Page 21 of In the Light of the Moon

The air wasn’t nearly as scorching as it’d been a few weeks prior, and with my stomach swooping with excitement about my date with Orion tomorrow, I felt a prickling on my back, like I was being watched.

Expecting for it to be Orion or a stranger giving me a passing glance, my fingers fumbled to fit my keys in the ignition when I saw, across the street and down aways, was Graham. Jasper’s attention was on his father, who was leaned up against his shopfront and talking to his son. A rush of something hot and sharp filled my chest, and I returned Graham’s stare, all urge for pleasantness completely evaporated.

Even from this distance, I saw his thick brows and grin rise. If it weren’t for Jasper nudging Graham’s shoulder, stealing his attention, I would have stomped across the street and?—

Done what?My rational mind pushed forward, and I placed a calming hand at my chest, where my heart had begun to race. My lips puckered with a conscious, forceful exhale, and I pulled away, headed home.

Those surges of rage weren’t new for me. I turned up the volume on my speakers, letting the heavy metal music and the jumping of my left leg take my excess energy. Images of marching up to Graham and grabbing him by the throat for how he’d looked at me and Orion were harder to dispel, but I’d nearly done just that by the time I pulled up at Granna’s.

It wouldnotbode well for my new life in Antler Pointe for me to attack the police chief’s son. No matter how satisfying the fantasy was.

CHAPTER TEN

Orion

Ipulled up to Sylvie’s grandmother’s home, fingers flicking along to the steady bass guitar rhythm trailing from my car’s speakers. They lived just outside of the historic downtown, and though I was a ball of nerves—a state I hadn’t experienced to this extent in a long time—the proximity to the forest mollified me just enough to stop from stimming any more than I already was.

The gravel of the drive resembled my own, and that was another moment of familiarity that made me feel on steadier footing.

It was almost ridiculous how much this woman was making me feel like a pup with uncoordinated limbs, all gangly with excited flailing. Even with my missteps and the blatant display of territoriality yesterday, she’d agreed to let me court her.

The boors who followed that arrogant jackass were getting too bold. But the beginnings of capitulation in the first one’s scent was so satisfying, I had to strain even harder to keep my dominating instinct in check.

His leader, coming to his rescue, obviously knew that the boy was outmatched, and before I could rip his throat out for making eyes at Sylvie, they were gone. They both seemed to know her, but I had a feeling that they would have acted differently if I hadn’t been sitting beside her. If she wasn’t already starting to bear my scent. I still hadn’t decided whether this served to protect her or paint a target on her back.

I shook my head, trying to clear the baser thoughts that were washing my mind with physical needs to dominate and protect and avenge. The situation with Graham and his followers wasn’t one I’d found a solution for yet, and I certainly wasn’t going to find it tonight. Even after seeing that side of me, Sylvie hadn’t rebuffed my courting. For that, I was grateful. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I was determined to make her effort worth it.

While I’d showered and dressed earlier, I tried my best to settle my insecurities. Though it was to be a casual dinner at the Thai restaurant downtown, I was going to do everything in my power to ensure a successful first date. When I’d texted Juno, asking their opinion on the whole thing since they dated and fucked humans far more than I did, they’d cooed over me for ‘Trusting and being vulnerable with them.’

They luckily didn’t push me into a phone conversation or, I shuddered to think, a video call. But they suggested I dress as comfortably as possible since the restaurant was going to be a sensory nightmare for me to begin with.

When I’d caught Sylvie’s scent leading to the bar that night, I hadn’t even consciously considered where I was going until the cacophony of music and bar patron scent and chatter slammed into me. Above it, though, was the smell of cool cherries, and I abandoned all plan to pick up my dinner for the evening. It would have been far easier to fare if I’d had my headphones to cancel out some of the noise, but I found that being aroundher was enough. To breathe through the overstimulation was completely worth it when I got to spend time with her.

I pictured Juno’s dangly earrings tinkling as they sent me text after text, encouraging me to not feel pressured to act any differently. As it was ‘best to present my realest self’ if I was hopeful for this to go anywhere.

Why did this all make me feel like a lanky teenager again?

I did, following their advice, take off the new and untested jeans I’d bought for the occasion and went with my favorite, worn-in pair. I had no problem admitting when Juno was right.

I checked my hair in the rearview mirror after I finally pulled up beside a red car that was sitting in front of the house. My mind went back to sitting at the bar with Sylvie, stumbling through conversation until it flowed between us. Part of this was the overstimulation of the setting, another was my treading carefully due to my mucking up our first encounters. And another part, larger than I wanted to admit, was holding back my urge to have her right then and there.

My hands scrubbed at my face, trying to calm the heating of my body being this close to her again. While maneuvering socially was a labyrinthine task I’d only slightly gotten better at in my adulthood, sex was far easier to navigate. It called to both sides of me, and there was far less room for second-guessing and having to covertly rely on scents when words and facial cues made little sense.

With Sylvie, though, it wasn’t just my longing to learn her in that way. No, it wasn’t just sex, but I would’ve been naive to ignore the desire she brought out in me. Was it overly confident that I’d stuffed a few condoms in my wallet for the first time in months? Maybe, but judging how Sylvie initiated the first kiss between us and my body’s already revved engine, I wanted to be prepared for all possibilities.

Since moving to Antler Pointe, my romantic relationships had been purely sexual—scratching the itch without committing to anyone that would spoil my own peacefully solitary life.

Well, as peaceful as I could manage, considering. Hell, I hadn’t even courted anyone since?—

My phone rang with an incoming call, and I immediately rejected it when I saw Meredith’s name splashed across the screen. I shook my head sharply and allowed myself one minute of breathing. In through my nose, hold, out through my mouth in a rhythm that was my old and faithful. Though it didn’t work every time, it worked now, and I was able to calm my thoughts enough to climb out of the car. I made unfaltering steps to the front door and knocked.

Sylvie’s perfume was potent even here, and when the front door opened, an avalanche that carried her chilly air and cherry smell made me want to find the source and throw myself on her.

Jesus. Was this a good idea? Tempting my self-control like this?

I took a cooling breath and smiled down at the older woman standing in the doorway. She was dressed in soft looking pants and a sweater, despite it being a fairly warm evening. Her long, nearly-white hair hung loose down her back, and despite her age, I felt flayed open by her keen eyes. They were the same color as Sylvie’s.

“Hello,” I stuck out my hand a beat late but managed to remember my manners, “my name is Orion. I’m here to take Sylvie to dinner.”

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