Soul Bound (Completed)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Did he just say...? No. No way.

Antonio noticed my presence just then, his eyes sliding towards me. I could see the pleading note in them before he glanced back at Mom, his eyes darkening considerably as he quickly, almost unconsciously, perused her up and down. Mom stared back at him, looking unbelievably confused, embarrassed... and aroused.

I couldn't have felt more uncomfortable and more out of place, even if I'd tried. My wolf was on edge and I felt breathless like I'd gotten the wind knocked out of me - which I had in a sense.

I turned and ran straight into the forest. Like a coward, I ran. I seemed to have been doing a lot of that lately. I didn't make a conscious decision to do it, but my wolf needed her release. She was so close... so close to bursting. My skin felt taught across my bones - to an almost uncomfortable degree. They were mates.

Soul mates.

I couldn't comprehend it.

It happened in the blink of an eye. One second, I was running in human form. The next, my clothes were shredding into tatters around me as I landed on all fours. The relief in me was automatic, though my emotions remained just as turbulent as before.

I continued to run, not wanting to think about what I was leaving behind. Antonio and Mom... they were mates.

He wasn't mistaken. This was no sick joke. I could see it in both of their eyes - the meeting a mirror of how it had been when Luca and I had met for the first time. They were mates, and I could see no way out of the cluster fuck that would occur.

Dad.

Oh god. What would Antonio do? How would Dad react? It felt like the whole universe was against me, like just a moment of peace was something that I would never be allowed to have.

I carried on running, wanting to clear my mind, though my thoughts fixated on Mom, and Christian.

Christian.

A howl of pure agony tore through my throat; a sound that I had never made before and prayed that I'd never have cause to again. He was dead, and I had absolutely no idea what I'd do now. My eyes pricked, and I knew that if I were in human form, they would have been tearing up.

I hadn't realized where my legs had taken me, until the sounds of a waterfall reached my ears. My whole frame quivered as a wave of nostalgia hit me. Even though I knew it'd hurt and I'd probably regret it later, I pushed my legs further in the direction of the waterfall. Some rational part of my mind begged me to turn around and head the opposite way, but I refused to listen.

The cabin came into view, and I wanted to weep at the sight of it. My eighteenth birthday seemed like forever ago. A whole lifetime ago. Christian had been so attentive and sweet. He'd known about the cancer at the time, had known his days were limited, and yet he'd laughed and joked around with me. He was an amazing guy. He had been such an amazing guy.