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  Shaking my head, no, I tried to fight off the need to share with them my nightmare. “No, I was just up late reading,” I lied.

  “Well, you better get some rest tonight,” she insisted as she went back to the kitchen table where her breakfast of coffee and oatmeal set.

  I quickly ate my bowl of brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal before grabbing the keys to my old Ford Explorer and heading out the door.

  ***

  That day at school, I had somehow managed to avoid talking to Asher. He was late to our first hour class that we shared. I ate lunch in the library away from everyone else. Track practice was canceled for the evening since there was a huge snow storm approaching. The meteorologist promised it should be the last snowstorm of the winter season. I hoped he was right because I hated to run in the freezing cold in human form. With the weight of my fur as a wolf, the frigid temperatures and snow ridden ground felt like a cool spritz on a hot and sunny day.

  “Elle wait up,” Maddox called, as he came running through the parking lot toward me. His sandy blonde hair was bouncing all around his head and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

  “I am in a hurry,” I stated, as I went to open the door to my Blue Ford Explorer SUV.

  “You don’t have practice tonight,” Maddox said, as he closed my driver’s side door.

  Huffing, I stuck my tongue out at him. “How do you know that? Stalk much?” I joked.

  “Whatever. It is about to snow, and it is so cold I can barely feel my toes. These humans,” he said as he pointed around the busy parking lot. “They can’t handle the snow and cold like we can,” Maddox laughed.

  Slapping his arm, I tried to shush him. “Are you crazy? You can’t say things like that out in public,” I scolded him.

  Laughing, Maddox didn’t seem phased by my frustration. “They can’t hear me. Besides, you know it’s true,” he smirked.

  I couldn’t hide the smile that formed on my lips. “Ok, I don’t have practice, but I didn’t sleep last night, so I want to go home and get some rest,” I stated.

  “Why didn’t you sleep last night? What’s wrong?” he asked, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

  Rolling my eyes, I knew that Maddox would get like this. I tried not to share certain pieces of information with him anymore because he was growing even more overprotective of me and I didn’t want him prying any further.

  “Maddox, I am fine. I just had a bad dream is all,” I said.

  Raising his eyes at me, Maddox didn’t believe that my dream wasn’t a big deal. “Elle, I have known you since we were babies. You are a terrible liar, and I can read past whatever scam you are trying to throw at me,” he scoffed. “Why don’t you just save both of us the trouble of my pestering you and just tell me what is going on,” he demanded.

  As much as I wanted to keep my fears from him, I knew he wouldn’t let up. Besides, if anyone knew me, really understood my soul, it was Maddox.

  “I have just been worried about what Asher wants to tell me. I guess my fears are overlapping into my dreams,” I said, as I glanced down at the black pavement below.

  Huffing, I heard a low growl escape his lips. “Why do you even bother with him?” Maddox asked, throwing his hands up in the air out of exasperation.

  I hated when Maddox and I argued about this topic. “Because I love him,” I replied without thinking.

  Maddox winced like what I had just said caused him pain. “Whatever. I have to go,” he yelled as he began jogging away from me and toward his truck on the other side of the parking lot. “Meet me after seventh house,” he yelled, not giving me a chance to reply.

  Just as I felt like I was free to leave, I spotted Melanie waving at me. “What is his problem?” she asked, as she stared at Maddox.

  Glancing at Melanie, I noticed how the sun made her red hair look like it was a blazing inferno. Her blue eyes were locked on Maddox, and a strange pang of jealousy washed through me. Brushing the emotion off, I turned to her.

  “Who knows. Maddox is moody,” I said.

  “Don’t we all know,” she laughed. “Anyway, do you have plans tonight? I wanted to see if you wanted to go to a movie or something?” she asked.

  “I wish I could, but I am exhausted. I didn’t sleep last night, and I really just want to crawl into my bed and close my eyes,” I admitted.

  “Oh, I understand,” she said, sounding extremely disappointed.

