Chapter Thirteen

Dylan

It really sucks to be ignored. You feel completely invisible, totally irrelevant and disposable. What sucks even more than being ignored is being ignored by someone you have feelings for. When that happens, you feel like you’re being continuously run over by a Mack Truck with every thought of them.

It’s been a month since I heard from Dean or as Dre and I call him, DHD or Dick Head Douche. The night of his birthday when he left out of my driveway like my house was on fire was the last time I heard from the guy. I haven’t had the balls to call or text him. In all honesty it’s my stubbornness that’s keeping me from reaching out. He’s the one that left me, he’s the one that acted strange for half of our dinner, he should be the one that reaches out first. So I’ve waited, and waited, and waited, all to no avail. I guess he’s truly not interested anymore.

Last week I came to terms with that and cried every single night. My heart hurt so fucking bad and I couldn’t explain why, it still does and I still can’t. Dre stayed over and we had girl time but it seemed like every conversation somehow came back around to Karter Dean Jarreau leading me to tears. After multiple conversations ending the same way Dre avoided anything that remotely reminded me of him like the plague and for that I’m thankful.

Today is the last day I have of work before I take off to go to my mom’s for the Thanksgiving holiday. I haven’t been to her place since last Christmas and we haven’t really had a chance to talk since my birthday. I’ve been so busy and consumed in work and…him, that I haven’t made time for the most important woman in my life.

“Trevino!” Reed calls out behind me as I walk out the front doors of the hospital to my car.

I stop and turn around with a smile on my face knowing exactly what it is he wants. “Yes Reed?” I ask sweetly and flutter my lashes.

He laughs at my awkwardness, “Don’t try and weasel your way out of it now! You and I are going bowling tonight, you promised!”

I sigh, knowing that he’s right and decide to get it over with. Maybe once he sees how bad I am at this he won’t ask again. “You’re right,” I admit, “I’ll be ready at seven.”

He grins that sexy grin of his and nods before sauntering off to his car. I roll my eyes and throw my bags into my backseat. Once I sit down and start my car up I call Dre.

“What’s up girl? Don’t tell me you’re upset over DHD again!” she groans as soon as she answers.

Even though she used the nickname my heart still pinches at the thought of him. “No,” I say exhaling a deep breath, “I’m going bowling with Reed, from work, in a little while and-”

“Whoa whoa whoa wait a minute!” she interrupts, “You’re actually going to do something tonight other than lie around in your underwear and eat ice cream?”

I roll my eyes, “That was ONE time!”

“Yeah yeah! So tell me about the date!”

“Not a date, just two friends hanging out,” I correct her.

She laughs loudly, “I recall you saying something similar to that the last time and didn’t you almost kiss him?”

I sigh loud enough so she can hear me, “ANYWAY! I called to see if you wanted to go?”

She’s silent for a while but then I hear her talking in the background and realize she must have the phone muffled so I can’t hear. The conversation she’s having with what sounds like a man goes on for a little longer and I roll my eyes at her rudeness. Leave it to Andrea to be in the middle of a conversation and start another one with someone else.

Instead of holding onto the phone like a dumbass, I hang up. I know all too well how long she can take when she’s laying game down on one of her ‘pets’ as she likes to call them with her male objectifying ass. I laugh to myself knowing she wouldn’t want to go tonight anyway since she has a guy over.

I slip on my right Converse at seven on the nose and simultaneously hear a knock on the door. Reed is literally always on time. Even in situations when I give him a nonspecific time to be here around he’s never late. I like that in a man. At least he never leaves me hanging like- no, I won’t go there. This is going to be a DHD free night, I decide as I open the door.

Reed looks amazing as per usual in his loose fitting white V-neck and tight fitting black jeans. The jeans have little rips in them and I can see peeks of his tanned skin underneath. It gives me a strange little thrill seeing the normally covered skin but I shoot it down. Reed is my FRIEND. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

“You look fantastic Dylan,” he gives me a hug as he greets me and I find it weird to hear someone call me by my first name.

“Thank you Reed, you do too,” I reply, smoothing out my dark wash skinny jeans. I paired them with a cute cream chiffon top and a little grey cardigan.

“I love a woman who can look good in Converse,” he jokes, his blue eyes twinkling, “Shall we go?”

