I felt a hand on my forehead, brushing hair away from my skin, and then a gentle kiss.

My father stood up, walked across the room and then clicked the door shut.

I breathed out slowly. If I’d arrived back even a minute later, he would have caught me out of bed. I didn’t think I could have borne the disappointment in his eyes that I’d betrayed his trust yet again.

Chapter 26: Rose

Micah was keen to see me most days after school. It seemed that he didn’t have much of an agenda of his own. While I gave Griff first priority on my time, since he had more homework than me to complete that week, I ended up seeing more of Micah than I’d expected.

I agreed to meet Micah at the bottom of our tree. I’d recommended this rather than the penthouse since he hadn’t exactly made a great first impression on my father, although my mother didn’t seem to have any objection to him.

One evening, we ended up walking by the lake—somewhere I hadn’t been with him before.

I still didn’t feel I knew much about this werewolf, and I wasn’t sure why he was interested in me so much. I also wasn’t sure why I’d agreed to spend so much time with him. Caleb still being very much on my mind, I began to wonder if I was just using Micah as a distraction. As some kind of rebound. Still, he was a good distraction. When I was in his company, it was easy to get lost in conversation. There were still so many things about him and the supernatural world I wanted to know.

As we approached the boathouse, I stopped in my tracks. I gripped Micah’s arm, pulling him back. He looked at me questioningly.

“Wait,” I breathed.

I crouched down in the bushes, pulling Micah down with me. I stared through the leaves, barely able to believe my eyes.

Our headmistress, Adelle. She was making out with… Eli?

All the other girls in my class were convinced that Eli would never get himself a girl—after all, he’d been a bachelor for several hundred years already. Now, watching him locking lips my teacher, it was shocking. It took me a few moments to pick up my jaw from the ground.

I dared not whisper in case they heard. I pointed and we began retreating. There was a snap. Micah had just trodden on a branch. My eyes shot toward the boathouse. It was too late. They’d spotted us.

Adelle looked mortified as she disentangled herself from Eli. I wasn’t sure why Adelle would look so guilty. It was embarrassing, yes, but it wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong.

“Hello, Rose.” Her cheeks were almost as bright as her hair.

“Hi, Ms. Ardene,” I said.

She smiled awkwardly, then, wiping her lips with the back of her hand—smudging her lipstick even more—she gripped Eli’s hand and they walked away into the woods.

“We may as well go sit there now,” I said, once they were out of sight.

I leaned against the windowsill, staring down at the blue water lilies beneath us. We both stood in silence. I glanced up at Micah. For a change, he wasn’t looking at me. He too was staring into the water.

“Do you have family?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

He took a deep breath and paused, running his tongue over his lower lip.

“I left them in my realm when I was banished. I haven’t seen them since.”

“You were banished?”

“Yes. Most of us in Matteo’s crew are outcasts.”

“I see. Do werewolves live forever?”

“No. We live a long time, often as long as witches. But not forever.”

“Why exactly did they ask you to leave?”

He swallowed hard and shifted his feet on the floorboards. “I was in love with a girl I had no business being in love with.”

Huh. I remained silent, not daring to urge him to continue even though I was burning with curiosity. As it turned out I didn’t need to.

“And she was in love with me. Or so she said. But she was the daughter of our chieftain. She already had a betrothed…”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“I had to either leave, or be executed. I still remember the night they caught us. The fear in my family’s eyes. I didn’t have time to pack anything. I just had to sail away in a boat. Leave and never return. I had no idea how I’d survive. I’d never been outside my own realm before. By some mercy, I came across Matteo and his crew. They gave me a cabin in their ship. The rest is history. They’re my family… and now, the people here in The Shade.” His eyes roamed me again.

“Do you think you’ll ever see your family again?”

“No.”

“But you came to Earth via the werewolf realm, right?”

“Yes. But if anyone had caught me there, I wouldn’t have gotten out alive. Mona put an invisibility covering over all of us as we made our way to the hidden gate.” He shook his head again, as if clearing his thoughts. “Anyway, she… they… are all gone now. I won’t ever be going back there. It’s my past.”

Silence fell between us again.

“I know what it’s like to love someone you can’t be with,” I said. I didn’t understand why I would tell Micah this, when I hadn’t even told my own brother.

He turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised. Coaxing me to continue.

I didn’t feel comfortable speaking Caleb’s name out loud somehow. It just didn’t feel right. So I just said, “We fell out over a… misunderstanding. To be honest, I’d rather not talk about him either.”