Chapter 4: Playing with Fire

Lily’s POV

The rain outside began to pour harder, slamming against the front window of the shop like tiny rocks. I managed to gather enough adrenaline to drag Holden’s heavy, unconscious body across the floor and into the back breakroom before my dad got back from his errand. 

I locked the front doors completely, flipped the open sign to closed, and sat down on a small wooden stool. I watched Holden sleep on the small breakroom couch, my mind spinning with a thousand questions.

An entire hour passed in complete silence before his body finally stirred. He let out a deep, painful groan from the back of his throat and opened his eyes slowly. 

I gasped loudly and almost fell off my wooden stool. His eyes were completely gold. Not just his normal dark brown irises, but the entire physical surface of his eyeballs glowed with a bright, supernatural light that literally filled the dim room with a golden hue.

He sat up incredibly fast, his movements fluid and predatory. He pinned me to my spot with his glowing, unblinking gaze.

"You saved my life out there in the shop," he said, his voice sounding completely different than it ever had before. It sounded like two distinct people were speaking at the exact same time. It was a terrifying blend of a human teenager and a wild, powerful beast.

I stayed pressed back against the wall, keeping my physical distance from him. "Your hands turned completely black, Holden. What is happening to your body? What is that horrible black poison?"

Holden looked down at his own palms, exhaling a long, tired breath. The terrifying gold color in his eyes finally faded away, returning to his normal dark brown color. He rubbed his face with his hands. "You shouldn't know about any of this, Lily. 

You are just a regular human girl. You are supposed to be safe from this world. But my inner wolf won't let me lie to your face anymore after what just happened. You are my fated mate, Lily."

I froze completely in my tracks, the words making no sense. "Your what? What did you just say?"

"My mate," he repeated, his jaw clenching tightly as he looked at me. "The universe chose you for me. My wolf recognizes you. 

But it doesn't matter anyway. I reject you here and now, Lily. A weak, ordinary human girl from next door cannot be the mate of the future Alpha of the Blood Moon pack. You will just get killed in my world. My sports career and my pack duty come first. I need a strong wolf by my side, not you."

I felt a sudden stab of pain in my chest at his harsh words, but it quickly turned into a harsh, bitter laugh. I stepped forward, glaring down at him. "You reject me? Good! Because I don't want to be anywhere near a brutal, arrogant bully like you anyway! And for your information, you aren't a secret to me. I know exactly what you are."

I walked over to a locked wooden cabinet in the corner of the room. I reached under my shirt, pulled out the silver key around my neck, and used it to open the drawer. I pulled out an old, heavy, leather-bound journal and dropped it on the table. "My grandfather left this to me when he died. 

He was the secret town protector. I know about the wolf packs. I know about the Alphas. And I know about the ancient curse of Silver Falls."

Holden stood up from the couch instantly, his massive frame towering over me, his eyes wide with absolute shock. "You knew about us this entire time? And you never said a word?"

"Yes," I said, slamming my hand onto the leather journal. "And I know that whatever is happening to your body right now isn't normal wolf behavior. You are being poisoned from the inside out."

Before Holden could answer my question, his cell phone suddenly buzzed loudly on the wooden table. The vibration sounded like a chainsaw in the quiet room. He picked it up slowly, his eyes scanning the screen. In a matter of seconds, his face went completely pale, and then it turned bright red with pure, uncontrollable rage.

"What is it now?" I asked, seeing his hands begin to shake violently.

"Marcus," Holden whispered, his voice deep and raspy, shaking the very walls of the breakroom. "He just posted a video of our locker room fight online. It is viral. The university talent scouts just texted my phone. They officially withdrew my name. They gave my full-ride scholarship spot to Marcus. My entire life is over. Everything I worked for is gone."

Holden roared in pure, unadulterated agony. He turned around and slammed his fist directly into the heavy wooden storage shelf on the wall. The thick wood shattered into tiny, sharp splinters. A jagged piece of broken wood sliced deep into his palm, cutting a huge, bloody gash across his hand.

Thick, pitch-black blood began to pour out of the wound, staining the floor. He fell to his knees on the concrete, gripping his arm tightly as the black veins started rushing up his neck again like wildfire. The dark poison was killing him right in front of my eyes.

"Don't move! Stop fighting me!" I shouted, my heart completely taking over my brain.

I ran over and knelt right beside him on the hard floor. I ignored all his previous warnings about his world, reached out, and placed my bare hands directly over his bleeding, black-veined palm.

The brilliant white light exploded from my skin once again, twice as powerful as before. It was ten times brighter this time, filling the entire back room with a warm, blinding glow. Holden gasped loudly, his body going completely stiff as the deep cut healed instantly, leaving behind smooth, unblemished skin.

He grabbed my wrists tightly, staring at my glowing hands in absolute awe and terror. "You aren't human, Lily. You are a legendary healer. The lost power of the wild.”