Deleted scenes from Intertwined

Below are two deleted scenes from Intertwined. Some content from the book is here to set the stage – as well as spoilers, so close the file if you don’t want to know certain details before reading the book.

Scene One

For hours she drove, fighting to get herself under control – and losing. The journal, lying so innocently in the backseat, taunted her. She circled the neighborhood, then drove passed the halfway house, stopping, realizing she was too emotional to go inside, then backtracking to her own neighborhood. Why, she didn’t know. It wasn’t like she could go home.

The sun finally fell, a golden half-moon taking its place. Traffic thinned, as did the number of people working on their yards or simply relaxing outside. But what hid in the shadows, waiting to strike?

She was afraid of the answer.

Until she spotted the wolf running alongside her car a few miles down the road. That black fur, those glowing green eyes . . . she pulled to the side of the road and stopped, waiting. He always made her feel safe, happy.

Except, this time, her tears were blurring her vision and she couldn’t find a calm center. Worse, there was a sob lodged in her throat, one she couldn’t rid herself of. It was there, scraping against her voice box, sharp and burning, as if covered in acid.

Wait for me, the wolf told her inside her head. I’ll shift, dress and return to you.

She couldn’t wait. She wanted him, but she needed to be alone. She wanted to do nothing, but she needed to do something. Most of all, she wanted and needed. . . she didn’t know what. To get away, to forget everything that had just happened. Yes. Yes. That’s exactly what she’d do.

Mary Ann jumped from the car and just started running. Running from what she’d learned, running from the pain and the uncertainty. All the while, tears continued to pour from her.

Of course, the wolf gave chase, paws slapping against the ground.

He caught up to her and jumped on her back, knocking her to the ground but twisting them midair and taking the brunt of the impact upon himself. She lay on top of him, without breath and unable to move.

Go back to the car. Now, he said, again in her mind. It’s dangerous out here.

He was right, she knew he was, but stayed where she was, that sob finally working its way free.

What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?

“I can’t . . . I can’t. . . ” The words wouldn’t form.

He softened beneath her, and his warm tongue stroked her cheek, the corner of her eye. Please, Mary Ann. Go back to the car and we’ll talk. I’ll make this better, whatever it is, I swear it.

How could she resist that “please?” She nodded and stood, then tripped her way back to the car. He didn’t hop in behind her as she’d expected but trotted into nearby trees. Only a few minutes passed before he reappeared in human form. He wore a wrinkled shirt and pair of slacks, both obviously pulled on hastily. His dark hair was in disarray and dirt streaked his cheeks.

Hinges squeaked as he entered, and then the lock clicked into place when he was settled. “Mary Ann, I – ”

Shaking, she turned on him. “Where have you been?” The words were harsher than she’d intended, blazing from her, but they were followed quickly by another sob, which completely overshadowed her anger. Her entire body vibrated, until she was once again choking, gagging, lost once again to the grief.

“Hey, hey,” he said, lifting her out of the seat and onto his lap. “I’m sorry if you were hurt back there. Goblins are out tonight and I didn’t want them to catch your scent. Werewolves are tracking them, and I didn’t want you in their sights either.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what’s wrong, sweetheart? Tell me. I’ve never seen you this upset.”

Sweetheart. He’d called her sweetheart. It was so wonderful, so welcome, yet it made her cry even harder. Between sobs, she told him what she’d learned. He cradled her the entire time, soothing her with his hands, with the same little coos she’d given Penny. And then he was kissing her, his lips meshed against hers, his tongue warm and sweet and wild, his fingers tangled in her hair.

She didn’t even think about stopping him. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for, the thing she’d needed. The thing that would soothe her. Already she could feel the grief easing and her body calming. Calming only to heat up as they pressed even closer, catch fire as they tasted each other, and burn into ashes as their hands roamed.

For a moment, lights illuminated them as a car drove past and they froze, their panting breaths the only sound. But the very second darkness swathed them again, they returned to kissing, touching. He was flavored with mint and rain, and it was heady, fuzzing her thoughts, consuming her.

She felt safe, perfect, alive. Which was ironic. An hour ago, she’d felt cold and dead inside. Yet he had revived her, had made her whole again. She never wanted this to end.

Like all things, however, it did.

