Marked (22 page)

“
The basics would be great.” I bit
my bottom lip and clasped my fingers on the windowsill tightly,
suddenly feeling nervous.

“
Okay.” He shifted on his feet and
folded his arms across his chest, looking just as nervous as
myself. “The wolf inside of you follows with the phases of the
moon. When the moon waxes—or grows—our sight, hearing, sense of
smell, speed, and strength all become stronger and more sensitive.
During the full moon we are in our most heightened period. This is
also when we change form. As the moon wanes—or becomes smaller—so
do our heightened senses and abilities, leaving us nearly human
during a new moon, which is when the moon is not visible. This will
be the moment when you feel the most normal,” he added with a
little smirk.

I smiled slightly, unable to deny him that. He’d
explained everything so clearly, I was left with no particular
questions. At least none I could think of at the moment. “Thank you
for briefing me on Werewolf 101.”

“
You’re welcome, but there’s so
much more for you to learn than what I’ve just told
you.”

“
I’m sure there is, but at least
now I know I’m not going to sprout ears and a tail in the middle of
class,” I said, relieved.

Jace chuckled. “You were actually worried about
that?”

“
Well, yeah,” I admitted, meeting
his stare directly. Then I remembered about my eating habits
lately. “What about my craving for meat? Is that another thing that
follows the phases of the moon, or am I going to always have to eat
like a barbarian?” I asked while I thought about it.

Jace’s chuckle turned into a low and rich laugh. The
sound of it made a smile spring to my lips and warmed my heart. I’d
missed hearing his laugh. I’d missed him.

“
You’re killin’ me!
Barbarian
?” he said.

“
Well, what else would you call a
person who eats an entire roast hidden in the kitchen with her
fingers?” I asked, my smile never leaving my face.

“
I’m sorry,” he paused, gaining
control over his laughter. “It will get somewhat better after you
eat your first kill, but for the most part, yes it does go with the
phases, too.”

I scrunched my face up. “First kill?”

“
Meat contains protein, and after
we change our bodies become depleted of protein, which is why we
hunt in our wolf state. Our bodies seem to consume more protein in
that state than in our human form. My theory is because human
food—even hamburger, roast, chicken—it’s all filled with such crap
like fillers, dyes, and preservatives that there’s not a
substantial amount of actual meat in it. With live animals, that’s
all you get, so we are able to gain more protein that
way.”

His theory made sense, but the thought of eating an
actual live animal sickened me. My face must have mirrored how
repulsed the thought made me, because Jace snickered at me once
more.

“
It’s actually not as bad as it
sounds. You just sort of have to let go during the change and give
in to your animal side,” he said, unfolding his arms and cramming
his hands into his front pockets. “I know this is a lot to take in,
but I’m here for you. I’ll help you through it all, if you’ll let
me.”

It
was
a lot to take in. Everything I thought
I knew about my life and myself had been altered completely, but I
believed that Jace would be there for me when I needed him. This
thought brought me an unexpected amount of relief, making me
realize how strong my feelings for Jace still were.

“
I’m scared,” I
whispered.

“
I know,” he said and I shifted my
gaze to his face. A pained look embedded itself into his features.
“Everything will be okay,” he promised.

“
How?” My voice cracked with
emotion and I felt tears swell up in my eyes once more.

“
Because, like I said, I’ll be
there every step of the way to help guide you through all of this.
I’m not going anywhere, Tessa. You’re not alone, please remember
that.” He stepped forward and took my hands into his. “I love
you.”

Looking into his bright eyes and hearing him say
those words, I felt all of the anger I’d directed his way begin to
melt away completely. Sure, with one bite he’d changed my life
forever, but he’d also shown me that the life I’d been living was
partially based on lies. Maybe he hadn’t gone about things the
right way… but knowing what I knew now and feeling what I felt for
him, it didn’t matter anymore.

Jace stared at me, obviously waiting for me to
respond with those three words that meant so much. I didn’t, I
couldn’t… and knowing that broke my heart. I knew I felt strongly
for him—hell, I knew I loved him—but I just couldn’t bring myself
to say the words.

“
It’s okay; I’m not expecting you
to say it back.” He released one of my hands to run his fingers
through his hair. “I just thought you should know.”

Without thinking, I bent and crushed my lips to his.
I could feel how shocked he was by my actions, but it didn’t take
him long to overcome what he felt and move his lips against mine.
My blood was racing. I could hear it more profoundly than ever
before as it flowed through my veins at a rapid pace. I could even
hear my heart pumping with extra force.

I laced my fingers around the back of Jace’s neck,
gently drawing him closer to me. My fingers knotted in his hair and
my lips parted, allowing him access to the deepest parts of my
mouth. I heard him groan against my lips and felt a surge of warmth
shoot through me in response.

Jace pulled away too quickly, ending our perfect
moment sooner than I would have liked. I straightened my back and
felt my cheeks flush with color from my bold move.

“
I’m guessing you’re not upset with
me anymore?” he whispered, his gaze fixed on mine.

I shook my head. “Nope.”

His eyes appraised me as his lips twisted into a
triumphant smile that slowly lit his face. “I should let you get
some sleep,” he said hurriedly, and I got the impression he was
trying to get out of my sight before I changed my mind.

“
Okay,” I whispered, tucking a
stray strand of hair behind my ear.

Jace picked up the screen to my bedroom window and
began popping it back into place before walking away from me
backward with a smile. I watched him with my newly gained version
of night vision, until he’d disappeared around the side of my
house.

I climbed into bed, suddenly feeling more tired than
I’d realized I was. Exhaustion from mental and emotional stress
bogged me down and I drifted off into a dreamless sleep
effortlessly.

The next day at school was better and worse.

