Mirage (8 page)

“Yeah, I think they’ve got that, Jenna,” Aidan said sharply. “Why don’t you just start at the beginning, okay?”

“Fine,” she said with a shrug. “I’m a lycanthrope. I was born one, in case you’re wondering—it’s not transmissible or anything like that. I can shift to wolf form any time I like, but it’s easiest during the full moon.

“And yes, we usually live in packs,” she went on. “You know, our families clustered together, living in small, isolated communities, mostly homeschooled. I hated pack life—everything about it. I just wanted to go to a normal school and live a normal life.”

She paused, as if gauging our reaction. I felt a sense of déjà vu, remembering the day that Aidan had told me
his
story. It would seem that this one was just as unbelievably bizarre.

“I’d sent some pictures to a modeling agency in New York City, and they wanted to represent me. They offered to help me find a roommate, an apartment with some other models, whatever. But my parents wouldn’t allow it—wouldn’t let me leave the pack. They told me then that they’d promised me to the alpha’s oldest son. Who is a total moronic brute, I might add.” Her voice was filled with disgust. “It was supposed to be some honor—very prestigious for my family.

“I told them I wasn’t interested in being their little pack princess, but they didn’t care. Sixteen is the normal age for a pack female to marry, maybe seventeen, because lycanthropes have a pretty short life span,” she explained. “That’s why they want us to start popping out puppies as young as possible. That’s all my parents cared about—the pack’s breeding program.”

On my right, I heard Cece’s sharp intake of breath. “But that’s—that’s crazy!” she stammered. “They were going to force you to marry him at sixteen?”

Jenna shrugged, brushing a stray lock of perfectly highlighted hair from her forehead. “That’s just the way it’s always been. All about bloodlines and lineage, breeding for strength and smarts. Anyway, I ran away when I was fourteen. They found me before I’d gotten very far and dragged me back. The alpha threatened to kill me if I tried it again. I ran anyway.”

Everyone remained silent, digesting that. She was brave, I’d give her that. Brave, or reckless. Maybe equal measures of both.

“They caught up with me again. Thanks to a lycan’s collective consciousness, it’s almost impossible to hide your thoughts from the rest of your pack. It was my oldest brother who found me, and he turned me right over to the alpha, who was leading the hunt.

“Long story short, they left me for dead. Aidan found me.” She glanced over at him. “He had no idea what I was—I’d shifted back to human form. So there I was—a naked, bloody, half-dead mess. I
would
have been dead, given another hour or two. Anyway, Aidan took me to Dr. Blackwell, who let Nurse Campbell treat me, and voilà, here I am.”

“That doesn’t explain what you were doing here at the chapel that day,” I said, shaking my head. Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to get the word
naked
out of my brain. “Or why you saved us. Or even why you gave me that miniature—the picture of Aidan’s ex.”

“I wasn’t done with the story,” she snapped. “So, Blackwell agreed to let me stay here at Winterhaven, to enroll me as a scholarship student, and to offer me his full protection. I didn’t have much of a choice—it was that or risk having the pack finish me off the moment I stepped off campus.”

“The pack can’t come on campus?” Joshua asked.

She shook her head. “Nope. Not with vampires here, protecting me. They wouldn’t dare. It’s a turf thing, and lycans are all about turf. It would start a full-blown war, and the pack can’t risk that.”

Jack shook his head. “But why would Blackwell have wanted to protect you? Aren’t vampires and werewolves supposed to be enemies?”

“I think Blackwell just wanted to keep me around to learn as much as possible about lycanthropy. We’re normally a pretty secretive bunch, but I was happy to trade pack information for a chance at a normal life.”

Her gaze slid to each of us, one by one, silently daring us to criticize her for what could surely be interpreted as a betrayal of her kind.

No one said a word.

“So I accepted his offer,” she continued. “Blackwell appointed Aidan my babysitter to keep a watch on me when I shift. You know, to keep the humans safe from the big, bad wolf.” Which I had to admit was kind of funny, when you thought about it. A vampire assigned to keep people “safe.” Of course, if that vampire was Aidan, then people
were
safe.

