Frozen Mate (boyxboy)

Chapter 5

"Why'd you stop?" I breathe heavily, my face heating up at how much of a tramp I sound like.

"I'm not going to mate with you right after you've let someone else touch you." He says simply, admiring my neck. "But at least now people will be able to see that you are clearly taken. I won't have to worry about that bitch being interested in you anymore."

"She's not a - wait, what do you mean?"

Vince smirks, moving aside and clearing my pathway. "Why don't you have a look for yourself?"

I shove him angrily, which doesn't affect him in the slightest, and rush off the bed towards the mirror hanging off the back of my bedroom door. Once positioned in front of the surface, I examine my reflection, gasping in horror. My neck is covered in dark hickeys.

I spin around. "You asshole!"

But he's gone. The window is ajar, and the curtains billow in the chilly breeze. I rush over and slam it shut, locking the window for the first time since I moved into this house. The door clicks and I whirl around to see my mother in the entryway, bundled in a robe looking weary.

"What's the matter?" She asks, her voice groggy. "I heard voices."

"Sorry, I was talking to myself," I lie quickly. She squints her eyes, trying to get a better look at me, and I turn the light off before she can notice the hickeys. "Goodnight," I say quickly.

She mutters "night," and leaves.

Pulling the covers over my form, I snuggle into the warmth. My final thoughts are of the kiss and the mixture of dread and elation I feel for school tomorrow morning. The howl of a lone wolf in the distance lulls me into slumber.

********************

The next morning I wake to a cloudy sky, casting a gray, morose shadow over the Town of Willow Lake. The sun barely streams through the dense mass and subsequently it becomes an arduous task to accept that it's time for me to get out of bed. When I finally muster the strength to do so, I dress in front of the mirror, wearing a dull turtle neck to cover the markings all over my neck.

On the way to school, Caroline never ceases to rant about the "beautiful" wolves she saw in the backyard again the other night. While my mother rolls her eyes, I quietly shudder remembering the encounter with the steely wolf in our backyard. It seemed tame, but I wouldn't dare give credit to any other wild creature, and my sister is the type who would approach the beast without taking caution and end up mauled. I'll have to keep a closer eye on her.

"There was this sandy one walking around our house," She boasts to uninterested ears. "It was like he was pacing. He was so pretty, you should've seen it, Jack."

"How do you know it was a he?" I ask.

I see her shrug in the rear view mirror. "I can just tell."

"There aren't any wolves in this town," my mother says skeptically. "Especially none the size you're talking about."

"Mom, I swear I saw them!"

She shakes her head but doesn't give into Caroline's nonsense. It's best not to argue with a girl who refuses to be wrong, even when she's anything but right. But I know in this case that she is correct, and that's what frightens me the most.

"I forgot to mention, Jack. We were invited to a cookout tonight." My mother tells me. "And I think we should go. It would be a wonderful opportunity to meet new people."

"Who invited us?" I question.

"Officer Cervasio," She says. "His son, Chase, goes to your school. We bumped into each other in the market and he wanted to get our family more acquainted with the neighborhood."