Moon Bound

Best Friend Secret

Being attacked by a giant shifter and then saved by an even bigger shifter who somehow knows where I live should have made it hard for me to sleep a wink last night; but I slept like a baby.

I woke up to the bright autumn light filtering in between my curtains. I looked down to find I was still in my clothes from yesterday and my phone on the floor.

There was an unfinished text message on the screen when I picked it up. I must have passed out as soon as I sat down to text Emma. I deleted the message and called her instead.

"Good morning sunshine," she greeted cheerfully. I groaned, rising to close the curtains, and flopped back onto the bed.

"You wouldn't believe what happened last night," I spoke between a yawn and stretched, rolling over onto my stomach.

She hummed thoughtfully while I picked at the old glow in the dark stars that had been on my bed's headboard since I was in middle school.

"Someone left you a big ass tip and we're going shopping to celebrate?"

"Err!" I mimicked a buzzer and buried my face in my squishy pillow, "Wrong. Guess again."

I wanted to snuggle into bed so badly and go back to sleep but Em would never forgive me if I didn't spill the beans about something this huge.

An irritated sigh filtered through my phone's speaker,"Just tell me. It can't be anything that exciting."

I laughed, "I know I'm pretty boring but I promise, this is actually good."

Emma didn't make a peep the entire time I relayed the events of the previous night.

When I was finally done I was met with silence. I thought maybe I had lost the signal when Em shouted, "What the actual f**k?"

I opened my mouth but she continued, "I'm gonna kill him."

"Aiden?" I asked around the edge of the thumb nail I was biting. Emma snorted and I could picture her rolling her blue eyes on the other end of the phone.

"No, that creep Garret. Aiden should have done us all a favor and shredded that piece of trash."

My head bobbed in agreement even though she couldn't see me, "Aiden said he didn't want to deal with the mess. You should have seen him. He was like an avenging angel on steroids."

"Don't forget that he said that you're his!" She squealed. I pulled the phone away before she could break my eardrum with her screeching. "Lyra.. you don't think he's.. you know?"

"Don't. Do not even go there Em," I hissed making her cackle deviously.

Drawers squeaked open in the background, "You have a mate! Lyra I-don't-need-a-mate James has found the one." A drawer slammed shut as if to emphasize her point.

"Shut up!" I slapped my pillow with a whine. "That is not what's happening. You know just as well as I do that the chance of me having a mate is one in a million. Besides, he's kind of creepy. Sure he's cute. Okay- more than cute. But he knows where I live."

"And the problem with that is?"

Emma was exasperating. There was no sense in arguing with her.

"I'm coming over," she said and then the line went dead with a click.

I tossed my phone to the side and climbed out of the dip in my bed. The mattress was older than I was, along with everything else in my room.

When we were forced out of our old house and into this one my mom did her best to make the space comfortable for everyone. Framed family pictures were strategically placed to hide spots she didn't like on the walls. Silly little knick knacks were spread on bookshelves and end tables to make the rooms more cozy. And as for my room, we thrifted relentlessly until she found pieces of furniture that she felt were nice enough for me to use.

The dresser's corners were a little splintered, and the mirror on top of my vanity had a few mysterious dark smudges that never washed away; but my mom worked hard to make the bad situation tolerable, so I never complained.

On my way to the bathroom I pulled a towel out of the wicker hamper sitting next to my door. I bumped the bathroom door open with my hip and hit the power button on the stereo sitting in the window sill. Music blared to life as I twisted the shower knobs.

I tossed my wrinkled clothes to the floor and let out a relaxed hum when the hot water beat down on my shoulders.

I eyed the scrap of t-shirt that was still tied around my wrist. The bite stung as water seeped through. I would have to clean it eventually to avoid infection, but the idea of removing the makeshift bandage to check the damage made me queasy.

"I have every intention of protecting what's mine."

Aiden's words replayed themselves over and over while I washed my hair with coconut scented shampoo. Although part of me didn't want to admit it, a little thrill zapped through me each time I thought about the way his amber eyes had fixed on me in a way no man's ever had before.

