7

Some advice.

Henley

I tap my pencil on my book as I stare at a painting on the wall. The painting is of a forest that my dad has had hanging on the wall for as long as I can remember. Now, I recognize the forest as the one we live in. My father also confessed to me that his soulmate painted this for him. It's the one thing he has from her.

My chest aches, thinking about how my dad lost his soulmate. It doesn't seem fair. He and her hardly had any time together before she passed away. But if she hadn't passed away, he wouldn't be my dad. He never would've been working at the hospital the night I was dropped off. Who knows where I would be without him?

I look at my textbook, trying to concentrate on studying. We have a test and I haven't paid attention during class. To be fair, it's hard to pay attention when I can hear everybody's thoughts around me—it's overwhelming. But I should study.

Eh, when am I ever going to need to know human history? It's boring. They all have short memories and it's doomed to repeat.

Humans—I nearly laugh at the thought. Am I really thinking of myself as a non-human now?

I sigh, turning to look at the boy sitting behind me on the couch.

Today, Blaine is babysitting me. Will refused and Parker is doing his alpha duties. I try not to be too bummed. It's not that I don't like Blaine, I do. I just wish Parker were here. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I sort of wish Will were here. If he were, maybe we could talk things out. We left things in such an awkward place before. I should apologize to him and promise that I won't read his thoughts ever again.

Blaine clears his throat. "Are you going to tell me what you're thinking so hard about?"

"Huh?" I blink, my eyes slowly focusing on his blue eyes.

"If you're that worried, I'll compel you an A." Blaine nods to my book.

I shut it, pushing it away from me. "Nah, it's okay. I'll just listen for the answers."

Blaine smirks. "Vixen, I knew you were naughty."

I roll my eyes. "Like compelling me a good grade is any better."

He leans back in his eat. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you for real?"

I sigh, standing from the floor. I scoot onto the couch beside him. "There is something I want to talk to you about, but you have to promise not to tell Parker."

"You're secretly in love with me?" He teases.

I snort. "No. Not that you don't have gorgeous eyes—you do."

His grin widens. "I knew you had a crush on me the first day we met."

I don't correct him, but I don't have to. We both know it's always been Parker. I think I loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him.

"What is it?" Blaine nudges my leg with his. "Talk to me."

I sigh, turning so that I'm facing him. "Okay, I could use some advice."

"And me, being an expert in all things, am an excellent choice of councilor." He nods studiously at me.

Uh, maybe Blaine isn't the right person to talk to, but who else is there? I don't want to talk to Parker about it. It would ruin his friendship with Will.

Maybe I should talk to Parker.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Will has been trying to help me learn how to block thoughts. Ever since that one day when Parker had to leave early as I had a seizure during class."

Blaine nods. "Yes, I heard about that."

I take a deep breath. "Well, instead of blocking other's thoughts, I accidentally read Will's."

He furrows his brows. "Uh, okay."

"Basically, Will was thinking about me. And he, um, is attracted to me." I lower my head, letting my hair curtain my face.

"Well, duh. You're pretty. Why does this surprise you?"

"It's not that." I finally look up. "There was more to his thought. He was thinking how lucky Parker is. But that doesn't matter." I wave a hand. "The important part is, Will figured out that I read his thoughts and he was pretty upset about it."

"That's why he left you alone that day that the other supernatural found you." Blaine nods like everything finally makes sense.

"What am I going to do?" I ask. "Will hates me now. And I get the feeling he wouldn't be so upset about the thought if there wasn't more to it."

Blaine stiffens. "You can't tell Parker. You're right. Will wouldn't be so upset if he didn't have a crush on you. If Parker knew, he'd kill Will."

"Really? But won't Parker be suspicious if Will and I suddenly stop getting along?" I ask.

He cocks an eyebrow. "Since when do you and Will get along?"

I shrug. "We may argue, but we get along."

Kind of.

Blaine just looks at me.

"Well, okay… maybe I annoy him. But I thought we were becoming friends." I frown, wishing we could go back to the things were before I accidentally read his mind.

