Posey
Willow sneaks through the door into my room dressed in a thin nightgown that barely brushes her knees. She grins at me like she has a secret stuck to the tip of her tongue, her eyes wide and bright with mischief.
I smile through the mirror, catching her reflection, and shake my head. “What are you doing up here? I thought you were going out again tonight.”
“I had about all the fun I needed for the day.” She jumps onto the bed, ignoring the books, and rests on her belly with a sigh. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. “A little sunburned?”
“A bit.” I continue slathering a cooling gel on my chest and shoulders. Willow, who tans like a dream, cocks her head. I move the straps of my tank top out of the way, revealing the color my skin turns in the sun. Pink.
She clicks her tongue, saying, “Ouch.”
“Speaking of ouch, how’s your head?”
“Are you asking about my plummet off the falls? I knew exactly what I was doing and who’d run to save me.” She twirls her hair around her finger, looking smug.
“You forget your savior is my brother, and he would have blamed himself for eternity if you’d broken your neck.”
“You Sapphires are all the same, aren’t you? Loyal to a fault.”
I turn to face her, crossing my legs on the little vanity chair.
She rests her chin on her fist and arches her brow. It’s an odd standoff–something we’ve done since our Wellington days. Willow talks and talks while I like to remain silent and observe. She says I can read her mind. It’s true in a way. She just wears every emotion, inner plot, and her schemes plainly on her face and always has.
I adore Willow. I haven’t had many friends, and it’s my preference to keep it that way. I like my time alone. I like quiet. I was being honest when I told Aris that today at the cove.
Willow didn’t give me a choice about being her friend, however. She’s always liked me the way I am. That’s why I’ve kept her in my life, and for some reason, despite my faults, she’s kept me.
I hold her gaze until she breaks with a deep exhale.
“How would you feel about me sleeping with Roman?”
“Wouldn’t that be breaking a cardinal rule in our friendship?” I ask, fighting a teasing smile. She rolls her eyes.
“We’ve never set those kinds of rules, first of all. Our friendship has always been unorthodox because you are a strange person, Posey.”
I frown. She’s not wrong–not entirely. “Well, second of all, you’re grossly underestimating Roman’s sense of control. If you’re hoping he’ll get sloppy and let you into his bed, you're delusional.”
“So… you wouldn’t be opposed to me fucking your brother?”
“I honestly don’t care.” It’s the truth. “I’d be more shocked that you accomplished it, actually. I’d be more likely to give you a trophy for your efforts than be mad.”
She sits up, intrigued. “What do you mean by that? How hard can it be? He’s a man, after all.”
“He’s a Sapphire, just like you said. If we weren’t wolves, we’d be akin to dragons, hoarding things we thought were ours and never letting go. You sleep with him, and you’ll belong to him. I’m warning you. There’s a reason he keeps women at arm’s length.”
“You’re a strange family.”
“Veiled Valley is a strange place, just like the old families who still live here. I tried to explain this to you, but I doubt you listened.”
“Roman is hot!” she whines, flopping onto her back. “It shouldn’t be this complicated to check sleeping with someone from Veiled Valley off my list. Tate and Miles don’t count because they’re just stationed here. Boring.”
I’m halfway turned back to the vanity to continue getting ready for bed when her words hit me. I curl inward and pause, glancing at her over my shoulder. “What list?”
“I have a bucket list I’ve been trying to work through for the past couple of months while traveling. You know, just things I wanted to do, wanted to experience, before I fuse myself with monotony and work a real job, settle down, and maybe find my mate.” She blows out her breath and then looks at me, grinning like a cat with cream. “Conquering Roman wasn’t necessarily on that list, but Veiled Valley men are so foreign. I’d like to try one, at least. And he’s here, somewhat willing. I’m still working on that front, but I may give up soon and find someone else. It won’t be that hard.”
“Oh, my Goodness,” I breathe, then laugh out loud, the sound reverberating around the room. “Willow, you slut!”
“Oh, please, you don’t get to judge me!” Now she’s laughing. “In fact, I’m judging you for how you’re going about this… this life change of yours. You should write a list. You only have a few weeks until you do something I know you’re going to come to regret anyway. What have you always wanted to do? Wanted to see? Wanted to taste?”
I stare at her as the words settle. “I haven’t thought about it. I’m happy where I am. I’ve traveled before, seen Crescent Falls and other parts of Eastonia. I’ve seen enough–”
“You’ve never been with anyone, Posey. Never even kissed a boy. And you’re about to throw all of that away!”
“I’m not throwing anything away.”
“Uh, just your entire life?” She fixes me with a hard look. I flinch. “Ah, there it is, that piece of you that knows you’re making a mistake.”
“I’ve made up my mind. You know that.”
Willow bites her lip, shaking her head. “Fine. I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. It’s my decision. My life.”
“Don’t you want to experience life before… doing this?”
“Like what?” I turn to the mirror and avoid making eye contact with my reflection.
“I don’t know…. I mean, you’ll be trapping yourself in a world of solitude until you grow old and die. Don’t you want to know what it’s like to be… drunk? Drunk and dancing on a beach, dancing with a guy who… who you find handsome… and he makes you feel all… hot?”
I glare at her, but she’s grinning again, enjoying my discomfort, seeing right through the armor I’ve tried to don over the course of the conversation.
“Don’t you want to kiss someone before you take the oath?”
“Who would kiss me, Willow? Be serious.”
She scoffs. “Have you looked in the mirror? Better yet, have you seen the way Tate and Miles gawk at you? It’s your boobs. They’re wonderful. Perfect, actually. You’re the Goddess’s favorite, for sure.”
