Leaves coated my arms and legs like bandages. Lifting the sheet, I was indeed naked. Well, almost naked. I had on my underwear and bra. Thank god. Someone had pulled my hair up in a bun and stuck leaves to my neck also.
“You can take those off now,” Kate’s meek voice penetrated through my clouded mind.
I gently pulled the leaves off one by one, surprised to see my skin appeared smooth and unaffected, despite the cool pink liquid.
“Chamomile and Milk Thistle.” Kate referred to the goop and the leaves. “Good thing I pay attention in class,” Kate grinned as she sat on the bed beside me with a bucket of water and a rag. “Otherwise you’d be in the infirmary and then how you could explain where you were? Which, by the way, I am a little pissed you didn’t take me. Grateful now, because, you know the guardian demon and all, but still pissed.”
Warm water dripped down my arm as Kate washed my skin. There were two rags, so I took one and started on my stomach. Aching tore through my muscles as I moved, but not as bad as I expected.
“How long was I out?” I asked. The clock nearby read three in the morning.
“A day.” Kate slipped off the bed, her feet silent on the old wood floors as she walked to the dresser. A day. I’d slept an entire twenty-four hours? Crap. “He’s been here the whole time.” She nodded toward Wolf as she sat down and handed me an oversized shirt to put on, and a cup of tea. At least I hoped it was tea.
“Really?” Thick strands of hair fell over his forehead, I wanted to sweep them aside and feel the warmth of his skin on mine.
“He also showed me the book. Both of them.” Kate’s voice softened. “It kind of helps knowing James didn’t intentionally blow me off.”
My jaw dropped, the words sputtered out faster than I anticipated. “You’re kidding right? Kate, this is so much bigger than you could ever imagine. Danielle is teaming up with Madrina and villains to get whatever she wants.” The weakness that once overtook me washed away. “If she can wipe away the memories of one person and get away with it, what else is she capable of? The girl murdered her own father!”
“Knowing this won’t get James back.” Kate’s eyes lowered. “All it’ll do is cause unnecessary drama.”
Oh, it was certainly necessary. Danielle was an evil bitch and I wouldn’t sit by and watch her contort the world to her liking!
“Did you find out what was in those pills?” I asked.
She shook her head. “When I emptied the pill, the sheet turned black and the dust disappeared.”
I sighed. “Danielle’s been slipping them to James. I think it has to do with you and the spell. See, this is why we need to bust her!”
“Norah’s right, Kate.” Wolf’s voice startled both of us. “With what we know, it’d be immoral for us not to do something.” He winked at me and my stomach clenched so tight, I stopped breathing for a second.
“It’s okay to be afraid.” I placed my hand on Kate’s. “Could you imagine if you loved someone and then suddenly forgot?”
I couldn’t imagine having my memories disappear. Everything I knew, everything I thought, warped into something else. For a millisecond, I had wished to un-know all of the fairy tale shit, but now I knew I was sent here for a purpose. To fix all the crap Danielle ruined.
“You’re in really dangerous territory,” Kate warned.
I nodded. “It’s never stopped me before.” My attention flickered to Wolf, who stared right back at me.
“I need to think on it. This is a lot to take in.” Kate slid off the bed, grabbed the iron tea pot and turned back to me, mouthing, talk to him. The door shut silently.
I wanted to speak first, I did, but I hadn’t a clue what to say. He saved my life, he showed me the lost fairy tales, and I owed him so much. Still, as I sat on the bed, my bones chilled from the lack of heat in the room, I wondered where to even start.
Regret whispered in my head. Regret for dragging him into this, regret for whatever feelings took over whenever he was near. And what was worse, was how badly I did want him. I wanted him to slink off the chair, curl beside me and kiss me. God, I wanted him to kiss me. But it wasn’t even about kissing. It was about being close to him and connecting on a level I didn’t know possible.
“You okay?” His hands were folded in his lap, a gesture far too refined for him.
My back straightened. “Why?”
“You look confused.”
