Don't Wander

First Kiss

Eden stood at the foot of my bed wearing another pair of shorts, as well as the shirt and shoes that had been lying on my bed. I noticed that his keys were gone too, so I figured he must have put them in his pocket. Eden smirked and mused, "Holy crap? Do you ever curse?”

“Rarely. So how did your return home go?” I asked as I flopped down onto my bed. “By the way, you need to be quiet, because my mom is downstairs.”

“No kidding Sherlock. I can be really quiet though, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” he smirked.

“Yep, you’re a pretty sneaky intruder, I admit,” I said sarcastically.

“Hey now, you can’t start making fun of people. That’s my job.”

“Well excuse me. You can have that job, because it’s kind of lame just between you and me.” Eden laughed and lounged next to me. I could feel the heat of his body radiating toward me, and his proximity made my stomach do flips.

“To answer your question, it sucked. I got back and didn’t even have time to get dressed before Drew was in my face. I had to explain that Micah was a vile piece of s**t and I was merely protecting your innocence. He was still pissed, but he let me put some clothes on at least. Then I had to tell him what else happened and that I needed to get my stuff, and he was furious all over again.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, lucky for me, I have these things called legs. They come in handy when you don’t want to be somewhere and decide to leave.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “So you took off, I get it. Why does this Drew guy hate me so much, anyway?”

Eden propped himself up on his elbow and said thoughtfully, “It’s not that he hates you…he just really doesn’t like you. It’s ‘cause we gotta protect the secret of what we are, and having snoopy little girls wandering around doesn’t exactly fit that description.”

“I am not a snoopy little girl,” I insisted. Actually, I sounded more like a whiny little brat at the moment.

Eden just said, “It’s not like it matters. He caught you in our back yard at night and then you showed up in the woods and nearly got yourself killed by a rogue wolfling. As if all that’s not enough, the very next day you tra-la la into a room with a guy you don’t even know and almost get r***d. You’re kind of a trouble magnet if you ask me. If I was the pack leader, I wouldn’t want you around either.”

“Okay, first of all, wolfling? What is that? And secondly, I am not a trouble magnet just because I wasn’t aware of everything. Also, Drew is the pack leader? You are definitely gonna have to explain this whole werewolf thing if you want me to go with it.”

“So, if I don’t, you’ll run screaming for your mommy?” Eden raised his brows.

“No—that’s not what I meant—just answer the question,” I stuttered, blushing yet again.

“You mean questions, with an emphasis on the last syllable. Fine. Wolfling is what I call the pups.”

At my blank stare he sighed and clarified, “The new wolves, the boys that just started shifting. Here’s the thing, when a boy who has the gene or whatever to become a werewolf—I hate that term by the way—hits puberty, he starts shifting. It’s uncontrollable, but with time he learns how to control it and it becomes a faster and smoother process. Also, the young ones have a harder time keeping their instinctive feelings in check, which is probably why Zach almost tore you apart last night,” Eden explained.

“You make it sound so casual. So only guys can be werewolves?”

“Again, hate that term. Yes, only guys.”

“Which term would you prefer?”

“Lycanthrope, or Lycan for short. Werewolf just sounds too Hollywood and monster-ish.”

“Okay, so I guess if it’s inherited that means no biting is involved to create more of you?” At that, Eden cracked up. “Shh! My mom will hear you!” I said worriedly.

I went to my door and peeked out, but I didn’t see or hear my mom. I shut the door again and sat back down next to Eden. He was still shaking with laughter. “What’s so funny?” I demanded.

“That is the dumbest myth ever. As if we would just go around biting idiots to make them like us. Please. No, there’s some trait or something that is passed down from a lycanthrope father to his son. To save myself from more uncontrollable outbursts of laughter, the silver bullets thing and full moon thing are both bullshit too. I don’t even know how that nonsense got started. I guess people wanted some kind of security. The truth is, we can die in many ways, but it’s really hard to do. We’re tough. We can change forms whenever the hell we feel like it once we gain control, but most prefer nighttime 'cause it’s more inconspicuous.”

