C24 Aria

I walked into Ryan’s house without knocking. I quit doing that a few months into our friendship. Sweet cinnamon and apple floated through the air. I was just in time for dessert. Mrs. Melina was making apple pie. Ryan’s favorite. When I rushed into the kitchen, they were both already at the table eating a slice.

“Mmm ma, I can already tell you stuck your foot in that pie.” I grabbed a slice and sat down.

“Hey babe,” Ryan said it like it was second nature. I blushed. Mrs. Melina’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“New developments?” She smiled. “Last we talked, it sounded bleak.”

“When I tried to scare her away, she made it clear a werewolf wasn’t enough.” He put his hand on mine. I gushed, but tried to hide it. I don’t think it worked. Mrs. Melina gave me a wide smile. I hadn’t forgotten her comment about grandbabies. I think my heart may have smiled, too.

“Werewolf smerewolf.” I pointed at both of them. “You’re both stuck with me.” I shrugged and dug into the pie. I closed my eyes and moaned. “So good”

“Glad to hear grandbabies are finally in view.” Ryan choked on his pie.

“I hope they’re furry like you.” I laughed, petting his hairy arms. He mocked my laugh, then kissed my forehead. We finished up and put our plates in the sink. Per usual, Mrs. Melina wouldn’t let me help her. “Attic?” He nodded, and we headed up the dreaded ladder of doom.

We stood just beyond the stairs, staring at the boxes. I groaned. I hated attics, and I hated sorting through boxes, but I loved Ryan, so I pressed on.

“Where should we start?”

His lips met mine so suddenly he had to grab me to keep me from falling over. Keeping my lips to his, I jumped up into his arms. I wrapped both arms and legs around him tight. I missed these lips. The pull between us grew stronger when he turned, like we were tethered together by an invisible force. His touch was intense, electric, and I wanted more.

“Let’s look in one box at a time together. I want you close.” He nuzzled my neck, breathing me in. It threw me off a little. I’ve never seen him do that with any of his other girlfriends. But what does it matter what he did with them? He was mine now. I would cherish every touch. I leaned into him, nuzzling his neck in response. When I pulled away, he whined like a puppy.

“I love that you’re a werewolf.” I laughed. “This new behavior is incredibly cute.”

“It's taking some time to get used to.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks again for being there with me. I fully expected to rage out and murder the whole town.”

“Oh Ry, you can’t believe everything you see on T.V.” I sat down beside a box.

“I know. I just didn’t realize that I would still be so conscious, you know.” He sat down beside me. “Raj seems like an extension of me. Like my thoughts talking back to me. It’s weird, but cool.”

“Yeah, I bet. Sounds like my norm.” I shrugged, when he laughed, “I hate you couldn’t let him run. He seemed stuffed like Genie from Aladdin. Now that we know you are still in your right mind, we should go to the woods and really let him out tonight.” His green eyes shimmered yellow. “Oh yeah, Raj is feeling it.”

Ryan smiled and started looking through the letters. “We need to find Hawthorne.”

“About, not that.” I put the pictures back down in the box. “Well, it’s sort of related.” I fiddled with my fingertips. He watched me, patiently waiting for me to continue. “I ran into Dorien.”

He got to his feet, pacing the room. His fist and jaws clenched, he spoke through gritted teeth. “Did he touch you?”

“Not like that-”

“Like how?!” I stood up, grabbing his hands and pulling just a little of his emotions out, but not enough for him to notice. Just enough to get through this conversation without him and Raj tearing up the attic.

“He wasn’t alone. They have a plan for you, but I don’t know what it is.”

“It’s football man, we're not even in high school anymore.” He sat down and put his arms over his knees, with his head tucked down.

“There’s more.” His head popped up, and he stared me down, worried. He should be worried. This is bad.

“Don’t laugh, but I think the scary dude may be a vampire.” He gave me a deadpan look. He said something, but I held my hand up to stop him. “He also said it wasn’t about football.” I paused, unsure how to bring it up. So, I tried to skip past it instead. “So, yes, we need to find Hawthorne. We need some information to help prepare for whatever Dorien and his pet vamp have planned.”

“Aria,” he didn’t say it coldly, but the under-toning growl told me I better speak up.

“Farley Husbern.” His fists clenched, and he growled even louder, his eyes yellow, fur sprouting along his arms. “It’s about him. But that’s all I know.” He paced the room, growling so much his mother came up to check on him. Her eyes were wide when she saw him mid-turn fighting it. We told her everything. We were reluctant, but we told her. We held him together, his mother and I. He nuzzled his face into my neck, breathing me in. We tried to keep calm, strong for him, because Raj was temperamental.

Ryan wasn’t always so temperamental. I was beginning to think Raj woke up somehow when Farley killed Ryan’s father. This got me thinking, how did his family suppress their wolves? Raj has shown himself a few times since we’ve been in the attic alone. I can’t imagine their wolves staying sated. I read the letter from his ancestor about releasing their wolves again. Something about it didn’t seem right. If Hawthorne couldn’t tell us, I had a weird feeling my grandmother could.