The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 38

CAULDER

\t"Why isn't Harper riding to school with us?" Remy asked, sitting in the passenger seat.

\t"I don't want to talk about it." I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

\t"What did you do?" Remy put her feet up on the dashboard and stretched out. She sipped her coffee and then breathed in the caffeine.

\t"Put your feet down. It's dangerous, and I didn't do anything." There was a pressure in my chest that was holding steady. It made my skin itch, and all I wanted to do was scream just to release some of the pressure. \tRemy put her feet down. "Uh-huh. Sure. Are you going to apologize?"

\tl tried to take a deep breath, but it only added to the pressure I was feeling. "I didn't do anything. At least not recently."

\tRemy leaned forward to get a better look at me. I could feel her studying my face, but I made a point to stare at the road. She leaned back and hummed loudly. "It's going to take her time to fully trust that you actually want her. If you just tell her she's your mate, she will understand you're serious about her."

\t"I can't tell her that." Harper's intense reaction had confused me this morning. Sure, it was embarrassing for my parents to get involved like that, but it wasn't like we had actually done something wrong. What Remy said made it click, though. Harper was still afraid of me using her and getting bored. My parents thinking we had s*x just made it more real for her.

\t"Why not?" Remy put her feet up again.

\tl shook my head, deciding it wasn't worth telling her what to do. "I want her to want me because she wants to. I don't want her to feel obligated because of a mate bond."

\t"I guess I get that." Remy grew quiet and stopped prodding after that.

It-

\tREMY

\tWhen I entered the lunch room, I headed straight over to where Harper was sitting by herself. As far as I knew, she hadn't talked to Caulder all morning. Caulder hadn't given me much information about the incident, so maybe Harper would be able to fill me in better.

\tl dropped my tray of food on the table, which made Harper jump. I slid onto the bench across from her, and she looked up at me, breaking from her daze. She hadn't touched her food yet, other than pushing it around with her fork.

\t"Oh, Remy. Is Caulder coming?" She seemed nervous at her own mention of Caulder.

\t"Nope. I told him not to." I picked up my spork and waved it at her. "So are you going to tell me what's going on between the two of you? Caulder didn't give me anything."

\tHarper looked down at her plate and started pushing what was supposed to be peas around. "It's nothing."

\tl pointed my spork at her and narrowed my eyes. "Uh-uh. I'm not accepting that answer. Tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help."

\tHarper bit her lip, and I could see the gears turning in her eyes as she debated if she should tell me. Finally, she met my gaze. "I'm an i***t. I fell asleep in Caulder's bed last night-nothing happened, so wipe that smirk off of your face. Anyway, your mother walked in on us, and I just freaked out."

\t"That's definitely embarrassing, but it's not a big deal, so why are you avoiding Caulder?" I would have hated my parents walking in on me sleeping in a guy's bed, but I would have just avoided my parents and not the guy. There was definitely something else going

on.

\tHarper looked around the room, and I wasn't sure if it was because she needed another moment to organize her thoughts or if she was making sure no one was listening to her. "Caulder didn't do anything wrong." She let out a long sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop, you know? He says that he wants to be different with me, and I want to believe him. He's been so patient, and he's been taking me out on dates. Everything is so great, and that scares me."

\t"Why?" I didn't fully understand her logic. I knew Caulder, and I knew he would never intentionally hurt Harper, especially since she was his mate-not that she knew that yet, but it wasn't my place to tell her.

\t"Because the happier I am with him, the harder I'll fall when something goes wrong," she said simply.

\t"Yeah, that's scary, but it's also exciting. If you're happy with Caulder, then don't self-sabotage. Just enjoy the happiness while it's here." I could relate to Harper more than she realized. The more I fell for Blade, the scarier it was. I still didn't know him, and for all I knew, Caulder could be right. Blade could just be using me, but I wanted to believe the best in him and enjoy whatever we were while we had it.

\t"I know, but I can't stand the idea of losing Caulder. Last night I almost went all of the way with him. I wanted to go all of the way, and if I had..." Her voice trailed off, and her face twisted. "If I gave into my desires, there would be nothing stopping Caulder from getting bored and just moving on." She immediately hid her face in her hands. "I feel like such a foolish girl."

\tl grabbed her hands and made her look at me. "I know you already know this, but Caulder would never do that to you. You mean too much to him. You have always been there for the both of us, and he's not just going to throw you to the side just because you have s*x with him. Caulder has his issues, sure, but he's not that much of an a*****e."

