“No,” I whisper, squeaking out the word.
“What else did she say?”
I take a deep breath and spit out the rest of the story as quickly as I can.
“She said that if I held you back and made you stay in Claw Valley with me, that you’d resent me and never forgive me.”
“Oh, is that all?”
“And that if I loved you, I’d let you go.”
“And?”
He stares at me, waiting. The passion I felt minutes ago as we made out in his living room starts to fade and is replaced with something horrible, something ugly: regret. Suddenly, the weight of my decision all of those years ago comes back, and I wonder if I really did make the right decision. For years, I felt like I did what I had to do to protect him.
What if I was wrong?
What if I made a mistake?
He waits patiently, but his eyes never leave mine.
“Felicity,” he finally says, and then he repeats his question. “And?”
“And that I could never tell you about the conversation,” I whisper.
He sighs, leaning back against the couch. I’m still on the floor in front of him, and suddenly, I feel even more naked than I am. He runs a hand through his hair and closes his eyes, and I wonder what thoughts are rushing through his head.
“Son of a bitch,” he finally says. Then he gets up and starts taking off his clothes. “Stay here,” he says. “I need to run.” He gets all the way naked, and I try as hard as I can not to stare at the curve of his butt or the muscles in his stomach. He’s so fit and perfect, and I love the way he looks. A few scars cover his back: side effects from being a little wild in his teenage years.
“Where are you going?” I whisper.
“To the woods,” he says. “And I mean, it Felicity. Stay in the house, and don’t fucking move. I’ll be back in an hour.”
Chapter 4
Brendan
Running away from my problems probably isn’t the best move right now, but damn, I need to clear my mind. As soon as I’m on the porch, I close the front door, take a few steps, and then start running. As I move, feet against the ground, my body starts to change and shift into my animal form.
Being a lion has never felt so nice.
My entire body changes: first my skin, and then my bones. The shift happens in the blink of an eye, and it’s something that I’ve perfected over the years. I can change painlessly, almost instantly, and without even really thinking about it.
And then I run.
I soar away from the house and into the trees that line the area around my home. I chose this place on purpose. It took me a long time to save up the money for the down payment, but all of the hard work was worth it because this place is lovely.
I’m close to the forests that surround Claw Valley. I have easy access to rivers, to the darkness of the forest, and to the mountains. I’m close to town so I can get the supplies I need. I have everything.
Except for her.
And oh, walking away from Foxy tonight was either the best or the worst decision I’ve ever made, but I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.
As I run, I let out a giant roar. I can’t hold it back anymore. What’s worse is that I don’t want to. I was never meant to live without her. I know that. We both do. Me and Foxy…we were supposed to be forever, and now I’m getting all of this new information I never knew about.
What the fuck was my mother thinking?
She’s always been a meddler, but I had no idea just how far she’d go to interfere. When I left Claw Valley five years ago, it wasn’t for grad school. I left to live with my ailing grandfather, but the reason I left was because Foxy dumped me and I couldn’t cope with it. I always thought the breakup was strange. It never really made sense to me, but I also didn’t push it.