A/N: Arrgh! I'm so behind schedule that the other night I had a nightmare about sitting down to write and the words disappeared almost immediately after I wrote them and I started panicking and couldn't think of what to write... But when I woke up, I read your lovely comments and immediately felt better.
THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME! I'll try to make September 6 something special, something that you amazing people deserve! â¤
More info on that in the A/N at the end; for now, enjoy this new chapter!
*****
"Hey."
My mate sounded happy when he answered my call. On any other day, this would've made me happy in turn.
Not today.
Not with what I was about to do.
Sadness washed over me as a wave and I swallowed a hard lump when I thought that this might be the last time I heard him so joyous.
"Hey," I greeted back, failing to keep the emotions out of my voice. I tried harder with my next line:
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing much. Just lying half-naked in bed and thinking about you."
I closed my eyes and let my head drop back over the board of my bed.
It was playful, but it was definitely a flirt.
I wished I could reply in the same fashion; I wish I could act on my desires, even if it was just a kiss today. My throat was tight as if invisible hands had wrapped their strong fingers around it, squeezing with all their might.
For the first time in my life, I wished I wasn't a shifter, that I didn't have to dread that the one I cared for so much might reject me because of what I was.
Would I have met Riley then?
Would I have fallen in love with him?
Surely, I would have; he was everything that made my heart flutter... And the only person who could strike my heart with pain so powerful that I might not survive it.
And he could do it today.
I cleared my throat, trying to prepare myself for what was to come.
"Well, topless anyway." He went on, oblivious of the turmoil in my soul. "What are you doing?"
"I was wondering if we could talk?" My inflection went up and down, trembling like my body.
"What do you want to talk about?" He asked quietly, carefully, at last beginning to realize how agitated I was.
"Us." The word came out as a whisper.
Would we exist after tonight?
"I want us to talk about who the Silver Bullets are."
*****
The ride to Riley's had me pulling the car over to the sidewalk and turning the engine off several times.
I was a mess.
My hands were shaking and sweaty no matter how many times I wiped them, my lips were dry no matter how many times my tongue darted out to moisten them and my breaths were so shallow that my head was starting to spin.
I had to tell him.
I had to tell him tonight.
There had already been too many innocent victims and we had no clue what was going on. If Riley was to become one...
I reached for the water bottle at the back seat and drained it all at once before throwing it back to where I'd taken it from.
I could do this... I had to do this.
But what if I failed?
What if I misunderstood how he felt about me, what if everyone was wrong when they'd told me Riley was glowing whenever he looked at me?
I could lose him for good.
Was there a greater pain than losing a mate?
Could I even go on living if he denied me or would I simply crumble to dust, the tiny particles that once formed who I was scattered by the cold wind of rejection?
"Riley loves you, it's obvious," my mom had said, caressing my cheek.
"He blushes at the slightest sign of attention from you," Kennedy had added.
"And you'll have to tell him one day, son." Even now, hours later, I could almost feel my dad's reassuring grip on my shoulder.
"The sooner, the better," Keri had noted, her cousin and brother nodding in agreement. "It will be easier to protect him if he was here with us and he can't move in without you telling him what we are."
"You once told me that love makes people biased, that people cannot not appreciate how much you care for them." Everett had smiled at me, his wife placing her hand in his. "Riley senses how much you care for him; there's no way he wouldn't appreciate such strong affection."
Everyone knew what I'd set out to do tonight, praised my decision and cheered me on. But I could see the worry on their faces. Not because they questioned Riley's love for me, but because they were unsure if it was enough to help him come to terms with what we were, to make him stay with me.
I turned the engine back on and drove to my mate's apartment. He was waiting for me in front of the building, nervous, but not as much as he should be.
I licked my lips and got out of the car to open the door for him.
"Hey." He tried to sound cheerful, but it was nothing close to the greeting I'd gotten over the phone earlier.
I had to pull myself together.
For my sake, for Riley's sake, for our sake.
I had to ignore all my nerves, prickling at me like tiny needles, and concentrate on the task at hand: telling the boy I loved that I was a shifter and that he was my mate.
"Hey." I leaned down and kissed him deep, the bitter knowledge that this might be the last time I did so seeping into my brain and nesting there like a dark, ominous bird.
Our lips parted and I breathed in his scent; would I ever experience the ecstasy of being this close to him again?
I shook my head and opened the door even further, silently inviting Riley into my vehicle.
I can't let my thoughts take that direction, I told myself as I got back in the driver's seat. I have to envision us together after tonight, I had to calm down so I could explain everything clearly: what we are and how I feel.
If anything was going to keep us together, that would be our feelings for each other.
I had to make mine clear... But how?
How could I proclaim my devotion, my adoration without scaring him off with the force of my feelings for him?
I had to find a balance, to show Riley that he was the most important person for me without coming on too strong.
How?
Just how?
I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it; he seemed a bit surprised, but he obviously enjoyed it, his eyes locking on mine. I saw the affection in them and prayed he could perceive how I felt by looking at mine.
I gave his hand a squeeze before I let it go and drove off to my house.
Not my parents'; mine.
If all went well tonight, it would be ours.
Riley's and mine.
Throughout the whole drive, I silently begged the Great Spirits and every deity out there that that would be the case, that I would finally experience the divine blessing of having my mate beside me for the rest of my life.
*****
A/N: So. September 6; what's the big deal?
IT'S WE ARE THE ANSWER'S BIRTHDAY!
Yep. Chapter 1 was uploaded on September 6, 2015; can you believe it's been a whole year?
To celebrate, I'll be posting several Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series goodies and all of the links to them will be given in Ch. 37, which will be uploaded next Tuesday. The goodies are:
- Alec's story sneak peek;
- Which You Are The Answer Character Are You quiz;
- A giveaway - I'll dedicate a chapter or name a pack/a character after the winner, or give them a shout-out (the winner picks which)
Are you excited about the birthday and the goodies?
And maybe for what's to come in the next chapter?
What did you think of this one?
Please support it with a VOTE if you enjoyed it! Have a great time wattpadding!