  “How about we hang out Friday night?” I asked.

  Perking up, Melanie smiled. “Sounds great. I will text you later,” she said.

  Hugging, we parted, and she walked toward her car as I finally found an opportunity to jump into my SUV, before I stopped again as I realized I had to wait for Maddox.

  I waited for Maddox after seventh-hour, just like he asked, only he was almost thirty minutes late to meet me.

  “Seriously?” I asked, throwing my hands up in the air. “You’re really late,” I added.

  “I know. I’m sorry,” Maddox said, jogging up to me. His wavy, sandy blonde hair bounced on top of his head as he moved.

  I stood next to his truck. Maddox was still wearing his practice uniform. He was already sweaty, as if he’d already been to practice.

  “What news do you have to tell me?” I asked, raising my eyes at him. I shifted my weight, placing my hands on my hip.

  Maddox smirked, having noticed my frustration. “You’re so cute when you’re mad at me,” he teased. He pinched my nose. I hated when he did that-- it made me feel like I was some little puppy.

  “Stop,” I yelled, smacking his hand away. “Come on, Maddox. I have homework and I want to call Melanie, too,” I said, urging him to hurry up with his news.

  Maddox ran his hands through his messy hair and seemed to grow nervous. “I was going to just… um… well…” He fumbled over his words, almost tormented by the amount of time it was taking for him to gather his thoughts.

  I rolled my eyes, turned on my heels, and began to walk away, but Maddox grabbed my arm and spun me around, so I would face him again.

  “Sorry,” he began. “I just wanted to tell you that after practice, I have to do extra weight-lifting sessions with Coach. I’ll be late getting home, and it might be even later until we can hangout or work on my truck,” he said, finally spitting it out.

  “That’s your big news?” I asked. I was just plain annoyed.

  “Yeah… what else were you expecting?” he asked, with a half-hearted laugh.

  Thinking back on that moment, I should have seen the signs that were flashing before my very own eyes. Maddox was trying to warn me. To tell me something big was coming, but even he didn’t have the strength or will to do it. As my best friend and person who knows me better than anyone else, it terrified me that he couldn’t be honest with me. Now, I can only worry what Asher will have to tell me, too.

  On the short drive home, I had a strange sensation wash over me. My heart began to pound rapidly in my chest as my arms began to shake. Tiny beads of sweat lined my brow, and my stomach seemed to drop. Struggling to breathe, I realized I was having a panic attack. As the anxiety coursed through my body, I knew something wasn’t right. My senses were kicking into high gear. I was suddenly reminded of another time, only a few short months ago, when I was also fearing news that an important boy in my life wanted to share some news with me.

  When I arrived back home, I knew Asher would be waiting for me. Our bond went far beyond that of a typical boyfriend and girlfriend couple. We had shared so much in our short relationship, and it was like our souls were in synch. It was also that bond that had caused such a panic storm in me on my way home. I could not only sense my own worries, but his dread too.

  Just as I had expected, Asher stood next to a large oak tree in my yard, his smile seeming forced. My heart sank a little as I stepped out of my car.

  “I didn’t see you today at school,” Asher spoke, as he stood assessing me.

  “I know, I…avoided people today,” I admitted, as I off
ered a half smile.

  “Seems like it was just me,” he added.

  Shifting my eyes, I gave him a strange look. “What does that mean?”

  “You had time to talk with Maddox and Melanie,” he stated.

  “Well yes, after school I did,” I explained.

  “You didn’t sleep last night. Bad dreams?” he said more than asked, like he somehow knew I had been up all-night tossing and turning.

  Raising my brows, I gave Asher an incredulous look. “What is going on? How do you know all of that?” I asked.

  “Are you ready to listen now?” he asked, a hint of worry sparking in his eye.

  “I think so,” I stated honestly. “Asher, you have been acting so strange since we all fought the hunter’s weeks ago. I feel something is different between us,” I admitted.