\tHarper pulled her lips tightly and took a deep inhale through her nose. "I owe him an apology, don't I?"

\tl shrugged and grabbed the roll off her plate, knowing it was the most edible food we were provided. I took a big bite of it. "Maybe at least an explanation."

\t"Right. I'm such an idiot." She snatched the roll off my plate and shook her head at me before biting it.

\t"Eh, maybe, but we all have our moments, so stop the self-deprication." I winked at her and instantly giggled when she stuck her tongue out at me. It was nice talking to Harper one on one. She and Caulder had practically been inseparable for the past few days, so I had felt like I was third-wheeling it on the few occasions I had actually spent time with them.

\t"So are you going to tell me about this boy of yours?" Harper asked, a devious smile filling her face.

\tMy heart started pounding against my rib cage, and the color drained out of my face. I quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening to us. The more people who knew about a guy in my life, the more questions I would get and the higher the chances would be that someone discovered Blade before I was ready. Even Caulder knowing had spread the knowledge of Blade's existence more than I was prepared for.

\t"Not here," I whispered. I jumped out of my seat and dragged Harper behind me. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had to get away from the school.

\t"Remy, where are we going?" Harper asked as I pulled her through the front doors of the school.

\tl kept walking until we were on the edge of the forest where I knew no one could listen to our conversation. I finally let go of Harper's hand and turned to her.

\t"Is this really necessary? We're going to be late for class." Harper looked around nervously. She cared about school almost as much as me, although my desire for perfect attendance and good grades was quickly dwindling.

\t"No one can hear this," I said, keeping my voice low. "I don't know what Caulder told you about Blade exactly, but right now, people can't know about him."

\t"Because he's a vampire?" Clearly, Caulder had already told her most of what happened-if not everything.

\tl nodded slowly. "I don't think my dad or mom would be too happy about that, and I don't want Blade to get hurt because of it. He was already hurt because of the way Caulder discovered him." A pang of guilt ran through me as I thought about last night. Part of me wondered if I could have avoided the horribleness of last night if I had just been honest about what was happening with Blade earlier, but I had no idea if there was any way to know for sure. It could have gone worse if Caulder had had a chance to meet Blade prior.

\tHarper wrapped her arms around herself. "Rem, are you sure it's smart to keep a vampire a secret from your family? What if he's dangerous and hurts someone?"

\t"He won't." I was confident about that statement. "I would never forgive myself if I was wrong about him, but I can just feel it in my bones. I don't know how to explain it." I could feel a smile tugging at my lips as I thought about Blade, but I tried to suppress the smile as much as possible.

\tHarper nodded, listening to me closely. She kept her face neutral as she listened to me. "So I hear he's your mate." She raised her eyebrows as her lips tugged into a smile.

\tl bit my lip to stop myself from smiling like an i***t. "Yeah, I think so at least. My wolf tells me he's my mate, but I don't feel the kind of pull towards him as I expected."

\t"Is it because he's a vampire? Maybe the bond is different," she suggested.

\t"I think so. Blade says vampires don't have fated mates in the same way vampires do, but they still mate for life. If the mate bond is one sided, I could see it being weaker because of that." My heart raced as I spoke, and it took more effort to keep my breathing normal. I was scared of falling for Blade for the same reason Harper was scared to fall for Caulder.

\t"That does sound pretty scary. Do you think he likes you back?"

\tThis time I couldn't stop my smile from forming. "I think so."

\t"You really are falling for him aren't you?" Harper teased.

\tl could feel my face flush. I didn't want to say it out loud, but she was right. I was falling hard for Blade, and I didn't know how to stop it. "Maybe."

\t"So when do I get to meet him?" Harper asked, swaying back and forth.

\t"What about tonight?" I had a feeling Caulder would give me a look of disapproval for me bringing Harper with us to meet Blade, but Harper was her own person who could make her own decisions. \t"Really?" Harper seemed excited by the idea.

\tl shrugged my shoulders. "Blade is going to teach us how to fight against vampires. I'm sure those skills would be useful for you, too."

\tHarper hooked her arm with mine. She leaned her head against my shoulder. "Caulder isn't going to like this, is he?"

\tl chuckled, knowing she was right. "Probably not, but it's a good thing he doesn't control either of us. Besides, a kiss from you will make him forget everything." \tHarper bumped me with her hip. "Remy!"

\tl chuckled at her response. "Just saying the honest truth." I let go of her arm and started moving faster. "Come on. We're going to be late for class. I'll race you!"