Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Tessa sat up, looked around his room again. There was his dresser, shaped exactly how she’d dreamed. And the chair he’d slept in that night, while she’d taken his bed.
“It wasn’t a dream,” she said. They’d kissed, and he’d tried to make her think it’d never happened. The dream that wasn’t a dre replayed in her mind.
His hands all over her, his lips on hers.
“Wait–hang on–you don’t like me p>
Declan’s unrepentant grin. “Aw, Gracie, come on. You can figure out werewolves, but you can’t figure this out p>
Oh god. She’d been so pathetically obsessed with the kiss that she’d forgotten what had started this all.
He was a fucking werewolf. They all were. That’s how the wolves had come from nowhere that night. That’s how Arthur had suddenly appeared, naked, in the distance. That was why nobody wanted her to know about Caitlin’s “health condition.” It was why Declan and Jess did that sniffing thing. It was why Natasha was feeding wolves at the kitchen door. And it was why the wolves came into town so often. Because they lived here.
Tessa shifted to look at him. Was she insane? She had to be. And yet… “Why did you make me think I dreamt that p>
Declan said nothing, searching her face with a pained expression.
“Please, Declan. I won’t say anything to anybody. Just tell me I’m not crazy p>
An Escaro
Chapter 56
He wouldn’t speak. Wouldn’t even look at her. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at his hands.
She got to her feet, pulling the yarn off of her arms and tossing it on
his bed. “Fine. Don’t tell me p>
She left.
Tessa stood in front of her first class the next day thinking, werewolves. Each and every one of you is a werewolf. Or we they? Linnea had said Caitlin’s “condition” ran in their fam maybe only some of the locals were werewolves. But even if were the case, the rest of them obviously knew about it. How else would the whole class have known to react to Caitlin’s episode so
immediately?
The fourteen–year–old werewolves stared back at Tessa, clearly wondering what the hell was up. She’d been silent for too long. Jarring back into motion, she cleared her throat. “Okay, so yesterday we left off with p>
Every hour, every class, she wrestled with the same negotiation between reality and logic. Werewolves. I’m teaching werewolves how to identify metaphors. Even when she was speaking to the class, a constant stream of questions was flowing through the back of her mind. How many of them were werewolves? Did they retain wolf–like qualities when in human form? More acute hearing? A craving for raw meat? She’d already seen Declan, Jess, and Elena smelling the air, and suddenly remembered Connor telling her “You smell like him.” An uncomfortable suspicion crossed her mind–could her students smell Declan on her? She’d showered this morning, so hopefully his scent was gone.
“Ms. Romano?” Mia Lance waved her hand around impatiently.
“Huh?” Tessa realized she’d zoned out again. “Sorry, I was… What’s your question, Mia p>
Chapter 56
By the end of the day, she’d mostly come to terms with it. Maybe
some of them were werewolves. Maybe all of them were. But they
were still kids. They interacted with books just like anybody else did, they liked good stories just like anybody else.
Her last class ended and Daniel Gray–possible werewolf–hung back as the rest of the students filed out. He’d finished the last book Tessa
had loaned him, and set it on her desk.
“What did you think?” she asked, turning in her chair to shelve the
book.
“It was good,” Daniel answered with his usual reserve.
“Do you want the next book in the series p>
He shrugged, which Tessa took as a no.
“Are you looking for something different, or something similar?” she asked, scanning the spines on her shelves. She’d figured out that Daniel was more likely to open up–just a little–if she wasn’t looking at him, and if the conversation remained brisk.
“I want something…” He hesitated, and Tessa resisted the urge to turn to face him. “Um… something where the parents are gone p>
She nodded casually. Her emotional–landmine radar was pinging, but she kept her focus on the book spines. “The orphan trope is pretty common in young adult fiction, I’ve got quite a few p>
“Not an orphan,” Daniel cut in. “The parents just…aren’t there p>
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