Light the Fire (Jackson's Hollow #1)

Chapter 27

When Jo finally lifted her head, she ruffled his thick fur with both hands, still amazed. "Have you always been a werewolf? This is a family thing, right?"

He nodded his head, his tail wagging back and forth. It was going to be really hard not to 'good boi' at him, but then again, he was an enormous wolf and looked nothing like a dog. He rested his chin on her legs and looked up at her with those big golden eyes, and she tried to resist playing with his ears. He might not look like a dog, but...those ears...

"You might not believe this, but I'm entirely fine with it," she said, brushing her hand over his forehead, following the pattern of his fur.

He tilted his head to the side and eyed her incredulously. Even in this form, she could tell what he was thinking, or at least that's what it felt like. Jo gently tapped him on the snout.

"Really."

Ryker huffed and lifted his head, sitting back on his haunches. Shaking himself, he peered at her, eyes questioning.

"You're not the only one with secrets, Ryker. Why do you think I came to Jackson's Hollow in the first place?"

He stood up quickly, claws scrambling on the dirt in his haste. She sat back, startled, as he restlessly paced around the clearing, coming towards her and then backing away. With a whine, he bumped his head against her shoulder and then bounded off, towards the trees.

A few moments later, Ryker reappeared as himself, wearing a different pair of jeans and holding an old worn green t-shirt in his hands. "What're you talking about?" he demanded as he stalked toward her, pulling the t-shirt on over his head. "You're not a wolf, I would've known."

"No, but I can do things," she said, wishing he didn't have a t-shirt. Standing up, she brushed the dirt and bits of grass off her clothes. "I mean, I can't turn into an animal or anything--"

As he reached her, he caught her face between his hands, his touch gentle but insistent. "Don't be confusing. And don't talk in riddles, okay? Talk plain."

Jo laughed and reached up to put her hands on top of his. "I was going to. Promise."

Ryker ran his thumbs over her skin before pulling his hands back, the fingers of one hand catching hers. He stared, caught somewhere between surprise and uncertainty. "You're sure you're okay with the werewolf thing, though?"

"Yes, definitely, " she said, "You'll just have to let me explain, all right?"

Jo ran her free hand down his chest, half in a comforting motion, half because she absolutely wasn't able to resist after the brief glimpse of abs she'd just had, on top of a revelation that he was supernatural like her, on top of an amazing kiss...her emotions were all over the place right now. But she knew she needed to get it together or this little show and tell wouldn't go the way she wanted.

Ryker captured that hand in his as well, his gaze focused on her intently--now that she knew what to look for, she could still see flecks of gold at the edge of his irises, as if his wolf-self was right at the surface.

"Okay," he said simply after a moment, breathing out. "Sorry, I'm just...well, trying not to question too much the fact that you aren't running away from me right now."

Jo grinned, and she knew it looked a little goofy, but that was because she was practically giddy at the anticipation of finally sharing her secret. "I'm not going anywhere," she murmured. She pulled her hand away to place it on his cheek instead, then stood on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his mouth before stepping back. "Well, not far," she added mischievously.

Looking confused, Ryker moved to step with her, but she pulled away and held up a hand, shaking her head. "Better stay there, just in case. Easiest to show you, I think." Just like he'd shown her.

Ryker didn't know it, but he'd brought her to the perfect place for this. Jo paused at the edge of the pond to pull off her boots and socks before sitting on one of the large rocks jutting out of water. She dangled her feet in, letting the cool water kiss her ankles.

Jo angled herself so she could see Ryker, giving him a reassuring half-smile despite the nerves starting to twist her gut. Jo didn't know if this would actually work, but the water somehow made her feel safer--if she started burning up too fast, well, she could always throw herself into the pond before she hurt him.

"I've never really done this on purpose, so give me a minute," she said, closing her eyes.

Normally anger and fear triggered the flames, but she found it hard to pull those feelings to the surface with her current happiness. So after a moment of hesitation she dug deeper, back to the darkest night of her life.

Back when she discovered everything.

The man, at the end of the alley, blocking her only escape.

His hands, his face, too close, too close...touching her, laughing at her. Everything was in shadows, all she could see was the bleak hunger in his eyes.

Then, his eyes. His eyes widening. The spark of alarm in them. The screams. Her anger. The fire warm, bright, devouring...

"Jo!"

Her eyes flew open to meet Ryker's panicked gaze, and she didn't even have to ask why. Flames were licking up her arms, tingling as they grew higher, searching for fuel.

"Stay back!" she called out wildly, warning him as her heart seemed to jump in her throat. Jo would seriously throw herself in the pond if he stepped a foot closer. She wasn't taking any chances. But she was going to have to calm herself down somehow before he did try something, because it looked like he was a second away from trying to run forward and save her.

"What the hell!"

"It's okay, I've got it!" Did she? Um... Jo focused on the flames, trying to calm them down, to put them out.

Ryker's hands curled into fists as he watched her with wide eyes that held both fear and anger. "Cut it out! I've seen it!"

"I'm working on it, stop yelling at me." Taking a deep breath, Jo managed to quell the fire, lowering the flickering flames until they extinguished without smoke.

Ryker growled. "Can I come over there now?"

"Y-yeah," Jo said, pulling her feet out of the water. "But see why I had to show you?"

He was at her side almost instantly, fast enough that she could tell he was a lot faster than your average college student. He didn't seem to be hiding anything from her now. Sweeping her up, he picked her up off the boulder and set her on the ground. He held her arm out and turned it over, frowning at her. "You're not burned?"

She grinned. "No, I think I'm fireproof."

Ryker gently squeezed her wrist, letting out a long sigh. "That was dramatic, Jo."

"No more than yours," she said, shrugging, "And now you know why I wasn't super surprised."

"All right...but I'm going to need more explanation than that."

"Mmm." Jo nodded. "All right, but first I need some water."

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A/N: Thanks for all the comments and views and everything! The next update will be one week from today!