Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (96 page)

“I doubt it’ll be tonight, because he knows we’re expecting him. He’ll want the advantage of surprise.” He pulled away from the curb. “We’ll have to deal with it when it happens. In the meantime, let’s stay alert and not dwell on it.”

My fists unfolded and I released a breath, knowing I needed to chill. Worrying about it wasn’t going to change the outcome. “So when I walked away, did you guys talk?”

Zack’s lips tightened. “Yeah.”

“I couldn’t hear either of you.”

He signaled to turn. “I wonder why.”

As we passed houses and street lights, I reconstructed the last few days in my head. “The first time we saw Charles, I heard him ask you about me. I thought it was just me, losing my mind.”

Thinking back to the exchange at the dealership, I remembered that Zack had been holding my wrist and moved in front of me. At the party, he’d been wrapped around me.

I gasped. “Zack. Each time that happened, you were touching me. When you let go and I was standing with Maya, I couldn’t hear anymore.”

“Fascinating. It might come in handy up the road.” He white-knuckled the steering wheel.

I shook my head, my hopes plummeting. “Except the scouts will already know about any new abilities we discover.”

“Right.” He blew out a noisy breath. “Daniel’s so new, he might not.
He
’s the problem right now.”

“What did you guys talk about?”

“Nothing important.” Zack lifted a hand off the steering wheel and waved it off. “Just how much he’ll enjoy killing me.”

“No, Zack. Not because of me. You should stay away.” The pitch of my voice had risen and I made a conscious effort to keep from sounding hysterical. “If he gets William to help him, we’re dead meat.”

“As far as William knows, you’re human. He has to obey werewolf law and he knows Charles is keeping an eye on things. I doubt killing me is worth the risk. And I’m
Daniel’s
vendetta, not William’s. We’ll stay in tonight.”

“Can you do that?” My eyes cut to his. “I thought it was too hard not to morph.”

Zack drove the car into the driveway of my house, jumped out and got to my side before I’d even opened the door. “Difficult, yes, but not impossible.”

“We should go out. You
need
to.”

“No. I won’t put you at risk. We’ll figure out another way.”

I wondered what that other way could be. I wouldn’t let Zack suffer to keep me safe. I couldn’t. I unlocked the front door while Zack kept guard. Inside, we checked for Daniel’s scent, but he definitely hadn’t been in the house.

Usually by now, we were already back from the woods. A run was overdue and I itched to get out. It must’ve been harder for Zack.

Dropping the keys on the kitchen table, he paced.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked, taking off my sweater.

“You’ll have to watch over me, make sure I don’t shift.”

“But… so what if you do?” I dashed around making sure there were no places the curtains didn’t cover, then did the same upstairs. When I returned, a black wolf awaited me, restlessly trotting through the living room.

Go to sleep. I’ll be fine
. When I hesitated, he added,
If you’re worried about me taking off, it’s not like I can open a door with my paws
.

I giggled. “True, but you might suddenly feel desperate to run. If you turned human, you could open the door. I’ll stay.”

Suit yourself.
He took off and sprinted down the hallway.

I prayed he didn’t damage anything. To save my cuticles from my worrying teeth, I switched on the TV. It had been forever since I’d relaxed and did something mindless. Normal. While keeping an ear out for Zack, I flipped through the channels until I came across a comedy.

About a half hour into the movie, Zack plopped onto the other end of the sofa, back in his human form and dressed. “What’s on?”

“Who cares? It’s got Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.” I shot him a smile, but he didn’t return it. “Was that not enough? Do you still need to go out?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine, for now.”

Why was he staring at me? “Then what’s wrong?”

“You’re in my bed and I’m tired. Although that’s not what I was thinking.” He grabbed a decorative pillow and leaned against the end of the sofa. “I’m not comfortable with you so far away. It would take Daniel two seconds to break through your window and snag you. I wouldn’t be able to get there in time. Now that he’s upped his threats, we can’t afford to sleep at opposite ends of the house anymore.”

“I could sleep in my dad’s chair.” I eyed the recliner uncertainly.

“You take your bed. I’ll sleep on the floor in your room.”

I shook my head. “No way. That chair will be more comfortable for me than the floor. It’s hardly fair to let you be uncomfortable when you’re only here for my safety.”

“Okay. It’s late. Let’s get ready for bed.”

Get ready for bed
. That sounded good. I turned and went upstairs to clean up. Out of the shower, I blow dried my hair then contemplated which PJs to wear, settling on a set that covered nearly every inch of me. I wanted to avoid tempting him, which would then torture me.

Delaying my reunion with Zack a few more minutes, I rifled through my closet in search of what I would wear tomorrow, running my hand along the skirt section, then the jeans and tops. Stopping at the dresses, I picked up the hem of a gown covered in paper. Where the protective wrap ended, gold and cream fabric peeked out. I fingered the delicate lace.

“Hey.”

I jumped, my eyes darting to Zack who stood in the doorway, bare-chested and hair wet. My stomach did a little flip.

“It got too quiet and I got worried that…”

With great effort, I smiled and tried to keep my eyes on his when I really wanted to ogle his six-pack. “I’m fine.”

“What’s that?” he nodded toward the hem of the dress in my hand.

“Daniel planned on taking me to prom, so I got this. Now, the thought of going anywhere with him makes me want to vomit.” I glanced down at the gown again. “Waste of a perfectly good dress.”

“Why not go anyway?”

Was that his way of asking me to go with him? Since we were pretend boyfriend-girlfriend, why not pretend go to the prom together? I waited for him to ask.

