MARKED

(Marked Duology Book 1)

Jennifer Snyder

Marked copyright © 2012 Jennifer Snyder

Cover Art by Stephanie Mooney

Smashwords Edition

This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to

peoples either living or deceased is purely coincidental.

Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s

imagination. The author holds all rights to this work. It is
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Also by Jennifer Snyder:

��

Shattered Soul

Touch

Look for Changed (Marked Duology Book 2) coming

Summer 2012

For Mom,

Because Tessa’s story has always been your favorite.

PROLOGUE

Wind is a force of nature I’ve always found to be

magical, something you can physically feel but never
actually see. It can be tame… barely light enough to ruffle
your hair. Or it can be powerful… strong enough to rip a
tree straight out of the ground. Either way, it is
unpredictable and entirely uncontrollable.

The same can be said about love.

CHAPTER ONE

I noticed him the first moment he stepped into the

diner, along with every other female both young and old.
There was something about him that made it hard to look
away. Maybe it was the smooth confidence in his stride, or
his boy band good looks. Whatever the reason, I found it
nearly impossible to not stare, even in the presence of my
boyfriend.

His eyes shifted to mine and lingered long enough to

make my heart flutter. There was something in their glint
that struck me as lonely, but it was overshadowed by
something else swirling beneath the surface of the rich
honey color, something intriguing I couldn’t name.

“

Is it love at first sight, Tessa? Because it sure looks

like it to me and I’m not the only one noticing. Sam seems
like he could crumble the table with his bare hands right
now,” Rachel said, refilling a sweet tea pitcher.

I glanced over my shoulder at Sam. Rachel was right;

he didn’t seem happy. I’d better get a grip on myself or else
we were bound to have another argument.

“

Hardly,” I muttered, grabbing out a menu and tucking

it under my arm before picking up Sam and Kyle’s tray of
food.

“

He is eye candy, though, don’t deny it,” she said with

a shit-eating grin.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not, but I’m not about to go there

either.”

“

Oh, I would.” She glanced over at Kyle. “Well, maybe

just a little, not full force or anything.”

“

Yeah, well not everyone can be as

bold

as you.”

“

And what’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

“

Nothing.” I winked and headed toward Sam’s table.

During the length of space from behind the counter to

Sam and Kyle’s table, I allowed myself one glance in Mr.
Dreamy’s direction and that was all it took to make my
heart start racing again. Golden blond hair, tanned skin, a
muscular build—he was the total package.

I fumbled setting their tray of food down, nearly

dumping crinkle-cut fries in Sam’s lap.

“

What’s up, Tessa, pretty boy over there got you all

flustered?” Sam asked with a slight chuckle, but I could see
the seriousness pooling in his baby-blue eyes.

“

Whatever.” I grinned, attempting to seem nonchalant.

“You guys need anything else?”

“

Nah, we’re good,” Kyle answered, glancing between

Sam and me nervously.

“

I need you to stop staring at Prince Charming over

there,” Sam muttered under his breath.

I put a hand on my hip. “Really, Sam? Are you seriously

that jealous?”

“

Maybe,” he said firmly.

“

It’s part of my job to notice when people come in and

where they sit,” I snapped. “I’m gonna go hand him this
menu; don’t have a heart attack.”

Maybe I was being slightly defensive, the guilty always

are, but Sam’s jealousy had been way out of control lately
and for no good reason. We’d had one conversation where
I’d told him I didn’t plan on staying in this tiny town after
graduation and he’d been going bonkers since. At this
point, Sam had become more like a bad habit I found hard
to break than a boyfriend.

I slowed my pace and relaxed the muscles in my face,

attempting to look friendlier before I reached Dream Guy’s
table.

“

Hey. I’m Tessa; I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I get

you something to drink?” I asked with a smile, sliding the
laminated menu across the tabletop.

His amber eyes met mine as he returned my smile with

a pearly white one of his own. “Hi, sure. I’ll take a sweet tea,
please,” he answered, his voice sultry and hypnotic
sounding.

“

Sweet tea,” I repeated unnecessarily as I walked

away.

What was wrong with me? I didn’t normally act so

stupefied and giddy because of a guy.

“

Seriously girl, you’d better watch that pep in your step

from Mr. Cutie. Sam’s gonna start growling and go all

territorial on your ass,” Rachel insisted.

I pursed my lips together while I poured a sweet tea.

“He’s being a complete jerk tonight. I could be smiling at
eighty-year-old Mr. Garret and he’d pick a fight with me
about it.”

“

Well, Kyle and I are still wanting to go camping with

you guys tomorrow night, but if the two of you are going to
be at each other’s throats, then we’ll take a rain check,” she
said.

“

Hello

, it’s your birthday! I’m not about to let mine and

Sam’s problems ruin our camping trip on your birthday!” I
assured her.

“

Good, because I’d hate to have to kick your ass.”

“

Funny,” I sarcastically said as I pushed past her.

Sam caught my wrist as I walked past his table. “Can

you tone down your smile a bit; I can’t stand seeing you
flirting with someone in front of me.”

“

Are you freaking serious? It’s called being polite.

Waitresses who want a tip generally are polite,” I said,
jerking my wrist free.

What the hell was everyone’s problem? It wasn’t like I

was drooling over the guy!

“

Here’s your tea. Are you ready to order?” I asked

without looking at him. I didn’t need anymore crap from
anyone tonight.

“

Yeah, actually I am,” he started, but then paused.

“Look, I don’t mean to speak out of my place here but… is
that guy bothering you?”

I raised my eyes to his. “What guy?”
A crooked grin sprang on his face. “The one who’s

looking over here like he’s going to tear into me any
minute.”

“

I’m so sorry.” I sighed. “That’s actually my boyfriend

and I’m not real sure what his deal is tonight.”

“

Some guys just don’t know how to handle having a

beautiful girlfriend.” He smiled, his eyes never wavering
from mine.

Was he for real? Because I was far from beautiful

compared to a lot of girls in this town. I was flat-chested
with the body of a twelve-year-old. I had dirty-blond hair and
mud-brown eyes. Seriously, beautiful didn’t even come
close to what I was; he should try average.

Nonetheless, my cheeks blushed all school-girl like at

his words. I tore my eyes away from his and focused back
on my pad and pen in hand.

“

Thanks,” I replied. “So, what can I get you?”

“

Right, sorry. I’ll take a bacon cheeseburger with

double bacon and fries, please.”

“

Okay.” I scribbled his order down as fast as I could.

“It’ll be out shortly.”

“

Thanks, Tessa.”

The sound of my name coming from his mouth stalled

my heart for a split second and sent a jolt of warmth through

me. Not because of the sheer fact that he’d remembered
my name—I knew I’d only given it to him five minutes ago—
but because of the way my name had rolled off his tongue...
like he was caressing each syllable with his mouth. It was
enough to make me blush a shade darker.

I ripped out his order and placed it in the basket before

making my refill rounds. When I came to Sam’s table, he
was fuming.

“

Are you hanging out with me tonight after your shift or

your new boyfriend?”

“

You’re being a real jerk, you know?” I snapped before

stalking away to finish my rounds.

“

You can do better,” Dream Guy said once I’d reached

his table again.

My lips formed into a small smile at his words. “He’s

not usually like this,” I lied.

“

I’m sure.”

I chuckled unintentionally. “Well, most of the time

anyway.”

“

Life’s too short to waste on someone who’s not a

complete jerk

most of the time

,” he insisted. “I’m Jace, by

the way, Jace Fowler.”

“

Nice to meet you, Jace,” I said, enjoying saying his

name maybe a little too much. With a smile on my face, I
moved to the next table of mine and continued with my
refills.

After learning Jace’s name, I found it extremely hard to

concentrate on much of anything else besides him. My eyes
seemed to always find their way to him and each time our
gaze locked, my lips curved into a tiny smile.

“

Tessa Morganton, am I witnessing you flirting with

your eyes?” Rachel asked, startling me so badly I dropped
the tray I’d been wiping clean.

“

Flirting with my eyes? Is that even possible?” I

countered, bending to pick up the tray.

“

Sure is. It’s a skill I happen to have mastered,” she

said and then shot me a look that made me think she
wanted to eat me up like a piece of strawberry
cheesecake.

“

Yep, you’ve got that one mastered all right.” I

chuckled.

I could have been mean and told her she needed to

practice more, but the truth was she didn’t. Rachel was
practically a teenage goddess. If she looked at any guy the
way she’d just looked at me, he’d more than likely be fine
with it. At 5’6 with chin-length, dark-brown hair, big hazel
eyes, a slender frame, and a full set of pouty lips, Rachel
could get away with a lot of looks I couldn’t.

“

Order up!” Dewey shouted from the kitchen window.

My heart beat a little faster when I realized it was Jace’s
food.

I made my way to his table trying not to seem eager,

especially while passing Sam.

“

Here you go,” I said, setting the burger basket down

in front of him. “Do you need anything else?”

“

I’m fine, thank you.” He smiled.

My eyes traveled over his face looking for any

imperfection, but found none. There was no acne or
freckles, only a tiny scar above his right brow, but even that
seemed perfect. I crammed my hands into my apron pocket
and walked away before I began salivating at the mouth.

Ten minutes later I noticed Jace waiting in line to pay

and couldn’t help but feel disappointed he was leaving
already. I was cleaning off his table when he came up
behind me and gently tapped me on the shoulder.

“

Here, I’m not cheap. I swear,” he said, handing me a

ten.

“

I didn’t—thanks,” I cut off my fumbled words and took

the ten.

Our fingertips made the briefest of contact then, and

flickers of warmth sparked under my skin from it. Startled, I
jerked away and met his gaze. A wild sense of awe and
suspicion mixed within his eyes.

“

I’m sorry,” he muttered softly. “What did you say your

last name was?”

“

I didn’t... but it’s Morganton,” I answered carefully,

thrown off by his odd question and the strange way he
stared at me.

“

Tessa Morganton,” he whispered like he knew me,

but couldn’t place me.

Curiosity ignited the amber color of his eyes, and I felt

my cheeks blush under his intense stare.

“

Tessa, could I get a refill?” Sam shouted from four

tables over.

“

I’d, uh, better go,” I said with a nervous smile as I

walked away.

By the time I’d reached the counter for a pitcher of tea

and turned, Jace had already left the diner.

CHAPTER TWO

I crammed my brightly colored polka-dot sleeping bag

into the back of Rachel’s Jeep Cherokee.

“

Are you sure you and Sam are all better now?”

Rachel asked me for the third time. “That was an awfully
quick rebound from a pretty intense argument.”

“

God, how many times do I have to tell you we’re fine?”

“

Real fine or fake fine? Because I don’t want it to be all

awkward between the two of you the entire night.”

“

Real fine. No one’s going to act awkward about it

unless you do,” I said. “Now hush up about it before my
parents hear you.”

“

They can’t hear me.” She waved her hand.

“

You’d be surprised,” I muttered as we stepped in

through the front door. “Mom—Dad? We’re leaving.”

“

In the kitchen,” mom answered.

“

You two have everything you need?” dad asked as

soon as we walked into the kitchen. “Flashlights, cell
phones, toilet paper?”

“

It does have bathrooms; we’re not completely

roughing it.”

“

Oh, here, I almost forgot.” Mom smiled. “Happy

Birthday, Rachel.”

Mom handed Rachel a purple envelope and a small

vase of red tulips, her favorite flower.

“

Thanks, Mrs. Morganton. They’re beautiful!”

“

You’re welcome,” mom said, plucking a stray strand

of silky blond hair from in her eyes and tucking it behind her
ear. “You can leave them here until you girls get back
tomorrow.”

“

All right, Mom, thanks but we’ve really got to go,” I

demanded, grabbing Rachel’s wrist and hurrying out of the
kitchen.

“

Be careful!” dad yelled after us.

“

Love you, we will!” I shouted, just before slamming the

front door closed behind me.

* * *

We drove from my house to the ABC liquor store,

which was about twenty minutes away and also right beside
Bi-lo, the grocery store everyone my parents knew shopped
at.

“

What are you planning on getting here?” I asked,

hunkering down in the passenger seat like it was written all
over the side of the vehicle we were here for alcohol and
underage.

“

Tequila, of course!”

“

And how exactly are you planning on accomplishing

that task? You’re turning eighteen not twenty-one.”

“

Thanks for the reminder, Debbie Downer,” she said

while scoping out the parking lot for someone to manipulate
with her shocking good looks. “Actually, I’m going to grab
the stuff we need from Bi-lo and

you’re

going to get the

tequila.” She smirked and handed me a twenty.

“

What? No way!”

“

Yes way. Now’s your chance,” she said, pointing over

my shoulder.

I shifted to follow her finger. Jace stood in a parking

space near the front of the building, balancing a helmet on
the handle bars of a glossy black crotch-rocket. Realizing
he drove a motorcycle made him ten times hotter,
something I hadn’t thought to be possible.

I shook my head. “No way. I’m not asking him.”

“

Oh come on, he’s going in there anyway.” She

grinned. “Besides, he liked you. All you’ll have to do is flirt
with him a teensy little bit.”

“

No.”

“

Tessa, it’s my birthday... please.” She pouted.

I rolled my eyes and took the twenty from her. “Fine. I

can’t believe I’m doing this.”

I climbed out and started in Jace’s direction, hearing

Rachel squeal with delight behind me. He’d almost reached
the front door already when I spotted him.

“

Jace!” I shouted after him and then bit my bottom lip. I

couldn’t believe I’d let Rachel sucker me in to doing this.

Jace stopped and pivoted in my direction. His eyes

didn’t search but for a split second before they met mine,

and a slow smile crept across his face. I smiled in return
and waved at him awkwardly, then shoved my hands into
my back pockets.

“

Hey, Tessa.”

“

Hey.” My heart flip-flopped when he stopped in front of

me.

“

How are you?”

“

Good. Um, can I ask you to do me a favor?” I asked

point blank. I’d never been the type of girl who flirted to get
what she wanted and I wasn’t about to start now.

“

And what might that be? Buy you some alcohol?”

I shifted on my feet. “Yeah... please.”

“

You know that’s illegal, right?” His eyes remained

focused directly on mine as he spoke, and my heart began
to pound. “I just met you last night and you’re already asking
me to break the law for you?”

“

Listen, if you don’t want to that’s fine. I get it. It’s just

Rachel’s birthday and she wanted me to ask,” I said,
hoping I sounded indifferent and not like the basket case I
felt like.

“

I never said I wouldn’t.” He smirked. “I only said it was

illegal. What do you want?”

“

Tequila,” I answered, relieved, and dug in my pocket

for the twenty Rachel had given me.

“

I don’t need your money.”

“

Oh, okay, I’ll be over here,” I muttered, pointing to

Rachel’s red Jeep.

* * *

Jace came back before Rachel did with a fifth of the

cheapest tequila in the store.

“

Here, but you owe me,” he said, handing the brown

paper bag to me through the window nonchalantly.

I glanced around, feeling paranoid, before taking it

from him and stuffing it underneath my seat. “Thanks, how
much do I owe you? I’ve only got a twenty, so you might
have to wait for Rachel if you need change.”

“

I already said I don’t need your money. Keep it. When

I say you owe me, I mean you owe me a date.”

My jaw slacked. “What?”
Jace smiled, but the pink tint to his cheeks gave away

his sudden lack of confidence. “I just broke the law for you;
it’s the least you could do.”

“

But, I have a boyfriend and you’ve seen how he can

be,” I said, baffled.

“

So. Let me show you how you

should

be treated.” His

eyes glimmered then, daring me to say, “yes.”

“

Fine,” I said, surprising even myself. There was just

something about him that I couldn’t resist.

“

I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night, sound good?”

“

On that?” I asked, pointing to his bike. “I don’t think

so.”

“

Yeah, why not? You afraid or something?” He wasn’t

teasing but generally concerned.

“

Hardly, but my parents would have a freaking heart

attack. Especially my dad. There’s no way he’d let me on
the back of one of those. I’ll just have to meet you at your
place.”

“

Wow.” He chuckled. “You ask me to do something

illegal for you the day after I meet you,

and

your parents

already have points stacked against me before even
meeting me for riding a bike. I should take this as a sign
and run the other way.”

“

So why aren’t you?” I asked, having no idea where my

sudden burst of boldness came from.

He shrugged and a cute little grin formed on his face. “I

don’t know… there’s just something about you.” I seconded
that but didn’t say it out loud. “Do you know where the
Larkin property is?”

It rang a bell, but took me a minute to figure out why.

“The place with the creepy, old farm house?”

Jace laughed and hearing it brought the biggest smile

to my face. “It’s not creepy.”

“

I beg to differ,” I said. “It’s the creepiest house in town.

Every kid for the past thirty years or more has had their own
ghost story to tell about it.”

“

Seriously? I think it’s kinda nice. Private. Peaceful.”

“

Creepy,” I added.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. That’s where I’m

staying; meet me there at six tomorrow night.”

“

Fine, but if I even think I see a ghost, I’m leaving.”

“

Deal.” Jace smiled, just as Rachel slid into the

driver’s seat. “Well, have fun, ladies, and be safe.”

“

Thanks,” I said as he walked away.

“

Go, Tessa!” Rachel cheered in a hushed whisper.

* * *

It was hard to enjoy our camping trip with Sam when I

felt anticipation for tomorrow night building, but I managed
—with the help of a little tequila.

CHAPTER THREE

I knew exactly how to get to the old Larkin property and

I hadn’t been lying about kids thinking it was haunted. I’d
heard more than my fair share of horror stories growing up
and believed every one of them. One glance at the run-
down house and it wasn’t hard to.

It was a two-story farm house with chipped white paint,

holes in the porch floor, and gutters that hung at odd angles.

I pulled in behind Jace’s glossy motorcycle and stared

up at the house. It was still just as frightening as I
remembered. I wondered if Jace had bought the place or
was simply renting. Either way, I couldn’t imagine staying
the night there, especially alone.

“

You gonna stare at the house all night or are you

gonna come inside?” Jace asked. He stood at the front
door, his arms folded across his chest, in dark denim jeans
and a gray T-shirt, barefoot. The sight of him made me
think all kinds of things I shouldn’t, mainly because I had a
boyfriend.

I slammed my car door shut. “Hi, how are you?” I asked

lamely.

“

Good, now that you’re here.”

I felt my face flush at his words, and my stomach did a

flip-flop while I walked to the porch steps. I stopped on the
first one, realizing I’d never made it this far, even as a kid,
and fear pricked across my skin.

“

Relax. It’s not haunted,” Jace said, holding a hand out

to me. “I swear.”

I hopped up the remaining five steps, feeling fear

tighten my chest, and interlaced my fingers with his. His
touch was warm and soothing. I could feel it rippling through
me and heating my blood.

“

Come on in,” he said. His amber eyes glowed in the

hazy sunlight.

I smiled and stepped inside before him. My jaw

dropped as I took in the house. Gleaming hardwood floors,
sage green walls, and a set of glossy, wooden steps
welcomed me.

“

Not what you expected?” Jace asked with a smirk,

obviously noticing the astonished look on my face.

“

Far from it.”

“

I’ve spent the last month redoing the inside,” he said,

walking to another room. I followed closely behind. “Still a
lot left to do, don’t get me wrong, but not as much as there
used to be.”

“

I can only imagine,” I said. “So how long have you

lived here? Did you buy the place or something?” I asked,
trying to remember if I’d ever seen a for sale sign posted
up.

We’d made it to the kitchen and I swore I’d never been

in one so beautiful before. White cabinets reached all the
way to the ceiling, and sparkling gray granite countertops
and stainless steel appliances made up the room.

“

I’ve been here for a little over a month,” Jace said,

gesturing for me to grab one of the bar stools to sit on. “And
it’s my uncle’s property, actually. He inherited it from my
grandfather years ago. Nobody’s lived in it since my
grandfather passed and I needed a place away from my
family to stay for a while, so I offered to fix the place up
while I was here.”

I picked through his words, grabbing onto the few that

stood out drastically to me—to stay for a while. I wondered
how long that might be, before reminding myself for a
second time I had a boyfriend and this should all mean
nothing to me.

“

Cool,” I said, hoping to sound indifferent.

“

Anyway, that’s enough about me. In an effort to show

you how you should be treated, I’m going to cook for you
tonight.” He beamed.

I shifted around on the bar stool. “Oh, and what will you

be cooking?” I raised an eyebrow and scolded myself
mentally for the flirty tone that had leaked into my words.

“

Steak, baked potatoes, and a house salad. You

allergic to any of those?” he asked with a smile.

“

Nope, sounds good.”

“

Oh, it will be,” he said, causing a shiver to run up my

spine from his tone.

Remembering Sam seemed to be harder and harder

the longer I was around Jace. After a few minutes of
watching him cook, I couldn’t be sure what made my mouth

water more: him or the smell of the food.

* * *

“

So how long have you and this

Sam

guy been

together?” Jace asked after dinner. We sat in the field in
front of his house, gazing up at the quickly darkening sky.

“

Almost a year.”

“

How’s that been? Was he not a jerk

most of the time

in the beginning, too, or is this something new?” he asked,
toying with a long blade of grass.

A warm breeze blew. I stretched my legs out in front of

me and let it caress my exposed skin while I rested my
weight against the palms of my hands. “Sam wasn’t always
this way, no.” I hung my head back as another warm gust of
wind blew.

“

What changed?”

I shrugged my shoulder. “Me, I guess.”

“

Why do you say that?”

“

I just know I’m not ready to settle down right after high

school and I think he is. I know I care for him,” I paused,
feeling odd to be talking about something so personal with
Jace, but continued on anyway. “I just don’t think I want to

marry

him or anything. Besides, there are things I want to

do, places I want to see other than this tiny town, and so
much more I want to experience. I’m not sure he’s on the
same page as me when it comes to all that.”

“

So dump him.”

I shifted my gaze to Jace and scoffed at his boldness.

It only made a cute grin form on his face.

“

Easier said than done.” I drew my knees into my

chest and locked my arms around them. “As horrible as I’m
sure this is going to sound, I haven’t broken up with him
because I know he won’t handle it very well. So, I keep
putting it off.”

“

You’re right, that is horrible—a horrible excuse for

staying miserable. Who handles any break up

well

?”

I pressed my lips to the warm skin of my knees and

shifted my gaze out into the field. The truth was, Sam had
become like a bad habit, and those are always the hardest
to break.

“

What’s that above your knee—a birthmark?” Jace

asked in an odd tone.

“

Yeah, I’m surprised you can even see it.” I pulled back

and struggled to make out its outline in the dim light.

“

Birthmark

,” Jace repeated as a dumbfounded

expression settled onto his face.

Was he disgusted by birthmarks or something? I didn’t

see what the big deal was. “I happen to like it. If I turn this
way, it looks like a tiny paw print.”

“

I can clearly see what you mean.”

Suddenly feeling insecure from Jace’s odd behavior, I

moved to sit Indian style, wishing I’d worn jeans and a T-
shirt instead of shorts and a sweater.

Jace blinked a few times beside me, removing himself

from the trance-like daze he’d been locked in. “So, tell me
about yourself.”

I hesitated, thrown off guard by his sudden request.

“What do you want to know?” I asked, adding

do I have

anymore birthmarks

in my mind.

He shrugged, looking indifferent. “How about we start

with your family?”

“

Well, I live with my mom and dad. I’m an only child.” I

stopped; Jace’s eyes were on me and growing more
intense by the second as he fixated his attention on my
words as though they held within them the answers to the
world. “And, that’s pretty much it.”

“

What are your parents like?”

“

Normal parents, I guess.” I shrugged, unsure of what

answer he was looking for.

“

Normal, right. I’m sure they are.” Jace chuckled.

“What do they do for a living?”

“

My mom owns a florist shop and my dad works in

construction.

Why

?” I asked with way more fire than I’d

intended.

Jace threw his hands up. “Is it a crime to want to know

where a girl like you came from? Geez, you always so
tense when people ask you questions?” He smirked.

I relaxed at the sight of his grin. “Only when the one

asking seems to suddenly be interrogating me.”

He ripped up another blade of grass and began

running it through his fingers again. His grin shifted into a

shy-looking smile. “Sorry, I didn’t intend to come off that
way. I just find you... intriguing.”

Intriguing

, definitely not something I’d been called

before.

“

What about you—what’s your family like?” I asked,

shifting the attention off myself, thankful for the darkness
that hid my blushing cheeks.

“

Turning the tables, huh?” His shyness evaporated,

becoming replaced with cockiness, and I wondered how
much of it was an act. “I lived with my mom and dad before
coming here. I’m an only child, too, but I come from a large
family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins.” His eyebrows
scrunched together. “It’s a different sort of family really.”

“

Why did you leave?”

Jace looked up at the sky. “Because of all the pressure

they’re always putting on me. It’s like they’re constantly
watching me, making sure I don’t screw up and disgrace
the family name.”

“

What do your parents do? Are they in politics or

something?”

“

Something like that,” he muttered, before shifting his

gaze back to me. “It’s getting kinda late. What time are you
supposed to be home by?”

“

Eleven.”

“

Ah, you still have a little while longer. Anymore

questions you’d like to ask?”

“

Yeah.” I smiled. “How old are you?”

“

Twenty-one. How old are you?” he countered, leaning

back and resting his body weight against the palms of his
hands.

“

Seventeen.” I straightened my back. “But I’ll be

eighteen in a few weeks.”

I hoped our slight age difference didn’t matter to him,

and then realized it should matter to me because I was the
one already in a relationship.

“

Really? When’s your birthday?”

“

October twenty-sixth,” I answered. I noticed the gears

turning behind his amber-colored eyes as the same
intensity from earlier found its way into his features again.
“What? Why do you keep giving me that strange look?”

He blinked. “Do I? Sorry.” His face relaxed, but his

eyes remained questioning. “Are you ready to head back
inside? I think you still have time for dessert.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Dessert was a tart key-lime pie, cool and silky smooth

against my tongue. A tiny little slice of heaven eaten beside
a god.

“

Did you make this?” I asked, sliding another delicious

bite into my mouth.

Jace smiled. “Why, you like it?”

“

Of course, it’s heaven.”

“

I hate to say it, but no, I didn’t make it. The bakery at

Bi-lo did. Sorry to disappoint you.”

“

That you could never do,” I blurted.

“

Good to know.” He grinned. My cheeks caught fire

and the sensation traveled to my neck. “You’re beautiful
when you do that.”

“

Do what?”

“

Blush,” he answered.

Hardly giving me enough time to swallow my bite of

pie, Jace kissed me. His lips brushed across mine, warm
and soft. I was shocked but found myself responding
eagerly, hungrily even, in no time. Jace’s body heat came
off him in waves, seeping into my flesh and warming me
from the inside out. My heart pounded and I could hear the
roar of my blood rushing through my veins. His tongue
snaked its way between my parted lips, and I interlaced my

fingers within his hair, forcing him closer to me. My back
arched, melding my body against his while my mind buzzed
with the high that came from kissing him.

“

Wait,” Jace said, breaking away suddenly. “I’m sorry. I

didn’t mean to... I just needed to know,” he fumbled the
words.

“

Needed to know what?” I asked, breathless, as

needles of rejection stabbed away at my insides.

His cheeks tinged pink. “What it felt like to kiss you,”

he whispered. My heart skipped a few beats, pausing as
though it were just as surprised by his words as I was,
before shifting into high gear and slamming against my
ribcage.

“

Oh,” I said, straightening my sweater. “And now you

know.” Embarrassment colored my face again. I could feel
it. What was I supposed to say to something like that?

Jace smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah,

and now I know.”

I shifted on my stool and stretched the sleeves of my

sweater over my hands in an effort to keep myself from
pulling him into me for round two. My eyes traveled around
the kitchen looking at nothing in particular, until spotting the
moon through a window.

“

The moon’s almost full,” I said, not caring how random

the words sounded because at least they’d filled the
unbearable awkward silence that had been building
between us.

“

I know. It will be in three more nights.”

“

You know a lot about the moon?” I asked, unable to

remove my eyes from its glowing beauty.

“

You could say that,” Jace mumbled.

“

I’ve always thought it was beautiful. Even when it’s not

full, there’s still something enchanting about it.”

“

It does have an alluring effect on some.”

“

But not on you?” I questioned stupidly. Of course not

on him; he didn’t seem like the type who spent their nights
gawking at the moon.

“

Maybe, but nothing compared to the alluring effect

you have on me.” He flashed me his most charming grin
yet, and I bit my bottom lip to suppress the wide smile it
brought to my face. “So, is there anything else you adore I
should know about?”

You

, the first answer that sprang into my mind. “Wind,”

I blurted.

I couldn’t have said music or books. No, instead I’d

said

wind

, which wasn’t entirely a lie, if we were continuing

with the topic of things that occurred in nature.

“

Wind, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“

Uh-uh. I’ve always found it fascinating. There’s just

something about it that feels so... freeing.” I dropped my
gaze, waiting for him to laugh, but he didn’t.

“

Let me get this straight, you like the wind and the

moon? Isn’t there anything you like that I can actually give
you?”

I could feel his steady gaze on me and allowed my

eyes to flicker to his. A cocky smile played at the corners of
his lips, but an odd seriousness burned within his honey-
colored eyes.

“

Um, chocolate... yellow roses...,” I trailed off, my eyes

falling to his lips.

Kissing you

, I added in my mind.

Jace leaned closer toward me. “And?”

“

Chocolate,” I repeated absentmindedly, my eyes

fixated on his perfect lips.

“

You already said that,” he whispered, erasing the

inches between us slowly.

My eyes rose to find his and I caught a glimpse of the

sparks flaring within them. I leaned forward and crushed his
lips with my own. Jace’s lips were more blissful than all the
chocolate in the world, the only thing my mind and body
could agree on at the moment.

His warmth seeped into me, passing from his lips to

mine, and heated the blood flowing through my veins,
warming me from the outside in to a near dizzying state of
fuzzy drunkenness.

Jace broke away, taking with him all of my newly

gained warmth and leaving me feeling cold instantly. “You
should go; it’s getting late.”

Needles of rejection stabbed away at my insides.

“Okay,” I muttered and then reminded myself for yet another
time that I was already in a relationship with someone else

and there was a word for what I’d been doing each time our
lips met—

Cheating

.

“

I wouldn’t want you getting grounded for being out

past curfew.”

“

And why is that?” I asked sounding snappier than I’d

intended. “It wouldn’t affect you.”

He flashed me a crooked grin. “Of course it would,

then I wouldn’t be able to go out with you again tomorrow
night.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’d say

yes?”

“

Your pounding heart and the teasing tone to your

voice,” he said without even a hint of sarcasm.

My cheeks reddened. There was no way he could hear

my thunderous heartbeat, but the flirty tone that had leaked
into my words may have been a dead giveaway.

“

Oh really?” I crossed my arms and he nodded in

response. “Well, maybe if you asked nicely.”

What was I saying? I couldn’t go out with him again,

could I? There was a four-letter word used to describe girls
who behaved the way that I was—a word I had never been
called because of my own actions—and I didn’t like the
feeling the thought of that word caused to bubble within me.

“

Tessa.” Jace’s eyes grew soft and every trace of

cockiness evaporated from his features, replaced with
gentleness. “Can I see you again tomorrow night, please?”
he asked in the same sultry and hypnotic tone he’d used

the first night I’d met him.

I chewed my bottom lip and then smiled. “Fine.”

