Goldilocks (16 page)

“Okay…” Hannah took the set grim line of his mouth as a refusal to answer. “Something easier… How did you get your name? And how exactly do you shift? Does your father and mother walk around as humans all the time too? Are you immortal? Where…”

“Enough!” Jake laughed despite the anger that had sparked inside of him at her audacity.

“Show me,” Hannah whispered, her breath holding when he froze, his head already slowly shaking.

“Show you…?” he nearly choked on the words, his curled fists tight against his sides as he met her stare.

“I want to see it. Right now. Right here. When I’m not running for my life. Shift. Show me.”

**********

It was a request that he would have never expected from her. It was something he’d never even wanted her to see. It was his true nature yes, but he didn’t want her to look at him as an animal. He’d never felt more human as he did right now, and he didn’t want to ruin it by scaring her like he knew he would.

“No,” he answered quietly, his jaw tightening as a hurt look crossed her face.

He’d answer every question that she had, but he wasn’t ready to share this part of himself, not yet.

“I don’t want you to see me like that,” he tried for honesty, hoping that she wouldn’t make him explain further.

“It’s not something to be embarrassed about Jake,” Hannah shook her head, reaching for his hand. “Do you know how incredibly unique you are. You’re the most amazing person that I’ve met, and will probably ever meet in my lifetime. I would never laugh at you, or…”

“I’m not worried about you laughing,” Jake squeezed her fingers lightly before pulling away. “I’m worried about scaring the living…”

“I’m not scared of you,” Hannah stopped him, jerking her thumb behind her in the direction of the cabin. “I’m scared of what’s happening in that mine. I’m scared of what’s going to happen to all the people of Hinsdale and Lake City when the wolves become too much for you and your father to handle. I want to help, and this is the first time that...” Hannah’s words stopped short, the ache in her chest from her mother’s death keeping her from continuing. She wasn’t ready to tell him about her past. “Maybe it’s time for your secrets not to be so secret anymore,” she whispered, stepping forward to catch his chin, just as he tried to look away.

The
warm sable coloring of his eyes had darkened to almost black, uncertainty and doubt meeting her earnest stare as he let her turn his face back to hers.

“I’m not like any other human that you’ve met Jake,” Hannah smiled slowly, letting her fingers grazed the fine stubble on his cheek. “I wouldn’t change you for the world…
But
…” she added quickly when he started to shake his head. “I
would
change the world for you, if you’d just let me. These woods don’t have to be your life. You said it yourself. There could be a way.”

“Maybe,” Jake murmured, his thoughts clouded as his skin warmed under her touch.

He couldn’t concentrate with her so near, and he could once again hear her thoughts even before she spoke them. She was telling the truth. She wasn’t afraid of him, and she thought he was…beautiful.

He almost laughed at the word that floated through her mind to connect with him. He saw her memories of the attack on the ridge. He felt the fear that had pounded in her chest, and then the awe when he’d shifted in front of her. She’d been afraid
for
him, not afraid
of
him.

It was happening without him consciously thinking it, his feet moving him back and away from her to give room to the expanding girth he knew would come. Shaggy brown hair grew from every follicle on his body, covering his legs, chest and arms in no time. His fingers spread as his palms thickened, razor sha
rp claws pointed downward as they slid free of his now hidden tips. He watched her face as his own changed, his nose and mouth elongating into a snout that barred bone crushing teeth meant only for harm.

The moss green of her eyes seemed to brighten, widening as her gaze lifted with the sudden height he gained on just his hind legs.
On all fours he would have still towered over her, but now he felt like he was looking down at a doll, her frailty even more obvious from his creation state. She was no match for a wolf that was almost his size, and had at least his amount of strength.

He lowered slowly, his head bowed slightly as his front paws touched just inches from her bare feet. He could hear her inside his head now, her
intrigue more palpable than the ground beneath him. She wanted to touch him, he realized just as she did, the tips of her fingers lifting his muzzle, just as she had his chin. He was violating her privacy by listening to her thoughts, but he didn’t know how to stop it. He didn’t even know why it was happening. She was praying that he wouldn’t resent her, and he wanted to tell her that there was no way he could. He’d shown her because he wanted to, not because she’d made him.

I can hear you…
Jake tried willing the thought forward, his eyes meeting hers as they searched his in surprise.

