Even better than the protective note in his voice, though, was his scent. It was the same bonfire and fur in the woods at midnight fragrance that I had noticed on him during that weird ceremony in the basement, when I had been adopted into his family. I breathed it in and it made me feel safe…protected…wanted. It was the best thing I had ever smelled and I never wanted to stop smelling it.
“I…I’m sorry I got angry,” I said, my voice coming out in a croak as I rubbed my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. “It’s just…that was really scary. Who was that man and why was he after me?”
“You really don’t know?” Jake pulled away a little to look down into my upturned face. “Your mom didn’t tell you about the Worshipers of the Moon?”
I shook my head, baffled.
“No, who are they. And what do they want?”
“What did he say they wanted?” Jake’s expression was guarded.
“He, uh, said a lot of weird things about uh, knotting and breeding and the full moon and Alphas and Omegas and all kinds of things like that,” I told him.
I also remembered that he seemed to think that Jake and I should be doing the dirty, but I didn’t mention that. In fact, just thinking of it made my cheeks get hot.
“Uh-huh.” Jake nodded, frowning. “Yeah, they always say the same thing. They’re crazy.”
“Who’s crazy?” I demanded. “The, uh, Followers of the Moon?”
“The Worshipers of the Moon,” he corrected me. “Look, let’s go home before any more of them show up. Do you still have your keys or were they in your coat pocket?”
“I have them.” I disentangled myself from him—though I really didn’t want to, he was surprisingly warm despite the chilly night—and dug them out of my jeans pocket.
“Good—I’ll drive.” He took the keys from me and started towards the Tesla.
“But…but wh-what about y-your c-car?” I asked him, looking around the lot for it. My teeth were beginning to chatter now that I was away from his warmth.
“I didn’t bring it,” Jake said, frowning. “Easier to track scents on foot.”
“Wh-what?” I demanded. “Are y-you saying y-y-you r-ran all the way here f-from the house? Th-that’s five m-miles!”
My chattering teeth seemed to catch his attention because he turned towards me, frowning.
“Look at you—you’re shivering!”
“B-because I’m only w-wearing my b-bra and it’s c-c-c-old out here!” I exclaimed.
“That’s right—you haven’t even had your first Heat Cycle yet, never mind…anything else. No wonder the cold affects you so much. Here.”
Jake pulled off his t-shirt and handed it to me. I tried not to look at his broad shoulders and bare, muscular chest leading down to six-pack abs as I slipped into it. He had a little trail of dark hair that led from his belly button down into the waistband of his jeans—I tried not to look at that, either.
His t-shirt was so big on me it fell to my knees, but at least my bra was covered.
Jake nodded—a swift jerk of his head—as though he was satisfied.
“Good, now let’s go home. Like I said, I’ll drive.”
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m not going anywhere with you unless you explain all the crazy shit that just happened to me!” I declared.
Jake glared at me.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you any of this—your mom was supposed to let you know all about it!”
“Well, she didn’t!” I flared. “I mean, she told me all the crazy stuff you guys believe—that you think you’re all werewolves and all that shit. But she never said there was a cult of weird Moon Worshipers following me!”
Jake just stared at me for a moment.
“Wait…you don’t get it, do you?” he asked, frowning. “You don’t understand and you don’t believe—not really.”
“Now you sound like Professor Crazy back there,” I said, glaring at him. “Of course I don’t believe you and your father come from a royal line of werewolves! That’s crazy! As crazy as all that nonsense Sorenson was spouting!”
Jake shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.
“Goddamnit,” I heard him mutter. “Look, how am I supposed to explain anything to you if you don’t believe the basic facts in the first place?”
I put my hand on my hip.
“You mean the ‘fact’ that you’re a ‘werewolf’ and you can change at the full moon?” I pointed to the moon overhead, which had come out from behind a bank of clouds. It was nearly full, floating like a big white ship through the black sky. “If that’s true, why don’t you change now?” I taunted him. “The moon’s almost full, isn’t it? Isn’t that good enough for you?”
“Don’t tempt me to change.” Jake’s voice was a low, dangerous growl. “Not when you’re so close and your blood calls to mine, little Ani. Not when we both know I can never have you.”