, and the tension cleared. He made it look easy to move on from our almost-kiss. It grated a little.

“There’s no point in a rematch if you’re not going to listen to me,” he said.

I blew out a breath, hating to admit he’d been right about my ability to fight him. The wolf in me was cocky. Then again, it’s not like I’d ever met another creature who outmatched me in strength and speed—until now.

“Fine. We’ll try it your way,” I said. “What do I do?”

“Close your eyes.”

I glared at him. “Why?”

His smirk dripped with sarcasm. “Don’t you trust me, kitten?”

Kitten? Oh, he was asking for trouble.

I tried to ignore the warmth that the pet name invoked, and firmed my jaw stubbornly. “I trust you about as far as I can throw you,” I muttered. But I closed my eyes. Jokes or not, I knew that he wouldn’t hurt me.

“Good. Now I want you to forget about your sense of sight. Allow its absence to open your other senses.”

I inhaled deeply. “I can smell you.”

“Good. Use that.”

“How?”

“Catalog how I smell standing here … as opposed to here.” His voice shifted and I knew he’d moved to stand on my other side.

“You moved,” I said.

“How do you know?” he asked, his voice coming this time from a third location.

Eyes closed, I turned my head toward the sound. “The direction of your scent.”

“And?”

I tipped my head left, tracking the changes I sensed. “And the air shifted as you passed.”

“And?” he prompted, this time from right in front of me again.

I shrugged. “Your voice is farther away.”

“You could also feel the movement,” he said with more emphasis on the word feel than I liked.

“Uh, you lost me. Can I open my eyes now?”

“No.” He was moving again. His voice came from one direction, then another, like speed pacing. “Humans only use about five percent of their sensory abilities. Vampires use more like ninety-five. You are somewhere in the murky middle.”

“What does that mean?”

“In your human form, you operate pretty similar to one of them. Your wolf is a little better, but not much, because you aren’t using your full animal senses. You need to completely open yourself up when you shift. If you do, you can learn to carry it over into your human form as well.”

“How do I open myself up?” I ask, brows wrinkling. My eyelids itched to open. I didn’t like operating blind.

“Attack me,” he said from my immediately left.

I cracked an eyelid. “What?”

“Keep your eyes closed,” he corrected, “and attack me.”

“You’re insane. I couldn’t beat you with my eyes open,” I argued, but I shut my eyes again.

“Exactly.” I could tell by his voice he was standing right in front of me again. Close enough to touch. If I wanted, I could reach out and…

I swung my fist out and caught only air. Owen clucked his tongue from somewhere on my right. “You’re not using your other senses. Use my scent, the air, the way it shifts when I move.”

I huffed out a breath. Part of me wanted to tell him this was stupid, and to stomp off. I felt like an idiot standing there with my eyes closed, swinging at nothing but air. But the cockiness was back. If Owen said I could do it, then I could.

“I need to shift,” I said.

“Do it.” He sounded unconcerned. Like he didn’t believe I’d be able to best him, no matter what form I was in.

I pulled the wolf to the front of my mind and let it wash over me. The animal pushed against my human muscles and slid into place. It was harder keeping my eyes closed this way. My wolf did not like the vulnerability it presented.

I squeezed my lids shut and concentrated on Owen’s scent. In wolf form, the sweetness in it wasn’t quite so distracting. In fact, my wolf wanted to take a bite out of it, a fact that helped sharpen my senses to pinpoint his location.

I took my time, gathering my focus. Slowly, I began to sense things beyond the obvious. The warmth of the sun hardly penetrated at all in this part of the woods. The weak rays that managed to get through were heaviest along my rump, letting me know which direction the sun shone from. Birds called, but they sounded far off. The quiet here was almost eerie.

Then, to my right, leaves rustled in a breeze so slight it didn’t even lift my fur. A sweet scent brushed my nose. I inhaled, still frozen. The air around me shifted a split second before I felt the impact—and swiveled so the momentum was lost.

Owen laughed quietly. I tracked the sound, ears twitching.

