SPENCER
I looked into the mirror.
Cool jeans—check. Nice long-sleeve black shirt—check. More or less clean sneakers—check.
This isn’t a date, Spencer, I had to remind myself. Yeah, I knew that. But looking good always gave me more confidence.
I pushed away a strand of my long, strawberry-blonde hair from my face—the only thing I inherited from my father. Or so I thought when I was a kid. But it must’ve changed with time. I had to trust Mom on this since I’d never seen him. Not even in a picture. Now, when I told her that I wished I knew what he looked like, she replied: That’s easy. Just look into the mirror.
And I did. I looked into my blue eyes and imagined myself with short hair and three-day-old stubble.
When I was a kid, she told me he was a good guy and that he died in a car crash when I wasn’t even born yet. I believed her then. But since that time, I’d watched too many movies about single mothers abandoned by their boyfriends, telling their kids that their father was a fireman and died as a hero saving people's lives. The car crash was in second place on the top ten list of those lies.
I wished I still believed my mother. But when I got older, I came up with new questions, and the answers became vague.
She always told me that they loved each other, but not having a single picture with the man she loved seemed more like a tough breakup, which most of the time led to destroying all evidence of the heartbreaker's existence.
I preferred the truth. Maybe she was afraid I wouldn’t forgive her?
How could I not? After all, she was about my age when it happened, and even much older couples couldn’t prevent those mistakes when blinded by love.
I heard a car. Then the doorbell rang.
I pushed my phone into the back pocket of my jeans before opening the door.
Finn looked over a second, then smiled and stepped back.
“Ready to go?” He raised a brow.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
I shut the door and followed him to his shiny black SUV, wishing I had made a list of questions so I wouldn’t forget anything. The guy was a distraction.
Did I notice that the daylight didn’t make him less handsome? And that his gray eyes were a big bonus to his look? Of course, I did. He eyed me too, didn’t he? We were young, and it was normal to look and evaluate, to get butterflies when you met someone new and liked what you saw.
Heeeey. Hold on. He is nuts. Remember?
He opened the passenger door for me.
Okay. I get it. You’re a gentleman.
Actually, there wasn’t much to ask. All I had to do was ask him to prove that he was what he said he was, and when he would start making excuses, everything would become clear at once.
“Where would you like to go?” He asked as we took off.
“There’s a nice coffee shop close to the town square.”
“Perfect. I know how to get to the town square. But you’ll have to lead me from there.”
* * *
We were sitting in a coffee shop. After a few minutes of small talk about the town and its population, I pushed my cup away and looked him in the eyes.
“Let’s get this straight. If you helped me out with Brian yesterday and then said all those mysterious things just to get my attention so you can ask me out, then you wasted your time. It wouldn’t work—well it did, but I only came to make sure—”
“Spencer, I’m glad I met you. But believe me, if all I wanted was to get you on a date, we would’ve had a completely different conversation, not the one that would scare away any ordinary girl. But I knew you weren’t ordinary.” He slowly ran his finger along the edge of the saucer. “The fact that you’re here, looking for answers, is proof that you know the supernatural exists.”
“So you’re saying it’s true. You’re a supernatural creature.”
“And so are you.”
I shifted in my seat. “No, I’m not.”
“Did you speak to your mother?”
“No. What would I say? That a stranger told me I’m a wolf?” I scoffed.
“Spencer, this is serious. You wouldn’t be able to do this alone.”
“Do what?” My shoulders jerked from frustration. “If you want me to believe you, then prove it. Show me what you are.”
He smirked. “Didn’t you hear a howl last night? I know you weren’t asleep.”
My stomach clenched. “It doesn’t prove anything. Maybe you were holding a boombox under my window.”
He bit his upper lip. Then, frowning, he rested his forearm on the table, leaned forward, and looked deep into my eyes. My heart jumped in my chest as I saw a glowing golden ring appear around his gray pupils.
My magic awakened, and I felt the tingle of energy in the tips of my fingers. I was still staring at him when he leaned back with his eyes now normal.
Get yourself together. I squeezed the cup between my hands to stop the trembling.
His frown vanished. “I’m just trying to help you.”
“Let’s say I believe you. Which I don’t. Not until I see you shift. But even if it’s true, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Yes, it does.”
“No. My mom doesn’t believe that vampires and werewolves exist. She always said that if they were real, she would know.”
“I see,” he muttered under his breath. His gaze lost focus. It seemed that my words triggered something in his mind. “Okay,” he said, coming back to reality. “If your mom doesn’t know anything, then you’ll need me even more.”
He was trying too hard to make me believe. To trust him. Why?
“Finn, why do you care so much? What’s in it for you?”
His eyes widened. “For me?” He poked himself in the chest, then released a short laugh. “You think I need something from you?”
“Then why?”
He reached for my hand still wrapped around the cup, took it in his, and squeezed it gently.
“Because I don’t want you to suffer alone.”
His eyes looked into mine with warmth and compassion, and it awakened that sense of trust I felt yesterday, which I couldn’t understand.
