Unedited
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I didn't stay outside by myself long. I mind-linked Sophia and she came to get me knowing that if I went back inside that house there would be more screaming, more shouting, and more tears.
Who knows where he'd been shagging those girls, I might not have even been the first one to sleep in the bed, I definitely wasn't the first to have his arms wrapped around their waist, his nose buried in their hair...
I blink back tears in the back of Sophia's car, her eyes looking worriedly at me in the mirror. "Are you sure you're okay Lola, what happened?"
I shake my head and laugh, wiping the stray tears with the back of my hand. I don't want her to know I'm having troubles with Kaden, because as much as I love her she won't give me the words I need to hear, because she's never been in this position with her mate.
Sophia and Mark have never fallen out, never had cracks in their relationship, never faced a problem like this. They found each other in high school, they were each other's firsts for everything so there was no need for jealousy, and no hearing of having affairs or sleeping around.
They're the definition of a perfect couple, as because Kaden is four years older than me, he's had four more years to get into trouble and do things I'm not okay with.
"Don't worry, I'm just homesick that's all, and I miss my best friend. Seeing you again is just making me emotional that's all."
Sophia eyes me warily, her eyes raking over my upset expression before sighing heavily and running a hand down her face. "You're having problems with Kaden, aren't you?"
I bite my lip and look out the window, a fresh wave of upset washing over me. "Lola."
"I am and I know that I shouldn't be." I mumble into my hair before blowing it out from over my face. "At the pack meeting today I was referred to as one of his girls by his advisors and then told that all the girls before me call him their mate."
Sophia purses her lips, her eyes flashing red in anger, but she holds it in and continues to look at the road ahead. That's what makes her a good alpha, a good leader. She listens to all of the facts without making a rash, judgemental decision, something I obviously can't do. "What did he say in his defence?"
"He just said it shouldn't upset me because he hasn't though about other girls since he met me, and I know I shouldn't be."
"You have every right to be mad at him." She growls, her nails gripping into her leather steering wheel. "Whether or not he hasn't touched a girl since he met you, he got with one in the same night. You were called a damn slut by his pack because of his sleeping around!"
I laugh and wrap my arms around her from behind, kissing her cheek quickly. Sophia is my rock, she always has been, and looking back at times when I've been close to a meltdown, especially like now when I'm being a complete drama queen. I just need to know that I'm being backed up wholely by my psycho protective best friend. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
"To boost your ego obviously!" She laughs, punching my shoulder lightly. She returns her focus on the road ahead, and I let my head rest against the window. The moon is now rising up into the sky, reminding me of how late in the day it actually is. Today has been long, stressful, and the weight of the day is sitting heavily on my eyelids, forcing them to close. I snuggle deeper into my chair, feeling the warm blast og the car heater on my face, and lull into sleep filled with thoughts of my mate's lips touching a girls that aren't mine.
âââðºâââ
The car jolting to a stop has my head bang harshly against the window, a groan escaping my lips as I finger my forehead gingerly.
"Sorry." Sophia says sheepishly from the front seat, her greenish eyes watching my worriedly in the mirror. "A rabbit ran out in front of me as I was parking."
"It's fine." I mumble, my head still thick with sleep. I stretch my arms high above my head, savouring the feel of my bones and joints cracking back into place. "What time is it?"
Sophia switches off the car before checking her watch, her eyes widening slightly at the time. "A little after eleven."
I yawn and look out of the window, the sight of the once familiar woods surrounding my old home, my body itching to shift. I haven't had time to run and stretch my furry legs since I was reuinted with Shiva, and guessing by the yaps of agreement inside my head, she wants to run too. "I think I'm gonna go for a run."
Sophia's eyes snap up to look at me, flashes of concern running through her pupils. "Are you sure? Do you want me to come with you?"
I shake my head, hugging her from behind again before getting out of the car. The feel of the sharp winter breeze kissing my bare skin soothes me, reminding of running laps with my dad during training. Because I wasn't really allowed to shift, I've never felt the winter winds as a wolf, and I really want to. "I'll be fine Soph. I won't be long, I promise."
I watch as she heads up the stairs to her new house, Mark waiting for at the top, his arms resting on the wooden railings around the decking. My heart pangs when I see the way he greets her, kissing her softly on the lips before draping an arm over her shoulder and ushering her inside. Whenever I think about Kaden doing that, my thought turns sour as I see him hold someone that isn't me.
Shaking my head I walk over to the edge of the woods and quickly undress, storing my clothes in a hollow tree trunk. The wind nips at my skin, causing goosebumps to rise up over my naked body. I take three steps forwards before breaking out into a run, jumping mid air and feeling my bones rearrange themselves.
I land on all fours, shaking my fur free.
"Finally!" I hear Shiva sigh inside my skull, her nose held high up in the air as we savour the feel of the wind on our fur. "I've been cooped up in your head for far too long, Lola."
We run for what seems like a solid ten miuntes, before slowing down and trottting towards the old creek bed, the dry cracked earth on display. Usually around this time of year, the water dries up because the mountain stream where ther water comes from freezes over. It's not cold enough down here for the water to freeze as well, so it runs down the hillside, and evaporates until there isn't anything left.
