CHAPTER SEVEN

“And where have you been, young lady?” Ben asks as soon as I walk in the door. His arms are crossed and he’s glaring at me, but there’s a grin tickling the corners of his mouth because hard as he tries, he can’t even fake-reprimand me.

“Out gallivanting with ne’er do-wells, of course,” I say as I shut the door and toe off my boots. My feet are sore and my legs are tired, but those sensations pale in comparison to the happy glow I feel.

“Of course,” Ben says.

I flop down on the couch next to him and steal the last piece of pizza from the box sitting in front of him on the coffee table. All that running made me hungry.

“Seriously Bel, where were you? You don’t normally stay out past midnight,” Ben says, and I look at the clock and realize that it’s nearly two o’clock in the morning.

James and I were running for eight hours together.

I guess time flies when you’re spending time it with a beautiful werewolf.

However, I feel bad because even though I’m a twenty-year old adult, I’ve never stayed out later than eleven on a Saturday. I’ve also never left the house for that long without telling Ben where I was going.

“Sorry, I thought I told you when I left. Sharon and I went to the movies,” I lie, and nearly cringe at how easily the words fall out of my mouth.

I never lie to Ben, but I can’t tell him about James, not yet. I know he’ll view the way James and I met and started hanging out as suspect and go to the clan to intimidate him. And with the clan riled up and James’ and my relationship not really official, Ben could end up in danger and I could end up even worse off than I was before.

Because eight hours ago, James was my mate in an abstract sense. I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me.

But now, after spending an evening at his side, the idea of not having him in my life makes me feel physically sick. I can’t risk doing or saying anything that will jeopardize his place in my life. And if that means lying to Ben, then that’s what I have to do.

James is worth it…I think. Hope.

“What’d you see?” Ben asks as I inhale the pizza slice and drain the can of soda I take from his hand.

I name a superhero film, thankful that the Marvel franchise puts out movies with such frequency and media blitz that even I, someone who avoids the internet and doesn’t read the newspaper, can rattle off the correct movie title.

“Did her boyfriend come? I thought she was always busy with him on the weekends,” Ben says as he flips through channels on the TV. Though his eyes are focused on the screen, I can tell his attention is on me, and my stomach drops.

He knows.

The problem with your sibling also being your parental figure and your only family is that they learn your tells better than anyone else, and you learn theirs. Ben knows I’m lying, and I know he’s trying to draw the lie out of me.

So of course, I just keep telling more lies, because that seems like the most sensible thing to do, right?

“No, Greg is sick. Flu, I think, and Sharon had already bought the tickets, so she asked me if I wanted to go with her instead. And I feel like I don’t get to see enough of her.”

“You see her at work at least five days a week for eight hours at a time,” Ben says, turning to me with a questioning look.

“Yeah, but we’re so busy at work that we never get a chance to catch up. I mean I never get to spend quality time with her,” I rush to add.

“Right…” Ben says, disbelief clear in his voice.

I’m about to open my mouth to fill the air with more useless, untruthful words when suddenly, Ben turns the TV off and faces me.

“Bel, I hope you know you can tell me anything. We’re all we’ve got, so we have to be honest with each other, you know?”

I nod, my throat suddenly dry despite all the soda I just drank.

“I know. I love you,” I say, and though it’s true, I’m also hoping it’ll end the conversation, because his statement and the way he’s looking at me, with love and also real disappointment, have me nearly spilling everything out there and then.

“Love you too, Isabel,” he says, leaning over and kissing my forehead before getting up off the couch.

“Turn the lights out and lock up before you go to bed, okay? I’m too beat from waiting up for you,” he says.

It’s a guilt trip, but it’s also a reminder that it’s up to us to keep each other safe, and we can’t do that without knowing about anything that threatens us.

I’m so filled with remorse by the time I get out of the shower that I can hardly bear to look myself in the mirror. But when I do, I see that my cheeks are rosy and my grin is wide despite my distress.

I look truly happy, and now that I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I felt this way.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this.

I’m in love.

The realization warms me to my core, and despite the weird, awkward talk with Ben, I go to sleep with a grin on my face.

I dream of James at my side, running through woods speckled with golden light. Our breaths match, our paws hit the ground to the same rhythm, and I feel completely safe and at peace.

It’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in years.