UnMasked Read online

  “What if he is?” she worries. “We don’t know him. He could be capable of anything.”

  Twisting around in my seat so I’m facing her, I grab my girlfriend by the face and force her to look at me. “Stop overanalyzing. You’re only scaring yourself.”

  “If something happens to your family because of John, it would be my fault,” she stubbornly persists.

  I know what she’s doing. Zoey only loses her cool like that when she’s nervous, and she’s a wreck right now. Meeting John is what’s really scaring her, not the fact that he knows my family are werewolves. I’m the one worrying about that, because I have no idea how this will affect Dylan.

  Obviously, Zoey is worried about it too. But by nature, she takes things in calmly. She’s only latching onto this with so much fear as an excuse, to hide what she’s truly afraid of. And what scares her so much is that meeting her brother won’t heal the hurt left behind by their dad, or that it could even make it worse.

  Zoey is a very strong person. She tries to come off soft and weak to avoid confrontations, but she is more than capable of handling herself in case she finds herself in one. However, being hurt, or the fear of it, is the one thing that can bring down her constantly steady armor, and she tries to hide it with bigger issues that no one can dispute. But I know better.

  “You can handle this,” I say to soothe her true worries. “It doesn’t matter what Trent did or who John turns out to be. You’re so much stronger than that. I have absolute faith in you, and I’m not the least bit worried.”

  She smiles a little in defeat. “You see right through me, don’t you?”

  “Only because you let me in.”

  She chuckles and kisses me briefly. “Thanks.”

  “I’d do anything for you. Does it even surprise you?”

  She shrugs. “Just needed to be said.”

  About a minute later, the café door swings open to the sound of the ringing bell. Zoey and I look up at the same time, as if sensing the same thing. Though I’ve only seen his face once, on a screen and for a few seconds, I recognize John immediately. The eyes, the same as Sadie’s, and the shoulder-length dark hair are unmistakable.

  As he looks around the café, searching for us, I wait for Zoey’s lead. She tentatively raises her hand and waves at him. Recognition falls over his face and he smiles a little when he sees her. Then his eyes fall on me, and he suddenly wears a wary expression.

  Zoey and I exchange looks as he walks over to us, wondering what that was about. He sits across from us, his arms over the table.

  “Hi,” Zoey starts.

  He softens greatly as he addresses only her. “Hey. I’m really sorry, but I can’t stay very long. My mom thinks I’m with my band rehearsing, and I have to be back soon. I only have about an hour.”

  A lot of what he said raises questions, but there’s one that sticks out more than the rest, because it instantly makes me think of my sister.

  “You’re in a band?”

  That’s when he looks at me. “Uh, yeah.”

  “Cool,” Zoey enthuses, equally interested, if not more. “What kind of music do you play?”

  Torn, John looks at the two of us back and forth. “Do you want to ask what you came here for, and then we’ll introduce ourselves? I mean, like I said, I can’t stay very long. We have plenty of time to get to know each other; we can always hang out later. But I think we all have questions that can’t wait.”

  That sounds like a fair deal. Zoey and I exchange looks and come to an agreement.

  “Alright,” she says. “Why don’t you start? How much do you know about… you know, everything?”

  “Not much,” he replies. “I know about our dad and how he cheated on your mom before they got married with mine, hence yours truly here. I don’t know why he did it, though. I have no idea what he was thinking or how his relationship with your mom was like. I just know that his partner at work was my uncle, I mean my mom’s brother. That’s how they met.”

  “And,” I hesitate, “the other thing? About my family?”

  John leans in toward me and keeps his voice down, so the other patrons don’t hear. “That’s the thing. I think Trent worked as some kind of… human consultant for –you know, werewolves. My uncle was too, but my mom doesn’t know anything about it.”

  “Consultant?” Zoey repeats, confused.

  I get it quicker. “I think he means a liaison,” I tell her.

