LEILANI ***Under Editing***

⚫Chapter 8⚫

Once my parents had reentered the house, Kenna shared her thoughts openly. "Your parents are so cool," she said in awe. "I bet the others' parents must be nice too. I find it fascinating how you all live together; it's like one big family."

"Yes, it's really nice having them all around. I'm very grateful," I responded. We had debated whether to disclose that we all lived together, concerned it might give her the wrong impression of us. Yet, Kenna seemed to understand our situation. She seemed to envision us as a group home of some sort. My adoption might have led her to believe that we welcomed those in need. 

"Yo Leilani! Wanna play?" Jasper asked me out of the blue as he pointed to the frisbee. "Sure," I responded leaving Kenna to talk a bit with the girls. I picked it up and stepped onto the grass. I watched as Jasper ran away from me so he could position himself to catch. With a powerful throw, I sent the frisbee his way. He raced toward it attempting to secure it before it reached the ground. He caught it beautifully with one hand. "Nice!" I cheered. He smiled before launching it my way. I ran, my eyes tracking the frisbee's path through the air. I caught it swiftly before launching it back at him. I turned my head in curiosity to see Elias watching us from a distance.

He looked unimpressed which made me smile with satisfaction. I hated this game we were playing. If he would just accept me, there would be no tension. He wouldn't be moody and rude, his wolf wouldn't be suffering, and I wouldn't be annoyed and exhausted. "Okay, I'm joining," Kenna chimed in. I moved closer to Jasper as we formed a trio. "Here it comes!" Kenna exclaimed. Both Jasper and I ran to the frisbee, determined to claim it. "It's mine!" he shouted. "Nope, it's mine!" I countered, laughter filling the air.

Then, it all happened very fast. We both leaped in attempts to snatch the frisbee. I was confident that I would land on my two feet, but instead we collided, tumbling to the ground together. Jasper's impact was heavy and I grunted as his head met my shoulder. He was practically crushing me as I felt the weight of his body on mine. Lifting his head up immediately, his blue orbs stared into mine. "Elias!" I heard someone say cautiously. I looked to the side to see him walking toward us with speed. His eyes were pitch black and a deep growl escaped his lips.

As soon as he got to us, he pushed Jasper off of me with force. "Bro," Jasper exclaimed in shock as he tumbled backward onto the grass. I sighed in relief feeling the weight lift from me. Elias then leaned down picking Jasper up by his shirt. Jasper stood up dazed as Elias clenched his fist to swing at him. In an instant, I got up, positioning myself in between them. "Stop!" I shouted placing one hand on Elias' chest and using the other to push Jasper away from him. Immediately Elias froze as his gaze shifted from my hand to my eyes.

I could feel his heart beneath my small fingers. It was beating so fast. Faster than I had expected. The sparks were practically frying my hand as I touched his shirt. With heavy, uneven breathing, he stood there with anger. I softly pushed my hand against his chest. He blinked at me as I watched his eyes gradually return to their normal greyish blue hue. His gaze then wandered over me, as if he were checking to see whether I was harmed. For a moment I had forgotten about our situation. Standing before me wasn't the Elias who had unofficially rejected, but rather a man that seemed to care about me. "I'm okay," I whispered in a shaky voice just loud enough for him to hear. His eyes remained glued on mine as his lips parted. For a brief moment, I thought I detected a flicker of fear in his stare. Why had I reassured him that I was okay? What was wrong with me?

"What's wrong?" Jasper's concerned voice broke the tension. I hastily dropped my hand and glanced at Kenna to see her wearing a shocked expression. I then looked back at Elias to see him still staring at me. I was still trying to understand wonder why I had impulsively told him I was okay, given the circumstances. 

"Um," Elias began to say, glancing between me and Jasper. "You're a big guy and you could've crushed h-her," he stammered while rubbing the back of his neck. I closed my eyes in disappointment, realizing that my expectations of him finally confessing that we were mates had been in vain.