"Sounds like Will's got a bit more than friendship on his mind," Blaine says.

I groan. "No. He doesn't. He just…" I throw my hands out in front of me, not knowing what to say.

Blaine nods. "I get it. And Will gets it. You're Parker's soulmate and that isn't changing. But you're a pretty awesome girl. He's probably bummed."

I roll my eyes. "He's not bummed. Will and I have always just been friends."

"Maybe Will is attracted to you and maybe he even has a crush on you. It definitely seems like he does. But someday, he'll meet his soulmate. He knows that. Whatever is going on with him isn't something you need to worry about. He'll figure out his feelings, you'll have an awkward talk, then things will go back to normal."

I pull my knees to my chest and hug my legs against me. "That sounds good. Except for the awkward talk. Can we skip that part?"

He chuckles. "Ah, but that's the best part. I can't wait to hear all about it."

I groan, hiding my face.

Blaine only laughs harder at my discomfort.

As much as Blaine likes to flirt, I'd never have to worry about him having feelings for me.

"How are things with your parents?" I ask him, attempting to change the subject.

The smile slips from his face. "Same as always. When I was younger, I used to hope that they would work things out, but I've given up the dream."

"I'm sorry." I wish I hadn't even brought it up now. "Is there anything I can do?"

He shakes his head. "No. This is something they need to figure out themselves. As soon as I graduate high school, I'm going to move into my own house. I can't keep stopping their fights. They'll either work things out or they won't, but it won't be my problem anymore."

I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.

That must be horrible. He's just counting down the days until he can move out, not enjoying what should be a good time in his life. We're seniors in high school. Now is the time when we should be having fun. Instead, we're dealing with fighting parents, doing jobs for our alpha, and… well, I'm not doing much of anything. I'm just being babysat because a rogue supernatural is stalking around pack land.

I sigh, feeling dejected.

"Cheer up," Blaine says, scooting closer to me. "I get to spend time with my favorite pack member and that's not so bad."

I can't help but grin at him calling me a pack member. "I'm your favorite?"

He winks. "Absolutely, Vixen."

"Does Parker not mind that you call me Vixen?" I ask.

"He definitely minds." Blaine laughs. "But he's so easy to rile, it's kind of funny. Besides, you were my friend before you were his soulmate." He slides back onto the couch and grabs the remote to the gaming system. My dad got it for me for Christmas last year and I just never played it. At least now it's getting some use.

A couple of hours later, somebody rings the doorbell. Blaine switches off his game. I start to get up, but he motions for me to stay put.

I sigh, sliding back onto the couch.

I'm not ‘supposed' to answer the door—it's for my protection, but I think it's a bit of an overkill. When I hear a familiar voice, I get up from the couch and walk over to the door. Will stands just outside, his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Parker is running late, so he asked me to come over for a little bit to watch Henley," Will says. He glances over at me when he hears me walk up but quickly looks away.

Blaine turns to me. "I guess I'll see you later, Vixen."

Will rolls his eyes at the nickname that Blaine gave me but he doesn't comment on it.

"Bye, Blaine."

He walks back to the couch to grab his backpack while Will steps inside. Blaine waves at us before leaving. I stand there after the door is shut, waiting for Will to say something. He stays quiet, eventually walking over to the couch and sitting down. I sigh and follow him.

I guess this is how it's going to be now.

I sit down beside Will. His entire body tenses which makes my chest squeeze painfully.

Does he really hate me that much?

"I'm, uh, sorry." I lower my head, letting my hair curtain my face. "I didn't mean to read your thoughts. I didn't even know it was something I could do."

Will abruptly stands from the couch and he storms from the room. I sit there, not knowing what to do or say. I hear him in the kitchen. He opens the fridge, probably grabbing a snack.

I pull my knees up to my chest, hugging them against me.

What am I supposed to do now? How do I get Will to forgive me? It's not like I purposefully read his private thoughts.

Part of me wishes I could tell Parker, but Blaine is right. I can't tell him. If Will is this upset, maybe the thought means more than I imagined.

