2

How have I never noticed?

Henley

I wake up feeling really comfortable, which is nice considering the amount of pain I dreamt I was in.

Or was it a dream?

I slowly crawl my way toward consciousness and feel something dip down beside me.

"Henley."

Warm hands touch my face and I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times before a figure comes into focus. When I see bright blue eyes, my heart thumps a little faster and a grin tugs at my lips.

"Hey."

Parker takes my words as an invitation because he scoots closer and pulls me from the mattress and onto his lap. He squeezes me against him and kisses me deeply. The only thing that has him pulling away is the sound of a throat clearing behind us. I turn in his lap to see Will standing there, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Will… when did you get here?" I ask.

"I was the one who brought you here." Will cocks an eyebrow at me. "Are you sure you're all right?"

I look around the room—Parker's room, I realize, and everything comes rushing back to me. Our kiss in the hallways, the overwhelming thought, Blaine taking his shirt off and making things worse, me refusing to leave school for reasons I can't comprehend at the moment, but that is where things get blurry.

"Did I have a seizure?" I ask.

"You had just enough time to warn me to catch you." Will snorts. "Is it possible for you to do anything that isn't dramatic?"

I shrug. "Ah, but then who would make your life interesting?"

Parker squeezes me tighter. "If you could make it a little less interesting and stop giving me heart palpitations, that would be great."

His blue eyes search my face as if he's wanting to be sure that I'm all right. I can't imagine how badly I must've scared him.

I groan as I remember the incident in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Parker asks an edge of panic in his voice.

"I just realized that I'm now going to have to listen to a bunch of teenage girls thinking about how delicious Blaine's abs are—it's going to make me sick." I wrinkle my nose at the thought. "They were bad enough already when it comes to him. It's going to be unbearable."

Will dramatically rolls his brown eyes. "What is their obsession with Blaine? He's not that good looking."

I raise an eyebrow at him, questioning his judgment.

Parker growls.

I shoot him an amused look. "What?"

"Maybe you could not use the words Blaine's abs and delicious in the same sentence," he says, his voice sounding extra low and gruff.

I can't help but giggle. "But I didn't say that I find his abs delicious." I pause, then add, "Though I don't really have anything to compare them to."

Will groans. "Can you not flirt in front of me? I'm going to vomit."

Parker smirks at me. "If you wanted to see me with my shirt off, all you had to do was ask."

My cheeks grow warm as I realize that, yes, I did just tell Parker that I want to see him with his shirt off. And in front of Will.

Deciding there is no point in being embarrassed, I smile. "I don't want to tempt Will's weak stomach, but maybe after he leaves."

Parker laughs hard and Will lets out his breath in an annoyed huff.

"Next time, I'm going to let you hit your head," Will threatens.

"That might be a scary threat if I didn't know you were lying. You caught me even when you hated me." I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. "By the way, thank you for catching me. And carrying me out of class. The last thing I needed was for them to take me to the hospital."

"It's no problem." He stuffs his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. "But it can't keep happening. You have to learn how to control these powers of yours."

I look away from him, guilt eating at my stomach.

He's right. I can't just depend on everybody else to rescue me. It's important to learn how to be a supernatural. The problem is, I have no idea where to start.

Parker sighs. "Will is right—you do need to practice. Unfortunately, I still need to help my dad. I got distracted and he needs help."

"Really?" My shoulders slump as I look into his blue eyes.

Since we found out we were mates, everything has felt a bit like a whirlwind. We hardly get to spend time together anymore and now his dad needs him. I know his alpha duties are important, but I miss my mate.

"I'm sorry." He runs his hands down my arms, making me shiver. He smirks at my reaction. "I want to be with you more than anything, but this is really important. And since you won't be going back to school today, I know you'll be safe. Will has volunteered to look after you."

I glance over at Will and see the scowl on his face. I'm not sure if I believe Parker that Will volunteered to be on babysitting duty. Will sees me watching him and he lifts an eyebrow in question.

I clear my throat and look back at Parker. "Will I at least see you later tonight?"

He hesitates. "I don't know. It depends on how today goes. If it's not too late, I promise I will stop by your house."

