He Will Be Mine

Chapter 60: Love in the Library

*** Alyssa's POV ***

The first three weeks of this term have flown by. It's crazy how time just seems to slip by once you get into a routine. It's also a bit concerning, considering that I have more to be focusing on than just school currently.

Matt and I have been studying those books I brought back from the trip to see Clarice, and it's been a good experience for both of us. He has learned a lot about werewolves and what it takes to be Alpha, and I've been brushing up on important people and events in werewolf history. We've dug out a few other passages that might be useful in the long run, and Ronnie has organized them all on color-coded notecards for us "to help with constructing the final presentation." She's treating it like it's just another homework assignment, but I'm fine with that. Her methods seem to work.

Now, two weeks after that trip, we have decided to make a quick trip back to my pack to visit the library there. It seems like the best next step because once we travel to Colorado to Elder Stirling's pack and visit the giant library there, I want to have a plan. I need to sort out what, specifically, we're looking for. Currently, I have a list of names and events that I want to reference at my home library and figure out what is and isn't important to spend more time on.

So, Friday afternoon after our last classes for the week, Tyler, Matt, Ronnie, and I pile into my car and head to the airport. Yes, Ronnie is coming this time. She's been invaluable as a research partner, and my dad approved it. Her mom reluctantly gave permission as well, though I don't think she particularly likes the idea of us taking her daughter there. She wanted me to promise that she will emerge from the experience just as Catholic as she was going in, with her innocence intact. I promised her the first part but told her the second part is up to her daughter.

Ronnie tells me after we're already on the plane and in the air that it's her first time flying. I believe it, judging by how she seems so tense and nervous, but she also has that childish excitement that comes from new experiences.

"If you get scared, you can hold my hand," Tyler offers. There's not even a hint of teasing there. Sometimes, he's so sweet it's beyond sexy.

"I'll be okay, but thanks," Ronnie says with a brave smile. "Driving around campus is honestly scarier than this."

"I can't argue with that," Matt agrees. "And this is my first time, too. Despite the distance, I usually drive to and from school to avoid doing this. But she's right, it's not so bad after we get going."

"Well, if you get scared, hold Aly's hand," Tyler smirks at him, and this time he is definitely teasing.

"Already am, and it's not because I'm scared. It's because I can," Matt retorts defiantly, holding up our linked hands to prove it.

I can't help laughing at their exchange. Matt grins at me and leans over to kiss my forehead, while his brother sticks his tongue out at us. Always having such entertaining company is probably another reason why time always seems to be flying by.

*** Ronnie's POV ***

The woods by Aly's house seem spooky, but I kind of love it. There's not anything actually wrong with the woods, but I like how the trees kind of lean across the narrow road that leads to her house, like they're reaching out for each other to close us in here. And then there's a little village tucked away in there that's not on any map and it's like those trees are protecting it from the rest of the world. I suppose they are, in a way.

Her house is quite a sight too. It's tall and wide like some sort of rustic mansion. She's already told me why it's so big, because it houses a lot of different people and is more than a house. The library we're here to visit is in there someplace, and Tyler has told me there's also a rec room with a big screen TV and every video game console you can imagine, plus a billiard table, foosball, you name it. I'm far more interested in the werewolf library, though. I hope it's like Clarice's library, except bigger.