I was attempting to fish one of his shoes out of the creek when I realized I wasnʼt alone.

One the opposite bank, mostly hidden by the brush, the wolf sat watching me.

I choked back a scream and remained very still. At least, I tried to be very still, just like those Discovery Channel shows always say you should when encountering a wild animal.

Unfortunately, I couldnʼt stop my body from trembling or my breath from coming in loud, ragged gasps.

I was debating on whether I should run, scream, or just hope to die quickly when my eyes locked with the decidedly human eyes of the wolf.

“Alex?” It came out as a whisper, but he heard me. The wolf bolted, running back towards the spot where the creek wound its way around the hill and out of sight.

“Alex!” I called out, louder this time.

I would have been able to convince myself I was wrong. I could have rationalized that the shock of the evening was causing my eyes to play tricks on me. I would have believed I was suffering from post-traumatic stress or temporary insanity. Any of those options would have been so very easy to accept if he hadnʼt turned and looked at me once again with those familiar grey eyes before disappearing into the night.

Chapter 7

Sleep was pretty much a lost cause. My body was exhausted, but my brain was on hyper-drive. I was shocked, scared, confused, and ashamed. Snippets of everything that happened kept playing in my head like an avant garde film whose sole purpose is to leave the audience bewildered and jittery. I was terrified of how much more I would see if I closed my eyes.

I was curled up in the roomʼs only chair - a surprisingly comfortable overstuffed blue and yellow stripped monstrosity - watching the light in the room turn pink with the approaching dawn. There were so many thoughts and questions screaming for attention, I couldnʼt concentrate on any single one. Instead, I focused on the way the light moved across Talleyʼs sleeping face and the throbbing ache I felt from the multiple bruises slowly forming all over my body.

When I first heard voices, I thought they were just part of the chaotic noise in my head. It wasnʼt until I heard someone say his name that I realized people were arguing just outside my room.

I pulled back the edge of the heavy curtain and breathed a sigh of relief. Alex was there, alive. Unharmed. Human. His clothes were beyond dirty, despite my most valiant efforts in the Mapco stationʼs smelly bathroom, but he looked good. Better than good, actually.

Getting out of the chair was a bit difficult with the pain that radiated from my tailbone. I wrapped the fuzzy blue hotel blanket even more tightly around me, casting a quick glance at the heater where I had left my clothes to dry. I could have tried to put them back on, despite the fact they were still damp, but I didnʼt. The need to speak to Alex, to see if he was really okay, outweighed my inhibitions. I inched the door open, inviting in an arctic breeze that caused an outbreak of goosebumps.

“Weʼre leaving now,” Liam was saying. “You know what happens if they find us. I canʼt believe you would risk that, risk everything, for some girl.”

“This isnʼt about ʻsome girlʼ! Itʼs about —” Alex looked up and noticed me standing in the doorway. “Scout.”

“Hey,” I said, closing the motel room door behind me. The intensity with which Liam regarded me made my knees threaten to give out, but the joy I felt over the fact that Alex wasnʼt dead or walking around on four legs kept me from slinking back into the room.

Alex pushed past Liam to get to me. “Are you okay? Where are your clothes?” I regretted not taking the time to put them on. The expression on Liamʼs face was not doing stellar things for my self-image. I adjusted the blanket so the only things sticking out where my fingers and head.

“Theyʼre wet,” I mumbled, staring at the site of my bare toes on concrete.

“Youʼve got five minutes,” Liam said to Alex with all the love and warmth I expected, “then weʼre gone. Understood?”

I watched in relief as Liam crossed the parking lot and climbed into a battered old Jeep Cherokee. The moment we were alone, I started becoming increasingly aware of my unbrushed hair, make-up free face, and near-nakedness, which is why I just blurted out,

“Youʼre a werewolf.”

Alex shifted his weight back onto his heels and fixed his gaze on the foot of sidewalk between us. “You noticed that, huh?”

Yeah, Iʼm just crazy observant that way.

“I donʼt understand.” I took a deep breath and tried to get my nerves under control. It was one thing to suspect someone of being a monster and another thing all together to have them confirm it. I was tempted to run back into the hotel room and bar the door, but my desire for answers outweighed my fear. “How is that even possible?”

“Can we not have this discussion right now?” His eyes kept flickered over to the spot where his brother sat watching us.

“Okay,” I said. Even I could hear the edge of hysteria in my words. “So, how about this weather?”

I mean, really, where was the conversation supposed to go after, Hey, arenʼt you some sort of mythical creature?

Alex chuckled. “Itʼs cold. Too cold for you to be out here without shoes or proper clothes on.”

“The cold doesnʼt really bother me.”

“Is that why you were out last night in the freezing snow?” I shrugged. “I needed to go for a walk.”

Alex took a step forward and cupped my face in his hand. Any discomfort I may have been feeling due to the frigid temperatures quickly vanished as a glowing warmth spread from the place where his flesh touched mine to every inch of my body. Despite everything, he was still Alex and I still felt giddy at his touch.

“Scout, Iʼm so sorry,” he said in a whisper. “I thought you had gone to bed. I went to hunt and didnʼt even realize you were outside until I heard you scream.” I resisted the urge to reach out and smooth away the creases in his forehead. “Donʼt be sorry. You saved me. If you hadnʼt got there when you did...” My voice trailed off, unable to put the horror of what might have happened into words.

Alexʼs thumb gently traced along the edge of my cheekbone causing a shiver to run through me. “Donʼt worry. Heʼs never going to touch you or anyone else again.” His hand trailed down my face before resting on the back of my neck. I could hear him pull a deep breath into his lungs as he slowly licked his lips and inclined his head towards me.

At that moment I no longer cared that Alex turned into a wolf and might possibly be a murderer. The only thing that mattered was that he was going to kiss me.