“

Fine, that’s all I get?” he asked in a flat tone. “No

definitely or hell yes... just

fine

? Gee, it’s not like I’m twisting

your arm or anything.”

I laughed and shoved him playfully. “Definitely—hell

yes!” I said over zealously. “Better?”

“

Much.” He grinned, before snaking his arm around my

waist and pulling me in for one more blissful kiss.

This time it was me and my swelling guilty conscience

that cut our kiss short. “I should really get going.”

“

Right. So, meet me here at the same time tomorrow

night?” he asked, taking a step back and running his
fingers through his hair. “I would say I’d pick you up, but I
wouldn’t want your parents to freak when they see you leave
on the back of my bike.”

“

Yeah, that wouldn’t go over so well,” I said, headed

toward the front door.

* * *

I spent the entire drive home cursing myself for

agreeing to another date with Jace. One was all I’d been
obligated to go on, but in his presence I found it hard to tell
him no to date number two. Even though I knew it was
incredibly wrong of me to want him, there was no denying
that I did.

CHAPTER FIVE

I woke late Sunday morning to the buzzing of my cell

phone as it glided across my nightstand in vibrate mode.
The unmistakable scent of bacon and pancakes filled my
nose, and I smiled at the thought of breakfast. I flipped over
and grabbed my cell—it was Sam calling. After hitting
ignore, I sat up in bed and sent him a text.

Just woke up. Call you in a bit ~Tessa

Less than five seconds later Sam replied.

Wanna do something today?

My heart dropped to my stomach and pounded away

with guilt.

Sure. ~Tessa
Text me when you’re ready and I’ll come get you.
K ~Tessa

I flopped back down on my pillow and buried my face

deep into it, the scent of breakfast suddenly making me feel
nauseous. How do you break up with someone when you
aren’t even fighting? I wasn’t sure if that’s what I should do,
but I had to do something. Didn’t I?

Break up with Sam or stop talking to Jace, those were

my two options and I didn’t particularly want to do either of
them.

I lay in bed contemplating what should be my next

move. I’d come to the conclusion that I’d have to say
something to Sam, but I didn’t know what or if I’d even have

the courage to once we were face to face.

* * *

Sam picked me up a little before one and we drove to

Huddle House for lunch. I ordered a salad and some
mozzarella sticks, but didn’t do much besides pick at them.

“

What’s the matter, not hungry?” Sam asked before

taking another massive bite of his burger.

“

Not really, I had a big breakfast.”

“

You should have said something,” he insisted with his

mouth still full.

I gazed at him from across the table, wondering why all

of a sudden he seemed so dim and average looking
against the images of Jace I’d burned into my memory from
last night. Sam was attractive: chestnut-colored hair, baby-
blue eyes, large dimples in both cheeks when he smiled,
and he was in fairly good shape, too. So what was my
problem?

“

What did you and Rachel get into last night?” he

asked.

My stomach dropped and I felt like I had the word

cheater

written in thick, bold letters across my forehead.

“Not much.”

“

Cool. Do you work tonight at the diner?”

His eyes met mine and I looked away, gazing out into

the parking lot. I couldn’t even meet his stare. I felt horrible
and nervously wondered if he’d pick up on it soon. A black
motorcycle pulled into a parking space close to the front

door of the restaurant and I suddenly couldn’t breathe—it
was Jace!

“

Earth to Tessa, I asked you a question,” Sam said,

waving his hand in front of my face, breaking my stare.

“

N-No, I don’t have to work,” I fumbled and then shoved

a bite of a mozzarella stick into my mouth.

I heard the ding of the restaurant door as it opened

and my eyes instantly shifted toward it. Jace stepped inside
and walked to the cashier.

“

You wanna hang out with Rachel and Kyle tonight,

then? We can go to the movies or something.”

“

No,” I answered a little too quickly as my thoughts

jumped to my plans with Jace—who was standing only a
few feet away from me and my boyfriend at the moment.

“

No, why not?” Sam asked, his eyebrows drawing

together.

I picked up my fork and began sifting out a cucumber

slice. “I’ve got some reading to get done for English by
tomorrow that I haven’t even started yet,” I lied.

“

Whatever. You’ve been acting strange all weekend.

You still pissed about the other night or somethin’?” he
asked, narrowing his blue eyes at me. “I said I was only
messing around; I knew you weren’t really flirting with that
guy.”

I crammed the cucumber slice into my mouth. “I’m not

pissed about anything.” True, I was guilty.

“

Then what’s your problem, are you on the rag or

something?”

My jaw slacked. “You’re such an ass.”

“

What?” He grinned, igniting his dimples, amused with

himself and the reaction he’d gotten out of me. “It’s a fair
assumption; you’re always bitchy around that time of the
month.”

I rolled my eyes and caught a glimpse of Jace walking

away from the cash register with a takeout bag in his hand.
He turned in my direction, matching my stare. Just before
opening the door, he winked at me. I felt my face grow hot
and dropped my gaze back to my salad.

“

Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Sam said,

reaching across the table and taking my hand, still smiling.

“

You didn’t,” I said, bringing my eyes to his.

Any thought of dumping Sam disappeared when his

hand touched mine. I couldn’t do it, not when he was
actually being sort of sweet. My heart crushed because I
didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.

* * *

As soon as Sam dropped me back off at my house I

was texting Rachel to find out where she was. I had to talk
to someone about what had been going on or else I was
going to pop. I’d told her I needed her to come over and sat
staring at the TV without really seeing it until I heard her pull
up.

“

So, what’s going on? You and Sam get into another

fight?” Rachel asked once we’d made it to my room, away
from my parents’ eavesdropping ears, and I’d closed the
door behind us.

“

No, but I wish.”

Rachel scrunched her eyebrows together. “Why do you

say that?”

“

Because things would be so much easier if we were

fighting,” I answered, walking to sit on my bed.

“

I’m confused, spill.”

“

You’re going to think I’m a freaking horrible person,” I

muttered. “But you shouldn’t because technically it’s kinda
your fault.”

“

My fault?” Her voice raised an octave or two.

“

Well, maybe not really, but you did ask me to get Jace

to buy the tequila for your birthday and that’s what started it
all.”

“

I’m completely not following this conversation, started

what?”

“

Jace didn’t make me pay for the tequila with money.

He wanted a date with me instead,” I said.

Rachel’s hazel eyes widened. “Oh my God! You

didn’t!” She slapped my arm when I didn’t answer. “You did!
You went out with him and you

liked

it! Slut!”

There was that word again, the word I’d never been

called before until now. Even if it was coming from my best
friend’s mouth in a joking manner, it still stung.

“

Thanks, Rach. So glad I asked you to come over.”

“

I can’t believe this! So... what happened, where did

you guys go? Oh.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Did Sam
find out?”

“

No, Sam doesn’t know. I told him I was with you last

night,” I admitted and a large lump of guilt formed in my
throat.

“

Are you gonna tell him or dump him?”

“

I don’t know what to do. I planned on breaking up with

him earlier this afternoon, but didn’t. I couldn’t; he wasn’t
being a complete ass for once.”

“

And you let that one rare moment stop you

because

?”

she asked, sprawling out across my bed.

“

I’m not sure. Does it sound stupid to say, ‘because I

was scared?’” My stomach knotted up just thinking about it.

“

Yes, as a matter of fact it does. The guy practically

turned into an ass overnight, Tessa. If I hadn’t known better
I’d have thought you held out a little longer than you told me
in giving up your virginity to him.”

I shoved her. “My parents are home, you know?”

“

They can’t hear me. And you know I’m right; some

guys act like a total jerk after that, but since that isn’t his
problem—because that did happen months ago, right?”
She raised an eyebrow at me.

“

Yes,” I said truthfully, feeling my cheeks redden.

“

Then I don’t know what his problem is... other than

he’s an ass.”

“

Well, now you’re going to think I’m the ass because I

told Jace I’d go out with him again, tonight.” I winced,
waiting for her reaction.

“

Jesus, Tessa! Who the hell are you right now?” She

grinned.

“

I have no freaking clue.” I dropped my gaze to a stray

thread on my comforter and began to pull at it. “There’s just
something about him; I can’t tell him no.”

“

Oh, I’ve seen him. I bet most girls can’t tell him no,”

she said, and my stomach churned at the thought of Jace
being with someone else. “What time is he supposed to
come get you?”

“

He’s not. I’m meeting him at his place again at six.”

“

Having another rendezvous at his house, huh?

Seriously, I’m blown away by you right now. This sounds
like something I’d do. When the hell did we switch roles?”

I smirked. “When you met Kyle, I guess.”
She pursed her lips together in thought. “True. I

snagged myself a total hottie and haven’t had a bad girl
moment yet.”

It was true. Rachel had tamed a lot since her and Kyle

had started dating. They were the cutest couple and so
completely into each other that at times it could be
sickening.

“

Where’s this guy’s house anyway?”

“

Actually, it’s the old Larkin house,” I said and watched

her face contort into a shocked expression.

“

No way! Creepy!” She shuddered.

“

It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. He’s done a lot

of work on the inside recently.”

“

Sure, it’s nice on the inside, like you were even

paying attention.” She grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“

Well, I’ve got to get going. I’m meeting Kyle in a few; I

just wanted to stop by and see what you needed to talk
about.” She stood and stretched. “Have fun tonight and
don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, which doesn’t leave out
much.” She winked.

CHAPTER SIX

I stood on Jace’s front porch trying to slow the erratic

beating of my heart before knocking on his door. Finally
deciding it was impossible to do, I stepped forward and
rapped my knuckles against the door. I rolled on my ankles
as the seconds dragged by and large butterflies broke into
flight in the pit of my stomach. He never answered.

I knocked a second time and waited. This time quick

footsteps from inside caught my attention.

“

Coming,” Jace shouted. He answered the door and

shock rippled through me at the sight of him. He was
shirtless. “Hey, you been waiting out here a while? I was in
the shower.”

“

No, not really,” I said, unable to remove my eyes from

his bare, and incredibly solid looking, chest with its well
defined muscles.

“

You’re a little early.”

“

Am I?” I asked, struggling hard to tear my eyes away

from his six-pack.

“

Nah, just messin’ with you. I’m running a little behind—

got caught up in tearing off the back porch and rebuilding
it,” he said with a low chuckle. “Come on in and let me go
grab a shirt. You’re staring at me like you’re either about to
faint or eat me... and I don’t particularly care to witness
either.”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I shifted my

eyes from his exposed skin for the first time. “Whatever.” I
scoffed.

Jace smiled and shook his head before turning to

retrieve a shirt. I bit my bottom lip and allowed myself to
indulge in watching him saunter away. It was then I became
struck by the sheer beauty of a large, full moon tattoo, which
stretched across his entire back.

“

Wow, I didn’t know you had a tattoo,” I said, pleasantly

surprised.

Jace paused mid-step. “Uh, yeah.”

“

It’s beautiful...,” I whispered, walking to where he

stood, mesmerized.

I gazed at the intricate design displayed across solid

muscle with fascination. I’d never seen anything like it
before—slight shadows in places formed the illusion of tiny
craters, creating a realistic, 3-D effect, and bluish-black
clouds hung in the night sky surrounding and touching it in
two places. It was absolutely breathtaking.

“

Thank you,” Jace said, glancing over his shoulder to

look at me.

“

Did it hurt?” I wondered, reaching out to trace a finger

across the raised, colored skin. Goosebumps prickled
across his skin as my fingertips wandered the length of the
tattoo.

“

I have a high tolerance for pain.” A lopsided grin

formed on his face, obviously due to my amazed

expression.

I dropped my hand and straightened my back.

“

Done?” He smirked.

“

Yeah,” I said, holding his stare.

Jace started up the stairs and I remained where I

stood, unsure whether or not to follow him.

“

So, how was your lunch date with Sam?” he shouted

from somewhere upstairs.

My heart picked up pace. “All right, I guess.”
Jace appeared at the top of the stairs, slipping a black

T-shirt over his head. A twinge of disappointment sparked
its way through me at the sight of him now completely
clothed.

“

That’s not an answer. It’s sort of a good or bad type

question,” he said, jogging down the stairs and stopping in
front of me.

I tucked a stray hair behind my ear, meeting his eyes.

“Well, it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either... that’s why I
said it was

all right

.”

He shook his head and walked past me toward the

kitchen.

“

What?” I demanded, following closely behind him this

time. “Why do you care anyway? Doesn’t it bother you?”

“

Who says I care and why should it bother me?” he

asked indifferently, while fumbling through his fridge.

I glared at him. “Because

this

would bother most

people.”

“

And what is

this

, exactly?” he asked, staring me

directly in the eye.

“

I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling my face grow hot.

“

Then how can you presume to know it would bother

most people when you yourself don’t even know what

this

is?”

I dropped my eyes to the marble countertop in front of

me, unable to look at him, and studied all the speckles of
dark brown and tan that made it up. One shade stood out to
me in particular, a shade which matched the color of Jace’s
eyes perfectly. I touched my fingertip to a large speckle of it
and raised my eyes to meet his again.

“

Maybe I care because I’d like to know where the two

of you stand. And maybe it doesn’t seem to bother me all
that much because I know you won’t be with him much
longer.”

Jace’s bold words took me by surprise and rendered

me speechless. I wanted to come back with something
witty like,

that confident, huh

, but it never found its way to

my lips. Nothing did.

“

Hope you like turkey clubs,” he said, shifting his

attention to the ingredients he’d pulled from the fridge and
acting as though he hadn’t just said those bold words.

* * *

We sat outside on a red plaid blanket in the front yard,

eating. It was a crisp, clear night and every twinkling star
was visible. My eyes gazed upward, focusing on the

massive moon hung high, and lingered while images of
Jace’s tattoo consumed my mind.

“

So, where do you get those beautiful eyes from?”

Jace suddenly asked.

I swallowed a bite of sandwich before answering. “My

mom. I actually look a lot like her.”

“

She must be a beautiful woman because you’re

absolutely breathtaking.” An admiring smile reached the
corners of his eyes, and a lifetime of being insecure about
my looks tainted my thoughts, allowing his choice of words
to embarrass me when they shouldn’t.

“

You’re not so bad yourself, you know?” I said

teasingly, hoping it had gotten dark enough outside to hide
the color building in my cheeks.

“

You think so, huh?” He smirked and I nodded. “I’ll be

sure and thank my parents one day.”

I smiled at him as he leaned in closer to me, waiting for

the irresistible feel of his lips pressed against mine. As our
lips made the briefest of contact, headlights flickered
across where we sat. A vehicle rounded the corner and
continued toward the house.

We parted and my heart hammered against my chest

as my guilty conscience spun out of control with paranoid
thoughts of who it could be.

“

Expecting company?” I asked, my body growing

tense.

“

Nope.” Jace stood just as the vehicle rolled to a stop

behind my car. It was a silver Chevy four-door truck. “Oh,
crap.”

“

What, who is it?” I asked, alarmed by his reaction.

“

My uncle.”

A tall man with a stocky build climbed from the truck.

“Jace, hey, sorry to interrupt. Didn’t know you’d be having
company.”

Jace’s jaw visibly tensed as he sauntered forward.

“Uncle Everett.” He nodded and started walking.

I followed a step behind Jace, unsure whether or not

this unexpected visit meant I should leave.

“

And who is this lovely young lady?” Uncle Everett

asked in a condescending tone with a smile.

When Jace didn’t answer right away, I took another

step forward. “Tessa,” I answered.

“

Well, Tessa, it’s nice to meet you.”

“

Nice to meet you, too,” I said, noticing the tension

building between the two of them and quickly becoming
uncomfortable.

“

Care if we step inside, Jace?” Everett asked.

“

Nope,” Jace said, starting toward the porch stairs.

“

Can you point me in the direction of a bathroom?” I

asked wanting to give them some privacy.

“

Straight ahead and to the left,” Jace answered, his

eyes meeting mine. I swore I saw an apology lingering in
them.

“

Place looks nice,” I heard his Uncle Everett say as I

walked away.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and washed my

hands, then ran my fingers through my hair, smoothing
down the flyaways. After counting slowly to thirty, I cracked
the bathroom door and pressed my ear to the gap, listening
for any raised voices.

“

Jace, this is pointless! There are only four moons left.

Haven’t you been stubborn enough? We all get that you’re
not happy with the way things are, but face it, nothing’s
going to change. It’s tradition,” Everett said in an angry,
hushed tone.

“

It should change... better yet, it will. Tell them to give

me one more month and then I’ll be back,” Jace replied.

“

What’s one more month gonna matter? Shelby’s

waiting now and you know she won’t wait forever.”

“

One more month is the world, and screw Shelby;

she’s not right for me. I know that without a doubt now.”

My chest tightened.

Shelby

? Had he left a girlfriend

behind? Of course he had, look at him. Even so, the thought
of him being with someone else made jealousy burn
through me.

“

You know your parents won’t be happy about any of

this. You’re going to have to explain the situation to them
yourself.”

I opened the bathroom door all the way and plastered

a smile on my face that I hoped didn’t seem as phony as it

felt before starting back down the hall.

Jace stood leaning against the front door with his arms

crossed over his chest. His face softened when he caught
sight of me. “Look, I hate to ask, but can we finish this
another night?”

“

Yeah, sure,” I said, still smiling.

Once we reached my car, Jace laced his fingers with

mine. Jealousy still burned in the pit of my stomach and
unease settled in my mind like a heavy fog, all because of
what I’d overheard.

“

I didn’t know he’d be coming here,” Jace whispered.

“

It’s okay,” I muttered, struggling to keep my emotions

from leaking into my words.

He lifted my chin with his finger. “What’s the matter,

you disappointed because our night ended so quickly?” he
asked with a smug grin.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Hardly.” I was upset

because he was only going to be here for maybe another
month and then he’d be going back to

Shelby

, whoever she

was.

“

Right. Well, I’d better get back in there. I’ll see you

soon though; wouldn’t want you missing me too much.” He
winked and then jogged up the porch steps.

No

I’ll see you tomorrow

... just a flat

see you soon

?

Lovely. I drove away hating how I felt inside and how
bothered what I’d overheard made me feel, even though I
knew it shouldn’t.

CHAPTER SEVEN

An entire day passed without me seeing or hearing

from Jace. Worries about whether or not he’d listened to
his uncle and left town tainted my every thought. By
Tuesday night, the second night of Jace’s disappearing
act, I decided to drive by his house and see if A: He was
home, or B: It still looked lived in.

It was dark when I pulled up in front of his house. No

lights were on that I could see, but his bike still sat parked
in the driveway, which brought on the biggest sense of relief
I’d felt all day. Another good thing was that his uncle’s truck
was gone.

I readjusted my ponytail before stepping out into the

chilly night air to knock on his door. My knuckles rapped
across the door and then I folded my arms tightly across my
chest while I waited for him to answer. Suddenly it dawned
on me how horribly desperate I seemed, knocking on his
door around 10:30 at night still dressed in my work clothes.
I bit my bottom lip and knocked a second time, torn
between my looking desperate in a creepy stalker way and
wanting to see him again.

When he didn’t come to the door still, I sauntered back

to my car and slid into the driver’s seat. The sensation of
someone watching me sent a shiver creeping along my
spine. I glanced at the windows in the house but saw no
one. The sensation didn’t subside but grew stronger, and

fear settled in. Shifting into reverse, I began turning around,
not wanting to wait around any longer.

It wasn’t until I was pulling forward that I noticed a pair

of golden eyes glimmering in the distance just before the
edge of the woods. My heart lurched and I slammed on my
breaks while I stared, trying to figure out what it was. It was
too short and stocky to be a dog, but too big to be a fox.
Without notice, the creature turned and darted into the
woods, allowing me a glimpse of its golden fur in my
headlights. That was when I determined what it was.

A wolf.
Dazed, I remained staring at the space it had

occupied seconds before. I’d never seen a wolf before
besides on TV. I wasn’t even sure we had them in North
Carolina, but I knew what I’d seen. There was no doubt in
my mind I’d just witnessed a wolf in Jace’s field. I’d have to
let him know the next time I saw him again, if ever.

* * *

I found it hard to sleep that night; my mind reeled with

questions of where Jace could have been, why I hadn’t
seen him in so long, and why I even cared. The last thought
that floated through my mind before I finally drifted off to
sleep was of the lone wolf with its glimmering golden eyes,
standing at the edge of the woods, staring at me.

* * *

The moon is full and bright, shinning brilliantly above

me and lighting up the sky like a midnight sun. I stand
alone at the edge of the woods near Jace’s house, staring

through eyes which seem crystal clear—clearer than ever
before. Cicadas and crickets surround me, singing the
sweet music of the night. A gentle breeze blows from
behind me. Within it, a tantalizing scent waters my mouth
and triggers a hunger deep within me.

Leaves rustle; I cock my head to the side, listening

intently. Something moves across the darkened ground
behind me and to the left just a little. With the silent
swiftness of a predator, I turn toward the noise. I spot the
culprit in the distance easily—a deer nibbling on grass a
few feet away.

I dash through the darkness, cutting through the

woods with incredible speed. I’m on the deer before it even
has a chance to fear me, biting into its slender neck.

Warmth fills my mouth and drips down my chin while I

chew. A hunger so strong it almost hurts rips through my
insides as I tear into its delicate flesh for a second time. I
continue eating with astonishing

speed

until there is

nothing left except a bloody carcass.

It’s not until I’m wiping my chin, full and satisfied, that I

realize what I’ve done and that I have no hands, but
instead fur-covered paws, which are now soaked in blood.
Panic fills me and a sickness sloshes in my stomach. I
glance downward at a body that should be mine—that
should be human—but isn’t. I try to speak, but no words
come out, only whimpers. I try to scream, but only an eerie
sounding howl releases from within me.

I’m trapped inside an animal’s body!

* * *

I woke with a pounding heart and a mouth filled with

saliva, feeling as though I might vomit at any moment.
Images from the nightmare flashed through my mind again,
intensifying the nauseousness I felt already churning in my
stomach. I bolted from my room, heading straight for the
bathroom down the hall, my hand cupping my mouth the
entire way. After flipping on the light, I rushed to the toilet
and dropped to my knees while quickly lifting up the lid. I
gripped the sides of the toilet as I broke out into a cold
sweat and tears pricked the corners of my eyes. Closing
them, I remained motionless, praying for this sickness to
pass.

The next time I woke, it was to someone smoothing my

hair. I opened my eyes to realize that I was still in the
bathroom and must have spent the remainder of the night
there.

“

Sweetie, are you feeling okay?” mom asked, concern

thick in her voice. “Did you get sick last night?”

“

Almost,” I answered weakly.

“

You don’t look so good, honey. Why don’t you stay

home from school today and get some rest?”

“

Okay,” I said, standing. I stumbled down the hall and

crawled into bed, falling into a dreamless sleep in no time.

* * *

“

Where were you yesterday?” Rachel asked the next

day at school.

“

Home. I wasn’t feeling good.” I crinkled up my nose in

remembrance.

“

Well, you missed Jace at the diner last night.” She

smirked. “He didn’t ask me about you or anything, but he
was definitely looking for you.”

My heart jolted and I found myself smiling, instantly

grateful he was still in town. I clutched my books tighter to
my chest and slipped into chemistry class just before the
tardy bell rang. Sam caught my attention.

“

Hey, missed you yesterday,” he said with an honest

smile that set off his dimples. “You sick or somethin’?”

I sat in my usual seat in front of him and flashed him a

small smile. “I think I caught a stomach bug.” Images from
my nightmare crept into my mind and made fresh nausea
roll through me.

“

Damn, that sucks. I was hoping we could hang out

tonight or something... but if you’re not feeling up to it, I can
understand,” he said in a deflated tone. “There was just this
party at Pierce Elision’s house going on tonight. I thought
maybe we could go.”

“

Pierce Elision?” I repeated. Pierce was the

quarterback on the football team and one of the richest kids
at school. On the rare occasion he was given the
opportunity to throw a party, anyone who was anyone
always tried to attend.

“

We can go,” I said. “I don’t have to work and neither

does Rachel.”

“

Awesome! I’ll check with Kyle next period and see if

they want to carpool tonight,” he said, flipping my hair with
the tip of his pencil.

Mr. Webber cleared his throat from the front of the

room, and I shifted around in my seat to face him, eager for
this day to be over with.

* * *

“

You know, we should start planning for your birthday

soon,” Rachel said, while we were getting ourselves ready
for the party at my house after school.

“

It’s still like three weeks away.”

“

So,” she said, putting a hand on her hip. “Do you still

want to throw a party? I bet Jace would let you have one at
his house if you asked.”

“

Are you crazy?” I scoffed.

“

What?” She smirked. “He probably would.”

My heart pounded at the thought of it. “Yeah, and that

would go over so well with Sam.”

Rachel shrugged. “Never know.”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror above my dresser

as I twisted my hair into a tight bun on top of my head. It
would be nice to hang out with Jace on my birthday. Hell,
who was I kidding, it would be nice to hang out with Jace
again period. Someone knocked on my door.

“

Come in,” I shouted.

“

You girls look great.” Mom smiled, leaning against the

door frame. “Where are you going?”

“

Movies,” Rachel and I said in unison, our standard lie

for any party that fell on a school night.

“

Ah.” Mom nodded, skepticism pooling in her eyes.

Maybe the whole speaking in unison thing had tipped her
off. “Which movie are you going to see?”

“

Some creepy movie the guys have been wanting to

see,” I said, without looking at her, while sliding my final
bobby pin into place. “It starts at 7:25.”

“

Then you should have no problem getting home by

ten, right?” Mom raised an eyebrow.

I hated having such an early curfew on school nights.

Now that we were seniors, Rachel’s mom had switched her
weekday curfew to 10:30 and I prayed mine would do the
same. So far, no such luck.

“

Can I stay out until 10:30 tonight?” I asked. “Please,

just for tonight?”

Mom rolled her eyes and sighed. “Go ask your dad.”

“

Thanks, Mom!” I gushed; she’d practically just said

yes.

Rachel winked at me as we walked down the hall

toward the living room and mouthed a comforting

you got

this

to me.

“

Hey, Dad?” I asked, peeking my head into the living

room. “Can I stay out until 10:30 tonight? Mom said to ask

you,” I added quickly.

He turned his full attention from the TV to me and I felt

my stomach flip-flop, hoping for a yes. My dad was an
averagely built man with deep chestnut-colored hair and
light-green eyes. His stare sometimes could be
intimidating, but I knew how to make his heart melt.

I flashed him my best smile. “Please, just for tonight?” I

pleaded.

“

Where was it you girls were going?”

“

The movies,” I answered, my smile never wavering.

“

All your homework is done?”

“

Yes.”

“

Have you got your cell phone with you?” he asked.

“

Yeah,” I said, holding it up.

“

I don’t see a problem with it then.” He winked. “10:30

though, no later.”

“

Thanks, Dad!” I said. “Love you. See you later.”

“

You girls be careful. Love you, too, honey,” mom

called from somewhere deep in the house as we headed
out the door.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Rachel raced down the winding road that lead to

Pierce’s house, slowing only once we reached the wrought
iron gate that opened up to his driveway.

“

Woohoo, all right!” Sam shouted beside me as a

large goofy grin spread on his face.

“

Damn, where do I park?” Rachel asked, glancing

from side to side.

The entire driveway was bombarded with cars; they

lined it, forming a metal wall on either side all the way to
Pierce’s front door. People scrambling all over intensified
the claustrophobic cluster-fuck in progress, and I could see
Rachel’s anxiety was about to get the best of her as she
tapped the steering wheel impatiently.

“

Over there, babe, in front of that little white truck,” Kyle

said, pointing.

After Rachel parallel parked like a pro—shocking Sam

and making him rethink his whole

girls can’t drive

theory—

we all made our way toward the front of the house. The
Elision mansion was a huge red-brick, two-story house with
a perfectly manicured yard. It was beautiful and caused me
to suffer from house envy every time I stepped foot inside.
Once the wall to wall people came into view though, I
instantly felt glad it wasn’t mine because I wouldn’t want my
house to get as trashed as this one undoubtedly would get

tonight.

The four of us walked through the front door without

knocking; nobody would have heard us anyway. The bass
was so loud I could feel it reverberating through me the
moment we stepped through the door.

“

Mark! Hey, man, what’s up?” Sam shouted at some

blond guy a few feet away. “I’m gonna go get us drinks,” he
said, his lips brushing against my ear.

I smiled and waved him away. Kyle followed closely

behind him, and Rachel linked her arm with mine, pulling
me from where I stood.

“

Come on, chickie, let’s dance!” She beamed.

The two of us snaked our way through the clusters of

people talking and headed toward the center of the living
room. All the furniture had been moved elsewhere so the
room held plenty of space for dancing. I glanced around,
searching for the pool table Rachel had mentioned, but
didn’t see one.

Once we made it to the center of the room, Rachel

began swaying her hips perfectly in sync with the beat of
the bass. I glanced around, noticing two guys to her right
already checking her out.

“

Let loose, Tessa, dance!” she demanded, and I felt

my face grow hot as I began to move my hips a little.
“Loosin’ up; you look too stiff!” she yelled, grabbing my
hands and shaking them.

I tried to sway a little more, but knew I looked goofy.

Hell, every girl in here did in comparison to her. Rachel

looked like a seductive stripper, minus the pole. I wished I
had half her confidence and moves.

“

Here, drink up,” Sam shouted from behind me,

handing me a red plastic party cup.

“

Thanks,” I said, swallowing big, greedy gulps. “Who’s

the D.D.?” I wondered. It sure wasn’t going to be me.

“

I am,” Kyle answered with a wink. “You ladies have

fun.”

Rachel cut off a long sip and planted a sloppy kiss on

Kyle’s lips.

* * *

An hour and one more glass of spiked punch later, I

was finally tipsy enough to shed all of my embarrassment
and insecurities and dance like a stripper with Rachel. Kyle
sandwiched himself between us, and Rachel and I giggled
while giving him the dance of his life. Hard arms locked
around my waist and jerked me backward, causing shock
to ripple through my body.

“

What the hell are you doing?” Sam yelled at me, his

blue eyes flaring.

“

Whoa, we were just having a good time, Sam. Calm

down,” Kyle said, stepping to my side.

“

I’m talkin’ to her, but maybe I should be talkin’ to you.

Why were you bumpin’ and grindin’ with my girl like that,
man?” Sam asked, shoving Kyle once.

“

Sam, enough!” I shouted. “You’ve obviously had too

much to drink; let’s go! Now!” I grabbed his arm and pulled
him toward the front door. He shook himself free from my
grasp before we’d even made it halfway there.

By the time I’d made it to Rachel’s Jeep, I was fuming.

“

You gonna tell me what that was about?” Sam asked,

his eyes still burning for a fight.

“

Yeah, it was called

dancing

!” I snapped, turning to

face him directly and crossing my arms over my chest.

“

Oh, is that what you wanna call it?” He scoffed. “Sure

looked like a hell of a lot more than dancing to me.”

My blood boiled; maybe it was time to break from my

bad habit of a relationship cold turkey.

“

You know what, Sam, I’m sick of all this… I’m

done

!” I

brushed past him to where Rachel and Kyle stood off to the
side, pretending not to watch. “Take me home, please; I
don’t want to be here anymore.”

“

What do you mean,

you’re done

?” Sam shouted after

me.

I walked back to the Jeep and slipped into the

backseat, ignoring him completely.

“

Tessa, answer me,” Sam said, sliding into the seat

beside me. “What do you mean, you’re done?”

