Magic of the Moonlight
ONE
a werewolf among us
It was official. I was in love with a werewolf.
As extraordinary as that sounded, I was coming to terms with the fact that my heart and soul had been taken by Brandon Maddox. He was a hot and handsome Westsider in a town that favored the east, and under the glow of a full moon he would turn into a creature of the moonlight.
It was several days since I’d first kissed Brandon in his werewolf form. The kiss was breathtaking and magical and I couldn’t think of anything else. The March weather was still cool and crisp, and I was heading from the school library over to the gym after school to meet my best friends, Ivy and Abby, who were watching their boyfriends, Dylan and Jake, and my former boyfriend, Nash, at basketball practice. I must have been smiling, still thinking about Brandon’s lips, when I caught up to the girls sitting on the bleachers.
“You are back together!” Ivy said. “For good this time!”
“Back together with who?” I asked. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Ivy pulled a face. “Don’t be sneaky. With Nash, silly!”
The whistle blew and the guys headed to the fountain for water.
I thought this was the perfect time to confess to my closest friends about my relationship with Brandon. I hadn’t told them before for several reasons. One, he was from the wrong side of town and, therefore, an outsider, and two, they thought it was cool that we three best friends were dating guys who were also best friends. And since I had crushed out on Nash for a long time, I knew I’d been lucky to go out with him. The only problem was that there was something missing between us, and that something—love—I’d seemed to find with Brandon Maddox.
Since Brandon had found Abby’s missing dog, an act that had obviously gotten him on Abby’s good side, I was hoping my friends might be receptive to my confession about dating the transfer student. Ready to break the news, I leaned in close to my friends when two strong hands grabbed my shoulders. I noticed a familiar class ring glistening against my pale pink sweater. It was the ring my former boyfriend Nash had worn since freshman year—the one he recently tried to give me, and the one I had seen on the hand holding a flashlight when I was in the woods with Brandon as he changed into a werewolf.
“And here he is,” Ivy said as the guys joined us on the bleachers. “Your boyfriend.”
“I was telling them before practice about how we got back together,” Nash said, scooting in next to me, hot and sweaty from practice. “Officially.”
Nash was gorgeous. His chin was rugged and his perfect complexion radiated. His sandy hair was messy in a good way. He had the kind of smile that made a girl want to kiss him, and eyes that let on that many had.
“But that’s not—” I began, but Nash put his finger over my lips.
“I was telling them that you saw the error of your ways,” he said smoothly. “And under the moonlight, with the full moon glowing, that something changed drastically.” He shot me an all-knowing glance.
“So now we’ll continue to be a happy sixsome,” Ivy said. “Forever.”
My stomach turned. I wanted to tell Ivy that I was in love with Brandon. But with Nash alluding to Brandon’s changing into a werewolf, it would have to wait. It was one thing to get them to accept me dating a Westsider, but I couldn’t imagine what they’d say to my dating a werewolf. We grabbed our things, and the guys began escorting us to the gymnasium exit.
I hung back and signaled Nash to do the same. Ivy and Abby winked as if they expected I was requesting canoodling time from him.#p#分页标题#e#
“This is how you want us to get back together?” I asked quietly when the rest were out of earshot. “By extorting me? You’ll tell them about Brandon if I don’t pretend you and I have reunited?”
“It’s for your own safety,” he said. “You know what I saw. As if it’s not enough that he’s from the Westside—I saw what happened!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“I was there, Celeste. I’m doing this for your own good. A werewolf in this town wouldn’t go over very well. I could have him locked up in a nuthouse.”
“Shh!” I scolded. “He’s not a nut!”
“There is something wrong with that dude! I can’t believe you like him,” he said fervently. Then his eyes softened. “I can’t stand by and watch you hanging out with a monster, Celeste. What would you do in my situation? I don’t want him to hurt you. Don’t you understand?”
a werewolf among us
It was official. I was in love with a werewolf.
As extraordinary as that sounded, I was coming to terms with the fact that my heart and soul had been taken by Brandon Maddox. He was a hot and handsome Westsider in a town that favored the east, and under the glow of a full moon he would turn into a creature of the moonlight.
It was several days since I’d first kissed Brandon in his werewolf form. The kiss was breathtaking and magical and I couldn’t think of anything else. The March weather was still cool and crisp, and I was heading from the school library over to the gym after school to meet my best friends, Ivy and Abby, who were watching their boyfriends, Dylan and Jake, and my former boyfriend, Nash, at basketball practice. I must have been smiling, still thinking about Brandon’s lips, when I caught up to the girls sitting on the bleachers.
“You are back together!” Ivy said. “For good this time!”
“Back together with who?” I asked. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Ivy pulled a face. “Don’t be sneaky. With Nash, silly!”
The whistle blew and the guys headed to the fountain for water.
I thought this was the perfect time to confess to my closest friends about my relationship with Brandon. I hadn’t told them before for several reasons. One, he was from the wrong side of town and, therefore, an outsider, and two, they thought it was cool that we three best friends were dating guys who were also best friends. And since I had crushed out on Nash for a long time, I knew I’d been lucky to go out with him. The only problem was that there was something missing between us, and that something—love—I’d seemed to find with Brandon Maddox.
Since Brandon had found Abby’s missing dog, an act that had obviously gotten him on Abby’s good side, I was hoping my friends might be receptive to my confession about dating the transfer student. Ready to break the news, I leaned in close to my friends when two strong hands grabbed my shoulders. I noticed a familiar class ring glistening against my pale pink sweater. It was the ring my former boyfriend Nash had worn since freshman year—the one he recently tried to give me, and the one I had seen on the hand holding a flashlight when I was in the woods with Brandon as he changed into a werewolf.
“And here he is,” Ivy said as the guys joined us on the bleachers. “Your boyfriend.”
“I was telling them before practice about how we got back together,” Nash said, scooting in next to me, hot and sweaty from practice. “Officially.”
Nash was gorgeous. His chin was rugged and his perfect complexion radiated. His sandy hair was messy in a good way. He had the kind of smile that made a girl want to kiss him, and eyes that let on that many had.
“But that’s not—” I began, but Nash put his finger over my lips.
“I was telling them that you saw the error of your ways,” he said smoothly. “And under the moonlight, with the full moon glowing, that something changed drastically.” He shot me an all-knowing glance.
“So now we’ll continue to be a happy sixsome,” Ivy said. “Forever.”
My stomach turned. I wanted to tell Ivy that I was in love with Brandon. But with Nash alluding to Brandon’s changing into a werewolf, it would have to wait. It was one thing to get them to accept me dating a Westsider, but I couldn’t imagine what they’d say to my dating a werewolf. We grabbed our things, and the guys began escorting us to the gymnasium exit.
I hung back and signaled Nash to do the same. Ivy and Abby winked as if they expected I was requesting canoodling time from him.#p#分页标题#e#
“This is how you want us to get back together?” I asked quietly when the rest were out of earshot. “By extorting me? You’ll tell them about Brandon if I don’t pretend you and I have reunited?”
“It’s for your own safety,” he said. “You know what I saw. As if it’s not enough that he’s from the Westside—I saw what happened!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“I was there, Celeste. I’m doing this for your own good. A werewolf in this town wouldn’t go over very well. I could have him locked up in a nuthouse.”
“Shh!” I scolded. “He’s not a nut!”
“There is something wrong with that dude! I can’t believe you like him,” he said fervently. Then his eyes softened. “I can’t stand by and watch you hanging out with a monster, Celeste. What would you do in my situation? I don’t want him to hurt you. Don’t you understand?”