Dirty Blood (26 page)

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you talking to him. I thought I
made that clear, already.”

“You mentioned it. I don’t agree.”

“And I’m in charge. Hand it over.”

I handed her the phone. “It doesn’t matter. Vera’s
vision-”

“Is wrong. Besides, he might think he has feelings
for you, but it’s only because Vera claimed he would. Suggestive
thinking. And picking up on your feelings for him probably didn’t
help, either.”

“I didn’t tell him about my feelings for him until
yesterday,” I argued.

“You didn’t have to tell him, Tara. He obviously read
it in your mind.”

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. I did
remember Wes telling me about that, in his apartment, but
discussions of visions and destiny had distracted me from it. “He
can only do it during a full moon,” I said, remembering his
words.

“Tara, check the calendar. From what Vera said,
you’ve seen a full moon since the two of you met.” She pocketed my
phone and walked out.

I went to my desk, more curious than anything else,
and pulled out my day planner. The cycles of the moon were clearly
marked and I flipped back to February, searching for the last full
moon phase.

When I found it, I just stared at it, replaying the
day over and over.

~ 26 ~

It was the day Wes had first come to my house. The
day after I’d killed Liliana. Then a new thought hit me; it was the
day I’d first noticed how gorgeous he was. He’d been able to hear
every single thought in my head. And he hadn’t bothered to tell
me.

I paced my room as little bits and pieces of that day
came back. In particular, I remembered the moment we’d stood
outside Jack’s house, and Wes’ eerily accurate response about
waiting a minute, and they’d answer. I’d forgotten all about it, in
the chaos of everything else. Now, it made sense. He had heard my
thoughts.

It was a little embarrassing, knowing he’d heard
everything. Okay, it was a lot embarrassing. But mostly, it pissed
me off. Maybe because I was already pissed off – at my mother, at
Vera, and at what the circumstances of my life had somehow become.
But, it was an invasion that I hadn’t been prepared for, from the
last person I thought I could trust, and I desperately wanted to
confront him about it.

I waited until that night, after my mother had
finally gone to sleep, which was only after I’d pretended to be,
for over an hour. I crept into the hall and stood outside her door
listening to the even breaths that signaled sleep. Then I padded
downstairs and took the cordless from the kitchen, and slid to the
floor in the darkened laundry room. I dialed Wes’ number and
waited.

“Hello?” His voice was muffled by sleep.

“It’s me. Did I wake you?”

He became instantly alert. “It’s fine. What’s up? Is
everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about your mind-reading thing. Can you, um,
turn it off?”

“No. Why?”

“Because I was looking at the calendar, and I
realized the date of the last full moon.”

A pause. Then, “Oh.”

With that one word, my temper flared. “Oh? That’s it?
You’re still not going to admit that you heard every single thought
in my head that first day?”

Wes sighed, deeply, like he’d known this was coming.
"Most wolves can do memory manipulation on some level. It’s what
helps keep them a secret from humans. Some are better at it than
others. On the full moon, the ability is always strongest. For
whatever reason, on the full moon, it means I can also read minds.
I don’t have a choice and I can’t turn it off."

“So you heard everything I was thinking that
day?”

“Not everything. I somehow missed the plunger handles
you decided to carry.”

“Not funny.”

“And while we’re on the subject, I know you were
wondering, and yes, I was checking you out. It had nothing to do
with the scratches.”

His voice sounded gravelly at being woken up. That,
combined with his latest confession, made it hard to be angry right
now. I missed him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Try.”

“Vera didn’t want me to. She thought it would scare
you away, just like the visions. And honestly, I didn’t want to
scare you away for my own reasons. Selfish reasons. I liked being
around you, and I didn’t want that to end if you were offended by
my eavesdropping.” Another pause, then, “Are you mad?”

“Why would I be mad? Just one more thing to add to
the list of things that was kept from me.”

