Chapter Four
My heart stammers as I recall my last thoughts and my eyes flash open. Someone was lying next to me. I turn to look, it’s Soraya, my best friend…my shapeshifting wolf friend. What the fuck? Memories of my childhood surface. That’s when I realize I’ve always known something wasn’t right with the world. There was two parts to it, and I had a peek at the other side and didn’t care for it much. I was happy when Ms. Bellamy took it away. Why was it back?
A shadow moves from the corner of my eyes and comes into focus.
“Hey, babe.” A voice like shea-butter trickles caressingly to my ears.
My breathing stops as I recognize its owner, then returns, coming in rapid succession. I look around at the other faces in the room. Did they know he was here? Yet no one thought to tell me. I know why Caleb didn’t say anything, but Soraya? I expect more from her. Then again, she didn’t tell me she was a wolf either, so why am I surprised? I look from Roman to her, filling my glare with accusation. She shrugs me off, lifts her hands, and steps back.
“What, no greeting?” Roman cocks his head, his thumbs tucked into the waistband of his lowrider jeans, hugging his thighs lovingly. It’s almost as affectionate as the T-shirt wrapped around his huge biceps, pecs, and tight abs. If memory serves me correctly, his back was receiving similar attention.
He’s let his hair grow over his collar. Oh Lord, no one has a right to be this handsome, especially when I’m pissed at them. He wants me to greet him? Am I supposed to smile and bow to his arrogance, forget his betrayal, accept he’s back like nothing happened between us?
Wait! Nothing did happen between us. He just up and left me without any reason or explanation—threw our relationship out the window as if it was nothing. Then pops his head around the corner with his “hey, babe.” He can bite me, that’s what he can do...just bite me.
A chilling thought hits me like a fist to the gut, sending me back into touch. Maybe he did want to bite me. “Are you a wolf too?” I ask, arching my brow.
At least he has the decency to look shamefaced. At the moment, his bare feet appear more interesting than me or perhaps he just needs something to look at. “Is that why you ran away?”
“I didn’t run…it’s complicated, babe.”
“Then uncomplicate it for me.”
“If you give me a minute. I’ll explain.”
Lost in my own little bubble of regret and confusion, I let rage fire my tongue and ignore whatever it is he has to say. I have pounds of it holding me down, and I need to get rid of some weight.
“All this time I’ve been blaming myself for the break up, thinking it was me, and I’d done something wrong. Too often, I wondered what I could’ve done differently to fix things, to make us okay, when all the time it was you that was broken, not me. What…you couldn’t fight the beast within, the animalistic urge to eat people?”
“Hey?” Soraya gasps close to my ear. “You know I don’t eat people, although I’ve been known to bite a sexy shoulder or two,” she says slyly. Soraya raises a brow and bites down on her bottom lip, grinning.
I don’t have time for her craziness, not with the cause of my heartbreak in the room. Confronting her and taking her to task will come later. I’ve had a belly full, and I’m tired of people thinking they can dump on me whenever they like, and I should simply accept it. Well not anymore and certainly not today.
“Shut up. No one’s talking about you, Soraya.”
Her eyes widen, and she draws back her neck.
“Well excuse me,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Now who’s the big, bad wolf.”
I ignore her remark.
“No one's talking about me either,” Roman says. “Excuse us a moment. Can we have the room? I think Winter and I need to talk.”
Unbelievable. What? Am I a toy he plays with on demand? He wants to talk… Fine. I’ll give him some words.
“You have a goddamn nerve.” I point a stiff finger at Roman.
“We don’t have time for this.” Clearly exasperated, Rose releases a short breath.
Roman’s face hardens. “Come on, Rose. We’ve all sacrificed a lot, some more than others, and I’m not asking for anything in return except for a few minutes alone with her. If we want her help, we need to start being honest and stop giving her partial truths. There hasn’t been a war recorded that was won with only part of the information made available, or with a halfhearted commitment. You’re right, time is running out—because we chose to do it your way—and look where that got us. Now I’m going to do it my way, so leave, all of you, please.” Roman marches to the door and opens it.
I close my eyes to push back the rage surging through me. Six months and not a fucking word. Now he wants to talk, to explain, and expects me to entertain him?
There’s nothing he has to say, I want to hear. He didn’t answer my calls, texts, or emails. Even though we were broken up, I thought we were friends. Instead, he cut me off, shut me out of his life completely. I wasn’t some random girl. I was supposed to be the one. Those were his words exactly and my desire.
A slap for every day I cried over him is what he deserves. He’d be covered from head to toe in bruises. I squeeze my eyes together tightly, wanting to keep out the image of him looking so good while I must look a mess after the attack. I’m trying to hold it together but doing so isn’t easy. The harder I try, the angrier I become. He was right to let the others go. What I have to say is best shared in private.
“Babe…I know you’re upset, and I don’t blame you. If you give me a chance, I can explain everything.”
The sound of his voice triggers something inside me, or perhaps it was his words. There’s a weird energy soaring through me and it seems to be fueled by anger. I open my eyes to see everything which isn’t nailed down swooshing around above my head, floating in the air. Every now and then a book, shoe, or something equally less life-threatening would leave the mass and shoot across the room at Roman.
I don’t know how I’m doing any of it. The madder I get, the more dangerous it becomes for him. Actually, I’m kind of getting off on it. He used to joke about me being worse than a hailstorm when my temper flared, and I guess he was kind of right. He dips and ducks the flying debris and makes his way over to the bed where he picks up a pillow.
“Please, calm down. You’re tapping into powers that you don’t know how to use yet. Not to mention, they’re ten times stronger here. I’m sorry. If you give me a chance, I can make you understand. I didn’t want to leave you. I’m mated to you. You’re my life,” he says, easing toward me, hesitantly using his hands as a shield.
His words calm me, and when I look into his eyes, I sense he’s telling the truth. Still, I wish I had the powers to read his thoughts. Hmm…maybe I can. After all, I’m a witch.
“Is it safe?” he asks, holding out his arm.
I just look at him. My heart and my mind are at odds, and my heart is winning. He reaches for me and gathers me in his arms where I fall victim to his embrace. “Please, babe, let me explain.”
I cling to him, all malice within me starts to evaporate with the warmth of his body close to mine. Damn, I’ve missed this, I’ve missed him. Desire overshadows my senses, leaving me boneless as I melt into him. One whiff of his masculinity ignites a craving I’d only learned to suppress a few months ago. I hated him, yet loved him all the same. All the old familiar feelings race to the surface. I’m lost, trapped by the power of my love, of our love. It’s as if he’d never left, and I’d never suffered those six months of agony, not knowing what happened to him, to us. I hate myself for being so weak. He doesn’t deserve my love.
But it doesn’t matter what my head thinks. At this moment in time, my heart’s the one in control.