Bared

XI

Whitney smiled at him, but her eyes were steel. A kind of angry fire burned in her blue irises, something like hate. I smelled anger on her, mixed with the worry smell of blooming flowers. A tangy smell also joined the previous ones when she looked at me again, something like salt.

But before I could determine what the smell was, Whitney smiled at me and left. I closed the door, and turned around to face Ben. He was sitting by my bay window, staring at me. His face was bruised a little, near his jaw, and his throat had scratches on it. Except for that, Ben’s face was the same as ever. Perfectly cool and calm, with his mind blocked from my power.

I growled at him,”Why come here, Ben? After you tried to kill me, you knew you wouldn’t be welcome here.” Ben’s face didn’t shift, but his scent did. It spiked with anger, then faded into resolve. “I came here to help. There’s someone out there, Lex, who knows our secret. We can’t let them win. If they divulge that the four of us are wolves, we’ll be taken away and experimented on. Maybe killed.”

I laughed harshly. “And you think that you’ll be welcome in my pack? After you tried to kill me? Are you stupid or just crazy?” Ben had me pinned against the wall so fast I barely saw a flicker of movement. “You know that what happened last night was more than it appeared, Alexis. We summoned aura wolves. Aura wolves, Alexis! Do you know what that means?” Ben’s breath was hot against my cheek. I growled, and shoved him away.

“Do you?” Ben almost yelled. “Yes, Ben! I know what aura wolves are! I’ve drawn them, and I’ve seen them. And I know this: You. Aren’t. Mine.” I snarled the last three words in his face. Ben growled, long and low. “We are. Our souls don’t lie.” I shrieked,”But they kill, don’t they? You, Benjamin, are a killer. I’ve seen your thoughts and your memories. I know what you’ve done, and what you’ve set out to do. You won’t kill me like your father wants!”

Ben’s eyes widened, and he stumbled back. I snarled,”Yes, Ben. I’ve seen that far into your memories. I know that your father, the Black Alpha, has set you on a quest to kill me. But you won’t kill me. I won’t let you.” Ben’s eyes narrowed, and he said quietly,”You won’t let me? More like I can’t. I literally can’t kill you. I-I.” Ben stammered. I glared at him.

Ben took a deep breath. The scratches on his neck expanded and contracted and his throat moved. Involuntarily, I sat down next to him on my bed, and took his scraped jaw in my hand. He didn’t protest when I turned his head to the side to examine the scratches. There were four long ones, stretching from the back of his neck to the front. They were an angry red, unlike the lighter ones near his ear and collar. I reached a hand forward to touch one of the long scars, but Ben flinched back. I noticed a quick, small flash of black around him as he pulled away. His eyes, momentarily, turned as black as night, then went back to normal.

Ben’s eyes reflected as quick flash of red, a flash as quick as a lightning strike. I gasped, and looked at Ben in the eyes. His eyes showed fear, but also something else. The tangy, salty scent came to my nose once more. It stayed longer this time, but was gone just a moment before I could decide what it was.

I muttered,”It happened again, didn’t it? The aura wolf thing?” Ben nodded, then did something surprising. He took my chin, and brought my face towards his. He kissed me, lightly, on the cheek, then got up. Before I could say anything, yell at him or scream, he faded into shadow right before my eyes. He melted into blackness, and I could no longer see him. Only his eyes, as bright as sapphires, were solid, and they blinked at me from my windowsill, then they, too, disappeared.

I sighed as I basked in the warm evening sun setting on the horizon. Jon and Quince were running around below me, playing tag in their wolf forms. Ben hadn’t showed up to our hideout when we texted him. I had a feeling it was because of our conversation.