“People go stag all the time,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Hell, no.” I gave him a dirty look. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

He backed away and disappeared, his footfalls getting fainter the farther he got. “Come down soon. Having you so far away makes me nervous,” he shouted from below.

If only he meant that comment the way I would’ve meant it.

When I joined Zack downstairs moments later, he’d already become one with the couch, his blanket tucked around him. I turned off the lights and curled up in the big chair, reclining it all the way back. The plush cushions enveloped me and I should’ve instantly relaxed. Instead, I lay there wired. Snuggling deeper into my comforter, I hoped I’d be able to take my mind off Zack. Eventually. It had been easier up in my room where he was farther away.

I didn’t get Zack at all. He had to like me. Otherwise, why did he take every opportunity to kiss me? Could it really be that simple, like he’d said so many times — I was hot and he was still a guy? No connection other than having the right equipment?

Feeling the energy radiating from Zack, I knew he wasn’t asleep. What I was about to do was scary and risky. Bad things could happen by putting myself out there and opening myself up. But I just had to. “Zack. If two people like each other, why is being together such a crime? I don’t mean mating and risking our chances of winning a battle. I’m talking about enjoying the moment with someone you care about.”

“With that reasoning, I could hook up with Maya or Ashley, because they’re attractive and I like them too.” He exhaled loudly. “Earlier today, you asked me not to kiss you again, because
it meant something to you.
Did you change your mind
?
”

He’d just lumped me in with every other girl, basically saying I wasn’t special to him, even a tiny bit. It felt like a massive weight pushed into my chest, the pressure crushing my heart and lungs. I wondered if I might stop breathing. How long could I live without oxygen?

“I’m sorry, Autumn. You know I care about you or I wouldn’t be here. But what you’re asking for isn’t something I can give you. You have to let this go.”

I forced my lungs to take in air. Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said.

But he
had
hurt me.

Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe I could finally get him out of my head. The truth shall set you free, isn’t that what they say? Yet, I didn’t feel free and the truth didn’t make the rejection go down any easier. But at least now, once and for all with absolute certainty, I knew where we stood.

“Don’t sweat it,” I said. “You did me a favor. Now I can move on.”

He’d warned me all along. How could I be mad at him? It would’ve been helpful if he’d exercised more control, but who was I to talk? I held as much blame for our make-out sessions as he did.

It had been exactly two weeks ago today since I’d first seen him and most of that time, we’d been at odds. I couldn’t be in love with him. Someday, I’d fall in love for real, with someone who could love me back.

Zack’s breathing stayed uneven, telling me he was still awake. Mentally, I wanted to cut my ties to him, but even in the wee hours of the night, he was still all I could think about.

† † †

Saturday morning, we slept in and awkwardly went about our morning business, me pretending I didn’t care. He’d said good morning to me, but those were his only words until I invited him to breakfast. I’d put coffee on, then whipped up omelets and made toast.

Zack looked like hell. He was pale, his hair exploded in every direction and he moved slower than usual.

“You didn’t sleep well?” I saw him eyeing the salt and passed it to him.

“I’ve had better nights.” He sprinkled the shaker over his eggs.

“If feeling sorry for me disturbed your sleep, it shouldn’t have,” I said, forcing a smile. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, since his face was void of expression. “You warned me that first day car shopping. I should’ve listened. In any case, I’m fine,” I choked out when I really wanted to yell at him and play the blame game. But that would make us both miserable. The responsibility was on me anyway.

“So, what are your plans today?” I asked in an effort to change the subject.

“We have to take your car in.” He spread jelly on his toast and took a bite. “The last thing we want is for it to break down when we need it most.”

I took another bite of my eggs. “Can we take it in later? I wanted to do laundry and some cleaning. We also need to get groceries and maybe spend some time with your mom while she’s up for it.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He scooped up another bite of the omelet. “This is great, by the way. So far you’ve only scrambled them and they were good, but this is amazing.”

“Thanks. It’s time-consuming though. School mornings I’m too rushed to do it right.”

“Then I should wake you up earlier.” He grinned.

“Ha ha.” I chuckled, relieved at the lighter atmosphere.

“I think doing the car thing later in the day is good,” Zack said between chews. “The shop will be closed. I won’t have to wait to use any of the equipment and we won’t be in anyone’s way.”

We finished breakfast, then divided up the chores and went our separate ways. After lunch, I finished the last of the mountain of our laundry while he went through the fridge sniffing things and tossing out anything bad. I made my shopping list, consulting him now and then.

Ready to hit the supermarket, I realized all the curtains were still closed. I peered through a slit in the panels while I waited for Zack to stow his clean clothes. A suspiciously familiar black Audi approached.

“He drove by earlier this morning when I took a break from cleaning the kitchen,” Zack said from behind me. “Nothing to worry about. It’s a scare tactic.” He found the keys and opened the front door like he didn’t have a care in the world.

I abandoned the window to face Zack. “You don’t find it annoying? Maybe a little bit unsettling?”

“Why stress over it? I can handle Daniel.” He ushered me out and locked the door.

I glanced around, scrutinizing every inch of the neighborhood, but didn’t see Daniel or his car anywhere. When would he attack — today or tomorrow? Could Zack really handle him or would Daniel play dirty and somehow catch Zack off guard?

Maybe Zack wasn’t scared. But I sure was.

CHAPTER THIRTY

We finished at the market and arrived at Zack’s house before dinner.

“Mmm. Lasagna. I love you, Aunt Cara.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Meat
lasagna. How could such a temptation be denied? I briefly considered throwing the whole vegetarian thing out the window. No point in fighting it. But I’d had enough craziness in my life without losing control over some stupid piece of food. I would resist, just as I had all week.