Ethan closed himself into the bathroom. The TV was on, Grey was gone, and Carlos sat on the end of his bed.
“Aren’t we using the buddy system? You lost your buddy,” I said, sitting on the end of my bed.
“He’ll find his way back. He always does.”
I couldn’t be sure if that was a joke or not. A timid knock on the door distracted me before I could decide. Carlos stood and answered it.
“I’m here to talk to Isabelle,” Michelle said.
Nervousness exuded from her. Carlos nodded and let her in. Then, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Don’t kill the messenger,” she said with a cringe.
“Uh, that doesn’t sound good.”
The water turned off in the bathroom. World’s fastest shower. He was worried about me.
“Did you even use soap?” I called. Michelle jumped at my sudden volume.
“Wanna come sniff me?”
His muffled reply made me grin. I shook my head and focused on Michelle again.
“What has you all nervous?”
“They asked me to come talk to you about—”
Ethan opened the door. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and the tube of muscle cream in one hand. When he saw Michelle, he froze.
“Good to know we have company,” he said, giving me a hard look.
“Hey, Ethan,” I called as if he were still in the shower. “Don’t come out in a towel. We have company.”
“You’re useless,” he said before turning around and closing himself in the bathroom once more.
I loved all this Ethan time. Between the exercise and his constant snarky humor, I was feeling great. It was hard to remember I’d been bashed in the head and was on the run from people who could change into dogs. Why did I just think that? Way to ruin a mood.
“Maybe I should come back later?” Michelle said.
“Nah, you’ve scared him for now. We should have at least five minutes before he’s ready to show his face again.”
She moved to sit on the bed that Carlos had occupied.
“Bethi told you the basics about us, but no one’s told you anything about them, the werewolves. The Elders thought you might have a few questions.”
Her term for the old people in the group made me want to smirk.
“If the Elders thought I had questions, why didn’t they come here?”
“You don’t seem to like any of them.”
“Yeah, well, they’re a bit bossy. Since I am too, you can see where there might be some personality conflict.”
She remained silent for a heartbeat.
“Do you have any questions?” she asked hesitantly.
“Nope. Honestly, I haven’t stopped to think about it, and I’m not sure I’m going to. I’m along for the ride. I just want to get rid of this emotion siphoning thing and move on with my life.”
She looked down at her hands, fidgeting. There was a message they’d sent her to share. I was sure of it.
“What questions should I be asking?” I asked.
“When I first saw Emmitt, he felt familiar, almost as if I’d recognized him, even though we’d never met. My stomach went crazy, and I just couldn’t stop staring. It turns out, the werewolves have this built-in sensor that goes off when they see their Mate. A pull. That’s what Winifred calls it. And, apparently, we feel it too.” She stood and moved to the door. “Let me know if you think of any questions.”
I stared at the closed door for several minutes, too stunned by the bomb she’d just lobbed at me to react in any way. Ethan poked his head out the door, looked around, and stepped out fully dressed.
“I hope food’s been ordered. I’m starving,” he said, crossing the room. He shoved his dirty clothes in his bag. “And you can rub me in tonight.”
Shaking myself from my shock, I stood before Ethan could notice anything wrong.
“Sure.”
As we left the room to meet with the others, I refused to read into what Michelle had just said. It was information. That was it. Nothing more.
The door to Charlene’s room opened before Ethan could even knock on it. Grey stepped aside to let us in. Everyone else was already there, and there wasn’t much room to move. Ethan and I stayed near the door and leaned against the wall.
I glanced around the room. When I saw Carlos, my stomach did a happy dance. Had it done that before? If it had, I’d never noticed it. Usually I was too focused on everyone else’s emotions and responses to pay much attention to my own. Why did Michelle have to go and point it out? Now, my reaction to Carlos was probably just like that time in elementary school. Someone had gotten lice and when the school nurse had shown up and explained why she needed to check our hair, I’d started scratching at my head like crazy.
A sudden wave of anger and frustration brought my focus back to the present situation, and I realized Ethan and I had arrived in the middle of a tense conversation.