Bloodrose

He stopped and frowned at her. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re doing everything you can to stay away from me, even though it’s not what you want.”

His own laugh was harsh, but his words had an edge of fear. “Since when do you know what I want?”

“I know every time you look at me.”

Whoa. Shay scooted closer to the edge of the bushes.

Shhh! I nipped at his shoulder, but a heartbeat later I moved up beside him.

Ethan stood frozen in place. Sabine took another step toward him.

“Spending time with me isn’t a betrayal of your brother,” she said.

He jerked back. “How did you-”

“Tess told me,” she interrupted. “I think she’s concerned about you.”

“That’s none of her business,” he said, voice shaking. “She shouldn’t get involved.”

“I don’t think she wants to get involved.” Sabine’s voice curled like smoke in the night air. “That’s where I come in.”

He stared at her, wild-eyed, looking like a rabbit caught in a snare. She reached out and rested her palm in the center of his chest.

“I’m not so different from you, Ethan. No matter what you might think. Feel how your heart is racing?”

He stared at her slender fingers and nodded.

Her other hand grasped his and pressed it against her breastbone. She didn’t take her eyes off his face. “So is mine.”

A sound emerged from his throat, a sharp cry somewhere between pleasure and pain. Their two silhouetted bodies became a single, dark tangle of limbs when he reached out and pulled Sabine against him, kissing her.

A low chuckle filled my mind. That’s our cue. Let’s go.

But… I was staring at the entwined pair, entranced by the scene while knowing it wasn’t my place to watch any more.

Come on, Cal. Shay’s teeth gently grasped the ruff of my neck. Your questions are answered. Would you have been happy if anyone saw our night in the garden?

I fought the urge to snarl at him. I’m coming, okay, stop pulling me. I’m not a puppy.

Behind us, I heard Ethan’s low groan and I flushed beneath my fur.

See. Shay crawled from the brush in the direction of the garden’s entrance.

We stole from the garden on silent paws. When we were safely in the shadowed doorway, we both shifted forms and slipped inside the Academy.

“War makes strange bedfellows.” Shay grinned. “Good for them.”

“I guess.”

“You don’t approve?”

“It’s just a little weird.” I frowned. “A Searcher and a Guardian?”

“It’s not the first time,” he countered. “Monroe and Corrine-”

“Are both dead,” I interjected, still troubled by what I’d seen. I wanted to be happy for them, but the loves I’d seen here had all ended in horrible loss. And the battle of our lives was ahead. I was afraid for Sabine and Ethan. I was afraid for all of us.

“This is different,” he said. “Sabine isn’t stuck with the Keepers. She’s here, she’s safe, and she’s free to do what she wants. Probably for the first time in her life.”

I nodded slowly.

“Still worried?” His mouth crinkled as he watched my furrowed brow.

“I can’t help it.” I remembered Tess sobbing when Lydia had died.

His arms slipped around my waist. My hands came up against his chest, but just to rest near his heart, not to push him away. I curled my fingers in his shirt, pulling him closer.

“What are you doing?” I asked, noticing the sly expression on his face.

“Easing your mind,” he murmured, and bent to kiss me.

“Wait.” This time I did push him back. “We should go-”

What I’d intended to be an invitation to my room died on my lips when he became very still. His arms still encircled me, but I could have sworn he’d stopped breathing.

A sound like the blending of a cough and a growl bounced off the walls in the hallway behind me. Shay’s fingers dug into my hips and I knew who was there, watching us.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” Ren moved toward us slowly, stalking. “Never mind. I’d like to interrupt.”

Shay’s answering growl vibrated through my limbs. Still heady from our covert encounter in the garden, my instinct was to wrap my arms around Shay and warn Ren off with my own snarl. But those were instincts I had to ignore. I twisted out of his grasp, positioning myself between them.

“Truce, remember?” I bared my teeth at them.

“It doesn’t look like he’s playing fair,” Ren said.

“I’m not playing at all.” Shay laughed. “It’s not a game to me.”

Ren bristled. “You know that isn’t what I meant.”

“Stop it.” I put my hands up, making sure neither alpha took a step closer to the other. “Don’t do this.”

“I’d just like to understand what you were doing alone with him.” Ren didn’t take his eyes off Shay.

“Nothing,” I said. This was exactly why I’d wanted to get out of the hall and into my room, where we wouldn’t be seen. “We were talking, Ren. I can still talk to Shay alone.”

“It didn’t look like he was after conversation to me,” Ren said.

“He’s right.” Shay smiled wickedly.

“Let’s see what I can do about that pretty smile.” Ren lunged at him.

I swung around, slamming my fist into Ren’s chest. He faltered, glancing at me in surprise.

The wolf inside me howled in frustration. How was I supposed to keep these two from killing each other?

“I’m serious. You will not hurt each other,” I snarled. “Do not cross me.”

Shay laughed. “Nice jab, Cal.”

I whirled and kicked Shay in the stomach, sending him stumbling back against the wall.

“What the hell?!” he shouted, rubbing his abs.

“I’m talking to both of you!” My head was throbbing. “How do I make it more clear? Stop trying to gain an upper hand. You’re both being total jackasses. I can’t stand it.”

Shay winced and I regretted my words. My frustration arose from my inability to pursue my own desires as much as the chore of regulating their abundance of testosterone.

“She’s right,” Ren said.

Shay glared at him before turning his eyes on me. When I met his gaze, I stepped back, reeling from the pain I saw there.

“So what, then?” he asked. “Nothing that happened between us matters now? He’s here and all that is just over?”

“No, Shay…” The words were hard to push out as my heart rebelled against my mind. I saw flashes of the garden, was once again swimming in passion guided by moonlight. I felt the warmth of Shay’s skin against mine. I remembered waking wrapped in his arms only to be full of desire again at the simple sight of him sleeping beside me. Blood roared in my ears. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What happened?” Ren’s question was like a dam against the flood of memories.

Shay opened his mouth to respond, but my hard stare silenced him. He held my gaze for a long moment. My blood ran cold when I saw how much this exchange cut into him.

“Nothing,” Shay said, turning away. “Good night.”

I watched his retreat, the knot in my belly tightening until the pain was almost unbearable.

“What was he talking about, Calla?”

I forced myself to face Ren. When I met his dark, worried eyes, I shook my head.

“Leave it,” I said softly. “Please just leave it.”

His mouth set in a hard line, but he nodded. “Can I at least walk you to your room?”

“No,” I said, my voice trembling. “I think it would be better if you didn’t.”

I felt empty, and Ren was too good at reading my emotions. A part of me still couldn’t believe that he was