Once in a Blue Moon (Silver Society Book 7)

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

The rest of the first week outside of the cycle of the full moon was calmer. Everyone was grateful for the respite, no matter how brief it might be.

Although Randy hesitated to make it official because he felt insensitive given all of the chaos in the lives of his friends, he and Pauline were quietly dating. He intended to introduce her to his other friends slowly, if things ever calmed down. In the meantime, Tyson taunted him endlessly about how annoyingly cute the two of them were together.

They held hands in the hallways. She watched his football practices. He walked her home from school. It was the most normal, mundane relationship Randy had ever had. She laughed and he breathed, the cadence of her voice giving him air. It felt vaguely like he was going insane, but in a good way. He finally understood what other people felt when they were in love. He'd loved other girls before, but it had never been like this. It had been complicated and painful and the end results had all been terrible. Even things with Beth had ended badly. He knew somehow that Pauline would be different. She didn't have any supernatural baggage and she was more full of life than anyone he'd ever met.

She was perfect, and with her, he no longer felt like he had to be.

~*~

"I want to get better control of it," Melissa was saying when Cierra walked into the house with Alex. "Like you have, Jesse. I'd love to be able to just shift whenever the mood hits me. I mean, I change my appearance all the time, so how hard can it be to control the kitty?"

"You'll get there," Jesse promised her.

"I won't," Cierra mumbled. She felt helpless whenever she thought about the lycanthropy, so she mostly tried not to think about it. She had a disease, but with great effort, she could still live a normal life.

Jesse regarded her sadly. "This doesn't have to be terrible for you," he said. "I know it's scary, but having fur doesn't have to end your life."

"You don't get it, Jesse. You've been a lycanthrope forever. You're royal. You're a natural lycanthrope, but I'm not. I'm just a girl who walked home by herself one night and woke up a freak!" Cierra regretted the words immediately. Jesse looked as if he'd been slapped and Melissa looked furious with her.

"He's not a freak, and neither are we! Well, I am, but I'm proud of that fact!" Melissa declared. She reached for Jesse.

Jesse moved away from her. "Forget it," he said. He stormed out of the house.

Cierra looked at Alex with horrified eyes. "I didn't mean that," she said. "I've never had an issue with Jesse being a wolf. I'm fine with lycanthropes, I just didn't want to be one."

Alex was clearly trying to be nice to her when he replied, "I know. You're just scared. It's fine."

It wasn't fine. She'd just acted like a complete jerk, but what could she do? She couldn't take the words back now that they were out.

"Fine? Okay, Alex, take your girlfriend's side, but what she did was not fine. It was bitchy," Melissa said. "I'm going after him, something you, as his guardian, probably should have done yourself, but since I'm his friend, I'll do it." She stormed off in a similar fashion.

Cierra started to cry. "Gods, I didn't mean it! I really didn't," she sobbed.

Alex hugged her. "You're entitled to have trouble adjusting to this, Cierra. Just remember, speciesism is unacceptable in this house, okay? If I thought you meant it how it sounded, I'd be angry, but I know you. I know you didn't mean to call him a freak."