The Summer Moon
Chapter 39 -

Malia

I knew Tom had seen Ty's hickeys, and even if he somehow convinced himself that they were there before, he saw me holding Ty's hand, he saw Ty kiss my cheek. I felt guilty as we walked around the boardwalk again. Tom made a point to keep some distance between us now, which I understood. I, too, was a little worried Ty was still going to come beat him up.

As we weaved through the people, I found myself constantly searching the crowd for Ty, and I wondered if he was doing the same looking for me. But I only came back disappointed without a sight of him. Maybe he had gone home. Finally, ahead of us, I noticed Emily and Luke looking cozy on a bench. When her head turns and she sees me approaching, her eyes go wide. She hops off of Luke's lap and runs towards me. "Malia, I think we should go get some cotton candy," she grabbed my hands and smiled, pulling me back in the direction I had just come from.

"What? No I'm not hungry, Tom and I were going this way," I said, turning us back around. I started walking forwards again, passing Luke on the bench.

"Malia, no I don't think you should go over there," Emily tugs on my arm again, but I shake her off. What was going on with her? Then as I turned my eyes forwards I noticed that Tom had stopped walking, because straight ahead Ty was standing with Jesse, Liam, Connor, and a couple of girls I didn't recognize. Ty leaned casually against the fence, eating popcorn and talking to Jesse. His hickey in perfect site. Liam's attention, of course, was focused on one girl, and Connor's attention on the other.

I watched Ty for a while, waiting for his gaze to catch mine, only it never did. Emily stepped into my view, coming up beside me and grabbed my arm to pull me towards him. "Okay you know what, let's kick his ass. I've got your back," she looped her arm in mine and charged forwards.

"Wait what no!" I stopped abruptly but Emily kept pulling. "Emily let go!" I said louder and finally caught Ty's attention. He looked over at me curiously, standing up straight as he dared to take a step forwards, but I quickly shook my head. The last thing I wanted was him to come over here.

"Malia, no, we're going over there. I am not letting him treat my new best friend like this," I gave her a confused look, he wasn't even doing anything. "You're supposed to be here making him jealous and he thinks he can let some slut leave hickeys all over his neck? No way, now come on." I looked at her shocked and stumbled as she pulled me forward again. If only she knew those hickeys were my doing.

We came to a halt in front of the two guys and Ty's warm eyes met mine quickly. That winning smile flashed across my face but it quickly turned to shock as Emily began pointing her finger at his chest and yelling, "How dare you! This girl is flawless and if you think you can do any better you have lost your fucking mind!" Ty's eyes widened. Emily's arm swung out to smack him and I watched in aw as Ty moved faster than anything I'd ever seen, catching her hand before it collided with his face.

"Emily!" Jesse screamed at her. He picked her straight up off the ground while she flailed to get out of her brother's hold. "Ty, I'm so sorry I'll handle this," he said, carrying her away from us.

"What in the hell just happened?" Ty asked, turning his attention back to me and a laugh escaped my lips. I brought my hand up to my mouth, trying to hide it, but there was no holding back now. The look on Ty's face alone was enough to make me hysterical.

"Guess those hickeys aren't all good, huh?" I finally managed to say. Ty made an O shape with his mouth, realizing what I meant. I turned to lean on the fence next to him, still trying to hold back my laughter.

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you tell her they're from you?!" He turned to me, raising his voice a little, but as I looked to the smile on his lips, I knew he really wasn't mad.

"I didn't get a chance to. Really, I think this is your fault," Ty rolled his eyes and shook his head, then passed the popcorn container towards me. I took a handful out, suddenly feeling hungry. I hadn't eaten much of my dinner after all. "Where's Tom?" Ty asked next, looking out in front of us. I just shrugged my shoulders, I didn't care at all where Tom was right now. "Lost interest already?" And with that I knew I had to come clean. Not just with him, but with myself. I hadn't really been interested in Tom, Ty was definitely taking up my entire focus. So, I took a deep breath then turned to face him.

