"Get. Inside. Now." My mother demands. With wide eyes, I quickly follow her to the front door. At this moment, I forget my fear of the vampire, which is replaced by a whole new fear placed there by my angry mother. I've never seen her this livid before, and unlike the last fight we were in, I know her anger is warranted this time.

With an evil motherly glare directed at Cooper, she slams the door and directs all of her attention on me.

"Where the HELL were you Thea Skye Brooks?! You were out all night and never once checked in with me! Then, you show up in the middle of the afternoon with your friend looking like you've been beaten up! What happened?"

Under her screaming, I can hear the concern in her voice. Her eyes are traveling over my body, looking for scrapes and bruises staining my pale skin.

"It looks worse than it is, Mom," I begin. Telling her the truth isn't an option, so selective truth telling and small lies will have to convince her not to ground me for life. "I went out with Eli, Elle, and Cooper to a club last night. It was really crowded and someone bumped into me and I fell. And I was so tired that I fell asleep at their house." I speak the lie so fluidly that I'm honestly surprised that it sounds so realistic.

"Why didn't you call me? I was so worried, Thea!" She yells, then wraps me up in a bone-crushing hug. I don't notice she's crying until I felt her salty tears dripping on my shoulder. I immediately wrap my arms around her, basking in the comfort of her hug. We both needed the comfort.

After a few moments of our shared hug, I break from her to apologize again. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to worry you. You were mad at me, so I wasn't sure if-"

"I don't care how mad you think I am at you!" she screams, startling me with her sudden switch in emotions. "You're my daughter! Of course I want to know where you're going and when to not expect you home. Oh, Thea."

She hugs me once more, and I just stand there and listen to her talk. My face is also smushed into her shoulder, so I wouldn't be able to talk if I wanted to.

"I have to apologize to you. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You've never been late for babysitting Evie, and I was worried about you when you weren't answering. Then, when I saw you were with Grayson, my anger only intensified."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I got carried away and-"

"No," she interrupts, grabbing my hand and looking at me with her slightly teary eyes. "You're allowed to act your age and go on dates with boys. I was just stressed with work and money and I took it out on you. For that, I'm so very sorry honey. Can you forgive me?"

I give her a small smile before nodding my head. "Obviously. I thought you were overreacting just a tad," I squeak, holding up my thumb and pointer finger and almost pinched them together. We laughed, her covering her mouth with her hand to keep her laughter reeled in. I don't know why she always does that, she has one of those contagious laughs that once you hear it, you can't help but laugh along.

"But seriously, mom. If you need help with money, let me help you. With the money I get from Java I can really help us out."

"Absolutely not," she says, letting her pride get in the way. "I'm the mother, and I can support us on our own. I want you to save that money for your future, or to go shopping for once in your life without me having to make you. Honestly, when was the last time you went to the mall?" she questions.

"Ugh, mom. You know there's a million other things I'd rather do." Like going to the bookstore, we both think but don't say. She gives me a knowing look, but fortunately she changes the topic.

Unfortunately, she changes the subject to Grayson.

"So, how was your date with Grayson?"

I visibly stiffen, and my mom definitely notices based off of the look on her face. "What?" she asks. "I thought you and him were getting along..."

"We were. Not anymore," I reply, hoping she won't ask anything more on the subject. However, things don't always go my way with a mother as nagging as mine.

"What happened? I was starting to like that boy," she reveals, which honestly surprises. Ever since I was late for watching Evie because of Grayson, I thought my mom would hold it against him. It figures that she likes him once I decide to stay away from him.

"He lied to me," I reply shortly. I feel the familiar tightness behind my eyes, signaling that I'm very close to tears. With a few blinks of my eyes, the would-be fallen tears clear up. I don't want to cry anymore.

My mom walks us over to the comfy brown couch that we've had more talks on than I can remember. I sit down in my usual corner spot while she takes the spot next to me. "What did he lie to you about?" my mom asks, and I sense a hint of anger behind the question. She looks calm, but from years of living with her I know that her maternal instincts are coming alive at the thought of a guy hurting her little girl.

I cross my arms in front of my chest and avoid eye-contact. "It doesn't matter. He lied, and I don't trust him anymore."

"Honey, I'm sorry. Guys like him can be assholes sometimes. I really thought he cared about you, but he wouldn't have seen other girls if he really appreciated you," she says, her sadness evident. My head whips in her direction as my face naturally scrunches up. Other girls? What is she talking about?

"What?" I ask, mirroring my inner thoughts.

"Oh," my mom sighs in relief. "When you said he lied to you, I assumed you meant he cheated on you with another girl."

"He can't cheat if we were never together," I mumble out. Which is true- we were never "dating," so even if he did choose to spend his time with other girls, he wouldn't have been dishonest because we never talked about that scenario. The idea of Grayson with any other girl besides me doesn't sit well with me, and I find myself actually upset thinking about it. What's wrong with me? He's a freaking werewolf!

"And besides, it doesn't matter. I'm never talking to him again," I finish, looking at my mom. She only gives me a soft smile and pats my knee.

"Okay, if that's how you feel." She continues to give me that look- you know, the one that says 'stop lying to yourself.'

I sense her teasing me, and I don't like it. I don't understand why she feels like she understands this situation. After I barely give her any information, she automatically assumes that I'm overreacting.

"Stop, Mom. I'm serious!" I say in a slightly raised voice. She only continues to give me the same look and shakes her head.

"Thea, I saw the way you two were looking at each other when he came over. You guys couldn't stop staring at each other. I know you didn't notice it, but every time you looked away he would stare at you like you could do no wrong in his eyes. I've never found a guy that looks at me that way, and it makes me so happy that you found that. Don't throw it away all because you're scared."