I smile and nod letting him lead the way out so I can lock the door. I can feel him standing relatively close behind me and it sends chills up my spine. He really does look good tonight. He recently got a haircut and his hair, although shorter, seems to frame his perfect face even better. When he opens the car door for me I notice he’s letting his facial hair grow out and his five o’clock shadow looks a little more like nine-thirty but it looks damned good on him. I try not to stare at him as he drives but I can’t help it. It feels like something inside of me has come unhinged.

My heart rate speeds and I can feel my breathing getting deeper. I feel like there’s an animal inside of me waiting to be unleashed and I have my prey in my sights. To add emphasis to the dirty images I’m imagining I lick my lips and bite my bottom one. I have no idea what’s happening to me but I think I like it, I can feel my panties getting wetter the more I stare at this beautiful man beside me.

“Are you alright?” he asks when we pull to a stop.

I realize we’re at the bowling alley and I was just caught staring at him like a T-bone steak and instantly get embarrassed. Instead of replying I nod and hurriedly get out of the car.

“Whoa,” is all I can say when I walk into the alley.

“It’s nice right? I thought you said you grew up here, don’t tell me you never came to this place,” he narrows his eyes at me and gets our shoes from the girl behind the purple counter.

“The last time I was here the lanes were cracked and it smelled like musty ass mothballs,” I reply in a detached tone, taking in my surroundings.

It looks almost like a club with the strobe lights and gobos going everywhere. There’s a healthy helping of pinks, purples, yellows, blues, and lime greens all around. Huge monitors line the walls by the bowling lanes showing music videos and there’s a few bars and pool tables.

“The new owners really revamped this place after Old Man Dickerson died,” I say more to myself than to Reed.

He laughs loudly and puts on his bowling shoe, “That couldn’t have been his real name! I don’t believe it!”

I tie my own shoe and stand up to choose a ball and grab the electric blue one, “Well believe it buddy because that’s what it was! I’m pretty sure he got it legally changed!”

“And how would you know that? You’re a nurse not a city hall worker,” he snickers, picking up a neon green ball.

I roll my eyes and turn to him after I finish entering our names onto the score chart, “I asked to see his driver’s license dingus.”

He rolls his head dramatically, mocking me, and I flip him the bird while we laugh together and start playing.

It’s been almost an hour and I’m losing miserably. Reed wasn’t kidding when he said he was damned good at this game. Then again it’s not hard to look like you’re the best when you’re playing against me. I’ve been contemplating putting up the kid rails. Every single time I’ve bowled it’s been a gutter ball. I hit one pin my first bowl and that’s the only luck I’ve had all night. Unless you count the delicious Incredible Hulk cocktails I’ve been having, then I’ve had very good luck.

“You know you might bowl better if you weren’t drunk,” Reed laughs, finishing off the rest of my drink as I get up to roll again.

I give him a dirty look and stick my tongue out at him before turning around to focus on the ever moving lane. I can hear him crunching on the ice from my glass as he walks up behind me.

“Here, let me help,” he says gripping my waist with one hand. I can feel his breath on my neck, it’s freezing and sending chills down my back. His other hand slides down from my shoulder to my hand, caressing me softly as he goes, and it sends chills back up my spine.

“It’s all about the follow through Trevino.”

We roll the ball down the lane and I watch in anticipation. On the one hand ready to cheer if it hits even one pin and on the other ready to talk major shit to the self-proclaimed master if it doesn’t. When the ball connects with the middle pin it sends the rest around it flying and I scream and jump up and down.

Reed has the most smug look on his face, “See. What did I tell you?”

I don’t even care that I’m feeding his ego, I jump into his arms and pull him into a hug. He seems startled at first but soon regains composure and hugs me back. I can feel the hug changing from a friendly gesture to something more, something intense and it scares me.

I pull back from him, looking into his eyes and for the first time I see what’s really there; a man who wants to be with me. Truly wants to be with me. I can also see the fear of rejection and I know that in some way I put it there. Staring into his ocean blue eyes I realize I haven’t thought of Dean once while I’ve been with him. I haven’t had to worry about any secrets or if I’m woman enough or sexy enough, if I’m good enough. Because one look into those cobalt eyes tells it all, I am enough.

