AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But Liam was more than that, always. He didn’t need to bring me coffee or flirt with me to have his own place carved in my heart.
I wanted to tell him that, and I wanted to tell Karissa that everything had changed, and yet… I couldn’t exactly bare my soul to either of them in front of the other. I took a long sip of coffee, trying to figure out what to say. There was a soft thud, thud, thud as Liam set each plate on the table in the eat-in area.
Karissa was staring at me when I set the mug down as if she saw through me, even if I didn’t manage to say anything.
“It’s odd Stone isn’t up yet.” Liam glanced at the clock as he returned to my side. “No surprise about Shaw. Amelia, you and I need to talk in the meantime.”
He sounded so confident as he took my hand in his. But for a moment, our fingers seemed to tangle together awkwardly before he laced his fingers through mine.
“Why are you being so weird?” Karissa asked him.
“It’s all right,” I cut in, trying to protect him.
“I know you’re nice, Amelia, but you don’t have to let him do whatever this experiment is—"
“No.” For a second, his warm, hard arm brushed my shoulder, the touch comforting, and then he took a step back, his fingers yanking away from mine. “It’s not an experiment. I’m trying.”
“I know,” Karissa said softly, patiently. “But I promised you I’d tell you when you were being weird. Remember? And this is definitely one of those moments.”
“It’s not weird,” I attempted, but they were having one of those sibling stand-offs and it seemed they barely noticed me.
“Amelia and I are in a relationship.”
“Is that why you’re acting like a robot who stayed up all night downloading articles onhow to be a boyfriend?”
“I’m not a robot!” Liam said sharply. “And I’m not a sentient fortune cookie. My brain’s not a bag full of cats. I’m nottime agnostic.I’mme.”
Karissa flinched back. If I’d doubted that she’d really said all those things at some point—and that Liam had overheard—the pained look on her face confirmed those were her words. “Liam--”
“You all think I’m stupid, but I’m not the one who doesn’t see.” He shook his head. “It’s not good enough to love someone if you don’t even like them.”
“Liam, I do like you.” Karissa’s face had fallen, and she stepped toward him, reaching out for him. “Come on, let’s make some breakfast and talk. I must’ve missed some things—”
“You can’t cook your way out of everything,” Liam cut her off. “You think that’s your way of taking care of people. Like all we need is cake and you can make us alright. You’re just like Stone in your own way.”
“Liam.” My voice came out sharper than I meant it, just because Karissa’s face was etched with pain.
“No one will ever see me as anything but a freak.” Liam turned and bolted for the door. The door flew open, letting in a rush of cool morning air. As he raced across the porch, he shifted, his clothes shredding. He leapt from the porch, and it was the wolf who landed.
“I thought you were just being nice.” Karissa turned worried eyes toward me. “He was being so awkward.”
“He was, but I…” I shook my head. “Things changed between us out there. He’s…complicated.”
“He is.” Karissa pushed back her curls, knotting them into a bun at the base of her neck, as if she had to have control oversomethingand her hair was the only available target.
“I’m going after him,” I said.
“Good luck.”
He had wolfed out, so I shifted too.
Then I raised my face to the air, trying to tease out his scent. Woodsmoke. Apple. Enough sandalwood to make me sneeze in this form.
I followed Liam's scent, my paws light on the forest floor as I bounded over fallen branches and wound around thickets.
I came over the top of a ridge and caught sight of him cresting the other side. I howled a call for him to stop, and he turned back to me.
For long seconds, I thought he was going to run.
