Page 8 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

Jared was wearing the same clothes he had been earlier, but he looked different. Angry. Even with Clay barking at him earlier he hadn’t seemed angry. His hands weren’t balled into fists like they were now. His nostrils weren’t flaring. There wasn’t a fire burning beneath his stare.

Devin never took his eyes off me. “Mind your fucking business, Stone,” he hissed at Jared. “This is between me and Allie.”

I tried to move a little further away, to get out from behind the counter and closer to Jared because somehow in that moment I was less afraid of a wolf- man than I was my eighteen-year-old ex-boyfriend.

How fucked is that?

Devin stopped me with a hand wrapped roughly around my upper arm. “Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t done talk—”

Reflexively, I stabbed the pointy end of the pen into the flesh of his hand. Not enough to do much more than draw tiny droplet of blood, but enough to make him loosen his hold, and for me to scramble out of his grasp and fall to the floor.

Jared was there faster than humanly possible, and I had to remind myself that it was because he legit was not human.

He was helping me to stand when Devin growled at both of us, stomping out from behind the counter.

“She’s mine,” he roared at Jared, his voice taking on a tone that made my stomach drop to my toes.

His? Was he fucking kidding me?

I didn’t know if it was because I had Jared at my back, or if the words themselves had just gotten me that enraged, but I snapped. I pulled away from Jared only enough to get in Devin’s face. “I am not yours! I belong to no one.”

Devin stumbled back a step, his lips parting in wordless protest as he took me in like he was just seeing me for the first time. “Allie…”

“Get the fuck out of here. Don’t come back,” Jared added, moving to stand next to me.

Devin looked between Jared and I, a wrinkle in his brow. He looked like he might hit one of us. I could practically feel the fury rippling off of him in waves of heat, but he just made an angered sound in the back of his throat and turned his back to us.

He slammed the door to the shop behind him, making the glass pane in the door shake.

I slumped, suddenly unable to get my breath, and leaned heavily on the edge of the front counter.

I breathed in deeply through my nose and pushed the air out through my mouth.

My hands were shaking, and I desperately wanted them to stop.

I wanted to shuck off this weaker Allie like a dead skin and be the stronger one I knew was there somewhere.

But she’d been hiding for a long time, and I didn’t know how to get her back.

“Hey,” Jared said, brushing a hand over my back. I recoiled from his touch at first, but then settled, letting his stillness help to soothe my nerves. “Can I…” he trailed off awkwardly. “Can I get you some water or something?”

My throat was dry as a bone from breathing so hard, but I didn’t say that. I didn’t answer him at all. His touch was helping, and the truth was, I didn’t want him to move.

After I got my breath back and my stomach stopped trying to propel itself up my throat, I felt my muscles go, and my body sagged in relief. “No. I’m fine. I mean, I’ll get it myself.”

“It’s water, Allie. I know you can get it yourself, but it’s okay to need help sometimes.”

I pressed my lips together.

“Alright,” Jared breathed, removing his hand. “No water, then. When is your shift over?”

Spinning, I cocked my head at him.

Jared shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and lifted his shoulders. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay.”

What?

“Did you find a place to stay tonight?”

I gulped, looking away. I’d actually been thinking I would stay here. There was a couch in the back of the shop. And if I left before dawn, there was a good chance no one would see me. But even I knew that was a bad idea.

If someone did see me, it would be hard to make up an excuse to why I was leaving the bookshop at five AM when my shift didn’t start until 3:30 in the afternoon. I couldn’t afford to lose this job.

I shook my head.

Jared nodded. “Alright.”

“Alright?”

“Then you’ll come home with me.” I opened my mouth to protest.

“Please,” he said, an earnestness gleaming in his amber eyes when he lifted them to mine.

My chest tightened. “I know you have more questions. I’ll answer them all, if you want.

” He kicked at a spot on the floor and I noticed he was watching the front window with a keen eye, making sure Devin wasn’t waiting outside.

“And maybe you could answer a few more of mine?”

I bit my lower lip, feeling awkward and hating it. My face hot and fingers numb from knotting them together. I didn’t know what to say.

“Just…let me help you. Please.”

“Why?” I asked, voicing the question I’d been afraid to ask before. “Why do you want to help me? You don’t even know me.”

The hint of a smile pulled up the corner of Jared’s stupidly perfect mouth, showing off a slight dimple on his left cheek. Damn.

“Because you’re a good person who doesn’t deserve all of the bad things that’ve happened to her,” he said, the tips of his ears staining pink.

My breath caught and I couldn’t look at him anymore. Could hardly breathe.

Because Jared was wrong. I deserved it all.