A Runaway Mate

Chapter Six.

Finn's Point of View

I stared into Rebel's wide, frightened eyes. Her feet were rooted to the ground, the sour stench of fear drifted wafted in the wind. Her knuckles grew white as she tightened her grip on the guitar case's handle. As I stood at the edge of the forest in my true form, her heart raced behind her ribcage.

I mentally cursed to myself. Of course Rebel—a human—would be petrified upon seeing an abnormally large wolf in the wild. My brain racked through ideas to let her know I didn't mean any harm.

Slowly, not trying to make any sudden movements, I walked towards her. My wolf whined when the scent of fear grew stronger. He didn't like that his mate was afraid of him.

When I was mere feet away from her, I sat. My Rebel looked so beautiful. Her golden locks framed her face, which was riddled with confusion. She still wore my pajamas that she had thrown on last night, and the sight of her in my clothes made my Wolf purr with contentment. Rebel still smelled of fresh strawberries and wild honeysuckles. With eyes the same color as blooming trees, Rebel stared at me. And slowly, her fear subsided.

Carefully, I laid down in front of her, placing my overly large head onto my paws. She was confused, the emotion was written on her face like a child's book. Neither of us moved for moments until I army crawled closer to her to push my snout underneath her hand. Her sun kissed skin was smooth and warm against my dark fur. An excited jolt was sent through my body from her touch, and it calmed my Wolf inside.

She continued to stay frozen, her hand sitting on top my nose. But slowly, her hand trailed up to behind my ear. Unconsciously, my eyes slipped closed. Her touch was intoxicating, I could get high on it forever. Her small hand scratched behind my ear and followed down to the side of my jaw. Her finger ran through my fur and she scoffed to herself, "What am I doing?"

At the sound of her angelic voice, my eyes popped open and I looked at her. Unintentionally, my tail started wagging, my Wolf bouncing with pride upon seeing her smile. She had a crooked smile that would ignite a pure light in her eyes.

"Out in the middle of the woods, petting a damn horse sized wolf." She shook her head to herself. She looked down at me, running her finger down the line of my snout. "I've seen a Great Dane before, but he didn't have anything on you."

My chest swelled with pride. As an alpha of my pack, my size would be larger than the others. It's a sign of protection, and I wanted my mate to know I would always protect her for the rest of her life.

"You know," Rebel started, leaning back on her arm as she pointed her face towards to warm sun. Her another arm continued to draw patterns on the top of my head. "I've always wanted a pet. But my dad always said they were too much responsibility for me. Although, he wouldn't know responsibility if it bit him in the ass." Her tone was laced with anger, I could sense it.

Her fingers had grown still on my head, and I crawled closer to her. She opened her eyes and looked down at me. "I'm naming you Fluffy."

I raised my head to be eye level with her, my tongue lolling out to the side. She smiled, her hand reaching up to cup my cheeks. "I figured it's a gender neutral name."

Her hands dropped from my face as she reached around for her guitar case. Excitement jumped within me at the sight of her new gift. She unclasped the locks and pulled out the acoustic instrument. Placing it across her lap, she passed me a side view glace. I didn't know made Rebel so bold with "Fluffy" but I didn't mind. I wanted to see the real side of her, the raw side that she didn't keep guarded.

Her tiny thumb strummed over the strings as she tuned to guitar to her liking. She cleared her throat. "All right, I haven't played in a very long time so do your best to not criticize." She plucked a few strings but missed a chord. "Whoops," she said, and continued to play.

As she progressed through the beginning of the song, I realized it was Yesterday by the Beatles. I hadn't heard the song for a long time, but Rebel played it flawlessly. I sat there, watching her. Her fingers played from memory as beautiful music came from the guitar. She looked natural, happy. Her hair fell into her face as she watched the fretboard, her legs crossed. I only wished that I had had a camera, so I could make the memory of her last forever.

As the song slowed and came to an end, a small smile appeared on Rebel's plump lips. A silence fell over her. I watched as emotions swam through her eyes and vibrated into my own body. Sadness, anger, loneliness.

What had Rebel gone through?

After she cleared her throat, she placed the guitar back into its protective leather case. She looked at me once more, her hand reaching up to scratch underneath my jaw. "I need to be heading back before the bear wakes up."

By bear, I assumed she was talking about me.

She stood up, but not before placing a single kiss on top my head. Something in my Wolf had awakened. He wanted to come out and take over my senses and body, to claim what was his. I pushed him down, annoyed. Her kiss struck through my body, making me fall for her even harder than before. Fall harder for someone than I had ever fallen for.