Chapter Twenty-Seven

Vaughn called me the next morning while I was still in bed. He called me because I still wasn’t answering his texts. I’d slipped a little the night of the doggie wedding, but I wasn’t ready to completely forgive him yet.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked. I wasn’t prepared for how angry I felt at hearing the sound of his voice.

I let the silence linger. It was like he’d forgotten that he’d left his girlfriend at home alone to hang out with his werewolf pack. And all my friends.

“Did you have a nice Halloween?” I finally asked before I disconnected the call.

I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Someone was pounding at the front door. Didn’t anyone know how to use a doorbell? “Go away,” I said, still groggy. The blackout curtains in my room made it hard to tell what time of day it was, but my body told me I’d been asleep for a long time.

I grabbed my drumstick before staggering to the front hall. I gripped it tightly and asked, “Who is it?”

“Tansy, it’s me,” Vaughn said.

“Then definitely go away,” I said. I was sick of the people I cared about betraying me. If that was love, I wanted no part of it.

“Would you let me explain? Please?” he asked.

I had dragon breath and bed head, but I didn’t care. I stalked to the door and opened it. “What’s there to explain? I can take a hint.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said.

“Who said you did?” I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn’t going to admit how much it had hurt that not one of my friends had a problem abandoning me because of one mistake.

“Rose,” he admitted.

“I guess I can’t count on her, either,” I said.

“You can count on me,” Vaughn said.

“Very little evidence of that,” I said. “At least lately.”

“Can we please talk about this?” Vaughn asked. “Why don’t we go to your bedroom and talk in private?”

“You don’t currently have any bedroom privileges,” I said. “We’ll talk in the living room.”

I made a quick detour to grab a bottle of tonic, but I sniffed it first to make sure it was the real thing. When it passed the sniff test, I drank a whole bottle and then reached for another and took it with me to the living room.

Vaughn was sitting in the middle of the couch. He probably thought I was going to sit next to him, but instead, I chose a chair.

“About Halloween,” he said, then stopped.

“You want to talk about the party for Connor?” I asked. “Or about Homecoming? Let’s talk about that. You said you didn’t want to break up. You said nothing changed. But the first time you had to choose between the pack or me, you chose your pack.”

“Travis looked guilty,” he said.

“Do you think I don’t know that?” I replied. “Do you think that I would let him walk if I thought he’d killed those werewolves and tried to kill Connor?” I had a gut full of mad, and I was spewing it all over Vaughn. “I knew it wasn’t Travis, beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“How could you know for sure?”

“I made him tell me the truth,” I said. Did he understand what I was trying to say?

By the light dawning on his face, he did. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t give me the chance,” I said. “And I wasn’t going to announce it in a room full of angry werewolves.” I was determined not to cry in front of him, but my voice sounded clogged anyway.

“I fucked up,” Vaughn finally said. “I really, really fucked up.”

“You did.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you never trusted me again,” he said. “But I’d really like it if you would give me another chance. I can do better.”

“You keeping bailing on me, over and over again,” I said. “I’d never do that to you.”

“I know,” he said. “I promise you it won’t happen again. Please say you’ll give me a chance to prove myself to you.”

He crossed to where I sat and took my hands in his. “Say you’ll forgive me, Tansy.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“I’ll keep my word,” he said. “Even if it kills me.”

“What movie is that from?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No movie. Just me.”

After a bit of make-up cuddling, Vaughn suggested a moonlight beach run, which was perfect, since I’d been longing for some outdoor activity. The moon was a pale sliver in the night sky, but there were streetlights nearby, so we could see enough to run. And, apparently, for me to ogle my boyfriend.

I was watching his butt flex when he turned around and caught me.

“Doing okay back there?” he asked with a grin.

“I’m loving the view,” I said. My boyfriend had gained some muscle mass in a few other places I hadn’t noticed until now.

