𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑. paul lahote ✓

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

It was going to be a good day.

ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

It was not, in fact, going to be a good day.

Although Carlisle did end up letting her roam by herself while the others were at school, under the direction of sticking to her usual route away from the town, her mood had instantly soured as she reached her destination.

In the place of the black wolf stood a man, a very shirtless man, accompanied by two other wolves. Augustine recognized one of them from her walks by the creek, but it seemed as though the shifters had recruited another one — this wolf having dark silver fur that her eyes mindlessly sweeped over.

With her sketchbook in her hand, a gift that Kate Denali had sent over along with acrylics from Carmen and Eleazar, she approached the creek with skepticism. The man's eyes were already on her, expectant.

"You shouldn't be out here," the man all-but barked out, his voice just as burly as his stature.

Augustine gestured to the creek that ran between them. "I'm not breaking any rules," she said in rebuttal, gesturing around to the forest around her, "I'm just here to draw, dude. Can't you mind your own business?" She waved the sketchbook around in the air, emphasizing that she was there to draw and not break a decade old treaty.

"Can't you stop coming back here?" he retorted, and it was anything but a suggestion. The statement, coupled with the stern look in his eye, made Augustine's grip on her sketchbook tighten in aggravation.

She was well within her right to be there, despite his obvious annoyance that she kept returning so close to the treaty line. As long as she wasn't bothering anyone, as long as she didn't cross the treaty line, she didn't think it was that big of a problem.

"You can't be an asshole to me today, it's my birthday," she replied, snippy tone as she held her head high. She wasn't about to let these nervy little dogs ruin the one good birthday she's had in years. "It's been a rule since the Stone Age and everything."

The man scoffed out a laugh. "How old are you turning if you remember the Stone Age?"

"Seventeen, you douchebag," she growled out, planting herself on the ground with her legs crossed. This seemed to shut the man up, the quizzical look in his brown eyes was telling to the fact that he clearly assumed she was as ancient as the others. "Y'know, like the ABBA song? Like—"

Augustine's sentence faltered as she met the gaze of the dark silver wolf, the newest addition, as she felt her words literally evaporate on her tongue. It had been a long time since she felt any sort of warmth, her vampiric nature prohibiting her from feeling really anything, but it blossomed in her chest. She clutched the place on her chest where he beating heart used to be with her free hand, feeling as though it was on fire. She caught onto a distinct woodsy, evergreen scent radiating from the opposite side of the creek and held her breath instinctually.

To the other onlookers, aka the man and the other wolf, the scene playing out before them was almost comical because they knew what had just happened. They weren't too thrilled, of course, but they knew better than to question fate. So, they merely exchanged looks with one another, almost like they were having a mental conversation with one another,

However, the wolf seemed to snap out of his reverie and unleashed a menacing snarl that seemed to extinguish the homely feeling that encompassed her.

She blinked, watching as it basically sprinted back into the forest, leaving its two packmates and the girl across the creek in the dust. A sour look overtook her face that she couldn't hide, opting to instead turn her back from the scene altogether.

Her trip was shorter than expected, and she didn't bother giving the man a second glance. She was filled with a sort of discomfort she couldn't understand, like it was all a mix of anger and sorrow.

But if she did, she would've seen the man hesitate between calling out to her or following the wolf who'd ran off in a frenzy, before inevitably darting from the scene.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

[ wyn's note ]

ruh roh here comes the beginning of the enemies to lovers journey that these two will be heading on! and we all know how the wolves are going to be feeling about their bond, but there's not much they can do aside from play it cool haha.

the timelines gonna start to speed a bit, but i promise it'll all make sense in the grand scheme of things. all love!