As I'm walking up the porch Eliza is still sitting on the swing. Silently I take a seat beside her. "Hey."

    She doesn't move. "How was your walk?"

    "I ran into Xavier."

    Her eyes look over me. "You're in one piece."

    "That doesn't prove anything."

    Her nostrils flare. "Why won't you just give him a chance?"

    "Why won't you think about your family?"

    "Because my family didn't think about me."

    I grab the decorative pillow next to me and dig my nails into it. "They're freaking out about you."

    "What about when I was little? They lost me for ten years. They could have prevented that but they didn't. You know it."

    Eliza's parents used to be criminals. They did time in jail and were drug addicts. After Eliza was born, her dad got her mom hooked. The state took Eliza and a family from our church raised her for ten years, until her parents were given custody again. That family moved away a few years ago. My mom taught Eliza during that time. That's why we're friends.

    "They changed for you."

    "It doesn't change the fact that I'm still made fun of for their sins. Told I'm going to be like them. You know how many sports and programs I've tried. Their past always catches up to me. But here it's a clean slate. No one knows about any of that. I may not be werewolf like them, but I feel accepted. Don't you want that for me?"

    I chew on the inside of my mouth. I do want that for her, but not here, not when a sociopath is feeding her lies so she'll stay with him. This doesn't only affect her. I want to meet my baby bother when he's born. Is that selfish? "I don't ever think like that about you. Neither do my parents. Or all the families at church who saw you grow up. Isn't that enough? Isn't even the love of one person enough?

    She shakes her head. "They still know."

    Howls and barks ring through our ears. Down the driveway races two wolves. We stand up as they bound up the steps.

    One shifts into a naked Xavier. "Lupraus. Inside."

    Eliza grabs my hand and drags me in the house. "Our room." As we're rushing toward the stairs, Xavier snatches Eliza dragging her away from me.

    Glass shatters from all the windows, reminding me of a horror ride in Orlando I went on last summer, causing me to scream out of reflex; wolves soar through the windows as they break the glass. A broom closet is a few feet to my left and I run for it only to feel claws running down the front of me as a black wolf tackles me to the ground. It bares it's teeth about to kill me, I'm sure.

    An image of the other black wolf from the woods in this same position flashes in my mind. I don't think I'll get out of this twice.

    Blue eyes stare into mine as its snout grows closer to my neck. Something twitches in me—my nerves snapping.

    As I wait for the wolf to kill me something uncomfortable happens. Claws become fingers. Fur recedes to skin. The snout draws back to a human face the eyes the same ones that were a part of the wolf. The only other trace of the wolf is the black hair that this very naked male who's lying on top of me has on the top of his head.

    "I'm your mate, " he whispers. Oh— I catch my brain. I better watch it, or soon I'll be swearing like a sailor in my head.

    I swallow. "Uhh. . . hi."

    Xavier and Rory, also naked, appear behind the guy, their hands wrapping around him. They drag him off me as he wrestles with them.

    I sit up, taking in the house with knocked over paintings, overturned furniture—dead wolves. Members of Xavier's pack, I'm assuming, inspect the wolves. I don't see Eliza.

    "Where's—" I turn back to Xavier, the sentence dying on my lips. Xavier squeezes the guys neck like he's about to snap it. "Stop!"

    "What?" Xavier snaps, his muscles not loosening.

    "You can't kill him—the attack's over."

    "He attacked my home."

    I can't believe I'm actually saying this, "He said he's my mate."

    Xavier drops him and the guy crumbles, holding his neck like he can't believe it's still intact.

    "Addy." Eliza runs down the stairs and pulls me into a hug. "You're okay."

    I pat her back once before pulling away. "Please, Xavier, no more killing."

    "I second that opinion," Eliza says.

    Xavier grumbles, scratching the back of his head. "Lock him in the basement," he tells Rory.

    Rory hooks his arms under the guy's shoulders. "Yes, Alpha." He hauls him toward a door by the stairs. I watch them disappear into the room, wondering if that's as far as my encounters with my perfect match will go. As today's Saturday my letter won't be picked up until Monday. The earliest help will come is Tuesday afternoon.

    The books really got it wrong. I don't feel a magical connection. I don't feel a pull to be near him, though I definitely feel curiosity to talk to him. I challenge anyone to not be curious to talk to the person who's supposed to be perfect for them.

    Xavier wipes the back of his hand on his forehead, smearing blood across the top of his face. "If you're thinking about asking to talk to him, the answer is no."

    "I'm here. I'm here. Sorry." Travis stands panting in the doorway. He really is a werewolf then. He spots me, his jaw dropping.

    Also very very naked. Hanna would draw the line here and say this is too weird. Well maybe not. It is Hanna after all.

    "Addy, you're here?" He walks toward me, and I pull myself to my feet.

    "Yeah, I found my friend and ended up here. You know how things work out."

    "Everyone's been so worried. Your parents are devastated."

    My stomach rolls. "Did you know my friend was here?"

    His eyes move slightly to the right to Eliza behind me. "No, who is she?"

    "My mate," Xavier says.

    "Is girlfriend not an interchangeable word here?" I ask. Mate sounds so intimate.

    Travis bows his head to Xavier. "Alpha, may I speak with Addy alone?"

    Xavier nods, walking over to the overturned couch where a girl and a guy are carrying out a dead wolf. Travis leads me to the back porch.

    "You're a werewolf," I state.

    "Yeah."

    "Hanna?"

    He shows me his wrist where the crescent mark I saw at the diner mars his skin. "No. I was bitten by a rogue. I've been werewolf since the first full moon after being bitten. "

    "I'm sorry."

    "Don't be. Besides for the whole full moon craziness, it's a pretty cool thing."

    I duck my head and see blood on my arm from claw marks. "What about Hunter?"

    "He's werewolf."

    "And Hanna's mate?"

    He scratches the back of his neck. "Yes."

    "I suppose you can't get me out of here."

    "I don't even have to ask Alpha if I can. I know he'll say no. I'm really sorry."

    I force a smile. "I wish you could at least tell my parents I'm okay, but that will only tell them that you know where I am." I sent them a letter. They'll get it. Unless Xavier finds out about it.

    "I'm sorry again."

    "I know."

I'm back and this story is back! I'll be updating it every Sunday until it is finished.