Page 45 of Secrets & Sake

I shove the bastard and he takes off running, disappearing into the dark. He screams within the woods, and wolves snarl hungrily.

“Believe me now?” I ask.

Hiro exhales slowly. “Y-yeah. I… I think so.”

I kneel in the grass before him and prostrate myself, forehead to the earth. Shame churns my insides. I feel like such an asshole for frightening him. I hate that he found out like this. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I swear, I’m not going to hurt you, or let anything happen to you. I’d never hurt you.”

“I know,” Hiro croaks, breath quickening. “You saved me. You were that wolf.”

“I was. Takada was pissed, so I wanted to be near you.”

“Why was he mad?”

I hesitate. Because he knows what Hiro means to me. I don’t know how to say that out loud. “He was jealous. Smelled you on me. He sent those thugs to beat you up to get back at me.”

“So he’s your ex?”

I grimace. “Something like that. Rather not talk about him right now.”

“Raiden, on the news, there was a story about hundred-year-old remains in a mass grave.”

I’d heard about that. “I know.”

“Were, um… werewolves behind that, too?”

I open my mouth, but the words are trapped. I physically can’t speak. The scars on my chest begin to burn like they’ve been set on fire. “I… I can’t—” I grip my chest, shocked as burning pain eclipses everything else.

Hiro’s brows furrow. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Holy shit. Your scars!”

They probably look as horrible as they feel.

“Raiden, what’s going on?”

Sweat breaks out on my body. I give up trying to tell him what I know, and the minute I stop trying, the pain recedes. Panting, I lean back against a tree. Hiro scoots over and sits beside me, taking my hand.

“Those aren’t ordinary scars, are they?”

I shake my head. “It’s a curse.”

“Like… as in a literal curse?”

I nod, body relaxing as the pain slowly fades. “Yeah. Namikawa hired a witch to bind me to his service.”

“A… witch? Hang on.” Hiro blinks those wide eyes at me. “How many supernatural creatures are there?”

I shrug. “Demons are real. But they only appear if summoned, usually. Werewolves, of course. Vampires, too, but they haven’t been in Japan in years since wolves kicked them out. Witches are even rarer.”

“Oh, my god…” Hiro slumps back against the ground, gazing up at the stars. “You’re telling me there’s a whole world of supernatural creatures right under humanity’s nose?”

“Yes. I know, it’s a lot to take in.”

Hiro laughs softly. “Actually, a lot about you now makes more sense.”

I arch a brow. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Like how crazy possessive you are. All the biting during sex. The growling.”

I squeeze his thigh. “You really are a freak if all that really does it for you.”

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