The Witch Who Cried Wolf (Cry Wolf, #1) by Sarah Makela Page B

uniform?”
    The not so great thing about having Nolan as my roommate—who lived with me predominantly to keep an eye on the house while I was deployed—was this: I wanted to come home and not worry about anything but laying my tired ass in my own bed. Instead, I was getting fifty questions.
    “Everything’s fine,” I said, knowing Nolan wouldn’t believe me, especially with the state I was in. Glancing down at my chest, I noticed the claw marks under the thick cream had scabbed over. That wasn’t normal. I shouldn’t have healed so fast.
    Damn. Maybe Mia did have powers, aside from throwing fireballs, at least. The picture of her crying while her boyfriend had walked all over her gnawed at me. Fucking asshole.
    Nolan put a hand on my shoulder. “Dude, what the hell? No, it’s not fine. You have blood on your pants and your shirt is ripped. Let alone the fact you’re not wearing it.” He nudged me toward the house. “Come on. Let’s get inside. You need to talk to me. What did Mia do?”
    “Mia didn’t do anything. Why didn’t you tell me she had such an asshole boyfriend? More to the point,” I said, whirling on my best friend, “why have you let her keep seeing that shithead? You beat the shit out of me in tenth grade when I went through that fling.”
    “Greg? Oh, fuck . I’m going to kick his ass for this.” Anger darkened Nolan’s green eyes, and he balled his hands into fists. “He never should’ve been allowed to get away with this for so long. Once I kick his ass....”
    While I wanted to see that, I shook my head. “It wasn’t Greg. But I saw the way he treated her. Not well at all. How can you stand back and let her take that?”
    Nolan cocked his head. “Why do you care, all the sudden? You’ve never shown much thought toward her since middle school. Besides, I’ve tried talking to her about it. She won’t listen to me. When I pushed her, she said she didn’t have the heart to break up with him before the holidays. He hates me, but I know Mom and Dad don’t like him much either.” He looked around the neighborhood, then back at me. “We’ll talk more inside.”
    Sighing, I knew he had a point. Not being able to have Mia in my life had sent me running in the opposite direction, but my feelings for her had never lessened. The cold weather made the healing cream on my chest icy. While the cool night air didn’t bother me, I didn’t want to get sick. Besides, I’d lost some blood, so getting out of the elements would be best for me.
    The home I shared with Nolan was a typical bachelor’s pad. The homey pictures and decorations from my deceased parents made it more than a house, but it wasn’t at all like what I’d experienced at Nolan and Mia’s parents, or even Mia’s home. It just felt...less than. Maybe because of the memories I still had of my parents when they’d been alive.
    They had been good friends with the Brooks. I wished they were still alive, but having the Brooks in my life had helped a lot. They’d encouraged me like my parents would’ve, but I knew they’d also had their own children to raise. They hadn’t been able to support me or foot the bill for my college tuition. That had prompted me to go into the military. There I’d been able to get an education, have a career, see the world, and make something of myself, like my dad would have wanted.
    If only he were around to see it.
    I dropped my backpack onto the floor next to the door and headed for my room. The desire for questioning Nolan waned.
    “Hey, where you going? Weren’t we going to talk?” Nolan came up beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on, man? This isn’t like you. Talk to me.”
    “I will. Right now, I need a shower and to unwind a little.” I grabbed a change of clothes from my room, then hit the shower. It was exactly what I needed. Hot water streamed down my body, clearing my mind. I didn’t want Mia to be in a bad relationship. What could I do about