Suddenly that hint of fear from rejection I saw makes my heart hurt. I won’t stand for making him feel the way Dean has been making me feel. I want to show him that he is enough too. Against my better judgment I lean in ever so slightly. His eyes flash surprise and then desire. Inside I know what he’s going to do but I don’t care, I want him to. I can blame it on the alcohol later.

Karter

I damn near flew home that night I left Rose’s place and when I got there what I found still haunts me to this day. Stepping out of my car I took a look around the property and all seemed well. It was late so the place was a ghost town but I could see no disturbance. If anything the grass could’ve used cutting but other than that I saw no issues until I took a few steps towards the house and nearly tripped over something. When I looked down I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

A young woman, probably no older than fifteen was sprawled out in the grass trying to crawl to the house. “Oh my God, are you alright?” I asked her although the answer was obvious. I rolled her over and almost lost my lunch. Her skin was peeling so badly from her face I could see straight through. She gasped at me, trying to speak but I shushed her and picked her up bridal style before rushing her to the infirmary.

When I got there it was like something out of the movie Contagion. Everyone had on masks and some people were in plastic rooms. I was so beyond confused and even a little scared. There I was out on a date while this was happening to my people, yet another fail as their Alpha.

“Oh God Alpha! Someone grab this woman from him!” Gretchen, our lead emergency doctor called out.

The girl was immediately taken from my arms and then I was being ushered off to the side where a shower hung from the ceiling.

“I’m so sorry sir but we need to wash you down. You may have been exposed to the toxin and we have to take preventative measures,” Gretchen informed me as she began cutting the clothes off of me. Clothes Rose bought for me with her own money, I made a mental note to reimburse her.

“What the fuck is going on Gretch?” I asked as I allowed her to unclothe me.

She pushed me slightly under the shower head and closed the door around me before answering, “There’s been an outbreak of some sort. I first discovered it when you sent those patients with the dizziness to me earlier today. Something was off with their blood but it didn’t occur to me that it could be a virus of some sort until more people started to get sick.”

I couldn’t tell if it was the chilliness of the water I was being washed in or the facts she threw at me that made my skin prickle more. I couldn’t even fathom that something like this could be happening.

“Is my family okay?” I asked, suddenly remembering how weak my mother’s voice sounded.

Gretchen hung her head but didn’t speak. My heart rate skyrocketed and I threw the shower door open to look her in the eye as she answered me. “Gretchen.”

She sighed, “I’m so sorry Alpha…the virus, it affects the young and the…elderly the worst.”

My heart sank and I knew exactly what she was trying to say. Whatever this is had killed my grandmother, the only person to truly understand me. I could feel myself starting to lose control and ran out of the infirmary as naked as the day I was born. The minute I hit the outside air I shifted and ran until I couldn’t anymore. When I realized where I had gone I sighed loudly, instead it sounded like a loud whimper from a wounded dog. I suppose in a way that’s what I was and still am.

I watched Rose through the window as she got ready for bed. I didn’t want to change into my human form. I’d already shown up on her doorstep once half naked I’d rather not go all the way this time especially feeling the way I do.

I couldn’t help but wonder why this was happening to me. I’m a pretty good person, I try to do what’s right and yet here I am getting shot at in the middle of the night, having my pack fall apart, and just when things are looking up they fall right back down again. I could take anything but losing my family and it had to be my grandmother. Fuck!

I could feel my control slip more and more and decided to leave before I flipped out. I was emotionally gutted and for some reason my wolf can’t control himself for long when he’s around Rose. With one last look over my shoulder I started running home.

It’s been a month since that night and I haven’t spoken to Rose since. I want to reach out but I can’t find the words. I’ve been in a state of mourning so deep that the only thing I do every day are eat, sleep, and do my pack duties. The pack is slowly recovering from whatever infection came at us that night. Many of our youth are still a little sick but luckily their immune systems were strong enough to hold off the highest of consequences. Four of our elderly, my grandmother included, weren’t so lucky. We were lucky to only lose four, the other elders from the council were away for the week visiting New Orleans where we used to reside. We’ve had a funeral each week and finally it’s my grandmother’s turn.

