"You aren't mad at me, though, for breaking curfew?" I ask, and Dad looks at me completely bewildered.
"What, why would I be? I know why you broke it, and it wasn't intentional," I nod and look at my hands.
"I broke it, nonetheless, and I'm sure Karen is giving you a lot of grief about it," Dad sighs and squeezes my hand.
"Don't worry about her," he says, giving me a reassuringly smile. "There are other things you need to worry about than her."
"Um," I start, and I look at the door. Through the small window, I can see Jack and his dad talking on the front porch. "Jack and I skipped school the other day." I hesitantly look at my dad, and he has a surprised look on his face.
"Oh, really now?" His eyes are playful, but his tone is not. I swallow hard.
"Yeah, Jessica busted my lip, and I just..." I stop talking when I see Dad's eyes harden.
"She what?"
"It was nothing," I say, shaking my head, and he scoffs.
"Nothing? Riley, you just said she busted your lip, why would she do that?" I remain silent because I don't want her to get in trouble, but I know I have to tell him the truth. I explain to him how Jack and I met and what we did the night he came over to work on the project.
"She's just really into him, and she got mad that he and I hung out," my face is burning as I reveal everything, but Dad doesn't interrupt. He listens, nodding his head throughout. "And when we skipped school, we went to his house and finished the project. Then I stayed for dinner."
"Well, at least you two weren't galavanting in a hotel room," Dad mutters, and my face fills with heat as I stare at him, wide-eyed. Did he mean what I think he meant?
"Dad, what-" my head snaps to the door as Jack and Peter come in. Jack gives me a puzzled look when he sees how red my face is.
"Tyren will be here in a few hours," Peter says, putting his phone back into his pocket. Dad sighs and stands up.
"I better call Karen and tell them to stay out longer," he groans. "My poor credit card." I grimace as he walks into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Peter sits down in his previous spot, leaning back and closing his eyes.
"He's working," Jack whispers in my ear. I look at him, and he gives me a smile.
"He can work like that?" I ask back in the same tone.
"Yes, I can," Peter says, smiling. Jack and he chuckle, and I stand up, Jack following suit.
"Um, we're going to go to my room," with his eyes closed, Peter raises an eyebrow. "We'll keep the door open, though." Peter chuckles.
"Trust me," he says. "If you guys mate, no closed-door will keep that secret contained."
"Dad!" Jack hisses, and I look between them, confused. Peter waves us off with a hearty chuckle, and Jack takes my hand, leading me up the stairs to my room. Once we get to my room, Jack closes the door halfway.
"What did he mean by that?" He rubs the back of his neck nervously before taking a deep breath and looking me in the eye as we sit on the bed.
"He was talking about sex," I feel all the blood in my entire body fill my face, and Jack's lips twitch with a smirk at my reaction.
"O-oh," I quickly divert my attention to my hands as my heart hammers in my chest, and my stomach fills with a million butterflies at the mere thought.
"Don't worry about it, though," he says, and I look up at him. His cheeks are red, too, which makes me feel a little better.
"Okay," I murmur, and he gives me a reassuring smile. He holds my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.
"Though there is another thing I should probably tell you about being mates," he says nervously. I look at him expectantly. "If you decide to accept me as you mate, not as your boyfriend, there's something I have to do to finalize it."
"Like what?" He opens and closes his mouth a few times as if the words are hard to form. He rubs his neck again, and I realize that he only does that when he's nervous or anxious. I squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring smile. I can see the relief wash over him.
"I would have to mark you," I blink at him. That isn't what I was expecting.
"Mark me?" He nods.
"Yeah," he scoots closer to me and moves the hair off my shoulder. I suck in a breath as his finger traces over my neck. "Marking you would put some of my scent with yours so that if you come across another Were, they'll know you already have a mate."
"How would you mark me?" I ask, voice soft. I meet Jack's gaze, and my breath catches at how dilated his eyes are.
"With these," his eyes close for a minute before he opens his mouth. I feel my heart stop at how sharp his canine teeth have elongated. He quickly closes his mouth and opens his eyes, giving me a smile to show his teeth have returned to normal.