“

Exactly what I said, Sam, I’m done,” I repeated,

glaring out my window.

I spent the entire fifteen minute ride from Pierce’s

house to mine ignoring Sam’s pleas to work things out and

eventually his hurtful words. Rachel stepped out with me
once we’d made it to my house.

“

Well, it’s only 9:42, guess you didn’t need that curfew

extension after all.” She smirked, finding humor in the
situation.

I felt a small smile twist up at the corner of my mouth.

“Guess not.”

“

Are you gonna be okay?” she asked, concerned.

“

Yeah, are you guys? You’re the one’s giving that

temperamental ass a ride home.”

Rachel grinned. “Don’t worry about us. If he gets out of

line, I’ll karate chop him in the neck!”

I shook my head and grinned. “Thanks for the ride. Text

me when you get home.”

“

Will do. Goodnight, chick-a-dee.”

“

Night,” I called after her as she started back toward

her Jeep.

I could see Kyle trying to keep Sam from getting out

and noticed him gun it as soon as Rachel closed her door.

“

Tessa, don’t do this!” Sam shouted out his window as

they sped down the street. I rolled my eyes and stepped
inside, hoping my parents hadn’t heard his bellowing.

“

You’re home early. Was the movie any good?” dad

asked me on my way to my room.

“

Nope, not really. Goodnight, I’m going to bed,” I said

without stopping.

Even though my buzz had died a little while ago, I still

didn’t feel like staying up and hanging around my parents or
telling them I’d dumped Sam.

I stripped out of my clothes and changed into a long T-

shirt and some boy shorts before curling up under the
covers with my cell phone in hand. Twenty long minutes
passed, while I continued to lay in bed and replay my night
and its horrible turn out, before Rachel texted me.

Just dropped off asshole. He’s like a blubbering

baby crying over you right now. I think you’re doing
yourself a favor dumping him.

I sighed. My anger from our fight had almost

dissipated completely, and I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt
about breaking up with him.

Maybe. Is Kyle pissed? ~Tessa
No way. He knows how Sam can be. Don’t wuss

out, Tessa, stick to it for a few days. Who knows,
maybe he’ll change or maybe you’ll have time to
finally focus on Jace and never think of him again.

My heart ached at the sight of Jace’s name.

I haven’t seen him in like four days. I don’t think

there’s much to focus on. ~Tessa

Never know. I’m home. Talk to ya at school

tomorrow.

K ~Tessa

I tossed my cell on my nightstand and prayed for sleep

to stall out my speeding thoughts.

CHAPTER NINE

School the next day was awkward and nearly

infuriating. Sam took every chance he could get to corner
me and force me to talk with him. As the day progressed,
he went from sad and somewhat pitiful to angry and
completely annoying. I couldn’t help but wonder if Rachel
had been partially right. Maybe I shouldn’t try to fix things
between Sam and me right now, but maybe I shouldn’t
focus on Jace either. Maybe I should focus on myself for a
while.

* * *

By 6:45, almost two hours into my shift at the diner, I’d

finally convinced myself not to get back with Sam anytime
soon and to not even

think

about Jace at all. Five minutes

later, the second half of my resolution crumbled in my mind
like a cookie as Jace walked through the door.

My heart began to race at the sight of him. I stared at

him, wondering how it was possible that the images I’d
stored in the recesses of my mind didn’t even remotely do
his looks justice.

Jace flashed me a crooked grin and took a seat at an

open table near the middle of the diner. I returned his smile
with a small one of my own and continued to refill the
ketchup bottle in front of me. Walking slowly, I returned it to
the table it came from, hoping my heart would have enough
time to slow down its rapid pace before I started to his

table. I had no such luck. If anything, it only beat faster the
closer to Jace I got.

“

Hey. What can I get you to drink?” I asked, my pen

and pad ready.

“

Hold on,” he said, holding up a finger. “Let me just say

that I’m sorry for my uncle cutting our night short last time
and for not getting the chance to see you these last few
days.”

“

Okay, and let me just say I’m fine with that,” I said in a

snippier tone than I’d intended.

“

No, you’re not. Or at least you’re not as okay with it as

you’d like me to believe,” he said, a little smirk forming.

“

Can I get you something to drink?” I asked, avoiding

his statement all together and not wanting to admit he was
right.

His smirk grew. “Can I get you to give me another

shot?”

My heart rate spiked at his words. I shifted my eyes to

the speckled tiles that made up the floor, knowing that if I
looked into those honey-colored eyes of his I’d cave. “Look,
I just broke up with Sam last night. I don’t think I’m ready to
go out with anyone else yet.”

“

Why not? That’s just all the more reason to say yes,”

he pressed.

A war sparked to life in my mind as I silently debated

on what I wanted and what I knew to be right.

“

Come on,” he whispered, reaching out and gently

gripping my elbow. “Please. Tomorrow night?”

His touch sent flickers of warmth swimming through my

veins and I yearned for his soft lips pressed against mine. “I
don’t know,” I said, still avoiding his gaze.

“

Think about it then. I’ll have a sweet tea and the usual

—a bacon cheeseburger, double the bacon, and some
fries.”

“

Okay,” I said, scratching his order across my pad of

paper.

* * *

“

Seriously, I think that guy has got perfect timing! I

mean, how much better could this be?” Rachel said,
elbowing me in the rib while I poured Jace’s sweet tea.

“

What are you talking about?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “You dumped the a-

hole last night, and now Jace is asking you for another shot.
Forget about whatever happened the night you met his
uncle and all the time that’s passed in between and go for
it!”

“

Wow, eavesdrop much?”

“

Only when it’s something worthy.” She winked. “Come

on, Tessa, this is your chance to have a guilt-free date with
him. You know you want to.”

I held her stare, attempting to seem serious, but the

smile I couldn’t smother gave me away.

“

See, I knew it,” Rachel said, jabbing her index finger

at my chest. “Now get your skinny ass over there and tell
him yes.”

I didn’t reply. I walked past her toward Jace’s table, my

grin remaining firmly in place.

“

Here’s your tea. Your meal will be out soon,” I said,

setting his glass in front of him.

“

Thanks. So, have you had enough time to think about

it yet?” he questioned, raising his eyebrow before taking a
long swig of his tea.

“

I’ll go out with you again,” I said, unable to deny him

for a third time.

A triumphant smile spread onto his face. “Great. I know

you won’t let me pick you up on my bike, so just meet me at
my house around seven tomorrow night.”

“

All right.”

“

But, you do realize eventually I’ll have to meet your

parents, and when I do they’ll know what I drive, right?”

“

I know.” I could feel my cheeks grow warm. “My dad

was in a horrible motorcycle accident when he was
nineteen. It was so bad doctors claimed he’d never be able
to walk again, but he did. They say it was a miracle.”

“

A miracle, huh?” Jace repeated with a distant gleam

in his eyes.

“

Yeah, it really was. He doesn’t even limp. Anyway,

that’s why he’s so adamant about me never riding on one,

because he knows firsthand how dangerous they can be.”

“

Well, I’ve got two more years of riding experience

than what he had.” Jace grinned arrogantly, with the strange
glare still present in his stare.

“

Somehow I don’t think telling him how old you are is

going to earn you any bonus points.” In fact, he’d just
pointed out another reason for my parents not to allow us to
date.

“

I’m sure I’ve got other qualities he may find

comforting.” He smiled.

“

I doubt that. He’ll be so focused on the bike that I’m

sure he won’t notice your charming smile,” I said, rolling my
eyes.

“

You always so negative?” he asked.

“

You always so full of yourself?” I countered.

“

Touché.” He grinned as I walked away.

* * *

By eight o’clock, one hour before my shift was over,

people had finally begun to trickle out and Jace was on his
third glass of sweet tea.

“

You know, you sitting here staring at me for the last

hour and a half is kinda creepy,” I teased while topping off
his tea.

“

I could say the same about you,” he said, flashing me

a crooked grin.

I shook my head and moved two tables away to begin

clearing it off. The bell above the door dinged as someone
walked in. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Sam
stumbling in. He had dark circles underneath his bloodshot
eyes and could barely walk straight—a dead giveaway he’d
been drinking.

My eyes darted toward Rachel.

Not good

, she

mouthed to me. I took in a deep breath and continued with
what I’d been doing, stacking up crumbled napkins into the
plastic food baskets left on the table. My heart pounded so
hard in my chest I could feel it pulsating in my fingertips. I
knew this would be a bad end to a good night.

“

Hey,” Sam muttered from directly behind me. I jumped

at his sudden closeness.

“

Hi,” I said, while stacking the baskets on top of one

another.

“

I’m sorry about last night. I really am, Tessa. I don’t

know what came over me.”

“

Please, let’s not do this right now. I’m at work.” Not

only that, but Jace was sitting just a few tables away.

I stalked past him with the stuff I’d gathered from the

table teetering in my arms. Sam moved quickly to grab my
arm, startling me and causing me to drop everything I’d
been holding.

“

Damn it. I’m sorry, Tessa,” he said, bending down to

help me. “I just really need to talk to you.”

“

I’m working, Sam. I can’t do this right now,” I

repeated, growing angrier with him by the second.

“

There’s hardly anyone here,” he said, throwing up his

arms and gesturing around. “You have time, stop saying
you don’t.”

Embarrassment slashed away at my insides as anger

toward him burned through my blood. “Go home, Sam. I
don’t feel like dealing with this crap right now.”

“

What the fuck, Tessa! I said I was sorry! I know I got a

little out of hand and had a little too much to drink, okay?”

“

Like right now?” I snapped, swiping up the last napkin

off the floor and stalking toward the counter again.

“

God, I’m sorry, all right,” he said in a softer tone,

following closely behind me. “You just—you make me crazy
lately.”

I set my arm load down on the counter and spun to

face him. “

Crazy

?” I scoffed. “Try asshole-ish and don’t

blame me!”

Anger sparked to life in his baby-blue eyes as he

glared at me. “If you hadn’t been—”

“

What,

dancing

?” I cut him off, letting anger take rank

over the embarrassment tingling beneath my skin. “It was a
party; that’s what people do.”

“

True, but you didn’t have to dance like a

whore

!”

“

Oh no you didn’t,” Rachel said, shaking her index

finger at Sam. “You need to leave.

Now

.”

“

Shut the fuck up, Rachel. This has nothing to do with

you,” Sam said, glaring at her.

“

I’m with her; you need to leave,” Jace said. He stood

firmly behind Sam, his face calm and expressionless, but it
was the look in his eyes that worried me. They were
focused directly on Sam and flaring with a wild, hate-filled
look I’d never seen before in them.

“

Everything okay out here, girls?” Dewey, the cook,

asked, leaning his head out the window that separated the
kitchen from the dining area.

“

Yeah, everything’s fine, Dewey. Thanks,” I said,

hoping I sounded convincing enough. The last thing I
wanted was for the cops to get called.

“

Okay,” Dewey said, turning away and sounding

skeptical.

“

And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?” Sam

asked, annoyed as he shifted to face Jace. “Seriously?

Prince Charming

?” He laughed, realizing who’d been

standing behind him.

Jace took a small step forward. His expression still

remained the same, but the wild gleam in his eyes
intensified as a wicked smile came to his face. He actually
seemed to be enjoying himself. Fear filled my stomach as
sudden thoughts of how heated this situation could
potentially get raced through my mind.

“

Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but this has

nothing to do with you either; it’s between me and my
girlfriend,” Sam said through clenched teeth.

“

Girlfriend

, right.” Jace chuckled. “That’s not what she

said a few hours ago.”

My stomach dropped. Things were getting ready to go

from bad to worse.

“

You’ve been

talking

to this douche?” Sam glared at

me.

“

I... well... um...” I had no idea what to say. I froze.

“

Doesn’t matter. All that matters right now is that you

need to leave,” Jace said.

“

Really?” Sam asked, just before shoving Jace hard.

Jace barely took a step backward from the movement.

His wicked grin became wider and I saw the wild gleam in
his eyes ignite. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that.” He
smirked.

My legs suddenly moved. Before I realized what I was

doing, I was standing in between the two of them with a
hand placed firmly on each of their chests.

“

Yo u

both

should leave,” I said. I could feel Jace’s

heart pounding rapidly beneath my palm and shifted to face
him. “Jace, please don’t,” I whispered, knowing he was
much stronger, both physically and mentally at the moment,
than Sam. It would be easier for him to walk away.

“

Jace?” Sam growled beside me. “What the hell, now

you’re on a first-name basis with Prince freaking
Charming?”

I glanced at Sam then; hurt had swallowed up all the

anger that had consumed his eyes and it tore away at my
insides. “Sam...” Again, my vocal cords froze. I couldn’t
think of a way to describe anything without it sounding
absolutely horrible.

“

Don’t explain anything to him. He doesn’t deserve it.

He doesn’t deserve you, Tessa,” Jace said, his voice soft
and velvety like the first time I’d met him.

“

I cannot believe this!” Sam shouted, taking a step

back. My hands fell to my sides and I couldn’t bring myself
to look at anything besides the speckled floor. “I always
thought you were better than that. Guess I couldn’t have
been more wrong. Un-fucking believable,” he added,
running his fingers through his hair.

Sam barreled out the door without looking back at me

before I could conjure up anything to say in my mind. As the
door swung closed behind him, I felt the embarrassment
from my public soap opera moment singe my cheeks.

“

Are you okay?” Jace asked.

My embarrassment quickly shifted to anger at the

sound of his voice. “What is with you? Why did you call him
out like that?” I asked, my voice not sounding nearly as
hostile as I would have liked.

“

He called you a whore, Tessa. What was I supposed

to do, sit there? Maybe it wasn’t my place to out us like that,
but wasn’t it time he learned something?”

“

I should have been the one to tell him, not you. And I

didn’t need your help; I was handling him just fine. He would

have left on his own in another minute or two,” I said,
dumping the trash from the baskets into the trashcan finally.

“

I’m sorry, Tessa, I am,” he said, his hands lightly

gripping mine and freezing them in place.

I hated the way his touch made me feel. How it could

dampen all of my anger so quickly, like water pouring onto
a fire. I made the mistake of letting my eyes rise to meet his
and felt every ounce of my anger subside.

“

Where have you been for the last few days?” I

wondered.

“

I had to go out of town for some unexpected family

business,” he answered, removing his hands from mine.

“

You couldn’t have let me know you were leaving?”

“

It was spur of the moment.”

“

What kind of family business was it?” I asked,

wondering if it had anything to do with his uncle’s visit or
that Shelby chick.

“

An upcoming family event I had to discuss

preparations for.”

“

Something you couldn’t discuss over the phone?”

“

No, I couldn’t,” he said.

I sighed, frustrated. “Would it kill you to elaborate just a

little?”

Jace drew his eyebrows together. “I know how cryptic

the answers I give you about my family must seem, but I
can’t tell you anything more. I just can’t.”

“

Actually, you can. The problem is, you won’t,” I

snapped. “You don’t have to be so secretive when it comes
to your family with me.”

“

Yeah, I do,” he insisted.

“

Not with me you don’t.”

“

Yes, Tessa, especially with you.”

His words stung and I felt tears swell within my eyes.

What could possibly be that important regarding his family
that he couldn’t tell me especially? Were they in the
freaking CIA or something?

“

I don’t care what your family does for a living,” I said,

feeling more hurt than I’d thought possible. “And I think you
should go.” I turned away from him, not wanting him to see
the tears that pooled in my eyes, threatening to overflow
any moment.

Jace’s arms looped around my waist as he spun me to

face him. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

“

Then what did you mean? Because that seemed

pretty straight forward. You don’t trust me enough to tell me
a single thing about your family.”

“

I wish I could explain it all to you. I really do, Tessa, but

I can’t. Not right now. And it’s

killing

me that I can’t; please

don’t think it’s not.” His voice cracked with emotion and I
finally felt my tears spill over. Jace’s hand cupped my chin,
forcing me to look into his eyes. “I never wanted to make
you cry.”

His lips brushed across my forehead and I closed my

eyes. Jace released me and I heard his retreating
footsteps echo through the silent diner. I didn’t open my
eyes, because I knew when I did, Jace would be gone and
I’d take notice to how many sets of eyes were on me. A tiny
piece of my heart broke and I struggled to catch my breath
as I stood there, motionless.

CHAPTER TEN

Twenty minutes later, Rachel let me leave early and I

sulked out to my car more heartbroken than ever before.
Sam hated me. He thought I was some lying cheater, which
in actuality, I sort of was. And Jace couldn’t trust me enough
to tell me any details about his family or what he was doing
the last few days.

When had my life spun so out of control?
Something tucked beneath my windshield wiper

caught my attention. I reached out and plucked a single
yellow rose from beneath it. A note was wrapped tightly
around its long stem. I carefully unrolled it while searching
around, looking for whomever could have placed it there.
Opening my car door for more light, I read it.

I promise you, Tessa, one day soon I’ll be able to

explain everything to you. I’m sorry for the tears I
caused… please don’t stay angry with me for long.

- Jace

My lips twisted into a small smile. He’d remembered

my favorite flower. I read his note once more while inhaling
the sweet scent that wafted off the rose, knowing there was
no way I could stay mad at him for long... especially not with
an apology like that.

* * *

Days passed without me seeing Jace again, but every

night I worked, I found another rose attached to my

windshield. On the nights I didn’t work, I’d find one the next
afternoon, once school had let out, beneath my windshield
wiper blade. None of them ever had a note besides the
first, but I didn’t need one to know who’d left them.

* * *

It was Friday night, exactly one week since my soap

opera moment in the diner. I sat curled up at the end of our
couch, watching some stupid sci-fi movie with my parents. It
was only 7:45 and I was already nodding off. A knock at the
door snapped me awake and I jumped up to answer it.

“

I’ll get it,” I said.

When I opened the door, my jaw dropped. Jace stood

in front of me dressed in light colored jeans, a white T-shirt,
and a tan corduroy jacket. He was holding two more yellow
roses.

“

Hi,” I muttered, shocked.

“

Hey.” He smiled. “I hope it’s okay I stopped by

unannounced.”

“

It’s fine.” I smiled nervously, suddenly feeling insecure

about the over-sized T-shirt and baggy sweatpants I was
wearing. “How did you know where I lived, though? Are you
stalking me or something?” I asked jokingly, attempting to
hide my embarrassment.

“

Nah, I’m not the stalking type.” He chuckled. “I asked

Rachel and she told me.”

I nodded, making a mental note to growl at her for not

sending me a text letting me know he’d be coming over.

“Oh.”

“

I wanted to give you these,” he said, handing me the

two roses he’d been holding. “One for all the tears I made
you shed and one asking for your forgiveness.”

I gaped at him, not sure how to respond. No one had

ever gone out of there way like he was to apologize to me
for anything. I was speechless.

“

Who is it, sweetie?” mom asked, walking up behind

me.

My pulse quickened. “Um, Mom, this is Jace. Jace,

this is my mom, Elizabeth Morganton.”

“

Hi, Mrs. Morganton. It’s nice to meet you,” Jace said

politely, extending a hand for her to shake.

“

Nice to meet you, too,” mom said in an off tone, never

reaching to shake his hand.

Embarrassment flushed my cheeks when Jace

dropped his hand back to his side.

“

Come on in,” I said, not wanting him to suffer in the

awkward moment any longer.

Mom started back toward the living room before Jace

even made it through the threshold. I cleared my throat and
offered him a wide smile. He shrugged and flashed me a
shy smile of his own.

“

Tessa has a new friend to introduce you to,” I heard

mom say as we rounded the corner behind her.

“

Okay?” dad responded, sounding as confused by my

mother’s demeanor as I was.

Once Jace and I stepped around the corner, dad

raised an eyebrow.

“

Dad, this is Jace. Jace, this is my dad, Bill

Morganton,” I said and then held my breath, waiting for him
to act as strange and rude as mom had.

“

Nice to meet you, Jace.” Dad smiled, reaching his

hand out to shake Jace’s.

My shoulders loosened and I relaxed, realizing dad

didn’t seem to have the same problem with Jace as mom
did. I cast a glance at Jace, wondering if he’d been as
worried as I had, but what I saw reflected in his eyes when
he returned my stare was not relief but confusion.

“

I see roses. Are you dating my daughter?” dad asked,

grasping both our attention again.

“

Yes, sir,” Jace answered and I felt goose bumps

prickle across my skin.

“

Was that a motorcycle I saw parked in the driveway?”

mom asked through pursed lips.

I gaped at her. Why was she throwing him under the

bus? Did she think he was too old for me?

“

Motorcycle?” Dad’s okay mood deflated. “You drive a

motorcycle?”

“

Yes, sir. I do,” Jace answered.

“

Tessa, you know how I feel about those death traps.”

“

I know.” I nodded.

“

I don’t mind you dating my daughter as long as you

treat her well, don’t keep her out past curfew, and don’t let
her on the back of that bike,” dad said, ticking each thing
off on his fingers. “If the two of you want to go someplace,
you can park that thing in my driveway and take her car
that’s got four wheels and some sides to it. Understood?”

“

Yes, sir. Understood.” Jace nodded.

“

We’re going to go hang out on the back porch now,

okay?” I said, not waiting for an answer. I flashed my
parents a smile and tugged Jace toward the dining room.

“

Tough crowd,” Jace muttered as we stepped through

the French doors in the dining room, which lead to the back
porch.

I closed the door behind us and sat in one of the deck

chairs that overlooked our backyard. “I know. I’m so sorry
about my mom. I don’t know what her deal is.”

Jace shrugged as he sat in the chair beside me. “You

weren’t kidding about looking a lot like her. You don’t really
resemble your dad much, though.”

“

I get that a lot. Actually, the only things we share are

our love of Italian foods and horror movies.”

“

Horror movies, huh? From the look on your face the

first night you came to my house, I wouldn’t have pegged
you for a horror movie kind of girl.” He grinned.

“

Well, maybe you had me pegged wrong.”

“

Maybe.”

“

So, what made you decide to track me down?” I

asked, pulling my knees up to my chest and locking my
arms around them.

“

I wanted to see you,” he answered in an unabashed

way. “I went to the diner, but you weren’t working. So, I
asked Rachel if she knew where you’d be.”

“

And she told you how to get to my house.” I rolled my

eyes, but deep down I was thanking her. “You know, now
would be a good time to ask for my cell number?”

“

I would, but I don’t have a phone to call you on.”

“

You don’t have a cell phone?” I asked.

Everyone

had

a cell phone.

“

Nope, sure don’t.”

“

What? Why?” I asked, unable to accept that fact.

A slow smile crept across his face as though he found

my questions to be cute in some way. “Because... once a
person gets one, it’s like it rules their whole life or
something. Think about it. People feel naked if they leave
the thing at home. Oh, and the whole text messaging thing
—very impersonal.” He paused to smile wider, maybe due
to the sheer shock his words caused me. “Besides, if I want
to talk to you I’ll find you, because there’s never a time when
I

just

want to talk to you. I want to

see

you, too. I like seeing

your expressions and gazing into your beautiful eyes. It’s all
more

intimate

.”

“

Oh,” I said like an idiot, my cheeks flushing through

twenty shades of red.

Jace licked his lips and leaned in closer toward me.

My eyes focused on his lips as I watched them grow closer
and closer with each thumping of my heart. I closed my
eyes just before they brushed across mine. Bursts of
tingling warmth flowed from his lips to mine and my heart
picked up its pace. I’d forgotten how good his kisses could
feel.

Without warning Jace pulled away, leaving me dazed,

like I’d just been ripped from the most amazing dream
imaginable. I followed his stare through the French doors. A
light flicked on in the dining room and my mother walked in
pretending to search for something, but it was obvious she
was only checking up on us. I let out a sigh once she’d left
the room and flicked the light back off.

“

I think I should go,” Jace said, standing.

“

Okay.” I shrugged, hoping any hint of the

disappointment I’d felt hadn’t leaked into my voice. After all,
he’d just got here. I dropped my eyes to a tiny hole in the
knee of my sweatpants.

“

You still want to have that date we never got a chance

to have?”

I nodded and stood up. “Sure.”

“

Tomorrow night?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“

I work, but I get off at 9:30.”

“

I’ll see you afterward?” He bent down and gave me

another peck across the lips.

“

After work,” I agreed.

* * *

After I’d walked Jace to his bike and said goodnight, I

came back inside to find mom waiting on me in the hall.

“

What happened to Sam? The two of you never

worked things out?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“

Well, when did you meet this Jace guy?”

“

A few weeks ago at the diner.” Part lie, part truth. I

had met him at the diner, but mom didn’t really need to
know how long ago because then she’d have more
questions she’d want answered and I was not willing to go
there right now. If ever.

Mom crossed her arms over her chest. “He looks a

little older than you. Is he?”

“

Not by much, only three years. He’s twenty-one and I’ll

be eighteen in a few weeks,” I said defensively. Was she
about to tell me that I couldn’t date him?

I held her gaze, wishing she’d just say whatever was on

her mind and get it over with. Desperation soon entered her
steady stare and I didn’t know the reason for it.

“

Be careful, Tessa. He’ll break your heart,” she

whispered.

I didn’t respond right away. I just stood there, gaping at

her. I’d never seen my mother seem so worried and
heartbroken, especially not over a boy I was dating.

“

Mom—I,” I started, but she’d already began walking

back toward the living room.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

My entire Saturday passed at an impossibly slow

speed due to my excitement for the night—my date with
Jace. By 9:15 pm my insides felt like they might burst with
the anticipation of knowing I’d be able to see him soon.

I clocked out at 9:30 on the dot and darted toward my

car for the change of clothes I’d tossed in the passenger
seat. My cell buzzed in my pocket before I’d made it back
to the diner door. It was Rachel.

Wanna come bowling with Kyle and me?
Can’t. I’m meeting Jace. ~ Tessa
Why don’t both of you come by? You always

hang out at his house. It’s creepy.

I laughed out loud. It was far from creepy to me now,

but I could see her point.

We’ll see. I’ll let you know. ~ Tessa

I changed as quickly as I could into my favorite pair of

tight, ripped-kneed jeans and a brown v-neck sweater.
After piling my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head, I
pulled on my brown boots and dabbed on some peach lip
gloss.

Tossing my waded up uniform into the passenger seat,

I checked my cell for the time, 9:42 pm. It would take me a
good twelve minutes, going well over the speed limit, to get
to Jace’s house, which would make it 9:54 by the time I got
there. Damn him for not having a phone. It would be so

much easier to call and tell him to meet me at the bowling
alley than to waste time driving to ask. I bit my bottom lip,
realizing that by the time I got to his house I’d only have one
hour to see him before I had to be home by curfew. Thank
goodness it was a weekend and my curfew was eleven.

* * *

When I came to a stop in front of Jace’s house I

hopped out, slammed my door shut, and began texting
Rachel as I jogged up the porch steps.

Not enough time for bowling, I’ve got to be home

by eleven. Maybe next time. ~ Tessa

She texted me right back.

It’s for the best anyway. Sam is here. He’s still

pretty tore up about the break up.

I paused in front of Jace’s door, feeling horrible. Sam

was still depressed and hurt because of me a week later
and here I was happily going to the guy’s house he thought
I’d dumped him for.

Thanks, Rach. TTYL. ~ Tessa

I crammed my cell into my back pocket and knocked

on the door. Jace opened it right away.

“

You had me worried for a minute. I thought maybe you

were having second thoughts.” He smiled.

“

Nope,” I said, smiling in return. “I was just texting

Rachel. She wanted us to meet her and her boyfriend, Kyle,
at the bowling alley. I told her maybe next time we could, if
you want to I mean, I’m just pressed for time tonight.”

An amused look gleamed in his eyes. “Right, curfew.”

“

Yep, that would be why,” I said flatly.

His smirk grew and he leaned against the door frame.

“Since we’re pressed for time, you wanna do something
wild and dangerous?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like?”

“

Like going for a ride on my bike?”

My stomach twisted, but when I met his stare, I noticed

him daring me with his eyes and all my nerves evaporated.
There was absolutely no way I was going to say no to him.

“

Let’s go,” I insisted.

“

All right, let me grab the key.”

I waited on the porch, rolling my ankles and tapping my

own keys against the palm of my hand.

“

You seem a little nervous,” Jace said when he

stepped back out onto the porch. “Don’t worry, I’ll go slow…
if you want me to.” He winked and I felt my face flush.

I followed him down the steps and to his bike. It was

black and sleek looking. This was no

Harley

; this was a

crotch-rocket. I read the silver lettering on the side
—

Yamaha F26

—and wondered if that meant it was fast.

“

Here, I’ll even let you wear my helmet,” he said,

plucking it from the handle bars and holding it out to me.

I took it from him and was surprised by its weight.

“Geez, this thing is heavy.”

“

Yeah, bet it will look cute on you though.” He winked.

“

I doubt that.” I was sure I’d look all kinds of ridiculous.

“

Let me help you.” Jace took the helmet back from me

and carefully placed it on my head. I held my breath as he
leaned in closer to buckle the strap underneath my chin.

Jace lifted his leg and mounted the bike effortlessly.

“Hop on.”

“

Okay,” I muttered.

I placed one hand on his shoulder and attempted to

climb on behind him without kicking him in any way.
Leaving as much room as I could between myself and him,
so my knees wouldn’t bother him at his sides, I loosely
wrapped my arms around his waist and butterflies broke
into flight in my stomach due to our sudden closeness.

“

You’d better hold on tighter than that,” Jace insisted,

readjusting my arms until they melded around him tightly.
“Trust me, I don’t mind.”

My lips twisted into a satisfied smile. “All right.”

“

Ready?” he asked, glaring at me over his shoulder.

“

Yeah!” I answered quickly, unable to hide my

excitement.

Jace let out a chuckle and revved the engine to life. It

echoed loudly in my ears and my smile grew wide as the
vibration from it tickled my nose.

“

Make sure you hold on tight,” Jace yelled as he

carefully turned the bike around, before he gunned it down
the gravel driveway.

I tightened my grip and felt him shudder with laughter

due to my sudden pressure change.

We flew down darkened roads, twisting and turning,

hugging each and every curve smoothly. The adrenaline
that pumped through my veins was intoxicating. I’d never
felt more alive. Tipping my head back, I gazed up at the
speckled sky, watching as it rushed past me with incredible
speed and laughed.

Jace’s hand covered mine and I felt his thumb caress

across my skin for a brief moment. I snuggled my body as
close to him as I possibly could with the massive helmet on
and sighed. This was a moment I wanted to bottle and keep
forever.

We turned back onto Jace’s driveway and

disappointment fluttered through me—my perfect moment
was almost over. As the old farm house came into view, so
did a cherry-red Mustang parked beside my car. I felt
Jace’s body tense and dread began to fill me from his
reaction. Jace pulled up behind the Mustang and wasted no
time cutting the engine off.

“

Who is it?” I asked, aiming for a nonchalant tone,

while I unclasped the helmet and tugged it off.

“

Uh, friends from home I was

not

expecting,” he

answered.

I maneuvered myself off the back of his bike and

handed him the helmet. He hopped off smoothly and
balanced it back on the handle bars again.

“

You sure do get a lot of drop-ins,” I muttered.

We started up the steps to the porch side by side.

Jace stopped on the last step and turned to face me.

“

I’m apologizing in advance for whatever we find

behind this door,” he said seriously.

“

Okay?” I said, unsure of what he’d meant.