I straighten out my black tie and smooth it the way grandpa taught me and smile, at least they can finally be together. I grab the powder blue handkerchief Grandma Mae gave me the night of my senior prom and put in in my pocket. Taking a deep breath I glance at myself in the mirror one last time. I knew this day was coming, I guess in a way I’ve been mentally preparing myself for it, and yet here I am on the day and I’m a mess. You’d never tell the internal tantrum I’m throwing just by looking at me. In my mind I’ve trashed every room in the house and ruined all of the decorations for the funeral but in reality I don’t, knowing that won’t bring her back.

We lift her casket up on three.

After the ceremony we all go inside for drinks and I try to disregard the thought of what’s going on outside. As we drink and talk amongst ourselves my grandmother isn’t being lowered into the ground to rest, she’s being boiled as to kill off any infection she may have left on her. I made a huge fuss about the treatment of all four people who passed but I was reassured over and over by our scientists and doctors that this was the only way to ensure that the infection that killed them didn’t go back into the earth and poison us through our crops. I suppose in a way I should be grateful. Because they were sick we didn’t have to consume their bodies in our wolf forms like we normally do. I don’t think I could’ve eaten my own fucking grandmother.

The next few days are a blur and Thanksgiving arrives before I know it. No one here is very festive. My mother didn’t cook, in fact she hasn’t left her room since the funeral.  My father has been trying to comfort her so he hasn’t left either. I decide to follow the trend and lie in my bed all morning. The pack is probably busy with celebrating with their families so I won’t bother them with stopping by just yet, maybe later.

Considering I’ve been awake since three this morning I would think I’d be tired but I’m wide awake; which is why it alarms me that I suddenly feel myself drifting off to sleep. I try to wake up, try to move my limbs but I’m as limp as a noodle and succumb to the darkness only to awake in a dream filled with light.

“You fought so hard not to come here, what you don’t miss me?” my grandmother says from behind me and I nearly cry out.

“G-Mizzle!” I wrap her in a huge hug and squeeze her before I notice she’s not protesting about me hugging her too tight. I take a step back and look at her and she looks beautiful. Just like she did before grandpa died, before she lost a part of her soul. Her dark brown skin is flawless and hair is still salt and pepper but it’s full and she’s standing straight up without any help.

“I’m going to miss that silly nickname,” she says with a sad smile, “I can’t keep you here long so don’t talk, just listen okay?”

I nod and she proceeds, “I want you to get over this. Help your mother and father get through this. I was a mother to both of them for so long but I know my baby girl is taking it the hardest, help her.”

I nod again but I have to ask, “Are you alright? Were you peaceful when you passed?”

She smiles a serene smile as if she knew I could keep my trap shut, “I wasn’t peaceful baby…I was murdered.”

Before I can express my outrage I hear a man’s voice I haven’t heard in a while, my grandfather’s, “She’s alright now though, she’s here with me!”

I grin and jump to hug him. Grandpa Axton passed away after sustaining an injury and like the proud bastard he was he refused to tell anyone about it and the infection took him. He looks the same way he did before he died too. Caramel skin, salt and pepper hair, and a tall statuesque posture that exuded his authority.

He lets me go and wraps an arm around grandma’s waist and I take a mental picture of the sight, something I haven’t seen in years and unfortunately something I won’t see ever again.

“I’ve missed you Karter, I trust your grandma has been delivering my messages to you?” he asks narrowing his eyes at her playfully.

I nod, “Of course, will you two still be able to talk to me?”

Sadness crosses both of their faces and I know what the answer is.

“There may be a way,” my grandma says slowly, as if she’s still figuring it out in her head, “Your mate, she may not only have the gift of foresight, she may be able to channel, like I could.”

I think about Rose again and internally groan. She’s going to be so fucking pissed with me. I’ve been totally M.I.A.

“Yes she will be mad but you have to make it right, she’s your other half,” my grandma says.

When I look at her in shock my grandpa steps in. “Since we’re in your head we can hear everything you think. It’s part of the deal,” he shrugs.

“Right, and we don’t have much time left,” my grandma cuts in, “Focus on your mate Karter, she’s the key to everything. We’ll be watching.”

Before I can ask what she means it’s like a black hole opens because the white light is gone and so are my grandparents. I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. What the fuck was that?

