My Dark Knight (COMPLETED)

Chapter 12

((EDITED 5/17/2016, some dialogue and descriptive changes and removed a couple of redundant or unnecessary sentences))

(I took the picture of Gabriel down, as I'd like everyone to have their own perfect mental image of him without spoiling it with a picture.)

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Morning came faster than expected. Bright sunlight streamed through my window, falling upon my closed eyelids and awakening me from my deep slumber. I turned over, away from the sun's rays, feeling the pinch of nervousness as the events of last night came rushing back to me. Today was the day I would be 'tested', as Gabriel had put it. Hopefully that didn't entail anything too horrible and I could showcase my fighting skills. I could definitely hold my own pretty well back in my own pack.

I slowly sat up, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes. What time was it anyways? Blinking, I glanced at the old-fashioned clock that hung on the wall by my bed. 10:08 a.m., it read. I was surprised Gabriel had not woken me up yet; he seemed the type to make everyone rise at the crack of dawn. My Wolf wondered what it would be like to open my eyes and see him first-thing every day.

Smiling slightly in my half-asleep state, I crawled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. All that running yesterday had definitely taken its toll and I had slept like a baby. I did a quick assessment in the mirror. My face seemed slightly paler than normal, and wayward curls were sticking out in numerous directions. I took a quick shower, not wanting to waste any time, brushing through my wet curls before roughly shoving my hair into a bun. After brushing my teeth and dressing myself in a loose t-shirt and shorts, I exited my room and headed downstairs.

I was slightly disappointed to see that Gabriel was nowhere in sight and his alluring scent was slightly stale. It seemed he had left early this morning and hadn't bothered to wake me up. I tried to reassure myself that perhaps he was just being polite (although not his typical behavior) and allowing me to recuperate before my tests today.

I opened the refrigerator, taking out a water bottle and snagging an apple from the fruit bowl. What was I supposed to do? Did he just want me to wait for him at the house, or was I supposed to go hunt him down? I chewed my lip in indecision. I definitely didn't want to loaf around all day. Aimlessly wandering around the pack village would be more productive than sitting in my room. However, I wasn't sure the Black Mountains Pack would take kindly to an outsider meandering about.

I quickly finished the apple and took a few swigs of water. Thankfully, I heard three large knocks on the front door, saving me from having to make the decision between staying or leaving. I hurried towards the sound and swung the door open. To my surprise, Eli stood there calmly, arms crossed in front of him.

"Good, you're awake. The Alpha wanted me to come fetch you for training." His words held no room for argument but he gave me a small smile.

"He couldn't come fetch me himself?" I muttered, trying my best not to sound petulant. For some reason I felt quite comfortable openly expressing my irritation in front of Eli.

Eli shook his head, smiling wryly. "He's always got a million things to do. Maybe it'd be better to say that I volunteered to come get you."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "You did?"

He shrugged. "You're the Alpha's Mate, and you seem nice enough. If you're gonna be around I might as well get to know you better."

I smiled despite myself. At least there would be one consistently friendly face. "Okay, I'm ready," I said, stepping outside and closing the door behind me. Eli nodded and beckoned for me to follow him. As we began our trek through the village, I inhaled deeply. The rain had obviously stopped overnight but the fresh smell hung in the air and the ground was still slightly damp. A slight breeze tickled my skin. It was hard to be in any sort of foul mood with weather like this, but my slight sense of nervousness persisted.