Chapter 67 Chapter 67
The mall parking lot was still buzzing with the aftermath of the chaos inside. Catherine had just waved goodbye, climbing into her car with a quick “Text me when you get home, okay?” before driving off, leaving Harper standing alone near the curb. She turned slowly, heart still racing from the confrontation, and found The One leaning against a nearby pillar, watching her with that familiar half-smirk.
“Did you do that?” Harper asked, voice low but steady.
The One’s smirk deepened.
“Maybe, princess.”
Harper stared at him for a long moment, the weight of everything that had just happened settling in her chest. The manager slapping Molly. The crowd gasping. The way Molly had been dragged away screaming. It had all felt too convenient. Too perfectly timed.
She exhaled slowly.
“Thank you.”
The One’s smirk faltered.
He looked at her — really looked — as if the words had caught him off guard.
“Did you just thank me?”
Harper shrugged, trying to play it casual even though her cheeks felt warm.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
The One chuckled — a low, genuine sound that sent a strange flutter through her stomach.
“I’m going home,” Harper said, turning toward the direction of the exit.
But before she could take more than two steps, his hand caught hers — gentle but firm, fingers wrapping around her wrist.
She stopped.
He didn’t let go.
“I already came out,” he said, voice softer now, almost teasing. “Why not shop or do something together?”
Harper turned back to face him.
His black-rimmed eyes were watching her closely, the brown centers still visible, making him look almost… human for a moment.
She hesitated.
The idea of spending time with him — just the two of them, outside the chaos of school or the house — felt dangerous. Tempting. Confusing.
But after everything that had happened today — the rooftop, the hall, Molly’s threat — the thought of going home alone to an empty room and her own racing thoughts felt worse.
“Fine,” she said quietly. “But no drama. No black eyes. No… sucking souls or whatever you do.”
The One’s lips twitched into a small smile.
“No promises on the black eyes. But I’ll behave. Mostly.”
Harper rolled her eyes, but she didn’t pull her hand away when he laced their fingers together.
They walked back into the mall side by side.
The stores were still busy, but the earlier commotion had died down. People moved around them, some casting curious glances at the tall, dark-haired boy with the intense eyes walking next to the girl who had just been at the center of a scene.
Harper tried to ignore them.
The One didn’t seem to notice at all.
He led her into a large clothing store, the kind with soft lighting and racks of casual clothes perfect for the upcoming camp trip.
“So,” he said, picking up a plain black hoodie and holding it up, “what exactly do you need for this silly trip?”
Harper took the hoodie from him, examining it.
“Comfortable stuff. Things that won’t get ruined in the woods. Maybe a good jacket in case it rains.”
He nodded, then picked up a dark green one.
“This color would look good on you.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Are you giving fashion advice now?”
“I have taste,” he said with mock offense. “Better than most werewolves and humans, at least.”
Harper couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her.
They moved through the aisles together, picking up a few practical items — thermal socks, a lightweight backpack, a waterproof poncho. The One kept making dry, sarcastic comments about each item, teasing her gently about “surviving the wild” when she clearly preferred staying indoors with books.
At one point, he held up a bright pink camping hat with a ridiculous pom-pom.
“You should get this,” he said, deadpan. “It screams ‘I’m harmless, don’t eat me.’”
Harper snatched it from his hands and put it back on the rack.
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
She froze for a second at the casual way he said it.
He noticed.
His smirk softened.
They continued shopping in a surprisingly comfortable silence after that, the earlier tension easing into something lighter.
When they finally left the store with a couple of bags, Harper glanced at him.
“You didn’t have to come with me.”
“I wanted to,” he said simply.
They walked toward the food court.
Harper bought them both iced drinks — plain black coffee for him, something sweet and fruity for herself.
They sat at a small table near the edge of the seating area.
The One took a sip of his coffee, then looked at her over the rim.
“You’re still thinking about the rooftop.”
Harper nodded.
“And Mia.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“I won’t apologize for protecting you.”
“I know.”
“But I won’t do it again if it scares you that much.”
Harper looked at him.
The black in his eyes had retreated further. The brown was more prominent now.
She reached across the table and took his hand.
“I’m not scared of you,” she said softly. “I’m scared of losing you. Of them taking you away because you can’t control it.”
He squeezed her hand.
“Then help me control it.”
Harper and The One walked side by side through the quieter part of the mall parking lot as the evening sun dipped lower, casting long, golden shadows across the asphalt. The shopping bags swung lightly from their hands, filled with practical items for the upcoming camp trip—thermal socks, a lightweight rain jacket, portable chargers, and a few snacks Harper had insisted on buying even though The One had teased her about “surviving on human sugar.” For a few minutes the silence between them felt almost peaceful, almost normal, the kind of comfortable quiet that had become rare lately.
Harper glanced at him from the corner of her eye, gathering her courage. Her heart beat a little faster, but she couldn’t hold the question inside anymore.
“I have always wanted to ask you something,” she said softly.
The One turned his head toward her, his expression open, a small, genuine smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“Yes?”
She hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek, then asked the question that had been weighing on her heart for weeks.
“Will you ever let Koda out again?”
The One stopped dead in his tracks.
Harper froze too, suddenly scared she had crossed a line she shouldn’t have. The smile on his face faded instantly, replaced by something guarded and raw. He stood completely still, staring at her as if the words had struck him physically.
The evening light caught the edges of his eyes, making the black rims look even darker against the faint brown that still lingered in the center.
“Do you miss him that much?” he asked, his voice low and strangely quiet, almost vulnerable.
“I…”
She didn’t know how to finish the sentence. The words tangled in her throat.
The One’s expression darkened further, shadows seeming to gather in the hollows of his face.
“You want me gone, don’t you?” he said. The accusation hung heavy between them. “I make you scared. I do things that aren’t normal to you. I am a demon. I’m supposed to be extinct like the rest of my kind.”
Harper didn’t know what to say.
She stood there, looking at him, her heart aching at the raw edge in his voice. For the first time, she saw something beneath the smirks and the power—something fragile and hurt.
Then she noticed it.
A single black tear rolled slowly down his cheek, glistening like ink under the fading sunlight.
Another followed, tracing a dark path along his skin.
“Are you crying?” Harper asked, her own heart hurting as she watched him, the sight twisting something deep inside her chest.
“I’m not,” he said immediately, turning his face away from her in a sharp, defensive motion.
He wiped the tears roughly with the back of his hand, as if they offended him.
“Go home,” he said, his voice rough and strained. He pulled his car keys from his pocket and pressed them firmly into her palm. “I have something I need to do.”
Before Harper could respond, before she could reach out or say anything to stop him, he turned and walked away.
Not toward the car.
Not toward the mall entrance.
Just… away.
Into the growing shadows between the parked cars, his figure blending into the dimming light until it seemed to dissolve completely.
One moment he was there.
The next, the space where he had stood was empty.
Harper stood alone in the parking lot, the keys cold and heavy in her hand, staring at the empty spot where he had been.
The image of those black tears still burned in her mind.
She clutched the keys tighter, her chest feeling tight and heavy.
She didn’t know whether to run after him or to drive home like he had told her.
All she knew was that for the first time, she had seen something break inside The One.
And it hurt more than she had expected.