Her Secret Keeper

Chapter 4- Scarlette

Tara-

That was way too f*****g far, Tara. You have to keep your s**t together. You’re only going to hurt him…

“You’re riding the bus today, Tara,” my father’s harsh voice brought me out of my sulking.

“I don’t see the point keeping me away from someone I’m going to marry anyways..” I muttered as I headed down the hall.

“BECAUSE YOU’RE EIGHTEEN TARA, and you live under MY roof!” my father yelled as I exited the pack house. I rolled my eyes. If only he knew half the s**t I’ve done…

“I think we should see more of him..” A voice in my mind echoed.

“Scar?” I replied in pure shock. Scarlet was my wolf. She had locked me out when we found out that we were betrothed. She didn’t like the idea that we would never be able to be with our true mate when we found him, even not knowing if it was Mason or not.

“I know for a fact it isn’t that ass-wipe,” she snorted, pacing back and forth.

“Where have you been?” well that was a stupid question, seeing as she could never leave my mind, “I’ve missed you.”

“So have have I Tara…. I just needed to be alone,” she replied.

The bus had pulled up and I climbed on, quickly spotting Jayce and sitting next to him. I teased him, as I liked to do, making him blush, but smile. I hurried to class after ditching Mason early. I was eager to talk to my wolf without interruption again.

“So why the resurface? Not that I am complaining, I’m just wondering,” I asked nervously.

“I’m..not sure. I just felt…warm all of a sudden last night. And something smelled really good,” she said.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back,” I said quickly as Jayce walked in.

“Me too, and I’m dying for a stretch,” she replied, sniffing around.

“As soon as we get home,” I replied as soon as the bell rang.

Mason was being extremely annoying today for some reason. He was being more handsy and affectionate. During lunch, he had started rubbing his hand up and down my thigh. I kept moving slightly further away from him on the bench, until I saw Laura get up to go to the restroom and I shot up to follow her.

“Goddess-f*****g-dammit!” I exhaled as soon as we got into the restroom.

Laura snickered, “What’s up your ass?” I splashed water over my face as I took deep breaths in front of the mirror.

“Isn’t Mason being exceptionally annoying today?” I asked her.

She only shrugged with a smile, “I see no difference in his behavior.”

“Really?” I asked a bit surprised. Was it all in my head?

“Shit.. Maybe I’m gonna start my period or something,” I thought.

“Could be, I started mine last night,” she said as she checked her teeth in the mirror.

If Laura started hers, mine shouldn’t be too far behind. That could explain why I was so horny last night as well.

“What’s going on, Tara? Mason always behaves that way and you’ve never seemed to mind before,” Laura says as she begins to fluff her lashes with mascara.

I reply, taking the mascara from her and applying some to mine, “I don’t really know, but the good news is that Scarlett resurfaced! I’ll finally be able to shift without looking like a fool.”

When Scar retreated to the back of my mind, she took her consciousness with her. I could still use the bodies we shared, but she was not present, which means, when I shifted into her wolf form, I was on my own trying to figure out how to walk with four legs instead of two. I looked ridiculous the first time I did it, like a new born fawn.

“That’s great! Why the sudden resurface?” Laura dittoed my own thoughts.

“Not sure, she said she felt..warm?” I said, almost sounding like a question.

“Well, I’m glad she’s back. Raven has been bugging about her constantly,” she said, referring to her own wolf.

“Raven! I’ve missed her!” Scarlett chimed in.

“Scar says she’s missed her as well,” I relayed to Laura.

Laura smiled, “Come on, I’m sure Mason is wondering what’s taking us so long.”

Sure enough, as soon as we opened the door, Mason was standing right outside in the hall.

“Hey beautiful, what took so long?” he said with a grin. Annoying. His charms would usually work on any other she-wolf, but I had some sort of immunity to it. I guess I was allergic to bullshit. I smiled as I slinked my arms around his neck, pulling him towards my mouth. I sunk my lips in his and moaned a bit.

“Just making sure I looked good for you,” I replied with a wink, Scar growling within my mind. She hated it when I played the nice girlfriend.

“You always look good babe,” he murmured against my lips. The bell rang and the hallways flooded with students, including Jayce, who seemed to have his gaze focused on the floor. I smoothed out my clothes and and cleared my throat, feeling heat fill my cheeks.

“I’ll see you after school,” I said as I grabbed Laura’s hand and hauled her away to our next class.

