Fur vs Skin | on hold

10.

An electrifying heat surrounds my heart, spreading its warmth to the very cells and nerves that make up my being. The simple act of looking at him put my body and limbs in a frenzy to do something that I wasn't even sure of yet.

"How do you feel about meeting everyone tomorrow?" Santha's voice brings forth a bucket of ice-cold water, that drowns me back to reality.

"What?"

A small exhale of a chuckle passes through her mouth, "If you're comfortable enough, we were thinking of a formal introduction to you and the pack– since a small portion of them know of your presence."

I stare in her direction for a few moments, my eyes flickering about nervously.

"Sure. I have no problem with that."

× × ×

I changed my mind.

I didn't want to meet anyone anymore. It seemed to have crossed my mind that everyone in the vicinity was of supernatural genes and meeting a pack of them sparked the arrival of an anxiety attack. Santha, Arsen, and Marcus have shown me there is nothing to fear when it comes to their kind just by their demeanors but I'm unsure about everyone else.

We long set out down the path that leads to where everyone else resides. The trail was different and longer than I expected— being that the first time down this path, I was unconscious. On each side, trees of all sizes littered the edges as we walked, bare and giving a clear visual of the forest beyond; the sun peaks and weaves through branches creating an array of darkened patterns on the ground.

Santha guides us, leaving Arsen and I walking side by side as we follow. With my nerves on high-end, I aimlessly tail behind her lost in thought, fidgeting with my fingertips and gnawing on my bottom lip.

"We're almost there," Santha announces, further causing my anxiety to rise.

Focusing on the way the snow flatted beneath the weight of my feet and taking the shape of the boots I wore, I notice the space between Arsen and I growing smaller; looking over, I caught his stare.

His thick brows furrow downward, in concentration, his lips puckering out in the attempt to speak. I wait patiently, but the way his eyes shift toward Santha's back for a millisecond, he stops himself.

Shifting my focus around his face and gauging his expression, I more felt his concern than seeing it shine through the corneas of his eyes. There was this thread that probed at the back of my mind, the unconscious thought that this feeling of concern that overwhelmed me wasn't mine but Arsen's. Awed at the realization, I can't help but think I was in for a ride of this mate situation.

To answer his question, I nod, the short flicker of thought to reach forward and give his hand a squeeze to promote that my answer was genuine— I immediately demolished that idea and presented him with a smile as if a war wasn't going on inside my head.

He stares for a moment longer, satisfied, he gives a small smile of his own and turns away, resuming his focus on the path ahead of us.

"We're here!"

I turned back to the problem at hand, finally noticing the thinned our trees that lead into a clearing that was filled with handmade huts forming a semi-circle around a huge pile of bark; and there, scattered across different parts of the clearing, were people of different skin tones, shapes, sizes, and ages. They all carelessly interacted with one another, the children that were out chased each other in circles, their giggles filling the air.