"What the..." I trail off, my hand unable to help itself, and grab his chin, forcing his mouth to open as I inspect his teeth. He laughs, and I pull back, confused. "How... How did you do that?"
"I just have to think about marking you, and they show up," he says with a chuckle, but his eyes have darkened, and his pupils are still dilated.
"So, you have to bite me?" He nods, and my hand comes up to my neck, where he touched it. "Right here?" He nods again.
"Somewhere right there, or on the other side," he smiles at me and then winks. "I'll know when we do it." My face heats up, and he laughs again at my reaction.
"Don't worry about that right now, either, okay?" I nod, and he kisses my hand. We sit in silence for a while, and it's thick with tension and expectations. I don't want him to mark me or to... Mate me. Not yet. Or maybe ever? The mere thought of him touching me sends my heart into overdrive. Imagine if he was all over me... I shake my head, standing up, thinking I need a cold shower to cool myself down.
"We can watch a movie, if you want," I say, heading for my dresser where my TV is located.
"Sure," he chuckles from the bed. I grab the remote and head back for the bed, stopping short when I see Jack laid back against the headboard. He grins at me, and I scoff at him.
"Comfortable, are we?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. He laughs and then winks.
"I'd be more comfortable with you right here," he pats the spot next to him, and my face continues to pound. I walk over to him and hesitantly lay down with him, resting my head against his chest. He wraps his arm around me and kisses my head, and I can't help but smile. I turn the TV on and scroll through Netflix, trying to find a movie.
"Anything you want to watch?" I ask, and he shrugs.
"Whatever you want," I shrug and pick a random movie, and we can't help but laugh. Legally Blonde.
"It's a classic," I say, turning my head to look up at him. He smiles, and my breath catches as he cups my chin, bringing his lips to mine. My eyes can't help but close as he kisses me slowly and passionately. My mind instantly imagines this kiss turning into something more, and I pull away heart racing. Jack looks at me, confused, but all I do is turn away and put my head back on his chest.
We watch the movie in silence, and a quarter of the way through, my eyes feel heavy. At first, I fight the drowsiness, but then I give in, the warmth and safety of Jack's arms just too good to not indulge in.
~*~
"Riley," Jack's voice is soft, and I feel him brushing the hair out of my face tenderly. "It's time to get up." I frown in my drowsy state and roll over into his chest. He chuckles and continues to pet my face. At this rate, I'm going to fall asleep again.
"I want to stay too, but Tyren is here," he whispers in my ear, making me shiver. My alertness picks up as his lips kiss my ear and then descend down, his soft butterfly kisses feeling hot against my skin. My fingers curl into his shirt as he kisses my skin a little harder. A soft gasp leaves my throat, and he pulls away sharply. I look up at him, and he has his eyes closed, and nostrils flared. After a minute, he opens his eyes, and he smiles at me.
"Come on, let's go," I nod, and we sit up. I take Jack's hand and follow him down the stairs while I rub the sleep out of my eyes.
"Thank you so much for coming, Tyren, it really means a lot to me," I hear Dad say.
"Of course, a friend of Peter's is a friend of mine," I stop myself short as I suck in a breath. Standing in my living room with my dad and Peter is a man with the whitest pair of eyes and hair I have ever seen. All three men look at me, and Jack squeezes my hand.
"It's alright, love," Tyrel chuckles. "Yes, my eyes really are this white, but I tell everyone else their contacts." He winks, and I look away, face heating with embarrassment.
"Sorry," I say, and he holds his hand out for me. I take it and am surprised by how warm his touch is.
"It's quite alright," he chuckles again. He leads me to the couch, where I sit down. Jack sits right beside me and watches the man carefully. Underneath his long white hair, I can see that his ears are pointed, just like in the movies.
"There aren't many of my kind that decide to live like this," he says, gesturing to his face. "They change their appearances so they can blend in with the humans." He picks up a purple velvet bag with gold string and digs inside before pulling out a small vile with silver liquid in it. I swallow hard, and Jack, sensing my hesitation, squeezes my hand reassuringly.