Jace opened the door and stepped inside. I followed

behind him nervously. The TV blaring music from the living
room assaulted my ears at the same time as a sweet scent
coming from the kitchen tickled my nose. Taking my hand in
his, Jace began walking toward the kitchen and two
murmuring voices became clearer.

“

Seriously, would you get out of here? I’m trying to

cook; you can eat them when they’re done,” a female said,
sounding annoyed.

My stomach lurched at the sound of her voice. What if

she was Shelby?

“

I’m freaking starving, Jenna,” a male whined in

response.

“

Raisins are not going to fill you up. Leave them

alone,” Jenna snapped.

As we stepped into the kitchen, two sets of eyes

shifted from Jace’s face to mine and then dropped to our
interlaced fingers. My gaze lingered on the girl, Jenna,
taking in her earthy beauty. She looked like she was in her
late twenties, with shoulder-length dark-blond hair, wide
hazel eyes, and an infectious smile.

“

Jace!” she said, walking straight to him with arms

opened wide. “I know it’s only been a week or so, but I
missed you. We all have.”

“

I’ve missed you guys, too,” Jace replied, dropping my

hand to squeeze Jenna tightly.

“

Then remind me again why you’re here?” the guy

leaning against the counter said flatly, his piercing green
eyes boring through me.

I held his stare while sizing him up, as he did the same

to me. He had short-cropped hair that spiked just a little in
the front, emerald-green eyes, and a very muscular build.
Rachel would die for this guy.

“

To get away for a while,” Jace said, seeming tense.

“

Times running out, which means your little vacation is

coming to an end,” The dark-haired guy seethed.

“

I know, Gavin,” Jace paused and interlaced his

fingers with mine again. “Everything is going to be all right.”

Gavin snorted. “We’ll see. This may end up being the

first time in eighty-four years we have to do things the

nontraditional

way, and I think I’m looking forward to it.” He

winked.

I noticed Jenna’s eyes grow wide at Gavin’s words

and I felt Jace’s body tense a little more beside me. Who
was this guy and what the hell was he talking about?

“

So, Jace... introduce me to your girlfriend,” Jenna

said, obviously attempting to change the subject.

My heart picked up speed at the word girlfriend, and I

distinctly heard Gavin snort again, this time in disapproval it
seemed.

“

This is Tessa. Tessa, this is my good friend, Jenna,

and the one so full of himself over there is Gavin.”

“

It’s nice to meet you, Tessa. Jace talked about you

nonstop on his little visit a few weeks ago.” Jenna beamed.

“

Well, well... if it isn’t Jace and his dear little—Tessa,

was it?” a husky female voice said from behind us.

I spun around. A girl maybe a year or two older than

me stood behind us, leaning against the wall. She had long,
shimmering white-blond hair and electric-blue eyes. I hadn’t
heard her walk up behind us, but now that I noticed her, I
couldn’t look away. She was gorgeous—one of those girls
who oozed sex appeal with every movement, but still held
that quality of pure innocence in the face. She looked like
every guy’s dream girl and every girl’s nightmare.

I prayed that she was not Shelby, but deep down I

knew that was exactly who she was.

“

Hello, Shelby,” Jace greeted her a little coolly.

Shelby’s plump lips formed into a smirk and her wild,

blue eyes locked on Jace. “She’s

cute

, Jace.”

I felt like a child. My stomach knotted, but I straightened

my back and kept my eyes firmly directed on her.

“

Jenna is a friend, Gavin is an arrogant ass, and

Shelby is?” I shifted to Jace, waiting for my answer though I
knew who she was already.

“

His girlfriend,” Shelby interjected before Jace could

speak.

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of my attention and

kept my eyes on Jace.

“

Ex

-girlfriend,” he corrected her, never moving his

eyes from mine.

“

We’ll see for how long,” Shelby muttered just barely

loud enough for us all to hear before she exited the room.

“

You’ve got your hands full,” Gavin said, shooting Jace

a shit-eating grin as he went after Shelby.

“

Great, nothing better than running into a scorned ex-

girlfriend to ruin my mood.” I sighed, moving away from
Jace to sit at the bar.

“

Don’t worry about Shelby,” Jenna said. “She’s just

jealous.”

“

Have I told you how much I already like you? You’re

friends, not so much,” I said to Jenna.

“

Hey, I came as a peacemaker.”

“

Shelby can be a little much at times, but she’s not

totally bad. Don’t write her off completely yet,” Jace said,
taking the bar stool beside me.

“

Says my boyfriend... hmm, not thinking I like this

situation at all,” I said sarcastically.

“

So, Tessa, have you lived in Breckwater all your life?”

Jenna asked, changing the subject—something she
appeared to be skilled at.

“

Yeah, born and raised.”

“

What do you do for fun here?” Jenna asked. “When

we drove through, all I saw was a bowling alley and a Wal-
Mart.”

I laughed. “The highlights of town. Sad, isn’t it?”
Jenna bent down to retrieve something sweet smelling

from the oven. “Nah, not really. Sounds sort of like home.”

“

What’s that?” I wondered.

“

Oatmeal raisin cookies, Jace’s favorite. See, I told

you I came as the peacemaker.” She smiled.

“

You always are.” Jace winked at her.

I shifted in my seat as my mind wondered back to

Shelby. Was she really that intent on getting Jace back?
The knots already in place in my stomach twisted, growing
larger in size. A guy can only turn down a girl like Shelby for
so long before he finally gives in. That was something I was
sure of. After all, I was best friends with Rachel, another
knock-out.

“

What’s wrong?” Jace asked, placing a hand on my

knee.

“

Nothing,” I lied. “How long are you guys here in town

for, Jenna?”

“

I’m not sure; I think maybe a day or two,” she

answered, while carefully placing the hot cookies on a
cooling rack.

I bit my bottom lip. “Oh, cool.” I’d probably lose Jace by

Tuesday.

“

Those smell great,” Jace gushed.

“

I can’t believe oatmeal raisin cookies are your

favorite,” I said, crinkling up my nose. “Most people prefer
chocolate chip or something.”

“

You haven’t tasted one of Jenna’s homemade

oatmeal raisin cookies. You’ll see what I mean.” He
smirked.

I glanced at the clock on the stove and realized the

time. I should have left fifteen minutes ago if I’d planned on
making it home before curfew.

“

Oh crap, I’ve got to go,” I said, standing abruptly.

“

But you just got here, and you haven’t even tasted a

cookie yet,” Jenna insisted.

“

Shit, your curfew,” Jace said, realization of the time

dawning on him, too. “Here, I’ll walk you out.”

“

Bye. It was nice meeting you.” I smiled at Jenna on my

way out of the kitchen.

“

You, too! I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”

“

Just so you know, I had absolutely no idea I’d be

having any visitors,” Jace insisted once we stood beside
my car, saying our goodbyes. “And I don’t want you to worry
about Shelby or anything happening between us while
she’s here, okay?”

“

I’ll try,” I said, flatly, knowing it was easier said than

done.

“

She can try all she wants, but she’ll be thinking about

you and me all night. Won’t you, Tessa?” Shelby sneered
from the side of the porch.

I hadn’t noticed she’d been standing there with Gavin

beside her. These people were like freaking cats they were
so sneaky.

Jace pulled me closer. “Ignore her, please.”
My lips curved into a smile. I couldn’t help the sense of

satisfaction that swam through my blood at the sight of
Shelby’s face because of Jace’s gesture.

I planted another soft kiss on Jace’s lips before

climbing into my car and driving away. Unable to help
myself, I glanced in the rearview mirror in just enough time
to witness Shelby saunter to Jace’s side and slip her hand
over his forearm while glaring in my direction. She knew I
was watching and had intentionally replaced my last image
of Jace with one of her and him together.

Jealousy and rage ripped through me. Was it possible

to literally

loathe

someone after just meeting them? I

thought so.

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was 11:23 pm by the time I made it home. I sat in my

car, staring at my darkened house and wondering if my
parents were still up waiting on me. Deciding I probably
shouldn’t prolong getting my butt inside any longer, I quietly
closed my car door and walked up the front steps.

The front door seemed to creak extra loudly on its

hinges in the utter silence of the house. I squeezed my eyes
shut and inhaled a sharp breath, praying no one heard my
entrance. I waited a few heartbeats with my hand still
gripping the door knob, before tip-toeing toward my room.

No lights were on and I found it extremely hard to make

my way silently through the house. After bumping into a long
table that lined a wall just before the living room, I came to
the conclusion I’d go bat-shit-crazy if I ever went blind.

I cut a left at the end of the hall and relief began to

swim through me. By some random stroke of luck no one
had been waiting up for me. The cool metal of my doorknob
had never felt so good. Fading adrenaline mixed with relief
made me clumsy as I opened my bedroom door and
stepped in. I stubbed my toe on the door frame and tripped.
The hardwood floor of my room came rushing up to meet
my face before I could right myself and catch my balance. I
landed with a loud thud and a groan.

“

Tessa?” mom called out.

A light flicked on behind me and I remained where I

was, completely dressed and face down on the floor.

“

Are you just now getting in?” she asked in a non-

question tone.

“

Yeah,” I said, slowly managing to get up off the floor.

There was no point in lying; I’d already been busted.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I turned to face her. Both

of my parents stood in their bedroom doorway, glaring at
me with alert eyes while dressed in their pajamas.

“

Do you know what time it is, young lady?” dad

growled.

I swallowed hard. “Yes… I do.”

“

It’s 11:30, Tessa...,” he said, answering his own

question anyway. “Where have you been?”

“

I was hanging out with Jace and lost track of time. I’m

sorry,” I said, unable to look at either of them directly.

“

Oh, so you were out with that boy and lost track of

time, huh?” Mom folded her arms across her chest. “I’m
telling you, this Jace boy is bad news.”

“

No, he is not! It was my fault. He had some

unexpected people show up from out of town and I
completely lost track of time,” I explained, hoping she’d see
reason.

Mom raised an eyebrow at me. “You were out with a

boy past curfew at some

party

?”

“

Have you been

drinking

? Is that why you were

stumbling through the house?” dad asked, shaking his

index finger at me.

“

What? No!” I shouted, shocked by how both my

parents had just twisted my words so drastically and
jumped to all the wrong conclusions.

“

You know what, Tessa, you’re grounded!” mom said,

her words dripping with venom.

“

Fine, Mom. I know you don’t like Jace for whatever

reason. I’m not surprised you’d jump on the first chance you
got to ground me so I can’t spend any time with him!” I spat.

“

Tessa Lynn, I can’t believe you!” she shouted and I

knew I was in deep trouble the second I’d heard my middle
name. “I was only planning on grounding you for one week,
but now... let’s make it two!”

They turned back into their room and closed the door. I

could hear them murmuring, but couldn’t make out any
words. Spinning on my heel, I stalked into my room and
slammed my door shut. I changed into my pajamas for the
night—a faded pink T-shirt and some gray flannel pajama
bottoms. The night had gone from amazing to absolutely
horrible and all I wanted was to get some sleep.

I flipped off the light and stumbled my way toward my

bed in the darkness. As soon as I pulled the covers up, a
light tapping noise startled me. I held my breath and
listened, trying to hear it again. It was coming from my
window. I bolted into a sitting position and stared,
something was moving in front of the glass. My heart
hammered in my chest as I reached over to flick on the

lamp beside my bed.

Jace’s half lit face appeared and a huge smile came

to my face as fear dissipated from me quickly. I crawled out
of bed and crept to the window, my smile never wavering.

“

What are you doing here?” I asked in a hushed

whisper after thrusting it open.

“

I couldn’t stand the way our night ended. Plus, I

wanted to see if you’d gotten into trouble for breaking
curfew,” Jace said. “I guess you did.”

“

Well, I didn’t like the way our night ended either.

Seeing your ex-girlfriend’s hands all over you as I’m pulling
away was not the last image I wanted of you in my head.”

“

See, exactly why I’m here.” He flashed me a dazzling,

white smile.

I rolled my eyes, but my smile still remained intact.

“And yes, I did get grounded—for the next two freaking
weeks.”

“

Bummer,” he said, his smile dwindling slightly. “Come

outside with me.”

“

What? Are you

crazy

?” I muttered. “I just told you I was

grounded and you ask me to sneak outside with you?”

His lips twisted into a devilish smirk. “Me, crazy?

You’re the one who asked me to buy your underage-self
alcohol, a crime punishable by jail I might add. All I’m
asking is for you to simply step outside into your own
backyard with me.”

I put a hand on my hip. “And what if I get caught?”

“

Well, they won’t haul your butt off to jail, that’s for

sure.” He winked.

I stared at him, my hand still on my hip. “My mom was

right; you are bad news,” I teased.

“

Your mom thinks I’m bad news?” he asked seriously.

“

Well yeah, but it’s only because she thinks you’ll

break my heart.”

“

Why would she think that?”

I shrugged and began attempting to pop out the screen

in my window. Jace grabbed it from my hands and leaned it
against the house. I threw my leg over the windowsill, nearly
kicking Jace in the process, and carefully attempted to slip
out. “Who knows? I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Jace placed his hands on my hips and lowered me to

the ground. “Thought you weren’t going to sneak out with
me.”

“

I never said I wouldn’t. I just asked if you were crazy.

Besides, it is just in my backyard, after all.” I grinned,
mocking him.

“

Right.” He winked, reaching for my hand.

The warmth from his touch made me realize how chilly

the night air was. A shiver ran along my spine and I shook
involuntarily.

“

Cold?”

“

Yeah, a little,” I admitted, crossing my free hand over

my chest.

He dropped my hand and began slipping out of his

coat. Holding it up for me, he nodded. I slid my arms in,
relishing in the warmth his body had left inside. The scent of
his cologne wafted in my nose and I smiled.

We walked to the edge of my backyard, where the

woods butted up against it, and stopped. A twig snapped
beneath my bare foot at just the right angle to pierce my
skin, and I cursed under my breath for not wearing shoes.

“

You okay?” Jace asked with a chuckle.

“

I’m fine,” I whispered, bending over to rub the bottom

of my foot. “Just hurt, that’s all.”

“

I bet, you should have worn shoes.”

I flashed him a tight-lipped smile and cast a paranoid

glance back at my house, being sure no new lights were on.

“

Don’t worry,” Jace whispered. “They’re not going to

see us.”

“

How is it you’re always so sure about everything?” I

questioned, hyperaware of his closeness and enjoying it
more than I should in the moment.

He shrugged. “I’m not. This one’s just easy—human

eyes...,” he trailed off, seemingly shocked by his words of
choice. He cleared his throat. “I mean, with the distance
between us and the house, along with the darkness, there’s
no way they could see us.”

Human eyes

? What the hell was that about? “Right.

Well, I’m still paranoid.”

An awkward silence fell over us. I shifted my eyes

toward the starlit sky while struggling to come up with
something to say.

“

How long did you say you were grounded for?” Jace

asked suddenly.

“

Two weeks.” I sighed.

“

That sucks, but it could be worse.”

“

Yeah, right.” I scoffed. “Two weeks is a lifetime.”

He shrugged and I thought I caught a glimpse of a tiny

smirk. “Look on the bright side, at least you won’t be
grounded on your birthday—if you can behave yourself, that
is.”

I smacked his arm playfully. “Says the guy who asked

me to sneak out of my room in the middle of the night while
I’m

grounded.

”

Jace laughed, but it was cut short by a cell phone

chiming in his pocket.

“

Thought you said you didn’t have one of those,” I said,

unable to help feeling slightly miffed.

“

I do. I just didn’t bring it with me when I left Winburg,”

he said, fishing it out of his front pocket. “Shelby brought it
with her.”

My stomach twisted. I couldn’t determine what I felt

more—anger or jealousy due to that new bit of knowledge.

“

Oh,

Shelby

brought it to you. That was nice of her.”

“

Yeah, speak of the devil,” Jace said, glancing down at

his phone. “She just sent me a text wondering where I’d

moved all the spare blankets.”

“

How

impersonal

of her,” I snapped, quoting his line of

crap he’d fed me.

“

Are you mad?” Jace asked, focusing directly on my

eyes. “I planned on giving you the number.”

“

I’m not mad,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

Jace’s lips twisted into an amused grin. “Are you

jealous, then?”

“

What? No, I’m not

jealous

,” I answered so

unconvincingly it was pathetic. “Fine, whatever. I just don’t
like how she is—all beautiful and sex-kittenish all the time.
It’s sickening really.” I dropped my gaze to my bare feet and
wiggled my toes in the grass.

Jace took both my hands and I raised my eyes to meet

his. “First off, Shelby is far from any kitten anything. In fact,
once you get to know her, you’ll realize she’s more like a
freaking tiger.”

“

Great, even better,” I said sarcastically. “She went

from a cuddly, cute kitten to a fiercely sexy tiger.
Awesome.”

“

No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not doing so good with

the analogies here, so I’ll get to the point—you have nothing
to worry about. Trust me, okay, please?”

My stomach swarmed with mixed emotions. I wanted

to trust him—I should trust him, he’d given me no reason not
to—but I’d seen Shelby. How could any guy resist her?

“

All right,” I said with a little smile, hoping it seemed

convincing enough so we could drop the subject.

“

Thank you.” He smirked.

He pressed his lips against mine and it was all the

convincing I needed in that moment to make me believe in
him and

this

, whatever it was between us.

“

I really should get going though; I’m being a bad host

to Jenna,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine.
“Let’s get you back up into that window.”

“

Fine,” I grumbled, wishing I could go with him.

Once we’d made it back to my window, Jace gave me

a boost up.

“

Sorry about my hands,” he whispered. “That’s just

where they have to go in order to help.”

“

Uh-hu.” I smirked.

I slid through the window and back into my room with

more grace than I imagined I’d have at this hour of the night.
“Thanks.”

“

Welcome,” he said. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

“

Night.” I smiled. “Oh, I’m working tomorrow if you want

to stop in and see me.”

Jace didn’t answer; instead he kept that almost smirk

on his face as he popped my screen back into place like a
pro. He winked at me and then disappeared into the
darkness. I stared out my opened window, probably longer
than I should have, trying to catch one last glimpse of him,

but saw nothing. He was gone.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I woke the next morning around ten and lay in bed for

as long as my bladder would allow me to, thinking of
everything that had happened the night before. I tried to
steer clear of any images or thoughts of Shelby because
they only made me irritated and paranoid with all kinds of

what if

thoughts. Eventually I forced myself to think only of

Jace and his nighttime visit.

After eating brunch—which consisted of the remaining

pieces of burnt-to-a-crisp bacon, biscuits and gravy, and
soggy hash browns—I headed to the bathroom for a
shower. I’d never been more eager to get to work.

* * *

“

You’re early,” Rachel said, as she strolled into the

diner five minutes before her shift.

“

Nothing better to do.”

“

Why is that? Where’s your new lover boy?” she asked

with a little smirk as she tied on her apron.

I flushed as a smile formed on its own accord. “Around.

He might stop by tonight. At least I hope.”

“

Cool. If he shows up, do you guys want to hang out at

Kyle’s cousin’s place tonight? He was supposed to get a
pool table today.”

“

Who, Mark?” I asked, twisting the caps off of two salt

shakers that needed to be refilled.

“

Yeah,” she answered, handing me the container of

salt from beneath the counter. “He moved in last weekend.
We went over there the other night to drop off a box full of
dishes Kyle’s mom gave to him. It’s a nice place. In fact, I
was thinking we could have your birthday party there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You really think Mark wants to

throw a birthday party for me at his apartment?”

“

You really think I care? Besides, it’s not like it will be

some teeny-bopper party. I mean, Jace will be there and
I’m sure Mark will just invite some of his friends anyway. A
party is a party; I don’t think he’ll care.”

“

Okay, if you say so.” I shrugged.

“

So, what about tonight? You think Jace will want to

hang out someplace besides his creepy house?” Rachel
asked, grabbing a fistful of straws and cramming them into
the front pocket of her apron.

“

I can’t. I’m grounded,” I muttered.

“

Crap, what for?”

“

Staying out past curfew last night.”

“

Oh really?” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “And what

were you doing?”

“

Nothing like what your dirty little mind is thinking. I just

lost track of time.”

“

I’ve used that excuse before,” she said, her lips

twisting into a mocking smirk.

“

Seriously. Jace had some company come in from

Ohio last night and I lost track of the time,” I explained,
brushing past her to take my first order of the night.

* * *

Two hours passed before I finally got to the moment I’d

been waiting for all night—Jace strolling through the door.
My heart skipped a beat as I gaped at him and his
mouthwatering good looks. I soaked in the way his yellow
T-shirt clung to his wide chest and how his denim jeans
were a little on the baggy side, hanging ever so slightly off
his hips. I couldn’t pull my eyes away, until the door behind
him opened up again and in walked Shelby.

My heart dropped to my stomach the second I saw her.

She was dressed in a modestly tight, white low-cut shirt and
a pair of skin-tight jeans with strappy black heals. She
looked amazing and I absolutely hated her for it.

Shelby’s lips twisted into a malicious smirk when she

noticed me sizing her up. I quickly shifted my gaze from her
to Jace and smiled at him adoringly. He returned it with a
dazzling smile of his own and stepped out of the way so
that Jenna and Gavin could get through the door. They all
walked toward a booth to my left and sat. I watched
carefully, waiting to see who Jace chose to sit by. A
satisfied smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I saw him
blatantly ignore the empty space beside Shelby and
squeeze in next to Jenna instead.

“

Whoa, Jace has some very attractive friends,” Rachel

muttered, walking behind me to get a to-go cup.

“

Yup.” I sucked in a deep breath and began walking

over to greet them. “Hey, guys. What can I get y’all to
drink?” I asked, my eyes remaining on my pad of paper.

“

I’ll take a sweet tea,” Jace said.

I could feel his warm eyes on me and glanced up at

him, meeting his stare dead on. Relief began trickling
through my system, soothing my nerves, until I felt Shelby’s
icy glare boring into me.

“

I think it’s sweet teas all the way around,” Jenna

added. “Right, Shelby?”

“

Actually, I think I’d rather have a pop. Do

y’all

serve

pop here or is sweet tea all you

southern

people drink?”

Shelby asked condescendingly.

“

Pop?” I chuckled at her ill-fated attempt to make me

feel small. “We call it soda. And yes, we do serve it.”

“

Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you have

Pepsi?”

“

Yeah, I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“

Who’s the blond bombshell you keep swapping death

looks with?” Rachel asked while I poured sweet tea into a
glass.

“

That would be Shelby, Jace’s ex-girlfriend.” I

emphasized the term ex to remind myself once more that
that was all she was and nothing more.

“

What’s she doing here?” Disgust dripped from

Rachel’s words. “Never mind, I can tell just from looking at
her what she’s after.”

“

Yeah, she’s not very subtle about it, is she?” I glanced

over my shoulder at her. She was laughing at something
Jace had said. The moment she realized I was looking at
her, she placed her hand over his.

“

I wouldn’t worry about her. Guys like Jace normally

date a good girl to clear their conscience after dating a
sleaze, and you’ve definitely got that working for you
compared to her.” Rachel winked as she picked up a tray
of food for one of her tables.

I sighed and carefully placed their four drinks on a tray,

before slowly making my way back toward their booth. My
heart hammered in my chest the whole way there while I
prayed I wouldn’t spill anything, Shelby didn’t need any
more ammo.

“

Thanks, babe,” Jace said as I set his sweet tea down

in front of him. “What time do you get off tonight?”

“

Nine-thirty,” I answered, praying he hadn’t forgotten I

was grounded. That was not the type of thing I wanted
Shelby to know. I could picture her horrible grin in my mind
already and didn’t need to see it in real life, too.

“

Wanna show us around town tonight?” Jenna asked.

My heart sank to my stomach. “Well, there really isn’t

much to show you, especially not on a Sunday night. You
pretty much saw the whole thing on your way to Jace’s
house. Seriously, we’re practically the buckle in the Bible

belt; everything is closed or closes early on Sundays
around here.”

Gavin burst into laughter, something I wasn’t sure his

arrogant self was capable of, and it startled me slightly.
“

Buckle in the Bible belt

... that was awesome!”

“

I don’t see why it’s so funny. This town is freaking

lame. I wouldn’t want to spend a

week

here let alone my

entire

life

!” Shelby spat, looking directly at me as though

her words were meant to offend me in some way.

“

Then don’t,” I snapped, holding her stare.

“

Burn!” Gavin said, slapping his palm across the

tabletop. “I’m beginning to see why you have such a thing
for her, Jace. Not only is she easy on the eyes, but the girl’s
got some spunk.”

I felt my cheeks flush, but couldn’t stop the smug smile

that twisted my lips from forming.

“

You got that right,” Jace replied and I dropped my

gaze to the pad of paper in my hand. I didn’t have to look at
him to see his famous grin plastered across his face; I
could hear it echoing through his words.

“

All right, everyone ready to order?” I asked,

attempting to change the subject and remembering that I’d
narrowly avoided the

I’m grounded

confession. I did not

want to have to dodge it for a second time.

I turned their order in and went to make my rounds for

refills with my other customers, trying not to stare at Jace or
think of Shelby’s close proximity to him.

“

Barbie needs to be slapped and dark and dreamy

over there had better be glad I have a boyfriend, because
I’d eat him up if I didn’t,” Rachel muttered in my ear while
grabbing a bottle of cleaner and a rag from beneath the
counter.

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder at their table.

“He’s checking you out. Maybe he feels the same.”

Rachel chuckled and nudged me in the rib before

walking away.

* * *

The next three and a half hours passed incredibly

slowly. I was glad my shift had ended, but it was bittersweet
because it meant that I wouldn’t get to see Jace again until
tomorrow.

Untying my apron, I sauntered into the restroom,

wanting to freshen myself up as best I could before having
to say goodbye to Jace for the night. I stared in the mirror at
my reflection and cringed. How could he like me after he’d
been with someone as gorgeous as Shelby? I released my
messy bun and began piling my hair once more into a
neater bun. The door creaked open and in walked Shelby.
Her heels clicked across the floor as she walked to the sink
in front of me and then leaned her hip against it.

“

You do know that this

thing

between you and Jace

won’t last, right?” she asked point blank, folding her arms
across her large chest.

I pursed my lips together and adjusted my bun,

refusing to gape at her for her bold words. “You don’t know

that. What’s your problem anyway? You always this bitchy
or are you just upset because Jace doesn’t want you
anymore?” I asked, tapping into the anger that had been
swimming beneath the surface of my skin all night due to
her presence.

Shelby opened her mouth and laughed, exposing her

pearly whites. I hated her even more after witnessing she
didn’t have any visible fillings. “He’ll come around; he
always does, especially when it has something to do with
his family. He might not seem like it right now, but this little
stubborn streak he’s got going on will eventually come to an
end because he yearns for their approval. They’ve already
approved of me. You on the other hand are quite another
story,” she said, glaring at me as though I were the filthiest
thing she’d ever seen.

“

What the hell is that supposed to mean? They haven’t

even met me yet.”

Shelby fanned out her fingers, focusing on her nails.

“I’m here because his parents

want

me here. I’m going to

get him back, and not just because Jace is mine and
always has been, but because his parents don’t want him
bringing

you

home. They don’t have to meet you to know

they don’t approve, even after his little visit where he told
them all about you.” She sneered.

He’d told them all about me and they still hated me?

Why? “Well, lucky for me Jace is a big boy and can make
his own decisions.”

“

We’ll see. You may just make that decision for him.”

Shelby smiled wickedly. “See, I know Jace’s little plan and
I’m not sure you can handle it.” Her electric-blue eyes
skimmed from my shoes to the bun I’d just constructed on
top of my head as she sized me up.

“

His

plan

? You’re so freaking crazy; I can see why he’s

not with you anymore. You might look good on the outside,
but inside you’re a nut!” I laughed as the lyrics to an

Almond Joy

commercial flooded my mind—

sometimes

you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t.

“

Laugh it up,” she said, taking a step closer to me, her

wicked smile never leaving her face. “Here’s a little piece of
advice—Jace will only bite you once, but me... I’ll tear your
ass up.”

With that, Shelby shouldered past me and out the door.

I leaned against the sink and wrapped my arms around
myself, trembling with adrenaline and anger. Great, Jace’s
ex was psychotic.

Chapter Fourteen

When I exited the bathroom, Jace was waiting outside

the door for me, his hands were shoved deep into his front
pockets and his face seemed flushed with color.

“

Sorry about her, okay? Don’t listen to a thing she

says,” he grumbled.

“

Not a problem, she’s crazy! I have no clue what you

ever saw in her, besides the obvious of course.” I dropped
my eyes to the speckled floor of the diner. “How long have
you two been split up?” I hated to ask, but it seemed like
something I should know.

“

About a month and a half,” he said. Recent, but not

too recent. “She’s really not as nuts as she seems. She’s
just jealous, which is an emotion Shelby’s not used to
feeling. Usually she gets what she wants, but it’s not
working out that way this time,” he added with a wink.

“

God, I bet your ego is loving this,” I muttered.

Jace laughed. “Come here.”
I took a small step closer. Jace placed his warm hands

on my hips and pulled me into him. His lips smothered mine
and I enjoyed the warmth his kiss sent spiraling through me.

Jace pulled away and pressed his forehead against

mine. “You’re all I want, okay?” he whispered.

“

Okay.” I breathed, hoping he really meant it.

Interlacing my fingers with his, Jace brought them to

his lips and lightly kissed my knuckles. “If you only knew
how much I mean that.”

I smiled and walked with him out into the parking lot.

Rachel stood next to my car, talking with Gavin and Jenna. I
cast a quick glance around, wondering where she-devil
was. She sat in the driver’s seat of the cherry-red Mustang.
I should have figured it was hers.

“

Hey, I was just asking them how much longer they

were in town for,” Rachel said when we walked up, and I
thanked her mentally because I’d found myself wondering
the same due to the fact Shelby wasn’t getting what she
wanted. I’d been hoping their plans hadn’t changed any.

“

Only for another day or two,” Jenna answered. “I’ve

really got to be getting back soon and we wouldn’t want to
overstay our welcome at Jace’s.”

“

You know that

you

could never overstay your welcome

at my house,” Jace said pointedly to Jenna.

“

Oh, I see how you are.” Gavin scoffed.

“

I wish I could hang out with you guys, especially since

you aren’t going to be here for too much longer, but I can’t
tonight,” I said, struggling to snuff out the little flickers of
jealousy that sparked to life due to Jenna and Jace’s
connection. I scolded myself with a reminder that they were
just friends. It was okay for him to have a friend that was a
girl I told myself repeatedly.

“

Well, I’ve got to run. I’m meeting up with someone,”

Rachel said. “It was nice meeting you, Jenna. Talk to you

later, Tess.”

“

Would that someone look

anything

like you?” Gavin

asked, following after Rachel and nearly salivating at the
mouth.

Rachel chuckled. “Not really—blond hair, blue eyes,

tall...”

“

Sounds good enough for me,” Gavin muttered a little

huskily.

“

Really? I’ll be sure to tell my boyfriend that you’re

interested, but somehow I don’t think you’re his type.” She
smirked.

“

Ha, ha, funny,” Gavin grumbled.

“

I thought so.” Jace snickered.

“

You would,” Gavin muttered. He stomped toward the

Mustang with his hands balled into fists at his sides.

I bit my bottom lip to hide my grin.

“

Okay so... hopefully we’ll get to hang out sometime

before we leave,” Jenna said with a smile, leaning in for a
hug.

