"See you later," my brother said and then, like the last few days, the front door slammed loudly.
It was now Friday and since the incident on Tuesday morning, I've only been trapped within these four walls. My brother wanted me to be safe, which I could understand, but it was just hell for me to feel so confined and confined.
Every day I actually just waited until I could go to sleep in the evening and then, out of boredom, I kept cleaning the entire house or trying new recipes in the kitchen, which mostly didn't work out as well as I thought before.
Unfortunately, I hadn't heard from Sawyer and Aleya all week. Like, no phone, but it still made me sad that they didn't seem to even bother to come by my house.
They were probably already very good friends with the superiors and were amused that I stayed away...
No, they wouldn't do that, especially if they knew what that freak had done to my brother.
What was his damn problem anyway? Was he maybe really my mate and I didn't feel it yet?
Startled, I jumped up from the kitchen table and quickly shook off that horrible thought. If he were my mate, I would run away, I knew that immediately. Never in my life would I want to be with a superior, especially not one who would display such aggressive behavior. Arrogant idiot!
Trying to put my brother's and myself's two coffee cups away from Trevis completely, I put them in the sink and then made my way to my room, where I immediately groaned in frustration.
I couldn't stand another day alone in here.
A quick glance out my window and I immediately saw the rain that hadn't stopped pouring down on our city since Tuesday...
"Just for an hour," I murmured to myself, thinking of the clearing in the woods I'd sworn never to return to, but something inside of me made me pull on my rubber boots and a gray jacket and get out in the to walk in the rain.
With my hood pulled up, I walked quickly along the empty streets and arrived at the sports field quite quickly. The town seemed deserted, which was almost creepy, but that's how it always was when it rained, so I didn't really care. In my mind I was already at the clearing.
Arriving behind the sports field, I stopped briefly between the first trees to close my eyes and breathe in that wonderful smell of a mixture of freedom and forest while listening to the rain as it pounded the forest floor with a soothing melody arrived. A sound that had something very special about it and that I could have listened to for hours.
A deep breath and I opened my eyes again and hurriedly made my way to the clearing. The branches below me cracked loudly, while the forest seemed gloomy without the bright rays of the sun, which gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.
Should I turn back?
Before I could think about this question any further, I suddenly stood in the middle of the clearing and listened to the sounds of the forest while, like last time, I turned around my own axis several times.
Despite the wind and the rain, this place was just breathtakingly beautiful even without the sun. Like an oasis of calm that put a smile on my face, but something was missing...
He was missing...
The fact that I had come here and really hoped to see him gave me chills. I was suddenly very sure that this wolf had a connection to me and if I was convinced that I could recognize my mate before I was of legal age, I would have staked everything on it being him.
But that was not possible. There was definitely something else that connected me and him. There had to be something else.
Or was it just the allure of the forbidden that made me look desperately in all directions?
I didn't know and suddenly felt completely lost in the vastness of this dark, wet forest. Forgot even what had brought me here and then ran to one of the tall trees to lean against it, completely soaked.
Thoughts flew through my mind... Questions arose that I couldn't answer myself and even in this complete calm, I didn't get to answer even a single one.
Why had this wolf flashed me so much, even though our encounter was only so fleeting and he even seemed rather angry?
Why did Viola's eyes cast a spell over me that I could hardly let go of?
Why did Trevis think he had to hurt my brother?
Totally engrossed in these confusing questions, I pulled the gray hood off my head and stretched my face toward the sky to close my eyes and feel the rain on my skin.
It wasn't long before my hair was soaked, too, and I was painfully aware that our encounter here must have been a one-off, coincidental thing, because he didn't show up.
Confused about myself and my feelings towards a complete stranger, I took a last, disappointed breath of the fresh forest air and was about to run back when I unexpectedly caught his scent and widened my eyes in disbelief.
He was nowhere to be seen, but I felt his presence in every fiber of my being. While my heart was beating faster and faster with excitement and almost drowned out the rain, goosebumps spread over my body and the urge to get closer to him took everything inside me.
There was no more fear, no doubt, no uncertainty. Only longing for more and curiosity about who he was.
I pushed off the tree and took slow steps toward the center of the clearing, looking around the trees, but he didn't show himself. Tossing my brown, wet hair back, I turned again in all directions until I suddenly heard him growl menacingly loudly and all I could see was a black, huge shadow jumping towards me screaming.
