Outcast

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Anna's POV

"Can I talk to you?" He said his voice low. "Alone?"

I looked at my friends, and they all nodded their heads, looking curious and somewhat scared.

I looked back up at James, his hand still on my shoulder. "Uh... Sure?" I said tentatively 

He nodded and then took a few steps back, removing his hand from my shoulder and waited for me. Oddly, when he removed his hand it disappointed me. Shaking that thought from my mind I stood up from my seat and walked over to him.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk about?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Not in here, out here," And he began to walk outside, towards the picnic tables. 

I followed him out and I heard her  whisper something to me. My wolf, but I couldn't make out what it was she said. It sounded all mixed up, like she was saying it backwards. She's never spoken to me before, just once when I first shifted at thirteen and it was kind of worrying. The first time in about five years, and she chooses now to try and say something? 

I sighed and pushed those thoughts away, focusing more on following James. He was wearing a tight grey t-shirt, dark jeans and black boots. I couldn't help but stare at the muscles moving in his back as he walked, his arms swinging by his side. 

Stop it! I thought, yelling at my self. But for some reason, I just couldn't help staring at him. 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He said over his shoulder, smirking at me and made my face go bright red. 

"Shut up," I mumbled embarrassment washing over me. We reached the picnic tables and he leaned against it, while I sat on the top of it beside him and put my feet on the bench part. 

"Okay, now what do you want to talk about?" I asked, leaning back on the palms of my hands.

He hesitated a moment and then spoke, not looking at me. "What did they tell you?" His voice low and quiet.

He wanted to know that? He took me out here to ask me that... Oh well, whatever. "They told me that you were banned from your pack," I said.

"Did they tell you why?" He growled. 

"Um yeah, they said that you told some human girl our secret and then brought her to a pack meeting or something and..." I paused, unsure of whether to add the part where he looked heart broken. Deciding against it I said, "Yeah."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, as if he were annoyed with something. "Did they tell you what they did to her?" He asked me, still staring at the ground. 

"No, should they have?" 

"No!" He growled so quick it made me jump. He saw me and said "Sorry," 

"It's ok. Why did you take me out here just to ask me that?" He could have just asked me inside or something. 

"I... I don't know." He said, shaking his head. 

I nodded, and then another question popped into my mind. "Why do you care what they told me?" I asked him. 

I saw him stiffen and then he looked up at me, his hazel eyes locking onto mine. "I wanted to tell you myself," He said so quietly I wasn't even sure that's what he said, and he looked away again, staring at the ground. 

I just stared at him, confused. Why would he want to tell me that? It doesn't make sense. He takes me out here to ask me what my friends told me, and then he says he wanted to tell me that himself? Either he just doesn't make sense or I'm missing a big piece of the puzzle. Probably the latter, my friends at home used to tell me I was blonder than a Barbie and that it would take me a year just to figure out who my mate was even if he was right in front of me.

When I thought that, one word seemed to stick out, and get louder in my mind. Mate, I heard her growl. Mine, She said again. 

Who... And one look at James confirmed it all. Mate, mine She growled. 

I stared at James in open-mouth shock, while all of the fears I'd buried away resurfaced. Fears of being hurt, rejected, abused. That's what my ex-boyfrend did to me, and even though he wasn't my mate, it still hurt a lot. 

James looked up at me, a confused look on his face. "What?" He asked. 

"You're... I...We..." I stuttered out, the words not forming on my tongue. 

He seemed to get what I was saying though. "Yes, Anna. We're mates." 

When he said those words I snapped. I got up as quick as I could and ran, not to the school but to the forest that bordered the road across the street.  I could hear James calling me back, but I ignored him no matter how much I wanted to run back. 

I had to think first, and the only way I could do that in peace would be out here. Once I was in the cover of the trees I shifted, after I striped my clothes. When I shifted I ran, as fast as I could into the forest, even though I had no clue where I was going. 

-*- 

I had been running for a while, and now I was walking along a creek that I assumed was the one running through the forest in my backyard. 

With all of this running and walking, I've thought through a lot. The first thing I know is that James is my mate. The second is that your mate would rather kill him self that hurt you in anyway. The third is I shouldn’t be scared, but I am. Why? Maybe it's because I've never been good at any of the relationship stuff. When I was with my ex, Damon, I wasn't the one who would start a kiss, or who even gave the first kiss. I was horrible at stuff like that, and Damon even said so. Guess that's where my low self-esteem came from with that!

Shaking my big furry head, I sighed. When did my life get so complicated?

I walked a little farther, and froze when I heard a small woof. Spinning around, I saw the wolf in my dream, and the one I ran into the other day. But now I knew exactly who he was. It was James, with his clothes and my clothes in his mouth, looking at me pleadingly with his golden yellow eyes. 

He wanted to talk. Again. 

I laid my ears flat against my head and lowered my head to the ground, showing him I was sorry. I really do feel bad about running from him, but it was one of those things where you don't think and just do. 

He walked towards me slowly, unsure of what I might do and dropped my clothed on the ground in front of me, while he ran off. Wondering where he was going, I waited for him and a couple minutes later he came back in his human form, fully clothed. 

He looked at me for a second, taking in my appearance. "Please? I just want to talk. That's all I ask."

I stared at him for a second, deciding whether or not to shift back. Slowly I nodded my head and then picked up my clothes to go change, preparing my self for whatever he wanted to say to me. 

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Okay, well this chapter was kind of a leap in the dark, I wasn't really sure how I wanted this to go and this is how it ended up. 

PLEASE please PLEASE! Tell me what you think with a vote or comment? :) 

Have a good day/night! :)