I was awoken by my mother gently pushing my arm and calling my name, "Silas darling you need to hurry up and get dressed, and come downstairs quickly." Half asleep I look past my covers to see the seriousness in her face, which isn't the way I wanted this morning to go, from behind her i could hear several voices coming from down the hall. "Who's that," i say prying myself from my bed. my mother looks to me tenderly "Derek and a few of the pack members have come with some concerning news, just get dressed sweetie he'll tell you everything." she says as she leaves me in my room.
This isn't the best way id like this morning to go, especially with bad news waiting for me downstairs. I haven't even had my oath ceremony and I already felt like the wait of the world was falling onto my shoulders. Like always I felt deep down that my life wasn't mine to control, and that's all I wanted.
A knock on my door and someone clearing their throat brings me out of my mind. "Your mom said you were awake, and I couldn't help myself I had to see you." Derek says stepping into my room. The urge to tell him off goes away as I look into his tired eyes, and all I see is hope and concern and a sense of unease takes over.
"I take it that the news my mother told me about is about me." His eyes drift away from mine, and he steps back, "Last night me, Stella and Jackson ran into a group of wolves who had a witch in their custody." He says sitting on my bed, he breathes before continuing, "You know looking back on everything i wish I'd known you more before now. Everything has changed because of this, and i'm glad it's changed but now im afraid its all a bad idea."
He looks deep into my eyes, "Last night while i was on a run i ran into a group of wolves who were leaving the Dark-lands, and they had a witch with them who came with a message." My attention is captured by the mention of the Dark-lands, few knew of its true background, or why it was called that. Growing up there was an unspoken rule that anything coming from the dark lands wasn't friendly, rogue wolves, rabid vampires, and estranged witches lurked in its shadow.
Derek pulls his phone out and hands it to me, a latin saying typed out onto the screen. I read the six words underneath in English and I feel the color drain from my body. "Where did you get this, who says this kind of shit." Denial is my first reaction, I'm young I have everything going for me. And then it dawns on me "Do you think this has to do with us, is that why you barged into my parents home." Anger is my second reaction trying to put a wall up from the reality of it all.
Derek stands up pain in his eyes "Yes I think it's about us, but I barged into your parents house to tell you because no one wants to, and I actually care but that's doesn't matter against years of resentment. I came here to offer my everything to keep you safe, but right now I just feel hurt." His face right in front of mine as the words finish leaving his lips.
Regret, as usual is my last emotion, "I'm sorry, it's that this is all just bullshit I didn't want any of this. And now some weirdo is spewing the old tongue saying I gotta die, none of this fair on me." I say tears in my eyes, but somehow finding my way in his grasp and I
"None of this is going to be easy, but if you just give me the chance I will do literally anything for you. I know I haven't been the easiest to get along with, but I want to be there now." I can feel the warmth of his heart here in his arms, it's like a warm fire during winter.
"But what are going to do about this," I say bringing focus the problem at hand "My oath ceremony is in a week and some creepy mystery man comes to tell us I'm going to die." Derek's grip on me tightens as he takes a deep breath, his resolve unwavering. "I don't care who says it Silas," he says, his voice filled with determination.
"I'm not losing you, and I'm willing to take every precaution to keep you safe. We knew something would try and ruin this for us, but I'm not going to let anything take you away from me." I feel his hand pull my chin to look into his eyes, and he doesn't skip a beat as he pulls me into a kiss. My normal reaction to push away is overpowered by the emotion that fills me. I pull away flustered and out of breath, and look into his eyes I can feel his determination, the depth of his love for me. It was as if all the chaos in the world faded away, leaving only the two of us in that moment.
And without hesitation, he pressed his lips to mine again a rush of sensations coursed through me, faster than the first time. It was strange, almost surreal, but as our connection deepened, so did the kiss. It was as though our souls were dancing together, entwined in a powerful bond that transcended the physical world.When we finally parted again, I was left flustered and breathless, my heart racing in my chest. I looked into Derek's eyes, and I could feel the unspoken words between us, the promise of a love that could withstand anything.
With a soft smile, Derek spoke again, his voice filled with determination, "Now, let's focus on the task at hand. We need to question the man I captured to get the answers we seek. Together, there's nothing we can't handle." Still recovering from our kiss i nod my head slowly, reality flooding back in, "I want to talk to him, maybe we can get some answers and see where we can go from there, what do you think."
Derek shakes his head, "My dad would be glad to help too, he's been watching him since we brought him in he might even have more answers for us." I look at him, a smile makes its way on my face and think about everything, from being mates to Derek, to finding out I'm going to die and it doesn't bother me knowing that i have him to protect me.