“If you’re telling me the truth, and you really have no idea who you are, you need someone to guide you. The moon will be full for another two days, and tonight you will be in pain again. I have something for you. A tincture.”
“What kind of tincture?”
“It's made of an herb called wolfsbane,” he said, letting go of me.
“Wolfsbane? Shouldn’t it be like poison for wolves?”
“Why? Because Netflix says so?” He grinned. “No, not all kinds. There’s only one kind of wolfsbane that is really dangerous to us. And you’re not a wolf yet. Drink it before you go to sleep. It won't make the pain go away completely, but it will ease it a little.”
* * *
Finn stopped the car in front of my house. He opened the glove box and pulled out a small water bottle filled with a turbid yellowish-green liquid. Before he closed the compartment, I glanced inside and saw a plastic bag with dry herbs sitting at its bottom.
“I want you to show me your wolf,” I burst out.
“Now?” he gaped at me.
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Maybe because it’s still daylight, and if someone sees me, it won't end well.” He handed me the bottle. “People can’t know, Spencer. You can’t tell anyone. Not a soul.”
“Don’t worry, I know how to keep a secret.” I sighed. “I’ve been doing it my entire life.”
“So you do have a secret.” He smiled.
I chuckled. “Don’t even try.”
“I told you mine, didn’t I?”
“You only did it because you were sure that I—”
Moving at full speed, a very familiar car came to a halt in front of us. The driver’s door swung open.
Brian came out and dashed to my side of the car. Right when I grabbed the handle and was about to open the door, he pulled it with all his strength, making me almost literally fly out of my seat. I barely stopped myself from falling face down a few feet away.
“Are you out of your mind?” I yelled at him.
“Spencer?” Finn rushed to my side. “Are you okay?”
“So that’s why you didn’t want to see me?” Brian barked, turning his glare from me to Finn. “I knew you two were lying.”
“No one was lying.” I gritted my teeth. “And this is not what you think.”
But Brian was in such fury that he wasn’t capable of listening.
“Well.” He sneered at Finn. “You were right. I’m in better form today.”
“Are you sure?” Finn pushed me aside.
“Brian, stop it!” I shouted. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You should listen to your girl, pal. Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
Even though the tone of Finn's voice sounded calm, I could feel his anger from where I stood a few feet away.
Brian darted toward Finn; his fist ready. Finn slapped the oncoming fist away and, with an open hand, hit Brian in the chest. Brian flew ten feet back and crashed down on the hood of his car.
“Oh crap,” I pressed my knuckles to my mouth, glancing around to make sure no one was watching us. I dropped my hands, and bubbling with anger, turned to Finn. “Really?”
“What?” He spread his hands in frustration, then pointed at Brian. “He started it.”
“Brian?” I headed toward him as he slid down from the hood and landed on his feet, his back bowed. “Are you okay?”
“Sorry,” Finn said quietly, following me. But then added much louder. “No. You know what? I’m not. Listen to me, you douche.” He gazed at Brian. “You should be grateful I didn’t hit you too hard or your ribs would be in pieces. You should show some respect to your girl. This is the second time I’ve seen you and both times you acted like a dick.”
Didn’t hit you too hard? Seriously?
Brian glared at him from under his eyebrows. His attempt to straighten up didn’t end well. His hand jerked to his back, and he cringed in pain.
Finn went to his car, picked up the bottle from the ground where I dropped it, then headed to the porch.
“Who is he?” Brian stared at me. “I’m not a weak guy, Spence, you know that, but he . . . his strength . . . it’s not normal.”
Aaaand, we came to a question I can’t answer.
What I just saw shocked me as well. I needed time to process this revelation in my paranormal knowledge.
“Spencer, what are you doing with him?” Brian rubbed the back of his head. “Why is he here?”
“Maybe you should’ve asked me that first and heard the answer before going nuts?” I hissed at him. “You can’t do this, Brian. You can’t just swing your fist every time you don’t like something.”
“I’m listening now.”
I watched Finn put the bottle on the porch.
“Go home, Brian. You need to lay down.”
Brian rounded the car and opened the door. “And him? What about him?”
“Not that it’s your business, but he’s leaving too.”
Finn returned to his car. “Drink as much as you can. I’ll make more for tomorrow,” he said to me, before getting in and taking off.
* * *
FINN
As I drove away, I looked back into the rearview mirror to make sure the douche was leaving.
I knew I shouldn’t have done that. I lost it, which hasn't happened to me for a long time. But he was asking for it.
The way he treated Spencer bothered me. Why did I feel so protective of her? And how come I could feel such a connection to her when her wolf hasn’t even come out yet? Though it couldn’t be just a shifter’s scent that drew me to Spencer.
She said she had a secret. Maybe if I found out what her secret was, it would explain the things I couldn’t understand, make sense of this connection, or explain the hit that ran through me when I held her hand in mine.
Or maybe it’s just a normal attraction to a stunning girl who also happened to be a wolf. I chuckled, admitting the fact that I was trying to ignore the obvious.
I liked her.