What if Will has feelings for me? The thought almost makes me snort. After all the grief he gave me about my feelings for Parker, there is no way he feels that way about me.

Besides, it's Will. He doesn't do warm and fuzzy feelings. He's about as expressive as a rock when it comes to romantic feelings.

Maybe he's just that upset that I read his thoughts and not so much what he was thinking.

That must be it.

I sit back on the couch, feeling a little better. This is Will—he can hold a grudge like nobody I've ever met. He'll eventually get over it.

After a few minutes, Will comes back into the living room. He notably sits on the other side of the room from me.

Well, just because he's on babysitting duty doesn't mean he has to interact with me.

I clear my throat, but Will doesn't look up from his phone to acknowledge me.

"Do you know when Parker will come?"

Will, looking very intently at his phone, shrugs his shoulders in response.

Knowing I won't get anything else out of him, I grab my book from the coffee table and start reading. It's a fantasy romance about fae which makes me wonder what fae are really like. I know from talking with the guys that they exist. I'd ask Will but I'm pretty sure he would just ignore the question.

I wonder if supernaturals have their own search engine. That would come in handy. But I get the feeling most supernaturals are tech savvy. Some of the younger pack members have cell phones, but most of them don't. Then again, it's probably not important to have one when you can mind link.

Eventually, I'm able to stop thinking about Will and his bad attitude. About thirty minutes later, there is another knock on the door. I shut my book but I don't move to get up. I already know Will won't let me open the door. When I hear Parker's voice, I jump up and run over to him. He smiles widely when he sees me and steps inside. I run to him and he wraps his arms around me.

I sigh, leaning into his embrace.

The door opens and shuts—likely Will leaving. I'm not surprised that he's not saying goodbye, but I am hurt by it.

"Are you okay?" Parker puts his hands on my shoulders to push me back slightly. He looks at me carefully. "You're upset about something."

I wave a hand. "It's nothing."

"Henley." Parker narrows his eyes, giving me a stern look.

I sigh. "It's nothing. Just… Will. He's moody. You know how he is."

Parker frowns. "He's still being mean?"

"Don't worry about it." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "He's just Will. If he wasn't moody, I would be concerned."

He chuckles. "You're right. I just don't like that he upset you."

I lean into him again, hoping to distract him. "I missed you."

He embraces me tightly. "I missed you too. I'm sorry that I couldn't be here. I wanted to be."

"I know." I pull back, looking into Parker's blue, blue eyes. My heart skips a beat and Parker smirks. "That's so unfair. I don't have your shifter hearing," I complain.

The smirk falls off his face as he watches me. "I will talk to Will."

I shake my head. "Don't, please. He and I will work through this and figure it out. I don't want you to force him to be nice to me."

Besides that, I feel guilty enough about things as it is. I invaded Will's private thoughts when I read his mind. Even if I didn't mean to, it was wrong of me.

Parker looks at me with his blue eyes, like he's trying to gauge if he should listen to my request or not.

"Fine," he concedes.

I grin. "Thank you."

She has no idea how beautiful she is.

"What?" I furrow my brows, confused.

"I didn't say anything," Parker says, giving me a look. "Are you okay?"

I nod, turning away from him.

Did I just read Parker's thoughts? I've really got to learn how to control that. I didn't mean to. Until I do, I just won't hold anything I hear against him since it isn't his fault.

"Do you want to go to my house for dinner tonight?" Parker asks. "Technically, I'm not supposed to be here without a chaperone."

"Sure." I grab my sweater and slip it on. "Do you think I could use my wings tonight? It's been a while and I'm feeling a little itchy."

Parker rubs a hand at the back of his neck. "I don't see how we can keep you from it, but we're going to have to figure out a plan to keep you safe. It's not like I can protect you when you're in the sky."

"It'll be fine," I assure him.

He doesn't look convinced.

Parker puts his hand on the small of my back as he leads me to his Jeep. The entire way there, I wonder if I'm right to keep the truth about Will from Parker. But Blaine is right… if Parker knew, he would hate Will.

No, keeping quiet is definitely the best choice.