The Waitress and the Wolf (Book 1 of The Guardian series)

Chapter 29. Where We Belong

"Why did you tell Reese and Moira first?" He finally asks after what feels like minutes of awkward silence. When I look at him, his eyes are dark and refuse to show emotion.

"I figured with Reese being a Peacekeeper himself he'd know a lot about her...Moira just so happened to be there honestly," I say, biting my lip. Why do I feel so damn nervous around him all of the sudden? I thought knowing the truth might help me feel better, but now I'm just a pile of nerves.

"I get it, but I know just as much, if not more than he does. I wish you'd have told me first thing." 

His honesty surprises me and I'm caught off-guard. 

"A-are we still going to ... um... hangout tonight?" I ask, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

I can feel his smirk from across the table.

"I would like to, if you're up for it," He says, eyes gleaming with mischief. My breath gets lost in my throat and I feel like coughing as he looks at me that way. It's that look that had me nearly giving myself to him only a month ago before I found out who he was...who I am.

"What did you have in mind?" I ask with a challenging grin.

We leave the coffee shop together in his car where he tells me a little bit more about Peacekeepers. He tells me of a boy named Tristan who will one day, possibly, take over as head of their council unless Reese steps in. The two are cousins, and while Reese is older, Tristan has a closer tie to the council's head. Henry...Harry.. something like that.

"Does it hurt?" I ask, as we continue to drive. So far, all I see are trees and then...oh..more trees.

"Does what hurt?" He asks, keeping his eyes on the road, driving with one hand on the wheel, the other fumbling with the air.

"You know. When you turn into a big ass dog," I say with raised brows. He lets out a dry chuckle.

"Only in the when you first turn. After that it becomes second nature. No different than allowing yourself to jump, or swim." 

I can't imagine myself turning into a giant wolf. All the different formations your bones have to take on cause me to shiver.

"We're here," He says, pulling into an empty gravel lot, forest ahead of us.

"You really have a thing for forests."

He looks at me with intensity, and I feel myself shut down.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

With that, he gets out of the car, comes to my side and lets me out. I smile and grab his hand as he offers it. My boots hit the rough ground, and I'm silently thanking myself for wearing combat boots and not sandals. 

"Come on," He says, keeping his back to me and his hand around mine. I look down at our contact, and feel no inclination to move it. The more I study it, the more I realize that our hands fit perfectly together..as if maybe designed for one another. I shake my head at myself, wondering who this sappy schoolgirl is that has taken over my brain.

He leads us into the woods, but luckily the trees are thickest at the entrance and it's really not as bad inside as I would have expected it to be. It's different from the Pines by the diner, less scary and intimidating. It doesn't feel as though every branch of every tree is eyeing you, which is relieving.

The leaves of the trees are a light green, shocking for this time of year. 

"You gonna kill me out here?" I ask with a teasing smile.

"Don't tempt me," He replies, staring up ahead. There's a big hill in front of us, and it looks like it's gonna take some labor to get up. He lets go of my hand, much to my dismay, and goes up as if it's nothing. Once at the top, he disappears on the other side. I ball my fists up. I refuse to look like an idiot.