I let out a breath slowly and nod. I try hard not to let the disappointment show on my face, but Parker can read me better than anybody else.

He leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose. "You know I'd prefer to be with you instead of my dad."

He's right. It's not like he asked for this.

"Am I really that poor of company?" Will asks.

I'd worry that I hurt his feelings if I didn't see the bored expression on his face.

"If the option is you or Blaine, I'll take you today. I think I prefer cynical over flirty," I tease.

Will narrows his eyes but smartly keeps his mouth shut.

Parker pats my legs. "I need to go."

I stand up from his lap quickly and am hit with a wave of dizziness. He grabs my arm to steady me and it quickly passes.

"Are you okay?" His blue eyes slowly scan my face.

"I'm fine. I was just dizzy." I wave a hand to let him know that I'm okay.

He gets a worry line between his brows and I worry he's about to try and get out of whatever important work his father has for him.

"Parker, I'm fine. I promise." I smile, waving a hand over myself. "See, completely unharmed. And Will won't leave my side the entire day. If he's nice, I might even buy him food."

Will perks up at the mention of food.

Ha, wolf shifters are so predictable.

Parker grimly nods, but he steps closer, cupping my face with his hands. "I couldn't take it if something were to happen to you. You are my life."

My heart warms at his words. I know he's not just being protective because he thinks I'm weak, though I certainly feel that way after what happened in class. Parker is sheltering me because he loves me.

I lean into his touch, a soft sigh escaping my lips.

Will clears his throat. "I'll protect your mate."

I know that Will is sincere. Even if he's not my biggest fan, and even if Blaine would be slightly more pleasant, he will protect me like he would any member of the pack. I guess now that I'm soulmates with Parker, I'm part of the pack.

Parker pulls back and gives me a soft kiss because he turns and leaves the room without another word. I turn to Will, who looks half amused, half disgusted.

"So, what do you want to do?" I ask, breaking the silence.

He turns his brown eyes on me, narrowing them. "You and I have practice."

"Practice?" I ask, but he's already through the door by the time the question leaves my mouth. I follow a beat behind, but I practically have to run to keep up with him. If Will notices, he doesn't slow down. When I fall a little too far behind for his liking, he grabs ahold of my wrist and tugs to get me to keep pace.

Once we're outside, he opens the passenger side door to his car, motioning me inside. I slip in, catching the moody expression on Will's face.

Just what does he have planned for us today?

When he takes off and heads toward my house, I am surprised. But he passes by my house, not even slowing down, and instead heads toward the highway.

"Not to complain, but I've got a horrible headache." I rub at my temples with my fingers. "Do you think we can just go back to my house?"

"I already told you," he says, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "We're going to practice."

"Yes, about that." I give him a hesitant look. "What exactly are we practicing?"

"You need to learn how to block the thoughts of humans," Will answers. "So, we are going somewhere that you can do exactly that."

"But—"

He cuts me off. "As illustrated today, Parker will not always be there to save you. Your future luna of the pack. You have to learn to stand strong on your own."

I want to argue that I'm not weak, but didn't I prove today that I'm not exactly ‘strong.' As far as supernaturals go, I've got to have the most useless powers. Then again, I don't know much about any supernaturals outside of wolf shifters.

"Will you tell me about other kinds of supernaturals?" I chew on my bottom lip as Will drives us toward town.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything," I admit. "I don't know anything about supernaturals. Just what you've told me."

He sighs heavily like he's dealing with an ornery child. "Well, there are a lot of supernaturals. Which do you want to know about?"

I almost say elementals, but then I remember that Will's a hybrid elemental. It's a bit of a sore subject for him, so instead I say, "Fae."

He wrinkles his nose. "Really? Fae?"

Of course he would find the subject of fae offensive. I don't think there is a lot that doesn't offend him. I wave my hands out in front of me. "You asked, so I just picked randomly. If you're going to be annoying about it, why don't you choose."

He sighs. "Fae are tricky supernaturals. They technically can't tell a lie, but you can't trust anything they say. They're good at wording things in a way that skirts around the truth."