“And in case you’re curious, it
is
biologically necessary for me to shift, at least occasionally. Anyway”—she waved one hand in dismissal—“everything was fine, until last year. Blackwell started setting these conditions for me—things I had to do, or else he’d turn me out. Giving that picture to Violet was one of the conditions. I had no idea what it meant—it seemed pretty harmless. It wasn’t like Blackwell gave me much choice.”

“It’s okay,” I found myself saying. “You did what you had to do.” Besides, if Aidan hadn’t lied about the miniature to begin with—

I said I was sorry about that, Vi,
came Aidan’s voice in my mind.
A million times over, and I meant it every time.

How did you know what I was thinking?
I asked, startled. I’d had the wall around my thoughts; I always did when he was around. He’d said that wall was impenetrable.

It was easy enough to figure out,
he said.
I knew your thoughts would go there the minute she mentioned it.

For the first time in a very long time, I wondered if he was lying to me. Had he figured out a way around the wall?

“What about that night here at the chapel, with Julius—how did you know what was going on?” Marissa asked.

Jenna shrugged. “I didn’t. Blackwell sent me.”

I was sure I had misheard her. Everyone started whispering at once.

Only Jack spoke up. “The acoustics must be really weird in here. Because it sounded like you said Blackwell sent you.”

Jenna folded her arms across her chest. “That’s exactly what I said.”

All the air left my lungs in a whoosh.
What the hell?

“Go on,” Aidan urged, his eyes troubled, more gray now than blue.

I saw her swallow hard. “He said … he said it was his last condition, that he wouldn’t ask anything more of me after that night. He didn’t tell me why, didn’t tell me what I was going to find. Just that I should shift and go to the chapel. So I did.”

“You’re lying,” Kate called out. She turned toward Jack. “She has to be lying.”

Sophie shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Jenna shrugged. “Look, I don’t care if you guys believe me or not—it makes no difference to me, one way or the other. You wanted to know why I was there; I told you. End of story.”

Suddenly everyone was talking at once—everyone but Aidan. He was silent, his expression stony, entirely unreadable. I just sat there watching him, wondering what was going on his head, wondering if I dared attempt to breach his mind and listen in.

“Okay, let’s say Blackwell
did
send you,” Joshua shouted above the din, and everyone finally quieted down. “So you got here, you saw what was going on. You could have just turned around and left. Why did you decide to help us?”

She regarded him coolly, her jaw set firm. “Regardless of what you might have heard, I’m not a total bitch. I wasn’t going to just sit there on my haunches and watch you all die. Besides, I owed it to Aidan.” She glanced over to where he sat stiffly beside her. “He saved me, that day in the woods. And now we’re even.”

“I suppose we are,” Aidan said softly.

“But … but what happens when you graduate, when you leave Winterhaven?” Cece sounded genuinely alarmed. “Won’t they come after you then?”

Jenna’s eyes glittered. “I’ll move away, change my name. I
dare
them to come looking for me.”

Whoa.
I had to give the girl credit—she obviously had some serious cojones.

Jenna rose, gripping the back of the pew. I noticed a ring on her right hand, polished onyx with some sort of design etched into it. “So, are we done here?” she asked, sounding bored now.

Aidan rose to stand beside her. “I might be able to help you out with a cure. I’ve been studying up on it, reading about the effects of wolfsbane—”

“Why don’t you just concentrate on finding your own cure,” she interrupted, sounding a lot like the bitch she claimed she wasn’t. “At least I’m not really a danger to anyone—”

“I’m not a danger to anyone either, Jenna. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Oh, yeah? I saw you and your little girlfriend this afternoon in the quad. Your teeth were awfully close to her neck, don’t you think?”

Little girlfriend?
Okay, she was seriously starting to piss me off. “Aidan isn’t going to hurt me,” I said, rising. “And maybe you should consider minding your own business, besides.”

“It
is
my business,” she shot back. “It’s everyone’s business here at Winterhaven. Because if he hurts you, it’s going to get out. It’s going to bring attention to this school, and we’ll all be exposed. Not everyone here has a luxury apartment on the Upper East Side to go back to. Did you ever think of that?”

I guess I hadn’t. Still, it didn’t change anything. “He’s not going to hurt me,” I repeated as resolutely as before.

