19

19
I’d never seen Clyde look so nervous before. He kept glancing down at the floor, as if hoping it would suck him up and free him from the conversation. When it was clear that wasn’t happening, he let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his curls of dark hair while speaking in a low voice. “She knows, Vanessa.”

Her expression remained sour, posture visibly stiffening. Those ice-blue eyes bore right past Clyde and through my skull, and it took everything I had not to cower behind Clyde.

“I’m going on break,” Vanessa announced seemingly to everyone, not waiting for a reply before hopping the counter and stalking toward the back room. Clyde followed suit, still maintaining his position as my shield while pushing the double doors open. I took the chance to stand beside him; showing weakness wasn’t going to help my situation.

Vanessa strode past shelves of supplies, eventually turning the corner toward the back exit. She pressed her back against the wall, arms crossed tightly as we stood on the opposite end. And then, she just stared at me, silently. As if sizing up her prey.

The lack of chatter was starting to get to me. “So,” I began with a nervous chuckle. “You’re, um, r-really pretty as a werewolf.”

Vanessa let out an irritated snarl, that flicker of wild intent passing her gaze. “Oh my God, Clyde.”

“It’s not my fault!” he insisted. “She figured it out by herself.”

I decided to let that fib slide.

“Besides, I’m not the one lunging for people’s throats,” he added. “What the hell were you thinking? How, exactly, were we going to explain to Andy that his kid was killed by a lycanthrope?”

Vanessa scoffed, arms drifting to her hips as she stood upright. “We should’ve driven him out when we had the chance.”

“That wasn’t your call,” Clyde growled.

“And now it’s none of the Duskfall’s call.” Vanessa started toward me, only stopped by Clyde stepping in the way. The intense sensation of déjà-vu was uncanny.

“Look,” I forced myself out from Clyde’s protective stance, standing before Vanessa with whatever bravado I could muster up, “I get this is some, closely-guarded secret, but I don’t want to be your enemy.”

“As if you have a say in that?” Vanessa snarled. “Your father’s been a danger in our pack’s side ever since he came. What’s to say you won’t be equally grating?”

“Because, clearly, he kept your secret pretty well?” I took a deep breath, hanging tight to lingering strands of bravery. “He even kept it from me. That doesn’t mean anything to you, about his or my character?”

Vanessa scoffed, flicking her hair behind her shoulder as she fell silent.

“Andy’s been an ally to the Duskfall pack since day one,” Clyde said. “He did everything he could to save Dad, and I’m not letting you write that off as nothing.”

Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly, arms hugging against her chest. God, but she looked so crestfallen; Clyde’s dad really must’ve been something else.

“We’re already dealing with so much as is,” he added softly, taking a step toward Vanesa with a hand outstretched. “Let’s not add to the list, okay? Aria isn’t going to tell; she might even become a good friend.”

I hadn’t expected such a genuine display at friendship from Clyde, especially with how he’d acted toward me. And, for a moment, I thought he’d gotten through to Vanessa, as well. But, as Clyde’s fingertips barely brushed her shoulder, her hand flew out, slapping it to the side. With a guttural growl, she pushed past the two of us, heading back to the front without another word.

I nervously looked at Clyde, heart breaking at the expression on his face. Vanessa might as well have slapped him across the face. But it didn’t last long; he soon caught me staring and forced a smile on his face. “She’ll warm up to you eventually. She won’t really have a choice.”

“I don’t want her to be forced to like me,” I began, only for Clyde to cut me off with a snort.

“Oh, trust me,” he said. “Vanessa can’t be forced to do anything she doesn’t want to do. But, at the very least, she won’t come after you.”

He looked so defeated. “I’m… sorry if I came between you two.”

Clyde shrugged, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. “It’s not the first time we’ve butted heads, and it won’t be the last.” He glanced my way, adding lightly, “Come on. We gotta go get Noah’s brother.”

With a nod, I quietly followed him out the back exit, taking one more glance over my shoulder before the door shut behind us.

Chapter Thirteen  

T

he days after quickly became an insane juggling act. Between schoolwork and basketball practice, I was spending as much time as humanly possible with Clyde. There were still so many questions that needed to be resolved, and it was honestly nice not to have him up in arms against me anymore. Granted, crossing Vanessa nowadays was like avoiding gunfire, but it felt worth it just for a chance to explore such a strange and fantastical circumstance.

“Let’s go to the woods after practice today,” Clyde said between gulps of water. “I can’t sleep at night thinking about how woefully unprepared you are against one of my kin.”

I shot him a frown, scribbling something down on my clipboard before putting it down on the bleacher seat beside me. “Whose fault is that? You hardly tell me anything about werewolves as is.”

“Lycanthropes,” Clyde corrected. “And that’s for the sake of my pack. It’s not up to me to reveal their nature to you. And, apparently,” he added with a side-eye my way, “you’re not going to your dad anytime soon for help.”

“I—” My mouth hung open for a second, as if trying to find the words to adequately explain why I hadn’t talked to Dad about this. “Look, this is still a lot to take in. I mean, my dad’s been just sitting on this huge secret, and sure, I get why, but…”

I groaned, running my hands through my hair with a huff.

“I don’t know. How do I even start that conversation? Just walk up to him and go, ‘Hey, Dad, how’s it going? I recently discovered wolf-people are a thing and, apparently, you knew about it, too’?”