“We have to stop,” he rasped.

“Don’t want to.” With his arms around her like this, she didn’t have to think, could only feel him and the happiness of being with him.

His thumb caressed her cheek. “If we continue kissing, we’ll start doing more. And if we start doing more… we’ll have sex here in the car.”

Sex. “I – I – ” Wouldn’t mind, she thought. Was intrigued by the idea. Even liked it. “Would that be so bad?”

“Yeah. Because that wouldn’t be fair to either of us,” he said, his tone gentle. He traced a finger along her cheek.

She gulped, even as she shivered. “So you don’t . . . want me? Like that, I mean?” Oxygen caught in her throat as she waited for his answer. He’d kissed her, and he’d seemed to like it. So why wouldn’t he –

“I want you, Mary Ann,” he replied. “I do. Never doubt that. I want you more than anything.” There at the end, his voice had hardened, all hint of gentleness gone.

“So we will?” Have sex, she wanted to add, but was too embarrassed to say the words. She’d never spoken this frankly with a boy before. Not even with Tucker, though they’d dated all summer.

But then, she’d never craved Tucker the way she craved this werewolf.

He nodded once, a jerky motion, then a second time, slowly, as if he didn’t want to scare her with his intensity. “One day. Yes.” His arms were still around her, and he traced his thumb along her spine. “We will.”

Good. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he’d said no. In the past few weeks, fine, within an hour of meeting him, he’d come to mean so much to her.

How she had ever thought herself immune to the opposite sex was enough to make her smile.

“Have you ever?” she asked him. “You know.”

“Yes.” Those bright green eyes pierced her. “You?”

She licked her lips. “No.” How many girls had he been with? Had he loved any of them? She couldn’t help but wonder. Maybe tomorrow she’d even have the courage to ask him.

“Then we made the right decision, stopping. Your first time doesn’t need to be in the backseat of a car.” He planted a swift kiss on her lips before settling her back into the passenger seat. “It needs to be special.”

With him, everywhere was special.

“Now, where were you headed?” he asked, clearly hoping to change the subject to something less . . . . stimulating. He gripped the steering wheel, though he didn’t shift into drive.

Okay, she could do this. Could act as if this was any other day and they hadn’t just finished tasting each other’s tonsils. “As soon as I got my emotions under control, I was going to the halfway house. I was going to somehow sneak Aden out and drive him to Tulsa, where his parents live. Or used to live. Did I tell you we were born at the same hospital on the same day?”

“No. But, considering how the two of you are with each other, that is very odd.”

Deleted scene 2

How long had he been walking through the school’s corridors without really seeing? Aden sighed, forcing his mind to quiet while he took everything in. The walls were painted black, gold and white – the school colors – and posters that read ‘Go Jaguars’ decorated each expanse. Kids rushed in every direction, and lockers were opened and slammed shut. Girls laughed and talked, while the boys checked them out.

“Football season has started,” Mary Ann said. “Do you play?”

“No.” He loved the game, though, and hated that he couldn’t concentrate long enough to experience it firsthand.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Why?”

“Well, you sounded sad, like you wished you could play but — ” Her lips pressed together as she realized why contact sport’s might not be the best thing for someone who could possess another person’s body.

She had no idea that was only part of the problem. “Believe me. I’ll recover.” There were a thousand other things he could worry about. Like how to get the souls out of his head. Like how to keep Ozzie from getting him kicked off the ranch. Like how to find the dark haired girl who had been haunting his dreams.

Mary Ann’s chocolate eyes swung to him and regarded him sadly. “You shouldn’t have to, though, you know? You should be allowed to do the things you want to do.” There at the end, the words had actually broke.

Worse, tears were actually filling her eyes, he realized with shock. Wow. All that emotion. For him. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand girls,” he said, and sadly, it was the truth.

“Why?”

“You look ready to sob. Over football.”

She sniffed, then huffed, her cheeks suddenly glowing. “Well, it’s sad.”

“No, it’s not.” He had to fight to urge to mess up her hair and laugh. He settled for changing the subject. “What will your boyfriend think of you giving me this tour? He didn’t want you to, remember?”

“Doesn’t really matter what he thinks. I’m ending things.” Before Aden could respond, she added, “Now let me see your schedule.”