I wiped the moisture of Mason’s kiss from my lips and stopped at my locker to grab our books.

“Not obvious at all,” Laura grumbled from beside me. I rolled my eyes.

“What?” I asked as I grabbed our chemistry books.

She only shook her head in response while a smirk played on her lips as we walked to chemistry. After Mrs. Washington finished talking our ears off, we headed to Economics. Jayce was already seated when Laura and I walked in. His eyes met mine immediately, like a magnet. I gave him a small smile as I took my seat next to his. Mr. Westfall was a strict old man. He had a hearing-aid in one ear and spit that formed in the corners of his mouth as he spoke. I cringed and avoided looking at him as much as I could. Instead, I focused on Jayce, who sat beside me. He had his book open as he followed along with our teacher. He had a notebook in which he wrote down a few things every now and then. My chin rested on my hand as I sighed deeply. I watched as the sun from the windows made his tan skin glimmer. His glasses shimmered slightly as the sun lightened his caramel eyes, making me drool slightly. My stomach fluttered as he clamped the end of his pen with his lips, making his dimples sink in and pop. Mmm, I loved his dimples. His disheveled auburn hair fell in front of his forehead slightly, giving him that Super-Man look. Goddess, he was so handsome.

“Mrs. Ravenwood,” Mr. Westfall’s voice jolted me out of my daydreaming, “The board is up here, not on the side of Mr. Preston’s face.” His comment gained a bunch of snickers and all eyes looked to me as I sunk to my seat and my eyes cast down into my book. There was a few giggling, but the shade of red that filled Jayce’s cheeks made me smile. Laura shoved my shoulder from behind me and I laughed a little. Jayce’s eyes found mine and I smiled shyly. He quickly looked away as I could practically feel the heat radiating from his face. Soon, Mr. Westfall’s endless lecture was interrupted by the bell and the class began to gather their things.

“May I remind you that the bell does not dismiss you, I do. Now I expect today’s homework to be on my desk as you walk in tomorrow, no exceptions. You may leave,” his annoying voice filled the room as the class shuffled out. Laura and I quickly went to my locker to switch out books and head to the next class. As we hurried by, we spotted Mason and his pups by his locker. Skyler was standing in front of them, tossing her hair in the playful type of way that meant she was trying to flirt with them. I rolled my eyes and pulled Laura along.

“Aren’t you going to go talk s**t to her?” Laura asked me a bit appalled. I made a face.

“Laura, I told you I don’t care,” I replied in a hushed tone as we took our seats.

“So what? You’re just gonna let any hussy touch your man?” she retorted. I sighed.

“If he doesn’t stop the advances himself, then why would I even try to intervene? That just means he doesn’t value me or our relationship,” I respond as she shakes her head. I shrug my shoulders.

“I’m prepared for what our relationship will be. That’s all that matters,” I say before pressing the space bar on the keyboard. We had computer science this period, so I began the assignment she left on the board for us. I loved the noise my fake nails made as I tapped the keys.

I was lost in thought as I tapped away on the keyboard, daydreaming about the way life would be with Jayce. He was my best friend and knew me better than anyone, even Laura. He would be the perfect mate for me. He would be an amazing father to our pups. They would be so smart because of him and strong because of me. The sound of the bell interrupted my thoughts and I jolted in my seat, gaining a snicker from Laura.

“Daydreaming about Jayce again?” she whispered in my ear. I shot her a look and gathered my things.

“Text me later,” I call out to her.

PE was next and it was the only class I didn’t share with Laura. Our schedules matched exactly, other than 8th period. It was only made bearable because Jayce was there. I headed to the locker room to get changed. When I headed out to the track, Jayce was warming up with the class. I watched as he bent down to touch his toes, his round ass in the air and the muscles in his calves contracting. He always had a hard time keeping up with everyone, his endurance wasn’t the best, but I didn’t mind because I liked to take this period easy after having rough training in the mornings. I met up with him as Coach Wyatt blew the whistle for us to start the track. I fell in line with him. He pushed his glasses up as his eyes darted to the side, glancing at me quickly.

“Hey,” I said nonchalantly.

“Hi,” he replied breathily. I could see the tiny beads of sweat forming at his temples.

“So….there was something I wanted to ask you, about last night?” I whispered as the others continued further away from us. He looked at me nervously, his whole face reddening as he tugged at his collar.