You have no idea. I sighed and untied the ribbon holding my hair back. One pull and hair cascaded down my shoulders, warming my neck.
“What do you think I should do about the book?”
Using the broken armrest, he pushed himself up. The mattress sank as he sat in front of me.
“When the time is right, you’ll know,” he said. “You have good instincts.”
“If my instincts were good, I wouldn’t have jumped on that thing and gotten bit by snakes.” I wouldn’t have done a lot of the crap I did. I seriously lacked control.
A smile crept over his mouth, one I hadn’t seen in such a long time. “You were pretty bad ass though. When did you start using magic?”
“I’m still pretty new to it all. My dad told me I needed to, so I’ve been practicing a little every night.”
A grim smile swept over his lips.
Silence overtook us once more. Wolf looked away and in the muted light, I truly saw his face. Running from his jaw to his chin was a cut so deep, I wondered if it’d ever heal without scarring.
“Ohmigosh.” I reached forward and touched his face, running my finger next to the lesion. He flinched. “What happened?”
“The demon got me.”
God I was so stupid. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.” My hand dropped from his face, stopping on his bicep. “If it wasn’t for me—”
“Stop, Norah.” His face unyielding. “I’m not a kid, you can’t force me. I chose to, and I’d do it again if I had to. What we found out is huge.”
A thin smile crept over my lips. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Hell yeah.” Excitement rushed into his deep eyes, the flicks of crimson and gold strong like the electricity flowing through him and into me. “All because you trusted your instincts. Just like you did in the cave.”
“You’re right.” I bounced in place.
The door swung open and Kate returned with a fresh pot of tea. She let me borrow a pair of cotton shorts so I didn’t have to walk back to my room in my underwear. Unfortunately, the jeans I had on were riddled with holes and not salvageable. I thanked her again for saving me. She was quite the potion master.
Wolf left at the same time as me, probably so he could walk me back to my dorm. Did he fear I’d suffer the same fate as Kate? But Wolf, more than anyone, let me run to the beat of my drum.
For my entire life I was forced to move around. To bend to whatever plan my father had. To care for a sister who hated me. No one let me be me. To do whatever I wanted without having to answer to someone. Until now. Until Wolf.
That was what drew me to him over Finn—before Finn turned into an asshat. Finn didn’t trust my instincts and I was pretty sure if I told him what we’d done, he’d say I was reckless. He didn’t understand my passion. Doing this for Kate wasn’t about revenge, it was about righting a wrong. Keeping it in wasn’t an option. Staying silent was worse than telling a lie. Staying silent meant forgetting and I could never forget.
But Wolf didn’t doubt me, instead, we worked alongside. And together we fought as one. Wolf was the only person who didn’t question my actions, who didn’t tell me what to do or force me to change. Wolf let me be me. He understood. And no one, not even Dad, understood. Hell, not even I understood why I did what I did, but Wolf always had. It was like he knew my thoughts and actions before me.
The excitement dwindled as we reached the door to my room. Going inside meant forgetting today, and going back to the routine where Wolf and I only spoke in times like this. Forgetting wasn’t an option, neither was ignoring him
and we both knew I couldn’t keep my distance. Maybe we were two souls chasing after the same thing all along.
“Why do you trust me?” I asked. “You don’t seem like the kind of person who trusts a lot of people.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why me?”
“I don’t know. I just I do. I stopped questioning it a long time ago.”
There weren’t a lot of promises or guarantees in life. Who knew what tomorrow or the next day would bring. But as we stood together outside my bedroom door, one certainty lingered between us. The certainty that what I felt for Wolf wasn’t forged. It was pure and honest and no matter what I thought about any boys before him, no time could ever amount to one second with Wolf.
I took a deep breath, my heart speeding up like a plane preparing for takeoff, curled up on the tips of my toes, and placed my lips gently upon his. A second later I was back on the soles of my feet.
“Goodnight,” I whispered, turning the knob to enter my bedroom.