I think back on the last thing my grandma said. Apparently Dylan Rose Trevino is going to solve all of my problems. I wouldn’t doubt it. I feel less myself without her around and I miss her like mad. Even through my grief this month the one happy place I could go in my head was anytime with her. It’s in this moment I decide to go over to her place. Who cares if she has company, there are things about herself, about me that she needs to know and I’m tired of hiding them from her. I have been able to keep a great lock on involuntarily turning since I haven’t been around Rose which leads me to believe that my wolf just won’t behave around her because he’s tired of waiting and I’m tired of hiding myself from her. I love her and it’s time I show it.

I take a quick glance at myself in my tan sweater and jeans before heading downstairs to my car. I make a stop at my parents’ room but their door is open and the room is empty. By the time I get to the kitchen I hear their voices and a sound I haven’t heard in a while, my mom’s laughter.

“Oh hey son! Your mom and I are finally getting to the cooking for the holiday! We could use some help,” my dad says with a smile directed at my mother. I know he’s glad to have her getting back to her old self.

“I have to make a quick run out and then I’ll be back to help, do you guys need anything while I’m out?” I ask, not being able to help the smile that forms looking at my parents faces.

“Cranberry sauce,” they say together and break out into a fit of laughter.

I nod and walk awkwardly out of the room. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I smelled marijuana in the air. It would explain their sudden urge for food and the giggles. I shake my head and have a laugh of my own, they’re too old for that shit.

When I get to Rose’s house I don’t see her car in the driveway but decide not to think too much of it since it might just be in the garage. It isn’t until I stand outside knocking for ten minutes that I come to terms with the fact that she isn’t home. Normally it wouldn’t be a hard pill to swallow but today it definitely is. Her scent is all over the place as to be expected but what drives me mad is the scent of her arousal and someone else, a male, a human, and it’s prominent as if he’s been here a lot.

I try to calm down, remembering I need to go to the store for cranberry sauce and freaking out the customers by turning into a huge furry wolf is not on the agenda for today. As soon as I get my car started I call Jason, her bodyguard, he better be able to tell me something or that’s his ass.

Dylan

He kissed me. I knew what to expect, I knew almost down to the millisecond before he did it, and yet it still surprised me when he did. However, it wasn’t the kiss that surprised me, it was how good it felt. When he leaned in and placed his lips on mine he was soft at first, testing the waters, and the second I responded the kiss took a turn for the passionate. There we were in the middle of a bowling alley making out. It wasn’t until we heard the wolf whistles that we broke apart, both of us out of breath and staring at the other until we made a mad dash for our belongings and then the front exit.

I can hardly contain myself in this seat, I feel like I’m going to combust. I want his lips back on mine, they burn for contact. However as the alcohol burns off I realize what I’m doing. I can’t let him be a placeholder. As much as I want to be the girl for Reed and as much as I want to make things right between us, I can’t use him. I want to be appreciated and yes he’s giving me that while Dean isn’t but I can’t ignore the fact that I’d rather be with him.

“Do you want to come in?” I ask once we get to my place. We need to talk and I’d rather do it over a drink since I’m losing my liquid courage from before.

“Sure,” his eyes light up the entire car they’re so blue and bright.

The walk up to my door is short lived and so is the distance between us the second I open my door. He spins me around and places my back against the door roughly before picking my legs up and wrapping them around his waist.

“Reed I think we should talk,” I stutter out, eyes wide.

“Just let me have this,” he whispers, “Let me change your mind.”

He sounds so pained and I realize that I put that there. I keep putting that there. I know my next action isn’t going to help but God I can’t look at his sad expression anymore.

I lean down and run my fingers through his hair softly, making him look up at me, and I kiss him. It’s a sweet kiss, not too hard not too soft, but just enough to let him know that I’ll let him in. He returns the kiss, sliding his hands up my back under my shirt, his hands are so soft and I find myself missing the slight roughness of someone else’s palms. Without the liquor in my system it’s getting harder and harder to keep him out of my thoughts so instead I do something I never thought I would. I close my eyes tighter and imagine that it’s him.

It’s Dean that’s holding my hips and gently massaging them while he pushes himself against me. It’s his sweet tongue that’s invading my mouth and kissing down my neck.

My head falls back and a moan escapes my throat as I give in to the fantasy. We rock against each other jeans against jeans and the friction is amazing. I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time and I surely have never kissed anyone like this. His mouth finds mine again and he bites my lip before angling his hips a different way. I can feel every movement radiate throughout my entire body. I’m on fire and so sensitive and with one more hard rock I’m coming.

