“Not a problem. I’m sure Jeff will understand when I explain we’ve decided to patch things up.”
Trent crossed his arms across his broad chest. “I’m not so sure about that. You kissed him, after all.”
I shook my head. “No, Jeff kissed me. I made it perfectly clear when I said I’d go to the movies with him that it wasn’t a date, and that I hadn’t gotten over you yet.”
The words had barely left my mouth before Trent pulled me to him and hugged me to his chest. I smacked his back. “Air. Air would be nice right about now.” My voice came out muffled with my face pressed to the front of his shirt.
Trent’s grandfather chuckled. “I can see Mika will be able to hold her own against our boy here.”
Reluctantly, Trent let me straighten. I looked over at his dad. “I take it that’s a good thing?”
“Yes. Given what Trent is, he’ll tend to be overprotective of you. You’ll have to be able to put him in his place if he gets out of hand. He has the natural tendency to lead. He was born to be a leader. If we still lived on the reservation—”
Trent cut off his dad before he could continue. “Enough, Dad. I think I’ll take Mika out for a walk while you visit with Grandpa.” He stood and pulled me up so I stood next to him.
His grandfather stopped us before we could leave. “Just make sure you bring Mika back in time so I can have a visit with her as well. Once this all sinks in, she may have some more questions for me.”
Trent nodded, then led me outside.
* * * *
We walked around to the back of the house and then down a small slope. Trent held my hand as we walked in silence. I’d had most of my questions answered about what Trent was, but they also raised some more. Some I didn’t really want to discuss with either Trent’s dad or his grandfather. They were questions I wanted Trent to answer himself.
At the bottom of the slope stood a large willow tree with the branches hanging so low they almost touched the ground. Trent walked me over to it. He pushed the branches aside and sat at the bottom of the tree. I stepped in to sit beside him. It felt very sheltered under it with the branches all around us.
“Well?” Trent asked.
“Well, what?”
“You’re too quiet. That means you’re thinking about something.”
“What do you expect? It’s a lot to take in.”
He turned his head and looked me in the face. “But you’re able to accept it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Can you do something for me?”
“Sure.”
“Can you shape-shift into the black cougar now? I want to watch you when you do it.”
Trent chuckled and shook his head. “After everything you were told, especially what I want from you, and all you can think about is seeing me shift?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve seen you in your cat form, but I’ve never seen you make the actual change. For one thing, it’ll definitely bring home what I learned here today.”
Trent inched a small distance away. “If it’ll make you happy. And you don’t have to be frightened. I’m still inside there. I’ll be able to understand you.”
I shifted away from the trunk of the tree and sat so I faced Trent. His eyes lightened to gold with the pupils turning to slits as the outline of his body blurred and glowed. In a matter of seconds, the black cougar appeared in Trent’s place. I smiled as he took a step closer and purred. I reached out to stroke the top of his head and down his neck. He seemed to like that because his purrs grew louder.
He stuck his face into the crook of my neck and sniffed before he dragged his raspy tongue against my skin. I giggled as I pushed his face away. “Your whiskers tickle.”
I ran my hand down his back. His black fur felt soft to the touch. I looked into his gold eyes. I couldn’t mistake the intelligence that lurked inside them. Trent definitely was still in there somewhere. He sat on his haunches and looked back at me. I ran my hand down his back one last time before I inched away.
“You can change back now if you want.” Just as when he’d shifted to his cat form, his body blurred and glowed before Trent took the cat’s place. “Thanks for showing me.”
Trent caressed my cheek with the back of one of his fingers. “Any time, but I don’t think I should do that too much around you until you’ve made your decision. It kind of excites the cat, if you know what I mean.”
“Ah, got ya.” I shifted to sit with my back against the willow tree. Trent sat next to me and took my hand. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What about the other cougar I saw in my backyard? You said Craig’s name when I first told you about it. What would he be doing there? If it really was Craig.”
Trent clenched his jaw until the muscles along it jumped. He growled deep in his throat. “It was Craig, all right. I smelled his scent all over your backyard.”
“So that was what you did last night after I went inside. You were checking out the scent of the other cougar.”
“It’s because of what you mean to me. He saw my mark on your neck. He must have followed my scent trail to your house.”
“But why?”
“Because he’s a prick. An insecure prick, at that. He hates me. It’s because of him and how he always went after me that my dad made the decision to move us off the reservation.”
“Why would he hate you so much?”
“It’s because of what I am, and what he isn’t. Once we reached the age of ten we are able to shift for the first time. When I turned then, my family found out I was the ‘special’ one. It pissed Craig off to no end. Before we could shift, he used to brag about how he would be the black cougar. He was always the bigger one of the two of us. Because it turned out to be me instead, he decided to make my life a living hell.”
“You’re bigger than he is now.”
“That’s just another notch against me in Craig’s books. You see, as the black cougar I’m supposed to be the leader of the rest. Cougars don’t travel in packs like wolves so there has to be one of us who can keep the others in line. When my family moved off the reservation, Craig took on the position of leader in my place. He knows it’s rightfully mine, but he won’t give it up without a fight. Not that I’ve ever challenged him for it.”
