Blue Moon (Colors of the Moon #1)

Chapter 23

The first thing I became aware of was the warmth the blanket wrapped around me radiated. It had been too long since I last felt this much at peace. All I wanted to do was snuggle deeper into the blanket and forget about the rest of the world.

As if sensing my indecision, the blanket tightened around me. It pinned me even further—

I snapped my eyes open.

The warm blanket I was gushing about wasn't a blanket after all. It was a warm body pressed against my back, while I was lying on my side. A strong muscular arm was wrapped around my stomach, holding me securely pinned to the perfectly fitted position of the body behind me. From the warm chest glued to my back, to the feet tangled up with mine.

Without a doubt I knew who was to blame for the sweet shiver that tingled my neck every time he exhaled. I had, after all, fallen asleep in Jared's bedroom, and in his bed.

Despite my urge to break out of his hold, I forced myself to remain still. Instead, I focused on his breathing pattern. The steady rhythm told me he was still very much asleep.

Now, all I had to do was get out of his hold and slip out of the room, without waking him up in the process. What should have been an easy escape, however, proved to be much more futile. The stupid werewolf strength made it impossible to simply lift his arm and slip out of bed.

By the time I finally managed to lift his arm, the first drops of sweat slid down my forehead. Without a moment of hesitation, I used the window of opportunity and rolled out of his hold. My victorious smile, however, was swiped off my lips when I realized I had used too much force. I rolled right off the edge of the bed and landed face first on the floor.

I barely managed to hold in the groan of pain before I slowly turned onto my back. At least nothing seemed to be broken.

"Naia!" Jared's head popped up from the edge of the bed, without a single trace of sleep in his wide open eyes.

"You're awake." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Of course, I'm awake. Your wiggling would have awakened a dead person." He reached over the edge of the bed and offered me his hand. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." I swatted his hand away and sat up with the help of my own elbows. "I fell off the bed."

"That's not my fault."

"Yes, it is." I glared up at him. "If you had let me go, I wouldn't be on this floor right now. You should have—"

The words died on my tongue when I finally realized what was happening. My eyes widened and I looked up to find Jared's in a similar state.

"Do you just..." he whispered.

I shook my head, but it was too late. We had both heard it.

"I..." I opened my mouth, yet no words left it. I had no idea how to explain my outburst and how to apologize for it.

"Finally." Instead of the glare I expect his shock to melt into, his lips stretch into the widest grin I had ever seen. "I thought you were going to need years to finally show some anger."

Without warning, he grabbed both of my upper arms and lifted me off the floor and back onto the soft bed.

"From now on you have to promise to always tell me what you think. Your opinion matters, not just to me, but to the entire pack."

"I..." I swallowed the lump, which had formed in my throat. "No one has ever told me that my opinion matters."

"What in the Moon did your family tell you then?"