"Honestly, Emily set it up and I shouldn't have agreed to go along with it. I was trying to make you jealous," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. This whole plan made me seem really immature and Ty deserved to be totally angry at me, but I was surprised to replace his gaze more concerned than ever before.

"What? Why?" His eyes wildly searched mine for the answer, completely taken aback by my confession.

"I don't know," I said again, feeling pathetic. Did I know anything? "You gave me a pretty nasty look today at the beach, like you were mad at me or something." A shiver ran down my spine as I thought back to his cold narrowed eyes on mine. Completely opposite to how he looked at me now. Now, he looked at me like I would eat him alive. I quickly looked away, feeling a pit grow in my stomach as my eyes met the ground. Then his arm was snaking around my waist and pulling me into him, his hand guiding my chin so our eyes met once more.

"Malia, I was upset because you broke my heart yesterday when you left me, then you spent all day dodging my texts, and when I finally replace you you're talking to some other guy," his voice was soft, pouring our raw emotion and my heart ached knowing how badly I must have hurt him too. But this whole situation was crazy. Couldn't he see that? It was making me crazy. "I just can't understand why you would want to make me jealous though. I'm already head over heels for you, can't you see that?" my heart swooned, hanging off every word he said.

"I don't know," I sighed, letting my head drop once again, but Ty's hand found my cheek and pulled my gaze back up."Ty, I literally watched my very normal-seeming boyfriend turn into a freaking wolf! And now I feel like an actually crazy person!" I started to shout at him, unable to control my emotions any longer. I pouted at him, crossing my arms over my chest in defense.

"I was protecting you and everyone else at the party!" He argued back, and I took my opportunity to pull away from him and put some space between us. Everytime he touched me, the sparks it sent through my skin made my thoughts a little foggy, and I needed to think clearly right now.

"So this is something you just do all the time? You turn into a freaking wolf?"

"Well, yeah, pretty frequently if I'm being honest, but that really shouldn't matter. Malia, I am totally crazy about you and I keep telling you that and I don't know if you're not hearing it or if I'm doing a bad job of showing it or what," he confessed, then took a deep breath. "Seriously, you almost got poor Tom killed and I don't want to play these games with you. I'm yours Lia, nothing else should matter," he admitted his feelings for me for a second time tonight and my heart was melting in my chest. Did he really feel this strongly about me? I stepped closer to him instinctively, allowing my hand to run up his chest, caressing the muscles beneath his t-shirt.

"Well I didn't expect you to go all crazy on him, really you could have been a little nicer," I giggled at him and Ty hung his head back, clearly unimpressed with my answer. Honestly, I was feeling a little crazy about him too right about now, nearly forgetting about the crowd around us entirely.

"Oh trust me, that was my nicest side for him," Ty shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes and I reached up to push it back, earning myself a charming smile.

"How come you let me slap you?" I asked him, changing the topic. He definitely could have grabbed my hand the same way he had with Emily's, but instead he had just let me.

"I deserved that one, I was being an asshole to you," Ty admitted with a small smile. "I am sorry, Malia," and I knew he really meant it that time.

"Well, it made me feel better," I giggled, lightening the mood again. I took some more popcorn from Ty and together we watched Emily and Jesse argue, neither of them paying any attention to us. In the distance, I saw Tom sitting on the bench beside Luke and immediately felt guilty again.

I turned back to Ty and noticed the hickeys on his neck already lightening. "How do you do that?" I whispered, reaching up to rub my hand over the skin. Ty raised his eyebrow at me so I continued, "they're fading so quickly."

Ty gave me a small smile and pointed towards himself. "Werewolf," he stated with a wink. I thought back to the night of Emily's party and how quickly Ty had healed from his injuries. His body healed impossibly fast. "What else can you do?" I whispered, keeping my voice low. I focused my eyes on his, eager to know more.

"Well you've seen how I heal faster, super speed, super strength," He turned to me and placed his hand on my hip, pulling us slightly closer once more.

"You can read minds," I added and he laughed, letting his hair fall in his eyes as he hung his head.

