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“Halls,” I began but was cut off by the lamp crashing to the floor. Startled, I looked to Halley, whose face was decidedly paler than normal. Rushing to her side, I guided her back to the couch, knowing she needed rest. After any Divine used too much power, we needed rest to refuel. Leaning against my chest, Halley released the breath she had been holding in.
“I guess I won’t be much of a warrior, will I?” Halley asked, humor tinting her exhausted voice and I chuckled.
Holding her close to me, I felt her muscles relax, before whispering in her ear.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re safe. No need to be a warrior Halls.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Halley
Laying upside down on the couch, I tried to get my body to relax, but I was strung tight. After my earlier session with Eli, I felt beyond frustrated. I knew that physical enchantments would be harder than mental, but I hadn’t expected to fail so epically. Sure, I eventually moved the lamp, but it was barely a foot, and that small movement took out all my energy. I ended up sleeping throughout the rest of my classes for the day and thankfully Eli had thought to email all the professors that I wouldn’t be in class. And although I was beyond frustrated with my powers, I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed the entire morning if only for Eli.
Since I showed up at Willow Grove, Eli had been a constant, his smiling face an ingrained part of each day. I cherished the friendship we had built, but I couldn’t deny the attraction I had for him. Kalani and Eli were the best people I knew and although I wanted to spend as much time as possible with both of them, I didn’t want to see Kalani naked. Well, any more than I already did when she shifted. Eli on the other hand, I was struggling to keep my hands to myself. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but I was happy to say that when I pushed the physical touch boundaries earlier, he hadn’t pulled away. Instead of moving away as I had feared he might, he had tugged me closer and held me as if knowing that’s what I needed. I had hope for the progression of our relationship, but I also couldn’t help but feel guilty. Because as much as I adored Eli, I also was insanely attracted to three other men. I could easily push Wilder out of my mind when I thought about his personality but the other two, I struggled with. Knox was intriguing in a way I had never seen before, stern and always in control, and I loved the way he spoke with confidence during our sessions. I also loved staring at his ass when he turned around. And as for Madden, I couldn’t work him out. Although I stormed out of each lesson after he pushed every button I had, I couldn’t help but feel like it was some sort of foreplay. The tension building between us in each session crackled with sexual energy and I kept waiting for the dam to burst.
Growling at myself, I tried to clear my head. Thoughts of a potential relationship and sexy men were doing nothing to relax my body. Unfortunately, I saw each of these men every single day, so it was hard to ignore them.
Incoming.
Kalani’s voice sounded in my head, and I flipped off the couch, heading for the door. Thankfully, Eli had believed me earlier when I said I was too exhausted for our nightly practice. I hated lying to him, but I needed some time alone with Kalani. I hoped she would have some insight on the men running through my head.
Opening the door, Kalani padded through the entryway, shifted in her wolf form. Each night the pack would run to get their creature’s the exercise they desperately needed and afterwards Kalani would come over. I went to shut the door when a blonde head appeared, a shy smile on her face.
“Hi, I hope you don’t mind that I tagged along.” Maeve said sweetly and I smiled while waving her in.
“Of course not. The more the merrier.” I cheerily responded, leading her into the common area. Kalani had already shifted back and sat on the floor against the couch, her usual spot. She left clothes here to change into and apparently, she had quickly thrown on the t-shirt and basketball shorts.
Maeve went to take a seat across from Kalani and I couldn’t help but wiggle my eyebrows at her. I had no clue what Maeve was doing on my doorstep but as Kalani blushed and avoided my gaze, I hoped it meant things were progressing with her.
“So, Maeve, what brings you out here?” I tried to ask nonchalantly but I’m pretty sure both woman in the room could hear the excitement in my voice.
Staring intensely at the two, I caught the looked they shared, and I smiled even wider. Instead of Maeve answering however, Kalani took over.
