Two more days with him, enjoying rather than wallowing over what could have been. She couldn’t resist, even though every new minute she spent with him, as if they were a couple, would deepen her sense of connection to him. Even though breaking up with him the first time had nearly killed her, so doing it again would definitely finish her off. She wasn’t hurting him physically, wasn’t destroying his wolf-side—yet. Two more days with him would be fine.
And that was not an invitation to the Universe to prove her wrong.
“Okay. Yes.” With the words, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she suddenly felt ten pounds lighter. “I want to be with you, too.”
He pushed out a relieved breath. “All right, then. I can kill my brothers for hurting you now.”
She laughed, so happy she could have burst. “No, you can’t. You asked them to train me.”
“And I told them to be careful with you.”
“How am I supposed to learn if they treat me like breakable china?”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled.
Sweet boy.
Grinning, Mary Ann turned her attention outside. With the appearance of the moon, there was a radiant golden glow cast over the forest, dust sparkling in the muted light like glitter, and then, as the trees thinned out and buildings came into view, she saw that the glow and the glitter spread to the brick, creating an eerily beautiful, well, aura. Was that what Riley saw around human bodies? Then she spied the litter dotting the streets, and the glow faded.
Riley parked between a gas station and a laundromat, the shadows cast from both hiding their car. The sidewalks were barren and the stores were empty, as if everyone had gone home early. To prepare for the coming party Penny had told her about?
He opened his door, but rather than step out, he remained in place, peering over at her. “If you sense any witches…”
“I’ll tell you immediately. I swear.”
With a grateful nod, he emerged and strode to her side before she had time to open her door. He did it for her and extended a hand to help her up and out. Such manners—his mother would be proud—and such endearing sweetness, all wrapped in that bad-boy package.
How had she broken up with him, even for a second? Stupid girl.
Yeah, but you want him to survive.
Oh, yeah.
The air was colder now, with a bit of a bite, but Riley draped an arm around her shoulders, keeping her tucked against him and his delicious heat while they explored. Good thing, too. She sensed no magic, and with every step, she weakened a bit more, her body trembling. What was wrong with her?
“Still cold?” he asked.
“No.” Her stomach twisted, utterly empty and ready to erupt into complaints. Was she, dare she hope, hungry? Yes. Yes, she was. She ground to a halt and grinned. “Riley. You’re not going to believe this, but I’m starving. I’m actually starving!”
He didn’t share her good humor. One of his brows arched as he asked, “For food?”
“Of course.” Except, she thought of a slice of her favorite cheese pizza, and the twisting in her stomach became cramping. She thought of beef lo mein, the last real meal she remembered having with her dad, and the cramps gave way to sharp aches. Don’t give up. She thought of chicken noodle soup, what her mom had fed her each time she’d been sick, and the twisting started up again.
She thought of magic, filling her up, sweeping through her, consuming her, threads of warmth and power weaving inside her, forming a blanket of serenity and strength, and her stomach calmed. Just. Like. That.
Oh…no…
Hope died, burned to ash forevermore. She’d realized the truth before, but just then she knew, bone deep. She was a Drainer, and there was no use pretending otherwise or clinging to false hope. She fed off of magic. She destroyed.
“No,” she whispered, dejection replacing her joy. “Not for food.”
Riley’s arm tightened around her. He kissed her temple, an I-still-like-you gesture, and they kicked back into gear. They continued their exploration, silent, and she tried not to worry. As she’d thought, the stores were empty. Even the twenty-four-hour drive-through taco joint that stayed open on Christmas.
“This isolation is weird,” she finally said.
“Yeah. Picking up on anything?”
“Not yet.” There wasn’t a single whiff of magic, and with every second that passed, her hunger for it intensified. She needed…
A few minutes later, Riley’s brothers joined them, human and dressed again. Thankfully, Riley didn’t threaten or chastise them as he’d claimed. He just drew Mary Ann even closer to him, distracting her from her gnawing hunger.
“Saw several cars on their way here,” Nathan said.
“All kids, no adults,” Maxwell added.
And sure enough, tires were soon squealing and kids pouring out of several vehicles. Beer bottles were soon clanking together. Someone cranked their radio up as loud as it would go. Laughter sounded, whoops and whistles, and conversations rose.