Her arms draped around me, making me feel small

and frail like a little girl. Maybe Jace didn’t see her as a
best friend, but more like a big sister. I got that vibe from
her during our hug and figured I’d hold onto that thought. It
soothed my abnormal jealous streak.

“

I’d like that,” I said.

Jace walked me to my car and a depressing feeling

settled in the pit of my stomach. “I have school tomorrow
and I don’t work, so I doubt I’ll get to see you. Which
means…” I fished out a pen from my apron and reached for
his hand. “Here’s my number,” I said, writing it across his
palm.

Jace laughed and pulled me into his arms once I was

done. “I’ll see you soon.”

“

I hope so,” I muttered, fully aware of how insecure I

sounded and I absolutely hated myself for it.

He leaned in, but before I could get my reassuring

goodnight kiss, Shelby honked her horn, startling me
completely. I jumped and heard Gavin and Shelby laughing
loudly from inside the car. I felt my face become tomato red
and anger burn through my stomach.

Jace chuckled lowly and pulled me in closer, before

pressing his lips to mine in a tender kiss that made my
heart race. I relished the moment and melded my body
against his, taking a small sense of satisfaction in the
knowledge that Shelby was sure to be watching this mind-
blowing kiss Jace was giving me.

“

There, that should tide us over,” Jace whispered,

resting his forehead against mine. He turned and began
walking toward Shelby’s car, digging in his front pocket.

My phone buzzed. It was an unknown number.

Hey. Just making sure you didn’t give me a

phony number.

I smiled. It was Jace.

Never. ~Tessa

I watched him climb into the passenger seat, noticing

how Shelby barely waited for him to close his door before
she sped out of the parking lot. These next few days could
not pass fast enough for me; I was incredibly eager for her
to leave.

* * *

I lay in bed that night, replaying the conversation with

Shelby from the bathroom in my mind and wondering what
she’d meant by

Jace will only bite you once, but me... I’ll

tear your ass up

. Was that her version of some wonky

death threat? My mind continued to buzz with questions
while I tried to decipher her seemingly bipolar threats, until I
eventually drifted off to sleep.

My breath puffs around me like a thick fog. I’m

surrounded by bare-branched trees, which tower above
me, and solid darkness. My lungs burn from the cold
night air as I struggle to keep my breathing even, while
attempting to figure out where I am.

Twigs snap to my left in the distance and panic

flutters to life inside my chest. My eyes scan the woods
closest to me. Suddenly feeling like I’m being watched,
the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

Jace steps from the shadows and relief fills me at the

sight of him. I bolt from where I stand, heading straight for
him. Running and running, it seems to last forever without
me ever getting any closer to Jace. I can never reach him;
he continues to be just beyond my grasp.

he continues to be just beyond my grasp.

My eyes become fixated on his. There is such

sadness reflected in his amber-colored eyes that it breaks
my heart.

“

I’m trying!” I shout. My voice echoes loudly back to

my ears as I push myself harder to run faster.

I never get any closer.
Jace shoves his hands deep into his front pockets

and hangs his head. Confusion clouds my mind. Is he
disappointed that I can’t reach him?

“

I’m sorry, Tessa,” I hear him whisper and just like my

voice did, his echoes around me, vibrating through my
body.

I stop where I am, knowing it will get me nowhere, and

wondering what he could possibly be so sorry for. My
shoulders slump as I wipe away the sweat that has beaded
across my brow.

“

It’s useless... I can’t get to you...,” I say, my voice

cracking and my legs trembling with exhaustion.

Jace shakes his head and raises his eyes to meet

mine. “No. You’ve already gotten to me and for that I’m
sorry.”

Warm tears slide down my cheeks. My knees buckle

beneath my weight and I crumble to the ground,
wondering what he’s talking about. “I don’t understand.”

“

Just know that I am sorry.” His voice cracks with

emotion matching mine.

Our eyes remain locked. I watch as he straightens his

back and removes his hands from his pockets. They curl
into tight fists at his sides. Letting out the most torturous
scream I’ve ever heard, Jace’s body begins to tremble
and shake violently.

I’m on my feet, running toward him again in an

instant. “Jace, what’s wrong?” I cry out.

Just when I feel again that it’s hopeless and I’ll never

reach him—I do.

My arms wrap around his neck and I try to hold him

as though that might help his quivering body to stop. A
whimper escapes him and I pull back to glance at his
face. It’s beaded with sweat and his eyes have taken on a
strange glow.

I press my hands to either side of his face. “Tell me

what to do.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but his face begins to

change, becoming distorted. My hands fall to my sides
and I take a hesitant step back, watching with wide eyes as
Jace’s face turns into that of a beast.

In the blink of an eye, he lunges at me and bites

down onto my shoulder, hard, and then releases. I tumble
to the ground, gripping my wound and let out a blood-
curdling scream. Jace just stands there, gaping at me.
Movement behind him catches my attention. Shelby and
the others slowly emerge from the darkened woods, all
with matching beast-like faces similar to Jace’s. I cry out

and scuffle across the ground to get away.

I woke to the annoying buzzing sound of my alarm and

jolted into a sitting position. My eyes darted around the
dimly lit room rapidly as my heart pounded away inside my
chest. The realization that it had been just a dream
swarmed my mind, but I still found it hard to calm myself
down. It had felt real and the fear from it still lingered in my
veins.

Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a loud sigh

and clutched my chest for a long moment, willing my
heartbeat to slow. I slung my legs over the edge of the bed
and paused as the image of Jace’s beastly face biting
down on my shoulder flashed through my mind. A shiver
crept along my spine and my fingers found their way to my
shoulder. I forced myself out of bed and down the hall,
thinking the only thing that would make me feel any better at
the moment was a hot shower.

* * *

School seemed to drag on at a monotonously slow

pace for the first part of the day, then came chemistry and
the day became completely agonizing.

I slid into my assigned seat with ample amount of time

before the first bell rang, feeling like I had for the last week
and three days—a nervous wreck. Even though Sam had
been sort of an ass for the last few months of our
relationship, I still didn’t gain any satisfaction from seeing
him look so broken and depressed due to our recent

break-up.

I was slapping my pencil against the notebook on my

desk when Sam walked in, his arm draped across Darcy
Miller’s shoulders. My heart jolted at the sight of the two of
them, and I instantly felt the eyes of at least five of my peers
become glued to me, waiting for a reaction. I couldn’t take
my eyes off of Sam and Darcy and I hated myself for it,
because I was giving everyone watching me something to
talk about for the rest of the day.

Sam’s eyes found mine as he led Darcy to her desk in

the back of the room and I tried my damnedest to appear
unaffected by his sleazy choice for a rebound girlfriend. I
mean, that had to be the reason he was with her—to make
me jealous or angry. He couldn’t be serious. Darcy Miller
was the biggest slut of our graduating class! By the tender
age of fifteen, she’d slept through the entire JV Football
team and was well on her way to adding the entire Varsity
team under her belt, too.

I dropped my gaze to my notebook and began flipping

through pages, searching for a clean one to take today’s
notes on as Sam stalked over to his desk behind me. He
roughly slipped into his seat, causing the front of his desk to
smack into mine. I ignored it, knowing what he was
attempting to do—get under my skin even more. When his
attempt to get a reaction out of me didn’t work, he resorted
to doing the most annoying thing ever— scraping the
bottom of his shoe against the metal bar beneath my desk.

Clearly he was well beyond the depressed phase and

had moved on to pure annoyance. Having never dealt with

breaking up with anyone before, because it was usually

them

breaking up with

me

, I wasn’t sure what the next

phase was for a guy like Sam. Would it be too much to ask
for us to be friends?

“

Could you stop doing that, please?” I muttered over

my shoulder, after ten full minutes of him scraping the bar
beneath my desk, trying to withhold as much venom from
my tone as I could manage.

“

Oh, is it bothering you? I’m sorry,” he whispered

against my ear sarcastically, before scraping both shoes
against the metal bar at the same time. “Why don’t you say
something to your new boyfriend about it? I’d love to hear
what he has to say.”

“

Yeah, I’m sure you would,” I grumbled, folding my

arms across my chest while wondering how much longer
his childish behavior would last.

Thankfully it only lasted about two more minutes

because Mr. Walters decided to spring a pop quiz on us.
Apparently Sam couldn’t think and annoy me at the same
time.

When class ended, Darcy raced to be at Sam’s side,

snuggling her bottle-blond head into his neck. I was so
sickened by the sight of them together, I could have
gagged. Sidestepping their public display of affection, I
booked it to my final class of the day.

I spent the entirety of my fourth period battling out my

mixed emotions, which lingered from third involving the two
of them. The thought that it was too soon for him to be over

me and moving on flooded my mind, but so did the guilt of
me being a hypocrite because I had already moved on, too.
In fact, I was worse than him; I had moved on the very next
day. Even knowing this and repeating it to myself over and
over didn’t help. I still felt angry and hurt thinking of Sam and
Darcy together.

Maybe it was just her; maybe I was an even smaller

Darcy Miller fan than I’d initially thought. Or maybe I just
knew that if Sam chose to be with anyone, he could
definitely do way better than

her.

I felt raw and guilty and on an emotional overload when

the final bell of the day rang, releasing us all. My flip-a-coin
mood landed on completely sour when mom called as I was
walking through the parking lot to tell me she needed me to
stop by her shop and help her with something.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Flowers and Things was hardly eleven minutes from

the high school. I could have walked, but who knew what
mom wanted me to do and how long I’d be there.

I opened the green door with tiny ladybugs painted on

it and heard the familiar ding of the bell above it. “Mom?” I
called, inhaling the heavenly flowery scent mingling in the
air as I walked in.

Mom’s shop was small, but cute. She sold loads of

things besides flowers, like any outdoor decoration you
could think of.

“

I’m in the back.”

I moved to step around two stacks of three boxes and

managed to bust my shin, twice, getting to the back door.
“What’s with all the boxes?” I grumbled.

“

That… is what I need your help with,” mom said. She

was slouched over her long craft table with a hot glue gun in
one hand, gazing fixedly at a tall slender vase in front of her.
“Mrs. Grady stopped by this morning to inform me she’d
like me to make something for her. Twenty minutes after
she left the shop, all those boxes arrived. Thankfully I’d
agreed to the job or else she’d have been out of luck
because she’d already paid for them to be delivered here.”

“

What’s in them—what does she want you to do?” I

wondered.

“

Sixty glass vases,” mom said, blowing a stray strand

of blond hair from her forehead and becoming lost in what
she was doing again.

I waited a minute before rephrasing my question.

“What does Mrs. Grady need you to do with sixty glass
vases?”

I glanced inside a box and pulled one out to look at it

more closely. The vases were slender cylinders made of
frosted glass with absolutely no curves in them. They were
not the type of vases my mother sold and to be perfectly
honest, I thought they were way too plain looking—
especially for Mrs. Grady.

Mom set her glue gun down and glanced sideways at

me. “Do you remember Patricia, Mrs. Grady’s daughter?”

“

Of course, tall and anorexic looking with the exact

same pig nose as her mother.”

Mom smirked at my description. “Well, she’s getting

married at the end of the month and Mrs. Grady hired me to
make all of the flower arrangements.”

I scrunched up my face. “Someone is actually willing to

marry anorexic Ms. Piggy with the attitude from hell?”

“

Looks like, and watch your language,” mom said,

raising an eyebrow at me.

I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to sentence

themselves to a lifetime with that, but then again I was sure
the fact her family was loaded probably helped.

“

So what are you supposed to be doing with these?” I

asked, setting the plain vase on the table in front of me.

Mom sighed, blowing the stray piece of blond hair off

her forehead again. “That’s where I need your help. I’m
supposed to glue these fall-colored leaves into this design.”
She spun the vase in front of her around to show me. “On
two sides to make them appear

festive

.”

The way she said the word festive lead me to believe it

hadn’t been her descriptive word of choice for the modge-
podge in front of her she was supposed to duplicate fifty-
nine more times.

I raised an eyebrow. “Nice.”

“

I know... from boring to blah and you haven’t even

seen the flowers that go inside.”

It wasn’t that my mother disliked creating bouquets,

baskets, or vases full of flowers based strictly on other’s
wants. It was the simple fact that neither Mrs. Grady, nor her
daughter apparently, had any sense of aesthetically
pleasing beauty when it came to flower arrangements, and I
could clearly see how my mother might find this as sheer
torture.

“

Actually there’s a picture of a completed vase on the

counter up front. This one only shows the detail of the
leaves.”

I stood and went to search for the picture in the front,

curious to see what this monstrosity Patricia Grady was
planning to have at her wedding looked like.

When I found it, I realized it was just as gaudy as I’d

imagined. Some rich people had absolutely no taste.

“

Ugh, it’s so ugly,” I murmured, staring at it while I

walked back to where mom sat. As soon as I plopped my
butt back into the chair, the bell above the front door
dinged.

“

Honey, can you take care of that for me. Please.”

“

Sure.” I sighed.

The person staring at garden gnomes and

multicolored stepping stones was not a person I’d expected
to see. Jenna stared back at me, looking just as shocked
as I felt, before her face lit up with that contagious smile of
hers.

“

Hey!” She beamed. “I was hoping to get a chance to

see you again before I left.”

“

You’re leaving?” I asked, thinking only of Shelby.

“

Oh no, not today. We actually are leaving on

Wednesday.”

“

Oh, cool,” I said, hoping adding

cool

mellowed out the

disappointed

oh

that came before it.

“

Do you work here, too?”

“

Sort of. Actually it’s my mom’s shop. I’m just here

helping her today because she got in a massive order for
some flower arrangements.”

“

That’s nice of you. This place is amazing! I love all the

metal art work.”

I leaned against the counter. “Me, too. I have that

crescent moon on my closet door,” I said, pointing to the
medium-sized, blue crescent moon hanging in the corner.

“

It’s pretty,” she said, appraising it with her eyes. “I love

this one, though.” She reached out and grabbed a large
metal tree with crooked branches and tiny green metal
leaves. Jewels had been sporadically placed throughout
the entire piece and when light reflected off of it, it seemed
to twinkle. “I’ll take it,” she said, setting it on the counter in
front of me.

After ringing up Jenna’s latest purchase, we stood

talking and of course our conversation steered toward
Shelby.

“

I know you don’t like her, but you might feel differently

if you knew more about her,” Jenna said in a calm tone.

I bit the inside of my lip, thinking that I doubted anything

she had to say would make me like Shelby, but also
realizing why Jenna had referred to herself as

the

peacemaker

.

“

Maybe,” I said.

“

Did you know that they’ve known each other their

whole life?” Jenna asked. “I know that doesn’t make you
like her any better, but it’s true.”

“

You’re right, telling me they’ve been BFFs since birth

does not help your case.”

“

I didn’t say BFFs. And I’m only trying to get you to

understand Shelby’s motives a little better, to explain where
her jealousy and anger toward you comes from. Shelby has

loved Jace since forever, and the fact that their relationship
didn’t even make it to the one month marker devastated
her.”

“

One month marker—they weren’t even together for an

entire month?” I asked, shocked. Now I could see the big
picture and exactly the type of crazy Shelby was.

Jenna shook her head. “Nope, Jace told her he thought

they were better off as friends. Three days later, he came
here.”

“

Wow.” I gaped at Jenna. I didn’t know how she was

doing it, but she was actually making me feel something for
Shelby besides extreme dislike.

Having a crush on one of your guy friends for forever

and then having him admit he felt the same about you, only
to dump you a few weeks later and say he thought you were
both better off as friends, that’s harsh no matter how you
looked at it. No wonder Shelby hadn’t gotten over him yet.

“

He likes you, a lot,” Jenna said. “He’d probably have

heart failure if he knew I talked to you about this, though.”

I laughed nervously, not sure how I should respond.

Thankfully the phone rang and I didn’t have to.

“

I’d better get going,” Jenna said, starting toward the

door. “I’ll tell Jace you said, ‘hi.’”

“

Thanks.” I smiled. “Flowers and Things, this is Tessa,”

I said, answering the phone.

Mrs. Grady’s nasally voice assaulted my ear.

Apparently sixty vases weren’t going to be enough; she’d

decided they needed four more, larger versions of the
hideous flower arrangements to be center pieces on the
bridal table. I was told—not asked, but told—to relay an
important message to my mother. The four vases would
arrive tomorrow morning.

I slumped back down in the chair beside my mother

with a huff. “That was Mrs. Grady on the phone; she’s
sending four more vases tomorrow morning. They’re larger
and supposed to sit on the bridal table.”

“

Did she say how she wants them decorated?” mom

asked.

“

Same as the others.”

“

Okay.” Mom pinched the bridge of her nose between

her index finger and thumb. “I’m going to need your help a
lot this week. Do you know which days you work at the
diner?”

“

I checked the new schedule yesterday. I only work

three nights this week—Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.”

“

All right, I’ve got to have these vases ready by

Sunday, so I’ll need you here every day you don’t work after
school.”

“

Sunday

, she only gave you a week? When is the

wedding?” I asked, disbelieving the time frame.

“

It’s next Saturday, the twenty-second,” mom

answered, while carefully gluing another leaf into place. “I
know it’s a very short time, but Mrs. Grady pays well and

frankly, Tessa, we could use the money right now.”

Mrs. Grady paid well because she and her husband

were filthy rich. They owned a gigantic, rustic looking house
on a large piece of land near where Jace was staying. It
was a mansion, but they called it their

summer home

. This

was where I presumed their picture-perfect daughter,
Patricia, would be getting married.

“

Who was that girl you were talking with out front? Is

she a friend of Jace’s?” mom asked. She always said his
name like it left a sour taste in her mouth and I hated it.

“

Jenna,” I answered, while plugging in a glue gun for

myself. “And yes, she is one of Jace’s friends in town for a
few days.”

“

And one of those friends happens to be his ex-

girlfriend, too, right?”

“

You know, eavesdropping is a nasty habit,” I chided.

She raised her brown eyes to mine. “Not

eavesdropping

, just curious. I got the impression the two of

you haven’t gotten along. What’s been going on?” Her tone
seemed panicked, but I wrote it off as her trying to make
small talk with me while being stressed.

“

That would be Shelby. And yes, you nailed it; I can’t

stand her.”

“

Well, I heard that girl say they would all be leaving on

Wednesday, at least you won’t have to tolerate her much
longer. She sounds mentally unstable.”

I laughed out loud. “That’s exactly what I think of her.”

* * *

Around seven o’clock we finally closed up shop. We’d

completed fourteen vases, leaving us with fifty more to do,
plus all sixty-four bouquets of flowers to make. I would be
spending a lot of time with my mother this week.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jace didn’t come to my bedroom window like he had

the night I became grounded, which was an incredible let
down considering it had been a full twenty-four hours since
I’d last seen him. I’d also worn my sexiest pajamas for just
in case—a baby-blue camisole and my newest pair of
white pajama bottoms. Little daggers of anger stabbed
away at my insides the entire night. Not because it had
been an entire day since I’d seen him, but because of
whom his company for the day had been.

My sour mood rolled over to the next day and

continued to ripen as the day went on.

I heard in first period from Rachel that Sam and Darcy

were an official couple now, which I was fine with. Today. In
fact, by the time chemistry was over, I actually felt like they
were made for each other, due to the simple fact I cared
about as much for each of them as I did for the gum on the
bottom of my shoe from the parking lot. During fourth period
I found out I’d bombed the test from the day before, making
a whopping fifty-nine. Then, as I was backing out of my
parking space after school, some idiot couldn’t wait two
whole seconds for me to back out. Instead, he had to
swerve around me honking his horn like I was the one in the
wrong.

My only hope was that I’d get a chance to see Jace

tonight while working. On the off chance he didn’t

remember that I worked, I decided I should send him a text
before I clocked in.

Working tonight. Hope to see you. ~ Tessa

He replied while I was struggling to tie on my apron.

We’ll be there around six.
K ~ Tessa

Great, more time spent with Shelby. My horrible day

could now be complete.

* * *

At 7:45, I stood next to the cash register staring at

Jace and Shelby while I snuck a tiny cup of potato salad,
wondering if they were soul mates and I was just messing
with their destiny.

Rachel walked over to where I stood. “He’s not even

that into her.”

“

Really? Because from where I’m standing it doesn’t

look like he’s not. They look like freaking Barbie and Ken.”

“

He’s just being nice, Tessa.”

“

You don’t understand, Rach. Those two have known

each other since they were both in diapers! Shelby is
literally the girl next door!”

“

So, you and Sam have practically known each other

since you were born, too. It doesn’t mean a thing. She’s
leaving tomorrow and he’s staying. Now, shut up and stop
sulking!”

Jace shifted his gaze to me in that moment and

flashed me his most dazzling smile yet. “I know,” I

whispered to Rachel while returning his smile.

* * *

At 9:35, I stood in the parking lot with my body pressed

firmly against Jace’s. My shift was over, but I wasn’t willing
to say goodbye to him for the night just yet.

“

I can’t believe we’re leaving in the morning,” Jenna

grumbled. “I feel like I really didn’t get to spend much time
with you. Maybe next time,” she said, shifting her hazel eyes
to mine.

“

Next time, sure.” I smiled, hoping she didn’t see right

through it. The thought of crossing paths with Shelby for a
second time did not seem appealing. “I’d like that.”

“

Well, we should probably let you get going. I’m sure

you’ve got homework and stuff to get done,” Jace said,
placing both of his hands on my hips.

“

I do, actually.” I could feel my face begin to flame with

embarrassment. I hated being the only one who had to deal
with curfews and homework.

Jace kissed me once before leaving me standing

beside my car as he walked away with his friends. Shelby
lingered behind.

“

Just so you know, I have a few more hours with him

and I’m still determined to change his mind about us.” She
sneered. “Nighty-night, Tessa, sweet dreams,” she taunted
me with a wiggle of her fingers.

I climbed into my car and slammed the door shut as

white-hot anger made its way through my veins. Why

couldn’t I have thought of something clever or witty to say in
response to her in that moment? My cell phone buzzed from
my apron pocket. It was Jace.

She won’t change my mind about anything.

Promise.

I smiled. How had he heard her, I wondered, before

replying back.

Good to know. Goodnight. ~ Tessa
No goodnights yet. I’ll see you in a few.
K ~ Tessa

My heart pounded and I let out a tiny school-girl giggle

as I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

* * *

My parents were still awake when I walked through the

front door. I’d hoped they’d be on their way to bed by now,
after all ten o’clock was practically their bedtime.

“

I’m home,” I shouted.

“

Hey, honey. How was your day?” dad asked from in

the living room.

I leaned against the wall that separated the tiny foyer

and the living room. “Usual.” I shrugged and then continued
to my room, anxious to see if Jace would already be there,
standing outside my bedroom window.

I passed my mom in the hall. “Hey, sweetie.” She

yawned. “Before I forget, I really need you to remember to
stop by the shop after school tomorrow. I’m down to thirty-
one vases left to decorate and I still have all the bouquets to
make.”

“

Okay.” I closed my bedroom door behind me and

locked it, before heading straight for my window.

Jace was nowhere to be seen, but I slid the window

open anyway. “Jace?” I whispered, feeling foolish.

After waiting a few minutes for his answer and not

hearing one, disappointment swam through me. I quietly
closed the window and wondered how long

in a few

meant

to him.

* * *

Forty minutes later my parents told me goodnight and

I’d finished up my small amount of homework. After
changing into my pajamas and silently walking to the
bathroom to brush my teeth, I retreated back to my room to
turn in for the night, giving up on the hope of Jace stopping
by at all. Shelby must have won his attention, for the night
anyway.

As I flipped off my light, a slight tapping on my window

pane startled me. Switching the light back on, Jace’s dimly
lit face peered in the window at me.

Excitement surged through me. I was across the room

in a flash, thrusting the window opened for a second time.

“

Hey.” He smirked, looking amused by my behavior.

My cheeks warmed. “Shh.” I put a finger to my lips. “My

parents just went to bed.”

“

So come outside with me again,” he whispered.

“Then they won’t hear us talking.”

I sighed. Dread filled my stomach. I did not like

sneaking out of the house, but I would hate to be caught

talking to Jace in the middle of the night, too. The farther
away from the house I was, the less chance there was of
them hearing us talking. All I had to do was quietly make my
escape through the window.

“

Hold on.” I crossed the room to slip on my pink fuzzy

slippers and grabbed my gray hoodie from the floor of my
closet. There was no way I was stepping outside this time
without something on my feet and a sweater.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror above my

dresser on my way back toward Jace and cringed internally
—no make-up and sweats were not very flattering on
anyone and especially not on me.

“

Nice slippers,” Jace whispered with a grin as I hiked

my leg up and out the window he’d already made screen-
free.

“

Shut up,” I muttered, while balancing myself on the

window’s ledge.

Jace gripped my hips and helped lower me to the

ground. I quietly thanked him and we started toward the
edge of the yard where it met the woods. Jace’s hand
found mine somewhere along the way and I smiled at the
feel of his touch. Silence surrounded us once we’d reached
our destination. I shifted my gaze to my house and began
scanning the darkened windows for any trace that my
parents might have woken up.

“

Will you stop; you’re acting like you’re going to be

burned alive if you’re caught with me.” Jace grinned.

“

You don’t know my mom,” I said, sucking in a deep

breath of the cool night air. Jace’s face fell and we drifted
off into an empty silence again. “So, do you drive here or
what?” It was a random question, but I had to get a
conversation going. The silence was killing me. I knew that
if I didn’t fill it soon, then I’d start asking stuff about Shelby
and him, which would be letting her win his attention for the
night even if she wasn’t here to do it herself.

“

Of course, how else would I get here?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“

I park my bike at the gas station just before your

street and walk.”

“

Wow, that’s a pretty decent walk,” I said, my gaze

meeting his.

“

Anything for you.” He winked and again I felt my

cheeks becoming the warmest part of my body.

“

How can you even see?” I wondered, hoping he

hadn’t seen how flustered his cheesy little comment had
made me.

“

There are plenty of street lamps between here and

there. Plus the moon is sort of bright, too.”

I glanced up to the night sky again. The moon was

slightly bigger than a Cheshire Cat smile. I didn’t see how it
could have been that much help. In fact, I could barely see
my hand in front of my face. If it hadn’t been for Jace taking
my hand and leading the way, I probably would have fallen

flat on my face more than once during our walk.

“

Well, it does look like it’s glowing,” I said, noticing

how striking the bright white of the moon was against the
pitch-black sky.

“

Yeah, it does,” Jace whispered, glancing upward.

“

You know, people say that the moon has the power to

make people do crazy things they normally wouldn’t. Maybe
that’s why you feel the need to visit me in the middle of the
night,” I teased.

“

Hardly.” He scoffed, and I felt his eyes on me. “I visit

you because I haven’t been able to spend as much time
with you as I’d like to lately.” His thumb gently rubbed
across the top of my hand back and forth. “As for the moon,
I believe it holds the power to make people do things they
normally wouldn’t, sure—but only when it’s full. For some, I
believe it can rule their entire existence.”

I stared at Jace as he spoke, his eyes never wavering

from the fragment of the moon hanging in the sky. His face
became twisted with a sadness so powerful I couldn’t find
my voice to speak. He reminded me of how he’d appeared
in the dream I’d had not too long ago—so sad and broken.

When Jace finally broke the hypnotic hold the moon

had on him, his eyes met mine again and I watched as the
sadness evaporated from those honey-colored eyes of his
in an instant. I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I
stood on my tip-toes and kissed him.

It didn’t take long before I felt his warm lips moving

beneath mine. Jace’s hands came up and cupped my face
as his lips forced mine to move in a slower, less needy
pace. A pace that made my insides catch fire and my heart
race. Clouds feathered across the moon, darkening our
dim nightlight. It wasn’t until I felt the first few fat droplets of
rain fall from the sky and onto my face that we parted.

“

Well... that was nice.” Jace chuckled lowly, wiping a

drop of rain from his forehead.

I wasn’t sure if he’d meant the kiss or if he was being

sarcastic about the rain. It didn’t matter either way because
a wide smile had stretched across my face and a giggle
escaped me as more fat droplets fell from the sky.

By the time we made it back to my window the clouds

had opened up and were dropping buckets onto us. Jace
helped me back in. I stifled a laugh when I slipped on the
windowsill, nearly falling on my face.

“

Do you work tomorrow?” Jace asked, hanging his

arms over the edge of my window once I’d righted myself.
The rain had flattened his golden hair to his head and made
his T-shirt cling to his wide chest.

“

No,” I answered.

“

Then, same time tomorrow night?” he asked with a

crooked grin.

I leaned out the window and brushed my lips against

his one final time. “Same time tomorrow night,” I agreed,
with a giddy smile.

Jace handed the now wet screen back up to me and I

watched him jog backward, away from my bedroom
window and through the rain. My smile never wavered. This
night had ended perfectly.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

During the remaining twelve days of my grounding I

saw Jace every day. He stopped by my work on the nights
when I worked, and he swung by my house after school on
the days I didn’t. Mom put a stop to those visits though.
One, because usually no one was home until five, which
gave us almost two hours alone; and two, because I was
supposed to be grounded.

It didn’t matter though, because we still had our secret

nighttime visits—visits kept secret from my parents by
some massive stroke of good luck. At 10:30 every night
Jace would be at my bedroom window, tapping lightly
against the glass. He’d help me climb down and then we’d
walk to the edge of the yard and sit, talking for hours. I
learned his favorite color was black, he’d gotten the tattoo
across his back on his eighteenth birthday, and had gotten
the scar near the tip of his right eyebrow when he was three
from the corner of a coffee table.

* * *

By the time my first official day of being ungrounded

rolled around, I was in a state of never-ending bliss. Shelby
had long ago gone back to Winburg, Ohio, Jace’s
hometown, and was no longer a threat or a worry. Sam and
Darcy were still an item, but the fun Sam had found in
flaunting it in my face and attempting to make me jealous
had ran out. I had a spectacular boyfriend who genuinely

adored me and my eighteenth birthday was rapidly
approaching. Life couldn’t get any better.

“

I know I probably should have asked you sooner, but

what are your plans for tomorrow?” Jace asked, coming
back to the couch with a bowl full of popcorn.

It was Tuesday night; I’d gotten off of work early and

was sitting at Jace’s house watching

The Lost Boys

in

preparation for the coming Halloween holiday.

“

Um, Rachel always spends the night. My parents

always get my favorite dinner. And me and Rachel always
head to wherever she’s planed for my party to be
afterward.” I ticked each thing off on my fingers. “Oh, and I
get to stay out until eleven, even if it’s a school night.”

“

Sounds like you’ve got a pretty packed day.”

“

Yeah, but you’re coming to the party Rachel’s

throwing for me, aren’t you? They’re always a blast. Last
year it was at Wayne Austin’s. His parents were out of town
so we threw it in his basement. Wayne’s house got trashed
and I felt so bad I made Rachel go back with me the next
day and help him clean up.”

Jace scrunched up his nose. “I don’t really do parties

like that.”

My stomach dropped. “I told Rachel to make it small

and simple this year.”

“

I’m just not much of a partying kind of guy, but I do

want to see you at some point tomorrow.”

“

Don’t make me beg,” I said, glaring at him.

Amusement seeped into his eyes and a tiny grin

sprang free. “Will I be the oldest person there? Because
that would feel kinda creepy.”

