6. Steff

SIX

STEFF

It was all I could to keep the smile off my face when she stormed off. April had always had a fiery temper. So passionate and intense. It was one of the things I'd always loved about her. But she'd hit the mark, though. It made me feel like shit to hear her say what she'd said, but it was all true. I couldn't let the truth hurt me. I'd already tortured myself for years going over and over all the scenarios.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, Steffen," Kellan growled, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I hate to ask you for anything, much less for help."

My shoulders sagged. "Kellan, I don't mind?—"

He held up a hand, cutting me off. "We aren't getting into it. Like I said, I don't want your help, but if it means she's safe, then I'll sleep better. Even if it means someone like you is watching out for her. If shit goes south, I'd like to know someone's around who can handle themselves."

I frowned, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Is April in some kind of trouble?"

Kellan tilted his head and glared at me. He searched my face, like he was trying to figure out if I was fucking with him. Finally, he said, "Are you being serious right now? You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Do you even have a TV, Steff? Seriously?"

I did, in fact, have a TV, but I really only used it to watch sports and maybe to stream the occasional movie. Part of the reason I rarely watched it was that it seemed like I couldn't go more than thirty minutes without seeing April on some commercial or doing a random hot-girl guest spot on a sitcom or something. I'd pretty much given up watching regular TV. The way Kellan was acting, though, it made me worry. He seemed freaked out about something.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Kellan. Does it have something to do with why April came home?"

"Oh, Jesus. Look, I don't want to get into it. If you don't know, then that's good. April will be happy. It's her business, and her choice to tell it. I'm not gonna run my mouth about it. Can you please just watch out for her? If you see anyone weird hanging around her house or something, take care of it, okay?"

Still confused, I nodded. "Okay, yeah. I can do that. I promise."

Kellan sighed and glanced away. Aiden was running around between my yard and April's, my dog, Bently, chasing after him and playing with him. Aiden laughed and waved a stick for Bently to grab.

I gestured toward Aiden. "I didn't even know you had a kid."

"Well, that tends to happen when you don't talk for fifteen years. It makes sense that you wouldn't know."

There was so much I wanted to say, but I didn't know where to begin. I'd ruined more than my relationship with April. I'd broken friendships I'd thought would last a lifetime. Guilt washed over me again. Hell, the last few days had been one long guilt trip.

"Aiden, time to go," Kellan called. "We need to tell Aunt April goodbye."

Aiden's whole body slumped. "Aww, can't I play with the dog more?"

"His name's Bently," I said, grinning.

"Bently? I like that name." Aiden ran his hands down the dog's sides.

Kellan sighed in vague irritation. "No, bud, we need to go."

"Aiden, anytime you come visit your aunt, you can play with Bently. Sound good?" I hoped it sounded to Kellan like the olive branch I wanted it to be.

"Oh, neat, that's awesome. Thanks, Coach." Aiden hugged Bently, then sprinted toward April's house.

Kellan had pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and was scribbling on it. Before I could ask what he was doing, he thrust the paper at me. "Here. That's my number. If anything happens with April, I want you to let me know. Got it?"

I took the number and nodded. "Yeah, man. Anything for…" I'd almost said for a friend , but stopped myself, instead adding, "for April."

Without another word, Kellan nodded and walked toward April's house. I stood, watching my old friend walk away. I waited there for a minute, staring at her house, and suppressed a laugh. It was fucking crazy that April was my neighbor. My mind drifted to Tate and Harley. The curse had forced them together by making them neighbors. Now here I was, in the same situation. Had Emily added some addendum that said we all had to live next door to our mates?

There was nothing I could do about the current living situation. One thing I could do was talk to April. It would have to happen eventually. If I ignored or denied the mating bond, I was in for a world of hurt. I'd seen how it had affected Tate. So, the sooner the better. At the back of my mind, I'd already resigned myself to how this would go down. The sooner I spoke to April, the sooner she could reject me, and then the bond would be broken. What would happen then? According to Emily, we would die. Not just die, but die a slow and agonizing death. Perhaps that's what I deserved.

Would she even believe anything I said, though? No one would wholeheartedly believe a person when they told them something as crazy as what I would be telling April. What would I even say? Hey, April, I know I told you I didn't want to be with you, but now a magic spell says we have to be mated. Also, I'm a magical shape-shifting bear, and you will be too if we get together. Yeah, that didn't seem to be a likely scenario.

After I took Bently inside, I kept myself busy with chores. Eventually, I saw Kellan and Aiden get into their car and leave. I'd planned on staying in for the rest of the night, but a few hours later, Bently was losing his mind wanting to go for a walk. Ignoring him wasn't an option, so I finally broke down and grabbed his leash.

Outside, I fought my first instinct and decided to walk past April's house, rather than the other way. As we strolled along, I glanced up to her porch. To my surprise, she was outside, lounging in a patio chair, a glass of wine in one hand. She was staring off into space, caught up in her own thoughts. She was so beautiful it made the ache in my chest multiply.

I let Bently sniff at her mailbox as I watched her. She was totally out of it. Whatever she was thinking about must have been pretty important. I'd been standing there for a few minutes and she hadn't even noticed me. I'd made a plan, and I needed to follow through with it.

I decided to snap her out of her daze. "It's not safe to zone out."

April jumped in surprise, almost spilling her wine. "Oh, shit, Steff. You scared the hell out of me. Don't be a jerk."

Maybe, if I could make April hate me enough, the bond would break. If I could turn her far enough away from wanting to be with me, if I could turn my bear away from her, it would be enough to break the spell. That was the only way to keep her safe. If it worked, maybe I'd survive. There would be pain, naturally, but at least I wouldn't drag April into this. I winced inwardly and my bear growled, angry at what I wanted to do. All it wanted was for us to be with April. That couldn't happen, though. I knew it, and soon the bear would know it as well.

Steeling myself, I said, "From what your brother said, you came here to get away from something. All he told me was to keep an eye out for you and make sure you were safe. Sitting on your porch without being aware of your surroundings isn't the best way to stay safe."

Fire built in her eyes as she glared at me. "You know what, Steff? How about you forget anything Kellan told you? If I need someone to look out for me, I'll get someone who actually gives a shit about me."

"Oh, I care, I just don't want to have a second job watching out for someone who doesn't seem to want to watch out for themselves."

"God, I don't know what happened to you, but I don't remember you being such a dick. Do me a favor and leave me alone."

"I made a promise, so you need to get used to me being around. I told Kellan I'd make sure you were taken care of."

"Steff, I don't know if you remember, but you were the one who walked away. You moved across the country and forgot I ever existed. That being said, how about you keep that same mentality? Forget I exist for a few months until I leave."

April stood and went inside, slamming the door behind her. The action made my bear whine and chuff. It was angry and heartbroken about what I was doing. I felt pretty shitty, too. As much as it hurt to do it, I couldn't think of another way to save both of us. I'd hurt April so much that I couldn't see a happy ending coming, no matter what. This was the plan, even though I wasn't very fond of it.