Stepping over the threshold, his hand seized mine. He uttered my name so softly, chills ran up my spine. The Adam’s apple in his throat bobbed up and down when he swallowed, over and over again as if my kiss created a storm. For him it did, but for me, that single kiss cleared my mind.
He closed the space between us and narrowed his eyes. They were cold and flaming with irritation and pain. “Why do you keep screwing with me?”
“What?” I yanked my hand from his grasp. The last thing I did was screw with him. He was screwing with me. Hot one second, cold the next. “You’re the one who thinks you’re some death-ridden wolf! Excuse me for thinking of you as a person and not a story book character.”
He shut the door and moved past me, his hand tearing at his hair as if he wanted to yank it out. “That’s who I am! You don’t get it!”
“No.” I pressed my finger into his chest. “You don’t. You’re so blinded by your own self-pity you push me away every chance you get, using lame ass excuses I refuse to believe. If you were a wolf, you’d be a wolf! But you’re not, are you?”
His hands tightened into fists at his side. “It doesn’t matter who I am or who you are, the fact remains the same. You are meant to be with a prince.”
I stepped toward him and said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want a prince. I want you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Norah. Every girl wants a prince.”
“Since when have I been like the girls here?” I closed the space between us, our bodies so close I felt the heat of his breath on me. “You’re the only person who lets me be who I am. You’re the only person I trusted enough to come to about the book, and you’re the one who saved me. You’re there for me, always, no questions asked. In the same right, you are a stubborn asshole who only wanted me when I fought you on it. Now look at me! We almost died and you’re still fighting me. You are so unbeliev—”
His mouth crashed into mine and we stumbled backward. My hands laced around his neck, twisting strands of curly hair between my fingertips. We slammed against the dresser. Something fell to the floor as he lifted me up, setting me down on top so we were equal height. His thick hand ran along my face, holding onto me as if I’d crumble under his touch. I drank in his kiss, memorizing his smoky breath and the texture of his tongue slipping over mine.
He bit down on my lip and I moaned, clutching his sides harder. Desire flared within as he yanked me closer to him. Leaving no space, I wrapped my legs around his waist, panting as he pulled my top over my head and started kissing my neck. His lips traveled along my collarbone and then back up to my ear, gently grazing my earlobe with his teeth.
He lifted me and we fell backward onto the bed. The comforter billowed, cocooning us as if we belonged together. Wolf and I were a sign of change, a sign that what was written wasn’t truth, but a story, just as we all grew up assuming. And stories were meant to be rewritten.
Twenty four hours ago, we almost died. Perhaps it was the fear of that moment fueling me, I wasn’t sure. Our kisses grew deeper, more passionate, as his body pinned me to the bed. My fingers grazed his stubble, letting it scratch against my skin, unable to stop from moaning his name as his hands curled around my hip bones.
I explored the smooth lines of his rigid abs, stroking each one as if they belonged to me. As if he belonged to me. My fingers fumbled to unzip his pants and he froze. His eyes blazed into mine with a passion I’d never seen in my life. Please don’t reject me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I’d been with guys before but nothing prepared me for the way Wolf undid me as I arched beneath him, my nails digging into the bedspread. My world exploded into many points of light. His hot breath beat against my neck and I knew I’d never want anyone more than I wanted him. Despite whatever world we were in, despite the consequences of yesterday and the fear of what tomorrow brought, I was falling utterly and completely in love with the Big Bad Wolf.
Hot water scalded my skin, opening my pores, and cleansing me of the last couple days. To my surprise, I didn’t have a single hickey. The sudden rush disappointment bewildered me, but went away as last night replayed in my mind. Falling asleep on Wolf’s broad, firm chest was better than any pillow in the world. His warm body melded with mine. I wasn’t sure when he’d left, but come morning, when the breakfast bell rang, I’d woken up alone.
There was no time to dry or style my hair if I wanted to see him before class. I rushed into my room, dragged a comb through, tossed on jeans, a shirt and jacket and ran out the door.
