Chapter 128

“What the hell was that?” he said, his face slightly red with anger. I flinched away from him, and his gaze instantly softened. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He turned away and ran his hands through his hair. “Why am I here Celeste?”

I took a step toward him but stopped myself from reaching out. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you here. I just thought…” I trailed off and bit my lip. He was going to be so mad at me. The thought of it made me feel a little queasy.

He turned to look at me. “You thought what?” I could tell he was still upset, but he was trying not to seem angry. The muscles in his face were tense, and he had his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he leaned toward me.

“I thought if I could just get you guys together, you’d be friends again.”

He gave me an incredulous look.

“I know it’s stupid,” I said, looking down at my hands. “I just hate that I’m the reason you guys aren’t friends anymore.”

He reached for me, putting his palm gently against my cheek. “Look at me.”

I dragged my eyes to his face. Now he just looked sad. “Not everything is your fault.”

“This is.”

“You can’t put this on yourself. Just like you can’t fix our friendship all by yourself.” He shook his head. “You manipulated me to get me here.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

His hand fell to his side, and he took a step away from me. He turned to look around at my room, his eyes trailing over the desk, the slightly rumbled bed, and the small stack of books on my bedside table. I’d cleaned it earlier just in case we ended up here.

“That’s a nice picture,” Matt said, walking over to my desk. There was a picture of Fiona and me at our high school graduation. We had our arms around each other's shoulders, gowns on and caps on our heads. Both of us were laughing.

“Yeah.”

He sighed, still looking at the photograph. “I know you meant well. There’s just more going on. Jack and I aren’t going to see eye to eye.”

“Why did he say that about the wolves? Was he there when you got hurt?”

Matt sighed and looked at the bed. “We should maybe sit down.”

I sat down on the edge of the mattress, and Matt perched beside me. “Jack knows about me. I had to shift in front of him.”

“Oh…”

“He hates werewolves. Your whole family does.”

“If you can call them that,” I muttered, thinking of the extended family that I’d never met and only just found out I had. For everything I’d heard, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to meet them. “But that doesn’t explain the other night.”

“I can’t tell you everything,” he said. “Some secrets aren’t mine to tell.”

I nodded.

“I was out there because it’s part of my duties. I’m part of a group. We call ourselves Peacekeepers.” He gave me a semi-ironic smile. “There’s been conflict between humans and wolves before. There was a war a few years ago against the Crescent Wolves. We’ve been trying to maintain peace since then.”

“But something’s been happening?” I guessed.

He nodded. “You saw one the night of the party.”

“The wolf?”

“We call them rogues. The Crescents used to make them during the war. They’re not born as wolves like I was. They’re created. They’re volatile and dangerous.”

A shiver ran down my spine. I’d been so close to one that night. Anything could have happened.

“We have an antidote. A way to help them, but we’ve been finding more and more in the past few months. That’s partly why it’s not safe for you to walk around by yourself.”

“And you were hunting one of these down the other night?”

“I was. Me and a few other Peacekeepers.” I knew better than to ask who he was with. I had a feeling that was the secret he couldn’t tell. “The rogue was bigger than I expected. The strongest one we’ve come across so far. It took two of us to take it down, and I got injured in the process.”

“But how did Jack know?”

“He must have been following me.” Matt shook his head. “I should have been more careful. The rogue distracted me.”

“And Jack knows about this stuff?”

Matt nodded. “He knows about the war and about the rogues. Your family hunts wolves and experiments on them. I have a bad feeling about all this.” He ran his fingers through his hair again, revealing his agitation. “Jack wouldn’t follow me just for fun. The Schreibers are trying to find out who the other wolves in town are.”

Matt pulled his phone out and sent a couple of quick texts.

“This is a lot,” I said, rubbing my forehead. I knew some information already from the meeting with my father, but there was still so much I didn’t know. It was clear I had some role in all of this, but I didn’t know what. Was Jack shielding me from the rest of the family because they were that awful, or for another reason?

“I just can’t imagine Jack hating you just because you’re a werewolf,” I said. “It doesn’t change who you are as a person.”

Matt put his phone back in his pocket and gave me a sad smile. “The hatred runs deep, unfortunately. It’s how the Schreiber’s are raised.”

“Then I’m glad they didn’t raise me.”

“I’m starting to worry that another war isn’t far off.”

I gave him a worried look. “And you’ll be in the middle of it.”

He just shrugged. “That’s my job.”

The thought made me feel a little sick. He noticed the look on my face and leaned in until our noses were nearly touching. “I like that you worry about me,” he said.

Then he kissed me, his lips soft. The kiss was slow at first, but it quickly descended into something frantic. We kissed each other like it might be the last time. Even if we had years together, I didn’t plan on taking any of it for granted. The thought of war made me feel almost frantic. Matt’s tongue swept across mine, and I groaned low in my throat. He smiled against my mouth, his hands quickly finding the sides of my face. His other hand trailed down my side.

I tilted my head and kissed a path down his neck. He shivered and pulled me closer, his hot breath on my neck.

“I love you,” he murmured into my hot skin.

I tugged at the hem of his shirt, and he leaned back to pull it over his head. The minute his chest was bare, I leaned forward to trail kisses along his collarbone and across his chest. He shivered again, his broad hand coming to rest against the back of my neck.

“Can I take your shirt off?” he asked, sounding a little breathless.

I looked up at him and nodded. He pushed my hoodie off my shoulders, then got my tank top up over my head. I took the opportunity to take off my bra too, and he immediately leaned down to kiss my bare breasts. The feel of his tongue on my nipple sends a rush of heat to my core. I grabbed on his hair, and he groaned as I tugged on it.

He sat back up, looking deeply into my eyes. “I’m not ready,” I admitted.

“We’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said.

“Maybe we could do what we did in the bathtub,” I suggested, biting my lip.

He grinned. “I made quite the impression, didn’t I?”

“I guess,” I said, trying to be nonchalant. His palm scraping over my breast made my breath hitch, ruining the effect.

He leaned forward, and I followed him until I was lying down beneath him. His eyes scraped over my bare skin, coming to rest on my face. “Beautiful,” he said.

I sat up a little, and he seemed to know what I wanted. His mouth met mine in a heated kiss.

“I’m suddenly glad you invited me to the party,” he said against my lips.

I couldn’t help but laugh.