"I can't read minds, I can just hear the thoughts that other wolves in my pack push towards me," Ty explained, but I really didn't want to listen anymore. There was something about being under the carnival lights that just seemed to make everything more romantic and I found myself leaning in closer to him.

Suddenly I heard Emily's voice beside us, "uh, what are you two doing?" I quickly pushed Ty back from me and scrambled to look casual. I blushed realizing I'd been so focused on Ty I hadn't even noticed her and Jesse approaching. And just when I thought this couldn't get more embarrassing, I noticed Tom and Luke coming up behind them. I was literally the worst date ever.

"Nothing," Ty shrugged so casually, clearly not feeling as anxious as I was.

"Okay, well you still have a lot of explaining to do about those hickeys," Emily said, pointing her finger at Ty once more. Then she turned to me, "and don't you dare forgive him so easily, he's a jerk and deserves to work for it." I burst out laughing and saw Ty scowling out of the corner of his eye.

"Um hey guys," Tom said shyly as he approached our group. I gave him a small smile but honestly didn't know what to say anymore. "Malia, could I uh speak with you?" He asked and I nodded my head. He led me away from the group slightly, and as we stopped I looked over to see Ty watching us intently.

"Look, I think I'm going to head home. Do you need a ride?" Tom shuffled on his feet. I felt guilty, but honestly, that was probably for the best. This date really wasn't going as planned, and even if I didn't end up with Ty, I wasn't in the right headspace to be seeing anyone else right now.

"It's okay, I can just walk home, I don't live far," I shrugged, knowing my walk home would probably be nearly an hour. But truly I didn't want to face the awkwardness of the quiet car ride with Tom.

Tom nodded his head and we said our goodbyes before I went back to join the group.

"Aw is Tom leaving? Don't worry, I can drive you home," Emily looked at me with sad eyes, but I quickly shook my head. There was no way I was letting her ruin her date with Luke over this, they were totally hitting it off.

"No, it's okay, enjoy your night. I don't mind walking," I smiled at her, but just as I went to leave I felt electricity shoot up my arm and I turned back to see Ty holding my hand.

"Stay and hang out with me, with us" His eyes burned into mine.

"No, seriously it's okay, you came with your friends. I don't want to impose," I muttered. "Besides, we're sort of fighting, I guess. It would be weird," I admitted. Although, nothing with him had really been all that weird up to this point. Ty always knew the right things to say and things just seemed to flow naturally between us, with or without the tension.

Ty's arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me to his side. "Don't be ridiculous, you belong here," he whispered against my hair. "Even if we're fighting, I still want you here with me. Now come on, stay," he said, and as I looked up to him I felt my worry quickly fade. So I nodded my head, and together we went back to join the group.

"Good news, Malia's decided to stay!" Ty announced and Liam cheered. I rolled my eyes at him as he immediately turned his attention back to some girl.

The group of us walked around the carnival some more, coming to a stop in front of a mini-coaster-type ride with loops and twirls that made my stomach spin just looking at them. "Let's go, this is going to be so fun!" Emily squealed, pulling me and Luke into the line. I stared ahead, seeing Ty lined up beside Jesse in front of us.

"Emily, I don't know if I can do this, I might get sick again," I mumbled as the gates opened for us to board, but she quickly skipped away with Luke, obviously not hearing me. I walked slowly towards the ride, feeling the anxiety build in me. I noticed Ty sitting alone in the back cart, while Jesse sat with a girl in front of him. I took a step towards him and Ty smiled, waving his fingers for me to join him. With another turn of my stomach, I shook my head, deciding I should just skip this ride.

"Ooo I want to sit with him!" I heard a girl squeal and run towards him. I froze in place but then felt very annoyed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder while approaching him.

"Sorry this seat is taken," I moved quickly and sat down beside Ty before she could. She gave me a shocked look then stomped away annoyed to replace another seat.

"Jealous?" Ty purred, whispering in my ear as his arm came to wrap around my shoulders. But I couldn't think about that. All I could think about was the workers pulling the bars down over our heads and helping us strap in. "I think I'm going to be sick," I said suddenly, and Ty laughed.