"I'm sorry." I apoligse, my paws digging into the soft earth beneath me, my ears pricking up at any small sound. My hearing when I'm human is phenomenal, I can easily hear things from over two miles away. My father and I once tried it, he edged backwards and clapped and I mindlinked him if I could hear or not. We got way over two miles, but my father got bored of walking backwards so we stopped.
When I'm a wolf however, it seems almost endless. I've easily covered about ten miles, the creeks a milestone, and I can still hear Sophia and Mark brushing their teeth, flirting and teasing to each other between the sounds of spitting. I block the noises out now, because I know that in the enxt five minutes they're going to start making noises I really don't want to hear.
We keep on moving, my legs working on autopilot as we trot in a random direction, not really paying attention as to where we're actually going. Myself and Shiva just talk inside my head, asking each other questions about our experiences with the moon goddess.
Did she appear to us in the same form, were we in the same land without colour, what did she actually say to each of us? We haven't spoken in little under a month, so we definitely had some catching up to do. She doesn't know about how myself and Kaden have got on, what we've fallen out over, absolutely nothing. She sat in the Moon Goddess' realm, never returning to my head to contact me.
"She said I needed to mature as a wolf, work on my anger." Shiva says as we sit on the edge of the lake shared between three territories. "Because I'm a much more powerful wolf, and everything about me is heightened, I feel everything much more strongly, especially anger and hate. She said because I didn't know how to control it, it was why I was taking the reigns from you all the time."
Because the lake is shared between packs it's a very common place for the different pack members to hang out during the summer, meaning it's a constant beach party. There's barbecues, wake boarding, games of chicken. The lake is actually where the bonfire party I attended last month was held.
The same night myself and Kaden almost acted like a normal couple.
I feel like I understand Shiva a lot more than I used to, and I can see how spending time out of my head has matured her, made her calmer and more disciplined.
My tongue rolls out from my mouth, suddenly dry. I think that's due to the fact we've been sat staring at water for the past twenty minutes that I'm finally thirsty.
I can feel Shiva grin inside my head, a mischievous, devilish smirk and faster than I can say werewolf, I feel her take the reigns from me completely and send my wolf jumping head first into the freezing, icy water, knowing I'll feel it but not her.
All that is running through my head is how I so desperately don't want to get wet, how I don't want to spend the next three hours completely chilled to the bone.
So I didn't.
I squeezed my eyes shut and braved my large body for the impact of crashing through the water, only it never came. My whole body connects with the damp sand that sits underneath the water, the particles matting up my once white coat, I slide a little bit, but still one drop of water doesn't touch me.
I open my eyes and see that the water has moved to create an opening, the waves higher than me as if protected by a giant invisible wall.
"What the hell?" Shiva mutters as I gape, the exact same thought running through my head. "You have to tell your dad."
I agree and quickly sprint home, pushing my body faster than I have before, my head racking with unanswered questions. I turn back briefly to see the water has returned to its normal position, sitting as still as if we were never there.
Once we get back to the hollowed trunk, I quickly shift and pull on my clothes, my eyes searching to see if Sophia is up, but all the lights in the house are off, and I don't want to disturb them.
So I run to the village where I know my parents moved. It's where all Alpha's in the past live or have lived, along with their Beta's and Third's if they want to move to join them. It's a great sign of respect if the Alpha asks his Beta to move with him, and many rarely turn the offer down. Thomas and Harry have moved into their respected house the same night my father did, and they live next door to my Grandparents.
I see there is still a light on in one of the houses, and I'm praying it's my father's. He never gave me the number of the house he moved into, so I know there's a one in two chance that this place is his. It's definitely not my grandparents' house because I've been there before plus I know they're not in.
Running up the stairs, my lungs burning with the lack of air, I hammer my fists on the door. My mind is whirling, and I need the wise words of my parents to tell me what's happening or what to do.
The light flicks on inside the house, and I hear my dad mumbling a long string of profanities at whoever is at the door, aka me, and when he swings open the door he looks three seconds away from punching me in the face.
"You have five seconds to get the fu..." His bleary eyes finally focus on me and he stops the words from leaving his mouth. I raise an exhausted eyebrow at his shocked expression before he pulls me into a hug. "God Lola I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine." I insist as he pulls me into the house. "I have something really important to tell you and Mum."
At the mention of her, she descends the long spiral staircase in the centre of the room, her hand daintily clutching the railing. Her hair is once again in rollers and her fluffy black dressing gown wrapped tightly around her waist. "Lola? What's going on."
"I went for a run tonight with Shiva." I begin, and I replay the story all the way up to the lake. "And she went to throw me in the water, but the water just moved around me and I face planted the dirt."
Mum and Dad share a nervous look, spiking my heart rate and instantly putting me on edge. "What? What's that look for?"
My dad looks at me worriedly, his hands wringing together in his lap. "It's started."
âââðºâââ
BOOYA!
That's another chapter complete and things are starting to warm up.
No Kaden I'm afraid, but it's going to be full of him the next chapter and it's going to be beefy with Kaden and Lola interaction
Until then, remember to vote and comment folk, tell your friends!!!
Love,
Lauryn xoxo