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The strangest change of all was in hereyes.That hazy green seemed brighter, greener, than before. They had the same, odd glow to them that Micha’s did, or McGoven’s for that matter.
“Well, can I come in and wait until he wakes up then?” Naomi’s voice lost that tired edge, regaining the snappiness Loren was used to.
“Yes…” Warily, she stood back and allowed the blond inside. Before closing the door, she scanned the fields for Micha, but caught sight of no one, wolf or otherwise.
She shouldn’t have felt so disappointed, but the lack of anyone else meant she had no choice but to face Naomi alone. The girl in question lingered awkwardly in the foyer. For a long time, they didn’t speak.
“Are you one too?” Naomi asked suddenly. Her eyes darted around the room—anywhere but Loren’s face.
“One of what?” It wouldn’t score her any points to play dumb, but Loren couldn’t resist the urge. Why make it easy? She wanted to hear her say it. Admit out loud that her happy teenage dream was over, and the real world had intruded.
Violently.
“A lycan.” The blond peeked over her shoulder as if expecting McGoven to burst from the shadows. “Are you a lycan, too?”
Loren frowned. “Wolf”or“thing”she would have expected—but Lycan washisword.
“Yes,” she said tightly. “I am.”
Naomi bit her bottom lip. “He said you were. He said...that—” She broke off with a dry swallow, wringing her hands. When she glanced up again, those green eyes held an emotion that Loren figured the girl had never experienced in her life—fear. “So, can you?”
“Can I what?” Loren snapped. She felt guilty even before Naomi flinched back as if stung.
Why was she so defensive? Prickly? She had begged McGoven to turn Naomi, but now…
The sight of the girl irritated her. Or maybe it was just the knowledge that Naomi knew everything she did? Maybe even more.Three-day rules don’t seem to apply to her,the shadowy part of her murmured.
“S-shift,” the blond said weakly. “Can you shift too? He said I should ask you for advice on—”
A rush of emotion welled up in Loren so quickly, she rushed into the kitchen before she did something stupid—like scream. Approaching the counter, she grabbed a fresh egg with a vengeance, cracking it hard on the edge of a frying pan.
Despite the clamor, she still heard Naomi creep in after her.
“Well,canyou?”
Crack!Went the sound of the butter sizzling in the heat, as Loren added a dollop to the pan and began to whisk the mixture with a fork. She was ruthless, scraping until the eggs resembled something more “whipped” than scrambled.
She made two more batches, utilizing the entire carton before starting on toast. As she reached for the loaf of bread on the counter, a pink-manicured hand snatched it away.
“I didn’t ask for this!” Naomi’s eyes were slits, her face mere inches from hers. “I’m not even sure what ‘this’ is! So don’t you dare stick up your nose at me and act like this is my fault. You were always such a stuck-up little bitch, walking around with your nose in the air like you’re too good for any of us.”
Loren stumbled back. Not because she was intimidated by the tall blond but… Because her eyes darted automatically to the knife drawer, itching to grab something sharp.
Screw that, a part of her purred.I don’t need a weapon.
“I’m going to wait in there,” Naomi announced before flouncing into the living room. “The air’s too bitchy in here. Pun intended.”
Loren watched her go. Though, if she were being honest, she regretted wasting a whole carton of eggs more than snapping at the blond. At least until Micha stumbled through the back door an hour later and ate a majority of the food in one sitting, assuaging her guilt. His only reason for stopping was a grumbled realization that he should leave some for McGoven.
Then, he pulled up to the center island, spread his lanky body out over two stools, with his feet resting on one, and just watched her. Whatever he saw in her expression made him decide another talk was in order. “I saw you know who came back. How ya holding up?”
Loren darted for his plate before he had a chance to bring it to the sink himself.
“I’m fine,” she lied, reaching for a washrag. “I just feel like... Like everyone is keeping something from me.”
Shock nearly made her drop the plate on the floor.Where the hell had that come from?
She glanced back at Micha, but he just raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
