3 Conjuring (4 page)

Even now, I don’t know how I ended up here. I can’t explain it. Aric called and said his fraternity was having a party. He stressed that I didn’t have to come. So, of course, the minute he told me not to come I couldn’t think of anything else but going.

Yeah, I’m sick that way.

So, here we were, my three new roommates, my two old roommates, my boyfriend and a fraternity of werewolves at an end-of-summer party on the Saturday before classes began.

Even I question my own intelligence at times.

“You didn’t have to come,” Aric reminded me. We were sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard of the frat house – I had refused to go inside, even for beer – and watching the drunken debauchery around us.

“Did I say anything?” I arched an eyebrow antagonistically.

“No, but you’re just sitting here pouting and it’s not exactly fun,” Aric countered, crossing his arms over his chest obstinately.

“No one said you had to sit here with me,” I pointed out.

Aric sighed. “I knew bringing you here was a bad idea.”

“I said I’m fine!”

“Let me go inside and say goodbye to everyone and then we’ll go,” Aric said resignedly.

“You don’t have to go,” I said, but I was suddenly feeli
ng guilty. He was right; I had been exuding nothing but attitude – all of it bad – since we’d arrived. It wasn’t Aric’s fault that I didn’t trust his fraternity brothers. And, since this was the werewolf fraternity his father had started, it wasn’t as though he could quit. “I’ll be better. I promise.”

Aric eyed me speculatively. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you want to come?”

“Honestly? Because the minute you told me not to come it was like I had to come.”

Aric barked out a laugh. “You’re nothing if not entertaining.”

“At least that’s something,” I agreed.

Aric got to his feet, dropped a kiss on the top of my
head and moved back toward the house. “I’ll get us something to drink.”

“Good. I’m going to need it.”

Once he was gone, I tried to busy myself with watching the night sky. There’s nothing prettier than a mid-Michigan horizon as the seasons are about to change.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to enjoy my solitude for very long.

“Zoe?”

I glanced up and internally cringed when my eyes fel
l on Will, my ex-boyfriend. We had grown up together and dated for four years – and yet now, looking at him for the first time in months, I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d never really known him. “Hey, Will,” I greeted him stiffly.

“What are you doing here?” Will looked around n
ervously. I wasn’t exactly the favorite party guest at Alpha Chi. I’d been known to cause a scene or two (or three or four) in the past.

“I’m here with Aric,” I replied simply.

Will’s eyes darkened. Even though we were broken up for almost a year now, he wasn’t exactly thrilled about my dating Aric. They hadn’t gotten along before I came into the picture. Now that things had shaken out the way they had, things had only gotten progressively worse. “You’re still with him?”

“I am.”

“So you couldn’t date me because I was a werewolf but you can date him and he’s an even bigger werewolf?” Will looked like he was spoiling for a fight.

“There’s a little bit of a difference,” I reminded him. “F
irst, I haven’t known Aric for years and he never lied to me about what he was.”

Will’s face colored with shame.

“And second,” I continued. “Aric was never willing to sacrifice me to save himself.”

“That’s not what happened,” Will protested.

Thinking back to the night when I found out what Will was – and the secret the fraternity was protecting – I couldn’t help but see things differently. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

“He’s not what he pretends to be,” Will warned.

“And you are?”

“All my secrets are out,” Will countered. “Can you honestly say that about Aric?”

“That’s not really your concern now, is it?” Something about the edge to Will’s words was bothering me, though. It was like he knew something specific.

“Just because we’re not together anymore … that doe
sn’t mean I still don’t care,” Will said earnestly. Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was the memories of kayaking and camping. Something in me wanted to believe him.

“Well, thanks for that,” I said. “It’s too late, though.
Too much has happened. You’re too different. I don’t even know you anymore.”

“You know me better than you know Aric.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“You don’t think you do what?”

Will and I both jumped when Brittany suddenly appeared. I couldn’t help but want to smack her. I swear she has the worst sense of timing ever.

“Hey, Brittany,” Will smiled at her warmly.

“Hey, Will,” Brittany smiled back prettily. “It’s so good to see you. How was your summer?”

Will glanced at me before answering. “Uneventful.”

“Oh, well, that’s good,” Brittany said, clearly not picking up on the tense vibe roiling around the bonfire. “I worked at the Detroit Institute of Arts all summer. It was great.”

“That sounds cool,” Will said enthusiastically while
I rolled my eyes. Brittany had made her interest in Will fairly obvious to everyone. It didn’t bother her that he was my ex-boyfriend, or that he had been part of the werewolf cabal that had been willing to kill her as part of a sacrifice. He was good-looking and in a fraternity.

That’s all she cared about.

“Oh, it really was,” Brittany bubbled on.

“Yeah, I’m sure it was fascinating,” I replied sarcastically.

“What’s your problem?” Brittany queried in a voice that I could only associate with my mother when she asked a question to which she already knew the answer.

“Nothing,” I sighed.

Brittany turned to Will suspiciously. “What’s wrong with her?”

Will shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

“What were you two talking about?” Brittany asked, scanning Will’s face for clues.

“We were just talking.” Will looked like he was caught
in a trap. I had to wonder how long he would stay here before he chewed off his own leg to extricate himself.

“About what?” Brittany persisted.

“Just stuff,” Will said, shrugging noncommittally as he shifted uncomfortably.