I sidestepped Owen’s second attempt completely. My confidence rose. I could do this extra-sensory thing after all. The air shifted and rippled as he came at me again. His arm arced through the air, creating a small wind. I heard it and ducked, coming up from underneath, teeth first.

I didn’t expect him to see it coming. I was cocky.

His hand closed around my throat and the pressure would’ve been enough to lift me off the ground if he’d wanted to. Instead, he squeezed once and let go, shoving me away.

I opened my eyes, sucking air down my reopened windpipe. I backed away, eyeing him warily.

“You need to guard your throat,” he said. “You’re leaving yourself wide open when you come at me like that.”

My wolf eyes narrowed. I huffed out a breath, letting him know I was irritated.

“Close your eyes again,” he said.

I shook my head.

He crossed his arms, all cocky confidence. “Do you want to learn to fight better, or not?” At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to tear a chunk out of him. Specifically, the crooked smile he wore.

I ran at him, eyes wide open, muscles bunching as I leaped. I let out a growl and threw myself through the air, claws extended, jaw wide open.  

Owen lunged back, the movement exaggerated, like in slow motion—and caught me. We went down in a heap, rolling. My teeth snapped closed on empty air twice before he managed to pin me. He slammed my shoulders into the dirt. I heard myself yelp.

He reached out, frowning. His hand stopped short of my throat, his fingers curling in a mock strangle. “See that? I would’ve had you.”

I shifted before I thought about it. As soon as I did, I regretted it. Not only was I pinned, with him on top of me, I was human again. Very human and very comfortable underneath the solid weight of him lying over me. Heat rose to my cheeks. His gaze sharpened. His pressure eased to something more comfortable. The intensity from earlier returned—as if it were only waiting underneath the surface for each of us, ready to pick up right where we left off.

“Looks like I came out on top,” he said, his voice sexy and teasing all at once.

I stared up at him, lost in the depths of his eyes. They reminded me of wishing wells; deep pools that held such a wealth of longing and desire, it weighed you down. I pushed him away and wriggled out from under him before I could do something stupid.

“I could’ve twisted out of that,” I said when I’d brushed the dirt off my jeans and put a safe distance between us.

“Charlie.” Owen straightened and looked down his nose at me. “My nails are just as sharp as any werewolf’s teeth. You would’ve ripped your jugular trying to shake free of that. Defense and offense go hand in hand.”

“You keep slowing things down to trip me up on purpose,” I argued, knowing that I was just making excuses. “I think I must fight better on instinct, when I don’t have to overthink it.”

He shook his head. “Your instincts suck.”

“They do not.” I puffed out my chest. “My reflexes—”

“Are slower than molasses sliding down a vampire’s cold, hard—”

“I get it!”

Owen grinned. I shook my head and glanced around. The sun had dipped, darkening the forest into an even gloomier shade of gray. When had that happened? Owen seemed to notice it too.

The smile disappeared. He glanced up at the sky, obscured by the canopy of leaves. “Time’s up,” he said under his breath. Out loud he said, “Let’s get you back to your side of civilization, shall we, kitten?”

I started to follow and he stopped me. “You might want to travel on four legs. Better senses. And you’ll want the speed.”

I debated pointing out how bad he said my senses were in either form, but the urgency in his expression stopped me. I shifted without a word and the moment my four paws hit the ground, Owen took off.

He set a pace that was hard to keep up with. I had to hurry to duck underneath the branches and leaves he held out of my way. We followed no visible trail. I wondered how he knew which bushes to cut through, which trees to turn at. Soon enough, the forest opened up. The trees were wider apart. The sun peeked through at regular intervals. Birds called. They sounded closer now. Everything felt more … cheerful.

Owen slowed, allowing me to catch up. I shifted back as I came up beside him, so we walked shoulder to shoulder.

“Geez, where was the fire?” I asked.

“My mother and her guard were nearby, looking for me, no doubt. I didn’t think you’d want to explain your presence to them.”

“Your mom?” My eyes widened as I realized he hadn’t been nearly as concerned with the sun’s position as the proximity of his own kind. I shot a look into the thickness we’d left behind. “How do you know she was out there? I didn’t hear anything.”