“Did you just…?” Hannah let the question trail off, shaking her head at the soft vibration she suddenly felt.

It’s something my parents and I can do,
Jake explained, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
We talk to each other this way, mainly for discretion, but we can communicate even when we’re far away from each other so I guess with no pockets for cell phones…it’s just easier,
he shrugged.

He could tell she saw the smile in his eyes when her lips turned
up into a smile too, her fingertips rising to her temple in question.

You’re the only human that I’ve ever been able to hear or speak to this way,
Jake admitted with a shake of his head.
I truly don’t know why, and as far as I know, my parents have never been able to either. That connection that you asked about…
he paused, glad that she couldn’t see the blush that seemed to be creeping over his entire body.
I’ve never felt that either and I don’t know why it’s that way with you. Something about you…
He stopped, his ears suddenly alert.

He’d been so focused on Hannah that he hadn’t been paying attention to the sounds of the woods, like he normal
ly did. A vehicle was nearing the cabin, pop music filling his ears.

Hannah heard it too, spin
ning around, just as a grey SUV pulled into the spot ‘Big Red’ normally rested in.

“Oh no! Beth and Lindsey! I forgot! They…”

“HANNAH!!!!!!!!”

Beth’s piercing scream matched Lindsey’s as
they both scrambled from the truck, their arms waving frantically.

“RUN HANNAH RUN! IT’S A BEAR!”

Go!
Jake growled low in his throat, nudging Hannah in the side, so that she was jolted out of her shock.

She was moving before he’d spun on his heel, her locks streaming behind her as she pretended to run for her life.

I’m not done with you!
Jake heard her thought just as he disappeared over the first hill.

Later…
he laughed in response, letting loose a roar loud enough for Lindsey and Beth to hear.

Stay out of the woods,
he added, his thoughts flashing back to their agreement.

He wouldn’t see her hurt; not now, not ever. And even though the internal connection was suddenly severed, he still heard her last whispered word to him, leaving him at peace for the moment.

“Promise.”

Chapter 20:

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m calling my dad right now! He’s on the hunt patrol;
they’ll be out here in no time, just…”

“NO!” Hannah shouted louder than she’d intended, snatching Lindsey’s cell phone from her hand before she could press the call button.

She could only imagine how she must look, her morning bed hair wild about her head, sheer panic on her face as she looked from one girl to the other. She had to think fast. Beth was checking her over for injuries, while Lindsey was shaking her head in disbelief and still pointing up into the woods.

“I know this is going to sound crazy,” Hannah gulped a breath of air to ease the pinch in her side from the sudden sprint she’d just taken. “He’s…IT’s!” she corrected quickly. “
Not dangerous,” she shook her head at Beth’s incredulous look, grabbing both of their wrists so that their attention was on her completely. “That bear is friendly I swear. It comes down from the woods to eat the vegetables in the garden. I was just following it up the trail to see which…”

“Are you crazy?!” Lindsey snapped,
jerking her arm from Hannah’s grasp, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Did you see the size of that thing? I’ve never in my life!”

“It’s probably really old; I hear they can get pretty big,
” Beth finally said, shrugging her shoulders as nonchalantly as she could. “Probably harmless,” she added, noticing the pleading look in Hannah’s eyes.

“The both of you are insane. That thing was towering over you. Well over what…eight or nine feet, maybe more! Bunnies are harmless, not bears! That thing could have snapped your head off in a split second and…”

“Lindsey please!” Hannah interrupted her, sighing as she let part of the truth slip. “My father told me to stay out of the woods. If he finds out I was anywhere near the woods, he won’t let me be on the cross country team anymore.”

“So he knows about the bear then?” Lindsey asked, barely able to contain her smile as Hannah’s confession processed.

“Why else would he tell her to stay out of the woods?” Beth snapped, rolling her eyes as she linked her arm through Hannah’s. “We’re not going to say anything,
are we
?” Beth looked pointedly at Lindsey before pulling Hannah towards the house.

“I didn’t say that I wasn’t… Someone needs to know about it. What if…”

“What if I told
your
father about that weekend before school started, when you…”

“You wouldn’t!” Lindsey stopped Beth, her che
eks reddening when the stares were directed at her now.

