Her memory for his word choice was something else. “My folks are human. They live in town. We get along pretty well now, but it was kind of tough for a while. I’m first generation, no wolves in the family going way back, the gene’s recessive, blah blah blah, so they weren’t prepared for…well, for their son to go live with strangers when he was thirteen.”
“Oh, you were just little. Away from home.”
“My pack is home.” He hoped Lucy wouldn’t question that one. It was hard to explain to humans, including Dad and Mom. At least they no longer felt it as a hurtful slight.
Fortunately, instead of digging into the more serious topic, Lucy said, “Body temperature, wolf sounds—I’m trying to remember if there’ve been any other clues I missed. Oh! Gosh! Your super sense of smell!”
“Yeah. All my senses are stronger than yours.”
“I thought in wolf form you’re supposed to be…like, feral. How can you be bloodthirstyandscared of blood at the same time?”
He grimaced, ducked his head, fiddled with his napkin as his chest pinched. If only he never had to talk about this again. With anybody. Ever.
The vinyl seat across from him squeaked as Lucy got up and rounded the booth to slide in beside him. She took his hand, laced her fingers through his as he’d done a minute ago. She leaned her head on his shoulder, spoke with a softness he hadn’t heard before.
“It’s okay, Jeremy. I’m not judging, I promise you.”
He squeezed her hand. “Freaking out over blood is…not a normal wolf thing. It’s purely a Jeremy thing.”
“And that’s okay, babe.”
Was it? Maybe it was. “Not when I’m a wolf, though. Nobody knows why, but under the full moon I can hunt with my pack and I don’t mind it at all.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Hunt with your pack?”
“Not people,” he said. “It’s not like what you’ve heard on social media and places. We’re not bloodthirsty then, just…uh, wild, I guess. There’s an instinct to hunt and an instinct to protect our territory.”
Slowly she nodded. Then, of all things, Lucy cuddled up next to him, rested her head on his shoulder, and said, “Wow.”
He wrapped an arm around her. He sat there, still and quiet, for a lot longer than his normal attention span.Wowdidn’t begin to cover it.
Seven
HomemadepizzanightwithJodi reminded Lucy how much she’d missed her roommate and friend. One more example of the fact she wasn’t always the best at noticing what she felt until after she was finished with the feeling. They caught up on girl gossip around campus, bemoaned the upcoming reading list for American Lit 2, and fangirled over the most recent episode of their favorite regency-era romance show.
Lucy could hardly believe they hadn’t discussed Jeremy yet. Maybe Jodi didn’t really want to hear all about a guy. If not, Lucy didn’t want to be one of those obnoxious girls who could talk about nothing else. Still, she would have gushed about him without thinking the minute she walked in the door if not for…
…his secret, which she hadn’t known last time she talked to Jodi.
Could she discuss her boyfriend without mentioning he was more than human?
Pizza consumed and a pan of box-mix brownies in the oven, Jodi took hold of Lucy’s arm and hauled her into the den. She set her down in one of the recliners with dramatic gusto, and Lucy laughed.
Jodi pulled up an ottoman and sat across from her. “Okay, I’m done waiting for you to bring him up. Tell me what’s going on, whatever it is.”
“I was starting to think you didn’t really want to hear about him,” Lucy said.
Jodi rolled her eyes. “I was starting to think you broke up in the last two days and I shouldn’t ask.”
“Um, no, definitely not.” She grinned. This would be easy. She’d just pretend she didn’t know she was dating a wolf. “I guess I don’t need to point out his hotness.”
“Cuteness anyway.”
Lucy mock-glared at her.Hotnesswas the better word, but Jodi tended to go for blonds.
Her friend laughed. “I’m messing with you. But I want to know all theotherreasons you’re into him.”
“Well, he’s hilarious and so much fun. He’ll make a plan if he needs to, but he loves being spontaneous. His mind’s going a mile a minute all the time. I think sometimes focus is hard for him, but when we’re together I can tell he’s really trying not to go off on too many rabbit trails, especially when it’s something important to me. I just love being with him, Jo. And he wants to know about me. He asks questions about me and listens all the way through to the end of my answer without ever interrupting me one time.”
