When Robyn gets stranded in the woods one day with none other than her high-school crush, the last thing on her mind is coming face-to-face with who he might be beneath the skin.
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For two years Robyn Hale successfully managed to hide her inexpli...
Andrew's head throbbed, even with the cold pack pressed against it. He was sprawled on a couch, in pain and barely able to keep his eyes open. His ribs felt like they would explode out of his body every time he took a deep breath.
"Here," Laila rushed into the living room with a mug of liquid in her hand.
Her voice seemed as if it were coming from a distance. She knelt beside him and supported his lolling head with one hand. With the other hand, she gave him the liquid to drink. It was minty and surprisingly cooling.
"I'm sorry," she said, keeping the empty mug on the coffee table next to her, "you'll feel better soon."
Andrew wanted to say thank you, but his tongue felt like dead weight in his mouth. He knew he was in for a challenge when he came to see her, but never had he expected Laila to react in such a way. Before he could even enter the house, somehow, she had known what he was.
In another minute, the potion she gave him started taking effect. The pain in his head subsided little by little. Andrew relaxed his shoulders, realizing only then how tight his muscles had clenched against the pain.
Laila must have noticed him relax because she, too, dropped her shoulders and sighed in relief.
After another minute, he gasped out "how did you know?"
"I put a spell on this house," she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a bracelet, "it tells me when a werewolf is near."
"So, you knew Ray's true identity?"
"He's the only exception, I don't know why my spell and bracelet didn't work on him. I never knew he is also a werewolf."
Andrew looked at her bracelet.
"Where did you get that?"
A sudden wave of sentiment overtook Laila. She caressed the bracelet as if it were a loved one.
"Robyn's mother and I, we made it together."
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Ray parked Nick's car next to the white SUV and got out. He put an arm around Robyn and led her to the door. The doorbell rang out, but apart from that Ray couldn't hear anything else. Then he heard footsteps approach the door.
Laila's usual welcoming demeanour was replaced by a solemn expression.
"Is everything okay?" the words impulsively left his lips.
She didn't seem to register his voice. Then Robyn stepped out from behind him, and it was as if life had seeped back into her eyes.
"All is okay," she said and held the door open for them to enter.
"Do we have a visitor?" he heard Robyn ask her mother still in the doorway, but he could already smell Andrew's scent strong in the air.
He went into the living room, and found his dad gingerly propped against the arm of the couch.
