Shadows

“Of course not,” Bethany muttered.

While rooting around for her MIA ball, she heard the sounds of hushed whispering. Looking up, she squinted through the tiny cracks in the bleachers. She made out two forms — Dawson and the asshole Andrew.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Andrew demanded, leaning into Dawson’s face.

“It’s none of your business.”

Andrew laughed harshly. “Oh, yeah, are you really going to go there? Explain to me how this doesn’t have something to do with me or the rest of us.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation.”

Andrew looked dumbfounded. “You need to stay away from that human. She’s not good for you, for any of us.”

Resisting the urge to bum-rush Andrew and defend herself, she backed away from the bleachers. Wait. Screw this. Obviously all the little Luxen ru

A ping-pong ball smacked off the back of her head before she took another step forward. Whipping around, she rubbed her skull. “Ouch!”

Kimmy cocked her head to the side. “I’ve been calling your name for the last two minutes. God. Did you zone out or are you just that much of an idiot?”

A red-hot feeling slipped through her veins, a combination of the overheard conversation and Kimmy’s pure bitchiness. She picked up the ball and launched it back. The little round piece of plastic was like a heat-seeking tomahawk, finding Kimmy’s cheek. A very satisfying thud later, Bethany stalked past a twitching Kimmy.

“I can’t believe you threw that at my—”

“My paddle is next,” Bethany warned, flipping the paddle in her hand.

Carissa giggled from her partnerless table. “That was hilarious.”

Kimmy turned on the girl, about to pull a Linda Blair, no doubt. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Um.” Carissa pushed up her glasses. “I think so.”

“Oh, you just—”

Coach Anderson decided to interrupt then. “All right, ladies, eyes on the table — on the game.”

Beth squeezed the paddle and took a deep breath. Coach must’ve realized then that Carissa was all alone and headed toward her just as Dawson and Andrew reappeared, looking like they were two seconds from throwing down in the middle of the gym.

“Unless there’s a table behind those bleachers, I’m curious as to what you two were doing back there,” Coach said. “Get back to your assigned tables now.”

Kimmy smirked.

Dawson went to his side of the table, picking up his paddle. “You ready?” he asked Carissa.

She nodded, reaching for the ball, but Andrew’s hand swiped across the table, snatching it up. “Here,” he said, smiling. “Let me give it to you.”

Bethany had a real bad feeling about this.

A slow, cold smile crept across Dawson’s face, and she suddenly saw his twin in that expression. It was eerie. “Yeah, you do that.”

Andrew cocked back his arm so fast, it was a blur to Beth. He let loose and that little ball had to have broken the sound barrier. Good God, it zinged across the table like a bullet.

Without taking his eyes off the blond, Dawson snapped up his hand and caught the ball. There was a loud thud that made Bethany wince, but he didn’t flinch. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Christ on a crutch,” Carissa murmured.

Dawson gri

To say the rest of the class was awkward was a massive understatement. After changing, she punched open the door and saw Dawson waiting for her.

His brows knitted. “You doing okay over there?”

“I think I should be asking you that question.”

He took her hand, pulling her to him. Bethany pressed her cheek against his chest. “It hasn’t been bad. I’ve gotten to see you.”

She smiled and lifted her chin. Their gazes locked. Heat flooded through her. “You always say the right things. A really good skill to have.”

His nose brushed along hers. “Only with you.”

A knot formed in her throat at the same moment a whole truckload of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “See. There you go again.”

“Hmm,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist. Never before had she been big on PDA in the halls. Usually she rolled her eyes and made some kind of internal snarky comment whenever she saw it, but she was discovering that she liked being that girl with Dawson.

“Can I come over after school?” he asked.

“I was hoping you’d want to.”

“I’ll stop by after supper, okay?” He kissed her cheek and pulled back. Taking her hand, he walked her out to the parking lot. At her car, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her palm. “I have a feeling there’s going to be a meeting of the minds when I get home, so I might be a little late.”

She winced. “I wish I could be there with you. It’s not right that you have to defend yourself and me all alone.”

Tenderness filled his brilliant green gaze. “I’ve got it covered.”

“But—”

Dawson kissed her palm again, and the sweet gesture simply floored her. “Don’t worry about them. I don’t want you to worry at all.” He let go of her hand and started backing up. “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Chapter 14

Intervention Round Two went as expected.

In other words, it consisted of everyone taking turns bitching him out and sometimes more than one at a time. Dee and Adam were the only ones who didn’t take part. Sitting side by side on the couch, they had identical somber expressions.

Matthew wanted to go to the DOD, like they were supposed to in cases of exposure, but Daemon and Dawson managed to convince him that the risk wasn’t high. After an hour of straight arguing, he relented reluctantly.

“This is so risky,” Matthew said, pacing the living room. “If she tells a single—”

“She won’t tell anyone. I swear to you.”

Ash shook her head. “How can you be so sure?”

“Look. This is a done deal,” Daemon said, cutting her off. “We’re not going to the DOD or to the Elders. It’s over.”

“This isn’t moveon.org, Daemon,” she snapped back. “This affects all of us. And with her glowing—”

“I will protect her. I will also make sure no Arum gets close enough to even see her.” Dawson crossed his arms.

Ash gaped. “This is going to blow up in your face — in all of our faces. There’s a reason why humans don’t know about us. They are fickle and insane!”

Even Dee’s eyebrows rose on that. Ash was pretty damn nuts when she wanted to be.

Then Ash twisted toward Daemon, her cheeks flushed. “I can’t believe you’re allowing him to do this. Next thing we know, you’ll be dating a human.”

Daemon busted out laughing. “Yeah, not going to happen.”

The bitchfest went on for another hour before the Thompsons left. On the way out, Adam pulled Dawson aside while his siblings stewed in the car.

“Look, I don’t care if you’re in love with the girl—”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t even say you’re not in love,” Adam said, glancing at the empty house next door. “I don’t care if you do or don’t. It’s really not the point, but you have got to be careful.”

Dawson folded his arms. “I am being careful.”

“Dude, this isn’t careful. Everyone is pissed. This is going to affect Bethany.” He took a breath. “I’ll try talking some sense into those two, but your problems aren’t just the Arum or the DOD, if you get my drift.”

Aw man, the kind of rage that shot up his spine was enough to rain down some wrath. “If they do anything, I will—”

“I know, but you have to expect this. Even with Daemon and Matthew backing your…lifestyle, it’s not going to be easy.”

Now he was starting to lose his patience. His “lifestyle” was him wanting to be with the person he cared about. As if that was a bad choice or something. “Adam—”