Jaheim
Harmony gasps.
Fuck. Did she hear that?
My heart races, wondering how the fuck I’m gonna explain the sound that just came out of me—if she heard it—but then I know she did because she suddenly pushes me back, hard. Harder than she should be able to for a girl her size.
Her burgundy eyes are wide with shock, but lighter in colour, almost like a red now. “Oh, my God, Jaheim. Are you aware?”
I frown, trying to ignore my dick throbbing in my pants and the need to rip her clothes from her body to relieve it inside her. What the fuck kinda question is that? “Aware of what?”
She shakes her head. “No, a ware.”
“What’s that?”
She blinks, confused. “A werewolf.”
I step back, feeling like I’ve just been punched in my gut by another thing like me. “What did you say?”
She watches me cautiously, looking more confused by the second. “Are you a werewolf? You just growled, Jaheim. I heard it. You ain’t gotta pretend around me. I know that sound. My Aunt and Uncle are Abriya and Clarence.”
“Who are they?”
She frowns. “The Alphas.”
What? Alpha’s? “There are more?”
She looks horrified now. “Are you fucking with me?”
I just stare at her. I can’t believe what the fuck I’m hearing. All that shit I read about on Google, about alphas and mates and full moons…
She gasps again before quickly covering her mouth. “Oh, my God… You don’t know what you are, do you?”
“I…” I shake my head, words failing me. My back hits the wall and I rest my hands on my knees. My head is reeling; there are more like me? I ain’t the only one… All this time I thought I was alone…
I suddenly feel Harmony’s hand on my shoulder. “Jaheim? Are you alright?”
I look up cuz she sounds upset. She’s got tears in her eyes and I feel uneasy about seeing them. It’s bad enough she looks like she ain’t eaten one meal since I saw her last.
When I found her holding up my sister, I wasn’t even thinking about Carisse, all I could think about was how fragile Harmony looked and protecting her.
I heard the conversation between them; I’d been battling myself downstairs in the parking lot for a while, fighting against the pull to come up here. I’d smelt her the closer I got to the apartment, but by then, there was no turning back, even though I was desperate to.
But the craziest thing of all is the way I felt when I saw her. It was if my body was calmed by her scent, and merely being in her presence was a relief. I’d been thinking the way I felt meant I should stay away from her, but what I really needed to do was the complete opposite.
I wipe away a tear that rolls down her cheek. “Why are you crying?”
She blinks, causing more tears to fall. “Because…”
Her eyes flicker over my face and then her lip trembles, so I stand up straight to pull her against me as she cries.
She’s crying for me?
She suddenly pulls out of my arms to look up at me. “I’m sorry.” She wipes her eyes as she tries to calm herself down. “Carisse told me about your parents… I just… I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through, not knowing who you are. It all makes so much sense now; why you ran away from me.”
My cell rings and I see Carisse’s name when I check it. I reluctantly answer. “Yeah?”
“What you doing? You’re taking ages. You killing her?”
I roll my eyes. “No. I’m coming down now.”
“Alright.”
I hang up and turn my attention back to Harmony. “I need to take this shit back to Ontario.” I wish I could take her with me so we could talk, but there ain’t no way I can without Carisse asking why.
She looks as reluctant to see me go as I feel to leave. “Are you gonna come back?”
I can tell she’s worried about what I’m gonna say, but she ain’t gotta worry. Nothing could keep me from coming back to her this time.
I need answers, too.
“As soon as I drop Carisse, I’ll come straight back.”
“How long you gonna be?”
“It takes around ten hours to drive there.”
“What?”
That makes me smile, and it feels good to because it’s been so long since I have. “Yeah…” I pull her against me, hating how slim she feels in my arms now. Is it because I stayed away from her? Guilt ripples through me. “I’ll get a flight back. I’ll call you when I land.”
She nods, and I can feel her relief in the way her body relaxes. “You’ve marked me, so I’ll be able to tell when you’re close.”
I frown. “Marked you?”
She smiles sadly as she looks up at me. “Yeah. You’ll see what I mean when you leave. Just go so you can get back. I’ll explain everything.”
I look at her lips but tear them away again before I kiss her and never leave. “Alright.” I lower my head to her shoulder, holding her body while breathing in her sweet scent. I can’t believe how much better I feel now I’m with her again. I don’t think I’ve felt this at peace since before I became this. “I don’t wanna go.”
She holds me tighter. “I don’t want you to either, but I’ll be waiting.”
It takes everything I have in me to release her and not kiss her again, but I manage it and quickly turn around to pick up the rest of Carisse’s things. Harmony holds the door open for me and then follows me down the stairs.
I turn to face her when we reach the bottom and she looks up at me. “Just tell me one thing… Have you been with anyone since we last saw each other?” I need to know.
She shakes her head. “I’ve barely survived since you left. There isn’t gonna be anyone else for either of us now.”
I’d kinda suspected that, because even the thought of touching another woman besides her makes me feel physically sick. I take a good look at her; she’s still beautiful, but there isn’t any mistaking how sick she looks. “I’m sorry.”
She looks away. “It’s not your fault. Just hurry up.” She turns to walk out the doors and I watch her disappear to find her car, feeling guiltier than I’ve ever felt because of what I’ve done to her.
As bad as I felt, I didn’t think much about how she was feeling. And I don’t even know if she’s one of me yet. I didn’t turn into what I am until my twentieth birthday, and Harmony’s only nineteen, which means she could still be human.
And by the looks of her, she is.
Fuck…
I hear her car pull out of the parking lot and leave out the doors myself. I just need to get back to her asap, but the problem now is, will I ever wanna leave her again once I return?
I throw Carisse’s bags into the trunk of my car and she appears beside me. “What you say to her then? You two were up there for ages.”
“She was explaining why she came. She said she wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened at school.”
She scoffs. “She ain’t really sorry, though. I asked her enough times if her cousin was fucking with Davonyé and she said she didn’t know and that she didn’t wanna get involved.”
“I don’t blame her. It’s got nothing to do with her. She only wanted to be your friend, not get involved with that shit. I already told you, Von is the only person in the wrong here. Not Harmony and not her cousin.”
She gapes at me. “Are you defending her?”
Without a fucking doubt I am, and I can’t even help it. “I’m just speaking the truth, Carr. You’re hurting and you have every right to be, but taking that shit out on the people that’ve been there for you ain’t right. And honestly, I would’ve done the same in her situation. Blood always comes first.”
I wanna frown, but I don’t. Harmony ain’t blood, but I already feel like she’s jumped straight over every person I know, right to the top of my priority list. And dare I say it, if I had to choose between Carisse and Harmony, I wouldn’t even need to think about it.
She gives me a look. “Do you like her?”
“Who? Harmony?”
She crosses her arms. “Yeah.”
This fucking question again. “How many times you gonna ask me that? Who I fuck with has nothing to do with you. You might be my sister, but no one runs my life accept me. This is the last time I’m gonna have this conversation with you, Carisse. Now let’s go. We got a long drive.”
She looks shocked, but I close the trunk and then walk past her to get into the car. She might be able to pull that ruling shit with Evette, but she’s got another think coming if she thinks she’s gonna try telling me what to do.
Especially when it comes to Harmony.