That was a pretty lame excuse, but I honestly couldn't think of a better one. "Yeah," Jasper said hesitantly. "Sorry about that." My eyes followed Elias' figure as he walked away from us and into our house. 

Everyone else had watched the situation unfold. The others sat there with confused expressions, but quickly returned to their conversations and activities. "We're still playing?" Jasper asked me. "Um, you guys can continue. I need to step inside for a second," I told him. I looked at Kenna to see that she was still taken aback. "Are you alright Leilani?" she asked. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks," I assured her. I walked away from them headed toward the deck. "You okay?" Nathan asked me. Even though he looked concerned, I couldn't ignore the bewilderment displayed on his face.

I left Nathan outside and stepped into the kitchen to see Elias drinking a glass of water. The kitchen's window overlooked the backyard. With his back facing towards me, he let out a big sigh. "You can't d-do that," he finally spoke, stuttering. "Do what?" I asked him. "You-" he began to say. He didn't finish his sentence and instead drank more water. "Stay away from Jasper," he grumbled. "You need to stay away from me," I told him trying to maintain my composure. I didn't want to create a scene, especially in my own home. 

He turned around almost immediately. "You can't act so carelessly," his voice broke. "You should think before you do things. He could've... you could've..." I stood there waiting to hear him finish his sentence. I couldn't ignore the flutters in my stomach hearing the concern in his voice. "Just watch yourself," he stated. "Wow, so you do care about me?" I asked him. "No, I don't. Just be careful. You could get seriously injured if you don't pay attention." What a liar.

"Get a grip. We were playing frisbee and we bumped into each other by accident. That was expected."

"Then don't play frisbee ever again!" he shouted, his words carrying the weight of his frustration. I silently thanked God that most of the pack members weren't home at the moment. "Is everything okay Leilani?" I heard my mom say from upstairs. "Yes mom! Everything is fine." Oh, how badly I wanted to slap him in the face. He was incredibly infuriating. Just as the tension seemed unbearable, Neha walked in. I pretended I was fixing something while Elias awkwardly looked away. "You okay Leilani?" she asked me. "Yes, I'm fine," I chuckled nervously, feeling uncomfortable. She then walked past and headed into the bathroom. I watched as Elias turned around slowly. 

"What is your deal?" I hissed in a sharp whisper, taking a step forward. I really didn't want Neha to hear us arguing. "Remember it was you that rejected me. You willingly said that you're not interested so stop all of this. I hate repeating myself so get this through your thick skull. Leave me alone," I warned him with a stern voice.

Leaving the kitchen, I retreated up the stairs and entered my room, closing the door behind me. I leaned against the door, my breath coming out in loud, deliberate exhales as I tried my best to calm down. With my eyes closed, I reimagined what had just happened. He was being protective again. I couldn't lie, it felt good to have someone care for me that much, but he was being ridiculous. It had to be one or the other – he either accepted and embraced me, or he rejected me and left me alone.

This was his second time within a week where he was trying to protect me. Did this mean he would accept me as his mate soon? The whole situation left me feeling incredibly confused, and it seemed like he was grappling with the same inner turmoil.

He needed to put a leash on his wolf before the others found out. I'm sure Kenna had a lot of questions going through her head after witnessing what had just happened. 

I walked to my window to observe my friends outside. Elias was seated back at the table, staring into space. The blonde girl next to him was trying so hard to capture his attention, but for the first time ever it seemed like he wasn't having it. In fact, it looked like he told her to leave him alone. She got up looking annoyed, and joined Kenna and Jasper as they continued to throw around the frisbee. My eyes stay glued on Elias as I worked on slowing my racing heartbeat.

Then I saw him do something I wasn't expecting. He placed his hand on his chest, exactly where I had placed mine during our recent altercation. A quiet gasp escaped my lips as my eyes widened. I stepped backwards, careful not to let him see me. My thoughts began to race as I wondered what was going through his mind as he sat there. 

Even if he didn't want me, we both knew his wolf needed me. The question was, would he ever accept me as his human mate?