I laughed. “No, it’s at Rachel’s boyfriend, Kyle’s

cousin’s new apartment. He’s your age and I’m sure some
of his friends will be there, too. Besides, you’re not

that

old!”

“

As long as I’m not the creepy old guy, who everybody

thinks hasn’t let go of his high school days yet, standing in
the corner. I’ll go and attempt to have a good time because
it’s your birthday.” He grinned.

I laughed at him again and playfully jabbed him in the

ribs. “That would never happen. Every girl within a five-mile
radius of that party would be all over you and you know it.”

“

Not me,” he insisted with a grin.

I slapped his shoulder, but he caught my wrist and

pulled me into him. His lips brushed against mine, catching
me off guard, but my lips began to move beneath his in no
time. This kiss was not like all the others before it. No, this
kiss held a certain hungriness beneath its surface. Jace
crushed his lips against mine growing more and more
passionate by the second. His hands roamed underneath
my sweater and I felt my breath become ragged.

I trailed my fingers along his back, beneath his T-shirt,

feeling the smoothness and raised edges of his tattoo
beneath my fingertips. Slowly, Jace lowered me down onto
the couch so that he rested between my thighs. A moan
escaped me as I felt his weight press against me. Jace

took my bottom lip into his mouth and bit down. I winced
and pulled back.

“

Ouch, I think you drew blood,” I said as my mouth

began to fill with the coppery taste of my own blood.

“

Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” he said looking shocked.

He pulled back and shifted into a sitting position, adjusting
his shirt.

I sat up; my fingers pressed against my bottom lip. “It’s

okay; I think we both got a little carried away.”

“

Let me get you some ice or something for that,” he

said, without even looking at me.

“

I’m fine, really,” I insisted, wiping the last of the blood

away. “It’s just a little cut, but I could use something to drink.
Ugh, I hate the taste of blood.”

Jace met my gaze then. His eyes seemed to be

studying me intently. “Water or soda?” he asked after a
long moment.

“

Soda, please.”

I licked my lip and checked again for any blood after

he’d left the room. Damn, he’d bitten me hard.

“

Here,” he said, handing me a Pepsi. “I really am sorry;

I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just got pretty carried away.” He
ran his fingers through his golden hair and stared at me.

I felt bad for him and hated the awkwardness that

surrounded us, but couldn’t think of anything witty to say to
lighten the mood. So I said the only thing I could think of,
“It’s okay,” for the third time.

Twenty minutes later I left to get home by curfew with a

sore lip.

* * *

I woke the morning of my birthday to footsteps in the

hall and a muffled giggle that could only have been my
mother’s. A Morganton family tradition was about to take
place.

I rolled on my side and stared at the closed bedroom

door, bracing myself for what was sure to happen next. The
flick of a lighter echoed through the silent hall. My bedroom
door slowly crept open and I closed my eyes.

“

Happy birthday!” both of my parents shouted in

perfect unison.

I opened one eye and met their excited stares before

glancing at my alarm clock—6:07 am. They were right on
time. Eighteen years ago at this exact moment I’d been
born.

“

Did we scare you?” mom asked with a childlike

triumph flashing in her eyes.

I rolled over onto my back and opened both eyes. “No,

you guys do this every year. There’s no scare factor
involved when it’s expected.” I yawned. “But, it’s a pretty
cake.”

“

Yep, she’s now an official grown-up,” dad insisted.

“She holds the power to suck the fun out of any situation.”

“

You’re right. Our job here is done,” mom muttered in a

serious tone.

“

Hilarious

, you guys are hilarious!” I said, sarcastically.

Dad grinned and stepped closer to my bed, holding

out the white-frosted cake covered with tiny yellow flowers.
“Hurry up and blow all these out before they melt all over my
breakfast.”

I sat up and chuckled while I closed my eyes.

“

Don’t forget to make a wish,” mom reminded me.

I thought for a while, trying to gather up a good wish. I

let out the breath I’d been holding and blew out the candles
while thinking:

I wish this birthday would be spectacular.

“

Happy birthday, sweetheart,” mom said, handing me

a pink envelope.

I opened it and pulled out a signature birthday card—

sappy with a touch of humor. Two gift cards were inside,
one for Old Navy and one iTunes card.

“

Thanks.” I smiled.

“

The older you get, the harder it is to buy for you. We

sort of weaseled out this year and went the gift card route
so you can get what you want,” dad said, still balancing the
cake in his arms.

“

No, it’s great,” I said. “I’ve been wanting some new

music and clothes.”

“

Well, you’re welcome,” mom said, wrapping her arms

around me. “You’d better get ready for school now. Just
because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you get to play
hooky.” She smirked before leaving the room. Dad followed

close behind her.

“

If it were up to me, I’d let you skip today.” He winked,

then carefully closed the bedroom door behind him while
balancing the cake on one arm.

All my life, eighteen seemed like some magical

number, an age I couldn’t wait to be, and now that I actually
was eighteen, I realized it was just a number and that there
was no magic about it. My life was still the exact same.

I pulled into Breckwater High parking lot and spotted

Rachel instantly. She was leaning against the hood of her
red Jeep, a mischievous smirk formed on her face the
moment she noticed me looking at her. I parked in the open
space to the right of her jeep and climbed out.

“

What?” I asked. She continued to stare at me all

goofy-like as we walked side by side toward the school.

“

Happy birthday!” she sang with bubbling excitement.

“

Thanks.”

“

Oh, you’re welcome.”

“

All right.” I stopped where we stood. “What are you up

to?”

Rachel’s hazel eyes widened as she gave me her

most innocent look. “Me? Nothing. I’m just happy about my
best friend’s eighteenth birthday, that’s all.”

“

Right.” I scoffed, not buying the innocent act one bit.

Rachel was up to something; I’d known her long enough to

be able to tell.

Once we’d made it into the main building six people

who I knew, but not well, wished me a happy birthday and
when my locker came into view I realized why. I also figured
out why Rachel had such a shit-eating grin plastered on her
face—she’d decorated the outside of my locker. Hot pink
letters spelled out

Happy Birthday, Tessa

across the front

and about a dozen balloons of every color had been
inflated and tied to it.

“

Oh. My. God,” I muttered, astonished.

“

Do you like it? Are you surprised?” she asked,

clapping her hands. “Ha, I surprised the heck out of you!”

A large smile came to my face. “Wow, Rach, thank

you! When did you do this?”

“

Early this morning. I got here when the before-school-

detention crew arrived and practically vandalized your
locker, then I waited by my jeep until you got here.”

“

It looks amazing!” I slung my arms around her neck for

a hug.

“

You’re welcome. I wanted to be able to surprise you

somehow today, since you already know about the party
and everything.”

“

Hey, Tessa,” a familiar voice said from behind me. I

turned and was face to chin with Sam. “I just wanted to wish
you a happy birthday.” He smiled.

I opened my locker and exchanged my books quickly,

purposely avoiding his stare. “Thanks,” I said, hoping it

hadn’t sounded as cold and bitchy to him as it had to my
own ears. Being rude was not my intention. It just felt too
weird and awkward between us to even be talking nice.
After all, it had only been a month ago we’d broken up.

“

Friends wish each other a happy birthday, and that’s

what I’m doing. Hope you have a good one. I’ll see you
tonight at the party,” he added, walking backward down the
hall.

Friends? When had we become friends? This must be

the next step after anger—fakeness. Sam’s last words
penetrated my thoughts:

I’ll see you tonight at the party.

“

Rachel, please tell me that you did not invite Sam to

my birthday party.” I glared at her.

Her eyes met mine and she stuck out her bottom lip.

“He looked so heartbroken and sweet when he asked if I
was still having a party for you. I couldn’t tell him no or that
he wasn’t invited.”

“

Yes, you could. You’re the best friend; that’s what

you’re supposed to do, especially when the person is an
ass and

you

were the one always telling me so.” I ran my

fingers through my hair and let out a long breath. “Crap…
and Jace is going to be there.

“

So, I’m sure Darcy will be there, too.”

I heated my glare. “Not helping.”
Rachel waved me off. “I’m sure everything will be fine;

stop being so dramatic.” She looped her arm through mine
and we began our walk to first period.

I hoped Rachel was right. I hoped everyone could be

civil—at least for my birthday.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

After school, Rachel and I went to get a manicure—

something we could only afford to do twice a year, once on
her birthday and once on mine. Then we went to my house
for a typical birthday evening—cake, ice cream, and my
parents. Only this year there was someone else thrown into
the mix,

Jace

.

Giddiness enveloped me as I stared at him standing in

my living room.

“

Surprised aren’t you?” Jace asked.

“

Yeah, just a little,” I said, glancing over at Rachel to

see if she knew anything about this little surprise, too.

“

Don’t look at me. I knew nothing about this,” she said,

sounding sincere.

“

She didn’t,” Jace said, shoving his hands into his front

pockets. “I sort of stopped by on my own. I didn’t want to be
the only one who hadn’t said happy birthday to you yet. I
hope you don’t mind.”

A smile stretched across my face. “No, I don’t mind,” I

said, crossing the room, unable to keep my hands off of
him for another second. “Wait, you’re still coming to the
party tonight aren’t you?” I whispered.

Jace smiled. “Yes, of course,” he said, placing his

hands on my hips and pulling me closer. “I just couldn’t wait
any longer to see you.”

“

Gag me with a spoon,” Rachel muttered. “You guys

are too sweet.”

My face flushed pink and I untangled myself from Jace.

“

Welcome home, birthday girl,” mom said, walking into

the living room, eyeing the small space between Jace and
me. “How was your day?” She moved to the couch and
curled up on the end.

“

Not too bad,” I said, my eyes leaving Jace’s for only a

moment to meet hers.

“

Well good,” mom said. Her eyes shifted toward Jace

and an almost scowl came to her face. “So what are the
plans for tonight? Are you girls still eating dinner here
tonight?”

“

Yeah, Mrs. Morganton. Unless Tessa wants to do

something else,” Rachel answered, glancing at me.

My eyes bounced between the three sets of eyes

staring at me. “Um, no, I can’t think of anything else to do.
Do you care if Jace stays for dinner with us, Mom?”

My mother’s eyes shifted toward Jace, dislike pooling

within them, and I hoped he didn’t notice. “I guess that
would be okay.”

“

Great,” I said, feeling somewhat relieved. I still hadn’t

figured out why my mother hated Jace so much, but the
awkwardness and tension that emanated from the two of
them was enough to make me all kinds of nervous when
they were in the same room.

“

Your dad will be here soon. He’s bringing home your

favorite, vegetable low mien and extra crispy chicken egg
rolls from the Chinese restaurant,” mom said.

“

Yum, can’t wait,” I replied before leading Rachel and

Jace to my bedroom.

“

Well that was slightly awkward. Your mom really does

have a problem with Jace,” Rachel whispered into my ear
as we passed through my bedroom doorway.

“

I know.”

“

So you had a good day at school, huh?” Jace asked,

while flopping down on my bed.

I grinned. “Yeah, but my day has gotten a whole lot

better as of recently.”

“

Hold that thought.” Jace fished into his pocket and

pulled out a long black-velvet box with a sly smile on his
face. “Now hopefully you’re day is about to get even better.”

“

What’s this?” I asked. Excitement bubbled within me

as I carefully took it from his fingers.

“

A birthday present.”

I rolled my eyes and lifted back the tightly hinged lid.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the gift Jace
had bought me.

“

Well, what is it?” Rachel asked impatiently.

I tilted the box so she could see the delicate-looking

gold bracelet inside. Tiny crescent moons and stars were
etched into the thin metal. Everything seemed to be formed

by one never-ending line.

“

It’s Celtic. Do you like it?” Jace asked.

“

It’s beautiful,” I said, my eyes remaining fixated on it.

“

Wow, that’s gorgeous!” Rachel beamed.

“

I didn’t know what you preferred, so I went with my

personal preference. Happy birthday.”

“

Thank you.” I leaned in for a kiss. My lips had barely

brushed Jace’s when my mother’s voice filled my ears.

“

Dinner,” mom shouted down the hall.

I pulled away from Jace with a smile on my face.

“Coming.”

“

Here, let me help you put it on.” Jace took the box

from my fingers and carefully removed the gold bracelet. It
felt ice cold against my skin in comparison to Jace’s warm
touch. “There, I was right, it’s a perfect fit.”

I held my wrist out in front of me and stared at the

shimmering present Jace had given me. My wish had come
true; this birthday had been

spectacular

.

Dinner was not nearly as awkward as I’d imagined it

would be. My mother still gave Jace odd looks throughout
our meal, but with Rachel and dad there to lighten the
mood, it was actually sort of nice.

After filling up on Chinese food and birthday cake,

which Jace didn’t hesitate to inform us did not go well
together, the three of us left my parents behind to meet up

with Kyle. We weren’t lying; we just didn’t tell them that it
would be at a party.

* * *

Mark’s apartment was on the second floor of a fairly

new two-story apartment complex called Forrest View. We
had to go up four flights of stairs to get to it. I could hear
music blaring from speakers as we started up the stairs
and was sure it was coming from Mark’s place. Jace’s
hand found mine as soon as we reached the top of the
stairs and I felt myself become nervous. I wasn’t sure how
the night would pan out, especially with Jace and Sam
being in the same room, but I was hoping for the best.

“

Are you ready, birthday girl?” Rachel asked,

excitement flashing in her eyes.

I took in a deep breath. “Yup,” I answered with a smile,

hoping she couldn’t see through it and know that I was lying.

My eyes zeroed in on Rachel’s hand as she gripped

the doorknob and turned. I could feel my heart pounding in
my fingertips as I sucked in another deep breath, while
silently praying for the night to go smoothly.

Jace squeezed my hand in his as we stepped across

the threshold as though he could sense how nervous I was. I
shifted my gaze to him and he flashed me one of those
famous smirks of his that made me feel ten times better.

“

Happy birthday!” everyone in the room shouted out in

unison.

My face instantly grew warm from being put in the

spotlight. “Thank you!” I said, smiling so wide my cheeks

hurt.

“

All right, let’s party!” Rachel shouted, cupping her

hands around her mouth.

The music cranked up a little higher as everyone

resumed talking and dancing like before. Rachel gripped
my hand and began weaving us through the tiny apartment
toward the kitchen, forming a train. Random people
stopped what they were doing to say happy birthday to me
again. I gripped Jace’s hand tightly and laughed. Once in
the kitchen, Rachel poured all three of us rum and cokes
before ditching Jace and me to find Kyle.

“

So, this is a high school party?” Jace asked.

I took a swig of my drink. “It sure is.”
I glanced around, searching the faces of those

surrounding us, realizing I barely knew any of these people.
Some of them I’d seen around school and others I’d never
seen in my life. That was when I spotted Sam and Darcy,
bumping and grinding in the corner.

“

Looks like he’s moved on,” Jace said, following my

stare.

I turned away quickly and took another swig of my

drink. “Good.”

“

You know, he’s only with her to make you jealous,”

Jace insisted.

“

It doesn’t matter,” I said, hoping to sound nonchalant.

My eyes fluttered toward Sam and met with his. A jolt of
shock rippled through me the moment we made eye

contact. I turned my head away from him and reached out
for Jace’s hand.

“

Do you want to dance?” I asked, pushing everything

from my mind and trying to focus on having a good time.

“

I can’t promise you any boy band moves, but I can try.”

Jace grinned.

Once we got out into the mix of others dancing, Sam

and his dirty dancing with Darcy was forgotten. Jace and
his smooth moves consumed my mind. He’d lied, sort of.
He didn’t pull any boy band moves… but the guy could
dance. I tipped my head back and finished the remainder of
my drink. Jace took the empty cup from my fingers and
placed it on a nearby table along with his half-full cup.

Spinning me around so that my back was facing him,

Jace began slowly bumping and grinding against me the
way Sam had been with Darcy. I bit my lip to suppress the
smile forming on my face and keep in the tipsy giggles
wanting to escape.

Running his hands along my sides, Jace nuzzled his

head in the crook of my neck and began trailing his lips
along the sensitive skin there. I moved my hips against him
in sync with the music and closed my eyes. Someone
bumped into me from the side, jostling me, hard. It was
Sam.

“

Sorry, didn’t see you there,” Sam insisted, his eyes

dark. “Great party by the way.”

He was lying; I could tell. He’d bumped into me on

purpose. I could feel Jace tense behind me, apparently

he’d seen through Sam’s pathetic excuse also.

“

Thanks,” I said.

“

I see the two of you have become a real item now,

huh?” Sam asked, his eyes bouncing between Jace and
me.

“

What’s it to you?” Jace replied.

“

It’s nothing to me, man, just like she’s not.” Sam

sneered.

I didn’t know whether I should feel offended or relieved.

“I need another drink; how about you?” I asked Jace, finally
deciding I felt relieved Sam thought I was nothing to him. It
made everything easier at the moment. I stepped past Sam
and started back toward the kitchen without waiting for
Jace to answer.

“

What the hell does that mean… ‘like she’s not’?” I

heard Jace ask from behind me. “Don’t you disrespect her
like that.”

I turned at the exact moment Jace pushed Sam. He

jolted backward nearly losing his footing. Jace just stood
there, his nostrils flaring as anger clouded his amber eyes
and sharpened his features.

“

I’ve been waiting for you to do that again,” Sam said,

righting himself.

“

Stop it right now! Both of you, this is Tessa’s

birthday

party.

There will be no fighting,” Rachel shouted from

beside me. I hadn’t even noticed her standing there.

Either they couldn’t hear her or they didn’t care,

because neither of them backed down. Sam got directly in
Jace’s face and the creepy sensation of déjà vu prickled
across my skin. It was like I was tossed back into that
moment at the diner over a month ago, the moment when I
thought Jace would pound Sam into the floor.

I forced myself between the two again, frantically trying

to keep the inevitable from happening. But that was what it
was, inevitable.

“

Would the two of you just chill out, please?” I shouted,

hoping to penetrate through the thick cloud of tension and
anger surrounding them, as I placed a firm hand on each of
their chests.

Neither Jace nor Sam responded to my words or the

feel of my touch.

“

I’m sure I’ve been waiting for a hell of a lot longer than

you,” Jace muttered.

Sam’s face twisted into a wicked grin. “Really, pretty

boy? Well then let’s do this.”

I could feel Jace’s chest muscles tighten beneath my

hand. It was the only warning I got before he threw the first
punch. His fist smashed against the side of Sam’s face
with so much power that Sam jerked back and into the
people standing behind him. My mouth dropped open. I
couldn’t believe Jace had just done that.

Sam was on his feet again and charging toward Jace

before I even had time to think about where I was standing
—directly in front of him. I could feel Jace’s warm hands

grip my shoulders and then push me to the side. My shin
banged against a wooden, oval coffee table pushed
against the wall and I let out a tiny shriek.

Jace and Sam began going at it full throttle. People

had gathered around the two of them in sort of a semicircle,
blocking my view but not the noise. Limping, I pushed my
way through the crowd. What I saw nauseated me.

Jace had Sam pinned beneath him and was pounding

his face with his fists. There was so much blood Sam was
almost unrecognizable. I hadn’t known someone could
bleed so much in such a short amount of time. Sam’s
hands and forearms were blocking his face, but it didn’t
matter, Jace was still able to pulverize him.

I glanced at Jace. His face was contorted into a mask

of sheer fury and his eyes seemed dark and faraway.
Seeing him like this made fear snake its way up my spine.
A hush fell over the entire party, even the music, blaring in
the background, seemed silent.

Sam’s arms went slack at his sides, but Jace didn’t

stop. It was like he was locked inside some animalistic
rage.

“

Enough!” I shouted, rushing forward. “Get off him!” I

pushed Jace’s shoulder as hard as I could but he barely
moved. His arms fell to his sides and a blank expression
fluttered across his face. “Get off him!” I repeated.

Jace’s eyes met mine and then fell to his bloody

hands. He stood and bolted for the door, people parting for
him quickly. I watched his back as he walked away and my

vision blurred with tears.

Someone finally turned down the music, making the

room so silent and still you could hear a pin drop. Darcy
flung herself to Sam’s side dramatically and I wondered
where the hell she’d been the entire time.

“

Somebody help him. Do we need to call an

ambulance?” Darcy panicked.

I walked across the room and through the open door,

fighting to keep in the tears that desperately wanted out.
Jace was nowhere in sight. Flopping myself down onto the
top step, I allowed the shock from the last five minutes to
slowly begin to chip away.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Rachel drove me back to my house. My entire body

trembled and my vision blurred as I continued to fight back
tears.

I went straight to my room, passing my mom in the hall

without acknowledging her concerned stare. It was horrible
of me to leave Rachel to answer all of my parents’
questions involving my blotchy complexion and cold
shoulder, but I couldn’t tell them what had happened right
now. Not when I knew my mother would only say something
along the lines of

I knew that boy was trouble

.

Flopping myself against my bed, I buried my face into

my pillow and finally was able to shed the tears that had
been pooling in my eyes since witnessing what Jace was
capable of.

“

I told them we ran into Sam, and that he and Jace got

into an argument,” Rachel said, closing my bedroom door
behind her. “It wasn’t a total lie… just not the entire truth. But
hey, at least this way when they run into Sam sometime
over the next few weeks and see his face, you can
elaborate further and they won’t jump you for some stupid
made up story.” She plopped herself down on the bed
beside me.

“

Small towns suck that way,” I muttered with a sniffle.

* * *

I couldn’t sleep that night. I lay in bed, twisting the gold

bracelet on my wrist and thinking of Jace. The way he’d
snapped. The wild glare in his eyes. The pure rage that
seemed to propel him. I’d never seen a person beat
someone so badly in real life. It was like something out of a
movie.

Then my mind would drift to Sam… no matter how

much of an ass he could be, he’d never deserved to be
beaten that badly. I struggled to remember what had
caused it all.

Don’t you disrespect her like that

—Jace’s

words echoed through my mind like thunder.

My cell buzzed across my nightstand. I reached for it,

hoping the loud hum hadn’t woken Rachel. Her soft
breathing coming from beside me never wavered.
Nervousness stabbed at my insides. It was a text from
Jace.

I’m so sorry, Tessa. I don’t know what came over

me. I completely ruined your birthday.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Yeah, he sort of had ruined

my birthday. My eyes drifted out my window while I
wondered how to respond to that. I couldn’t say, “It’s okay.”
because it wasn’t.

I don’t know what to say to you. ~ Tessa

He replied right back.

I know. I don’t expect you to say anything. I never

wanted you to see me like that. I’m sorry.

I didn’t say anything back. After putting my phone back

on my nightstand, I continued to gaze out my bedroom
window at the almost full moon, thinking. When mental

exhaustion finally came crashing down on me and I drifted
off to sleep, it wasn’t a peaceful, dreamless sleep. It was
more along the lines of a nightmare.

I’m back at my birthday party, only this time I’m

dancing with Sam. His arms are wrapped around my waist
and I have my head tucked up underneath his chin. It is a
slow song and I’m glad. We dance in slow, small circles
and my eyes take in the crowd around us. I smile at
Rachel and Kyle, who are slow dancing beside us. Then
my eyes find Jace, leaning against a back wall, staring at
me intently.

Panic trickles through me and my heart begin to

race. There is something fierce in his gaze. He saunters
through the crowd, coming directly toward me. My body
tenses and I pull myself away from Sam.

“

What’s the matter?” Sam whispers.

“

I shouldn’t be dancing with you.”

When Jace is nearly two steps away from me, his

face begins to morph into the face of a wolf. Every

fiber

of

my being tells me to run. I listen. I bolt past him and out
the open apartment door without looking behind me. As I
make my way down the steps, which lead to the parking
lot, a loud growl sounds from behind me. Glancing over
my shoulder for a split second, I see Jace has now
completely transformed into a wolf.

Darting across the darkened parking lot I get

nowhere. It seems to stretch on forever. In no time Jace
catches up to me, his hot breath panting across the back
of my neck. Fear completely consumes me.

Jace tackles me from behind, sending me down to

the pavement, hard. I scream, but the weight of him
muffles it. In an instant, moving so quickly it’s a blur, Jace
bites down on my shoulder. A shooting pain radiates from
the bite mark and through my body. I cry out, but no one
hears me.

I woke to Rachel gently shaking me. Sitting straight up

in bed, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and
struggled to catch my breath.

“

What the hell was that?” Rachel asked, sitting up in

bed beside me.

“

A nightmare.” I panted.

“

Yeah, I’d say.”

“

Sorry.” I breathed.

Rachel lay back down and I realized for the first time

that it was still dark out. Flopping back down against my
damp pillow, I lay there, staring at the ceiling and trying to
slow the rapid beating of my heart. Even though I was
quickly able to disregard the ridiculous nightmare mentally,
the fear and adrenaline that came with it were still present
in my system.

Listening to the sound of Rachel’s shallow breathing, I

watched the sunrise, unable to fall back asleep.

* * *

I rode to school with Rachel the next morning. It didn’t

take long for me to realize Jace—my new barbaric
boyfriend—Sam, and myself were the talk of the school.
What sucked was that I was the only one present for
everyone to give sideways glances and stare at. Sam
wasn’t there.

I noticed this when I walked into chemistry class and

sat in front of an empty desk. Chewing my bottom lip and
bouncing my leg, I watched the door, waiting for Darcy. I
had to ask her how Sam was doing. She walked through
the door, just before the bell, in a pair of high-heeled boots,
jeans, and a tight sweater.

“

Darcy, I uh… was wondering how Sam was,” I said,

fumbling my words.

She sat in her desk before glaring at me with cold,

blue eyes. “He’s fine, no thanks to you or that muscle-head
boyfriend of yours,” she snapped.

“

Right, thanks.” I shifted back toward the front of the

room, little bubbles of relief bursting in my mind. At least he
wasn’t laid up in the hospital or something.

When school let out at 3:05, I walked to the parking lot

and spotted Jace leaning against Rachel’s red jeep. My
stomach knotted up into a ball of nerves. I had no idea what
to say to him. Or what he would say to me.

“

What are you doing here?” I asked.

Jace shrugged. “Thought I’d come to apologize in

person.” His warm eyes met mine and I couldn’t look away.

“

Oh,” I muttered.

“

I’m really sorry, Tessa. You should have never seen

me like that.”

“

I get that you’re sorry,” I said, holding his gaze, not

knowing where I was going with this. “I guess I just can’t
believe how badly you went off.”

“

I know, I ruined your birthday,”

“

It’s not even about my birthday; it’s more about the

fact that you beat the crap out of Sam for no good reason,” I
insisted.

“

He was being disrespectful. Honestly, Tessa, did you

never once see this coming?” Jace replied, that wild gleam
sparking to life in his eyes once more.

“

Red flags are popping up in my mind,” I said, my

hands waving wildly.

“

What are you talking about?”

“

If you think what you did to Sam was justified because

he was being disrespectful, then how do I know you
wouldn’t do the same to me for some other bogus reason.”
The words, laced with fear, flew from my lips. I never
wanted to think of Jace as being capable of doing such a
thing to me, but after that, how could I not?

Jace’s expression grew more intense. “I would never.”

“

Hi, guys. Bad timing?” Rachel asked, walking up.

“

No,” I answered, my eyes never leaving Jace’s.

“We’re done here.” I brushed past Jace and slid into the
passenger seat.

“

Okay,” I heard Rachel mutter.

Jace didn’t speak, he just started walking away. I

stared at his back as Rachel slowly pulled out of our
parking space. Nausea rippled through me and tears
pricked my eyes.

“

You know, Sam really did have it coming,” Rachel

said.

Pursing my lips together, I glanced at her. “How could

you say that? He could have really been hurt.”

“

Why do you even care so much? Sam was an ass

and Jace freaking called him on it,” Rachel insisted. “I’d
love it if a guy would stand up for me like that.”

“

I don’t know. There’s just something about the entire

situation that bothers me,” I muttered and then stared out
the window.

Rachael turned up the volume on the radio to cancel

out the deafening silence due to our lack of conversation.
My mind rolled around ideas as to why Jace beating up
Sam bothered me so much. I kept coming back to the
same reason, seeing him fly off the handle like that had
scared me. Did Jace have a bad temper and I was just now
witnessing it?

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the diner,

my cell phone buzzed in my coat pocket. It was Jace.

I could never hurt you like that, Tessa. Please

believe me. For what it’s worth, I care too much for
you to ever abuse you in any way.

I stared at his words, rereading them again and again,

wondering how I should respond.

I care a lot for you, too. ~ Tessa
I’m so sorry. Forgive me?
I’ll try. ~ Tessa

My heart pounded. I wasn’t sure this was the correct

way to end this argument, but I didn’t want to lose Jace
simply because he had stuck up for me.

“

Was that Jace?” Rachel asked, gathering her uniform

from the backseat.

“

Yeah.”

“

And?” she prompted.

“

He’s really sorry,” I said, grabbing my duffle bag.

“

Good. So now let’s talk about Katie Taylor’s

Halloween party on Saturday night. What are you going
as?”

That was one thing I loved about Rachel, how she was

so quick to move on.

“

I have no idea,” I said, stepping into the diner behind

her. “You?”

“

I’ll know it when I see it.” She smirked. “We’d better

go after school tomorrow and get something though.”

“

Sounds like a plan,” I muttered, my mind jumping to

thoughts of Jace. Maybe a Halloween party was just what

we needed to break the ice between us.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I met Rachel at our local Wal-Mart after school the next

day to pick out Halloween costumes.

“

Are you serious, Christmas decorations already?”

Rachel ranted as we scoured what was left of the
Halloween section—all of one long shelf. “There’s like five
costumes here… and they’re not even cute!”

“

They’re not that bad… look at this one, it’s cute.” I

held up a white southern bell costume complete with a big
gaudy hat and snickered.

“

Ew, no thank you.” Rachel wrinkled her nose. “Here,

why don’t you be Alice from ‘Alice in Wonderland’?”

I shook my head. “No, I think I might just go as a black

cat,” I said, reaching for a seven-dollar combo pack with a
tail and headband with ears.

“

Seriously? That’s lame.” She handed me a pair of

black feather wings. “Let’s go as dark angels.”

“

The wings are pretty, but what else would we wear

with them?”

“

Oh, here… we’ll go as light and dark angels.” She

took the black wings from me and handed me a set of
white.

“

I don’t know,” I said, scanning the tiny section for

something else. Matching costumes weren’t really my thing.

“I think I like the cat idea.”

“

Fine, but you have to wear my black leather pants,”

Rachel said, raising an eyebrow.

“

I’m going as a black cat, not Cat Woman.”

“

Cat Woman was sexy! You’ve got to wear them…

they’ll look great on you!” she insisted. “I’ll even let you
borrow my stiletto heeled black boots.”

“

You mean your hooker boots.” I grinned.

“

Those are the ones,” Rachel said, my words not

phasing her. “Halloween is a time when you’re allowed to
dress sexy without everyone calling you a slut.”

“

Oh, people can still call you a slut,” I corrected.

“

Only the jealous ones.” She winked. “What do you

think of this little tutu—black or silver?”

“

Go for the silver,” I said, heading to the end cap of the

aisle in search of some face paint for my whiskers.

Sam stood in the next aisle.
I froze and stared at him while he riffled through the

remaining bags of Halloween candy, oblivious to me. His
profile was all I could see, but I could tell his face was
swollen and he had a black eye. I bit the inside of my cheek
and wondered if I should say, “Hi.”

I didn’t have to wonder for long because he grabbed

up two bags of candy and started in my direction. My heart
dropped to my stomach when I saw the rest of his face and
I swore his nose was broken.

