Page 47 of His White Moonlight
But even if that was what had happened, he needed to pull himself together because it couldn’t happen again.Imagining Mom and Dad’s various shocked reactions to learning Bennett had kissed my neck yielded the same result.They’d be furious with both of us.Probably Bennett more than me, but maybe not.After all, he was struggling for his mate, and a wolf’s mate was the end-all be-all of his existence.I was the one with the no-boys rule.
In the garage, Bennett beat me to the driver’s door and opened it for me.Once I was in, I set up the GPS on my phone to guide me to the nearest lower-class clothing store.
“Any specific destination in mind?”he asked, getting in.
“Yep.”I didn’t say where, though.If we made it there, it would probably offend his high-end tastes.
The second time driving into the city was much better than the first.The number of cars on the road didn’t seem that different, but they weren’t driving as aggressively as the commuter crowd had been.
I successfully navigated us to the first exit before things got more stressful.Knowing what lane I needed and figuring out which exit was next when they were right on top of each other wasn’t easy.
“If you miss your turn, it’s okay,” Bennett said as if reading my mind.“You can turn around and try from the other direction.”
It helped that he was calm and understanding about it because I did end up missing the turn and had to circle around.
By the time we arrived at the store I wanted, my hands were sweaty.I parked, turned off the engine, and looked at Bennett.
He was watching me.
“You amaze me, Wrenly.You were nervous, but you kept going.You always keep going, no matter how hard things get.”
I thought of school again, where I hadn’t had any choice but to keep going.Every second had been hell, and I hated that I’d had to endure it.I hated that I’d had a safe home I hadn’t been allowed to return to.I didn’t want to keep fighting through what was hard because it was expected of me.Easy sounded good.
Unfortunately, easy didn’t play with the princess card I’d been dealt.I always had to fight for everything, just like Bennett said.And I felt no pride in it.I was too tired for pride.
“Ready to shop till you drop?”I asked him.
“Ready.”
The store was bright and loud, filled with people who dressed as if they would never be able to afford a custom-made suit in their lives, and Ilovedit.Bennett stuck close to me like he had at the arcade, but he seemed fairly impassive about all the people this time.He occasionally asked why I liked a particular item or why I put an item back, but never with any tone to suggest he was impatient, only curious.
Normal clothes shopping was probably a novelty for him.It had been the same for me the first time I’d ventured out.Before that, the only clothes I’d ever owned had been given to me by Mom since as far back as I could remember.
Once I had a few pairs of shorts to try on with some spaghetti-strap tops and sports bras, I headed to the changing room.Bennett stood right outside while I did my thing.Each of the outfits showed more skin than ever before, and I felt like I lookednormalfor a change.
When I emerged once more dressed in my jeans, Bennett looked up from his phone.
“I’m all set,” I said, holding up my selections in one hand and discarding the others.
He glanced at what I put on the rack but didn’t comment as he followed me to the registers at the front.He paid for everything, which was both good and a little disappointing.It saved me money, but it also robbed me of the joy of buying my own clothes.I was smart enough to know, though, that I couldn’t draw attention to the fact that I had money they didn’t know about yet.
Bennett carried the bags out and opened the back door to put them in the car.
When I moved to get into the driver’s seat, he put his hand out and closed the door, trapping me between him and the car as he planted his other hand on the other side of me.
I stayed facing the car, unwilling to turn around.I didn’t trust what he’d do.
“Are you going to tell me how you knew how to do all of that, Wrenly?The changing room, the return rack, and removing the hangers to make checking out quicker.You haven’t been shopping for your own clothes your entire life.”
My mind raced as I struggled to find a way to explain how I knew that wasn’t the truth and wasn’t a lie.I couldn’t tell him that I’d walked through stores and watched people.He’d want to know why and, more importantly, how, since I’d been at a school with a locked-down campus.
“Talk,” he said roughly.
“I hate my life.”The words were out before I could stop them, and my eyes went wide.
I watched his hands fist against the door and felt him rest his forehead on the back of my head.
“Don’t say that,” he said, sounding strained.
