Twenty Questions

Lya

For being alone most of the day, it passed quickly. So much interaction was jam packed into the morning, I was thankful for the break. I just buried myself in more werewolf books, which made it a little difficult to pretend the disaster that was my life wasn’t happening.

I had to wonder if the books in my room had been carefully selected - all of them pertained to werewolf history. The evolution, notable battles, remarkable people. It frustrated me that it all seemed to make entirely too much sense. Maybe Allyssa had a point when she said because it’s in my DNA, the adjustment wouldn’t be as rough. Additionally, this was the most open communication with my wolf had been in years, and all desires to drive her away were quickly vanishing. The ways I had kept her out made me feel sick, and it was a relief to not feel like I had to go to that extreme anymore.

A knock came from the door, startling me from my book. I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was only 7:30.

I shuffled my way over to the door and opened it. I was not surprised at all when it was Oliver leaning casually against the doorframe.

“Hi.” My voice came out a whisper. I was slowly coming to terms with the butterflies this guy gave me, and it was not fair.

I didn’t deserve for someone to make me feel like that.

“I’m ordering takeout,” Oliver said, keeping his eyes on his phone. “Whatcha want?”

“Oh-uh, no, it’s fine. I can figure something out for myself,” I stuttered.

He glanced up at me and showed me his phone. “These places are open, what do you want?”

I shook my head. “Really, I don’t mind. I can cook my own dinner.”

Oliver cocked an eyebrow. “I have on good authority that I should not let you do that. So, unless you have any input, I’m ordering burritos.”

I rolled my eyes. “I am not that bad of a cook. Whatever Trevor said should be ignored.”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded. “So burritos should be here in about half an hour.” Oliver turned and headed down the hallway toward the main area of the packhouse. I just stood in the doorway watching him. I was about to close the door and return to my book when he looked back at me. “You coming?”

I sighed and walked out of the room, following behind him into the kitchen. I propped myself up on a barstool while he went to the fridge.

“Do you like moscato?” Oliver asked, pulling out a bottle.

I nodded. “It’s my favorite.”

“I imagine Allyssa got this before she found out she was pregnant, so we should probably get rid of it for her.”

I giggled and accepted the glass. “You don’t seem like the wine drinker type.”

“I’m not,” he agreed. “But it’s Saturday, it’s been a long week, and this is the only alcohol in the house.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and put my glass down. “You really don’t have to babysit me just because I’m the new kid. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

Oliver laughed. His laugh was music to my ears. “And give up my excuse to eat meals on time and actually take a break from all the stuff I have to do? No, thank you.”

I afforded him a small half smile and went back to sipping my wine.

Oliver just looked at me for a while. It was impossible to read his expression, but the silence was getting thicker and thicker by the second.

“So twenty questions?” he finally said.

“Twenty questions?” I giggled nervously. “Are we in middle school?”

He shrugged. “It’s a nice icebreaker.”

I shifted in my seat. “No wolf questions.”

“Fair,” he nodded. “What did you do for work?”

“Vet tech.”

“Vet tech, huh,” he nodded. “Do you have any pets?”

I shook my head. “I move around too much. It wouldn’t be very fair to them.”

“Okay, good, because I don’t know what Trevor would do driving back with a cat or something.” He thought for a bit. “How many places have you lived?”

I scrunched up my eyebrows and started counting on my fingers. “Maine, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Colorado, different area of Maine, Vermont, then South Dakota.”

Oliver let out a low whistle. “You on the run or something?” I just nodded. “From what?”

“Me. But no wolf questions,” I reminded him.

Oliver gave me a sad smile and nodded. “Your turn then, twenty questions is supposed to be back and forth, not an interrogation.”

I looked at Oliver for a minute, trying to decide how difficult I wanted my questions to be, and whether or not I was going to follow my own stipulation of no wolf questions. I wondered what no one bothered to ask him.

“You said you weren’t the one that was supposed to be alpha,” I said slowly, “so what would you be doing now if things went to plan?”

Oliver cocked his head and looked at me. “No one has ever asked me that before.” Bingo. Mission successful. I wondered what was going through his head. “I was going to go out and find my mate, then join her pack. I wanted to see the world.”

I nodded. “Why did you want to leave so badly?”

“It wasn’t that I wanted to leave, I just didn’t want to live life as ‘the Alpha’s son’ or ‘the Alpha’s younger brother.’ I wanted to get some breathing room and some time to live my life.”

“And you haven’t gotten that yet by the sound of it.” Oliver shook his head. “So are you happy?”

I decided I would never get tired of Oliver’s smile. He had a smile for everything, and his eyes always conveyed every ounce of emotion he felt. This smile felt like it was all mine.

“I am now.” Oliver reached out and brushed my arm. It was almost as if his touch was electric, and sent shivers across my skin. I didn’t miss the glint in his eye when he noticed. I bit my lip and looked down at my wine glass. The way this guy made me feel wasn’t fair. He brought a new breed of butterflies flitting through my stomach, turning my usual sarcastic, snarky persona into one of a shy, blubbery schoolgirl. “Next question, Lya?”

“Were the particular books in the room I’m staying in put there intentionally?” I demanded, forcing the words out quickly to avoid stuttering.

“Oh, very intentionally,” Oliver laughed, “by my brother. That was his room growing up. He is quite the historian. You’ll like him.”

“Is he coming by soon?”

Oliver turned and grabbed the bottle, topping up our glasses. “Doubt it. He hasn’t been back in eight years, and he’s having a kid soon.”

“I haven’t seen my sister in almost seven years now,” I said quietly.

This piqued Oliver’s interest. “You have a sister?” I nodded. “Did she ever shift?”

“No… It’s just me that’s the freak.”

“You’re not a freak.” Oliver’s eyes were hard, and seemed to be darker. “If you’re a freak, then what does that make me?”

“Well, I’d say it takes one to know one,” I chided. I breathed out a sigh, thankful that conversation was getting easier.

Talking with Oliver was too easy. I never really acknowledged how much stress it was to hide so much. Here, everything I had to hide was already known. It wasn’t just known; it was accepted.

It was celebrated.

And right then, I knew. Sitting in the kitchen, downing a bottle of wine, having the most normal conversation with a guy who knew all my deepest darkest secrets and thought nothing of them, I would never be able to leave.

And I didn’t want to.