Page 51

“Where do you live?” Simon asks casually.
When Logan doesn’t reply, I chip in. Logan doesn’t know Oakmere like I do, and I knew he’d come across that question. “In Malcolm Avenue, near the forest.”
“Oh, yeah, people have definitely seen there,” Simon says, still smiling. He turned back to Logan, patting a hand on his shoulder. “You look like a strong man, son.”
My eyes opened wide when I realised what he was going to ask Logan. It was written over his prideful face. Hank was literally jumping for joy, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
“Shit,” Logan said.
‘Just keep calm, Logan. Refuse the offer like a normal person would.
‘Even if I were a normal person, I wouldn’t join their group! They hardly know me!”
“I’ll sell you the gun for five hundred, but there’s one condition,” Simon continued. “We need a young, strong and healthy guy in the group. Now that you’ve had a look at the special guns downstairs, we thought you’d be a great addition to the team. The Oakmere men would be honoured if you joined us.”
“I mean, that does sound like a great offer,” Logan says, faking a bit of thought as he considers the proposal. “I’m not quite ready to take on that kind of responsibility. I’ve got two sisters to take care of because my dad’s hardly around. I’m sorry.”
Hank looked totally bummed out, like a lost puppy. Simon’s smile dropped a bit, but he still smiled. “You could take care of them by taking those dogs down,” Simon tells Logan, trying to convince him.
“Actually,” I say, drawing everyone to me. “We just wanted to say a big thank you to the brave men who protect our community. Hank filled us in on your huge attack a few days ago. We only noticed now that we haven’t seen the dogs around.”
“I guess you scared them away,” Logan says, smiling and patting Simon’s shoulder this time. “So, thanks, but we just wanted to let you know that we don’t need the gun anymore because we’ve got brave men on the team. Thanks again for the offer.”
After a few minutes of thought, Simon smiles. “We do what we can, right, Hank?”
Hank nods his head vigorously, as if he’s worried about disappointing his boss.
“If you ever change your mind,” Simon says, taking out a small white card from his pocket and writing something down on it. “Feel free to give me a call.”
Logan grabs the paper and shoves it in his wallet. We say our goodbyes and make our way out of the stuffy room. We both sigh as we jump into my Mercedes-Benz.
“That was a surprise,” Logan finally said. “I was worried that if I said no, they’d realise I was a werewolf. Thanks for saving me back there.”
I told Logan not to be afraid, even though I was pretty nervous myself. “Everything will turn out alright.”
“You don’t know that.” When I don’t say anything, he adds, “What do we do now?”
“I’m not sure, cousin,” I say quietly. “I don’t know.”
Just to let you know, I’ve got a few more things to add.
“Hey, bestie,” I say, plonking myself down on the couch and ruffling Luca’s blonde hair.
Luca turns the volume down low, which is a bit unnerving, and I throw my feet over his lap. When he dismisses them, I bring it up again. “You’re irritating,” Luca jokes, poking my side.
“You’re just jealous that I’m cooler than you,” I said, grabbing some popcorn out of his bowl.
“Says the girl that was too scared to skip on Senior Skip Day.”
“Hey, there’s a difference between being a delinquent and being cool,” I said.
“So, what happened with you and Kieran yesterday?” Luca smirks. “Don’t lie to me either. Your scent was so strong on Kieran when we had our Alpha discussion.”
“Luca,” I said, trying to hide my blush. “We were grappling. Of course my scent would be on him.”
“Yeah, that’s what Kieran said,” Luca waved off. “You and Lila and Beck, you all had a go at me. Your scent wasn’t as strong as it was on him. He was also distracted, looking like a lovesick puppy.”
“You’re making things up,” I muttered, sure I was as red as a tomato now.
Was he distracted?
“Ha! You’re blushing!” Luca yelled, pointing his finger at me. “Spill.”
“You’re a real gossip.”
“No, I just care for my best friend.”
“Okay,” I said. “We were pretty close, and things were getting pretty intense, but Pamela came in, which is pretty good.”
“What?” Luca gave a little smirk, clearly picking up on what I’d said. “I didn’t understand you.”
I let out a sigh. “We were pretty close, and things were getting pretty intense. I blame myself. I’m the one who started it. Pamela interrupted our almost kiss, so it was perfect timing.”
“I knew it,” Luca said, smiling.
“Why are you smiling? Aren’t you supposed to be angry or something?”
“Nah,” Luca said, shaking his head. “I’ve got a friend here, and I’m kind of hoping you two can bury the hatchet like normal friends do.”
“Whatever,” I wave off, trying to change the subject. “Why are you on your own?”
“Lila went somewhere,” Luca said, looking a bit grumpy.
“Where did she go?”
“She and Kieran went to visit their dad at The Cell. “So, the experts, they locked their dad’s werewolf abilities forever, and now he’s going to be locked up for life,” Luca said, clutching his hands into fists.
My eyes bulged out of their sockets and my mouth flew open. Their dad – the previous Alpha – was in jail, right? My heart was racing, remembering what Kieran told me about the guy.
He used to abuse Lila because she reminded him too much of his late wife.
I knew how much Kieran was hurt because of his dad’s actions, and it hurt me to know that his dad had gone to prison. It was really sad to think that something terrible must’ve happened to make their dad end up where he is now. Did he beat up Lila? Did Kieran have to call in the experts on his own father?
Just as I was about to say something, I heard the front door open and close softly. Luca got up to give Lila a hug, and she sobbed gently into his grey sweatshirt. Kieran walked past the living room and out onto the porch, head down.
Before I knew it, I found myself sitting next to him on the porch steps.
It was a comfortable silence. The wind was a gentle breeze, causing our hair to move around us. It took me a few minutes to get my thoughts together. I was worried about disturbing the peace we were all enjoying at the moment.
I knew it was a silly question, but I asked it anyway. “Are you OK?” I muttered, looking at his face.
I know I’m repeating myself, but I couldn’t get over how good Kieran looked. He was as handsome as ever, even when he was angry or sad, with his defined jaw, strong cheekbones and blue eyes framed by dark eyelashes that any girl would envy. His lips were set in a thin line.
“I’ll be fine,” he mumbled.
“I heard about your dad being locked up,” I said. He nodded.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked at his profile.
He looked down before picking it up and staring at nothing in particular.
“I got back after a meeting with the reps to grab a few things Lila wanted. My dad was drunk as usual, slurring out and crying about how much he missed my mum. I decided to just ignore it. I didn’t know Lila was downstairs with him. She hasn’t even been back home since the last time he hit her. Remember when I told you about that story?” He looked at me when I nodded.
“She was telling him that my mum was in a better place and, according to Lila, he nodded and said that Lila was right. He told her he was hungry, so Lila cooked him some food.
“Out of the blue, I heard a massive crash and Lila screaming. I legged it as fast as I could. I saw my sister on the ground with the pan of hot food on her. She looked like she’d been through a war. She was in tears. Her hair was a mess. She had a bruise on her cheek. For a werewolf to have a bruise, they must’ve been struck,” Kieran explained, sounding a bit emotional when he talked about how he found Lila. I moved a bit closer, putting my hand on his shoulder to make him feel better.