“Race you to the end of the pier,” Vaughn said. I ran after him, trying not to huff and puff, but it seemed as though he was faster as well as bigger. I guess a faster sprinting time was a side benefit of being a werewolf.

I pushed through and made it to the end of the pier only five minutes behind him. Vampire speed, I did not have.

I threw myself down on the sand next to him.

He nuzzled my neck and took a deep whiff. “You smell good.”

“I’m all sweaty,” I said, but I didn’t push him away.

He kissed me gently, our tongues meeting. He cupped my head and then took my hair tie out and tangled his hands in my hair.

I leaned back into the sand, not caring about the dampness as Vaughn followed me down, pressing his body into mine. “Tansy,” Vaughn growled my name.

We stayed on the beach, kissing, but when Vaughn’s hands started to wander, I sat up. “We should go,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said. His brow furrowed. “Did I do something wrong?”

“It’s not that,” I said, my cheeks heating. “It’s just we’re kind of in a public place.”

Now it was Vaughn’s turn to blush. He got to his feet and then helped me up. “Let’s stop by Janey’s and get something to eat. I’m starving.”

We were both covered in sand, so we spent a little time brushing the grit off our clothes and then headed to the diner.

We’d just missed the dinner rush, so we were able to nab a booth right away.

I didn’t recognize the server who came over, but Vaughn had barely let him tell us the specials before he was ordering. “Loaded nachos, stat!” I gave him a look, and he added, “Please. I’m so hungry.”

After the server left to get our drinks and apps, I studied the menu. Janey’s was known for their burgers and fries. They were hot, fresh, and topped with unusual add-ons like truffles and black garlic or brown-sugar bacon.

“What are you going to have?” Vaughn asked. His stomach growled loudly, and I decided quickly. He ordered the largest burger Janey’s had on their menu and a side of bacon.

“You are hungry,” I observed.

He waggled his eyebrows. “I worked up an appetite.” I nearly spit out my water. “Running,” he added, his gray eyes twinkling.

The appetizer arrived before I could comment. Vaughn was practically drooling but still remembered his manners enough to offer me the plate first.

“Go ahead,” I said. He dug in, taking a big chip and digging into the cheesy meat-filled goodness. I noticed he tried to find the bits with the biggest chunks of carne asada.

The plate was nearly empty by the time our burgers came.

He bit into his burger, and blood oozed out. It looked like it was nearly raw.

“Do you want to send it back?” I asked. “It seems a little underdone.”

“So good,” he mumbled.

My boyfriend was craving raw meat and had bulked up rapidly. I was learning a lot about being a werewolf’s girlfriend.

When his food was finally gone, he said, “I need to find our server.” Then he added, “I’m still hungry.”

I gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”

He smiled at me and ducked his head. “Only a little.”

“Do you…want dessert?” I’d never seen him eat so much.

“I’m gonna get a couple more burgers to go,” he said.

“Are you training for a competitive eating contest?” I asked. “I mean, from what I can tell, a werewolf would be a shoo-in.”

He laughed. “No,” he said. “But I have been running with the pack lately, and those guys burn a lot of calories.”

“Have you shifted since the first time?” I asked, then added, “Or is that question too personal?”

“It’s not too personal,” he said, laughing. “At least not coming from my girlfriend.”

“I don’t know the rules,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“I don’t know all of them, either,” he replied once he stopped laughing. “You are my girlfriend, right?”

“Right.”

“You can ask me anything. No more keeping things from you.”

I felt so guilty when he said that, but my mother had asked me not to tell anyone about her until she’d had the chance to apologize to everyone.

“Vaughn,” I said softly.

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m fine.”

We paid our bill and left the restaurant, but I couldn’t help worrying. We’d already ended up on opposite sides once. I could only imagine Vaughn’s response if I told him I’d been talking to my mother.

When we got to my house, he gave me a brief good night kiss and then left. I hadn’t been completely honest with Vaughn, but I told myself I needed to protect myself this time. No one else was going to do it for me.