“Did..Did I do something wrong?” he asked quietly.

“No!” I practically yelled, “I-I mean, no. Everything was perfect. I just wanted to ask how you knew about that spot on my neck,” I replied, lowering my voice drastically.

He looked relieved as he answered me, “Oh..uhh…the guys, well Ernest in particular, likes to share this kind of information with me.”

That made sense. I hummed in response. We continued on quietly until Jayce cleared his throat.

“Did…Was it…Why did we do that? I mean, you’re with Mason,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving the ground in front of him.

Shit, how could I answer that without telling him how I felt about him? How did I feel about him? I know I loved him as my best friend and I like him as more, but I couldn’t tell him that. He would want to know why I was with Mason if I like him and what if he felt the same? Then he would want me to break up with Mason to be with him and then I would have to tell him what my father said and then what if he wanted to fight it? What if he wanted to go against everything and I had to tell him everything I had done? What if I had to tell him I wasn’t good enough for him because I wasn’t pure anymore? I had to tell him about all the guys I slept with, all the drugs I did, and all the alcohol I had drank when I went to parties. He wouldn’t want me after he knew all this. He was so innocent and pure and he had saved himself for his mate, he wouldn’t want me. No. I couldn’t tell him. I didn’t deserve him. He deserved better. He deserved someone like Maribel and I had already ruined that for him too. She was too scared to even look at him anymore. My palms had gotten sweaty and I felt my heart hammering against my chest.

“Jaycob, I…” I trailed off. Words, Tara, words! Use your words! Something! Anything! I was panicking. My mind was blank.

“Tara? I’m not mad or anything. I don’t…expect anything from you. I…I just wanted to know…why you did that…with me? I mean, you could have anyone. I mean, you have Mason. Why would you want me?” he mumbled.

Why would I want him? Ugh! Where to begin?! You’re handsome and amazing! Cute and funny! Your dimples make my panties wet and the way your eyes eat me up makes my heart race! You are the most amazing man I have ever met! You are so f*****g smart and a f*****g handy-man! Mason couldn’t drive a screw to save his life! You make me smile and my heart soar just being next to you. You’re my best friend!

“Uhhh…I….uhhh….” I wasn’t making any sense!

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to Tara. I don’t mind…whatever this is. I won’t tell anyone, you know that. I’m your secret keeper,” he said with a grin.

I sighed, my racing heart slowing down slightly. The others had caught up to us and passed around us. I waited until everyone had gone out of hearing range.

“Thank you, Jayce. Really. I-I don’t know how to answer you, but I can tell you that I enjoyed it, a lot. And…you’re right. I could’ve done it with anyone else, but…I didn’t want to,” I said as I stared into his mesmerizing eyes. His cheeks tinged with color immediately.

Soon, we hear the sound of the bell and head back to the lockers. I quickly get dressed and head towards the bus stop. Mason wraps his arms around my waist and I roll my eyes before turning around with a smile. I immediately notice something off about his scent, but choose to ignore it. Probably Skyler rubbing herself on him. She’s so annoying.

“You sure I can’t take you home?” he asks as he nibbles my neck.

I sigh and shake my head, “You know how my dad is,” I say as I shrug my shoulders.

He sighs and kisses my lips which I reciprocate while counting the seconds until it’s over.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he says as he pulls away, I nod.

Soon the bus pulls up and I look around for Jayce who I notice now is nowhere to be seen. I frown knowing this is not like him at all. Scar paces in mind, not liking this situation at all. I get a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach and decide to miss the bus and look for Jayce. I try calling his cell as I make my way back to the locker rooms. It goes straight to voicemail which makes Scar even more antsy to find him. When I enter the boys’ locker room, I can smell blood, Jayce’s blood. I search for him frantically when I come to the spot where there are drops of blood on the floor. Rage fills my chest as I take in the sight. Someone hurt my Jayce. My hands tremble at my sides. Scar is snarling inside my mind, fighting to escape. I find Jayce’s cell on the floor underneath some towels. The screen is shattered in pieces. I sniff out Jayce’s locker and find his backpack still sitting peacefully in it’s place. I grab it and begin tracking his scent. After a while, I notice he is making his way back to the pack. As I continue the trail, it leads to his house and I decide to wait til tonight to check on him. It would look too weird if I showed up now where everyone could see. For now, I will investigate for any witnesses that could tell me who did this to my Jayce.