Chapter 14

Selena's POV

"What?" I gasped, shocked. My voice came out like it was at the verge of breaking. "Who did you lose?"

Cullen’s jaw was hard. He looked down to the floor, and it was as if the thoughts of it were too much for him to look at me. Then he drew in a long breath, before he finally answered. “My little sister.” 

I stood transfixed, my eyes wide. "You… You had a sister?

He nodded his head one time, and his Adam’s apple moved like he had just swallowed the words before he was even able to say it out. “Yeah. She was younger than me.” He laughed bitterly. “She was tiny and feisty. She was always asking me questions about everything, and she was always following me everywhere I went like she was my shadow.” 

The way he was saying it, was kind of between a half smile and half pain. Then something started to pull from deep within my chest. 

"What happened to her?" I breathed, almost afraid of the answer.

His eyes drifted to mine, and for the first time ever, I saw them wet—not from tears, but with something resembling regret. He dropped onto a fallen log, stroking his hand through his disheveled dark hair. "She had nightmares. Horrible ones. She'd wake me up pretty near every night, saying wolves were clawing at her window, calling her name."

I swallowed in a hard effort. My heart was pounding.

“I pushed her away," Cullen continued, his voice low. "Told her it was all in her head. That she needed to grow up and stop being scared of shadows." He laughed coarsely. "God, I even teased her for being such a baby."

I could not even breathe. 

“Then one night,” he said. He stopped and his voice was really cracking. “I woke up and I did not see her. Just like that. The windows were opened, and the curtains were dancing to the wind. By the time we found her…” He curled his hands into fists. “She had already been attacked by an outlaw. She was just twelve years old.” 

The place became silent and it was so heavy. My chest started to hurt so much that I could not even breathe. 

"I've regretted it on every day since then," Cullen breathed. "If only I'd listened. If only I'd trusted her. She could be alive today."

The way he was sounding very guilty made my heart feel tight. Then all of a sudden, all the dishonesty, all my secrets, they all felt like they were now so horrible. He too had scars. Bleeding, deep-seated scars that no one could notice.

Without thinking, I inched closer, my hand wandering before landing at last on his shoulder. "Cullen…"

My voice broke.

Cullen now finally looked at me again, and he was looking like he was now naked. Like he had just said out his biggest secret. I tried to breathe but it was as if I could not anymore. 

“I need to tell you something,” I said in a whisper. My throat was very tight. 

He raised one of his eyebrows and he asked. “What?” 

I wasted a short time and I bit my lips very hard. My whole body was shaking. “The nightmares I had… you… you were in them.”

He looked up at me sharply. “Me?” 

I nodded my head as I was finally saying all the truth out. “Yeah. You were there. And when I saw your face, I started feeling like something terrible was going to happen to me. To you. To us.” 

Cullen glared at me like I had taken the floor that he was standing on away with the things that I was saying to him. My heart was beating so loudly inside my chest. I opened my mouth to say more words but I could not speak. I had lost my voice. 

Cullen stopped looking at me. He looked down, then he looked up again and he asked me in a soft voice. “Is that why you went to look for me in my room this morning?” 

I braced, then nodded, blushing. "Yeah. I… I just wanted to look at you. To see if you were okay. Make sure you are okay. But Brian was there."

"Brian?" Cullen sat back on his heels.

"Yeah, he came to the door. Told me you weren't home."

Cullen rubbed his temple, and groaned. "That idiot. He slept at my place last night after we got in late. Either overslept and came to the door like he owned the property or something."

I laugh unsteadily. "Explains a lot."

He smiled a small smile, and it did not even reach his eyes but it still made butterflies fill my stomach. “Come on,” he said, then he stood up too and dusted his hands that were dirty. “Let’s go back to my room. Brian should have gone by now.” 

I hesitated, gazing out at the road. "We ought to get back before Ava and Nia notice me missing."

I was already walking away when Cullen spoke up.

"Selena."

I turned around.

He smiled, raising his hands to wave off at his half-naked body. "You really want me to walk back to campus half-naked? Girls will faint, guys will riot."

My mouth curled, and despite all of this, I was laughing. "Oh, please. Don't act like you don't enjoy the attention."

"Not when it's this cold," he countered with a smile.

I rolled my eyes, but he had a point. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

"There's a path through the trees," he said, tapping his chin in the general direction of the woods. "Shortcut. No one will see me flying by this time."

I raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you just happen to know about this magical shortcut?"

He winked. "Trade secret."

I rolled my head back and forth, but intrigue pulled me along. "Okay. Lead me to it, wolf boy."

We started to walk through the woods. It was very quiet, only our footsteps were heard. The smell of the forest was like pine and damp earth, and it was in the air, and also cool on my skin. Cullen looked at me from time to time, and every time he looked at me, my eyes would meet his. My stomach was burning with something that I could not name. 

Finally, we came out behind one of the dorm buildings.

My eyes opened wide. "You weren't kidding… it actually leads back here."

"Told you." He smiled, clearly pleased with himself. "What, did you think I was going to take you out into the woods and lose you?"

I gave his arm a quick slap. "You're not funny."

He laughed. "Oh, I'm hilarious."

I rolled my eyes, but my lips betrayed me by curling up in a smile. He had this ability to get me out of my own storm without even trying.

"Come on," he said, gesturing towards the back door. "Get us in before anyone sees me in your hoodie. I'll never live this down."

I snorted and followed him towards the door. But just when Cullen had turned his palm upwards to grasp the handle—

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Slow and mocking.

We froze.

A booming voice sounded behind us, heavy with venom and ridicule. "Well, well, well… look what we have here."

My whole body braced as I turned with Cullen.

Jake stood there, smirking, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.

“Selena,” he drawled, his voice sharp as a blade. “Looks like you’ve found yourself a new toy.”