Wolfskin *ON HOLD*

nine | believer

nine
b e l i e v e r

I sat on the edge of the sidewalk, at the crossroads, fiddling with my laces. Kaden's reply had been almost instant:

Where shall I pick you up?

And so that was that. I was going on a date with a suspected werewolf. What could possible go wrong? Oh right, yeah, everything. My stomach was tied in knots so tight I wasn't sure they'd ever come undone, even by the truth.

The truth. I gulped down the fear in my throat. Was I ready to hear the truth? To be pronounced sane or absolutely off my rocker? No, a part of my whispered. Never. It's nice here, buried in the sand. Safe. Let's stay. My sanity wholeheartedly disagreed and instead was determinedly trying to shovel away the grit from my eyes. So I could get on with life knowing the truth.

If he even tells the truth, that is.

An engine sounded in the silence before a dark green Land Rover came into view. It drew to a steady stop beside me. The window rolled down to reveal a grinning Kaden.

"Hey."

My heart fluttered: traitor. "Hi."

"So, a bad girl, huh?"

I raised my eyebrows, dusting myself off as I stood. I could do this. "What, me?" I scoffed. "Nope."

He reached across to open to door. "More of a...damsel in distress?"

I gripped the handle and opened the door wider before hauling myself into the seat. "Ugh, no. Try...normal teenage girl?"

He smirked and muttered under his breath as he twisted the truck into a sharp U-turn.

I rolled my eyes. "It's rude to whisper, y'know."

He flicked his gaze to mine and grinned. "I know."

I shook my head. "So you're deliberately bad mannered?"

"Only to girls I like," He murmured.

I scoffed, but it didn't stop the treacherous butterflies fluttering. "This isn't middle school anymore."

"And yet my charms still work?"

I shook my head, but I couldn't help but return his smile. How could he be a werewolf? A kind-of-cocky boy who liked to flirt: in my mind that didn't exactly scream predator. My face felt warm and I had no doubt my cheeks would be tinged pink. I'd forgotten what it was like flirting. Nate and I...he liked to flirt with other girls, while I was deemed untouchable by guys. Like property.

"Not to kill the mood, but why're you skipping?"

I flicked my eyes to his. My sanity screamed at me to ask him, but my common sense made me hesitate. If I was wrong then I'd be labelled crazy and he'd never speak to me again. It couldn't hurt to just enjoy the date first, right? Then ask it later, when the time was right?

"Just...uh, can't deal right now," I said, shrugging.

His piercing eyes captured mine, revealing emotions that couldn't be spoken. He understood, that much was sure. The rest were too intense and I was forced to look away before I read too much into them.

There was silence, before he leaned forward to turn the radio on. Harsh rapping blasted out in a string of curse words.

Kaden winced, switching it off. "Sorry. Forgot one of my annoying cousins fiddled with the radio and managed to fix it on that." He signalled to the middle console, which resembled an aircraft. "You're welcome to try and change it."