“Oh God,” I breathe and dig my nails into his shoulders and neck.

“Fuck,” he groans right after me and I can’t tell if it’s from him coming too or if it’s from my assault on his upper body with my nails.

I slowly open my eyes and look down into his hopeful ones. I don’t know what to say so I just smile a small little awkward smile at him and he spins me around and slides me down his body to the floor.

“God that was amazing, you look so sexy,” he breathes before kissing me, “You don’t have to say anything, I know it’s a lot to take in and I’ll give you some time. Goodnight.” He kisses me again and makes his exit through the front door behind him.

I close the door after him and stare at it for a long time. What in the fuck did I just do? Immediately I call Dre and she says she’ll be over in ten minutes. Instead of just waiting around I hop in the shower and try to remove the evidence of what I did. I can’t lie and say that it wasn’t a fantastic release but I also can’t lie and say that I didn’t have to fight not to moan Dean’s name instead of Reed’s.

“Spill the damn beans,” Dre waltzes in with a bottle of wine already open and I direct her to the glasses I have out. One of these days she’s going to get caught with these open bottles of liquor.

I sit down to tell her the story about the entire night and at the end of it all she’s in shock.

“Dre…say something.”

“I’m sorry, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

I swat her arm and fall back onto the bed.

“I’m serious D-Rose, this is crucial. You’re like the ultimate virgin so the fact that you dry humped a guy is major news!”

I groan loudly and pull a pillow over my head, “Dear God Dre don’t say it like that! Dry humping sounds so…yuck!”

“It wasn’t “yuck” when Reed had you up against the front door,” she laughs and I hit her with the pillow.

“Cow. What do I do? I like him and all but you know I have this connection with Dean and it won’t go away. I don’t want to lead Reed on, he’s so nice, had this not happened I was going to introduce you two,” I explain before falling back on the bed again.

“I wouldn’t have wanted him anyway, he seems to be very stuck on you baby girl. Which leads me to my next point, now just go with me, maybe you should try things out with Reed. I know you have this connection with Dean, trust me I do, but who’s to say when he’s going to come around? What are you supposed to do, just sit here waiting on him to get his shit together? No! You have this nice sweet guy right here in your face and yeah you may not want him now but that may change,” she sighs and lies down next to me, “Don’t put your life on hold for a man Dylan, it’s almost never worth it.”

I want to ask her what she means by that because she never calls me Dylan unless she’s serious but I won’t broach the issue just yet. Instead I sit back and think on what she said. I mean it couldn’t hurt to explore things with Reed. I’m attracted to him, he’s sweet, and obviously he wants to be with me. Maybe I’m trying too hard to make Dean and I work and in doing that I’m shutting myself down to all other options. I sigh and get under the covers, I need to sleep on this.

By the time the sun is shining through my windows Dre is gone. She texted me telling me to have a safe journey to my mother’s and to tell her hello. I’m not surprised by her absence, she knows that if she was here when I woke up I’d ask her to come along with me to my mom’s since she doesn’t have any family to celebrate with. I invited her one time and she made up every excuse in the book not to go. For some reason she and my mother haven’t been able to get along since we turned sixteen. My mom constantly told me to stay away from her but of course I didn’t listen, we’ve been friends for way too long. I assume it’s because Dre is a free spirit and my mom is very old school. I gather my day bag and put in enough clothes for the rest of the week and check my phone before heading out. I have a text from Reed saying he had a great time last night. I decide not to reply.

The two hour long drive to my mom’s gives me a chance to think about everything that’s been happening these past few months and especially what happened last night. I make the decision that if I don’t hear from Dean today then I’ll take a leap of faith and try things with Reed.

“Baby girl,” my mother greets me with a huge hug when I get out of the car.

I hold her back just as tight; it’s been too long since I last saw her. She helps me bring my stuff in and I immediately go to the kitchen to help cook only to find that she’s already done.

“I wanted everything to be ready for you once you got here. You go ahead and get unpacked and I’ll make your plate,” she says with a huge smile plastered across her face.

