Page 19

Then, the strangest thing happened. Kieran Redford went red. He actually blushed! His cheeks were slightly pink. I was taken aback. “I just wanted to chill.”
“Really? Why are you here?”
“Like I said… I wanted to chill,” he said, looking irritated. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ground. He’s not one to admit to much. Especially when he’s being nice, he took out a brown paper bag from his hand that I hadn’t noticed before. He was a really quiet guy. “I brought Ben & Jerry’s strawberry ice cream. I’m sure it’s your favourite! And I also rented a movie – well, I hope Captain America is alright.”
I was taken aback by the idea of spending time with him that night. Well, it was mostly because he was a bit shy. Kieran Redford… shy? I stood there, rooted to the spot. He took this as a bad sign, scratched the back of his neck and looked down again. “You know what? I should just leave,” he said, hitting the door with his thumb. “You can keep the ice cream. Sorry.”
That got me out of my shocked stage. He felt embarrassed. I really didn’t like it when people felt embarrassed. I was a bit afraid to say no, partly because he was actually being nice, and partly because I wanted to hang out with him. “No way!” I let out a yelp and grabbed his arm. He turned around and gave me a suspicious look. I let go of my death grip, stood up straight and coughed. “I’d love to hang out with you!”
So, that’s how we ended up sitting on my bedroom couch, eating popcorn and staring at the TV. He sat at one end and I sat at the other. I thought he was looking in my direction a few times. But I just kept on munching on my popcorn.
I saw him shrug of his jacket out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing nothing but a white fitted t-shirt, and it looked absolutely delicious. I’m starting to think I’m a bit of a pervert.
He coughed, trying to get my attention. So that’s what I did. He looked at his legs and scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit nervous. His voice was barely a whisper that night, just like it had been the previous evening. “My dad – he yelled at Lila today.
He was so angry that he almost hurt her. He came home drunk and started calling Lila stupid just because she looked so much like her mum. I’m not sure. I lost control.” He ran a hand down his face and he looked like a lost child. I held my knees close to my chest and let him finish. My eyes opened really wide and my lips parted slightly, because I was so shocked. “I punched him and told Lila to stick around with Beck and Cruz tonight. I just don’t get it! My dad is alpha, but I feel that my power is stronger because it’s my time to reign soon. But I’m not sure, Talis. I wish I didn’t have so much power because I wouldn’t have hurt the only parent I have now. I feel like my mum’s looking down at me and shaking her head at me in disgust.”
He looked up at me with a playful glint in his eye. “I wanted to hang out with you tonight because you make me forget about things.”
It made me jump up and hug him. And it was a proper hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, loving his woodsy scent.
It took him a while to respond, but I felt his strong arms slowly wrap around my waist and his face hide in my shoulder. I could tell he was shaking. Strange, warm droplets fell on my shoulder and I soon realised that Kieran was crying. His sobs grew louder and his arms around my waist held on to me tighter. “Tali, I let her down!”
I pulled away and looked at his face. His face was wet and his eyes were all red. I gently took his face in my hands and wiped away the tears with my thumbs. It was weird seeing a guy like him cry. And rare moments like these always made me feel for them. “Look at me,” I said, surprised my voice wasn’t wobbling. “Kieran, you did something really bold tonight. If your mum isn’t proud of you, she’s glad and happy that you kept her daughter safe. You showed her you could protect Lila and be the strong boy you are. If your mum is disappointed, it’s down to your dad.”
He nodded and let his arms drop. “Can I just hold you tonight?”
I eased myself down to my b**t and rested my head on his chest, his arm around me. “You don’t even need to ask,” I said, smiling when I saw him grinning.
As it happens, we missed most of the start of the film. So now, it was time for Captain America to show off his body. I licked my lips and drooled a little. “Wow, that’s my hero. I’d love to see a stud in his ear, though. Oh my god, he’s so hot!” I said, forgetting Kieran was behind me.
I could feel him breathing rapidly as he laughed. “He’s not as good-looking as me. You like earrings?”
