She was nothing of his. She was his friend. He needed to remember that.
"Did you want some salad?" She looked up from her food and nodded.
He smiled at that and removed her plate as he walked toward the kitchen. He'd never prepared her breakfast before, but he knew it had to be leafy and dry. His specialty.
Maya eventually joined him in the kitchen and ate what he prepared.
"Is it good?" he asked.
"It could not be more tasteless," she said with a smile. "It's perfect."
"Good." He walked over and sat next to her, letting her intoxicating flower scent wash over him.
"What's the new moon ceremony?" she asked, still half-chewing but covering her mouth.
"It is a ritual we do on the night the moon disappears," he started. "We ask it to come back."
Explaining it seemed silly, but it was one of his favorite events. He expected judgment, but she only smiled.
"What do you do on those rituals?"
"We dance, drink, fuck.." he said the last word with a different tone that made her widen her eyes. "But mostly we stay together. It is the day we are our weakest. The only night we can't turn."
"So the rebels picked that night for a reason." Worry filled her eyes.
"They wanted to even out the playing field. They know they can't win against me or Damien in our wolf forms."
Harlan cringed. He liked the celebrations and the drinking, but he hated that he felt the most defenseless on those nights.
He hated feeling so vulnerable.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Maya's eyebrows furrowed, and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"We have the advantage of knowing they are coming. Plus a mighty vampire."
He could still remember how it felt the time she incapacitated him. He felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. He didn't have an issue admitting when someone was strong, and Violette was, as far as he could tell.
"We'll be fine."
She didn't look too convinced but nodded.
"So, what are we doing for training today?"
***
Being around him now that I knew how I felt was almost incapacitating. Watching him smile made my chest hurt. God, he was so handsome.
Even though it annoyed me, he didn't answer my questions. When I asked where we were going, he smiled and started walking. His beautiful, charming smile. It almost made me forget how irritated I was.
We walked for a while in complete silence, and it wasn't uncomfortable. It was peaceful. Just being around him was benign. It was what I liked most about him.
"How did you sleep?" I couldn't help but ask.
He tensed up almost immediately. He had a bad dream.
"Fine," he lied. I knew he was lying.
"Are you sure? Because I can prescribe you something.."
"I'm fine, Maya. Really," he said, abruptly stepping in front of me and grabbing me by the shoulders.
"Fine," it was my turn to say. I couldn't force him to open up. I wasn't going to. It doesn't work that way. People need to want help to be helped.
"Don't worry about me," he said. "We are almost there, anyway."
"Almost where?"
"Miracle."
"Why are we going to Miracle?" I asked, cursing myself for not noticing sooner.
"I was tasked with getting some things for the ceremony. I brought you along so you could help me carry stuff," he said with a smile, but I had a feeling he'd brought me to spend more time with me.
I could be wrong, of course, but I really wanted to be right.
"So free labor?" I asked with a smile.
"Yes," he laughed. "If I buy you a new outfit for tonight, will we be even?"
"Is there a specific way one should dress in a ceremony like this?" I asked, looking down at my shorts and plain black T-shirt.
"You'll see everyone tonight, but as long as you wear something comfortable and pretty, you'll be fine."
Harlan lied. He absolutely and utterly lied. I realized it from the moment I arrived at the party.
There was no moon that night, the only source of light being the bonfires scattered around the clearing. The biggest one was in the center, and most of our friends were gathered there. Wearing next to nothing.
"You're here!" Selene came closer and hugged me. She was wearing a dress that consisted of a top that crisscrossed over her chest and a bottom that reached the floor with two slits on each side of her hips. The sheer purple fabric looked amazing with the gold head accessory that was braided into her hair.
"You look amazing!" I said with a smile, and she returned the compliment, though I wasn't sure I had dressed accordingly. I was so mad at myself for glaring at Harlan when he said the outfit needed to be more revealing. He was just eyeing me now with "I told you so" written on his face.
"You look fine," Selene assured me. "We mostly dress like this because of the heat the bonfire produces."
Now that she mentioned it, it was extremely hot.