I could still feel his hands worriedly touching me as he made sure I was alright. How warm they were and how he genuinely seemed concerned, even if he did kind of give off stalker vibes.

Aiden Sullivan.

His name drifted through my mind like an intimate whisper.

The bathroom door banged open and I yelped, slipping slightly against the slick floor of the shower as I was wrenched from my daydreaming.

Yelling raised over the music and then the stereo went quiet. "So when do I get to meet him?"

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Emma.

I drew the curtain back and stuck my arm out. She placed the towel in my waiting hand and I wrapped it around myself tightly before coming out. Water dripped from the tips of my long hair, leaving little puddles on the floor.

I plugged in the hairdryer sitting next to the sink and flicked it on with a pointed look in her direction.

Her freckled face was turned down in a scowl. She didn't voice her complaints though and let me take my time drying out my red waves.

"There's no need to meet him," I said once I was done, "One, he's not my mate. And two, he's probably long gone by now. He didn't intend on staying in town, so I guess we'll never know what could have been. Such a shame too, I was really looking forward to you interrogating him."

Emma's scowl deepend at my smarmy grin. "Oh just you watch LyLy, I will find him. We're not letting him slip through your fingers."

"Since when did this become a team effort? We aren't going to do anything. And by we I mean you." I snapped my hair into a ponytail and bopped her nose as I walked by, earning myself another dirty look.

She followed me into the bedroom and perched herself on the edge of my unmade bed. Her arms were crossed over her striped sweater clad chest and her foot tapped incessantly as I moved around the room to throw on an oversized sweatshirt and leggings.

I poked at the tiny hole in the knee with dismay. I had just bought them. With a little pout, I reached around Emma to snatch my phone and shoved it in my sweatshirt pocket.

"Lyra." Emma snapped with a small growl. My eye twitched but I swung my head around to look at my impatient friend.

"I know you're not on board with shifter life, but this is how things work. It's fast, heavy, and unexpected. It's okay to not know him. You'll have time for that later."

I crossed my arms to mimic her and matched her expression with a frown of my own, "Do you have any idea how freaking weird that is? Normal people don't do things like that."

"We're not normal!" She threw her arms up as if I was being the difficult one.

"You're right. I'm not normal. I'm a human. And he's a shifter. It just simply wasn't meant to be. Star-crossed lovers or some s**t like that." I waved my hand dismissively and headed for the kitchen without checking to see if she was following.

My focus was on breakfast as I tried to drown out Emma's nagging. I was serving up a plate of eggs and bacon for the two of us when my mom entered the kitchen.

The yellow chipping paint and silly chicken decor just made her appear even more beautiful.

Her shoulder length fiery hair was a shade darker than mine and was as glossy as ever. Not a hair out of place on her head. She moved with a grace my clumsy self would never have and even in an old t-shirt and faded jeans she looked like she was about to work the runway.

Wolves had an otherworldly elegance us mere mortals could only dream of and my mother was no exception.

"What are you girls fighting about now?" Humor was there in her soft voice.

"Lyra has a- oof!" I cut Emma off with an elbow to the ribs as I placed her plate of food in front of her. I slid into the chair next to her and bit into my bacon with an irritated crunch.

My mom joined us at the dining table with a bowl of cereal and raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "Lyra has a what?"

"A friend that doesn't understand boundaries," I mumbled around my partially chewed bacon. My mom shot me a disapproving look. Oh yeah, that's right. Talking with my mouth full wasn't ladylike.

Before Emma could make the situation any worse, I polished off my food and drained my glass of orange juice. My mom huffed from her seat. Scarfing down food was another unladylike thing I did that drove her insane.

I snaked my hand around Emma's arm and pulled her away from the table. She shouted, "Hey!" at me and rushed to stuff her remaining breakfast in her mouth. She waved bye to my mom as I yanked on the converse that were tossed in the entryway and grabbed my purse off the nearby hooks adjacent to the door; all while shoving her out of the house at the same time.

When we were settled in her jeep I narrowed my eyes at her, "Not a word of this to my mom. Or anyone for that matter. Got it? Best friend secret." She stuck her tongue out at the finger I had pointed at her but didn't protest. Which meant she was going to behave.

For now at least.