I rolled my eyes at his first statement and waved it away quickly. I just gave a little shrug. “Earrings are sexy. I’d rather have one earring than two. I’m not a fan of lip rings or other piercings. I like to keep it simple and just put it in the ear.” Just to let you know, I’m not trying to offend anyone who has piercings in other places. This is just Tali’s personality! I’ve got one earring on my nose just for proof. Wink*)
He stroked my hair slowly and, as much as I hate to admit it, I loved it. “Chris Evans is so much hotter than you, Kier,” I said, smirking.
Kieran’s hand went completely numb. I knew he would hear me. He pretended to gasp and said, “What did you say?”
“Chris Evans is hotter than you, Kier!” I said, crossing my arms.
With his arm still around me, he started tickling my belly. I couldn’t stop laughing and ended up snorting again. He laughed too, because he knew he’d got me. I tumbled off the couch and started legging it.
“Hey!” he yelled.
But he was a fast werewolf, so he grabbed me and pinned me to the wall, tickling my sides again. “Okay, cool! I giggle and say, “Sorry!” I said, out of breath.
“That’s more like it,” Kieran said, grinning. He put his arms around me. Then, it instantly dropped because he noticed how close he was to me.
I could feel the heat from his body radiating on my skin and, if I could, I would bathe in it forever. The light from the TV flickered on his handsome face. His woodsy smell made me feel a bit dizzy. Most importantly, his eyes were so intense that they made me feel… wanted and adored.
Was it me? Or was this moment just a rerun?
He looked from my eyes to my lips, his pupils getting bigger and going from black to crystal blue again every second. I could see his Adam’s apple moving down as he swallowed. I couldn’t help myself, as I looked at his full lips too, trying to memorise every crack on them. The light scar line was slightly slanted to the right.
I gently moved my hand to his lips and traced the scar on his bottom lip. Kieran shuddered involuntarily. I looked at his eyes, which were on my lips. But he didn’t move or try to move. He looked confused. He was clearly scared, just like me.
But it was time for a change.
So, I got a bit of a shock when I felt his soft lips on mine.
Here’s Kieran’s take on things.
“You stupid bitch!” I heard my dad’s voice booming around the house. It was slurred and hard to make out – he was clearly drunk again. “You’re so pathetic!”
The nights my dad comes home drunk are the nights he thinks of my mum, which was pretty much every night. The rare nights he actually comes home sober are when he’s in a meeting or doing his Alpha Job. It was pretty normal for my dad to come home drunk. But he never came home yelling and getting mad at anyone. He’d usually just go off to his room and slump down on his bed.
I closed the door quietly, stayed where I was and listened to the yelling. My eyebrows went up a bit when I heard the soft cries of the person he was yelling at. He was probably yelling at one of the older werewolves of the pack – probably for stepping foot in the other pack’s territory without permission.
“You’re useless!” My dad carried on yelling, and it was like his voice was shaking the picture frames in the hall. That was the great thing about being an Alpha. You didn’t listen to anyone, but now everyone listens to you, and you have the most power and the strongest out of all of them.
“Daddy, please! “Why are you yelling?” Lila asked, her voice small and confused, hurt written all over it. I pricked up my ears at my sister’s voice. That was all it took for me to run into the kitchen.
My dad was turning his back on me as he cut in to Lila’s begging. “Shut up, you bitch!” Then he looked up at the ceiling, as if he saw God there or something. “You think this is funny? “Is it a lookalike of my wife that’s giving me the eye?”
Lila was in the corner, trying to get as far away from my dad as possible. I was rooted to the spot, totally shocked at what was going on. Her red, puffy eyes met mine as she wiped the tears rolling down her cheek with shaky hands.
My dad took a big swig of his Scotch from the glass cup. After he’d finished, he ran a hand through his grey hair, clearly frustrated. He kept looking at the glass and at his sister, and then he finally swung his hand back and threw the cup, trying to hit the wall right above Lila’s head.
I thanked my werewolf abilities as I ran in front of Lila and caught the glass just before it was about to hit the wall and shatter all over my sister. I took the glass and put it down on the counter closest to me, then I looked at my dad with narrowed eyes.