My Eye of the Storm

Chapter 8

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Edited 5/21/19

    "Hello, I am Elise McIntosh." I am startled and look to a small built female with a whitish blonde pelt. I lower my head to her, and she starts to look smug at the behavior. Her head and tail both raise almost immediately. "You better remember your place," she warns as she brushes hard by my shoulder and knocks me slightly off balance. I stumble like a newborn deer before regaining my footing.

    I look around for Landon, not wanting to be socializing anymore. My social battery had hit its breaking point, and I felt my anxiety rising beyond the limits I usually allowed them to. Now I felt threatened by Elise, and I feared what she'd do while I stayed here. Obviously, she had more power over me as she has been here longer; I stood no chance against her.

    "There you are!" I hear and turn to see a black wolf bounding up to me. I become relieved, knowing Landon would ward off negative presences like Elise. "I suppose you are ready to head in for the night then?" He asks in my thoughts, but he didn't need an answer it seems. He's already heading towards the pack house, and I begin to follow after him.

    The front doors open and two men bow at the sight of their alpha. We walk by them still in our wolf form, our claws pattering on the hardwood floors. They stare at me then close the door, leaving us to the silence of the house. I assume that most of the residents are outside still socializing and mingling. The ceremony had been long over, but apparently, the pack likes to spend lots of time together anyway.

    "I have several guards that protect the house, as well," Landon's voice pipes up within my head, "Those were two of them." I felt the panic in my chest ease slightly though I still felt anxious. I had hardly been here a day and had already obtained a bad bond with someone I had yet to even speak to.

    Landon walks me all the way to my room before nodding at me, "Goodnight, Jayvon, and get some much-needed rest." He's gone not too long after, most likely secluding to his room upstairs or heading back outside with the rest.

    I shift in the hallway, quickly twisting my door handle and entering the room. I shut and locked the door behind me, immediately heading for the shower where my anxiety took its firm hold. I shook and trembled, unable to grasp what I had done to have Elise target me of all the people here. Was she jealous of me being around the alpha so much?

     I begin to run the shower, deciding to scald the anxiousness out of me (if that were even possible) and perhaps get some relaxation. Seeing a window against the far wall, I go to it and look out to see all the people still in the courtyard. Among the people I see two figures branched off alone. I look closer and recognize Elise and Landon. She seems agitated, but he seems completely calm. 

    Landon says something to her that calms her down, and he opens his arms for a hug which she gives without hesitation. I feel an ache in my chest and decide to get in my shower. The water burned, but I hardly felt it over the emptiness creeping up my body. I couldn't place my feelings. I couldn't decipher them, but I knew I felt hurt. I didn't feel okay. 

    The shower pressure beat down on me, and that's when I began to cry for all the trauma I felt I had experienced these few days, months, along with years. I yearned for a normal life back with my loving parents, knowing fully well that was out of reach for me. As a senior, hardly a grown teenager, I felt thrown into this new world with no grasp on what to do next.

    I felt clueless and utterly helpless, but now I also felt alone. 

    I leaned back on the shower wall and slid down the tile. The water was hitting me in the face, but I just closed my eyes and let it wash my still falling tears away. 

    The pain ate me alive that night, and little did I know how much it would eat me the days to follow.