"Really?" I frown, glad that I'm not a fae.

"They're also short." He runs his free hand through his hair. "Shorter than you, actually."

I roll my eyes at that. "I'm not short."

He grins but doesn't comment about my height anymore. "Their eyes also change colors depending on their emotions—"

"Like a mood ring?" My eyes widen. "That's so cool!"

Will huffs. "Fae are pretty lame, as far as supernaturals go."

"What about wolf shifters? Where do they stand on the supernatural hierarchy scale?" I ask.

"Dragon shifters are the most powerful, everybody knows that. But wolf shifters aren't far behind them in strength." Will sits up straighter like he's proud to be a wolf shifter.

I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm probably the lamest species."

"You're joking, right?" Will glances from to road to me. "You can fly, which is one of the coolest things ever. But even without that, you're practically immortal."

"You don't know that," I scoff.

"True." He rubs a hand on the back of his head. "You probably aren't immortal—no supernatural is."

"Not even vampires?" I lift an eyebrow.

"Nah," he answers. "Not even them. But it doesn't take much to kill a vampire—a silver stake to the heart, beheading, or fire. You, on the other hand, I'm not convinced anything could kill you."

The thought doesn't sit well with me.

"What about wolf shifters?" I ask, chewing on my bottom lip. "I know you can die, like any supernatural creature, but how long do you live if nothing bad happens?"

Will shrugs. "Same as any other supernatural. Longer than humans, but we all eventually die of old age."

I hesitantly nod, my heart feeling heavy in my chest. I don't want to outlive Parker and all our friends. Though, it's much too soon to start worrying about that.

When Will pulls off the side of the road, I hesitantly look up and see where we are.

"The park?" I ask.

He nods. "It's not overly crowded, but there should be a few people jogging. It's the perfect place. There is no way you'll get overwhelmed here."

He's right—there aren't many people out. A couple of moms pushing strollers are walking on the jogging trail, and another guy is out on a run with his dog. I start to get out, but before I get my door halfway open, Will is there, opening it the rest of the way.

"Always wait for me to open the door for you," he instructs.

"Why?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Because you're my alpha's mate. It's my job to protect you," he says.

I motion around us. "What are you going to protect me from? A rabid squirrel?"

He shoots me an unimpressed look but doesn't say anything further.

Just what is he wanting to protect me from?

Will leads me toward a bench that is under the shade of the tree. It's right by the walking trail, so I'll be able to hear the humans from here.

Just half a mile more. I can do this. I will be ready for the marathon…

What am I going to cook for dinner tonight? Uh, I really don't want to go to the grocery store.

Will snaps his fingers in front of my face. "Henley."

I shake my head. "Sorry."

"Focus. We're here so you can learn to block thoughts," he says.

I nod, turning so that I can face him. "How should I start?"

He rubs a hand on the back of his neck. "Uh, I was hoping you'd have an idea."

"If I knew how to do this, I wouldn't have passed out in front of the entire class today." I roll my eyes.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I guess… try to focus on me."

I do as he says. I look into Will's brown eyes and try hard not to think about the humans. About that time, a younger guy jogs by. He's not thinking about anything except the music he's listening to, which is so loud in my ears it makes my head throb. My head spins, be he jogs by quickly and the volume gets lower.

"Come on, Henley. Focus." Will puts his hands on my shoulders. "If you pass out again, Parker will kill me."

I take a deep breath through my nose. "Okay. Sorry."

I spot the two women with strollers coming closer.

"Focus," Will says.

I look into his eyes, trying to imagine a wall between me and the other two women.

Have her eyes always been this green? How have I never noticed?

The voice doesn't belong to the women. Instead, it's Will's voice in my head. If I hadn't been looking at him and hadn't seen that his lips didn't move, I would've thought he had spoken out loud.

But that can't be. I can't hear the thoughts of supernaturals.

I shake my head. The two women are long gone now.

"You look confused," Will says.

I nod. "I think I blocked them. But I'm not sure I just… we'll have to try again."

Will grins like he's proud. "We'll keep practicing as long as it takes."