He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Sharing Secrets Part I: Aly

“Aly, can I ask you something kind of crazy and not make you mad?” Ronnie timidly requests into the darkness of our dorm room one night about a week before the end of the semester.

We went to bed a half hour ago and have both been just lying here on opposite sides of the room staring into the darkness and not falling asleep. At least, that’s what I’ve been doing. I assume it’s been a similar experience for her since she is still awake.

“I mean, basically I’m saying do you promise to keep your cool and not get mad at what I’m about to say if I’m completely wrong? I don’t mean anything by it, like I don’t want to offend you or anything, but my curiosity is getting to be too much,” she continues to ramble without even asking her question yet.

“Ronnie, it’s okay. Whatever it is just say it,” I try to soothe her nerves with my calm, inviting tone.

Her nervous query is so random and out-of-the blue that I have no idea what it might be since there’s no context from a recent conversation to help me guess.

“Okay, well, I’ve just been wondering if you might possibly be a werewolf,” she says with a nervous laugh, and I can picture the way her face scrunches up on one side when she asks questions using that nervous tone that raises in pitch toward the end.

Her just putting that out there stuns me. My mind starts racing as I try to piece together what I’ve done or said that would have led her to that conclusion. I also wonder who else might be starting to figure it out since I’ve obviously been more careless than I realize. I can’t think of anything I’ve done that would set me apart from the humans, though.

I get lost in my troubled thoughts and forget to answer her. I don’t know how much time goes by before she says, “I’m going to guess from the fact that you went quiet and didn’t freak out that I’m right.”

“What gave it away?” I ask finally, realizing that Ronnie is too smart and obviously too perceptive for me to try to lie to her at this point, plus I would feel wrong about it since she asked me about it directly.

I realize that there is no reason not to out myself to her anyway. She always keeps my secrets and has my back. I actually can’t believe that I didn’t think to tell her earlier.

“Your eyes. Sometimes you get this faraway look, and your eyes change colors and then quickly change back.”

Mari. She has noticed the times when I talk with Mari. I exhale in relief that that’s what she noticed, because I only respond to Mari in our room or when no one is around. Chances are slim that any of the other humans have noticed anything.

“The first time I saw it I thought it was a trick of the light or something,” she continues explaining, “and then I saw it again and still tried to convince myself that I was seeing things, but by the third time I realized it’s just real, plain and simple. So, then I did some research over break and sorted out that you’re either a werewolf or a handful of other possibilities that just didn’t fit. Werewolf fits. You’ve got the eye thing going on, you’re super fit and healthy, you and your whole family including your friend Ryan all smell fresh like a forest, and so on. So, yeah, I finally concluded that you’re probably a werewolf.”

She doesn’t sound appalled, disgusted, or upset in any way, so I take that as a good sign. She sounds curious and intellectual about it, which doesn’t surprise me. That seems to be how she takes in the world around her in general. I do wonder where she did her research that led her to discovering so much about us, but I'll ask her about that later.

“How do you feel about the news that your roommate is a werewolf?” I ask her, keeping my tone casual and conversational.

On the inside, my heart is pounding, and my skin has gone clammy. I adore this girl, and it would break my heart if she doesn’t want to room with me now that she knows.

“I’m fine with it,” she assures me. “I find it fascinating and it’s a bit of an eye-opener to learn that something like werewolves actually exists. I struggle a little bit with the question of how it is even possible, like what is the science behind it, but I’m also a firm believer in accepting the truth right in front of me. If I see it, then I can’t be in denial about it just because I don’t know enough to understand it. I have to humble myself to the fact that I don’t know everything.”

“Ronnie, you’re amazing,” I gush, and feel an urge to get up and go hug her, so I do.

She squeals a little bit from the surprise of me suddenly lunging at her from across the room and we giggle together about it, and then I realize with relief that nothing has changed. It doesn’t feel any different now that she knows. Actually, it feels a little bit better; it’s a relief that my closest friend outside my pack and Tyler now knows the truth about me. The weight of my burdens always seems a little lighter when I can stop lying and pretending to someone close to me.

*************************

It wasn’t the best idea for us to stay up until the wee hours of the morning whispering about werewolves and the supernatural, but I feel like it wasn’t a bad thing either. We’re tired, but it was a satisfying way to spend the night and now I feel so much closer to Ronnie. She also came up with a great idea for how I can test out how it might go telling Matt the truth.

