A Spell of Time (A Shade of Vampire #10)(32)

I dared not whisper in case they heard. I pointed and we began retreating. There was a snap. Micah had just trodden on a branch. My eyes shot toward the boathouse. It was too late. They’d spotted us.

Adelle looked mortified as she disentangled herself from Eli. I wasn’t sure why Adelle would look so guilty. It was embarrassing, yes, but it wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong.

“Hello, Rose.” Her cheeks were almost as bright as her hair.

“Hi, Ms. Ardene,” I said.

She smiled awkwardly, then, wiping her lips with the back of her hand—smudging her lipstick even more—she gripped Eli’s hand and they walked away into the woods.

“We may as well go sit there now,” I said, once they were out of sight.

I leaned against the windowsill, staring down at the blue water lilies beneath us. We both stood in silence. I glanced up at Micah. For a change, he wasn’t looking at me. He too was staring into the water.

“Do you have family?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

He took a deep breath and paused, running his tongue over his lower lip.

“I left them in my realm when I was banished. I haven’t seen them since.”

“You were banished?”

“Yes. Most of us in Matteo’s crew are outcasts.”

“I see. Do werewolves live forever?”

“No. We live a long time, often as long as witches. But not forever.”

“Why exactly did they ask you to leave?”

He swallowed hard and shifted his feet on the floorboards. “I was in love with a girl I had no business being in love with.”

Huh. I remained silent, not daring to urge him to continue even though I was burning with curiosity. As it turned out I didn’t need to.

“And she was in love with me. Or so she said. But she was the daughter of our chieftain. She already had a betrothed…”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I had to either leave, or be executed. I still remember the night they caught us. The fear in my family’s eyes. I didn’t have time to pack anything. I just had to sail away in a boat. Leave and never return. I had no idea how I’d survive. I’d never been outside my own realm before. By some mercy, I came across Matteo and his crew. They gave me a cabin in their ship. The rest is history. They’re my family… and now, the people here in The Shade.” His eyes roamed me again.

“Do you think you’ll ever see your family again?”

“No.”

“But you came to Earth via the werewolf realm, right?”

“Yes. But if anyone had caught me there, I wouldn’t have gotten out alive. Mona put an invisibility covering over all of us as we made our way to the hidden gate.” He shook his head again, as if clearing his thoughts. “Anyway, she… they… are all gone now. I won’t ever be going back there. It’s my past.”

Silence fell between us again.

“I know what it’s like to love someone you can’t be with,” I said. I didn’t understand why I would tell Micah this, when I hadn’t even told my own brother.

He turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised. Coaxing me to continue.

I didn’t feel comfortable speaking Caleb’s name out loud somehow. It just didn’t feel right. So I just said, “We fell out over a… misunderstanding. To be honest, I’d rather not talk about him either.”

“That’s okay,” Micah said, holding my hand. “I understand.”

I gave him a faint smile.

We left the boathouse and walked around the lake a bit more before heading home. It was getting late now, and to avoid another grounding, Micah carried me on his back the rest of the way home.

He stopped at the foot of my tree at my request. I checked my watch. I had ten minutes to get my butt upstairs. I looked up at Micah. We hadn’t spoken much since our conversation in the boathouse. I found the look in his eyes unsettling. He looked… restless somehow. As though there was something he was hiding, something he was bottling up.

“Well, good night,” I said and turned to leave.

Strong hands gripped my shoulders and turned me around.

Before I could make sense of what was happening, Micah gripped my jaw and drew me closer. His lips pressed against my cheek, the tip of his hot, rough tongue brushing against my skin.

I staggered back, reaching up to where his mouth had been. His hazel-brown eyes looked fierce.

“Good night,” he growled.

He spun around and sprinted away. I stared after him. His limbs began transforming and he hit the ground on all fours as he pounded away into the distance.

That boy is wild.

Chapter 27: Rose

I wasn’t sure what to make of Micah’s kiss. A part of me felt deeply uncomfortable about it. I was glad that we were having tests that week. I could bury myself in study and avoid thinking about both Caleb and the werewolf.

In my free time, I found myself going on longer walks by myself, deliberately avoiding the parts of the beaches where the werewolves tended to gather. As I walked along the beach one evening, on my way back home, I heard a gruff voice behind me.

“Hello.”

I whirled around to see the ogre.

“Oh, hello, Brett.”