I glanced around the forest. Owen and I stood on the boundaries between our territories, so there was no way to tell who was cultivating the poisonous bitterroot. But I wanted to be as far away from it as possible. With a tug, I pulled Owen with me and we headed for safer ground.
When we reached the edge of the clearing again, I stepped back to face him. “Did you show me this on purpose, Owen?”
Owen’s expression was knowing. Guilty. “What do you—?”
“Don’t lie to me,” I warned. “You think someone from the pack is growing this?” A new thought, more horrific than the last, had me widening my eyes.
“I don’t know for sure,” he said, but it wasn’t convincing.
“Then why did you show me this? I mean, it could be your people, knowing how deadly it is to us,” I said, my voice rising as I spoke.
I paced away from him and ran a hand over my ponytail, my thoughts racing.
“It could be,” he agreed, though I could tell he didn’t believe that. Neither did I. Not really. And that worried me. The pack hadn’t exactly been welcoming, but I didn’t think they were killers, either … Did I? Owen clearly did. Was his opinion rubbing off? Was I actually becoming a traitor to my people?
“But you still showed it to me,” I pressed.
His eyes flashed with something fierce and then, as quickly as it had come, it died again and he was the picture of calm. “Charlie, I want you to see your world as it is. Not as they mean for you to see. There are many things you don’t know about this world. Mine and yours. I don’t want you blindsided by any of them.”
I stared across the dirt at the pale, earnest expression he wore and I knew, without a single shred of proof, that he meant every word. That he was possibly the only one protecting me or trying to keep me safe in all this. I sighed. “Thank you, Owen. For always being honest,” I said.
He nodded, his mouth solemn and down-turned. “I won’t lie to you,” he promised. “I can’t always share everything, but if you ask me outright, I won’t be dishonest. I’ve experienced enough of that to know … you deserve better,” he said.
I looked back at the patch of flowers, innocuous enough in the still morning and filtered light beaming down on them. Either way, seeing such a deadly plant growing out here was a chilling reminder of our families’ animosity, and I didn’t want to think about what it would mean to know which side had planted it.
And because of that, or maybe in spite of it, I kept my vampire sighting from the woods two days ago to myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Owen … It was like he’d said, I just didn’t know enough about this world. And for the rest of today, I didn’t want to. Besides, he’d already made it clear there was plenty he didn’t share with me.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said finally.
We continued to walk along the ridge that marked the border between our territories, until we reached a place that the trees broke open and, at last, warming sunlight filtered in from above. The stream turned to a waterfall here, cascading over the rocks in a misty white foam that sprayed onto the rocks a hundred feet below.
Owen stopped, hooking his arm around my waist and pulling me close.
“Careful near the edge,” he said in a low voice. “The rocks are loose here.”
I was in no more danger on those rocks than he was, but I just liked being against him, so I wasn’t about to argue. I held tight to him and looked at the forest below. The lands surrounding Paradise looked so serene from above. It was hard to believe that it was the site of a centuries-old war between our kinds, and that so much blood had been spilled there.
Down below, a flock of birds erupted from the trees, wheeling into the sky. I watched them rise, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Owen watching me.
“Is this relaxing?” he asked.
With the way that my heart drummed against my ribcage, there was no way that I could possibly be truly relaxed. My nerves were singing. My skin was alight with sensation everywhere that his arm rested against me. I had a feeling, vampire senses being what they were, Owen knew it, too.
My tongue darted out to lick my lips, and Owen’s eyes dropped to my mouth.
“I’m relaxed,” I said hoarsely. What a freaking liar.
His fingers came up and traced a chilled line from my temple to my jaw. “Whatever you face with your pack, Charlie, it means nothing. It’s merely another stumbling block on your path to victory,” he said.
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Believe in yourself, Charlie,” Owen said. “I do.”
He was leaning toward me, or maybe I was leaning toward him. I wasn’t sure which one. Maybe the air between us just kind of vanished.
His lips dropped to mine, and we kissed.
It was a soft, tentative gesture, almost inquisitive. As if Owen was silently asking, is this okay? And it was. It really was.
But when I tried to step closer to him, my foot slipped on one of those stupid loose rocks. I guess he had been right to warn me.
I fell with a gasp, landing hard on my butt.
My grip on Owen had been too strong, because I managed to drag him down with me. We tumbled onto the grass beside the stream. It was damp and muddy, and there was a rock digging into my back, but I didn’t really care. Owen had caught himself with arms braced on either side of my head. A soft laugh spilled from his lips.
“You may not be the most graceful alpha the pack has ever known …”
“Oh, shut it,” I said, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him down to kiss me again.
My own forwardness shocked me. I had never been all that into guys before, and definitely never been the one to make advances. But now I hooked my arm around the back of his neck, forcing him against me—as if I had to fight to keep him here.
Owen melted into me, deepening the kiss, and my fingers clenched tight in his hair.
The falls roared and sent a shower of spray over us. I was going to be soaked. But, frankly, the sky could have opened up and dumped a rainstorm on us at that moment, and I wouldn’t have cared.
When Owen pushed himself up on his elbows again, his lips glistened.
“Wow,” I said, gasping for breath. There was something sensitive and almost heavy about the way he watched me now. An anxious sort of fear built between my ribs. “What?” I asked, both terrified and impatient to hear the answer. Whatever it was, it would change things. That much I knew.
Owen reached up and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear and, for once, his touch felt hot on my skin. He bent low, murmuring softly, “Impossible as it seems, I think I’m falling in love with you, Charlotte Vuk.”
I suddenly couldn’t remember how to breathe.
Love? Was that this all-consuming feeling, like a fire burning over my veins? Was that the excitement I felt at seeing him, smelling him? I had never been in love before, but the word felt right. It settled over my heart with total certainty.
But my moment of hesitation had been a moment too long. Owen’s smile softened to something almost sad before he tucked it away. He pulled me to my feet, dusted the dirt off of his slacks, and plucked a blade of grass out of my hair. He was suddenly every inch the noble gentleman, even though I definitely wouldn’t have stopped him if he’d tried to kiss me again.
“Let’s get you home,” he said.
And with that, the spell was broken. I hoped I could find a way to put it together again when I figured out how to tell him I was falling in love with him, too.