The party had officially started, it seemed, but every attendee was human, not a supernatural creature among them. Disappointment ate at her as one hour ticked by, then another. There was dancing, a few make-out sessions, unexpected hookups, one fight, lots of drinking, and even a bonfire, right there in the middle of town. The cops didn’t show up, and the few adults who did arrive joined the festivities rather than break them up.
Penny was going to find out Mary Ann had come, and there would be hell to pay. Couldn’t be helped, though.
Mary Ann watched and waited, no longer quite so distracted from the hunger pains in her belly. She was still weakening, again trembling. Perhaps coming here hadn’t been such a good idea. In fact, she’d opened her mouth to ask Riley to take her home when Brittany Buchanan spotted her and raced over. Britt wasn’t stumbling, thank God. In Mary Ann’s current mood, she didn’t think she could deal with a slobbering, slurring, human beer keg.
“Can we talk?” the girl asked, nervously tugging Mary Ann away from Riley before she had time to respond.
He maintained his grip. She tossed him an I’ll-be-fine glance, whispered, “If she gets out of line, I’ll smack her.” He fought a self-deprecating grin, nodded stiffly and finally released her. However, his gaze followed her every movement.
“Is something wrong?”
Britt shook her head, and when they were on the other side of the bonfire, kids dancing around them, her friend leaned close and said, “First, what have you been doing? Rolling in the dirt?” She smiled to lessen the sting of her words. “I don’t have to ask who you were rolling with, though, do I? Anyway. That’s not why I dragged you away. Tell me, who’s the hottie and is he available?”
Ah. A crush. “Which one?”
“The one that reminds me of a great big snowflake.”
“That’s Nathan, Riley’s brother.” Away from Riley’s warmth, her trembling intensified. “As far as I know, he’s single.”
Britt’s eyes widened. “Really? Introduce me. Please! You promised. Remember? Oh, this is so exciting!” She clapped and jumped up and down. “Do it now, do it now or I’ll die.”
“Come on.” Mary Ann led her back to the group of wolf-shifters and made the introductions. Nathan barely paid her any attention. Maxwell, however, shook her hand and smiled at her, a wicked smile that should have melted the girl into butter.
Only, Brittany wanted nothing to do with him. Her attention was primarily focused on Nathan—who couldn’t have been ruder. For the most part, he ignored her. When he did finally deign to speak to her, he did so with a cold, clipped tone.
“You’re a borderline asshole, you know that?” Maxwell muttered to him.
“Only borderline? I must be off my game,” Nathan replied, unrepentant.
Mary Ann wanted to slap him, and would have, if Riley hadn’t sensed her intentions and grabbed her wrist.
Finally, Brittany gave up. “I can see our conversation was completely unnecessary, Mary Ann, but thanks for the intro.” With that, she wandered back to her circle of friends.
Maxwell punched Nathan in the arm. Nathan flipped him off. The two stomped off in different directions.
Riley drew Mary Ann in front of him and settled her body against his. More warmth. Hunger, fading from her awareness as she savored. Hmm. She wouldn’t have too many more moments like this, she suspected, so she had to enjoy them while she could.
“Your brother,” she said with a shake of her head.
“The curse,” Riley whispered in her ear.
“What?”
“Remember? When one of my brothers is attracted to a girl, she will only see him as ugly. When my brothers are not attracted to a girl, she will see his true self.”
Oh. Poor boys. That meant Maxwell had been attracted to Brittany and Nathan had not.
The only way to break the curse was for the boys to die. Like humans, wolves were not always able to be resuscitated. So killing them just to better their love lives? Not gonna happen. The risk—permanently dying—wasn’t worth the reward.
“Besides, Nathan doesn’t date humans. Ever,” Riley further explained. “Which is why every female here is eyeing him like he’s candy. They want what they instinctively know they can’t have.”
“A few are eyeing Maxwell that way,” she said, oddly defensive of the gold wolf. “And you, too, of course.”
“The ones looking at Max aren’t his type, and therefore see his true self. And I haven’t noticed anyone looking at me but you.”
She traced her fingers over his arms and wished they were alone so she could tell him how beautiful he was, inside and out, and then kiss him, taste him, making the most of their time together.
“Should we leave?” Mary Ann asked, doing her best not to sound hopeful. They had a mission, after all. A very important one, at that.
His sigh ruffled her hair. “Yeah. The witches are staying away. They knew we would come.”