The second the cold air hit my head, I regretted not taking the time to dry. No doubt by time I made it to class my hair would be icicles.
The smell of pancakes and maple syrup enveloped my senses when I walked into the cafeteria. For the first time since I came here, I was actually hungry. Pancakes were my weakness. I hopped in line and grinned wide when I saw the topping bar—blueberries, strawberries, bananas, nuts, kiwi, chocolate chips, the options were endless.
I set two pancakes on the tray and coated them with blueberries. Instead of piling on syrup I filled three small cups to the brim. Quickly I paid the lady at the end and found an empty table. No one I knew had arrived yet, so I sat closest to the courtyard.
The syrup to pancake ratio had to be perfect. I smothered them and was quick to stick a forkful in my mouth. The gooey syrup oozed in my mouth, and my stomach rumbled as if I hadn’t eaten in months. I practically inhaled half of the epic goodness in under a minute.
“Are you eating? The world must be coming to an end.” With a mouthful of food, I stared up at Wolf, a grin plastered over his face.
“These pancakes? Yeah, they pretty much rock. You should try some.”
He sat beside me and took a long gulp of coffee. “I ate already. Three stacks of five.”
Figures. “All the toppings?”
He nodded. “All the toppings.”
Another big fork full and instead of getting it in my mouth, a line of syrup ran down my chin. Using the back of my hand, I wiped my chin and licked my sticky lips.
“You should never be allowed to eat anything in public that makes you do that.” He handed me a napkin, a wiry grin playing with his mouth. “Might give people the wrong impression.”
My cheeks flamed and I leaned into him. “What if I want to give you that impression?”
His cheeks burned red. God he was hot when I made him nervous. His head dipped down and he laughed. I bit my lip and pushed the tray back. Taking a breather from stuffing my face made me realize how full I was.
“So, pancakes, huh? Never would’ve pegged you for a carb freak.” His knee knocked against mine and I couldn’t stop the smile growing over my face. I probably looked like an idiot.
“I’m not. Only pancakes. When we were younger, that’s all my dad knew how to make.”
He nodded, his eyes fell on mine, and we stared at one another. How did he feel about last night? Somehow I doubted he had any regrets. Of course he could ha
ve. After all, there was a lot of emotion, and we did almost die.
“Oh-my-gosh!” Desiree slammed her bag on the table, startling us both. “You are such a little slut. Finn told me he asked you to the ball and you rejected him. Why wasn’t I consulted? I thought you had it hard for him?”
Wolf jerked his arm, knocking it into a can of juice. Which in turn spilled all over the table. Crap. As if he didn’t question my feelings already, now Desiree felt the need to gush about it.
I took a deep breath, held it for too long, and blew it out. “I didn’t have it hard for him.” My palms were instantly clammy. The other day when I yelled at her for telling Finn I liked him, I left out the details about the punch. Again, not her business, especially because she liked to gossip. The last thing I needed was Madrina beating down my door because I almost broke a guy’s nose.
“You mean to tell me, he kissed you and you didn’t feel anything?” She narrowed her hazel and green eyes at me and stripped off her jacket, showing off the white tank top she had on. In the middle was a glittery red heart. “You’re so weird. You should’ve at least jumped his bones. Rumor has it, he’s packin.”
Wolf let out the loudest groan and stood up. “Yeah, I’m done with this conversation.”
So much for goodbye.
“So spill. You and Finn were so on the right track, a little romance, fueled by forbidden desire and we had the makings for a power couple.” Desiree stirred in her seat, grinning ear to ear.
“I have to focus on April, not boys. Besides, Finn’s an ass.” My attention lingered past her and to Wolf, who was walking out of the cafeteria after snatching a drink from the espresso bar. I couldn’t let the day go on without talking to him. “I have to go. We’ll talk more later.”
Instead of waiting for a goodbye, I grabbed my bag and hurried after him, walking so fast I almost ran over a dwarf. My sneakers squeaked against the floors as I kept myself from sprinting. The less attention the better.
The Forgotten Fairytales Page 20