He was quiet for a minute, probably trying to figure
out how to handle me without making it worse. “It’s not like I
tried to hear you. I don’t have a choice. I hear everyone. Do you
know how annoying it is, to be able to hear a million voices at
once? I’m lucky it’s only one day a month. It’s enough to give me a
headache for the next three days afterwards.”

I stayed stubbornly silent.

“I’ve heard you before that, too. Once.” He paused,
waiting for a reaction.

“When?”

“It was a couple of months ago. At Moe’s. I was in
the back, praying the place would stay empty, to keep the volume in
my head to a minimum. You came in with Sam and set up at a table by
the door. I almost left after that – after hearing Sam’s thoughts.
Hers are the type I try to avoid. But yours were different. They
were kind, without being a pushover, and fun without being shallow.
And surprisingly deep. It was fascinating, the way you interacted
with Sam, despite being total opposites, and the affection you had
for her.”

I knew the day he meant, because it was one of the
few that Angela had missed. “It was a girl’s day. Angela had to
stay home and babysit her sister,” I said.

“I thought about going to talk to you, even with the
dilemma of being able to hear you properly, over everyone’s
thoughts shouting thoughts inside my head.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“For your safety,” he said quietly.

His answer should’ve comforted me, or at least made
sense. Instead, the entire story only broke my heart; I wasn’t even
sure why. “Don’t,” I said. “Don’t do that. You’re always doing
that.”

“Doing what? Keeping you safe?”

“Yes. It’s irritating and annoying and ridiculous
and… just like what my mother did.” My voice rose on the last part
and I hastily lowered it again. “My mother thinks me not seeing you
is the best way to protect me. She took my phone.”

He didn’t answer for a long time.

“Are you still there?”

“I’m here. I – I can’t go against your mother,
Tara.”

“What?” I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard him right. I
hoped I hadn’t heard him right.

“Jack came by after he left your house, to lecture me
about it. I’ve been thinking about it since he left, and I just
can’t. What if you snuck around, to see me and something
happened?”

“Then you’d be there to prevent it.”

“She would blame me. And she wouldn’t be wrong.”

This time it was me who didn’t answer.

“It’s more than that, though. Jack sort of ordered me
to stay away unless your mother changes her mind.”

“What do you mean ordered?”

“He’s the alpha, and… I don’t really have a choice
here.”

“I can’t believe Jack would do that,” I said, shaking
my head.

“I think it was Vera’s idea.”

“But Vera’s the one who said-”

“I know but she also wants to give your mom time to
come around to it all. She envisions more than just us, as a
couple, you know.”

I remembered the flip side to what Vera had seen. Me,
a leader, bringing peace to the two races. Ending the war. I shook
it off; I couldn’t think about that right now.

“I don’t care what Jack, or Vera, or my mother
think,” I said, stubbornly.

“I can’t go against an alpha’s order. Not again.”

I stayed quiet and chewed on my lip.

“Tara, don’t be mad,” he whispered.

“I’m not mad, I’m just… I’m sick of being treated
like an invalid. No one gives me a say in what would make me safe.
Not even you. And I can’t live like that.”

“I can’t NOT protect you, Tara.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying we should take a break. At least until we
deal with Leo. Then, maybe your mom will change her mind.”

“You’re breaking up with me?” My eyes filled with
tears. They spilled over onto my cheeks before I could even attempt
to blink them back. I should’ve known, after the night we’d spent
together, that he’d go cold again.

“Tara, it’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like?”

The kitchen light came on, and I held my breath. Soft
footsteps padded closer, and a cabinet opened. The sink came
on.

“I’m sorry, Tara. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” said
Wes, in a strained voice.

Before I could answer, he hung up with a click that
echoed all the way into my bones. I sat there, numb inside and out,
long after the kitchen light had shut off and my mother had
returned to bed.

~ 27 ~

It was a tensely silent car ride to school on Monday.
My mom insisted on driving me; part of the whole ‘protecting me,
herself’ initiative. I’d spent all of Sunday either arguing with
her about the new schedule she seemed determined to implement or
sneaking off to try calling Wes again. He hadn’t picked up, though,
and on the last try, the recorded voice had informed me his mailbox
was full.

