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Lyra didn’t bother to argue with hilass She hated having to lie to Si at odds with hiave hih his reddened eyes, she was surprised to find the?" she asked "You’re not yourself lately Even before this " She decidedJaden by name would just make him shut down
Simon lifted his eyebrows at her He really was handsoht this second, but really classically good looking She’d alondered why another girl hadn’t snatched hiht that she irls away… or that he’d si deter me out lately, Lyra So there’s that And what do you ? Dependable? Always around because I have nothing better to do? That stuff never changes"
Lyra frowned at the edge in his voice "Iright now Or recently"
He looked at her for a longto decide what to say He didn’t look hurt, at least But this side of Simon was unfamiliar to her It wasn’t like him to be troubled and broody She worried Of course, lately, it felt like all she did orry She shouldn’t have been surprised that Si in on the action Finally, he spoke
"I don’t know, Lyra I know you want all this But I just keep thinking… there’s a lot more out there than Silver Falls" He looked away "Maybe you’re not the only one who gets tired of being pigeonholed"
It hurt to hear him so down She’d had no idea he was dissatisfied with pack life, and that hurt more… because he hadn’t told her Better late than never, she guessed If she could only find the words to fix what ailed hireat You’re one of the uard, everyone says so Not to mention you’re one of the only people who’s able to put up with ood co armor Just olf style"
One side of his mouth curved up, but his eyes were full of ot to his feet, swaying only slightly "I think I’ll take a page out of the cat vaet some air I’ll see you later, Lyra"
Her next response wasn’t so she usually did Physical affection just wasn’t her thing, and she’d never been one of those girls who couldn’t let a friend go without soushy display But before she could think better of it, Lyra rose and wrapped her arrip on everything she cared about with no solution in sight, and soh she knew daain
She felt Simon stiffen, then relent for the briefest of ht squeeze So coo
"Everything’s changing," Lyra said unhappily, her head against Sis do" Then he disentangled hi her just as surely as Jaden had last night The difference was that she didn’t even have Jaden to lose Simon looked off to his left, toward the door to the bar, and frowned
"Great And he called ful look "Steer clear of hi but trouble And that one’s gothim"
She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head "It’s my job I don’t care how pretty he is, or how mysterious or whatever it is you see there You’d better start thinking with your head, or you’re not going to get what you want"
Silare across the roo,from the path of a newcomer to the bar Then he turned and headed for the back door, leaving her to deal with the situation all on her own Lyra’s stomach sank as she looked around and saw every wolf in the place tense, bristle, their eyes lighting like lamps in the dim room And of course, she knew exactly why
She could smell him: vamp, feline, and utterly male Of course, the difference between her and the rest of the wolves seemed to be that while his scent made them want to attack, she sort of wanted to find the source and… roll around in it
Her heart picked up its pace as soon as she caught sight of his dark head He held it high, ignoring the hostile glares, the lols, and the not-so-quiet epithets as he strode into the roorace no human, or wolf, could possess Jaden see the direct eye contact e She couldn’t seerily His lean forht blue as they swept the roo the thinly veiled hatred hichhim
When those eyes settled on her, she knew i Simon He looked hot, bothered, and fixed on her with a raw possessiveness that knocked the breath right out of her This was everything she’d feared, everything she’d sworn she didn’t want even though it te ever had