Page 209 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Okay, sure.”

I watched them walk up the stairs. Celina turned and gave me a little wave as they got to the top landing. Alarm bells went off in my head. Something wasn’t right about that woman. My wolf wasn’t going crazy with worry, which was the only reason I’d let Celina go with Felicity. I didn’t sense any danger toward my mate. At least not yet. This was about me. That meant only one thing.

I got in my truck and dialed Blayne.

“Miles? Damn, I was actually about to call you. I’ve got the list down to four or five solid names.”

“List?” I asked, still looking up at Celina’s apartment, barely comprehending what he was saying.

“Yeah. The list? The leader of the hunter organization?”

“Shit, right. Sorry. Not to be a dick, but can we put that on the back burner for a second? I need you to call the guys. Get them to the office. Now.”

“Bro, what happened? What’s going down?”

“I’ll explain when I get there. If my gut instinct is right, it means we have a new hunter in town.”

FIFTEEN

CELINA

“What did he say? After the kiss, I mean,” Felicity said.

She’d been hounding me for details the entire time we’d been hanging out. As soon as we were in the apartment, the questions had started. I thought she was going to die when I told her we kissed. From there, it had been one excited query after another––over an hour of her prying for details. It was all normal girl talk, I knew. The things women all talked about after situations like this. The problem was, I had never had an experience like this. I, sort of, wanted to keep it all to myself. The magic of the day was something I wanted to save for only me and Miles.

“I don’t know,” I said. “We talked, that’s all. Had a picnic and talked.”

“But about what?” Felicity’s eyes were bright with excitement.

I sighed. Miles had put a lot of work into the date. It had been special. Something that I would remember. If nothing else happened and I moved back home in a week, I would be on my deathbed and ninety years old, and I’d still look back on today with fond memories. It wasn’t something I was willing to shareso easily. Maybe that was silly, but it was mine, and I wanted it to remain mine.

“Felicity, I’d really rather not go into details. It was great, that’s all.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay. I guess.”

She didn’t push me, but I could tell she was a little irritated. I didn’t want to make her mad. She was the closest thing I had to a friend. Would it really be that bad to tell her everything that happened? Maybe I should give her the details. I was torn. On one hand, I was overjoyed to have a friend. On the other hand, I wanted to keep what Miles and I had a special secret. Was that silly? Was I being childish?

“Felicity, I’m sorry.”

She waved the apology off. “No, it’s fine. Seriously. I shouldn’t have been so pushy. I’m only wondering if you really know what you’re doing with this guy.”

I frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious that this guy is experienced in ways that you aren’t, right?”

I nodded slowly, not sure where she was going with this.

“All I’m trying to say is my lessons haven’t really stuck yet. I’m worried you’re getting in over your head. I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all. I’m starting to get a bad feeling that things won’t work out with you guys.”

This was a strange thing for her to say. Hadn’t she been the one who encouraged this from the beginning? My God, she’d been giving me pointers on how to have sex with him. Why was she suddenly worried things wouldn’t work out? Especially after I’d told her how well the date had gone?

“You weren’t worried the other day. You seemed excited for me. Why have you changed your tune now?”

Felicity sighed. “I’ve seen this happen before. A guy like this sweeps someone off their feet, then things get hot and heavy,and after a little while, he gets bored and moves on. I don’t want that to happen to you. Maybe baby steps are better. I might have pushed you too far too fast. It might be better to go for the little fish first before going after the big fish. Miles is like Moby Dick. I’m not saying go for a goldfish, but a dude who’s a little less…I don’t know…less of a walking sex machine?”

I crossed my arms and leaned away from her. I didn’t want her to know she’d hurt my feelings, but it was difficult. It felt a bit like someone had pushed me down, then kicked me while I was trying to get up. I frowned and chewed at my lip, doing my best not to let any tears well up in my eyes. She’d said exactly what I’d been afraid of—that there was no way a guy like Miles would want someone like me; that I was pathetic and unable to get someone like him.

Felicity seemed to sense I was upset. Tension filled the room. My anger and sadness radiated off me in waves. I was terrible at hiding my emotions, so there was no way she didn’t notice what her words did to me.

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