“I was running over here when I caught Maeve walking through the woods. I shifted and we talked for a bit before I invited her over. I hope that’s okay.” Kalani’s eyes were wide as she looked at me and I tried hard to not chuckle at the panic on her face. I may be in over my head when it came to the guys in my life, but I was happy to see that Kalani was just as stressed about the girl in hers.
“No problem at all! I’ve been telling Kalani to invite you over for a while now, but it seems to have taken her awhile.” I couldn’t help but tease her a little and by the look on her face, I knew there would be retaliation for this.
Settling against the couch, Kalani and Maeve relaxed as well, as we fell into easy conversation. We talked about where we each of us grew up, Kalani in Michigan, Maeve in Tennessee, and me all over the place. Thankfully, neither of them asked too deep of questions, but I was happy to share about some of my favorite places I had lived. I learned that Maeve was an only child, and her dads were thrilled when they found out she was an Ethos. Apparently, both her dads were Shifters, and they couldn’t wait to learn more about Ethos. Kalani regaled us with stories of her siblings and how the frijoles charros that her mom cooked made her miss a homemade meal desperately. My smile stretched my face as I listened to them both, inserting my own stories here and there, but mostly I was just glad to be in their company. I never realized how lonely I was all these years until now. This is what I had missed growing up. Even when Mom was alive, I didn’t have close friends and although I knew Mom did everything in her power to keep us safe, I was thankful I had the opportunity now.
“Where’s Eli tonight, Halley? We haven’t missed a night since a couple weeks into arriving here.” Kalani’s question brought me out of my thoughts and my smile dropped. From the sly smile on her face, she knew exactly what she was doing with that question.
“I thought I’ve seen you and Eli hanging out a lot. He’s such a great guy, always the kindest person in any room.” Maeve added and my smile returned thinking about him.
Truthfully, Eli was the kindest guy in any room. Hell, I think he may be the kindest man in the realm. However, thinking about that only made my guilt over my earlier thoughts grow. Hesitating for a second, I debated sharing since Maeve was here, but with one look at her sweet smile, I knew she could be trusted. With a deep breath, I shared every thought from earlier. I told them about Eli’s touches and how they made me feel. I told them about my attraction to Knox and the tension between me and Madden. I left out Wilder since the man bothered me more than anything.
They both listened silently, absorbing my words, and when I finished, the silence stretched on. Kalani looked thoughtful, while Maeve smiled at me mischievously. Both reactions worried me. Finally, after I almost couldn’t take the silence any longer, Kalani spoke.
“I’ll be honest with you Halley; I’m not surprised about Eli. And your worries about overstepping a boundary? Stupid. Anyone with two eyes can see that boy has it bad for you.”
Maeve raised her hand as she interjected. “I can agree with that statement. I’ve caught him on multiple occasions talking about you during class. He definitely likes you as more than a friend.”
I slumped back against the couch, happy to hear that Eli probably felt the same way. But I couldn’t ignore the other feelings. I said as much to them.
Maeve shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “We’re young. It’s okay to explore the different people we like. My dad always told me that I had to put myself out there if I wanted a relationship.” Her gaze strayed to Kalani, and I wondered if that was what tonight was about. I had a feeling Maeve wasn’t just randomly walking through the woods out this way. Especially if she spoke with Eli, she would know all about our nights here.
Kalani waited several minutes before voicing her opinion and when she spoke, her tone became serious. “I know I’ve only known you for a few months, but it’s obvious from how you grew up that you didn’t have many people you could be close to. Now, you have a safe home and are finally allowing yourself to open up to others. I’m not surprised you have eyes for multiple people. To me, I think you need all the friends you can get. And if that friendship turns into something more? Well fuck it. Like Maeve said, we’re young. This is the time in our lives to explore.”
I nodded my head at both of them, appreciating their opinions. And even though I hadn’t shared much with Kalani, it made my heart happy to know she saw so much of me and still cared enough to stick around. Moving the conversation back to simpler topics, my frustrations from earlier melted away as I sat amongst my friends. Kalani and Maeve were right, I had been alone too much of my life and it was time for me to put myself out there and reap the rewards.