Brittany swung to me. “I thought you were with Aric?”

“I am with Aric.”

“Then why are you out here having intense conversations with Will?”

“That’s a pretty good question.”

I cringed when I heard Aric’s harsh voice. When I gla
nced over at him, his face was unreadable. This wouldn’t end well.

“See, Aric thinks it’s suspicious, too,” Brittany said primly.

I glanced at Aric. “We were just talking. It wasn’t anything big.”

Aric didn’t even look in my direction. “I warned you.”

Will shrank in the shadow of Aric’s furious countenance. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I told you to stay away from her.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Will repeated.

Anger surged through me. “Who are you to warn him to stay away from me?”

Aric shifted his gaze to me. “What?”

“You’re not the boss of me, or him,” I pointed out.

“I didn’t say I was,” Aric growled.

“Then who are you to warn him away?”

“I’m the guy trying to protect you,” Aric shot back hotly.

“I don’t need you to protect me.”

“Since when?”

“Excuse me.”

“You’ve needed me to swoop in and save you since the day I met you.”

“That is crap.” Now I was really angry.

“It’s not crap. Who saved you the night this jackass was going to let the pack rip you apart?”

“Hey!” Will broke in. “That is not what happened.”

“That’s exactly what happened,” Aric replied disdainfully. “You sat there like a scared little girl and just let them attack her.”

“I did not.”

“Why are you two fighting over her?” Brittany interjected. “It seems pretty counterproductive.”

“Shut up, Brittany,” I grumbled. “You’re not even a part of this conversation.”

“Oh, because it’s always about you,” Brittany sighed dramatically. “I forgot.”

“Come on, Zoe,” Aric held his hand out for me. “We’re leaving.”

“Since when?” I asked. “Since when do you just order me around? Maybe you should get me a leash and pretty collar. I would prefer one with rhinestones.”

Aric pursed his lips irritably. “Are you really going to make this a thing?”

“You made this a thing. We were just talking. In case you forgot, we have a lot of history together that doesn’t involve you. We’ve known each other for a really long time.”

“Fine,” Aric replied shortly. “You know each other. That still doesn’t ch
ange the fact that he can’t be trusted around you.”

“Why?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Apparently I’m just that dumb,” I replied bitterly.

“He still has feelings for you,” Aric said plaintively.

“He does not,” I argued, glancing at Will. I was floored
when Will’s face colored with embarrassment. Crap.

“He does so,” Aric replied. “Look at him.”

“I don’t think he still has feelings for Zoe,” Brittany said pragmatically. “I think he’s just a good guy who wants to make sure that she’s okay. That’s not a bad thing. It’s like they’re brother and sister more than anything else. You should calm down.”

“Shut up, Brittany,” Aric ordered.

Brittany looked taken aback. “Did you just tell me to shut up?”

“Did I stutter?”

Brittany swung back around to me. “Are you going to let him talk to me that way?”

“Why are you even in this conversation?” I practically exploded.

Brittany turned to Will, faux crocodile tears swimming in her blue eyes. “You don’t still have feelings for Zoe, do you? Just tell them.”

Will straightened decisively. “I don’t have feelings for her.”

Brittany smiled triumphantly even though she was the only one in the little circle who believed that statement.

“Great,” I said. “That’s settled.” I turned on my heel
and started walking toward the road.

“Where are you going?” Aric asked angrily.

“Home.”

“The car is the other way.”

“I’m not going home with you.”

“I’m not chasing you,” Aric warned me. “If you
want to walk home, alone, on a dangerous college campus, that’s your choice. I’m not going to chase you, though.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“I mean it.”

“So do I.”

“Dammit,” Aric growled and turned in the opposite direction, stalking back toward the fraternity house. “You are just one big freaking headache. I swear. You drive me absolutely crazy!”

“Take some Advil.”

I was halfway across campus before I regained my breath. I was angry, that was for sure, but I couldn’t decide whom I was angry with. Aric? Yeah, that Neanderthal thing was a little too much, but it wasn’t like it was the first time he’d gone there.

Will? He hadn’t really done anything to warrant fury
. Brittany? I was always angry with her. She hadn’t done anything out of character. Me? That was just crazy. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Except go to a party I shouldn’t have gone to, I reminded myself. This whole situation was totally my fault. Crap. Who needs that?

As I started to calm down, I realized the reality of
my sudden isolation. Aric had been right. No matter how angry I was, I shouldn’t have walked home alone. My impulsive nature often leads to immaturity. It’s my biggest fault – and that’s saying something, because I have a lot of faults. I have a list. I’ll show it to you some day.

I glanced nervously around the path that led to th
e dorms. The sidewalk was well lighted, but this was still Michigan. There were plenty of foliage-heavy areas where someone could hide. I had just about worked myself up into a righteous frenzy when

I heard a twig snap in the bushes to my right. I jumped involuntarily and then froze.

I waited a few seconds, debating about the intelligence of searching the bushes, when I decided I had imagined it and it was time to move on.

That’s when another bush, a little farther up the trail crackled. Crap on toast.

I made a quick decision; instead of staying on the trail and walking past the bushes to my right I broke into a run and sprinted through the open area of grass to my left, not stopping until I hit another sidewalk that was close enough to the dorms that someone could hear me scream. If that became necessary, I mean.