“

Hey,” he said without smiling.

“

Hi, how are you?” I muttered.

“

Well, obviously I’ve been better.” He gestured to his

face.

My face reddened. “Yeah, I can tell.”
Sam glanced at the cat ears and tail I was holding.

“What are you going to be tonight?”

“

A cat. You’re going to the party, too?” I asked,

dumbfounded he would be out letting everyone see his
face. I’d be hiding inside behind a closed door until my face
fully healed if I were him.

“

Yeah, my costume is going to rock. I’m going as a

World Champion Boxer. I don’t know who I should thank
more, you or your boyfriend, for how realistic my costume
will be.” He walked past me, bumping me with his side,
without another word.

I stood there, staring into the empty aisle, speechless.

“

What was that all about?” Rachel asked from behind

me.

I spun to face her. “Nothing, are you ready yet?”
We left Wal-Mart, each with our own bag of costume

attire, and headed to Rachel’s house for my leather pants
and stiletto-heeled boots.

Rachel lived with her mom in a small, two-bedroom

house. Her parents had divorced when she was eleven and
since then, Rachel had been bounced back and forth
between the two. Now that she was older, she’d cut out the

majority of visits to her father’s house because she hated
his new wife—a woman who was in her late twenties, nearly
ten years younger than her father.

“

I’m home,” Rachel shouted as we stepped through the

front door.

“

Hey, honey. I wasn’t sure if you were going to be

home in time before I had to leave for work,” Ms. Sweeney
said. “Tessa, how have you been?”

“

Fine, thank you, Ms. Sweeney,” I said with a smile.

Ms. Sweeney pulled her scrub shirt over her thermal

top. “What are you girls getting into tonight?”

“

There’s actually a Halloween party at Katie Taylor’s

tonight,” Rachel said.

“

Oh, well, you girls, be careful. No drinking and driving,

home by eleven—I’ll be calling the house phone to check—
and no boys over,” Ms. Sweeney said while putting on her
jacket. “I’ve got to head to the hospital; my shift starts in
twenty. By the way, how do I look in my new scrubs?”

“

Hot. You’ll be the hottest nurse there,” Rachel replied.

“

Oh yeah,” I said. “You look great.”

“

Thanks, see you, girls,” Ms. Sweeney said, stepping

outside into the cool afternoon air.

“

All right, let’s get you those smokin’ leather pants!”

Rachel grinned and I followed her to her room. “Is Jace
going to pick you up from here or do you wanna ride with
Kyle and me?”

“

I’m not sure. I’ve sent him a few texts today but he’s

never said anything back.”

“

Send him another,” she insisted while flinging jeans

and sweaters from her closet floor onto her bed.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and began

typing.

Are you wanting to come with me to Katie’s

Halloween party tonight? I’m getting ready now at
Rachel’s. ~ Tessa

Five minutes passed before Jace finally replied.

I don’t think so. Have fun, but I think I’ll pass this

time.

“

Guess I’ll be riding with you guys; Jace doesn’t want

to come,” I said, sounding more disappointed than I wanted
to let on.

“

What? I can’t believe him. Why?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said, ‘Have fun, but I

think I’ll pass.’”

“

Screw him then. Here.” Rachel tossed a pair of

leather pants into my lap. “Try these on.”

“

Oh my God, these things are going to be skin tight,” I

muttered.

“

I know and you’ll look hot.”

* * *

Thirty-five minutes later, Rachel and I stood in front of

her full-length mirror that hung on the back of her door,

staring at ourselves dressed in our Halloween costumes.
The black leather pants had fit like a second skin, which
Rachel said was how they were supposed to fit, and her
stiletto boots made me a good six inches taller. I had
borrowed a tight, super low-cut, black shirt, let Rachel do
my hair and make-up, put on my cat ear headband and tail,
and painted on some whiskers. My cat costume was
complete and I thought it actually looked good, especially
for seven dollars.

Rachel on the other hand looked amazing. She’d found

a black and silver sequined tank top to wear with her sliver
tutu, some black leggings for underneath, and her pair of
black ankle boots with a six-inch heel. She’d transformed
her hair into tiny ringlets, done her make-up like a movie
star, and slathered some old body glitter from middle
school all over her exposed skin before putting on her black
angel wings.

“

We look hot!” Rachel beamed, while we gazed at

ourselves.

“

We do look pretty good,” I agreed. “What time is Kyle

supposed to be here?”

“

Not until eight. What time is it?”

I grabbed my pants up off the floor and got my cell. “It’s

only 6:02.” I frowned.

“

Well, we could eat something. I think there’s some

pizza rolls in the freezer.”

After eating, we reapplied our make-up and waited in

the living room for Kyle to arrive. He got there at 8:20
dressed as a zombie. It was a stellar costume, complete
with loose flesh hanging from his face and a slow dragging-
leg walk he’d perfected.

“

Are we ready to party?” he asked in his best zombie

voice, and Rachel and I laughed.

“

Yeah.” She grinned. “Let me just grab some things

and lock up.”

“

Good, because everyone is supposed to get their

around nine and I still have to get gas,” Kyle said.

Ten minutes later we were all climbing into Kyle’s little

black, two-door Honda Civic, party bound.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

When we finally reached Katie Taylor’s house it was

9:04 and I realized I’d forgotten how far out Katie’s house
was. It was in the middle of nowhere, eerily secluded. I
scooped up my cell from the backseat, hoping to send
Jace one last pleading text for him to come, but I had no
cell service. I tossed it back onto the seat and twisted
around to watch Kyle parallel park near the end of the
driveway.

From where we’d parked, you could hear the party was

already in full swing up ahead. Rachel and I locked arms as
we started up the driveway.

“

It’s so cold,” Rachel complained.

“

I know it; let’s hurry up,” I said.

“

It’s not that bad out here,” Kyle insisted, dragging his

foot behind him, doing another zombie impression.

Fake spiderwebs covered the door and little skeletons

hung in the windows. The Monster Mash played loudly from
inside. I gripped the handle and opened the door. Katie
had transformed her living room into a Halloween rave.
Black lights had replaced every light bulb, fake spiderwebs
draped from the ceiling, along with black and orange crepe
paper, and a fog machine worked full blast in a corner.

“

This is amazing!” Rachel shouted.

“

Arr, welcome to ye house of doom,” Katie said from a

chair near the door, holding up a red plastic cup. She was
dressed in a cute pirate costume. “Grab ye selves a cup of
me Halloween brew.” She giggled, and I wondered how
many cups of Halloween brew she’d already drank.

Rachel and I exchanged a glance before weaving our

way through the crowded living room to a table near the
back wall with stacks of red plastic cups on either side of a
large punch bowl. Kyle followed.

“

Who’s the D.D. for the night?” I asked, my eyes

bouncing between the two of them.

“

Not it!” Rachel shouted as fast as she could.

“

Aw, come on! I had to be D.D. last time,” Kyle whined.

“

Sorry, but I called it first,” Rachel insisted, grabbing up

a cup and sloshing in some of the green-colored punch.

Kyle glanced at me, but I just shrugged and took a sip

of Katie’s concoction. I expected it to taste like something
lime flavored due to the color, but instead was surprised to
taste sherbet.

“

Mmm, this is good,” I muttered.

“

Right?” Rachel agreed.

The three of us stood around commenting on

everyone’s outrageous costumes while Rachel and I
continued to sip on our Halloween brew. I was nearly
finished with my first cupful when I spotted Sam, dressed in
his champion boxer costume, and Darcy as a slutty French
maid.

Rachel followed my stare. “Hmm, looks like Jace did

him a favor, helping to contribute to his costume and all.”

“

You could say that,” I said, tipping my cup back.

Over the next hour and a half I drank two more cupfuls

of the sherbet-flavored drink and danced with Rachel, Kyle,
and some guy dressed as Batman who insisted that I was
Cat Woman and

had

to dance with him at least once. Jace

remained in the back of my mind the entire night, but I was
bound and determined to have a little fun.

I stumbled to the bathroom, deciding if I didn’t pause

my dancing right then, I’d probably pee on myself. When I
came back to the living room, Rachel and Kyle were dirty
dancing together. I flopped down into the nearest chair and
hung my head, suddenly feeling overheated. The room
began to spin a little and I closed my eyes.

“

You okay?” Rachel asked, her hand rubbing my back

slowly.

I nodded. “Yeah, I just think I need some air. It’s hot in

here.” I stood and stumbled slightly, wondering what was in
that Halloween brew.

“

Want me to go outside with you?” Rachel asked as

Kyle came up from behind her and wrapped his arms
around her waist.

“

No, I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

I moved my way through the clusters of people, headed

straight for the door. As the cool, damp air of an October
night touched my warm skin, I began to feel slightly better. I
closed the door behind me and moved forward toward the

wooden rail. Leaning against it for support, I looked up to
the full moon and drew in a deep breath. The door opened
behind me and out walked a vampire couple.

“

Hey, Tessa,” the girl vampire said. I stared at her,

trying to figure out who was beneath all the white face paint
—Shelly Carmon, from my chemistry class. “So, where’s
that new boyfriend of yours?”

“

He couldn’t make it,” I said, not liking the little smirk

that played on her lips when she talked.

“

I see Sam dressed ready for a rematch. We were

hoping to see one,” the guy beside her said while he took a
puff off his cigarette.

“

Not gonna happen,” I muttered, turning back to gaze

at the night sky.

Shelly giggled and then I heard whispering along with

kissing noises. When the two vampire lovebirds stepped
back inside, I sat on the second step to the porch and
leaned my head against the rail. Now that the spinning had
stopped and I’d managed to cool off, exhaustion was
sinking in. I closed my eyes and relaxed against the cool of
the night.

My eyes snapped open at the sound of a twig breaking

in the woods nearby. The sound of rustling leaves to the left
of me made me jump and I instantly became fully awake.

As I slowly stood, my eyes began to search the patch

of woods closest to me and that was when I saw it—a
golden-colored wolf staring directly at me. Panic slammed

my heart against my ribs while every nerve in my body
urged me to run. I spun around and darted up the stairs too
quickly, losing my footing and slipping down the five steps.

Glancing over my shoulder, I scrambled to stand while

attempting to keep an eye on the wolf. In one swift
movement it lunged forward, sinking its sharp teeth into my
right leg. An agonizing scream burst from my lungs as I felt
its powerful jaws bite down hard and then release.
Instinctively I folded myself into the fetal position at the base
of the stairs and clamped my hands over the area where I
was bitten, then braced myself for the next vicious, bone-
shattering bite.

But it never came.
I watched mystified as the wolf lowered itself beside

me, its face inches from mine. As I stared into its honey-
brown eyes, a searing pain began to radiate from the bite
mark, making my skin feel like it was burning from the
inside out. A bloodcurdling scream escaped me as the
pain intensified, shooting up my leg and spreading
throughout my body like poison in my veins. The wolf’s eyes
never moved from mine and in my frightened state of mind,
I thought they almost seemed sad.

Breaking out into a cold sweat, the pain became

unbearable and spots began to dot my vision. The searing
pain spread throughout my entire body like a raging
wildfire, consuming me whole in mere seconds.

My eyes focused on the sad, amber-colored eyes of

my attacker and I vaguely remembered seeing them on
someone—

Jace

—just before I blacked out.

Someone tugging at me and lifting me into their warm

arms woke me slightly.

“

She was only out here for a few minutes… what the

hell was that? A wolf?” Rachel’s frantic voice filled my ears.

The fire raging through my veins was too strong and I

couldn’t stay conscious as the numbing darkness of sleep
swallowed me once more.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

My eyes snapped open, confusion and disorientation

clouded my mind as I glanced around the tiny room I found
myself in, a room with marbled-colored wallpaper
resembling the color of puke and white-tiled flooring. A TV
hung on the far wall that was turned on, but the volume was
muted.

Realization dawned on me—I was in a hospital.
Sitting up quickly with my heartbeat pulsing throughout

my body, images of the wolf and its sharp teeth sinking into
my leg spun through my head. I slung the heavy, green-
knitted blanket and white sheet off me and twisted my leg to
see a large bandage covering my calf. Panic trickled
through my veins. It hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been
real.

The door to my room slowly creaked open, startling me

even more.

“

Oh—sweetheart, you’re awake!” mom gasped.

She walked into the room holding a paper cup of

coffee between her shaking hands. Her hair was a tangled
mess and her eyes had the darkest circles imaginable
underneath them. This was the worst I’d ever seen her look.

“

How are you feeling, honey? We were so worried

about you,” she said, setting her coffee down on the side
table and rubbing my arm.

“

I’m not sure—sore and confused,” I answered

truthfully. “How did I get here?”

“

Rachel and Kyle brought you in; they said you’d been

bitten by some kind of a dog. Well, actually Rachel said it
was a wolf, but Kyle swears it was a dog—a husky maybe.
Do you remember what happened at all?”

Images of the golden wolf and its warm, honey-colored

eyes flashed through my mind. “I don’t know. I stepped
outside to get some fresh air and this golden-colored wolf
or dog or whatever it was bit me. Do we even have wolves
in North Carolina?”

My mother laughed a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure, but

the doctors are pretty set on it being a dog bite.” I sensed
something odd in her tone—hope, maybe?

“

Great, does this mean I need a rabies shot or

something?” I asked, sitting up in the bed a little straighter.

“

I don’t think so, honey. Kyle and Rachel were both

pretty sure whatever it was, was not foaming from the
mouth. In fact, it was the only thing they could agree on.”

“

That’s a relief.”

“

I should go get your dad. I left him eating lunch in the

cafeteria; he’ll want to know you’re awake.” Mom smiled.
She left the room, closing the door behind her.

I lay back, allowing my head to sink into the pillow, and

focused on taking in deep, measured breaths. I’d been
bitten by an animal, unbelievable.

Before I was able to fully relax, the door to my room

opened again and this time in walked an older man
dressed in a long white coat.

“

Good afternoon, Tessa. I’m Dr. Lenmark,” he

introduced himself with a slight smile.

“

Hi,” I answered, feeling my palms instantly begin to

sweat. Doctors always made me nervous.

Dr. Lenmark glanced at his clipboard and grabbed his

pen from in his coat pocket. “And how are you feeling? Are
you in any pain?” he asked, his eyes never leaving his
clipboard.

“

A little,” I admitted.

“

Okay,” he said, scribbling with a pen. “Now, your

friends claim that you were bitten by either a dog or a wolf,
can you clarify?”

My heart pounded in my chest as Dr. Lenmark finally

raised his eyes to meet mine. “I’m honestly not sure.”

“

Hmm, okay. Well either way, both of your friends

stated that the animal seemed to be healthy, which is good.
This means I don’t think I’ll need to administer a course of
rabies shots. In fact, it looks like the only shot you need is a
tetanus shot because it’s been a few years since your last
one.”

Relief flooded me. “So this means I get to go home

soon?”

“

Soon,” Dr. Lenmark said with a smile, just as mom

and dad walked into the room. “I’m going to write Tessa a
prescription for some antibiotics and then she’ll be ready to

go. Who was her physician again?” he asked my mother
while flipping through papers on his clipboard.

“

Dr. Keller,” mom answered, following him out the

door.

“

How you holdin’ up?” dad asked, moving to sit in the

seat beside my bed.

“

Tired.”

“

I’ll bet.” Dad winked. “I’m glad you’re okay, sweetie.”

“

Me, too.” I yawned.

“

Why don’t you go ahead and close your eyes? These

doctors always say you’re ready to check out but they never
mean right away. I’m sure you have time to get in a little
nap,” dad insisted and I nodded. “I’ll be right outside with
mom if you need me.”

I closed my eyes and in minutes began drifting off to

sleep easily. What seemed like moments later, someone
lightly stroked my arm.

“

Tessa, honey, wake up. Let’s get you into this

wheelchair so we can go home,” mom said.

My eyes fluttered open to blinding florescent hospital

lights. I squinted and rubbed my temples.

“

What’s the matter, headache?” mom asked,

concerned.

“

Yeah,” I muttered, slipping my legs off the side of the

bed.

Standing, a dizziness unlike anything I’d ever felt

before hit me. It was like I was attempting to walk in one of
those moving tunnels from the carnival, everything beneath
my feet kept spinning. Dad caught me before I lost my
balance completely and fell on my face.

“

I feel strange,” I said, sliding into the wheelchair.

“

Maybe you need to eat something, are you hungry at

all?” mom asked.

“

No,” I muttered.

“

It could be a side effect of your antibiotics or the pain

medication,” dad offered.

“

It could be a lot of things,” the nurse said. “It could

even be that you just need some rest. You had a traumatic
experience.”

I dozed in and out of consciousness the entire way to

our car and then drifted off to sleep during the ride home.
The next time I woke, it was to a familiar room and bed—
my own.

The lamp beside my bed had been left on, allowing a

dim light to fill my room, and a glass of water was sitting on
my nightstand. I watched the condensation slowly trickle
down its side and into a pool forming around its base.
Sitting up, I pulled my covers back to get a look at my leg.

A large white bandage had been taped over it, hiding

what I could only imagine to be a gruesome wound.
Gingerly my fingers brushed around the bandage; that was
when it hit me again—the same intense pain that felt like
fire rolling from the bite mark through my veins.

Slipping out of bed, I scrambled down the hall, headed

straight for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to search
for anything to kill the pain. Grabbing the little white bottle of
Tylenol, I twisted the lid until the two stupid protruding
arrows matched up, then dumped two pills onto my palm.

By the time I reached my room, the pain had

intensified, leaving a foggy dizziness in my head. Flopping
down across my bed, I reached for the glass of water and
popped the pills into my mouth before the pain had a
chance to cripple me anymore.

Lying back in bed, nausea crashed over me in waves

and I closed my eyes wondering what was wrong with me. I
was asleep again before I had time to think of anything
more.

Hours must have passed, because when I woke again

it was to my mother’s hand smoothing my hair and bright
daylight streaming into my room.

“

Hey, sweetheart, I just wanted to wake you for lunch. I

ended up letting you sleep through breakfast, but you need
to eat something and then take one of these antibiotics the
doctor prescribed.” Mom smiled.

“

Ouch,” I grumbled, attempting to sit up. “My body is so

sore.”

“

Really, hmm,” mom said while pressing her hand to

my forehead. “You feel pretty warm, too.”

“

Do I? I don’t feel hot.”

“

How did you sleep last night?” mom asked, concern

growing in her eyes. “I wonder if I should call the doctor.”

“

Awful, I woke up a few times,” I admitted.

“

There’s a sandwich right there,” she said, pointing to

my nightstand. “I think I’ll call the emergency room and see
if I can get a hold of Dr. Lenmark.”

I nodded and reached for the sandwich, starved. Mom

came back a few minutes later, holding the cordless phone
to her ear.

“

Here, take your temperature,” she insisted, handing

me a thermometer.

I placed it under my tongue, enjoying the cool of the

metal tip while I waited for it to beep. When it finally did,
mom pulled it out of my mouth before I could read the
numbers.

“

It’s 101.4,” she said into the phone.

I stared at her while eating my sandwich, listening to

her “Mmm hmms” and “Okays.”

“

All right, thank you, Dr. Lenmark. Yes, I’ll bring her in if

she gets any worse. If not then we’ll see Dr. Keller on
Wednesday,” mom said, before hanging up the phone. “He
thinks this could just be how your body is choosing to react
to the bite, that or else you may have caught the flu or a
virus.”

“

Great,” I said sarcastically, chewing on the last bite of

my sandwich. Mom handed me my antibiotic and I washed
it down with a gulp of stagnant-tasting water from last night.

“

Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll be back to check

on you in a little while.”

Covering up, I closed my eyes and lay there listening to

my own even breathing. The dizziness and head fog I’d felt
before was now dissipating and the pain throughout my
body had died down to a dull ache. Maybe I was just sick.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

For the next two days I managed to stay in bed,

resting. Mom took those days off, which apparently was
something you can do when you own your own shop, to
check on me every few minutes. Every time I’d tell her the
same things: I’m fine and more water, please.

But I wasn’t fine. I was far from it. I was so thirsty I could

feel my lips sticking to my teeth and my tongue felt like at
any moment it could be permanently glued to the roof of my
mouth. The bite on my leg continued to burn as if someone
was holding a lit torch to the skin there, and a sickness
flowed through my veins. I could feel it.

I was physically hot. I could feel my cheek burning the

palm of my hand, but I was also so cold that I couldn’t stop
shivering. My hearing seemed to come and go, literally. It
was like I was changing frequencies or something. And my
eyesight, it had become clearer somehow—especially in
the dark.

On Wednesday afternoon, I woke to a sunlit room and

a seemingly empty house. A note sat propped up on my
nightstand, beside the pill bottle of antibiotics, from my
mom.

Honey,
I had to get a few things done at the shop today

before your appointment with Dr. Keller. There’s some
leftover lasagna in the fridge for lunch. Don’t forget to take

your medicine! Call me if you need anything. I love you!

- Mom

I sat up in bed and for the first time since I’d been

bitten, I felt normal. A quick glance around my room showed
me how out of it I’d been. Three beautiful flower
arrangements were lined up on my dresser, inflatable
balloons bounced across my ceiling, and a stack of
textbooks sat on my floor.

After stretching my arms high above my head, I slipped

out of bed and padded across the hardwood floor. A
massive bouquet of yellow roses stood out to me the most
and I wondered if they were from Jace. Plucking the tiny
card from a little stand buried within the flowers, I opened it
and read:

Are you ready for me to explain everything?
- Jace

I stared at the card in my hand, rereading it over and

over and wondering what Jace had meant. Curious to see
who the other flowers were from, I sat down Jace’s cryptic
card and reached for another. One was from Rachel and
the other was from my mom and dad.

Standing at my dresser, I stretched once more. My

muscles felt tight and tense from hardly moving much in the
last three days. Grabbing some clean underwear and a
fresh set of pajamas from my dresser, I left my room and
headed straight for the shower.

Images from my attack assaulted my mind and more

questions than I cared to ask formed. I inhaled deeply,

grateful that I wasn’t feeling sick still. Jace’s strange card
floated through my mind and I struggled to determine what
he meant.

After stepping out of the shower and toweling off, I

reached in the medicine cabinet for a fresh bandage and
the antibiotic cream I’d been given at the hospital. Propping
my foot up on the toilet, I gently began to peel off the old
bandage. After tossing the bandage in the trash, I twisted
my leg and looked at my wound intensely. It didn’t look
anywhere near as bad as what I had envisioned. I applied a
thin layer of cream and covered it back up with a new
bandage.

My stomach grumbled while I got dressed and hunger

hit me. I headed to the kitchen and rummaged through the
fridge. Nothing looked appealing to me besides a package
of lunch meat in the bottom crisper, so I grabbed it and a
tall glass of water before making my way back to my room.

Sitting in bed, eating thin slices of ham, I began

scrolling through all of the missed text messages and
phone calls I’d received over the last few days. The majority
of them had been from Rachel, but I was pleased to see
that some of them had been from Jace, too. I crammed
another piece of ham into my mouth and glanced at the
clock on my nightstand. It was 3:07 pm, which meant
Rachel was just now getting out of school.

Hey. Sorry I didn’t answer any of your calls, I’ve

been a little out of it. ~ Tessa

A few minutes later Rachel responded back.

OMG, you are alive! I’ve been so worried.

OMG, you are alive! I’ve been so worried.
I know, sorry. I’m just now feeling better. I’ve got a

doc appointment this afternoon, but I think I’ll be back
in school tomorrow. ~ Tessa

Cool. I brought you all your work, don’t you love

me? =)

I chuckled before responding back.

Always. Thanks for the homework and thanks for

getting me to the hospital. ~ Tessa

You’re welcome. That was freaking scary! I swear

whatever it was that bit you was a wolf. What
happened?

I laid my head back against my pillow and sighed. I’d

thought it was a wolf, too, but I couldn’t be sure.

I don’t really know. I sat down on the steps

because I was hot, closed my eyes, and then saw
something in the woods. I’m not sure if it was a dog or
a wolf, but it bit the crap out of my leg! ~ Tessa

I’m sorry, hun. I’ve got to go to work now, but I’ll

call you later. Glad you’re okay!

Thanks. ~ Tessa

I flipped my phone around in my hand, wondering what

to say to Jace. I took a long swig of water and realized I’d
eaten the entire package of ham. Setting the empty
container aside, I sunk back down into my bed and began
typing.

Well, I survived an animal attack. Call me when

you get this. ~ Tessa

Ten minutes later my eyes fluttered closed and I fell

Ten minutes later my eyes fluttered closed and I fell

back asleep.

* * *

Mom gently shaking me and calling my name woke me

about an hour later.

“

I’m running a little bit late. We’re supposed to be at

your appointment in ten minutes. I see you woke up and ate
something,” she said pointing to the empty ham package
on my nightstand. “Did you change out your bandage at all
today?”

“

Yeah,” I said, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“

Good, let’s head to your appointment then.”

* * *

Dr. Keller’s office was small and cramped. It smelled

strongly of a floral-scented Glade plug-in and his secretary,
old lady Webber’s cheap perfume. I’d never been bothered
by the way his office smelled before, but today… it was
strong enough to give me a raging headache. Thankfully we
only had to wait in the main room for fifteen minutes before
we were called back into a smaller exam room, leaving the
overly potent scent behind.

After being poked and prodded, asked a million

questions, and brain warped into knowing exactly how to
take care of my wound over the next few weeks, I was free
to go.

“

Well, that went well. At least we know you’re healing

properly and that whatever you had was just a cold or
something,” mom said, as we climbed back into her van. I

nodded. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

I rubbed my forehead. “My head just sort of hurts.”

“

Oh, are you hungry? It’s a little after five now,” she

said, glancing at her watch. “Maybe we should pick up
something for dinner on the way home. Any requests?”

“

A cheeseburger sounds good.”

“

Cheeseburgers it is then,” she insisted.

We didn’t speak again the rest of the ride home. I was

busy fighting off the remnants of my headache and mom
looked off in her own little world of thought. Dad was
already home when we pulled up.

“

Ah, burgers! My kind of meal!” He beamed when he

saw us walk in. “How did the appointment go?”

“

Fine,” I said.

“

She’s healing well. We just have to keep it clean and

use the antibiotic cream they gave us at the hospital,” mom
said, passing out the burgers and fries.

Dinner was odd. My ears started messing up again,

causing my hearing to fluctuate between being muted and
hypersensitive.

“

What’s the matter?” dad said when I didn’t reply to

one of his questions.

“

It’s just my ears; they’re really messed up right now,” I

said.

Mom glared at me with a worried look that was

bordering on fear. “But Dr. Keller checked your ears, honey,

he said everything looked good.”

“

I know.” I nodded. “I’m not sure what’s the matter.”

“

Maybe it was from your fall. You could have a giant

ball of wax lodged in there and Dr. Keller could have been
too busy checking out your beautiful mother to notice it.”
Dad grinned.

“

I doubt that,” mom said with a slight smile, her worried

eyes never leaving me.

I finished the last few bites of my cheeseburger just

before my headache came back with full force. I popped
two Tylenol and sprawled out on the couch with the TV
volume down low. At 9:45, I was ready for bed.

After brushing my teeth, I crawled into bed and glanced

out my window at the star-speckled sky, wondering why
Jace had never called or texted me back. I’d drifted off into
that place of sleep where you’re asleep but not, and heard
a light tapping across the glass of my window. Startled, I
jolted awake and my heart soared at the probability of
whom it was—

Jace

.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I pushed my window open as silently as I could. Jace

stood before me, his face drawn in anguish.

“

Hey,” I said, staring at him through the textured black

lines of my screen. His warm eyes melted, but he didn’t
speak. Something was wrong and my heart began to
pound at the realization of it. “What’s the matter?”

“

I’m sorry.” He breathed.

I shook my head, not understanding what he was

apologizing for. “For what?”

“

Everything… that’s why I’m here, to explain,” he said,

shifting his eyes to his shoes.

Panicked thoughts circled through my mind before I

settled on one in particular—the cryptic card he’d sent me. I
swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t about to tell me he was
leaving town now. Had his family and Shelby gotten to him
while I’d been out of commission? “Then explain.”

“

You’re not afraid of me?” he asked, his eyebrows

drawing together in confusion.

A cool breeze wisped through the open window,

making me shiver, and I wrapped my arms around myself
for warmth. “Why would I be?”

“

Because of what I am, because of what I’ve done. I

thought you had figured it all out—the look in your eyes, it
was like you recognized me… even in my other form.”

Goosebumps prickled across my skin. “In your other

form?” I questioned, hoping I’d merely heard him wrong due
to my screwed up hearing, but I didn’t think I had.

“

I bit you, Tessa,” Jace muttered, shifting his gaze

away from mine. “I am the wolf.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. He was joking; he

had to be. I stared fixedly at him, memorizing each curve of
his face and searching my mind for the name of his
emotion. And then it finally came to me—ashamed. Jace
was ashamed.

The word werewolf spun through my mind and I

struggled to remember any of the werewolf lore I’d heard
from TV and books. The only things I could think of were
sharp teeth, speed, and a full moon.

“

I need you to know that I have never wanted to take

away someone’s pain as strongly as I did that night,” he
whispered without looking at me.

My heart pounded. Jace had

bitten

me and he was a

werewolf

. The thought sent me into a dizzying panic. Until

another thought drowned me in fear—a fear so strong I
could hardly breathe—was I going to become a werewolf
now, too?

“

Please don’t be afraid of me,” he pleaded, his amber-

colored eyes finally meeting mine. “I didn’t want to hurt you.
Trust me, Tessa… a part of me died watching you lay there,
knowing that I was the reason for all of your pain.”

“

Then why did you do it?” I heard myself ask, shocked I

was even able to speak.

Desperation entered Jace’s eyes, the eyes that

instantly remind me of the wolf’s eyes. I remembered how
human they had looked and how soul-grippingly sorry they
had seemed.

“

Because it was the only way. If there had been a less

painful way to turn you, I would have used it, but there
wasn’t.”

“

To

turn

me?” Anger and fear mixed within my system,

making me feel more nauseated by the second. “And what
if I didn’t

want

to become a monster like you?” The words

flew from my mouth like a spark bursting from an open
flame. Utterly unstoppable.

Shame softened his features. “I can understand why

you would think that—that I’m a monster—but there are
things that you don’t know, things I need to explain.” He
paused as though searching for the right words to continue
on with. “I didn’t turn you into a monster, if you want to get
technical about it; you were halfway there even before you
met me.”

“

What the hell are you talking about?” I whispered,

raising my voice an octave.

“

It’s in your blood, Tessa; it has been since you were

born. That’s what your paw print birthmark means… you’ve
always been marked for change.”

A lump rose in my throat. “I don’t understand.”
Jace let out a deep breath and stepped closer toward

my window. “There are only two kinds of werewolves—ones
that are born from two werewolf parents and ones who have
been marked for change and then bitten. Children born
from one human parent and one werewolf parent are the
ones born marked for change. Each is born with a telltale
birthmark, a birthmark in the shape of a tiny paw print
someplace on their bodies. If they should ever become
bitten by a full werewolf on the full moon during the month of
their eighteenth birthday… then they too shall become a
werewolf.”

Even though Jace spoke soft and slowly like he was

speaking to a small child, I still found his words hard to
follow, but only because one thing he’d said didn’t apply to
me. “But, neither of my parents are werewolves.”

