Heartbreaker

T H I R T Y

"...you're a werewolf."

I swear I'm hearing things.

"Shapeshifter," Paul corrects, "But yeah, pretty much."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Paul, the boy I had just went on a date with, the boy I had developed feelings for, is a werewolf.

I think I'm going crazy.

I just seriously don't get how all the stories my parents told me as a kid, ended up being completely real. But now that I think about it, my dad never read them out of a book.

"Say something," He whispers, his eyes on me while I look anywhere but his.

"I-I don't know what to say," I say, slowly raising my eyes to his.

They look softer than normal, like he had his tail between his legs. Maybe even literally.

"Just tell me everything that you're thinking," He says, "Please. It's driving me crazy."

That's the thing, there wasn't much going on in it besides, what the fuck.

"I'm, just in shock," My voice is nothing above a whisper. "That...woman was a vampire. And, that grey wolf, was you."

He nods, remaining quiet as my thoughts run rampant. I felt like every single thought I had was running straight into a brick wall. Crushing me, every time I thought too hard about what would happen for us. Or, what would happen to me.

"Have you ever, hurt someone?" I ask, afraid of the answer.

"No," He says quickly, "We protect the people in our town. The vampires are the ones killing those hikers."

So vampires are bad, and Paul was good. Okay, maybe I can live with this.

"So we kill them," He finishes with.

Now I was back to worrying again. Paul's anger issues were not secret. What if he can't control them, and, comes after me?

"You wouldn't... hurt me, would you?" I ask very softly.

What if one day, we get into an argument, and he hurts me? I mean I didn't know a whole bunch about this werewolf thing. But everything I've seen in movies, no one can control themselves when they shift. So what if it happens to him too?

It's a completely valid thought, he's perfectly capable of doing that. His anger issues are already hard enough for him to control in his human form let alone wolf form.

"No," He answers immediately. I let out a breath, and he grabs ahold of my hand. "Josie, I would never."

I wasn't sure if I liked that he grabbed my hand. I couldn't tell if I wanted to finish this conversation or run out the door either.

"Has it happened before?"

"With me?" He asks.

"Any shapeshifter."

He sighs, "You know, how Emily has those scars?" I nod slowly. "Sam was upset that he had hurt Leah, and Emily was standing way too close, trying to comfort him. He shifted, and, that's the reason—"

"—Sam attacked her?"

"No!" Paul says quickly. "No, not at all. She was just way too close when it happened, and he accidentally scratched her. But since we're a lot bigger than any normal sized human, it ended up being pretty severe for her."

I couldn't believe it. Sweet, caring Emily had gotten hurt because she was standing too close. Sure it was an accident, but, accidents happen all the time. And that was a pretty big scar, from an incident that could've killed her.