My heart sank like a stone. The bright morning was turning gray again.
“...but it only crossed my mind,” he went on. “Just my conscience at work. But don’t worry; I’m still selfish.”
“If you left me, it would hurt worse than anything.”
“It would me too,” he said. “I could never leave you, and I won’t.”
He lightened up then, pulling away from the wheel and slipping his arm around me.
“Good news is Viktor is dead and his family is leaving.”
“Really?” I was careful, still.
“Yeah, Nathan found out from Rachel; Ashe is Alpha now and they’re heading north.”
It was all a lie, one that I knew and Isaac did not.
“Are you going to follow them?”
“Xavier and Seth might,” he said, “but right now it’s too early to know anything.”
Isaac touched my earlobe with his fingertip; a shiver went up the back up my neck.
“Adria?” he said. “Why did you not want me to kill Viktor?”
I knew this was coming. I knew it the moment I saw the look in his deadly black eyes as he stood over Viktor that night.
I thought about the answer carefully. I had been thinking about it since.
“I guess I just don’t want to get used to seeing people die.”
He regarded me quietly for a moment and then an empathizing smile crept up on his gorgeous face. He kissed my lips first and then my forehead.
“How is that wound?” he said, placing his hand softly against my stomach.
“It hasn’t hurt for a while,” I said. “Kind of weird. It looked really bad before.”
He patted the area lightly before pulling his hand away.
Isaac reached over into the back seat and grabbed a black shoulder bag.
“What’s that for?” I said.
He grinned. “I need something to carry my stuff around in at school, don’t I?”
I blinked.
“Huh?”
“I’m enrolling,” he said. “Kinda had to be a Senior, so we won’t have any classes together. Thought that if I’m going to live in Hallowell, might as well become part of everybody else in this town.”
“Are you...I mean, really? Seriously, you’re going to go to school with me?” I never expected this. I mean I completely expected to have to werewolf-proof my aunt and uncle’s house, but I never imagined Isaac would attend school.
I threw my arms around him and planted kisses all over his face. “This is perfect!”
Isaac laughed. “I take it you have no objections then,” he said. “I worried you might not like the idea much.”
“Are you kidding? No way.”
I walked with Isaac Mayfair, my werewolf boyfriend and by the looks of it, the hottest guy in school, to the office. Everyone watched; the guys with envy and discomfort, the girls with their hormones in overdrive. Even Tori, which I quietly thought was hilarious.
I couldn’t force the smile off my face. I never was the type that liked public attention, but this was just fine by me. Doesn’t hurt to let it happen every once in a while.
Still living up to his Best Friend title, Harry was still Harry towards me despite being totally in love with Daisy Mayfair. It made me happy to see him and Daisy together, to see him in such high spirits. And of all the surprises lately, Daisy surprised me the most. She could skateboard with the best of them. Who’da thunk it?
My life in Hallowell was finally beginning to feel normal. I was in love with a werewolf and some of my best friends were werewolves, but somehow the not-so-normal managed to fall into place. Even with the hollow my sister left in my heart; I was able to go on without her. I knew secrets, yes; terrible secrets I had to learn to live with and I intended to do just that.
Sometimes you just have to let go of the bad in your life, or it’ll only smother the good.
But there’s just one thing I still can’t quite shake: this wound under my ribs...well, it’s already gone and I’m a little worried about why....