She hissed and tore it out of his hands, shaking her head. “No, I distinctly remember beating you at air hockey. I think the only person you could manage to defeat was Ashley.”
They both smiled at the picture. Stasia could recall the skinny seventeen-year-old boy with bright green eyes and a friendly smile. She’d only intended to use Molodoy as a resting place before heading further south to the coastline, but something about Billy Finley had made her pause. He seemed so kind, so genuine. There was a magnetism between them from the very beginning. She’d wanted to know him better.
“Wow, we both look so young.” He flipped through the faded pictures, tossing them one by one back into the metal box. “Crazy to think we both thought we were so mature. All the things we didn’t know. We thought we were going to conquer the world.”
Stasia sat back on her heels and felt a wave of sadness overcome her. At seventeen, it had felt like the world lay at her feet. Her plans to run away and abandon the throne had been nearly put into action. When her parents brought her home, they’d reached an agreement. She could pursue her dreams of a career outside the throne. All with the understanding that someday, she’d return to the royal life and take her place as the werewolf Queen of Monstrana, alongside Viktor on the vampire throne.
At the time, it had seemed so easy. But the entertainment world was proving more difficult than she’d imagined and time was no longer on her side. Every day that ticked by was one day closer to the expiration of her dreams and the day she had to resume her birthright.
“What’s wrong?” Billy had finished with the photos and was watching her, concern crossing his face. “Was it something I said?”
“No, I just miss the optimism of our youth.” She smiled sadly at him and blinked away tears. “Everything seems within reach when you’re young. It’s hard to come to terms with the harsh reality of this world. That you don’t always get what you want.”
He reached out and took her into his arms. At first, she wanted to resist. She hadn’t completely forgiven the role he’d played in her life. He’d given her her very first taste of the cruelty of the real world. But when his arms surrounded her, she gave in. Her body melted into his embrace and she pressed her head against his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his breath on her neck.
“Stasia...”
He stroked her hair, sending shivers down her back. His fingertips slowly grazed her neck until he cradled her cheek. She looked up to find herself gazing into his green eyes, smoldering with an unsaid desire.
“Billy, I can’t...” She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. That despite the feelings of betrayal she still harbored, she wanted him. Wanted his lips against hers. To taste him and feel her skin burn beneath his touch.
“Stasia, I have to tell you. I can’t keep it in anymore. It’s tearing me up inside.”
He leaned in closer to her jawline and pressed his lips to her earlobe. She trembled and clung to his shoulder. Under the palm of her hand, she could feel his heart racing in his chest.
His exhaled and took a shuddering breath. “I never stopped loving you.”
Chapter Twelve
Stasia pushed off of Billy’s chest and stared up at him, her eyes growing wide. Her mouth moved in silent words as he reached for her.
“Please, listen to me.” He could feel her pulling away again, so he dropped his hands. The sound of blood rushing through his ears became overwhelming. “I’ve tried to fight it, but I can’t anymore. I thought time would make the feelings fade. But they haven’t. If anything, they’ve just gotten stronger. I had to say something.”
She jumped to her feet, keeping the blanket tight around her chest. He followed her example and stood while she paced the room. Her reaction to his confession had his stomach in knots. It took all his self-control not to race out that door and into the woods.
“No, no, no.” She shook her head, curls falling over her face. “You don’t mean that. It’s just the wolf pheromones. They went to our heads.”
“You’re not listening to me.” He stepped into her path and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “This isn’t about pheromones. I never stopped loving you. Even after you broke my heart and left Molodoy, I couldn’t get you out of my head. No woman has ever erased your memory. Not even my fiancée.”
Stasia gulped, her face white. She wriggled out of his hands and took a large step back. “What you remember isn’t love. How can you even say that? If you had loved me that summer, you never would’ve turned me in for the reward money. Face it. You didn’t love me then and you don’t love me now.”
He stared at her as bewilderment wracked his brain. He had no recollection of any kind of reward money. All he remembered was the letter he’d painstakingly written to Stasia, expressing all of his emotions and hopes for their future. Words he couldn’t seem to say to her face. He’d ended that letter in a bold declaration of love and left it on the doorstep of the abandoned house she lived in, knowing that she’d return home within the hour and find it waiting for her.
She’d found him that evening while he mowed the backyard. His parents were working late on a special pack issue. At first, his heart had skipped at the sight of her marching through his yard. He imagined her throwing herself into his arms. Declaring her love and then kissing him soundly.
But then, the yelling began. Even over the roar of the engine, he could tell she was furious. She didn’t wait for him to explain anything. She let him have it, screaming about how she had trusted him and how it had been the ultimate act of betrayal, and now there was nothing left between them but ashes.
He’d never imagined she’d take his letter so hard, but a foolhardy boy of seventeen still possessed a fragile heart. Her words had shattered him. And when she’d marched away, he’d vowed to never allow himself to be so weak again.
And yet, here he was again, pouring out his feelings to a woman who cared nothing for him. He could’ve smashed his hands beneath the hood of his truck for such foolish behavior. Once was bad enough. Now, he’d let her under his skin a second time and been burned just as badly.
“This has all been one giant mistake.” Stasia paced the room, rubbing one hand over her eyes. “I never should’ve come back to Molodoy. I thought I could handle this story. Put the past behind me. But, it isn’t working. You’re the same teenaged boy. Drawing me in and making me think you care for me, when it’s all just a big lie.”
Billy ground his teeth. He knew what the truth was. It was all becoming clear.
“I think the only one lying here is you. You couldn’t stand the thought of being with a backwoods boy like me. The very idea that someone like me could love you was insulting. Poor Princess Anastasia.” He spat out the last words and glared at her.
She ceased her pacing, returning his glare. Her hair had sprung out in all different directions on her head. “Now, we get to the root of the problem. My royal position. Isn’t that what tore us apart before? The very day I confessed my true identity to you, you ran off and told the world.”