"Come on Malia, I actually like these shoes," he groaned, obviously trying to make a joke of the situation. But I couldn't laugh, I couldn't even move. "You really feel sick?" Ty asked, sensing my distress. He placed his hand on my thigh and I felt my heart slow down instantly with his touch. The knots in my stomach seemed to ease as well, and I took another deep breath.

"N-not really right now, but I did earlier and I hate rides," I looked at him with my eyes wide, pleading. I needed to get off of here before that feeling came back. I would not throw up on him twice within 1 month of knowing him. "Baby I've got you, relax. Just focus on me, I promise this will be fun," and as I looked into Ty's arms I felt myself melt into him, believing every word he said. He tightened his hand on my thigh and held my hand in his other.

The coaster lurched forwards, climbing the initial hill and I squinted my eyes shut. But I did as Ty said and focused on him, his touch, and the sparks flying through me. "Open your eyes Lia," Ty whispered in my ear and I leaned as close as I could into him, then pried my eyes open and let out a scream as the coaster took off through the first twist.

The ride came to a stop before I knew it and I looked at Ty with the biggest smile on my face. "That was so fun!" I shouted to him and he matched my grin with his own.

"I can show you fun," he whispered, his eyes turning dark. The beams holding us in the ride came up and Ty's arms were around me in a flash. His lips pressed against mine and I clung to him, eager for more, but he pulled away all too fast. "Come on," he said, jumping out of the ride and pulling me with him.

"What the heck!" I heard Emily shout, obviously having seen our kiss. I gave her a guilty smile. "Oh my god did you give him those hickeys?" She shouted so loud I was sure half the park could hear. I looked over to Ty, unsure what to say, but then suddenly realized something.

"What hickeys?" I asked innocently, knowing that the marks on his neck had now completely disappeared.

Emily stared at the two of us speechless for a moment, then squealed with excitement. "Yes!! My plan worked!!" She shouted, clapping her hands together. Ty flashed her a confused look, then glanced back to me, then back to her once again, waiting for an explanation. "I knew you'd get super jealous and get off your mopey ass to fix things," she smirked to Ty, and in an instant Jesse's hand was clamped over her mouth. He flashed Ty a worried, apologetic look as he dragged his sister back.

My lips parted, in total shock of what she'd just said, but as I turned my attention to Ty, I started to giggle. The cutest smile pulled at the corners of his lips, to replace he was already looking down at me. I thought for sure he would be mad at her, but if he was, he didn't show it at all. "I'm sorry about her," I whispered, feeling the need to apologize, but he shook his head.

"She's right. I was feeling kind of lost with you. I was getting angry and frustrated. Honestly, I had no idea what to do, but seeing you with someone else reminded me that I would do anything to fix things with you," his voice was soft as he spoke, his hand coming up to cup the side of my cheek.

"But I can't promise things are fixed. I mean we haven't even talked," I mumbled in return. I knew it wasn't what he wanted to hear, but if we stood a chance of fixing this, I had to be honest.

"I know, but I'm not going to give up. So you should know that," he smiled down at me and my heart fluttered in my chest. The entire world around us seemingly faded away as I tangled my hands into his hair and pulled my lips up to meet his.I didn't know where our relationship would go from him, but right now, nothing had ever felt as right as kissing him did.

I spent the rest of the night with Ty. Together we rode every ride in the park and through all of them, he held my hand tight and I leaned into him. Not once did I feel the sickness from earlier return and I felt so grateful. Ty and I stopped to lean against the boardwalk fence, sharing some cotton candy. I watched as the waves crashed down onto the beach. "Are you feeling better?" Ty asked me and I nodded back immediately.

"I felt so sick earlier tonight, but right now I feel great," I smiled at him and took another piece of cotton candy.

"Can I tell you something without totally freaking you out?" I nervously smiled, I didn't know. But really what could be worse than replaceing out he was a werewolf, so I nodded my head. "Lia, you felt sick because your body doesn't like anyone but me touching you," Ty smirked at me and my jaw dropped open, he couldn't be serious.