“So what are we going to do about him then? What should we do if he shows up in my backyard again?”
“You aren’t going to do anything. If it comes to it I’ll take care of Craig.”
“How?”
Trent shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Mika. I’ll handle it.” He stood and tugged me to my feet. “We should get back to the house. Grandpa seems taken with you. He won’t be happy if he doesn’t get to talk to you again.”
I silently walked hand in hand with Trent back to the house. Even though he said he could handle our little Craig problem on his own, I had to wonder what exactly he planned to do about it. I couldn’t shake the feeling it could very well end up in a fight between the two of them. And a bloody one at that.
Chapter Twenty
I didn’t see Trent on Sunday—he wanted to give me some alone time to make my decision. But we did talk on the phone for over an hour.
Even though Trent felt I needed some days to make up my mind, by Sunday evening I’d pretty well decided what I wanted. I wanted Trent as mine. Except for the stunt he pulled with Silvia, I felt he’d always be there for me. Given how once I accepted him as my mate he wouldn’t be able to break up with me, or look for another to take my place, it pretty much helped to make me trust him again. What girl would turn down that type of commitment from her guy? Some were lucky to get any kind of commitment out of them.
No, I wouldn’t be telling Trent I wasn’t going to take him as my mate when he finally let me tell him my decision. He’d gotten more than under my skin. He already had a place in my heart. I realized now I hadn’t so much been obsessing about him but rather falling head over heels for him—hard. I believed in love at first sight. If I didn’t, I sur
e as heck wouldn’t be as addicted to romance novels as I was. In some ways, Trent was my hero, who’d walked off one of the pages in my books. Not that he would want to hear that, considering he wasn’t a fan of them.
I also came to the decision that I wouldn’t be saying anything about this mate business to either Mom or Dad. I knew they wouldn’t understand, and it wasn’t as if I planned on telling them about Trent being a shapeshifter. They would more than likely have me carted off to a loony bin if I did that. I had it all worked out, though. I’d let them believe Trent and I were only dating and take it from there. Mom and Dad being high school sweethearts themselves, I hoped they’d understand when Trent and I decided to get married after we graduated from university.
At school on Monday morning I found Trent waiting for me near the parking lot. He met me at my car. He pulled me into his arms and gave me a hug. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I said as I hugged him back.
Trent laced his fingers through mine as we headed to the school’s front doors. “I’ve already been to my locker so we’ll go to yours and then right to homeroom. You should have enough time to talk to Jeff before class starts.”
I gave him a sideways look. “You really want to stake your claim over me, don’t you?”
“Of course. As my potential mate, I won’t tolerate other guys who are interested in you anywhere near you. At least not until you’ve told me your decision.”
I pulled Trent to a stop just outside the school’s doors. “Now I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to take a hissy fit if I just talk to Jeff or any other guy, for that matter. I still consider Jeff to be a friend.”
“I know. It’ll be hard. If the cat had his way he’d keep you away from him, but I understand. I’m not that much of a tyrant.”
“Good. Just remember that.”
We walked inside the school and went to my locker. After I got what books I needed, we headed for our homeroom class. As we passed Silvia and her crew, Silvia’s face turned red with fury when she saw Trent and me walking hand in hand. Trent didn’t so much as glace her way, which seemed to infuriate her even more.
Jeff happened to be standing outside the classroom, talking to a couple of his friends. He smiled when he spotted me, but it slipped slightly when he saw who I walked with. I motioned Jeff over after Trent left me to stand a short distance away.
Jeff looked over at Trent, who stood watching, then back at me. “You’re going to tell me things are back on with Trent. Right?”
“It doesn’t mean we still can’t be friends.”
He gave me a half smile. “I guess not. I had a feeling things hadn’t completely cooled off between you and Trent. It would have been nice, but I understand. I hope you made him pay just a little bit for dumping you for Silvia. It’s the least he deserved.”
I chuckled. “We worked things out.”
“Well, I guess that’s that then. Just know if things don’t work out with Trent, I’ll be here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. I guess I’ll see you around.”
After Jeff went into the classroom, Trent came back to my side. He had a strained look on his face. It eased somewhat after I put my hand in his and smiled at him. Obviously, my talk with Jeff had been hard on us both.
Trent sat next to me in math, and when the bell rang for the second period, he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before he left to go to his next class.
I now had to face the only part of the day I didn’t look forward to—going to English. Rachel would be there. She was sure to make some snarky remark about me having taken Trent from Silvia. Not that Silvia had really had him in the first place.
On the way to English, I promised myself I wouldn’t let Rachel get to me. I knew if I showed any kind of reaction to what she said she’d try to hurt me even more. Just as with wild animals, you never show your fear to a bully.
Inside the classroom, I took my seat and waited for the teacher to arrive. Rachel sat behind me with her gaze boring into my back—I knew she was glaring because I itched between my shoulder blades. I in no way acknowledged her presence.
“You may have taken Trent from Silvia, but that doesn’t make you any less of a freak,” Rachel finally said.
