Autumn Moon

Chapter Three

Corisa walked back down the hall behind Alec. He went to the fridge and pulled out a beer for her and then kicked the door shut. She heard the bottles rattle at the force of it. He twisted the top off with his forearm and handed it to her. She walked to the couch and plopped down. The seat sank beneath her and she rubbed her hand against the back of it, feeling the softness beneath her fingers.

Alec watched her tentatively. I bet her skin is as smooth as silk. His wolf was watching her, too. His canines were descending, again. He wanted her to touch him like that. To let her fingertips graze his face while he kissed her. He knew he shouldn't feel this way. Not about a human. Not with his status. He sat down in one of the chairs after grabbing his beer from the table. "So," he took in another deep breath of her fruity scent, "tell me about yourself. Start with why you came to the west coast." He took a swig of his beer.

Corisa raised her eyebrows. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"I find that being blunt has its advantages." He showed her that award winning grin.

She raised the bottle to her lips and downed a good bit before stopping to wipe her mouth with her hand.

Lucky bottle. Alec's wolf sighed.

"If I answer your questions, will you answer mine?" She began to peel the label from the bottle.

"Why not? I have no problem telling you about myself. I'd even tell you what color my underwear are if you asked." Alec laughed as he watched her cheeks heat up.

Corisa picked up one of the throw pillows and tossed it his way. "Shut up! Oh my Gosh!" His laugh vibrated in her chest. "Anyway," she rolled her eyes as he collected himself, "I came out here looking for something. Answers, specifically. I found out that my parents weren't really my parents. My real parents were here, last I heard." She looked down at her bottle and back at Alec. "Your turn." He nodded. "Why did you do all of this?" She motioned around the apartment.

"I told you. I was staging it for potential renters, anyway, and didn't see the use in letting all of this go to waste in a storage locker." Liar.

"Liar." Corisa echoed his wolf.

Alec cocked his head to the side, strangely resembling a dog. "Excuse me?"

"I said you're a liar. Liar, liar. Pants on fire," she sang. "You're freaking lying." She held up a hand in front of her to stop his attempt at protest and spoke with her eyes closed. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do." She put her hand down and looked him dead in the eyes. "I've always been able to tell. Since I was four and fell off of a diving board."

"What do you mean you 'fell off of a diving board'?" Alec leaned forward in his chair, completely enthralled.

"I fell off of a diving board. The pool was empty." Corisa shrugged. "I barely survived. At least that's what my 'parents' told me." She chugged the rest of her beer and went to the fridge for something different to drink, throwing away the bottle in the process. She grabbed a water and sat back down on the couch.

"You don't remember anything?"

Corisa shook her head. "Nothing. Not even the stay in the hospital. Every time I asked about it my head would feel like it was going to explode. I stopped asking." She sat the water on the table and began fidgeting with her hands. "I have trust issues."

"Hey, I get it. The people you thought you could trust more than anyone lied to you your entire life. You don't have to tell me anything. Really. I just wanted to know more about you." Alec watched her raise her eyes to meet his.