Lyla woke up the next day, a strange feeling hanging over her. She remembered, suddenly, what had happened the night before with Jonah, and the knot in her stomach made sense. As much as she cared about him, she couldn’t be responsible for distracting him from his mission. He hadn’t told her a lot about it, but what he said had hit her hard. It was clear that there was something terrible going on. Something dangerous.
Lyla got up groggily and changed the sheets on her bed, dropping the used ones guiltily in the washing machine. She hadn’t wanted to be with Jonah; it felt like a betrayal to Betsy. And now that it had happened, she knew it just couldn’t happen again. No matter how much she liked him, it just wasn’t an ideal situation.
The phone rang and Lyla picked it up. It was Betsy’s number, and another twinge of guilt knotted her stomach. What had she gotten herself into?
“Hey Bets,” Lyla said, trying to disguise her emotions. Shifters had great senses, even over the phone, but Betsy had no reason to suspect anything and she seemed as cheerful as ever.
“Good morning, Lyla. I was wondering if you could come in early today. We have a lot to do, post-auction. There’s a ton of paperwork to do. We got so much money for the organization!”
“I know, it was amazing,” Lyla said, trying to keep the intrusive thoughts of the bear hybrid out of her mind. “I’m really amazed by how well it went.”
“It was unbelievable,” Betsy said with a dreamy sigh. Lyla couldn’t help but smile. It was clear she adored her brother, and much of their success was due to Jonah. She couldn’t help but feel warm thinking of the way his eyes had glittered during the event, and that warmth soon turned to fire as her mind turned back to the way he had looked at her the night before, when she had been so blissfully trapped underneath his body…
“It was. Very hard to believe,” Lyla said quickly, doing everything possible to push Jonah’s memory out of her mind. It would do her no good. She knew it couldn’t happen again. Not when he had to devote his time and focus to his mission. She refused to be a liability.
“Well, anyway, Jonah told me he was going to be gone all day, so I could really use the extra help in the office.”
“Of course, Betsy. You don’t have to explain. I’ll be in as soon as I can.”
“Great!” Betsy exclaimed. She sounded as if her day couldn’t get much better. That would probably change if she found out what had happened between her best friend and her brother the night before.
“Take care, Bets. See you soon.”
They hung up and with a tight chest, Lyla began to make herself breakfast. But as soon as the smell began to waft throughout the room, she realized she really wasn’t hungry. She was probably just feeling too anxious about what had happened to have an appetite.
Lyla sighed heavily. It was going to be fine. All she had to do was keep her calm.
***
Betsy hadn’t been joking. The office was swamped with paperwork, and people from all over town were calling in asking how they could help with the homeless shifter crisis in Stonybrooke, though most of them wanted to speak to Jonah, who clearly wasn’t there. It was bizarre, really, how everybody who hadn’t cared at all before suddenly cared when Betsy’s decorated brother spoke up on behalf of the people she was trying to help.
“Are you all right?” Betsy asked suddenly as they were eating lunch together.
“What? Sure, why?” Lyla said. She hated to lie, and Betsy could probably tell it was a lie, but shifters weren’t mind readers. Lyla could keep her secrets.
“You just seem…different,” Betsy said vaguely. But there was something strange about her response. As if she knew more than she was letting on. Could Betsy smell Jonah on her? That would be humiliating.
“Well, something strange happened last night. It shook me up a little, but I’m fine now.”
“Strange how? Was somebody fresh with you at the auction?”
Betsy was standing suddenly, a fierce, protective look on her face that reminded Lyla of Jonah. It was surprising; she had never seen an aggressive side to Betsy.
“No, it was nothing like that. Something just ran in front of my car and got me a bit scared.”
Betsy relaxed visibly and sat back down to continue eating.
“Did you hit it?” Betsy asked.
Lyla hesitated. She hadn’t hit it, exactly, but anyone who saw her car would know that something had happened to it.
“Yes,” Lyla said decidedly. It was easier to lie about that than to tell the truth about the hybrid shifter that had, for some reason, chosen to attack her after the auction.
“All right,” Betsy said, though her eyes were still and serious. The woman could see right through her. But telling Betsy could somehow give away something about Jonah’s mission. That could be dangerous. “Well, if you ever want to talk to me about it, I’m here to listen.”
“Thanks,” Lyla said. The knot in her stomach tightened. She had never regretted an impulsive decision as much as she was beginning to regret spending the night with Jonah. No matter how much she liked him, it had been a mistake.
The rest of the day went by quickly, and both Betsy and Lyla left late that night, exhausted.
“Come over for dinner,” Betsy said. “I’d like to thank you and Jonah for being there for me when I needed you the most.”
Lyla was about to refuse, but somehow, she couldn’t. Not only did she want to see Jonah again, but the idea of disappointing Betsy after spending so much of the day lying to her felt terrible.
“All right,” Lyla said. “I’d love to.”
It was another lie, but really, she couldn’t think of a way she would be able to naturally confront Jonah again. As weird as it was going to be, it was nothing compared to how much worse it might be if they saw one another again accidentally. At least, with Betsy there, they wouldn’t have to talk about what had happened.
“Great,” Betsy said. “You call Randy to come out and look at your car yet?”
Lyla nodded.
“Yeah, he replaced the windshield sometime late last night while I was sleeping.”
“Good. Let’s go then.”
Lyla agreed and they headed out. As they drove through the dark streets of Stonybrooke, Lyla couldn’t help but feel nervous. The last time she was driving at night, she had been attacked by the bear hybrid. And now, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Because of her ancestry, she knew her senses were sharp enough that they wouldn’t lie to her, and right now, they were telling her that somebody was out there. What did the bear clan want from her?
She was deeply relieved when they finally made it to the Lucas household, and Betsy invited her inside. The phone rang almost as soon as they stepped through the door and Betsy’s face lit up in a way that Lyla had never seen. Betsy rushed upstairs, for some reason bypassing the phone beside the door, and disappeared into the bedroom.
Lyla showed herself into the living room and poured herself a drink.
“Hello again,” Jonah said, his deep voice filling the room around her. Lyla’s heart thudded hard and she turned to face him.
“Jonah,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m surprised to see you. You live here.”
They both laughed quietly.
“It’s good to see you,” Jonah said, his handsome face still and serious. “How are you feeling?”
“How am I feeling?” Lyla asked. “I’m not the one who got all torn up-”
“Shh,” Jonah said, his dark eyes flickering to the staircase where his sister had disappeared. “Betsy doesn’t need to know anything about that. It would only worry her.”
“All right,” Lyla said, looking down at her hands. “I understand. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, Jonah was standing right in front of her, his strong hands on her shoulders and his eyes peering down into hers intently. “Don’t apologize for things that aren’t your fault. It shows weakness.”
Lyla opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say as a reply, but before she could, they heard the stairs creak as Betsy made her way down. She was grinning privately to herself and walked into the kitchen without even acknowledging Jonah.
“That’s strange,” Lyla said. “Something’s going on with her.”
“Are you kidding? It’s Betsy!” Jonah said. “She’s always strange.”
They followed Betsy into the kitchen and Lyla laughed.
“Spoken like a true little brother.”