"She was supposed to fill you in."
I jerked a shoulder up. "Her and Gavin had a weird reaction to each other. She took off. She's coming back, but I think she had to go and do—" 'What we just did.'
A grin peeked out from the corner of his mouth. It felt genuine and I relaxed when I saw it. Roane pulled me close and tucked his head into the crook of my shoulder. 'I know you can feel me pulling away. I'm sorry for that.'
'Why are you doing it? Why won't you let me inside?'
'Because it distracts me too much. I don't want to do what I need to do. I want to be with you and only you. I'm sorry.'
I knew he was apologizing for something more, but I didn't want to know. Not really. And then I couldn't hold it off any longer. He was going back to war and for once, for the first time, I wondered if everything would be okay. A prick of doubt settled inside of me. I didn't want it there. I didn't want to think of what was to come. Not yet.
"I can go back? Everything will be alright?"
"Yeah." He pulled back. He seemed resigned now. "You can go back."
'For now.'
It wasn't permanent. When he stood and went to the door, a part of me died as he left. I felt it curl up and fall down to the pit of my stomach.
I nodded and closed my eyes as he left. The door shut again, but this time the light shone in from the window. Even though the curtains were closed, the day had started and it had invaded my room. I lay down and could've stayed there in bed for the entire day. A part of me wanted to go back to my old life. I could be normal once again, but it wouldn't last. It was a lie. It was only until I'd have to leave again.
The war was real to me now.
A knock at the door woke me. When I looked at my phone, I saw that I'd been asleep for three hours.
"Yeah?" I croaked.
"It's Kates. Your door is locked." She pounded on it again.
I looked underneath the sheet and saw I was still naked. Thankful that Roane had locked the door; I jumped out and threw on the nearest clothes. When I unlocked the door, I tried to smooth my hair down.
She stepped in, took a breath, and then choked back laughter.
"What?"
"I can smell sex all over you." She rolled her eyes.
I wrinkled my nose up and cringed. "And what'd you do the whole night?" I sniffed and then tried to block her aroma. "It's not just booze I smell on you."
"Yeah, well." Kates shrugged. "Can you blame me?"
As she crossed the room and sat in a chair, I heard the swoosh of her clothes. That's when I looked closer. "Are you serious? You're wearing leather?"
A look of pure delight crossed her face. "Are you kidding me? We're going to be seeing Emily again. Nothing else is appropriate. She hates me, Davy. Don't take that away from me. You know I love her hatred."
I rolled my eyes and pushed back my hair. It blocked my sight and I needed to see. I needed to think to
o. "She's dating a werewolf now, you know."
Clothes. I needed clothes. Wait, I had clothes. Did I need new ones?
Kates grunted and kicked a bag to me. "I got these for you."
I picked up the bag and looked at it with caution. "I'm not wearing leather."
"It's not, but that look would be hot. Bet you'd get Roane back here in a flash for round two." She gave me a seductive smile. "Don't even act all virtuous right now. I know you want nothing more than to wrap those legs around him and let him dominate you."
I snorted. "Maybe, but we need to talk about Emily. She's not as dumb as you think and she's not as ignorant anymore. She knows witches and werewolves exist. Her mate is one of the strongest there is."