  “There is something different,” Asher sighed.

  I could feel it in my heart, mind, and soul that something was very off about him. Lately, he had seemed like he was struggling not to tell me something. But, at the same time, he was constantly sharing information with me that led me to believe he might be following me at times. It was all too strange, and I was in desperate need to just hear the truth once and for all. Regardless of how much it might hurt, I just needed an answer.

  “Yes, but before you begin, I just want you to know that I am ready for whatever it is you have to tell me.”

  “I hope you mean that,” Asher stated, as he nodded his head toward the forest behind my house.

  The world around me grew still as I stood there waiting for Asher to continue talking. All of the sounds that once had invaded my senses were silent now. His ominous words struck me hard like a blow to the face.

  “What is it?” I asked, not able to take the secrecy anymore.

  Taking my hands, Asher began to walk us off my porch and toward the forest. The same forest where I had first told him I was a shifter. The forest where I had broken up with him and left him behind.

  As we left the openness of my property and found ourselves in the dimmed world of the forest, I couldn’t help but feel the cold, frigid air strangling me.

  “Elle, you have been so honest and trusting with me, that I feel like I have been hiding something from you,” he began, as his voice shook with each word he spoke.

  I stopped walking and dropped my hand from his. “Asher, what are you trying to say? You have been acting so weird the last few weeks. If you are trying to break up with me, just do it. I don’t think I can handle any more of this awkward tension surrounding us,” I pleaded.

  Grabbing my arm, Asher spun me around so that I was now in his strong arms. Looking down at me, he forced me to look into his eyes. “Elle, that is not the reason I brought you here, or why I have been so…distant.”

  He paused briefly, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. I felt compelled to learn what he was hiding from me. Something was troubling him, and I desperately needed to know what it was.

  Continuing, Asher spoke softly as he stared into my eyes. “There is something you need to know about me. I am different…”

  Almost laughing, I had to choke back the sound. Different. If anyone could relate to being different it was me.

  “Asher, yes, we are both very different. That doesn’t change anything between us,” I said.

  Holding me tighter, Asher refused to let my words stop him from talking.

  “Elle, you don’t understand. What I am about to tell you will change everything between us. Yes, you are different. But, you have shared that with me. You opened up and allowed me into your world even though it frightened you to do so. I have been hiding a part of my life from you.”

  “Why?” I questioned, as my nerves couldn’t take anymore.

  “Because, my secret could kill us all,” he stated firmly.

  My stomach dropped and for a moment, I almost forgot to breathe. “What are you talking about Asher? You are starting to scare me,” I whimpered.

  Standing in the shadows of the darkened forest, in the middle of the winter, I realized how ominous this all was.

  “You are a shifter. Something different than human. I, too, am something other than human,” he began.

  Backing away, I shook my head as I struggled to comprehend his words. “No. You can’t be something other than human. Because if you were, that would mean that you have been lying to me. Lies almost destroyed me once. You were there to witness my demise after learning everyone I had loved and cared about had been lying to me my entire life. Now, you want to tell me you have been lying to me too?” I cried out.

  “Just let me explain,” Asher began, as he took a step toward me.

  “Then explain!” I screamed, my voice ringing through the trees barricading us from the outside world.

  “Elle, I am a Vampire,” he said.

  Vampire.

  Shifter.

  The world around me began to spin as I realized that the first boy who I had given my heart to. Who I had trusted with a secret so deadly, it could destroy my entire family and pack, had just lied to me about being a monster, too.

  “You are a liar,” I seethed, as I refused to look at him.

  “Elle, you know I am not. This has been something I have wanted to tell you for so long, but I couldn’t,” he argued.

  “Why not? You even said, I had shared a secret with you. How could you keep something like this from me?” I questioned.