“

I know,” he said, his eyes meeting mine and filling

with concern. “I don’t think they’re

both

your biological

parents.”

I laughed. “What are you talking about? Of course they

are!”

Jace put his hands up in front of himself as though he

were dealing with a crazy person. “Listen to me. I hate that
you’re finding out something so devastating this way, but
it’s true. I’m positive that your father isn’t your biological
father.”

Tears pooled in my eyes. “How can you possibly know

that? Why on Earth would you even

say

something like

that?”

Jace placed his hands against the screen of my

window. “Tessa, your father was a werewolf,” he said
seriously, ignoring my question completely.

His words took my breath away and fueled the anger

slipping through my veins. “Why? If this is all true, then why
tell me… why

bite

me… why couldn’t you just let me go on

living my normal life?” I cried.

“

Because from the first moment I laid eyes on you, you

were all that I could think of. I felt an intense connection with
you, but I couldn’t figure out why—not until I saw your
birthmark.” He moved his hands away from the screen and
crammed them into the front pockets of his jeans. Looking
me directly in the eyes, his lips twisted into the shy little half
smile I’d come to love. “Have you ever felt so lost inside,
like you don’t know yourself and you’re not sure if you ever
will? That’s how I felt every day… but that feeling went away
the day I first saw you. It was like something inside of me
sparked to life and I knew if I were to ever let you go that
little spark would die out again.”

Tears flowed from my eyes, but I felt my anger

beginning to melt away.

“

As scary as I know this might all seem to you right

now, you can’t deny that you feel something similar for me.
Ask yourself truthfully, Tessa, haven’t you always felt like
there was something different about you, something you
could never put your finger on? It was the werewolf inside of
you; that’s what makes you different.”

He was right. I’d known my whole life that something

about me was different from everyone else, but wasn’t that

normal? Didn’t everyone, especially teenagers, feel that
way at some point during their lives?

“

I know you don’t believe me right now, but I saw the

way you looked at me that night… right into my eyes. You
knew it was me. Didn’t you?” he asked.

Yes

, I answered in my head… but aloud I said:

“Leave.”

“

I will when I’ve told you all I came to say,” he

whispered and then took in a deep breath, like whatever
else he was about to say was more nerve-racking than the
first part. “My father is the Pack Leader and I’m his first
born son, well only child actually, so it’s my responsibility to
take over when the time comes. That time is now, the Wolf
Moon of my twenty-first year. In order for me to do this, I
have to choose a mate for myself… and I’ve chosen you.”

My heart lurched in my chest. I wanted to slap him. I

wanted to scream. I wanted him to shut his mouth and get
away from me. How could he do this to me? If all of this was
true, which I was having a hard time seeing how any of it
could be, then not only had I been sentenced to a life as a
monster… but also to a life

with

one because he’d

chosen

me.

Jace reached up and plucked the screen from in my

window just like all the times before. I stood there, feeling
numb by all the crazy information I’d just been given from
this guy whom I’d thought yesterday was sane.

“

I’m so sorry, Tessa,” Jace said, gripping my cold,

shaking hands in his.

The heat from his touch enveloped my hands like a

warm blanket. I blinked and more tears fell from my eyes.

“

Say something, please,” he begged, his thumb gently

caressing my hand.

I swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say… I don’t

know what to think. How is any of this even possible?”

“

I know you have your doubts right now, but all you

really have to do is think about how you’ve been feeling
these last few days to know that what I’m saying is real.”

How I’d been feeling—the sickness, the appetite for

meat, my clearer eyesight, the strange hearing issues—
maybe it wasn’t a common sickness after all or a ball of
wax blocking up my ears.

“

How could you do this to me? Why didn’t you give me

a choice?” I asked again, my voice cracking with emotion.

Jace’s eyes became hard. “Would you have believed

me? Would you have even chosen to be with me, then?”

“

You’re so incredibly selfish,” I whispered. I’d liked him,

loved him, and he’d taken my life from me and turned me
into a monster just like him. “Leave, now!” I jerked my hands
from his and started to close the window.

“

I love you, Tessa,” he said, his voice caught

somewhere between a whisper and a sob.

My heart tore into pieces. It was the first time he’d ever

told me he loved me. I believed him, but I was too angry and
upset to say anything back. I closed the window and
scurried back toward my bed, my legs barely able to hold

me up any longer.

My entire life had just come crashing down around me

with that one conversation. I drew up the covers around my
neck, feeling like a lost and frightened little girl and cried
myself to sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“

Hey! Oh, how are you feeling?” Rachel asked, running

to catch up to me in the hall.

I hadn’t even made it to first period yet and already

nine people had asked me a page full of questions about
the attack and how I was feeling. Rumors had gone wild.
Some people were even surprised to see me walking with
two legs. Apparently in one false rumor, I’d lost a leg.

“

I’m fine,” I said, hoping I hadn’t sounded as annoyed

as I felt.

“

So, everything is healing up okay? I never got a

chance to call you last night after work.”

I spun the dial to my locker, entering my combination.

“Everything went good.”

Rachel leaned against the locker beside mine. “Okay,

then what’s your deal? Are you mad at me or something?
You sound really aggravated.”

I switched out my books, only keeping the one I would

need for first period and my binder. My arms felt stiff and
sore today just like the rest of me. I felt like my muscles
were so tight that if I bent the wrong way something might
rip.

A few lockers down the hall a couple arguing about an

incident from the night before caught my attention. The
jealous boyfriend slammed his fist against a locker and I

jumped as though it were right beside me. In fact, I could
hear their every word. It was like I was standing directly
beside them, but I wasn’t. I was at the opposite end of the
hall. What was wrong with me?

Panic laced my veins and my conversation with Jace

from the night before came rushing back, reminding me of
the answer. I was turning into a freaking werewolf.

Rachel gripped my arm and I jerked back a little.

“Whoa, are you okay?”

“

I’m fine, but I won’t be if we don’t hurry up. The bell is

about to ring.” I smiled, attempting to gather myself
together.

* * *

I found it hard to focus during first period. My mind kept

going back to the conversation Jace and I had had the night
before. I didn’t know what freaked me out more, the fact
that I was becoming a werewolf or that the man I’d thought
was my father for my whole life wasn’t. I wondered why my
mother had never told me and who my father had really
been.

By lunch those thoughts had been pushed from my

mind while I found myself battling against my heightened
senses again, unable to decide which one was harder to
deal with—my sharp hearing or my supersonic sense of
smell.

A group of girls giggled loudly while trying to capture

the attention of the guy they liked who was standing nearly
twelve feet away. The cafeteria was filled with yelling and

so many people talking at once I felt my head might split in
two. All of this mixed with people who smelled like they had
literally bathed in their perfume and cologne before coming
to school mingling in the air with the scent of spaghetti was
enough to make me throw up in my mouth a little with every
step.

High school had turned into hell.
At the end of the day I couldn’t get to my car fast

enough. On my ride home I was extremely relieved my
mother had thought to ask for the remainder of the week off
for me from work, because I was positive my head would
have exploded if I had gone. The only thing I wanted to do
was go home and lay on my bed in my quiet room. Seeing
my mom’s minivan parked in the driveway I realized this
was not going to be possible.

“

Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?” mom asked as

soon as I stepped through the front door.

“

Fine,” I snapped unintentionally, heading straight to

my room to drop off my books.

“

Okay, that didn’t sound believable. Is something

bothering you?” she asked, her head peeping down the hall
after me.

I could see the concern etched into her stare and all I

could feel was anger toward her. I wanted to lash out and
tell her everything I’d just learned, especially the part about
my father not being my biological father. Questions
swarmed through my mind like angry little bees, but I didn’t
release them. Instead, I lied.

“

I’m just tired,” I said, being sure none of my pent up

emotions leaked into my words.

Mom glared at me with a skeptical look in her eyes. It

was the kind of look that made you feel like she could see
right through you, the look only mothers know how to make
so well. “Okay.” She sighed. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you
decide you want to talk.”

I hated it when she did that—the whole

almost

guilt trip

thing, mixed with that skeptical gleam in her eye—it made
me feel remorseful every time. Part of me wanted to chase
down the hall after her, wrap my arms tightly around her,
burry my head into her chest just like I did when I was a little
girl, and sob while I told her everything that happened.
Another part of me felt that this wasn’t the time, that I was
too angry about the entire situation to confide in her or ask
any of my questions. If all of this were true, and I was
beginning to believe that it was, then the emotions that
were sure to spew from me in the heat of the moment could
be catastrophic to our relationship.

I flung myself across my bed and let out a long sigh. My

cell phone buzzed in my coat pocket on the floor and I got
up to get it. It was a message from Jace.

I wanted to tell you again how sorry I am. I

understand you’re going through a lot right now, but
know that I’m here for you if you need me. And you
will need me, Tessa, eventually. Nobody can deal with
this on their own in the beginning.

My eyes blurred with tears. I wanted to respond back

that I was going through all of this because of him and his
selfishness, but I didn’t. Instead I said:

I don’t need you right now, Jace. What I need

right now is some time. ~ Tessa

It was a bittersweet lie. I was angry with him, but I still

wanted him, and as hard as it was for me to admit it right
now, I needed

him

more than anyone. Jace was the only

one who could explain to me exactly what was going on
with my senses and if there was anything else I should be
expecting to happen soon, like transforming into a wolf
during a full moon. Plus, maybe he could help me think of
ways to confront my mother and ask the questions that I felt
desperately needed to be answered.

The only problem was, seeing him right now seemed

unfathomable.

* * *

“

Dinner,” dad announced, poking his head in my

doorway.

“

All right,” I said, glancing up from my homework. “Let

me just finish up with this last chemistry equation.”

“

Okay.” He smiled. “So, how was your day? Your mom

said you came home in a funky mood.” He leaned against
my doorway and folded his arms across his chest.

I sighed and dropped my pencil into my chemistry

book to hold my place. “I’m fine; I’m just a little bit tired. It
was a really long day… everyone kept asking me if I was
okay and what had happened. I guess I just sort of felt
bombarded with questions all day and it put me in a grumpy

mood. I didn’t mean to take it out on her or seem snappy.”

“

I know. I’m sure you had a rough day. Hopefully

tomorrow will be better and all those nosy kids will lay off,”
he said, his face remaining serious, but then he broke into
a smirk and winked at me before turning back down the
hall.

I smiled, but it was a sad smile. He was my dad, but he

wasn’t. I continued to sit on my bed, Indian style, and stared
at the space he’d just occupied. Bill Morganton was a good
man and I couldn’t call him anything less than dad. I realized
then that to me a father was someone who was there for a
child no matter what, someone who loved that child
unconditionally. Not just a man who had a part in creating it.

I opened my door all the way, and a tantalizing scent

stopped me in my tracks. The scent of roast beef flooded
my nostrils, making my mouth water, and my stomach
began to growl and twist with a hunger so strong it hurt.

Somehow I managed to make it from my bedroom all

the way to the dining room table without doubling over from
the painful spasms of hunger rippling through my stomach.
Swallowing gulp-fulls of saliva, I sat across the table from
my parents to eat. I had to make a serious effort to act as
normal as possible, because it was like my mind was at
war with my body.

My body wanted nothing more than for me to rip into

the steaming roast that was so delicately placed on the
table like a wild animal. In my mind, I was still rational,
barking orders at the rest of me to stay calm and to

remember to get only normal-size helpings of everything,
not just the meat.

With a shaky hand I held my plate up and began

serving myself mashed potatoes and carrots first,
desperately trying to gain control over my sudden onset of
hunger before I came to the meat. While listening to both of
my parents talk between themselves about their day, my
stomach let out a loud grumble.

“

Are you hungry, honey?” Dad chuckled.

“

I’m starved,” I said, the understatement of the year.

“

Didn’t you eat lunch at school?” mom asked, that

skeptical glare returning to her eyes.

“

Yeah,” I lied. I’d been too preoccupied thinking my

head was going to split in two to eat anything then. “But it
was small.”

I swallowed another large pool of saliva and began

slicing into a thick piece of meat with my fork. My stomach
let out another loud rumble as it eagerly anticipated the
taste.

“

I placed a bid on the basement remodel at the

McFarland house today,” dad announced, obviously
ignoring my loud and angry stomach. I was glad.

Opening my mouth, I allowed myself a small bite of the

juicy roast, afraid that if I gave myself a larger bite I wouldn’t
be able to stop myself from stuffing my mouth sickeningly
full all at once. I learned quickly that eating one tiny bite at a
time wasn’t satisfying at all; it was merely teasing.

By the end of dinner I could still feel my stomach

twisting with hunger; it was no longer making the
horrendous noises for everyone else to hear, but I wasn’t full
yet either. I felt as though I had eaten air.

I helped mom clear the table, carrying everything into

the kitchen to be scraped into Tupperware containers and
refrigerated. Biding my time, I poured myself a tall glass of
milk and waited as patiently as I could for my parents to
leave the room. The sound of the TV turning on was my cue.
I pulled the leftover roast back out of the fridge and placed it
on the counter.

Without wasting any time on cutting with a knife and a

fork, I began to peel chunks off with my fingers and eat
them. Ten full minutes passed while I stood in the kitchen,
eating chunks of meat with my fingers and listening intently
for any sign that my parents might be coming.

When I finally felt my incredible sense of hunger

subside, I’d eaten the entire roast except for a hunk of fat
on the bottom. Quickly I put the lid back on and shoved the
container back into the fridge. I scurried down the hall to my
room, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, hoping to
hide any trace of my uncontrollable, overindulgent eating
binge that had just occurred.

I closed my bedroom door hastily behind me and

moved to stare at my reflection in the mirror above my
dresser. My face looked normal. I was the same person as
always, but I felt so different inside.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

An entire week passed. Jace gave me exactly what I’d

asked for—space. He didn’t talk to me and I never saw
him. I found myself losing control of everything—my mind,
the hunger, and even my life. Rachel and I were fighting
because I was too grouchy at school and snapped at her
more than I should. It was only because my senses were
becoming more heightened every day. I began to wonder if
I would ever feel normal again. I lay awake in bed for hours
every night, crying because of what I was becoming and
feeling so alone.

After work on Wednesday night, while I sat in my

bedroom thinking, I decided I needed to see Jace. I didn’t
know what I would say or how I would feel seeing him, but
he was the only person who knew what was happening to
me. And frankly, I’d never been more scared in my entire
life and could use someone’s comfort.

Can you come visit me tonight? ~ Tessa

I sent him the text and sucked in a deep breath,

nervous that he wouldn’t respond. In just a few short
moments he responded back.

I’ll be there in 10.

I lay back against my pillow feeling relieved for the first

time since the attack. Jace might have been the one who
caused all of this, but he was also the one who could help
guide me through it. I tried to keep this in mind instead of all

the negative things I could focus on, that way I might be able
to ask the questions I needed and get the answers before
my anger toward him took over.

True to his word, ten minutes later I heard footsteps

approaching my bedroom window from outside. I crossed
my room and saw his handsome face appear. I’d forgotten
how breathtaking his features were. A shy smile came to
his lips as I opened the window and I felt emotions I hadn’t
expected swim to the surface of my mind—comfort, relief,
safety, want, need.

“

Hey,” I whispered.

“

Hey yourself,” he replied back, while popping the

screen from the window. “I was getting scared that you’d
never call me. I’m so glad you did, though.”

A slight smile formed on my face mirroring his. “I’m

glad I did, too.”

Jace reached through the window and took my hand in

his. “So, how have you been feeling? Have you told anyone
anything?”

I stared into his bright amber-colored eyes, noticing all

of the concern for both questions etched in to them. I could
tell he genuinely cared about me, but I could also tell that
this wasn’t a secret to be told. “I’m trying to hang in there, I
guess. And no, I haven’t told anyone—who would believe
me anyway?” I chuckled a little to lighten the mood.

His eyebrows drew together and he brushed his thumb

across the top of my hand. “I’m so sorry, Tessa. Can you
ever forgive me?”

“

I want to, but it’s too soon,” I whispered, sounding

colder than I’d intended.

“

I understand,” he muttered, dropping my hand. “Well,

you must have wanted to talk to me about something… so,
here I am.”

“

I did,” I said. “I feel like I’m going nuts. Please tell me

all of this strangeness goes away over time.”

“

I can’t tell you that because it doesn’t. There are times

though, when the human side of us is more dominant than
the animal. That will be when you feel the most normal,” he
answered carefully.

I didn’t look at him; instead I looked past him, out into

the darkness of the night. A million questions had swam
through my mind the last few days and now that I had the
chance to have them answered, I couldn’t remember even
one.

“

Is there anything in particular that you want to know, or

do you just want me to begin explaining the basics?” Jace
asked, sounding more like a teacher than my boyfriend,
when I didn’t respond to his last statement.

“

The basics would be great.” I bit my bottom lip and

clasped my fingers on the windowsill tightly, suddenly
feeling nervous.

“

Okay.” He shifted on his feet and folded his arms

across his chest, looking just as nervous as myself. “The
wolf inside of you follows with the phases of the moon.

When the moon waxes—or grows—our sight, hearing,
sense of smell, speed, and strength all become stronger
and more sensitive. During the full moon we are in our most
heightened period. This is also when we change form. As
the moon wanes—or becomes smaller—so do our
heightened senses and abilities, leaving us nearly human
during a new moon, which is when the moon is not visible.
This will be the moment when you feel the most normal,” he
added with a little smirk.

I smiled slightly, unable to deny him that. He’d

explained everything so clearly, I was left with no particular
questions. At least none I could think of at the moment.
“Thank you for briefing me on Werewolf 101.”

“

You’re welcome, but there’s so much more for you to

learn than what I’ve just told you.”

“

I’m sure there is, but at least now I know I’m not going

to sprout ears and a tail in the middle of class,” I said,
relieved.

Jace chuckled. “You were actually worried about that?”

“

Well, yeah,” I admitted, meeting his stare directly.

Then I remembered about my eating habits lately. “What
about my craving for meat? Is that another thing that follows
the phases of the moon, or am I going to always have to eat
like a barbarian?” I asked while I thought about it.

Jace’s chuckle turned into a low and rich laugh. The

sound of it made a smile spring to my lips and warmed my
heart. I’d missed hearing his laugh. I’d missed him.

“

You’re killin’ me!

Barbarian

?” he said.

“

Well, what else would you call a person who eats an

entire roast hidden in the kitchen with her fingers?” I asked,
my smile never leaving my face.

“

I’m sorry,” he paused, gaining control over his

laughter. “It will get somewhat better after you eat your first
kill, but for the most part, yes it does go with the phases,
too.”

I scrunched my face up. “First kill?”

“

Meat contains protein, and after we change our

bodies become depleted of protein, which is why we hunt in
our wolf state. Our bodies seem to consume more protein
in that state than in our human form. My theory is because
human food—even hamburger, roast, chicken—it’s all filled
with such crap like fillers, dyes, and preservatives that
there’s not a substantial amount of actual meat in it. With
live animals, that’s all you get, so we are able to gain more
protein that way.”

His theory made sense, but the thought of eating an

actual live animal sickened me. My face must have
mirrored how repulsed the thought made me, because
Jace snickered at me once more.

“

It’s actually not as bad as it sounds. You just sort of

have to let go during the change and give in to your animal
side,” he said, unfolding his arms and cramming his hands
into his front pockets. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I’m
here for you. I’ll help you through it all, if you’ll let me.”

It

was

a lot to take in. Everything I thought I knew about

my life and myself had been altered completely, but I
believed that Jace would be there for me when I needed
him. This thought brought me an unexpected amount of
relief, making me realize how strong my feelings for Jace
still were.

“

I’m scared,” I whispered.

“

I know,” he said and I shifted my gaze to his face. A

pained look embedded itself into his features. “Everything
will be okay,” he promised.

“

How?” My voice cracked with emotion and I felt tears

swell up in my eyes once more.

“

Because, like I said, I’ll be there every step of the way

to help guide you through all of this. I’m not going anywhere,
Tessa. You’re not alone, please remember that.” He
stepped forward and took my hands into his. “I love you.”

Looking into his bright eyes and hearing him say those

words, I felt all of the anger I’d directed his way begin to
melt away completely. Sure, with one bite he’d changed my
life forever, but he’d also shown me that the life I’d been
living was partially based on lies. Maybe he hadn’t gone
about things the right way… but knowing what I knew now
and feeling what I felt for him, it didn’t matter anymore.

Jace stared at me, obviously waiting for me to respond

with those three words that meant so much. I didn’t, I
couldn’t… and knowing that broke my heart. I knew I felt
strongly for him—hell, I knew I loved him—but I just couldn’t

bring myself to say the words.

“

It’s okay; I’m not expecting you to say it back.” He

released one of my hands to run his fingers through his hair.
“I just thought you should know.”

Without thinking, I bent and crushed my lips to his. I

could feel how shocked he was by my actions, but it didn’t
take him long to overcome what he felt and move his lips
against mine. My blood was racing. I could hear it more
profoundly than ever before as it flowed through my veins at
a rapid pace. I could even hear my heart pumping with extra
force.

I laced my fingers around the back of Jace’s neck,

gently drawing him closer to me. My fingers knotted in his
hair and my lips parted, allowing him access to the deepest
parts of my mouth. I heard him groan against my lips and
felt a surge of warmth shoot through me in response.

Jace pulled away too quickly, ending our perfect

moment sooner than I would have liked. I straightened my
back and felt my cheeks flush with color from my bold
move.

“

I’m guessing you’re not upset with me anymore?” he

whispered, his gaze fixed on mine.

I shook my head. “Nope.”
His eyes appraised me as his lips twisted into a

triumphant smile that slowly lit his face. “I should let you get
some sleep,” he said hurriedly, and I got the impression he
was trying to get out of my sight before I changed my mind.

“

Okay,” I whispered, tucking a stray strand of hair

behind my ear.

Jace picked up the screen to my bedroom window and

began popping it back into place before walking away from
me backward with a smile. I watched him with my newly
gained version of night vision, until he’d disappeared
around the side of my house.

I climbed into bed, suddenly feeling more tired than I’d

realized I was. Exhaustion from mental and emotional
stress bogged me down and I drifted off into a dreamless
sleep effortlessly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The next day at school was better and worse.
It was better because I knew there was no chance of

me sprouting ears and a tail in the middle of class. I also
knew about what was going on within my body and that
what I was experiencing was

normal

, for lack of a better

word. I began to feel like I could handle this, instead of
feeling like I was going crazy.

It was worse because my senses still seemed slightly

out of whack. The fluorescent lights in the hallways were a
tad bit too bright. Certain peers and teachers of mine still
had managed to bathe in perfume and cologne before
coming to school in the morning. And the never ending
chattering, laughing, and shrieking still managed to make
my eardrums flutter throughout the day.

When school was finally over, I walked swiftly to the

parking lot with a mild headache pulsing in my temples.
Thank goodness I didn’t have to work at the diner this
afternoon and could drive straight home to the quite
sanctuary I called my room.

* * *

As soon as I pulled into my empty driveway, my cell

phone buzzed with a new text message. It was Rachel.

Hey, just wondering if you wanted to hang out

this afternoon. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve
hung out together.

I frowned; she was right. Because of everything that

had happened to me since the Halloween party, I hadn’t
really spent much time with Rachel. Guilt crushed me as I
thought of what a horrible excuse for a best friend I’d been
lately.

Sure, I just got home. Come on over and we can

study for that test on Beowulf in English tomorrow. ~
Tessa

I took in a deep breath and headed inside for a glass

of water and two Tylenol. Rachel arrived twenty minutes
later and I could tell we wouldn’t be getting any studying
done from the distraught look on her face.

“

What’s wrong?” I asked as she stepped through the

front door.

“

I don’t want to bother you because I’m sure you’re

probably still trying to get over your attack and all,” she
paused and took in a shuddering breath then began
nervously twisting her thumb ring. “But Kyle and I got into a
really big fight this afternoon.”

My heart sank. I’d never seen her this upset before,

especially not over a guy. “Over what? What happened?” I
asked as we started toward my room.

“

We’ve sort of been fighting for the last two days.

Remember when I told you that Megan Gregg started
working at the grocery store with him last week?” Tears
swelled in her eyes and the same guilt I’d felt earlier came
pressing down on me again while I struggled to remember
when Rachel had told me anything about Megan Gregg

working at the grocery store with Kyle. “Well, when I went to
visit him Tuesday night during his break, like I always do, he
was sitting outside on the curb with Megan. They were
laughing and chatting it up. Kyle even opened up her
cranberry juice bottle for her.”

Rachel flung herself against my bed and I saw a tear

slide down the side of her face as she stared up at my
ceiling.

“

Maybe they’re just friends,” I offered, even though she

wasn’t finished talking yet.

Rachel scowled. “I don’t know. I didn’t really give him

time to answer. I sort of went off on him after Megan walked
away. I was just so jealous and sickened by the sight of him
sitting with someone else and laughing that I flipped out and
now he’s mad at me for not trusting him. What am I going to
do, Tessa? I so don’t want him to break up with me.”

“

So what were you two arguing about this afternoon,

Tuesday again?”

“

No, I saw them talking in the parking lot after school.

Kyle said she was just asking if he worked this afternoon
and that was it, but I’m not sure. What if he likes her?”

“

Yeah right, Megan is cute but she is definitely no

Rachel Sweeney.” I grinned, hoping I was redeeming
myself for not being a great best friend the last couple of
weeks.

Rachel laughed. “This is true; maybe I am just making

a big deal out of nothing. I guess I should tell him I’m sorry.”

I nodded in agreement. Rachel pulled her cell phone

from in her back pocket and her fingers began to rapidly fly
across the Qwerty keyboard. A car door closed from
outside and clunky-shoed footsteps sounded from on the
front porch. Mom was home and I was amazed with myself
at distinguishing her footsteps.

“

I’m home,” mom shouted, closing the front door

behind her.

“

We’re in my room,” I answered.

“

Hey, Rachel, we haven’t seen you around these last

few weeks. How’s everything been going?” mom asked
leaning against my doorframe.

“

Good, Mrs. Morganton,” Rachel answered, still texting

away on her phone.

“

Good grief, I still don’t see how you girls can type so

fast on those little phones of yours. One of these days your
thumbs are going to become permanently cramped that
way, I swear,” mom said, shaking her head. “Are you
staying for dinner? We’re having leftover roast because I
don’t feel like cooking a real meal tonight.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. I’d finished off the

roast last night in my insane moment of uncontrollable
hunger. I’d forced myself to eat a cheeseburger and some
peanut butter crackers for lunch today in hopes of avoiding
a repeat from last night.

“

Actually, I think I’m going to head home. But thank you

for the invite,” Rachel said, sitting up.

“

All right. Well, it was nice to see you again.” Mom

smiled and left the room.

“

Kyle and I just made up. I’m going to go meet him at

my place. Thanks for listening, Tessa.” Rachel beamed.

“

No problem. That’s what best friends are for.” I

smiled.

* * *

Right after Rachel left I heard my mom scouring

through the refrigerator. My chest tightened. What the hell
was I going to say to her?

“

Tessa, do you know where the roast is? I could have

sworn there was at least half a roast in here last night,”
mom yelled.

My lungs stopped working. I still hadn’t come up with a

concrete answer to that question yet.

“

Tessa?” mom yelled again, this time sounding more

frustrated.

My mind raced while I scurried to come up with an

answer as I walked to the kitchen. I could just tell her that it
fell on the floor while I was making a sandwich and I
chucked it into the garbage. Hopefully she wouldn’t look.

“

Umm, well…” I started, and then I rounded the corner

and saw her staring directly at me with the most penetrating
glare I’d ever seen before.

“

What happened to it, Tessa? You didn’t eat it all did

you?” she asked, her gaze never releasing me. “Oh my

God, are you pregnant?”

Shock rippled through me. “

What

? No!”

Something changed in her eyes then. I didn’t see the

sense of relief I’d expected to see. Instead, I saw growing
concern. Did she think I was lying?

“

Mom, I’m not. I promise,” I assured her.

I noticed how she swallowed hard before speaking

again. “So what happened to the roast?”

“

I don’t know. I didn’t touch it—maybe dad took it for

his lunch today,” I suggested with a shrug, then walked back
to my room, leaving her odd stare and pounding heartbeat
behind.

I sat at the edge of my bed, wondering what I’d done

over the last few weeks that could have led to my mother
thinking I was pregnant. It bothered me that I hadn’t seen
relief in her eyes when I’d told her no, but instead concern.
Did she know what my biological father was? Had she
already formed a suspicion of what was really going on with
me?

I couldn’t remember when telling my mother something

this important about myself had ever felt so hard before.
The thought of confessing what I was becoming—what
Jace had turned me into—face to face with her frightened
me more than anything. What if the first thought that came
into her head was the word that had first came into mine
when Jace had told me what he was?

Monster

. What if all I

saw reflected in her eyes afterward when she looked at me
was fear?

I didn’t know if I was ready to face that yet.
I needed air; I needed space. My room suddenly felt

too small and suffocating. Locking my bedroom door, I
tiptoed across my room and opened the window. I popped
out the screen and leaned it against my wall, before I
carefully climbed out.

Sitting down on the brittle grass beneath my bedroom

window, tears began to flow freely from my eyes. The cool,
damp air of a November evening surrounded me and I
drew my legs up against my chest and wrapped my arms
around them tightly, while gently resting my chin on my
knees.

I gazed up into the slowly darkening sky, thinking of

how in only an hour or so the nearly full moon would
become visible. The thought of it made my pulse quicken
and Jace’s almost forgotten words echoed through my
mind:

“

As for the moon, I believe it holds the power to make

people do things they normally wouldn’t, sure—but only
when it’s full. For some, I believe it can rule their entire
existence.”

A shiver ran along my spine as I realized I only had

about two more weeks until I found out just how much the
moon ruled my entire existence now.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

This story was three years in the making and I can’t

believe it’s finally out there! If it weren’t for my mother gently
pushing me to keep going back to Tessa’s story, it might
have taken me loads more years before I felt like I’d finally
got it right.

So a HUGE thank you goes out to her for that! Mom,

as I’ve said before and as I’ll continue to say a thousand
times over: Thank you for believing in me even before I
believed in myself. I rely on your advice more than you
know.

Thank you to my wonderful husband and two amazing

children for allowing me to hole myself up in the bedroom
and write until my heart’s content about my imaginary
friends.

Thank you to my lovely little sister, Heather, for reading

all of my stories and at times staying up until the wee hours
of the morning to finish.

Thank you to Mrs. Becky for reading Marked and

calling me to tell me how hot Jace was. You made me smile
so much it hurt.

Thank you to Katrina for reading Marked in its

beginning stages three years ago and then taking the time
to read it again when I’d finally thought I’d gotten it right.
Your enthusiasm for the next book fuels me.

Thank you to everyone I’ve met in the writer world.

There have been a lot of you who’ve inspired me to
continue doing what I’m doing without even knowing it. To
name you all would take up too many pages!

And last, but certainly not least, THANK YOU to you,

the readers, for taking a chance on a small-town, unknown,
self-published author and making my dreams come true.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer

Snyder

writes

Young

Adult

Edgy

Contemporary novels as well as Young Adult Paranormal
Romance novels. She resides in the beautiful mountains of
Western North Carolina with her husband and two children.
Jennifer finds great joy in blank notebooks and a smooth
writing pen.

Feel free to visit her blog at:

http://jennifersnydersblog.blogspot.com

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN