an Everlasting Pursuit

thirty three

My eyes widened with shock. A strange hum of excitement built up inside of me. Why was I getting my hopes up? I wasn't sure. He was not mine!

"He did? Did he say why?" I wondered.

"He did not," she paused in her answer, cocking her head to stare at me. "But I think I have an idea."

I blushed, shaking my head. "It's not like that."

"Are you sure?" She teased. "You wore his shirt the other day, and he gave you his blood."

"So? I was injured, and the shirt was just a joke."

"He let you join in the pack training."

"That was just because I wasn't supposed to be there and I wanted to show him something." I pointed out, sipping my coffee.

"He brought you to his pack after you were injured!"

"It was instinctual."

"Ailia, he never looks away from you." She sighed, shaking her head. "You have to realise that."

I didn't.

"Piper, it's not meant to be."

"What makes you say that?"

I sighed, dropping my head to stare up at the dull porch roof. "He's an ass. He talks like crap and treats me like a peasant."

"You're not a peasant, Ailia." She tutted. "You are as much of this pack as anyone. Most of them already see you as a member. Do you not feel it? The lack of hatred or judgement?"

"No, I don't. Everyone's always got their nose in my business!" I grunted.

"How do I put this..." she murmured.

I waited as she contemplated her next words. My agitation was already growing, so I was glad she knew I may snap if she said something difficult.

"They are going to be like that because you are human. Humans are naturally weaker," she explained, and I narrowed my eyes. "They want to make sure you are okay. We are predators, we use our nose and eyes a lot. It tells us all about everything going on inside."

"But sniffing me when I want to be private?" I snapped, glaring at her.

"They want to make sure it is not blood from injury and see if you are in good health! Gosh, dammit, Ailia, stop shooting this down. This is a good place, a good pack who will treat you so. You are protected here; you never have to go back to whoever hurt you again." She exclaimed.

I clenched my jaw, dropping my gaze from her as my emotions hit me full force. The extremity of what she said hit me like a tidal wave. Mya and Eve had been trying to say the same thing for a week or so now, but I just couldn't see it. Something about Piper, her strength, her charm, drew me in, and as our strange friendship blossomed, I became comfortable around her. So, for her to use the term 'someone' instead of 'something', made me more emotional than I expected.

I felt safe here. I just couldn't admit it out loud.

I wasn't a fan of the company, but looking back on it, I realised they all were not that bad. They gave me my distance otherwise, and I could see what Piper meant. They were animals, and I was a new member of a different species. You don't send a dog into a wolf's den without expecting there to be a few tussles.

"Look, I'm sorry to drop it on you like that, but you need to hear it from somebody on the side-lines." She sighed.

I sniffed, shaking my head. "No, I get it. I appreciate it, Piper, I do. You are right. Here is safe. I know it is, I just..."

"Can't accept it? Living with the wolves?" She smiled softly.

I shakily laughed, swirling the coffee in my mug absentmindedly. "Maybe one day."

"I can accept one day," she smiled.

We fell into a comfortable silence from that moment on, finishing our cold toast and coffee as the birds sung in the treetops. I was growing to accept Piper as a friend now. Although her beauty was distracting, and her power could be overwhelming, her honesty was something I valued as a companion.

Placing my empty mug on the ground, I turned to face her fully. "Piper?"

"Hmm?" she wondered, looking at me with a smile.

"Thank you for being honest with me."

She grinned lazily, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Honesty is the best policy. Now I need you to be honest with me about something."

"What is it?" I wondered nervously.

"Asra is your mate."

It wasn't a question, but I hesitantly nodded, which caused her shoulders to relax.

"Okay."

"Okay?" I frowned.

"Okay," she shrugged.

"But I thought you two had a thing?"

"We did. An arranged thing," she smiled. "But I have never truly loved him that way. There was always something stopping me from falling in love with him. Maybe it was my past; that it would feel like betrayal, or maybe it was his future; that I would prevent him from happiness."

"But we aren't together... I cannot stand him, frankly."

"Oh please, I have read all the romance books. You will end up together. You are destined to be."

"You must have read very few books," I shook my head.

She giggled, light and airy. "Oh, Ailia, please never stop being you."

I hope so too...