I fell hard to the ground, groaning, clutching my aching arm, and then shiveringly looked up to see him standing over me, teeth bared, staring deep into my eyes with a chill that made me gasp.
What did he want from me?
***
My heart was pounding... My lips were trembling and afraid he might have bad intentions, I wanted to slide away from under his huge body, but he wouldn't let me escape.
Growling, he just stood over me, fixing my staring eyes and placing his big paw in the middle of my upper body, so that I didn't have a chance to move even the slightest bit.
I stupid naive girl...
My crazy idea of going to see him had put me in a position from which no one could rescue me, but did I need rescue at all?
As I stared spellbound and trembling into his dark eyes, his facial expressions softened and even the growl that came deep in his throat slowly but surely fell silent. He carefully removed his paw from my chest while shaking himself slightly, the drops of his wet fur falling on me, his scent clinging to my wet clothes.
His irises darted over my prone body on the forest floor as he began sniffing my jacket, which finally made him growl again.
"Whose jacket is that?!"
Startled to hear him in my head, I widened my eyes in disbelief and tried to get up, but he moved close over me again to stare at me coldly.
Should I answer him or did I just imagine that deep, menacing voice?
While I thought about it in a panic, I didn't even notice that he was panting and pulling back a bit, giving me the opportunity to finally find my way back onto my trembling legs.
I got up carefully, not taking my eyes off him for a second, and then held my breath again.
"Answer!"
Frozen, I listened to the rain and avoided his intense gaze to consider running. I'm sure he was faster than me, but I certainly wouldn't tell who that jacket was from. My brother was in enough trouble because of me and if this wolf here really was my mate he would surely attack Devin.
Holding my breath, I looked in the direction I had come from, then ran as fast as I could.
I didn't stop, didn't even turn around and ran between the trees until I arrived at the sports field with a racing heart and a stitch in my side.
I should really work on my stamina...
Hunched over, I tried to catch my breath and gradually calmed down, knowing that he hadn't been chasing me, but someone else was...
"What were you doing in the forest?!"
I got my torso up again and stared, caught, to where my soaking wet brother was leaning against the fence of the sports field.
Shit damn!
Not only did he look pissed off, but he also looked disappointed and then quickly walked over to me to pull my arm with him.
"Devin, you're hurting me," I told him and tried to free my wrist from his tight grip, but he just kept pulling me across the wet meadow and didn't notice me at all.
"Devin!" I got louder, but again no reaction.
Out of sheer anger at myself and the pulling pain of his grip, tears welled up in my eyes while I tried to free myself one last time with all my might, which I finally managed to do.
He turned to me, eyed my dirty, wet clothes and then looked deep into my eyes.
"Just how stupid are you?" he asked with a contempt that made me cringe. "You know what punishment there is if you enter the forest! Besides, you could have been raped!"
His voice grew louder and his eyes grew angrier.
"But nothing happened!", I explained sheepishly and meanwhile the tears were running down my face, because somehow he was right. Really terrible things could have happened to me. How could I be so naive...
"But something could have happened!" he yelled and then took a deep breath. "Then what are we all pretending for, anyway, when you seem to be looking for danger and not scared?! Then I could just go to my mate and-"
He shook himself and avoided my gaze in shock while I stopped crying and stared at him in disbelief.
"Your mate?" I asked softly and took a step towards him. "You found your mate?"
It seemed so unreal to me what he just said and that made my guilty conscience towards him all the greater. He really gave up everything to protect me and I repaid him by putting myself in extra danger.
The attraction of this unknown wolf only made me angry. So angry that I balled my hands into fists and vowed to myself never to mess up like that again.
"Yes, I know who she is, but as long as you don't have a decent partner, I won't leave you," he explained in a trembling voice and then he took me tightly in his arms while loud thunder started above us. "You are the most important thing in my life, Jady. I promised."
Standing against his heaving chest, I remembered him promising to stay with me until I was safe and had a partner to watch over me.
"Devin?" I whispered softly and then pulled away from him a little to be able to look at his face. His sea blue eyes looked at me questioningly while his wet hair fell lightly over his face. "As soon as I'm of legal age I'll find a partner and then I want you to be happy with your mate."
He faked a smile, tucked a strand of my brown hair behind my ear, and then cupped his hand on my cheek.
"Deal," he nodded and then gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead before he took my hand and we walked home together through the rain.