  While most people would be questioning his sanity, not me. I lived in a world where Shifters were real. Of course, there would be other monsters and otherworldly creatures lurking around me. I just never imagined one of those beings would turn out to be my boyfriend. As my mind raced back to every moment spent with Asher, it was almost comical how I didn’t pick up on this myself. His porcelain skin. The way he glided when he walked like he was floating in the air. The way he always seemed to know every emotion I felt. All of the signs had been there right in front of my face. I just had been so swept up in my own mess, I couldn’t see who and what Asher really was.

  “Elle, when we first met, I never intended to fall in love with you. For centuries, I have hidden my identity and found a way to keep everyone from getting close to me. My family, we are alike. We move to new towns every few years to keep people from knowing who and what we really are. When I met you, I couldn’t stay away. My biggest fear was you discovering what I was, and then leaving me. But then, something miraculous happened. You learned that you were a shifter and I wanted to share my secret with you. But then everything went out of control and it just wasn’t right. I couldn’t just tell you that I was a Vampire when you were fighting off Hunters.”

  “But…that just doesn’t make sense,” I tried to argue with no avail.

  Shaking his head, Asher refused to stop looking at me. “What doesn’t make sense? You are a shifter. We live in a world where humans aren’t just humans anymore. Why isn’t it possible for me to be a Vampire?” he questioned.

  He was right, I knew better than anyone else that it was possible for otherworldly creatures to exist in our world. But, Vampires were different.

  “A Vampire is dead. Old. A blood-sucking killing monster. You are none of those things,” I stammered as fear began to lace my words.

  “You are wrong, Elle. I am old. I have been seventeen-years-old for centuries. How do you think I was able to get rid of those Hunters? I killed them Elle. I am a Vampire; only I can contain my cravings to those of animals and not humans,” Asher explained.

  Asher paused and allowed his words to sink in. My mind spun as everything connected. Part of me wanted to throw my arms around his neck and embrace this together. Another part of me, my stubborn and temper ridden side, wanted to push him away for keeping this secret from me. Hadn’t he learned from Maddox’s mistakes?

  “Asher, I don’t know what I am supposed to say to you,” I admitted.

  “Tell me you understand. That you forgive me for lying to you,” he pleaded, his hands reaching out and taking mine
back.

  For a moment, I allowed him to hold me. To provide me with the comfort and support only Asher could give. But, then the moment was ruined by the idea that he had been lying to me for so long. Our entire relationship had been one big lie.

  “Please, don’t pull away from me,” Asher begged, as my hands slipped out of his, again.

  “I can’t forgive you. At least not right now.”

  “No, you can’t say that,” Asher argued.

  “Yes, I can. You know how I feel about being deceived. How could you do this to me?” I cried.

  “I thought it was for the best. I never intended to keep this from you forever. I just needed time to sort it all out and allow the turmoil to settle from the Hunter’s attacks,” Asher stated.

  As much as it pained me, I knew he was right. But, it still didn’t resolve the fact that he had kept something important from me.

  “I am really upset with you, Asher. I need some time to sort this all out in my mind. But, I know I will find a way to forgive you,” I said with a sigh.

  I couldn’t hate Asher, even if I wanted to. My heart called out to him like a magnet. He was now part of me and I couldn’t lose him now.

  “Really? You can forgive me?” Asher asked, a smile now slowly creeping over his porcelain face.

  “Yes, but right now, I want to go home. Alone,” I said.

  Before Asher could argue, or say another word, I turned and began running toward the opening to the forest and to the comfort of my home.

  As I stormed into my bedroom, minutes after my argument with Asher I became even more enraged as I took in the scene before me. Laying on my bed was a stuffed frog Asher had won for me at the school carnival. It was resting on a soft, pink pillow and staring at me with judgmental eyes. Turning away, I was faced with picture frames that once held only pictures of me and Maddox, but now contained a variety of photos with Asher and myself looking happy and in love. Me and Maddox as kids, and a few of my entire group of friends.

  Each memory that stared back at me seemed so far away now. At what point would I finally reach my happily ever after?