Mated to a Human

☽ 36 ☾

A hand rubs my upper arm as I lie in the plush, warm bed of one of Norwood House's many guest rooms. My body which ached and cramped and cried so tumultuously last night is in no hurry to wake up and get going, but my brain leaps ahead. I turn onto my back and see Harvey bent over me, standing on the side of the bed; his stroking hand pauses. My head just as quickly snaps to the opposite side where Harper is supposed to be sleeping, but she's no longer there.

"Where—"

"She's alright," Harvey says, stepping back as I push to sit up.

Sunlight comes scarcely through the curtains which haven't been closed all the way. The room is bare of any personal belongings or decorations; all that fills it is the same vintage, heavy-looking furniture that seems to frequent every other room of the house.

I rest against the thick wood headboard. "Where is she?"

"Downstairs."

I comb my hair back with my fingers and look around myself, knowing something else is missing. "I-I need my phone."

Harvey reaches into his back pocket and hands over my phone. "It was in my truck. I charged it for you."

My phone screen illuminates with a missed call and text message from my mom. The text was sent an hour ago and asks if I'll be home to drive Perry to piano. There's also a text from Abby saying she's heard what happened and asking if I'm alright, if I need anything.

"How are you feeling?" Harvey asks, sitting on the side of the bed next to my outstretched legs.

I look up from my phone. "Honestly...I don't know how to feel. I-I'm scared. I'm scared of what I saw, what happened to Harper, what that vampire bitch is capable of. God," I run a hand through my hair, finding quite a few knots, "it was too much...I..."

Harvey rubs my thigh, back and forth. "I know. I'm sorry, Mia. I'm sorry for all of it; you should have never been involved in something like this. I never thought this would happen, and Harper being dragged into it..." He shakes his head. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What? You said Harper's fine. She is, isn't she? What's she—"

"Harper's okay, it's just...she knows everything."

"What do you mean? She remembers a vampire attacked her?" I cast my phone to the duvet and lift the covers to go find her, but Harvey pins the blanket down by sitting where he is.

Harvey's expression starts to read more regretful than concerned. "She knows about werewolves — that I'm one, that there's a pack of us here in Black Lake, that you and I are soulmates, that she was attacked by a vampire and saved by us—"

"I-I don't... Jane told her?"

"No."

Restless, I struggle over what to ask first. "Who? How? Harvey, why does she know we—"

"She's sitting downstairs with—"

"Did you tell her?" I accuse.

"Alo told her. She's with him now."

I stare at him. "What are you talking about? Why is she with him? Why is he telling her anything?" My voice grows louder with each pointed question.

"I went to your house and cleaned everything up, came back and she was still with you in bed, so I went to lie down, but when I got up a couple of hours later, I found her downstairs talking to Alo who must have let himself in to check on things," Harvey explains maintaining his composure much better than me. "It quickly became clear how much she now knows, and Alo admitted to telling—"