  Her eyes widen. “What? My dad was a pack liaison?” Her voice gets a little too high. Some people a couple tables over glance weirdly at us.

  “Watch your voice baby,” I whisper to her in warning.

  Sheepish, she leans into me and puts her head down. As for me, I am already forming a theory. I need John to either confirm or deny it.

  “Do you know which pack he worked for?” I ask him.

  He frowns, confused. “Pack?”

  “That’s what we call a group of werewolves,” Zoey explains in an exaggerated hushed tone. “The big ones who hold authority have a name of their own.”

  “Oh. Well, I don’t know anything about packs or their titles, but I only saw two separate names; Underwood and Connolly. The others were blacked out.”

  It dawns on me what this means. Trenton was a liaison for the Redwood and Silver Moon packs. It’s strange that the name of the alpha family of the Redwood pack would be crossed out. Actually, since my father used to be their beta, it’s possible he never made it to liaison status with the Redwood pack and was still trying out during the time Trenton died. Usually, the pack betas kind of ‘test out’ their human liaison before sending him or her back to the alpha, so as to keep the alpha’s anonymity from the human world until the liaison proves to be trustworthy.

  Zoey can guess all of this, too, judging by the way she stares at me expectantly. For obvious reasons, we can’t discuss any of this in front of John. He said he’ll be here an hour. I can wait that long. There are a million different things we can talk about to pass the time that don’t involve revealing sensitive information that could expose my entire species. Nevertheless, that’s not to stop me from asking him a few questions to see what he knows.

  “What else do you know about my family?” I ask.

  John shrugs. “That’s really it,” he confirms, and hesitates to go on. “Can I ask, w–what are werewolves like? Do you… turn on a full moon and… you know, go on a killing spree?”

  I scoff, a bit insulted. “How would we maintain secrecy if that were true? No, we’re just like normal people, except more enhanced, and we can turn into wolves whenever we want. Other than that, everything you’ve heard is probably a myth.”

  “So,” he drawls, musing, “silver bullets?”

  I give him a flat look. “Any bullet. We can heal from it, to a certain extent. But if it hits anything essential and is not stopped and treated properly, every kind of firearm can kill us.”

  “No howling at the moon?” he wonders.

  “That, we do for fun. Even as you are in your human body, you must feel a need to scream every once in a while. Let off some steam. Feels good for everyone, trust me.”

  He chuckles, finally at ease around me. That’s when I realize what his wary look was about. He didn’t know what to expect about me and he was worried I’d be violent or something. It’s actually flattering to hear I intimidate an older person, even though he is only a year older.

  When that barrier between John and me falls, there’s no more tension in the air. That’s not to say we can suddenly sit around a campfire singing songs together. I want to put him through the liaison test, to see how much I can trust him. Nevertheless, there is enough comfort between us to be able to ask non-werewolf related questions about each other. Zoey gets a kick out of this, and she asks everything she can think of in the limited time we have with her brother.

  “What do you think?” she asks me when he leaves.

  “I don’t know,” I admit. “He seems okay, but I don’t know if we can trust
him to keep the truth about us to himself.”

  She frowns. “You mean you and me, or your family?”

  “Both, I guess. My family more, because that’s a more dangerous secret to reveal.”

  Zoey leans into me, and I put my arm around her shoulder. “Well, looks like the power has shifted. Before, it was my decision whether or not we tell our parents about us. Now it’s yours. I’ll follow your lead. So what do you want to do?”

  How do I proceed from here? I ask myself as well.

  I ponder the options for a moment. The way I see it, there aren’t many. Tell our parents everything, nothing, or some things. The first is out of the question so long as I don’t know whether to trust John. The second is what we’ve been doing so far, and while the secrecy has been exciting sometimes, it’s also a little unsettling to keep lying. But the trickiest option is the third one, because we have to be careful what to share.

  “If we find the right moment,” I start cautiously, “we tell our parents we’re dating. We don’t have to go into details, and I don’t think they’d pry anyway.”