I clenched my hands on top my desk and counted to ten. She could say whatever she wanted, but I wasn’t going to turn around to listen to more of her taunts. If she intended to get a rise out of me, she would be in for some disappointment. I wouldn’t lower myself to her standards.
She poked me in the back with what felt like her pen. “You really are a retard as Silvia says. You only have to look at you to know that. And you can tell your ‘boyfriend’ that as long as he stays with you he’ll be classed the same as you. You’ll both be seen as a couple of freaks.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I just barely stopped myself from turning around to say “As if Trent gives a damn what anyone thinks of him?” He’d never cared in the past. Why would he start now?
The teacher finally arrived and he brought the class to order. I was grateful he decided to spend most of the period reading passages from the book we had to read, and then taking up the questions he had assigned. Rachel didn’t get a chance to bother me for the rest of the period. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around once the bell rang for lunch.
I stepped into the cafeteria and looked for Trent. He sat at our table, facing the doors. When our gazes met, he smiled and waved me over. Knowing his smile had been just for me, it made me feel good inside. I forgot all about the crappy things Rachel had said in English.
Trent pulled out the chair next to his. As I sat, he asked, “So how did your other classes go?”
I shrugged. “Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Trent searched my face. “Why do I have the feeling you aren’t telling me everything?”
I waved his question away with a flick of my hand. “It’s nothing. Really. Just Rachel and her usual snarky remarks. I didn’t expect anything less from her.”
“I made things worse for you, didn’t I? I should have thought of something else—”
I cut Trent off. “Stop. What’s done is done. There’s no use beating yourself up about it. But I do have to say, what did you expect? Silvia has always had it in for me. Her and her crew will just use you as an excuse to be even nastier.”
Trent’s eyes flashed gold when something snagged his attention. I quickly looked around. Luckily, it seemed as if no one else had noticed the change in them. I followed his line of sight. Silvia was headed right for our table.
I placed my hand on Trent’s arm and said quietly, “You’d better get yourself under control or she’ll notice the change in eye color.”
He took a deep breath and placed his hand on top of mine. As if my touch had been enough to calm him, Trent’s eyes returned to normal.
Just before Silvia reached us, he said, “You don’t have to say anything. I’ll handle her.”
Silvia stopped at the end of the table, right next to where Trent sat. She sneered down at him. “You just couldn’t keep away from the trash, could you?”
By this time almost everyone in the cafeteria had turned to watch the exchange between Trent and Silvia. What had happened here last Friday had to be still fresh in everyone’s minds.
Trent shot to his feet to stare at Silvia. “The only piece of trash I see is the one standing in front of me.”
Silvia’s mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish on land. “How dare you?” she shrieked. “I’m not the one who’s trash. It’s the freak sitting next to you who is.”
Trent shook his head. “Poor delusional Silvia. You think you’re so great. You really must be blind if you actually think anyone besides the empty-headed idiots you call friends like you.”
Silvia’s face twisted into a mask of anger. “I don’t need you. I can have any boy I want in this school. I just have to crook a finger in his direction and he’ll come running.”
“Prove it then,” Trent shot back. “I bet it doesn’t work. No guy would be crazy enough to take up with you, let alone want to kiss you.”
Silvia looked around as more than one person around us laughed. “You kissed me.”
“No. I let you kiss me. And I didn’t enjoy it.”
“As if you enjoy kissing the freak,” Silvia snapped.
“More than you’ll ever know.”
Trent turned, pulled me to my feet and took me into his arms. Amid cat calls and whistles, Trent took my mouth in a kiss that made my toes curl inside my running shoes. He kissed me until I barely even knew my own name. When he ended it, I had to lean against him or I would have fallen on my butt. In a daze, I watched a red-faced Silvia stomp away.
Trent looked at me. I felt his heart racing under my hand where I had it held against his chest. I stared at him. His eyes were a lighter brown, but he seemed to have himself under control. The same couldn’t be said about me. I knew if we hadn’t been in the middle of the school cafeteria I would have liked that kiss to last much longer than it had.
With Trent’s help, I sat in my chair while he settled into his. “Well, that worked better than I thought.”
I blinked. “What…worked?”
Trent smiled crookedly in my direction. “The kiss. It worked better than I thought it would. Silvia shouldn’t be bothering either one of us again.”
Finally coming out of my daze, I snorted. “You hope. Honestly, I can’t see her giving up that easily.”
“Then I’ll just have to come up with another way to publicly humiliate her. A few more of those and she’ll be lucky if she’ll be able to show her face in school.”
“If they involve me at least give me some warning, huh?”
He inched his chair closer to mine. “Why? I liked the glazed look that came over your eyes after I kissed you.”
I punched Trent in the arm. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll have to return the favor someday. I’ll just grab you, throw you down on one of the tables here and kiss you until you forget your own name as well.”
His eyes turned gold in a matter of seconds. With a groan, Trent leaned forward until our foreheads touched. “You’re killing me here, Mika.” After a couple deep breaths he pulled away, once more in control of himself.
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