A Bit of Wolf in Her

10. Bet it's a great make-out spot

"You know why he gave me that article, don't you?"

Noah let out a long breath through his nose before nodding. "I'm pretty sure about where he found the article too." Winnie's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What? You guys have some secret vault with a bunch of secret information about...?" she trailed off as Noah nodded. "Why?" Noah either couldn't or wouldn't answer her. "So, where is it? The secret vault?"

"Seriously?"

"You're the one who's acting like this is just another Tuesday," she shot back. "I thought you'd be more upset about this."

"I am upset."

Before Winnie counter-argued that his pants were in fact, on fire, thunder rumbled and Winnie watched lightning flash bright against the dark sky, and the car ride continued in silence.

"Why did you lie to your friends?" Noah asked after what felt like a lifetime of silence, and Winnie fidgeted with her seatbelt and gave a shrug.

"I didn't need him to be any angrier at me. Not that it helped, thanks to you." It came out harsher than Winnie intended and Noah shot her a side-glance but remained silent. Winnie tried to enjoy the soft hum of the car as the rain pounded down on them until they stopped in front of the familiar Delaney Residence. Winnie peered out the window, a frown etched between her brows as she thought about the last time she'd been there.

"Come on," Noah said, opening the car door for her.

The cold air hit her as she got out, making her hug her arms to her chest for warmth. Unease washed over Winnie as she climbed the driveway up to the front door, Noah by her side. A part of her kept screaming that it was a trap, but she blinked and suddenly she was inside. True to Noah's words, there was no one to be seen, and they climbed a swirling staircase up to the second floor.

Noah plopped down on a big leather armchair behind the desk in his room. Winnie stayed standing close to the door, arms folded across her chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, now that you're here, we might as well finish our assignment."

So, it had been a trap. Just not the kind Winnie expected. Noah beamed at her when she narrowed her eyes, but took a seat across from him. She accepted that the conversation about Albert was over. Questions continued to swirl around in her head, though. After a while, with her hand cramping and her head hurting from overthinking, she called it quits.

"Smoke break?" she asked, and Noah stretched out his tall limbs with a chuckle. Winnie recognized the lighter from the night of the party. She followed him back through the house and out onto a balcony overlooking their backyard. Noah lit her cigarette for her. "Is that yours?" she asked, gesturing to the lighter.

He nodded, running his thumb over the engraving before handing it to her to inspect. It looked even prettier in the daylight; the sun reflecting off its silver surface. Engraved into the side was Noah's name, surrounded by delicate swirls and vines all around the lighter.

"Elijah's dad gave it to me." Winnie hadn't even thought about the presence–or lack thereof–of Elijah's parents. "When Elijah and I were younger, we used to sneak into his dad's study and steal his cigars. We both wanted to be like him so badly," Noah said. There was a hint of sadness in his laugh that made Winnie's heart contract. Before Winnie could ask what happened, Noah continued. "He got killed by another pack two years ago. That's why Elijah left. His mom was already gone and with his dad -" Noah stopped. Winnie handed the lighter back to Noah, not saying anything. A horrifying thought popped up for a split second in Winnie's mind, but she pushed it away. It wasn't something she ever wanted an answer to. Instead, she put the cigarette to her lips once more, exhaling the smoke through her nose into the chilly afternoon air, trying not to think of what it was like losing the only parent you had. "One night after a game, something triggered him and he freaked out. Miles and Stella were there, saw him do things that no human could do. Albert too."