Page 47 of Secrets and S'mores
“Ew, that’s my brother,” I reply without thinking. Both girls dissolve into giggles.
“Your brother is a total Casanova,” Marigold says with a grin.
“I’m really happy for you guys,” Hazel says, turning the conversation back to me and Onyx. I cringe under the attention, but it’s better than hearing about my brother’s romantic escapades.
“There’s just something about him I really like,” I admit. “But I don’t see how we can make it work. I don’t want to hurt him, but I’m going back to my pack soon.”
Both girls stare at me for a few seconds.
“Would you want to join our pack?” Hazel finally asks.
“I can’t,” I say. “I’ve got a responsibility as Heir, and Jasper already ran off. I’m all our pack has left.”
“You can,” Hazel says quietly, all her laughter gone. “Your pack isn’t a healthy place to be. You deserve a safe and loving home. More than just Onyx. Jasper is here. We are here.”
“But that’s the thing, if I’m Alpha, I can change my pack,” I say.
“What if Onyx went with you? We would hate to lose him, but it’s not like it’s far away.” Hazel asks. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“He has all his friends and family here. I couldn’t do that to him. My pack is a miserable place to be right now, and it could be years before that changes.” It hurts to say those thoughts out loud.
“So are you just going to be in a relationship even though you can’t be together very often?” Hazel asks. Marigold grimaces.
“I don’t know,” I say.
“Okay, this is a fun girls night and we got all serious again. Everything is going to be fine. Love conquers all obstacles,” Marigold says in a sing-song voice.
“Alright, it’s your turn then,” Hazel says with a wink.
“I don’t think Ember cares,” Marigold says.
Normally, I wouldn’t want to hear any of it, but after what I just went through, it seems fair. Narrowing my eyes at her, I say, “Actually, I’d love to hear the story.”
“Fine.” Marigold cracks her knuckles and folds her hands over her knees. “I asked to be his roommate, and we got really close.” Her tone is dreamy and I almost forget it’s my brother she’s talking about.
Hazel jumps in, “And you guys kept it all secret from us, sneaking around.”
“We hadn’t really figured it out,” Marigold shoots back.
“When was this?” I ask.
“Last year, like three or four weeks before the whole invasion thing,” Marigold says lightly. I tense at the mention of the pack conflict. It was the fight whereI lost my father and then I hurt Onyx during the following struggle.
“He took me on a date out for coffee and let me drive his car and then we made out on the side of the road,” she confesses with a manic giggle.
“You guys were ridiculous,” Hazel says, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, your first kiss with Slate was right after he tattooed you, and you didn’t even know he was a wolf,” Marigold says.
“We don’t have to talk about that,” Hazel says, wrinkling her nose. “So, Ember, what kinda of stuff do you like?”
I blink at her sudden question. “Stuff I like?”
“What are your hobbies?” Marigold adds.
“Oh, I don’t know.” I shrug. “Listening to music, I guess. And I’ve been playing Jasper’s video games that he left behind.”
“Onyx loves video games.” Hazel says.