Hannah’s brows lifted as she looked over her shoulder from Lindsey and
then to Beth, wondering what kind of secret could change Lindsey’s mind so fast. Hannah being taken off the cross country team would be a golden prize for Lindsey, but the tight lipped grimace Lindsey wore as she marched past them up the front porch stairs of the cabin said that she wouldn’t be claiming that prize anytime soon.

“I brought everything we could possibly need for mani-pedis,” Beth changed the subject, giving Hannah a wink as she followed Lindsey through the open door.

“Just what I needed,” Hannah forced a smile, pushing Jake from her thoughts for the moment.

She could feel Lindsey watching her as she moved about her tiny kitchen, grabbing saucers and napkins for the cup
cakes before switching on the radio. It wasn’t the best reception, but it instantly eased the awkward silence that had settled between them, putting a smile on Beth’s face as she hummed along to the popular tune.

Hanna
h joined in, swinging her hips in time to the music, a real smile tugging her lips into a grin as she thought about what Monday would bring. She felt honored to be trusted with such a secret, and couldn’t wait to have the rest of her questions answered. But first she had to get through the rest of the weekend.

**********

Hey Goldilocks…

Hannah’s breath caught, her spine stiffening as Jake
’s voice whispered softly inside her head. Her left side was suddenly enveloped in warmth as he slipped into the chair beside her, his head ducking to avoid Mr. Goodall’s disapproving glance. The bell had rung almost five minute ago, clenching Hannah’s heart in her chest as she’d watched the seconds tick by with no Jake.

“You’re always late,” she hissed out between gritted teeth, her eyes still fixed to the front of the room. “And don’t do that. It feels weird,” Hannah added, shaking her head at the slight pressure his words had left behind.

Does it hurt you?
Jake asked, his tone concerned as he glanced at her and then back to the front.

“No…” Hannah breathed out and then paused, pretending to jot down a few notes as the teacher made his way down their aisle.

I would never hurt you Hannah… You know that right?
Jake swallowed hard, the tenseness in his frame betraying the nonchalant slouch he’d taken in the chair beside her.

She could only nod, her eyes downcast as his voice took over her head,
numbing every thought and sound until she heard him and only him. Gone was the background noise her brain processed without her thinking about it, Mr. Goodall’s lecture mute as he made his way back up their aisle to the front. Heat filled her cheeks at the intimacy it brought between her and Jake, her mind flickering to the dream she’d had of them in the woods, his arms around her, his lips…

Try it.
Talk to me…
Jake’s voice interrupted the memory, causing her gaze to slip to his for a moment, uncertain of what he meant.

Just…think it,
he encouraged, his brow lifting as she shook her head slowly, her attention back on the scribble she’d written in the notepad in front of her.

I have so many questions…
Hannah forced her lips not to move, the thought trailing off as she heard his heavy sigh with her ears and not her mind.

The less you know…
Jake finally responded, his hand slipping below the table they shared to grasp hers.

Yo
u promised,
Hannah insisted, bristling at the invisible wall she felt around the subject of him.

There’s nothing that you can do.

But maybe I can.

That’s exactly why I shouldn’t tell you anything else. This isn’t your…

My what? My concern…? My town…? My life…?
“My father…?!”  Hannah’s voice broke free above Mr. Goodall’s lecture, her hand clamping over her mouth as the entire class turned to glance at her and snicker.

“Ms. Ad
ler, in order for your father to have been involved in the Sweatt v. Painter ruling, he would have had to have sat on the Supreme Court at the time, and I highly doubt that was possible,” Mr. Goodall frowned, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on Hannah’s shrinking figure. “This is government, not drama; please refrain from making jokes in this class.”

Ouch!
Jake’s voice hissed inside Hannah’s head, a grimace on his face as he reached for his pulsing ankle.

That was for making me talk out loud!
Hannah snapped, her head now bent so that her hair hid her face from the incredulous look he directed at her.

We should talk later…

No! I won’t see you later! I have practice, and my father will be home…

Can you get out of the house?

Maybe; If he’s sleep…
Hannah turned her head slightly, her cheeks warming at the thought of a secret meeting with Jake.

Wait up for me?
He asked, his hand once again closing around hers with a squeeze.

She could only nod as heat seemed to consume her arm, melting her shoulder and loosening every muscle she had on the left side of her body. It was more than just attraction; there was a pull between
them. It was almost as physical as it was emotional and they both felt it. Like they were somehow meant to meet, and now that they had, they just needed to figure out why.