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And really, the less anyone back in Tipton knew about what he’d gotten up to out here, the better

So thinking, Jaden tried to focus on the present, on the bloody Proving and where he should even begin with teaching Lyra

But in the end, he still soaked his head

He’d been tortured

She’d tried like hell to get the i, but so far, no luck It had stunned her And then it had taken every ounce of her willpower not to ask him about it Jaden seeht up if she decided to push "Hey, hipped you so badly you couldn’t heal?" as the question of the evening

Thinking of a vae, completely flipped from what she’d been raised with But then, she wasn’t shocked either Lyra had spent a little time around vamps when she felt like she needed to blow Silver Falls for a while, much to her father’s dismay Not that any va into a "forbidden" city for shopping, fun, and cute guys eren’t any weirder at the full moon than they were any other time was an excellent way to take a break from the pressure and blow off a little steam In her travels, she’d definitely noted that there was a large underclass of bloodsuckers And the ones they called "highbloods," though less numerous, were mostly not very sweet No one wanted a wolf around… but it was usually only the highbloods you had to actively watch out for

Mean suckers

Lyra glanced over at Jaden when she pulled into a parking place and killed the engine of her little red pickup He seeh For him Of course, he’d found plenty to occupy his attention out the , so it wasn’t that easy to tell

"Okay, here we are" She glanced around the parking lot, which sat soan and rolled off into the ever-encroaching trees It was e They’d need to watch it

"Good," he replied "Let’s have a look" And before she could warn hiing around here, he was out of the car and striding toward the green area as though he owned the place Lyra pursed her lips, annoyed, but she did allow herself a moment, just one, to admire the way he race and speed And… other things

She groaned and got out of the car, too, anxious to get as far away fros ell, she’d be sparring with hiet in thehis hands on her body

Lyra took the ti for the faintest sound of voices, or even paws treading softly When she caught up to hi in She figured it orth a few quiet ht she hadn’t about this place, so she backed off She walked a few paces away, tipped her head back, and enjoyed the stars dotting the night sky

"So olves round"

He spoke as softly as he always did, but his voice carried in the still air Lyra looked sharply at hi temperature She loved it up here, butearly once in a while instead of leaving winter and spring to play tug-of-war right up until June

"It’s not a playground Grant Park is a large open space, genius," Lyra replied "Live with it"

Histo understand always lived just beneath the surface, even if he was good at hiding it

"So where does everyone sit? On the jungle gyritted her teeth, and it took considerable effort to unclench theh to respond Jaden’s cute almost-smile had turned into a cocky vamp smirk She knew that look, the patented "Wolves are dumb, yuk yuk yuk" look she’d seen on plenty of his kind It made her want to bite him--and not in a way he’d enjoy Since she couldn’t do that, she ith sarcasazebo And trees And probably a Port-o-San somewhere, too, which I’ressed since age five Regardless, this is the place Can we move on?"

That sexy little smile, Lyra decided, fully feline

"Sure"

"Jackass," she h for hi Jaden as he craned his neck and took another look around, that Lyra realized so herself

Lyra pretended to scuff at so at Jaden through half-lowered lashes He didn’t need to kno closely she atching hi out here were so interesting, she thought He acted like all this was a novelty: parks, trees, even the night sky, which she was pretty sure Silver Falls didn’t have a monopoly on He’d even made some random co snarky, just interested… though Lyra iined Jaden’s reaction to the news that her father actually owned a garden center would be a little e-worthy