"Mara, I already know Liam is not fond of you, so you might as well spill it now. Did you fight? What did he say?"
Fight? I saw more of that guy's tail than his fangs! Why would he fight me? Oh, right, the witch hunter thingy... Well, he's bad at it. Is that why Selena was so doubtful? I don't know how to answer, honestly.
"I don't know, we just... talked."
Selena raises an eyebrow.
"Talked?"
What do I even say? I don't want to tell Selena about the voices, and why would she even believe me anyway? After some hesitation, I walk to the bathroom and bring back the black leather jacket to show her. She's a werewolf, she should at least recognize the scent. Upon seeing the jacket, she does seem to relax a bit.
"So it's true... At least I know you were with him for some time..."
"Ask him," I insist. "I did not start that fire, I was caught in the rain and that damn mud, away from the university at that time."
"If Mara didn't do it," says Kelsi, "then who did...?"
"...I want to know too. There are no victims, but the humans are furious. The word is spreading about what happened at the university too. They all think Mara did it, and unfortunately, we have no actual proof you didn't."
Once again, I want to scream about how unfair this whole thing is. At least, Selena seems to believe I'm innocent, but that barely makes me feel relieved. I let myself fall onto one of the seats, exhausted. This is one to put on the list of crappy days.
"I don't have any other proof, but I swear I didn't do it, Selena."
I see her hesitate, but eventually, she growls and shakes her head.
"You stay here until I can find more clues or anything that proves your innocence. I'll go see Nora, I hope she can help me get to Liam..."
Why Nora? Shouldn't she ask his brothers instead? Is that Nora closer to Liam...? I feel a bit upset, but before I can dwell on it, Selena growls.
"I'm warning you for the last time, Mara. I don't want more conflicts with humans, so all three of you better stay here until I say anything else!"
Her last words are clearly directed at Ben with a mean growl. He nods, looking a bit guilty. Well, I did lose him on purpose, but he snitched to Selena, so I'm not feeling that sorry for him.
"Miss Selena..."
We all turn to Kelsi, a bit surprised. She seems a bit shy, pulling the bottom of her sweatshirt.
"A lot of people shared Mara's picture and... ours, on social media. I'm afraid we are going to be targeted again if we go out now, everyone knows our faces."
I had forgotten about that. People were sharing about our presence at the university on social media as soon as we got out of that class. No, maybe it even started earlier, while we were sitting inside. Those girls were doing something on their phones, it bothered me but I didn't think that far. Kelsi looks really worried, though, and she probably wouldn't have mentioned it to Selena if she wasn't.
The Luna nods.
"I know. I'll talk to our people, see if we can do something about it. Needless to say, your sister is furious about this too, Mara. I would expect to hear from her soon if I were you."
Crap...
After that, Selena and her wolves leave the apartment, and I'm left here, exhausted and disappointed. I didn't realize I was still holding Liam's jacket. I don't really want to let go of it either, so I actually wrap it back around my shoulders a bit shamelessly. I don't get how his smell is doing such a good job of calming me down, but it does.
Next to me, still standing, Kelsi turns to Ben.
"Ben, can you go out?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"I was just thinking Mara and I could use some beers, and there's literally a shop downstairs, but if you can't..."
I have to say, Kelsi is a remarkable actress. I can tell when she’s acting because I've been with her for weeks, but her pitiful look is totally working on Ben. I see him hesitate and blush a bit. Well, she is hard to say no to when she pouts her lip a little like that, her head a bit low under her pink hoodie.
