Page 51 of Blood Moon

For all love is ignorant to reason.

Article III, Lost Letters from Aadan the First

Julian’s hands were hidden in the pocket of his pants.

He wore a white dress shirt with the first two buttons undone, a black suit jacket, and his chain gleamed against his chest. He’d parted his hair to the side and brushed it back, but a few strands fell forward.

I couldn’t believe he was here. How? Why?

“You said … you said you’d be gone for the weekend. You said this wasn’t your thing.”

Moonlit eyes and a crooked smile—they scorched me like falling stars.

“Plans changed,” he said, and he held out a hand.

On the floor, he spun me gently before bringing me close.

A palm against my back, left hand holding my right.

We moved along the marble, accenting the first beat of each measure, dancing a waltz.

Lowering to me, Julian pressed his head against the side of mine.

We were cheek to cheek as I breathed in the familiar scent of his cologne.

“You look so beautiful,” he murmured. Even with the warmth of him on me making me want to melt into him, I swallowed that feeling, pushed it far down.

He wasn’t supposed to be here, looking the way he did, making me feel so torn.

We spun together, and my glance flickered from body to body, watching how at ease and relaxed the others were. Smiles on their lips, a haze in their eyes. Bliss came effortlessly for them.

“That seems out of character for you,” I finally said, keeping my stare elsewhere because if I saw his face, if I looked into his eyes …

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

His lips were gentle by my ear as we rocked.

“I wouldn’t lie about that. You are so much more than just beautiful, Mirabella.

It’s everything that you are. Not just today, not just this moment with you, under these lights, dressed up.

It’s a truth I’ve known since the moment I saw you … and even that is an understatement.”

I wobbled slightly, trying to control my breathing. How was I supposed to digest a sentence like that? The vibration of it rocked my skull, causing a swell of desire … It disgusted me. I couldn’t surrender. I wouldn’t.

Julian exhaled and murmured into my hair. “You’re mad at me,” he said when I didn’t respond.

“I’m surprised you noticed.”

“Trust me.” He laughed gently. “I’m not the oblivious one here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Bite me.”

His lips brushed my earlobe. “Only if you ask nicely.”

I scoffed, snapping at the bit, and turned to face him. “Do you think this is funny, Julian? Do you think my life hasn’t been uprooted by the information you shared with me?” My voice split. “And then you left like nothing mattered.”

“Mira, you don’t—” He took a long, hard breath. “It kills me that I couldn’t talk to you. That I had to leave without telling you. It wasn’t my intention, and I’m trying to be human here, but my hands are tied. I had no choice in the matter.”

“By what?” Was it her? Was she doing this to him?

“By everything. By what’s expected of me. I’m drowning just standing here beside you. I’m sorry for who I was yesterday. You didn’t deserve that, and in all honesty, I had no idea it would affect you like it did.”

It hurt hearing how he didn’t think he’d have an influence on me. Did I mean so little to him? Maybe I did. We were new friends, two bodies of uncertainty orbiting around each other in a mess of confusion. “Why would you think that, Julian?”

“Because you’re here tonight, on a date with Seven,” he reminded, and it hit me in the gut.

“That’s low,” I said, knowing it was true.

“Is it? It’s a fact, Mira. Did you think I wouldn’t care?” he said, and I looked away from him as we turned, tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

When Seven asked me to homecoming, Julian and I were barely amicable, most of our interactions being so back and forth. It wasn’t until I saw the way his face faded into a bleakness when I told him that I realized he cared.

“Do I scare you?” he asked when I didn’t say anything. “Is that why you don’t want to look me in the eye?”

“There have been other things that have scared me, Julian—none of which have been you.”

“Other things besides a monster?”

“Stop,” I said seriously, narrowing in on him now. “You’re not a monster.”

“You don’t know that.” He looked out the long windows, into the night. “It is innate. People like me don’t get happy endings,” he said, and it just about broke me.

“That’s not true. Nothing is holding you back from a life of happiness.

You’re doing that all on your own,” I said, and I wanted to scream it, wanted him to feel every word I said until it scorched his skin, but I didn’t.

Julian wasn’t a beast. He was inexplicable, sure, but there was humanity in him. He was trying. How could he not know?

Though, I supposed different eyes saw different things.

