Moon Bound

Stalker

With the vow of the best friend secret established, Emma flipped her blonde braid over her shoulder with a dainty hand and stuck the key into the ignition with the other.

"Wanna go get manis and pedis before you have to go to work?"

I was grateful for the change in topic but grimaced at what she went with. "Em, you know I can't.." I trailed off with a cough. I couldn't afford to get my nails done whenever I felt like it. Emma's were still a pristine bubblegum pink from the last time she had them done a couple weeks ago. I covered mine with the ends of my sleeves.

"Of course you can. My treat."

My chest tightened. Even though she was my best friend and I knew she only offered because she wanted to, it still felt like a hand out. She meant no harm so it shouldn't have hurt but it still did.

"You also know how I feel about spending other people's money. Can you take me to the diner please? Pete asked if I could work today and I seriously need the extra hours."

Her glossed lips pursed but she didn't push the issue. We rode in silence until the white and red brick of Big Bite Diner came into view. Mischief sparkled in her eyes when she noticed the big crack in the wall.

"Drop it," I warned, stepping out into the sunny parking lot. It felt a lot less intimidating in the light of day. And not running around in terror helped too. It was hard to believe I could have died out here last night if Aiden hadn't swooped in out of nowhere.

"You never let me have any fun," she poked her tongue out at me and dropped her sunglasses down from where they rested on her highlighted head. "Text me when you're done? Just so I know you're safe."

Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. I didn't know what I would have done without Emma. She cared a lot. And she made sure to do what she could to keep me safe from shifters like Garret.

Most of them wouldn't give a human the time of day unless it was to berate them. But Em made sure I knew I was stuck with her until the end of time. She was a good friend like that.

I blew her a kiss and watched the green jeep rumble down the road. When she was gone I inhaled shakily and went to let myself into the diner.

The glasses of water were still sitting where Aiden and I had left them. A small weight lifted off my shoulders. Pete hadn't been in yet, which meant I was in the clear and hopefully wouldn't be getting yelled at today.

There was a jingle behind me as I was putting my purse away.

"We're not open yet, sorry. Come back in a half hour."

The bell didn't ring again. I straightened to tell whoever it was that they had to leave, but froze in place at the sight of the person blocking the doorway.

"Lyra." My name rolled smoothly off Aiden's tongue. A naughty thought about his tongue crossed my mind and his lips curved up in a smirk as if he could tell what I was thinking.

I made a beeline for the serving counter. "How did you know where I live?"

"You told me before we left last night."

My heart went cold at the lie. I knew for a fact I had not told him where I lived. I pulled out a rag and shuffled over to where we kept a pair of scissors in a junk box, pretending to wipe down the top of the counter.

"Huh. I don't remember that," I said dryly. He smiled innocently, showing off a dimple in his right cheek. I wanted to throw up.

Aiden sat down in a chair across from me and I would be lying if I said I didn't start to sweat. Whether I was nervous just out of pure desire and having him so close, or because he was potentially a stalker, was still up in the air.

"That's understandable, you had to have been pretty shaken up after what happened."

I nodded hesitantly and moved the rag in circles, trying to keep my cool.

Was he seriously gaslighting me right now?

I bent at my knees, grasping blindly for the scissors while keeping my sights locked on Aiden. In the blink of an eye he was gone and I screamed as I was jerked against his solid chest.

His lips brushed against my ear, making my heart race wildly. "I'm not what you should be afraid of, sweetheart."

This wasn't my first werewolf rodeo. I knew how grabby they could be. I just wasn't used to them grabbing me.

"You're doing a bad job of making me believe that right now."

"You were planning on stabbing me." He countered simply before spinning me around to come face to face with the chest I was becoming a little too acquainted with.

I wanted to lick it.

Convincing myself that no, I did not want to lick the stalker's chest was harder than it should have been.

I had to bite back a groan. Aiden's pine s***h pumpkin spice smell flooded my senses. The v neck of his grey t-shirt gave me a glimpse of the hair covering his chest that I definitely did not want to run my tongue all over.

"You're scrappy," He mused, fiddling with the end of my ponytail. "That's good."

Okay weirdo.

I backed away from him only to bump into the edge of the counter. He had me cornered. Typical wolf. "What do you want, Aiden?"

His rugged face turned thoughtful. Slight stubble lined his sharp jaw and I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like pressed against my face, and my body. I was a sucker for facial hair.

"You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you."

I laughed at that, and rolled my eyes. "I already think you're crazy bud. Pretty sure you hopped on that train a while ago."

He put his large hands up in mock surrender and scooted backwards to give me some much needed space. I reached behind myself to dig for the scissors again and placed them on the counter with a loud clunk.

One of his thick brows arched at my hand that was curled around the handle, "Really?"

"Really really." I nodded, growing impatient. "Are you going to tell me what you want or not? My boss will be here soon and I need to prep for opening."

Aiden stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground for a moment before speaking, "I want you Lyra."

Time came to a screeching halt. His golden eyes raised to lock onto me.

"I want to keep you safe."