He Calls Me Ice Princess

Chapter 16- Don't Get Hurt

Later that night, I lay in bed, Tristan at my side. It took forever to convince my parents to let him stay in my room, but our lack of free rooms helped me greatly. They finally gave in and said okay as long as we didn't do anything they wouldn't appreciate...

My head was resting on Tristan's chest and I could feel him playing with my blonde locks. I was almost asleep when he spoke, "Riley is it wrong for me to be scared about going back? I like it here."

"I know and it's not wrong. Everyone gets scared and you have more than enough reason," I comforted him, tracing one of the scars on his arm. It made me sick to think about what he had been through, but the scars didn't make him look gross like my only one did. I had a scar right below my elbow due to my clumsiness and it was a rugged pink line that looked awful. His weren't like that; they were more like battle wounds.

He sighed. "I know, but I still feel weak... I know I'll be fine and I have to make sure you don't get hurt in that battle."

"You don't have to worry about me; I'm strong and so are you," I reminded him.

Tristan smiled down at me. "How did I get so lucky? You deserve so much better than me."

"Hey, you're the one willing to risk his life to help us. You are incredible," I told him.

He laughed softly. "There you go again, how am I going to call you Ice princess when you're so nice?"

"Do you want me to be mean to you?" I asked, my eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

He laughed again, probably at me rather than with me, and replied, "Not really. I like it when you're nice." He interlaced his fingers with mine.

"Me too... How come as soon as I win you over, my Streak is at war with your old one?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

Tristan answered anyways. "Probably to keep us on our toes- and if there weren't bad times, we wouldn't appreciate the good ones."

"I guess..." I muttered. Then I changed the subject to a lighter topic. "Can you really play guitar?" It had been on my mind since Sam's party when he'd said he could.

He nodded. "A little; I took a music class back in Minnesota."

"You're from Minnesota?" That was when it occurred to me; how could I have not known where he was from?

He nodded again. "Yeah- Mantra, Minnesota; where it actually got cold in the winter."

"I've never seen real snow. Actually, the only time I've been out of California was to visit my mom's sister in Phoenix, Arizona when I was eight." I informed him.

He frowned. "You've never seen snow... You're missing out; it's beautiful. The senior trip is to Wisconsin, right?"

"Yeah, but it's in the summer, after graduation." I sighed. I would probably never see snow unless there was a sudden and dramatic change in weather. After I became Alpha, I would have to stay in California in case something happened to my Streak.

 Tristan gave me a small smile. "I'll make sure you see snow before graduation." I gave him a curious look; how did he plan on making it snow in California?

"How are you-?"

He cut me off before I could finish my question. "Just trust me... When is your birthday?"

I sighed in defeat. "I'm turning eighteen on November twenty-second. When is yours?" Please don't be younger than me! I had no problem with couples where the male was younger, (my mom is older than my dad) but I didn't want to be older than Tristan... it would be weird.