“I know,” he uttered. Julian spun me away from him, dipping me as the song came to a close. He scooped me back to him, his face flushed, fear in his eyes. “Mira, your necklace, where is it?”

I touched my neck reactively, then again in panic. “I must have left it in my dorm,” I whispered, trying to pull back the memory. I’d had every intention on wearing it, only I’d forgotten to clamp it back in place after dressing.

“Of all nights …” he said, eyes wide as he scanned the room. “We have to leave.”

“Julian,” I bit out, and he held onto my arms, keeping me close to him.

“Come with me, Mira. Please. I could keep you safe. They’re all afraid of me.”

“They?” I pulled away from him. “Are they here? Where?”

Julian searched the crowd again, head cocked at an angle like he was listening for an alert. When he redirected his focus, he said urgently, quietly, “Whatever happens, just promise me you won’t be alone with him.”

I scurried to look around at the bodies of people enjoying themselves.

“What? With who? ” Julian didn’t repeat what he’d said.

He looked at me with this wide stare, as if to say, You know this , and I shook my head more times than I meant to.

He was referring to Seven, my date, my friend, my ride home.

“Why?” I asked, and I pressed my arms to my center.

“Nothing here is as it seems,” he mumbled, but before he could say more, Seven approached, a look in his eyes. It wasn’t jealousy, or anger. Rather, he looked concerned. He stepped between Julian and I, and I grasped his sullenness as he looked from Julian to me.

“Everything okay?” he asked, but I knew he was talking to me. Only now, I was in a state of astonishment, unsure what to do. What did Seven have to do with any of this, and why would Julian warn me not to be alone with him? He wouldn’t be so wrecked about this … unless Seven wasn’t human.

And that was when it clicked. The world constricted into a thin, swallowing line, and I screamed internally.

Oh, my god. Oh, my god. The feud between the two of them.

The promise of payback. Seven’s friend mentioning how the campus was a “neutral zone.” He was a wolf, probably from a different pack, and it all made sense now. How had I missed the signs before?

I regarded Julian, hoping he would say more, hoping he would pull me to the side and explain himself.

I wanted him to be straight with me, to confirm what I’d only just understood.

Instead, his body tensed, and I could see he was restraining himself.

I sighed, realizing he was only letting me down again.

“Yeah, everything’s okay,” I finally said, and I took Seven’s hand.

He held it tightly as we walked away from Julian, and I snatched it from him, making a sound.

“Seven, what the hell? That hurt.”

His brows dropped. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said, stammering. “I didn’t realize how tight that was. I was just trying to get you out of that situation. Was Julian bothering you?”

“No,” I said, even though the answer was yes. What bothered me was the fact that Julian was leaving me in the dark again.

Seven looked toward where Julian and I had been on the dance floor, biting down hard. “I don’t trust that guy.”

But I was unsure if I still trusted him, too. “What’s up with the two of you, anyway?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me since Julian wouldn’t, but the odds were low. If Seven was bound to some oath in the same way Julian was, he wouldn’t be permitted to say anything.

Seven shook his head. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he said, and of course. Of course. He relaxed his shoulders, took a breath. “Want to dance?”

I scowled. More secrets. I hated that this kept happening, but now I felt divided.

Really, what reason did Julian have to lie to me about Seven?

If he were being untruthful, why would he choose to do so today, of all days?

It didn’t add up. And if Seven really was a werewolf, was he even safe for me to be around? I was so unsure. I felt trapped.

“You sure everything’s okay?” Seven’s voice was almost a whisper compared to the music, and this time, when he held my hand, it was gentle.

I glanced at the crowd, the tables, hoping to catch the familiar face of one of my friends.

I could use them as an excuse to be distant and catch a ride home while I figured this mess out.

However, the longer I looked, the clearer it became that my friends were nowhere to be found. At least, not in the main hall. “Do you know where my friends are?” I asked, bypassing his last question.

“They said they had a plug, and I guess one of them didn’t want to go alone, so they all went.”

I grumbled, exasperated by literally everything. “Do you know how long they’ve been gone?”

Seven pushed his lips to the side, shrugged. “I don’t, sorry.” He looked at me again, brows pressing in as a sadness came to. “Mira, you seem upset.” Heavens. What was I doing? What if I was wrong about Seven? What if everything was fine and I was overreacting? And then, what if I wasn’t?