I opened my eyes and pulled back to meet his. “Sorry. I just… I’m happy you’re home.”
“Me too,” he whispered as he squeezed my hand and let me go.
I walked outside with a warm face. Ethan raised an eyebrow and sent me a naughty look before he headed toward their house. I was still smiling as I climbed into the Blazer.
Asher
I watched as Ally walked down the porch steps and headed for her Blazer. My body was harder than rock as I eased my grip on the door. Deep dents were in the wood of the front door from where I had gripped it to keep from touching her. The moment she touched me, it took everything I had not to slam the door and take her upstairs. My wolf vibrated deep in my chest, agreeing with me. It used all my focus to keep us both still until she left.
I closed the door carefully and took several deep breaths until my body stopped aching. Dreading this, I walked back into the family room and sat down. My wolf rubbed under the surface, practically rolling over and showing his belly. My reaction to Ally… it wasn’t normal. Astrid had been right. Something was different with her.
Jessica’s footsteps moved over the aged floorboards a moment before she shut her door upstairs and started down the steps. Her step halted halfway down. “Ash?”
I put everything else out of my mind and turned to my sister. My still human sister. Her cheeks had become a bit thinner since I last saw her and the bags under her eyes were heavier. She smiled and it was like a soft blow to the heart. She looked so much like Mom when she smiled.
“Hey, Jess.” My wolf raised its head inside me, waking only long enough to recognize family before going back to sleep.
Jessica hopped down the rest of the stairs and latched on to me. Surprised, I hesitated while she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. It wasn’t more than a heartbeat before I was hugging her too. My little sister. I hadn’t hugged her in a long time. My wolf rose to the surface and rubbed against the inside of my mind. Fear. Protect.
I blinked several times as I tried to understand what I was feeling. Jessica was talking about how she missed me while I tried to sort out what my wolf was seeing that I wasn’t. Jessica needed protection? My wolf agreed before settling back down, allowing me to focus on my sister. “Are you okay?”
She stopped midsentence and squeezed me tighter. “Yeah, great.” Her voice was high as she pulled back. She avoided meeting my eyes as she headed for the kitchen.
I followed, stepping into the kitchen as she pulled pizza from the box. “The guys said they stayed with you a lot this month.”
She carefully set a piece on the plate and ran her fingers over the edge of the plate. “So?”
“What’s going on, Jess?”
She shrugged, picked up the plate and turned away. “I kept hearing weird noises.”
“Jess—”
“You know, you missed the start of football practice.” She put the plate in the microwave and set it for a minute.
I sighed. I might as well get it over with. “I’m not playing football this year.”
Her head snapped around; her eyes grew wide. “What?”
I leaned against the doorjamb and repeated myself. “I’m not playing football this year.”
She blinked at me. “Why not?”
I sighed. “Because I’m done with it and I don’t enjoy it anymore.”
“But… but it’s your ride to college.”
I shook my head. “That’s what Dad thinks. It’s not.”
She shifted on her feet while looking down at her hands. “Dad’s coming home tomorrow.”
I growled. Her head snapped up.
“Why?” I tried to cover.
She tilted her head to the side and sent me a look.
It hit me. “Because Coach Barstein called him.”
“Bingo.” She leaned against the counter behind her as the microwave dinged.
Great. Dad was coming home. My phone dinged.
Still thinking about Dad and the pain in the ass he was going to be, I pulled out my phone.
Brody: Welcome home, now get your ass out to Bickman’s trail for a run.
I cursed. Brody was one of the rogue wolves that had moved to town as a favor to Astrid. He was supposed to take over mentoring me while Astrid and Ranulf took care of an issue in San Francisco.
Asher: I’ll be there in fifteen.
I put my phone in my pocket. “I gotta go for a run.” Before she could ask, I turned and headed upstairs.
“You just got home,” Jessica said, following me up the stairs.
“Yeah, I know.” I closed my door in her face and quickly changed into workout shorts and a tank.
“Does this have anything to do with you being gone for a month?” she asked.
I shoved my feet into my sneakers and quickly tied my shoes. “Yeah, I’m used to the camp’s training program now. I kinda liked it. Thought I’d keep it going.”
“If you weren’t going to play football this year, why did you bother with the football camp?”
I opened the door to find her scowling. “I realized I was done there.” God, I hated lying to her. I had never been very good at it, and by the narrowing of her eyes, it looked like I still wasn’t. I hurried down the stairs, grabbing my keys on the way. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Thankfully, Jess didn’t follow me outside to my truck. I headed out to Bickman’s trail, which was the hardest hike you could get around here. And we were about to run it.
I sighed. This was it. This was my life now. Managing my wolf and keeping the danger to the people around me to a minimum. At least Astrid said it eventually became instinct and I wouldn’t have to think about it at some point.
As I drove through town my mind drifted back to Ally on the couch. I had barely been able to stop biting her. What the hell had set me off like that? I ran through what I remembered and couldn’t figure it out. And I had to. If I didn’t…
Chapter 2
Sunday Morning
Lexie
I walked into the town’s café smiling. Jake was already there with his left arm still in its sling. The football star had separated his shoulder bad enough to need surgery during an accidental hit at practice a couple of weeks ago. His shoulder would heal, but his football season was over and he was already going stir crazy.
He looked up and smiled as I dropped into the chair across from him. “You’re practically glowing.”
“I’m happy.” I couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
“That’s a ‘got some’ smile.” He acted shocked.
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t get laid. But I did finally get to kiss a couple of my… boyfriends.”
He leaned forward, his face eager. “Tell me more.”
The memory of Asher’s touch made me smile and my face warmed. “Uh… I got some much-needed kisses.”
He chuckled as he adjusted the strap around his neck.
I shook my head. “Seriously, the whole look but don’t touch thing was killing me.”
“I wouldn’t have lasted the month.” He sighed. “So, Asher’s home?”