I let that all sink in before I said, “This is gonna sound awkward, but say in theory we were to have a kid. If he was a boy, he would end up like you no matter what?”

He smiled slyly and said, “Yes, it would be guaranteed. So how long have you been thinking about having kids with me?” I threw a pillow at him.

“Shut up, I was just checking to make sure I understood correctly.”

He sighed and said, “They’d be pretty damn cute, you have to admit.” I could feel my cheeks flaming. I should never have asked.

“Hey I got a question,” I blurted.

“Well ask away. I’m not here for my health,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and asked, “Where do you go during algebra?”

“It figures you would ask me something so frivolous. If you absolutely must know, Drew checks up on me every week during that class. It’s always on a different day so I can never be sure when. He texts me when he wants me to get a pass. He talked about it with the principal, and because of my shady past, it was agreed that I would be let out of second hour any day for that purpose. He pretty much just makes sure I’m at school and that I haven’t done anything major, like fight or break stuff. His reasoning is that it will keep attention away from our ‘foster home.’”

“So, the ‘foster home’ you’re living in is actually a were—I mean, lycanthrope pack?”

“Yep,” he replied absently as he leaned over the foot of my bed and began going through my stuff.

“I guess that’s why none of the foster homes you were listed as staying in existed. You should really mind your own business and stay out of my things.”

Eden looked over at me and said, “Look who’s talking. You checked up on the foster homes that are on my record?”

I said sheepishly, “I wondered why you were always moving and getting kicked out of school. You’re too cryptic, it’s not like I could’ve asked.”

“Of course I’m cryptic; I’ve got a pretty big secret.”

“Well, you should try being more conversational, because you only aroused my curiosity. Lying is a well-known tool, I hear.” Eden smiled again and rolled over. His new position placed him directly next to where I was sitting cross-legged, his body pressed against my leg and waist.

“So, did I arouse anything else?” He traced a finger up my arm, and it raised chill bumps all over me.

“Um, I, uh…” I couldn’t make my voice work. All I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss him at that moment.

Eden laughed quietly and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.” He pushed a lock of my hair out of my face, and tucked it behind my ear. Then he leaned up on both arms and hovered inches from my face.

I couldn’t breathe, and my mind swam. The only coherent thought that surfaced was how glad I was that I had brushed my teeth after eating that pizza. I felt my heart beating so fast that I thought it would rip out of my chest as Eden leaned toward me.

When our lips met, I felt electricity surge through my body. He was all that existed and all that mattered at that moment. I felt detached from my body as I uncrossed my legs, leaned back, and placed both of my hands in Eden’s hair.

He reacted by laying against me, his arms supporting most of his weight. I wanted more of him and couldn’t resist pulling him against me while we kissed. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and the heat I felt inside intensified.

It was all I could do to keep my hands from roaming his perfect body. After not nearly long enough, Eden pulled away, breathing heavily.

“Wow,” I said stupidly.

He smirked and said, “Thanks for the compliment.” Then he stood up and said, “I should be getting back to the pack of filthy dog boys. See you tomorrow…sweet dreams.” He winked and walked toward my door.

I finally found my voice and said, “You’re going out that way?”

“Yeah, it’s how I came in. Did you think I scaled the side of your house to crawl in your locked window? I prefer the consistently unlocked patio doors on the first floor.”

“You’ll have to pass my mom’s room to get out that way,” I said worriedly.

“And I repeat, it’s how I came in. Don’t worry so much babe.” I scowled but didn’t say anything.

He slipped out of my room and I walked over to my window. Within a few seconds, I saw Eden exit the house and jog out into the yard. He stopped and waved at me playfully before continuing into the trees and disappearing in the growing shadows of the night.

I turned out the light and went back to bed. My mind raced with thoughts about Eden’s kiss and how I was fairly certain that I was falling in love with a werewolf. Exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep, and, unfortunately, I did not have sweet dreams.