"Joy," a smooth voice mumbled into her ear, a warm hand caressing her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting those that lived only in her thoughts. The blue-green eyes blinked at her, as if they were real.
"Go away," Joy muttered, closing her eyes. "You're not real."
"I'm right here," Jude breathed.
"No," she croaked. "When I open my eyes, you will be gone. You're not really here."
"I am," he whispered, nuzzling her. "You can open your eyes."
She blinked them open, tears falling out of them as she sat up. Her hands cradled his face. "You won't go away?"
He huffed a laugh, closing his eyes to her touch. "I'm not going anywhere."
She pressed her lips against his and he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her to his lap. "Is it really you?" She breathed, placing her forehead on his, a small laugh escaping her lips.
"It's me." He connected their lips this time. "It's. Me," he spoke between kisses.
"It's you," she pulled her head back, gazing deep into his eyes. "It's you," her tone lowered and her eyes narrowed. She pulled away from him completely, standing up.
"What?" He followed suite, only to be met by a slap across the face.
"Joy," he gasped, pressing his hand on his cheek.
"Why are you here?" She hissed. "What do you want?"
"I-" He stuttered, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Hesitation." She pointed at him. "First sign of a liar."
"No, I'm just shocked, why did you slap me?"
"Because you just let me go. You didn't ask me to stay. You never asked me anything you just did whatever you wanted."
"I'm sorry?" He scrunched his eyebrows. "You're the one who said you wanted to go home, and it was time since you had shifted." He reached for her.
"Don't touch me." She pouted, folding her arms.
"I missed you so much. That's why I'm here, and I could feel how upset you were. I thought something had happened to you, I was so worried." He placed a hand on his chest, as if that could slow down his pacing heart. "I've never experienced having a mate, so I've never felt like this before. Reid had to stop me from coming here so many times."
"Then how did you end up coming here now?" She walked over to the couch and sat herself down.
"Jem helped me sneak out," he followed her, "Reid is going to kill me. He probably knows by now." He sat on the opposite end of the couch, far from her. "I was so worried about you. Are you okay? Has anything strange happened since you got back?"
"Nope, everything is just normal. Great actually. My life has been so amazing, back to the way it was. I've been shopping and working, making more money." She leaned into the couch. "Everything is so perfect."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Yeah, so you don't have to worry about me and you can go back."
"I told you, I'm not leaving. Not without you."
She chewed on her bottom lip, staring at him intently. Her expression turned into a frown, and she huffed, looking away from him.
"What?"
"Nothing," she stood up, moving to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I've got meat, you can cook us something." She opened the fridge.
"I'm a vegetarian." He followed her, a smirk playing on his face.
"Very funny," she rolled her eyes. "Cook for me then, you'll make your own plan." She turned and pouted, batting her eyelashes.
"Okay, come sit here." He patted on the stool.
***
*Joy's body shot up from the couch, she had no control of her legs as they moved to her room. Jude was fast asleep on her bed, and she grabbed a pillow, then straddled him. She pressed the pillow on his face, forcing it down as he struggled. A hand grabbed her shoulder, shoving her off Jude causing her to land on the floor. They struggled on the floor, punching and kicking each other. When they stood up, deep red eyes stared at Joy from one end, while bright yellow eyes stared at her from the other. It was as if she was looking in the mirror, only with different coloured eyes, and she could see herself from the point of view of both bodies, as in, she could control them both. She was them both at the same time. The Joy with deep red eyes marched towards the other, her hands reaching for the neck. Yellow eyed Joy also went for the neck and they both started choking each other. They struggled against each others grasp, trying to push each other away. Yellow eyed Joy felt a pair of invisible hands grab her shoulders, shaking her.* "JOY!" A muffled voice screamed. Jude. Joy wake up. The hands continued to shake her and as she struggled against them, red-eyed Joy seemed to gain the upper hand, squeezing her neck tighter.
"Joy!"
"Joy!" Jude's voice sounded clearer and she rose with a loud gasp, her hands moving to rub her neck. Her eyes darted around the room, landing on Jude who was kneeling on the bed in front of her. She exhaled, closing her eyes as hot tears fell from them.
"Hey," he took her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe the tears away. "Talk to me," he whispered.
She shook her head, pulling away from him.
"It's nothing. It was just a bad dream."
'Tell him,' Rieka hissed.
"No," Joy shook her head again, standing up from the bed. "It was nothing."
Jude followed after her, grabbing her hand to stop her. She felt her heart pulsate at his touch.
"It was just a nightmare, Jude." She pulled her hand away, failing to meet his eyes.
"Look at me," he demanded, but her eyes looked at everywhere but him. "Joy, look at me."
He raised her chin with his fingers, his eyes a deep blue in the dim light of Joy's room. "What did you dream about?"
"Nothing," she gritted. "Don't think that coming here makes everything okay. You're still the same person who lied to me and deceived me."
His hand fell, his eyes shifting to the dull green. "What can I do to prove that I'm being sincere? That I won't ever lie to you again?"
"Nothing. There's nothing you can do, so you can just go back to your pack."
"I told you that I'm not going anywhere without you." He took her hand in his, rubbing circles in her palm. "I'll stay here until you trust me."
"Don't be ridiculous," she yanked her hand away, "what about Khaya?"
"He told me not to come back without you."
"What about your Blue Moon Protector thing? Surely the Beta should be present in case someone gets chosen."
"W-we think it's you."
"What?"
"We think you might be the one were waiting for. Your mother was a warrior wolf in the pack. She was best friends with my mother and father and protected our whole family to her death."
"D-Death?"
"She didn't abandon you baby," he led her to sit back on the bed, sitting with her. "She had to leave you in the human world to keep you safe from the wolf world. She talked about you all the time. How much she missed you." He stroked her plaits. "She talked about your beautiful hair. Your eyes, he caught a tear under her eyelids. Your nose, your lips," his thumb stroked her bottom lip, his eyes lingering there, then returning to her eyes, his hand dropping to his lap. "She described you to me so much, I felt like I knew you then and there. She talked about how you would tear up when you laughed too hard. How you pouted your lips when you were hungry, or sleepy. How you folded your arms when you were angry, and how cute it looked when you frowned. How you were so shy, and modest."
"A modest seven-year-old?" She scoffed.
"Well, you are a rare species." He chuckled. "I couldn't believe it was you when I first saw you."
She smiled a small smile, gazing into his eyes. "And you basically pushed me off a cliff."
"Ummm, I actually saw you before that. When you first arrived, and I stayed on the night you slept outside with your friends."
"You were making the noises," she gasped, pointing at him.
"I'm responsible for a few shuffles, but it's only because I was so excited to see you... Lyssa's daughter. Krii made the most noise."
"You must think very highly of her. Lyssa."
"She saved my life." He huffed. "And she was so good to me."
"Good for you."
"She loved you very much." He said. "Her dying wish was for me to protect you. Whether or not I was your mate."
She analysed him for a moment, searching for sincerity, and she seemed to find it in the streaks of blue in his faded green eyes.
"Would Ash like to speak to Rieka?" She smiled.
Jude's eyes flashed between dull green and bright blue. "He'd love to."
Bones cracked as the pair shifted to their wolf forms. The scent of their significant other filled each wolf's nostrils. For Rieka, he smelt like the village. Specifically the waterfall area. Fresh and soothing. For Ash, she smelt like a meadow filled with flowers. A variety of sweet fragrances.
The wolves moved closer to each other, sniffing and nuzzling each other.
"Tell me a story," the she-wolf mumbled.
"About what?"
"I don't know, another sheep story."
His throat rumbled as they both sat on the floor, fur against fur.
"Okay, let's see."