“Willow,” I grind out, shaking my head. “What?”
“And Aris!” She blows out her breath in a whoosh. “Did you know about his crush on you? Gods, he practically drools when he sees you, and then he just stares at you like he’s confused about how he’s supposed to feel about his best friend’s little sister.”
“Don’t,” I say, cutting her off. “Don’t even start with that. I might be unfazed by the idea of you sleeping with my brother, but he’d freak out on Aris about that, okay?”
“Would he really? I don’t believe you in the slightest. I think Roman would be relieved you were letting loose for once in your life.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be with Aris. He can be with anyone he wants. It doesn’t matter. It would never be me.” I’m not sure why the words catch in my throat. Willow drags her fingertips over the collection of books scattered on my bedspread with a sigh.
“I’m just saying… how do you know this is really what you want when you haven’t experienced the other options yet?”
“I don’t have options, Willow.” I wish there were something I could say to make her understand. I’ve told her about my family and our role in Veiled Valley society, but it’s terribly difficult and almost downright impossible to explain the significance of the lines of power and the promise of magical genetics to someone from somewhere as modern as Crescent Falls.
I can’t marry because I cannot have children.
I just… can’t risk it.
And… Goddess forbid I find my mate, as impossible as that would be, and then what? Curse another generation with what I’m not?
I close my eyes, reaching blindly for my hairbrush.
“Well, I’m tucking in for the night. I’m still kind of hungover.” The bed shifts as she rolls off the mattress. “Think about it, okay? Just because you don’t have a wolf doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to get a taste of life before you throw it all away.”
To appease her and end the conversation for what I hope is for good, I reply, “I’ll think about it.”
Her footsteps are soft on the carpet until they fade, and the door closes with a soft click.
I stay up. Not because I’m not tired after a long day in the sun, on a boat, sailing around the Ruby district of Gem Lake.. It’s gorgeous here, and even the small town of Ruby, where the Alpha lives and most of his pack resides, was like something out of a fairytale, and that’s coming from someone who grew up in a village older than most of the Firestone era ruins dotted across Eastonia.
I can’t sleep. I don’t even bother to try, knowing I’ll just toss and turn, pouring through my conversation with Willow over and over again, so I slink out of my room and wander the mostly empty house. I peek into Willow’s room and find her fast asleep. She’s always slept like the dead, even when we were back in college. She never cared about my lamp being on or the sound of pages turning in the middle of the night.
The guys aren’t home. They left to go to some bar nearby once we’d arrived back at Aris’s lake house. So, I’m safe to wander, to explore, to look into every room and judge the decor Aris likely hasn’t touched since he bought the place.
I find a small, but decently stocked, library on the first floor and start thumbing through the shelves, my fingertips slipping over old, leathery spines. None of this is Aris’s doing. I don’t think he’s much of a reader. All of these books must have come with the house.
My fingers stop on a copper bookend, and a rush of warmth tingles down my arm into my fingertips. I pull them back with a hiss, clutching them against my chest as they throb. Three fingerprint-sized indents glisten on the bookend, now slightly warped from my touch.
Copper and I are not friends. I much prefer iron. Silver is great to work with, seeing as I don’t have to worry about the side effects since I don’t have a wolf. But copper is–
“Still up?”
“Oh!” I whirl, clamping my lips shut and stepping discreetly to the side to block the shelf I’d just been examining and the damage I did to the bookend. I’ll fix it once he leaves, even if it makes my bones sing with pain.
Aris steps into the room, shirtless, the missing article of clothing in question scrunched in his fist. He’s damp with sweat, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. Barefoot, muscles rippling…
“Did you shift?”
“Yeah,” he says, nodding, inspecting my face like he’s suspicious about something. About me. “What are you doing up? It’s almost three in the morning.”
I shrug, my spine biting into the shelves behind me. “I couldn’t sleep. I had too much fun today.”
He cocks a brow. “Oh, yeah? I’ll make note of the fact that you’re having fun the next time you look absolutely miserable.” His gaze drops to my bare shoulders and upper chest. “Have you ever been in the sun before, Posey, or was today the first time?”
“Did you come here to tease me, or are you picking out a book to read before you fall asleep?” I shoot back, motioning to the stacks.
“I’m just doing my rounds. Roman and the guys are staying in town tonight. I wanted to make sure whoever was here last night hasn’t returned.”
The scent. Of course. “Well, it was a full moon when that happened. Everyone shifts on a full moon. It could have been anyone.”
“Sure,” he says skeptically, looking at me like he’s trying to pick through my thoughts. “Not a boyfriend of yours or anything?”
“Who do you think I am? Do you think I’d lie to you, Aris?”
“You’ve grown into a very mysterious woman. That’s all. I feel like I’m meeting you for the first time all over again.”
“Do you have anything nice to say to me?”
“I could try.” He looks suddenly bored, giving me a smug little shrug.
“You actually think I snuck someone into the house, don’t you?” I can’t move, not without him seeing the bookend, but if I could, I’d be going toe to toe with the prince, that’s for sure. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Aris. I hope you can see that.”
His gaze drops to my chest, and he sighs, closing his eyes. “Oh, trust me, I can.”
“What?” I barely heard him. I risk stepping forward. “I didn’t sneak anyone in here.”
“I know. I just like seeing you all riled up. Goodnight, Posey.” He turns like it’s painful, fighting every step, and disappears into the darkness. I wait for his footsteps to recede before hastily turning to the shelf and running my fingers over the bookend, smoothing the copper with a pained wince.