“For one, vampire hearing trumps werewolf hearing any day. But, if you were opening yourself to your senses, like I showed you, there’s a chance you would’ve picked up the sound.”

“Well, thanks,” I said. I was too grateful to be irritated. He was right. I didn’t want to meet his mother again. Owen was one thing. I could handle him and his sarcastic, over-the-top, cocky comments. His mother scared the socks off me. “What’s your mom’s deal anyway? She looks...” I wanted to say “mean.” Instead I said, “Unhappy.”

Owen laughed, but it was harsh. “My mother is hard to please. She has always seemed happiest when those around her are not.”

“That’s a sad way to live,” I said.

Even though I’d promised not to, I thought of my mom. I wondered what she’d be doing right now. Probably working, or maybe visiting the antique shop outside of town. The one we’d found on my last birthday. Which reminded me, I’d made plans to shop with Regan. The thought made me more nervous than being with Owen.

“Earth to kitten,” he said, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blinked and found Owen watching me. “Yeah, I’m here,” I said.

“Good. We’re almost home.”

“What?” I looked around, startled by how far we’d come while I daydreamed. The forest thinned up ahead. Over the steady whack of hammers, the hum of voices could be heard from the clearing where the arena was being constructed.

We stopped still inside the cover of trees.

“I think I’ll say my farewells from here, if it’s all the same,” Owen said.

“Good idea.”

Voices floated closer. A boy and a girl. I caught sight of red fabric, someone’s shirt, as they weaved along a narrow trail several yards away. The girl laughed at something the boy said. I froze. Regan. Oh geez, it was Regan. And Carter. And they were headed our way.

“Owen it’s—”

I was yanked sideways before I could finish my sentence. Owen’s hand on my arm pulled me behind a grove of trees and spun me so I faced him. My back hit the trunk of the tree with a thud. Owen’s finger came up to his lips, signaling me to stay quiet.

We stayed that way for several moments, waiting for them to pass. My breathing never slowed.

Owen was so close. His breath was hot; I could feel it on my neck. I stared up at him, lips parted. Half of me prayed for him to kiss me. The other half was horrified at the thought.

If we kissed, would he taste undead? The idea should have repulsed me. But I was mostly curious.

Regan and Carter passed by less than twenty feet away. I held my breath, sure Owen would be scented and we’d be spotted. What would happen then? Would they fight each other? A lump formed in my throat. It wouldn’t matter to Regan that one of us—or both, sort of—was already engaged to him. She’d only see that I’d snuck away to be with the enemy. All hope of a relationship with her would be out the window.

But the two of them faded away as the trail snaked out of range. I felt my shoulders sag in relief.

Owen looked amused. He stroked his knuckles down my cheek, like a cold breeze kissing my skin. “You didn’t want to be seen with me, kitten?”

He was too close. I felt goose bumps rise along my collarbone. “I could say the same of you,” I said, and my voice came out embarrassingly breathy. “And why do you keep calling me that? I’m a wolf, not a cat.” I was going for irritated, anything to keep the visual of our lips meeting out of my mind.

His eyes softened. “You try so hard to be the big, bad wolf, but it’s all bark and no bite. You’re like a little kitten. More temper than actual strength. It’s quite endearing, actually.”

I bit my lip. He was staring at my mouth. And he was being nice. Why did he have to be nice now, with our knees pressed together, our chests rising and falling in tandem, his body melting into mine?

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he lowered his head. Our mouths almost touched now. I held my breath, waiting for the moment his lips brushed mine. Anticipation lit through me like wildfire, heating all of the untouched places.

I was going to kiss the vampire prince.

It was a terrible idea, and I had never wanted anything more in my life.

In the clearing, one piece of wood fell against another, echoing loudly into the air around us. I jumped.

Owen stiffened and pulled back, eyes flashing toward the place we had seen Regan and Carter. For reasons I didn’t understand, the moment was gone. But there was a spark of mischief in his eyes when he turned back to me. “See you around, kitten.”

I stood there, catching my breath, long after he’d vanished.