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My intuition pings—once again, it’s the truth, but not the whole truth. There’s more to this story that I’m not getting.
By this point, we’re climbing back up the bleachers, and the teams are charging out onto the field. I do my best to cheer and support Jared, and more than once I see the player in the jersey with the same number as mine turn and search for us in the stands, waving. We wave back and he grins around his mouth guard, then gets back into the game.
I know some basics about football, but Landon takes the time to explain it in more detail to me. With the two of them on my sides, no one says boo to me for the rest of the game, and we have a good time watching the game. I try to take it all in: the band, the cheerleaders, the opposing team on the opposite side of the field, their band trying to be louder than ours. There’s a festive air of excitement that seems to sink into my skin and swim around in my blood, revving my anticipation of each play.
Fortunately, we win, and the other team trudges from the field with their heads low as their fans file from the stands back to the parking lot. Landon, Milo and I wait for the stands to clear before we follow the line back to the concession area, then wait outside the locker room. When Jared emerges, he spots us right away and bounds over with a bright grin under his blue SFW ball cap.
“Congrats, man! You did great!” Landon greats him with a high five and they do that man-hug thing where they sort of bump chests but don’t actually hug.
“Great game,” Milo adds more mildly, with a pat on the back.
Jared’s eyes turn to me expectantly and his expression suddenly turns nervous.
“Good job,” I agree with a smile, and his face relaxes. “And thanks for letting me wear your jersey. It pissed Amber off, so that’s a win in my book.”
Jared’s head tips back and he lets out a deep, throaty laugh. “Well, I’ll be. I suppose that did it indeed. But I should thank you for wearing it. I think it brought me luck.”
My cheeks flush, and my gaze drops to the ground.
“The team is going to Badger’s to celebrate, you guys in?”
Landon agrees with enthusiasm and Milo mutters something about already having had Badger’s today, but he agrees all the same.
“I dunno,” I hedge. “I should probably text Roxanne and make sure it’s okay. They might already have started dinner at the house.”
“I have an even better idea.” Jared whips out his phone and sends off a text, then gets an immediate reply. “Cool. We’re coming to your house for dinner. Sound good?”
“What?” I sputter. “I mean, sure, that sounds good to me, I just-”
“Don’t worry about it. I told you Roxanne’s my auntie, and judging from what Milo told me last weekend, you should already be aware we know our way around that kitchen,” he adds with a wink.
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I keep thinking of town and Harridan House as two separate things. It’s so remote from here, and school.”
“It is, but we all have family who work there. Most of the town does. And they have parties and stuff for the holidays. We’ve spent a lot of time there.”
The idea pops into my head before I even realize it, and a grin spreads across my face. “Okay, then let’s go have dinner. And maybe you guys want to hang out after?”
They all agree enthusiastically and my smile widens.
Excellent.
ChapterTwelve
Milo
* * *
After dinner we’re lounging in Lex’s room and bullshitting, but I can tell she wants something. There’s something she’s holding back, something she wants to ask us, but she’s biding her time.
As we all are.
We’re swiftly running out of time to tell her, and even though we’ve been spending as much time together as possible, it doesn’t seem to get any easier.
Now that Lex is on pack territory, she’s going to manifest at the next full moon. She’s already overdue; everyone has their awakening the first full moon after they turn seventeen. I assume this is the reason we’re already sensing each other’s emotions; we ought to be linked by now.
But no one knows how it works, how any of it truly will work, since her mom never claimed her role as alpha all those years ago. By birth she’s the progeny of the progeny of the alpha, and it always runs through the Harridan female line.
However, since her mother never became alpha and Dom was forced to assume the role, we don’t actually know what will happen when she manifests. If Dom had a fated mate, the line might have switched. Without one, Layla seems destined to take over.