It was better because I knew there was no chance of
me sprouting ears and a tail in the middle of class. I also knew
about what was going on within my body and that what I was
experiencing was
normal
, for lack of a better word. I began
to feel like I could handle this, instead of feeling like I was
going crazy.

It was worse because my senses still seemed slightly
out of whack. The fluorescent lights in the hallways were a tad bit
too bright. Certain peers and teachers of mine still had managed to
bathe in perfume and cologne before coming to school in the
morning. And the never ending chattering, laughing, and shrieking
still managed to make my eardrums flutter throughout the day.

When school was finally over, I walked swiftly to
the parking lot with a mild headache pulsing in my temples. Thank
goodness I didn’t have to work at the diner this afternoon and
could drive straight home to the quite sanctuary I called my
room.

* * *

As soon as I pulled into my empty driveway, my cell
phone buzzed with a new text message. It was Rachel.

Hey, just wondering if you wanted to hang out this
afternoon. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve hung out
together.

I frowned; she was right. Because of everything that
had happened to me since the Halloween party, I hadn’t really spent
much time with Rachel. Guilt crushed me as I thought of what a
horrible excuse for a best friend I’d been lately.

Sure, I just got home. Come on over and we can study
for that test on Beowulf in English tomorrow. ~ Tessa

I took in a deep breath and headed inside for a
glass of water and two Tylenol. Rachel arrived twenty minutes later
and I could tell we wouldn’t be getting any studying done from the
distraught look on her face.

“
What’s wrong?” I asked as she
stepped through the front door.

“
I don’t want to bother you because
I’m sure you’re probably still trying to get over your attack and
all,” she paused and took in a shuddering breath then began
nervously twisting her thumb ring. “But Kyle and I got into a
really big fight this afternoon.”

My heart sank. I’d never seen her this upset before,
especially not over a guy. “Over what? What happened?” I asked as
we started toward my room.

“
We’ve sort of been fighting for
the last two days. Remember when I told you that Megan Gregg
started working at the grocery store with him last week?” Tears
swelled in her eyes and the same guilt I’d felt earlier came
pressing down on me again while I struggled to remember when Rachel
had told me anything about Megan Gregg working at the grocery store
with Kyle. “Well, when I went to visit him Tuesday night during his
break, like I always do, he was sitting outside on the curb with
Megan. They were laughing and chatting it up. Kyle even opened up
her cranberry juice bottle for her.”

Rachel flung herself against my bed and I saw a tear
slide down the side of her face as she stared up at my ceiling.

“
Maybe they’re just friends,” I
offered, even though she wasn’t finished talking yet.

Rachel scowled. “I don’t know. I didn’t really give
him time to answer. I sort of went off on him after Megan walked
away. I was just so jealous and sickened by the sight of him
sitting with someone else and laughing that I flipped out and now
he’s mad at me for not trusting him. What am I going to do, Tessa?
I so don’t want him to break up with me.”

“
So what were you two arguing about
this afternoon, Tuesday again?”

“
No, I saw them talking in the
parking lot after school. Kyle said she was just asking if he
worked this afternoon and that was it, but I’m not sure. What if he
likes her?”

“
Yeah right, Megan is cute but she
is definitely no Rachel Sweeney.” I grinned, hoping I was redeeming
myself for not being a great best friend the last couple of
weeks.

Rachel laughed. “This is true; maybe I am just
making a big deal out of nothing. I guess I should tell him I’m
sorry.”

I nodded in agreement. Rachel pulled her cell phone
from in her back pocket and her fingers began to rapidly fly across
the Qwerty keyboard. A car door closed from outside and
clunky-shoed footsteps sounded from on the front porch. Mom was
home and I was amazed with myself at distinguishing her
footsteps.

“
I’m home,” mom shouted, closing
the front door behind her.

“
We’re in my room,” I
answered.

“
Hey, Rachel, we haven’t seen you
around these last few weeks. How’s everything been going?” mom
asked leaning against my doorframe.

“
Good, Mrs. Morganton,” Rachel
answered, still texting away on her phone.

“
Good grief, I still don’t see how
you girls can type so fast on those little phones of yours. One of
these days your thumbs are going to become permanently cramped that
way, I swear,” mom said, shaking her head. “Are you staying for
dinner? We’re having leftover roast because I don’t feel like
cooking a real meal tonight.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. I’d finished off the
roast last night in my insane moment of uncontrollable hunger. I’d
forced myself to eat a cheeseburger and some peanut butter crackers
for lunch today in hopes of avoiding a repeat from last night.

“
Actually, I think I’m going to
head home. But thank you for the invite,” Rachel said, sitting
up.

“
All right. Well, it was nice to
see you again.” Mom smiled and left the room.

“
Kyle and I just made up. I’m going
to go meet him at my place. Thanks for listening, Tessa.” Rachel
beamed.

“
No problem. That’s what best
friends are for.” I smiled.

* * *

Right after Rachel left I heard my mom scouring
through the refrigerator. My chest tightened. What the hell was I
going to say to her?

“
Tessa, do you know where the roast
is? I could have sworn there was at least half a roast in here last
night,” mom yelled.

My lungs stopped working. I still hadn’t come up
with a concrete answer to that question yet.

“
Tessa?” mom yelled again, this
time sounding more frustrated.

My mind raced while I scurried to come up with an
answer as I walked to the kitchen. I could just tell her that it
fell on the floor while I was making a sandwich and I chucked it
into the garbage. Hopefully she wouldn’t look.

“
Umm, well…” I started, and then I
rounded the corner and saw her staring directly at me with the most
penetrating glare I’d ever seen before.

“
What happened to it, Tessa? You
didn’t eat it all did you?” she asked, her gaze never releasing me.
“Oh my God, are you pregnant?”

Shock rippled through me. “
What
?
No
!”