"This is harta, an elven elixir that can restore depleted magic or initiate magic use in dormant mages," Tyren explains. "It's tasteless, thank Goddess. After a millennium of producing this elixir, we were finally able to make a tasteless version." He pops off the cork and hands it to me.
"What happens after I drink it?" I ask.
"Well, if you do have dormant magic in your blood, you should start to feel an intense power start to build up in your body," he says. "And if you don't, well, nothing will happen." I nod and take a deep breath.
"It's alright, Riley," Jack says supportively from beside me. I give him a grateful smile before bringing the vile to my lips and tipping it back. The texture isn't what I thought it would be. It's thick and slides down the back of my throat. Tyren was right though, it doesn't taste like anything. I swallow the liquid and hand Tyren back the vile. I sit with Jack holding my hand and with everyone watching me. It's quiet for a full five minutes as I stay on high alert, mind on my body, and assessing it constantly trying to see any changes. My heart is racing in my chest, and I look at my dad.
"Do you feel anything?" He asks, and I shake my head. I quickly see disappointment flare in his eyes, and everyone around me relaxes.
"Well, it seems as if you don't have magic," Tyren says with a frown, and my throat tightens with my own sense of disappointment. Jack squeezes my hand, and I look at him. He gives me a reassuring smile, but I can't help but feel as if I let everyone down. Including my mother. Tyren begins to put his things back into his bag when I feel it, intense power and pressure beginning to build in my chest.
I suck in a breath as the hot pressure builds stronger in my chest, and I look at Jack, the feeling in my heart expanding and beginning to flow through my body. His eyes widen, and his jaw drops.
"Riley... Your eyes," I look at Tyren, and his eyebrows shoot up. Dad and Peter come over, their own eyes widening at my appearance.
"I haven't ever seen that before," he says, and I look at my hands as they begin to tremor. The pressure flows through my entire body, and it's so uncomfortable, I have to close my eyes. I feel nauseous, and I fight that, not wanting to throw up with everyone around me.
"Riley?" Jack takes my hand and instantly pulls his hand back, gasping in pain. My eyes snap open, and he looks at his hand as a small welt begins to form on his fingertips. "She burned me." Tyren grabs Jack's hand, looking at it intently as my hands tighten into fists.
"I... I didn't mean to," I whimper, mind swirling as my body continues to hum with an uncomfortable amount of pressure.
"It's alright, love," Tyren says reassuringly. He digs through his bag and pulls out a vile when a voice enters my mind. Heal him. Before I can stop myself, I'm reaching for Jack's injured hand. He recoils and looks at me, confused.
"Let me..." the words are a whisper on my tongue, and Jack looks at Tyren, who also looks just as confused. Jack places his hand on my lap, and I lay my hands over his. I close my eyes when I hear the voice again. Heal him, Riley. My eyes squeeze closed, and I hear Jack suck in a breath. I feel a cool wind leave my hands and onto Jack's hand. A few seconds later, I pull my hands away, and Jack looks at his fingers.
"What the..." Jack mumbles, and everyone looks at me when Tyren speaks.
"Riley," I meet his gaze. "What number am I thinking of?" I look at him confused before the voice sounds again. Concentrate on his mind. My eyes close, and I focus on Tyren's mind, thinking of all the curves and bumps of his brain before a number pops into mine.
"3," I whisper, and I open my eyes again. Tyren gapes at me before a grin spreads across his face.
"Sit on your bed without getting up," he says, and again, I'm confused by his request. But again, the voice sounds off in my mind. Think of your room and go. My eyes close, and I imagine my bed, the one I was just in as I rested my head on Jack's chest. I hear Jack yelp, and my eyes snap open. I sit up quickly, shocked to find myself and Jack back in my room. He tumbles off the bed, crashing to the floor. I immediately go to him, the pressure subsiding in my body. I hear rapid footsteps coming up the stairs, and Jack stares at me in awe.
"You..." he says, sitting up, and I smile at him. "You're a mage." I cup his cheek, and he searches my face with his stunning blue eyes.
"I guess I am."