“So, Matt is best friends with his and Tyler’s other roommate, right?” she asked me after I finished telling her about the messed-up situation with Matt being my mate and Tyler being my lover and whatever else he is.

I also explained to her why I’ve been scared to tell Matt the truth, which seemed to cause her to shift immediately into problem-solving mode.

“He is. They’ve known each other since they were little,” I confirmed.

“Do you feel like that guy is relatively trustworthy and likes you well enough that he wouldn’t want to go blabbing your business all over campus?” she asked, which was when I started to get an idea of what she was driving at.

“Yeah, I think so,” I replied, chewing over my impressions of Trevor. I know him the least of the three guys, but he seems like a good person and friend. “What I know for sure is that he cares a lot about Matt. I don’t know if that means he will or won’t run directly to him and tell him what I said if I come clean to Trevor first, though.”

“Tell him why you went to him first, and if he’s smart and really cares about Matt’s happiness, he won’t tell him. He’ll let you tell him, though that’s not to say that he won’t put pressure on you to tell him sooner rather than later because that’s what you need to do anyway and Matt needs this information to inform his decision-making process,” Ronnie continued to theorize. “I just think it’s a good place to start because he probably knows Matt the best of anyone and would have some idea of how Matt might take the news.”

And that’s how I’ve ended up spending my limited free time on a Friday afternoon tracking down Trevor, since I don’t have his number and I don’t want to tip Matt off that I’m up to something. I texted Tyler, who seems to have only a vague notion of the places Trevor might be just after lunch on Fridays. I already checked the physics lab where he’s been working on a project and have been making my way through the three-story library toward the middle of the campus.

I find him in the study areas on the third floor, taking up an entire table by himself. He’s so deep into whatever he is working on that he doesn’t notice me approach, even after I clear my throat to announce my presence.

He reminds me so much of Ronnie right now. If I didn’t like Meredith so much, I’d almost be tempted to play matchmaker for my roommate. Well, if she weren’t a minor as well, I guess. I keep forgetting that 16 isn’t considered an adult to humans.

“Hey, Trevor,” I whisper, crouching down next to him. I know this is a quiet area and you’re not supposed to carry on conversations, so I intend to make this quick.

He startles when I speak to him, jumping a little in his chair and blinking his eyes at me.

“Aly, hi,” he whispers back. “What are you doing here?”

He doesn’t sound angry, just curious. It is odd to find me in the library. I don’t do a lot of studying.

“Looking for you,” I tell him quietly. “Don’t worry, I’m not staying. I just wanted to make a plan to get together with you at some point so we can talk. It’s about Matt.”

“Ah,” he says knowingly. I’m going to guess Matt has told him about our connection. “Yeah, I’m pretty booked today, but I can get with you tomorrow. There’s a party in the evening I was planning to go to, but I’m free all morning and afternoon. Well, not afternoon. Matt and I were going to catch a movie. But in the morning for sure.”

“I don’t want him to know,” I add, realizing he might tell Matt that we’re meeting if I don’t warn him off. “I kind of just want to pick your brain about something, and I don’t want him fretting about what I might be up to.”

“I got it. I know there’s a whole thing between you two, and then the thing with Jess, so I can imagine what you need me for. I’ll be discreet, promise.” He turns his attention to his backpack on the chair next to him and rifles around looking for something before pulling out a take-out menu. “I wouldn’t mind meeting here, and Matt won’t go there anymore after the last time when he got food poisoning. Breakfast is on you, though. My allowance for this semester is nearly on empty.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say as I reach for the menu and look it over.

It looks like it’s for a little mom and pop diner that advertises all-day breakfast and made-to-order pizza with a list of toppings that can be combined for “limitless possibilities.” Sounds quaint, and I have a feeling that Matt’s food poisoning was more my fault than the cook’s, but Trevor doesn’t need to know that. My only issue is the possibility of too many people around for us to talk about what we need to talk about.

With that in mind, I add, “We can have breakfast and then maybe go someplace a little less populated?”

“Ooh, intrigue,” Trevor says dramatically. “Now I’m curious, but it will have to wait until tomorrow because I really need to finish this. See you then?”

“Yep, and I have to get to my next class. Good luck with that,” I say, gesturing to the work spread out on his table, and then I turn and leave him to it.