  At that, Zoey gives me a look. “Apparently, you don’t know my sister. She’s the most persistent, pushiest person you could ever meet.”

  This makes me slightly hesitant. “Isn’t there any way to get her to stop pushing for answers? I mean, we’ve been dating this whole time and she hasn’t figured that out.”

  “Only because I’ve been distant and pushed her away without meaning to,” Zoey says shamefully.

  “Maybe if you explain to her that you want our relationship to be private, she’ll be reasonable,” I suggest.

  “It’s okay, I’ll handle Sadie somehow. What about your family?”

  I chuckle humorlessly. “Well, last time I was ready and fully prepared to tell them, Connor beat me to the punch. I’m still going to wait for the right moment, when things have calmed down with Mickey. I don’t want there to be anything on their minds weighing them down when I tell them. I… I want them to be happy for us.”

  I am rewarded for that with a smile from Zoey.

  “Alright,” she easily agrees. “And… what about John?”

  “We can’t say anything until we know we can trust him.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Michael

  When Danny and I grew out of our cribs at three years old, and were moved to beds, it took me almost four months to get used to the different mattresses and stop waking up at night. When I grew out of that bed and needed a bigger one, I was also uncomfortable for a good long while there and didn’t adjust immediately. I’ve never slept away from home, which is why I know I’m going to have trouble sleeping in the unfamiliar bedroom the pack has given me for the time being.

  Add to that my mood and the fact that I have to wear my bandages to bed, and it’s no surprise that on my second night at the pack house, I’m still awake at two in the morning.

  I’m lying on my back with my hands behind my head, wide awake and staring at the ceiling, thinking of my cat, of all things. Burns has never been the kind of pet that I keep at home and have to take care of all the time. I fill his food bowl only once a day because he doesn’t eat all of it at once, and I let him out of the house whenever he wants. He comes back at night after I’ve fallen asleep and lies next to me until the next day.

  It didn’t make sense to bring him with me to the pack house when I already don’t make him stay at our house, but I never thought of how much his absence would bother me.

  So it’s almost a relief when I hear his familiar meow sound from outside. I jump out of bed and sprint to the window. Sure enough, three stories down, there he stands with his glowing brown eyes and grey fur, circling the same spot while staring up at me. I can’t help smiling when I see him.

  “Stay right there, I’m coming,” I whisper, although I know he won’t understand me.

  All day yesterday, I’ve locked myself up in the guest bedroom that I now have to call mine, under the pretense that I have to study for finals. It’s odd that the simple sight of something familiar makes me happy all of a sudden, as if I haven’t been depressed for days. I’m racing down the steps of the stairs as quietly as I can. When I get to the front door, I unlock it and then slowly open it, peering out at the front porch to find him waiting for me.

  “Get in, boy,” I whisper.

  Once he’s inside, I lock the door again then bend down to hold him. Knowing there’s no one around, I don’t hesitate to hug him close and let the familiarity of this situation soothe me, if just for a moment. It works a little too much, though, because I can feel the shield I’ve put up to keep myself from breaking down again start to crack. I take a deep breath and release Burns from the hug, then start walking up to the bedroom again.

  Something catches my attention when I’m on the second floor and makes me freeze. There’s a weird strangled sound, like air being let out abruptly and cut off almost immediately. Then someone heaves a shaky sigh and sniffs. Hesitantly, I look for the source and locate it in the bathroom at the end of the hall.

  The door is cracked open. All I can see of the person in there are their arms holding the sink. For some reason, I can’t make myself move. I know it’s not my business, but the curiosity sparking in me right now is the first emotion I’ve felt since last week that isn’t all gloomy and depressing. Well, actually, the fleeting joy at seeing Burns is, but whatever, you get my point. I wait for a bit longer, just to see who it might be.

  The person’s head then falls forward, and although her long hair covers her face, I know who she is from its dark color and straight do. It’s so strange to think of someone like Reena crying while she’s hiding in the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I can do nothing but just stand there for a minute.