I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, my favorite part about the holidays is helping her cook but I thank her anyway and go to do as she says. As I walk to the room designated for me I notice the pictures aligning the walls in the hallway. I stop at the one of my father and me when I was just a few days old. He looks so proud and serenely happy. I’m in his arms and he’s looking down at me with the brightest smile. He was a big guy, tall and buff, his mocha skin was flawless and his hair coal black and thick. I feel the tears creeping into my eyes and turn away before the waterworks start. It always baffles me how a man that looked that healthy could die of a heart attack. Knowing that that’s the way he died is part of the reason I became a nurse.

“So baby girl, what’s new in your life?” my mom asks once we sit down to eat. She’s put on the TV in the background so it doesn’t seem as quiet and lonely as it really is. Her caramel skin is still as flawless as the last time I saw her with maybe just a few more wrinkles, worry lines, probably earned by my lack of presence in her life.

“Nothing much mom, we got a new nurse and he’s really nice. His name’s Reed,” I explain, not giving her any details she doesn’t need to worry about anything else.

“Oh, is he cute?”

I stare at her before laughing, “Mommy really?” She nods her head.  “Yes he’s cute,” I cover my face with my hands and shake my head, “Goodness.”

After dinner I help her with the dishes and we watch some TV. There are some pretty good Lifetime movies on so we sit around and get our fill. Every so often she’ll ask me odd questions like, “Have I noticed any changes in myself?” I’m not sure what she’s getting at but I’m also not sure if I want to know. Especially since she seems convinced Reed and I are a couple. She keeps asking questions about him and I keep seeing her look at my neck. I panic and excuse myself to the restroom and sure enough there’s a small hickey on the side of my neck. I doubt if she can see it since I hardly can though.

We hang out for a little more until around ten when she gets ready for bed. After saying goodnight she goes to her room upstairs and I head to mine down the hall from the kitchen. I love that this house has two master bedrooms. I told her to take the one downstairs, in preparation for when she gets too old for the stairs, but she insisted that going up and down the stairs was her exercise.

I take a shower and get out, hopeful. I’ve left my phone in my room all day in the hopes that if I’m not staring at it waiting for it to ring that Dean will call. However I’m sorely disappointed when I flip my cell over. The only messages I have are from Dre and Reed, each of them telling me to have a Happy Thanksgiving. I message both of them back only with Reed’s message I change it up. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. You’ve changed my mind.

******************

Hello my good people!!

To the people still reading this after my hiatus THANK YOU! You guys truly rock my socks and it seems like each day it’s something new! I’ve surpassed 300 reads on both Awake and OLS and I couldn’t be more happy! I’ve gotten votes and new followers and it honestly is surreal to think that just a few months ago I was about to totally stop uploading stories at all because I wasn’t getting any feedback or reads.

I love to read and writing is my passion but I don’t like putting my stuff up just for shits and giggles. I like to know that people are interested in it, it makes me feel like I should keep doing what I love because it ‘works’! That probably made no sense but yeah lol

Down to Business….

If you read the A/Ns I posted before this then ignore this but I took ‘em down so I’ll repeat. I was feeling uninspired by this story/characters and was thinking of scraping the story for a new one I have an idea for. But, I decided to keep this story and finish it before moving on to something new. However, I won’t have an upload schedule for this particular story. It became a task more than a joy to update so now I’ll just do it when I do it.

About the story….

On November 26, 2013 the moon was (IRL) in the Virgo zodiac sign and as you know if you’ve paid attention, Dylan is a Virgo. I found that those two (the date and sign) matched the time of her outing with Reed so I wanted to have it have some effect on her. I don’t know if it will be a reccurring thing for her every ‘month’ or not. Her werewolf senses are coming in slowly and I’m trying to show that in each chapter by her developing something new and more “wolfy.”

Also….

If you’ve followed me on Twitter DM me on there or comment on this chapter and I’ll follow you back! I don’t just follow people if they follow me so you’ll have to let me know! My name on there is KetchumAll_Ash in case you haven’t followed and want to!

Thank you all SO much for the support I never thought I’d be at this point with ANY of my stories and now I’m here *plays Started from the Bottom softly in the background* lol I’m still not where I want to be but thanks to your help I’m getting there!

And a S/O to my new follower Ghost_Reader182 thank you so much for your follow! I hope I live up to expectations!

Sooo…that’s all for me! I hope the chapter was long enough for you guys and that you enjoyed!

Until Next Time,

WBN