The last comment makes my eyes widen to enormous proportions.... How does she know I'm scared? Is it that obvious?

She chuckles at my look of shock. "I can read you like an open book, Thea. Yes, it's very obvious you're scared of being in a relationship, of letting someone get that close to you. Don't think I haven't noticed all the guys who have tried and failed to get a date with you. You always say no. Say yes this once and stop making excuses for why you two can't be together," she finishes, then she glances at her wrist watch to see the time. She immediately jumps up and heads to the door.

"Gotta go, honey. Evie's play-date is almost over." She drops a quick kiss on my head before exiting our house abruptly, leaving me with her words playing over and over in my head. Is that what I've been doing? Pushing Grayson away? He's a werewolf! I think it makes sense for me to assume things would never work with us.

However, the more I think about him, the more I remember how sweet and gentle he was with me. I know he would never hurt me- in my heart, I know that. However, my brain is a pesky creature and won't stop thinking about how he may lose control and wolf out on me. I've read fantasy books. Plenty of werewolf books show the protagonist getting hurt by her werewolf boyfriend, even by accident. I'm afraid something like that could happen to me.

Also, not only is Grayson a werewolf, he's an Alpha- the Alpha of his huge pack of werewolves. What would that make me? I'm a human, weak and frail in comparison to his buff form. What could I possibly contribute? And to top it all off, why would he want me by his side? Cooper says we're soul mates, but what does that even mean? To me, it sounds like he's forced to be with me, the human. Shouldn't he find another werewolf girl to stand by his side, to love him unconditionally and help him lead his pack?

Just the thought of Grayson with someone else sends a shiver down my spine- and not the good kind. What is wrong with me? I don't want to be with him, yet I don't want him to be with anyone else.

When will I stop lying to myself?

------------

The weekend passed by slowly. I continuously received texts from Grayson, Cooper, Eli and Elle, but I ruled this weekend a phone-free one, so I didn't even stop to read the messages. I took the rest of Saturday and Sunday to reflect on what I had discovered and spend some quality time with Mom and Evie. The three of us ate all of our meals together and watched more movies than I'd like to admit. Granted, they were all children's movies, but Frozen and Tarzan were still very enjoyable for me.

By the time Monday rolls around, I'm nervous to attend class. I know that I have Psychology with Cooper and he'll expect me to talk to him. I'm anxious to face him after what I found out, but I'm not willing to miss class to avoid him. Curse my stellar attendance record!

After making breakfast for myself, I get dressed and head over to Java to pick up a large coffee. At least that part of my life hasn't changed. Then, I walk over to the Psychology building. I stand in front of the main doors to the building, speculating how our conversation will go. Will he be mad that I ignored his messages all weekend? Will he be happy to see me?

Before I can even grab the door handle, I feel a hand on my shoulder that spooks the daylights out of me. I instantly flinch, the memories of the other night still ingrained in me. When I see it's Eli who approached me, the fear doesn't completely subside.

There's something different about him that is causing me to remain on edge, and I don't like it. I could never pinpoint what it was before, but looking at him now with his almost-white hair and chiseled features, I suddenly fear that he is a werewolf or a vampire. He became semi-aggressive at the club when he grabbed me, and he does act strange. His morals are questionable at best, and he always appears at the strangest times. However, I can't just outright accuse him of being a supernatural- what if he's just a human like me?

"Thea, where the hell have you been?" he yells at me, attracting some attention from other students on their way to class. Instead of getting nervous like I normally do at all the attention, I get annoyed. Who does he think he is bombarding me before class and raising his voice at me? If anything, I had a right to be mad at him!

"You disappeared from the club, I texted you all weekend, and you show up on campus with a beat-up face!" he adds, anger coursing through his veins. However, now I can see he's also concerned. I guess my disappearance caused him to worry about me. That doesn't change how he acted at the club.

"I'm fine, Eli. And you don't have the right to talk to me like that. What you did at Velvet Elixir was absolutely unacceptable." I reach for the door handle but he steps in front of me, blocking the door. "I know," he apologizes, "and I'm so sorry for that. I just needed to know- it was extremely important and-"

"Why did you have to know if I knew Grayson? Why was that little piece of information so important that you had to grab my wrist like that?" I question, interrupting him from spewing whatever bullcrap he was about to feed me.

After a few moments of Eli contemplating what he wants to tell me, he sighs. "I can't tell you."

My jaw slackens as I let out a chuff of air. I shake my head back and forth, slowly crossing my arms in front of my chest. "You can't tell me? Fine. Then get out of my way," I deadpan.

"Thea, you have to understand how sorry I am-"

"Get. Out. Of. My Way." I pronounce every syllable, making it clear how serious I am. As the seconds tick by, more and more fear creeps into me. Eli is getting frustrated again, and his breathing is picking up as well. I'm trying to keep up a tough front, but inside I'm freaking out that he'll get angry. I don't know Eli that well, and even if he isn't a supernatural, he can still hurt me.

"I'm not moving until you hear me out, Thea. You need to understand-"

I cut him off. "I need to understand nothing! Now get out of my way Eli." My voice wavers, but I stand strong. Eli doesn't make a move to leave, and I fear that he won't let me go to class until I listen to him. I'm not ready to hear him out right now, especially when he's acting so irrationally. There are other students around here that are watching our encounter, but none of them make a move to help me. They all just stare and watch our heated conversation like it's a scene from a movie.

Eli makes a move to reach for my shoulder. Right before he can touch me, a deep voice stops his action.

"Touch her and see what happens."