  Burns betrays my silence when he lets out a meow in protest against my sudden stiffness. I try to shush him, but it’s too late. Reena’s head snaps up at the sound and her tear-filled eyes meet mine. Before she can react in any way, I run up the stairs to ‘my’ room.

  I stand behind the door for a while, trying to listen outside in case she follows me. In the meantime, Burns struggles in my arms, so I set him down on the ground, and he bounds up to the bed. He sniffs around on the unfamiliar sheets where he can undoubtedly detect my scent, and takes refuge on the single pillow where I was putting my head minutes before. He lies on his side and rests his head against the headboard.

  “No, Burns,” I protest in hushed tones, and go over there to move him.

  There are two pillows on my bed back home, and he usually takes one. I guess it’s not that surprising that he wants to have a pillow here too. Unfortunately for him, I’m not going to let him take it away and leave me to wake up with a cramp in my neck.

  “This one is mine, I’ll get you something else,” I say.

  I remove the upper sheet and make a bed for him with it next to where he’s resting.

  “Is that your cat?”

  I jump at the sound and spin on my heels. Reena. How did she open the door without me hearing it? Or did I leave it open? She’s standing in the doorframe with her arms at her sides and her head tilted. Her eyes are red from crying, although she’s smiling sideways. I don’t like the mischief in them. A terrible feeling settles in the pit of my stomach.

  “What do you want?” is the first question that comes out of my mouth.

  Her smile brightens even more, intensifying the warning signals flashing in my brain. She walks wordlessly toward me.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

  Taken off guard, I retreat until my legs hit the bed and I fall back on the mattress. She takes advantage of my shock, quickly climbs over me, leans down, and kisses me.

  The first stupid thing I think is Ew! Is this really what kissing feels like? It’s like wet skin on my mouth, and it’s disgusting.

  Then it fully registers that it’s not just anybody kissing me; it’s f*cking Reena! My reflexes kick in, and I push her off with so much force that she crashes against the wall. A
loud thud resonates through the silence of the house. I’m pretty sure that every ear, werewolf and human, heard it. The rooms in this house might be soundproofed, but with an open door, that doesn’t matter much, really. Besides, the impact will have probably resonated.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I yell.

  Well if they didn’t hear her falling, they definitely heard that, I chastise myself.

  I’m proven right by the sound of a dozen footsteps moving about in the house, coming toward here. Reena looks up at me, a bruise forming on her head where she hit the wall, and a wounded expression in her eyes, like I just hurt her feelings or something. What the hell is wrong with this b*tch?! How can I be the one at fault when she practically attacked me?

  She stays there like a pathetic victim. Seething with rage, I glare at her with every bit of hate I can muster up, until the sleeping people I just woke up reach my room. Logan, Cade and Sadie, obviously, as well as most of my family are there. So are Reena’s parents and brother, apparently, and Cade’s brothers.

  Wow, it’s a party, now. All we need is Danny and Cade’s parents, and we’ll have a full house!

  “What is going on here?” Logan demands when he steps through the door, before seeing Reena sprawled down next to it.

  There are signs of exhaustion on everyone but him. He stands there, towering over me with every bit of authority his alpha side possesses. When he notices Reena slumped on the ground, he rushes to her side like the dutiful boyfriend he is, and crouches down next to her and her parents.

  “What happened, sweetheart?” her mother asks sweetly, making me want to gag.

  Reena sobs. “He kissed me, and when I tried to stop him, he pushed me against the wall.”

  What the actual f*ck?

  I want to scream, but I can’t. Why? Because I can feel an attack coming on, and my airway is becoming constricted. My entire body starts to tremble.

  Logan stands again and looms over me, his fury radiating off him. Unlike the effect I’m sure he was hoping to have on me, the proximity actually slows down my attack a little. My lungs open up again, allowing me to talk, although I am still furious and shaking all over.