I didn’t want to believe that he’d meant what he’d
said to me on our last phone call but after two days without any
contact from him, I knew it was for real. We were over and there
was nothing I could do about it because my mother had basically put
me under house arrest until further notice.

She’d informed me that I would be driven to school
and picked up, by her, and I’d be spending my afternoons with her
at the flower shop, doing school assigned homework or learning
about Hunter history, also by her. There would be no further
contact with anyone associated with The Cause, and until she felt
she could trust me, I was grounded from even going out with my
human friends.

Arguing did no good; neither did threats. She’d even
called a security company to have the alarm system upgraded, so
that it would alert her remotely if I tried to leave without
permission. They were scheduled to come tomorrow. In the meantime,
I would’ve gladly snuck away for a few hours but there was only one
person I wanted to sneak away with – and he wasn’t speaking to
me.

So, with no other choice, I let her drive me to
school, and tried to pretend everything didn’t completely suck. I
stared out the window, feeling more alone than I ever had.

“How’s Angela doing? I haven’t seen her or Sam
lately.” My mom tried to keep her voice casual, and I suspected she
was just desperate for a way to ease the tension between us but I
just wasn’t ready for that yet.

I remained silent and shifted in my seat, letting her
know with my body language that I had no intention of responding.
She took the hint and didn’t speak again.

My mom let me out at the curb and I hustled away
before anyone could notice I was getting dropped off by my mother.
Besides that, I welcomed school if it got me away from her for a
few hours. But that thought was followed by a big, fat ‘Never
mind’. As soon as I was in the doors, George was rushing towards
me. I suppressed a groan and tried to keep going, but he was too
quick.

“Tay, I’m so glad I caught you. I texted you all
weekend.” He ran a hand through his sandy hair, looking nervous.
The first glimpse I’d seen of the old George in a long while.
“Look, I’m really sorry, Tay. Cindy said she wanted to talk to me,
and that she knew something about you. I shouldn’t have believed
her, but you sounded upset on the phone, and I miss you, and I just
wanted to believe her, I guess...” He trailed off, waiting for me
to say something; let him off the hook. I didn’t. “I know you hate
Cindy,” he went on. “And I don’t even really like her, either. I
just, I don’t know. She kissed me and I didn’t see it coming. I was
already pushing her away when you saw us. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, only mildly affected by the pleading look
he wore. “I appreciate the apology, George, but it’s not a big
deal. We aren’t together anymore, and you’re free to see whoever
you want.”

“But I don’t want to be free, I want to be with you,”
he argued.

I fought an urge to smile at the way his words had
come out. His expression lightened, though, so I must’ve given
something away.

“I know I messed up. A lot. But I’m going to fix it,
and I don’t care how long it takes. So just get used to it because
I’m going to win you back, eventually.”

“George-”

“Don’t say anything. Not right now. Just think about
it.” He sounded utterly determined.

I sighed, unwilling to argue with just one more
person today. “Okay. But I gotta go.”

As if on cue, the first bell rang.

“I’ll see you around, Tay,” he said, his eyes
sparkling.

I didn’t answer, and he disappeared into the rush of
kids scrambling to get to class. I had to run the last leg, but I
managed to get to class just as the tardy bell rang. I dropped my
books onto the desk and flopped into my seat.

A high pitched giggle floated by, and I felt
something inside me straining against the leash of my temper. I
glanced over and found Cindy beaming at me through an overly thick
layer of mascara.

“Tara, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been meaning to
ask you, does George always talk in his sleep, or just sometimes? I
was curious, you know, from one girlfriend to another. Oh, I mean
ex-girlfriend to girlfriend.”

Missy, the short brunette in front of her snickered
and that was the last thing I heard. Without even realizing I was
doing it, my arm swung out and my fist made contact with Cindy’s
face. Her head snapped to the side from the impact and the rest of
the room went completely still. When Cindy finally swung back to
look at me, I saw that a red, swollen lump was already forming on
her cheek.