“You’re pretty confident about that, huh?”

“Yeah, I am,” I said, moving closer, putting myself between her and Aidan. “And you of all people should understand that better than anyone.”

The color rose in her cheeks, staining them scarlet. “Are you suggesting that I’m
anything
like a vampire?”

“Those lycans you described—your own family, even—sounded pretty murderous to me,” I challenged.

Jenna’s gaze met mine, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. She clenched one hand into a fist by her side, the hand wearing the onyx ring. For a second there, I thought she might actually take a swing at me.

Cece stepped up beside me, laying one hand on my wrist. “Um, yeah … we should probably call it a night, don’t you think?”

I nodded. “Definitely. Aidan?”

“Aidan?” Jenna called out at the exact same time.

His head shot up, his gaze traveling from Jenna to me, and back again.

“I’m going to need your babysitting services tonight,” she told him. “I could use a good, hard run.”

Of course she had to make it sound dirty.

He sighed resignedly. “Fine, but I’ve got to go to the lab first.” He turned to me. “Dr. Byrne’s meeting us there in a half hour. We’re going to start working on that new idea of his.”

“Just be there,” Jenna snapped. “Usual time and place.” With that, she turned and strode toward the vestibule without a backward glance.

Hmm, so they had a usual rendezvous routine. That ember of jealousy stirred in my breast, newly stoked.

“Don’t let her get to you,” Aidan said as the doors closed behind her. “It’s not personal—she dislikes you by association, that’s all.”

But my mind was already elsewhere. “So, when she shifts … what happens to her clothes?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, a faint smile tipping the corners of his mouth. He knew I was jealous—and he was
enjoying
it. Payback for the whole Dr. Hottie thing, I guessed.

“They just … what? Burst at the seams?” I made an exploding motion with my hands. “Pop off her, just like that?”

His lips twitched—yeah, he was enjoying this, all right. “I’m pretty sure she takes them off before she shifts.”

“
Pretty
sure?” I pressed.

“Okay, I’m sure of it. There’s a little outbuilding at the edge of the woods, down near—”

“Forget I asked.” The last thing I wanted was the details. “Don’t you have to go to the lab?”

“I do.” He nodded in Jack’s direction. “Hey, you ready?” he called out to him.

“Yup,” Jack answered, leaning over to kiss Kate on the lips. “Later, okay?”

There wouldn’t be a “later” for me and Aidan—not tonight. He’d be out with his werewolf instead. His
naked
werewolf.

Ugh.

7 ~ You Lie like a Rug

I
set aside the stack of textbooks with a sigh. If these books were any indication, this semester was going to be tough. What ever happened to taking it easy senior year, having some fun? And why had I ever thought that taking calculus was a good idea?

The only consolation was that seniors weren’t required to attend study hour in the East Hall lounge every night like everyone else—it was one of the very few privileges afforded us, and I was grateful for it. It was so much easier for me to concentrate in my room, my radio set to a classical station.

My cell began to ring, and I hurried over to pick it up.
Whitney.
I smiled as I touched the screen to take the call.

“So?” she drawled in my ear.

“Just shoot me now,” I replied, readjusting the phone against my ear. Over the summer I’d traded in my old flip phone for a smartphone, which still felt clunky to me, despite its obvious advantages.

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge. Anyway, ask me again at the end of the day tomorrow.” I sank back down on my bed, tucking my bare feet beneath myself.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Whitney said, the rhythmic drone of a lawn mower in the background nearly drowning her out. “Can you hear me? I swear, my dad picks the worst times to mow the lawn. Here, let me go into the bathroom.” I heard a shuffling noise and then the sound of a door slamming. “How’s that?” she asked.

“Way better,” I said. “So how’s it going? With the parents, I mean?”

I heard her sigh. “Terrible. They’re making me see a dietician
and
a shrink now.” Because they thought she had an eating disorder. She’d lost so much weight last spring that they’d refused to let her go to the summer dance program she’d gotten into in New York, and they’d even threatened to pull her out of the performing arts high school she attended during the school year. They’d finally given in on the latter—she’d started back a few weeks ago—but I knew things had been tense at home.