A/N due to a recent loss I will be updating only on Mondays for the foreseeable future, Thank you for reading!
Chapter 11
-Pax-
The marbles fell as three harsh knocks came from the door. I froze with my hands in the air, a marble between two of my fingers. I think that my door has been knocked on about three times in all my years here.
"Yes?" I asked carefully, I could safely assume that it was Cedar who knocked on my door. Even though I've not heard many knocks on my own door, nobody would dare enter other rooms without knocking first.
The door creaked. "Kian wants to see you in his office." It was Cedar. I scrambled to move all my marbles where I wouldn't stand on them coming back, then followed him out of the door. I made a conscious attempt not to think of why I had been called to his office. Maybe he had found out I lied to him earlier, maybe he's changed his mind about me going on patrol. Both of those were possible; neither of them were preferable.
"He was playing with his building blocks," Cedar teased. I was immediately alerted by the familiar smell of coffee, mint, and chemicals. I tried not to let the shock show on my expression. Farley was here, his presence was undeniable.
"I'd like to see a building made out of marbles," I muttered. Everyone heard me, but nothing was said. I could feel several pairs of eyes on me.
"Pax," Kian said. "Come here."
I shuffled forward. I wasn't quite sure where I was meant to be going other than towards his voice. My hand was suddenly grabbed and put on something soft. My eyebrows furrowed and a small frown settled on my face. "What am I touching?" It was a person; I knew it was a person. But why was I touching a person?
"I'm pretty sure you know this young man here," Kian spoke as he circled me. "Since you can't see if you know him, feel."
"I don't just go feeling people's faces," I exclaimed, my voice breaking slightly. This was Farley. The heat under my fingers increased, the blood rushed to his cheeks. I tried to take my hand away, but it was pushed back onto Farley's face. "Why am I touching a stranger?"
"Because I don't think he is a stranger to you." Even if I knew Farley's name, we had two conversations together. I wouldn't know his face by touch. I didn't know anyone's face by touch. I wouldn't dare ask anyone at the packhouse.
"I've never met this man," Farley lied convincingly. "What's wrong with him?" Okay, that wasn't nice. If Kian's not going to let me remove my hands, may as well do as he wants me to. Farley's rudeness only fuelled my mischief.
I started to trace his facial features very softly, my fingers barely touched his skin. He had strong features, but soft cheeks. His cupid's bow was pronounced, and he had a cleft chin. His nose was rather large, and his eyebrows were bushy. He shivered under my touch, causing me a struggle to hold back my grin.
"Nothing's wrong with me," I replied due to the lack of input from any of the others in the room. "What's wrong with you? Ignorance?"
My hand was pulled away with a huff. "I don't believe him," Finn announced from the other side of the room. I winced; I didn't know that he was there. It was difficult to tell between Kian and Finn unless they were extremely close. The two of them smelt remarkably similar and had a similar build.
"I do," Kian responded flatly. "At least some of it." Silence filled the room.
I inhaled deeply, still consumed in Farley's scent. "So why are we here?" I didn't like sounding as useless as I did.
"Not a clue," Farley replied. "I'm Farley." My hand was grasped again and shook. I rolled my eyes but shook his hand either way.
"Pax."
"Okay," Cedar unclasped Farley and I's hands. "So, if you two haven't met. Then have you been littering in the woods?"
The wording of the questions was very intriguing. I didn't see the significance.
"No?" Farley asked. "Why?" The conversation I had the last time Farley and I met up hit me in the face. It wasn't the conversation with Farley, but the one with Kian afterwards.
"Coffee is a very popular drink," I said with less certainty than I was hoping to deliver. "The forest is pretty big."
Farley clicked his fingers together. "Yes, you're in charge, right?" I'm assuming that Kian nodded as Farley continued. "There should be a sign, not a big one. Just one that you can point to when you say it's private property."
I nearly scoffed at the direction of conversation.
"Thank you for your input," Kian remarked. "You can go." I waited for Farley to leave, but he didn't.
"Where exactly am I?" I tilted my head back and moved towards the door. This would probably go on for far longer than it was meant to.
"In the middle of the woods. Pax, take him along the trail." I turned back around in surprise. My shoulders sagged and I resumed my path, walking quicker so that Farley had to hurry to catch up.
"Nice meeting you," Farley called behind him. Our footsteps were loud as we bounded down the stairs. Alder was playing in the front garden. The familiar sound of his toy cars wheels filling my ears.
"Pacs," he shouted. I waved in his general direction. I aimed to get as far into the woods as possible before Farley caught up to me.
I didn't get very far, but it seemed he understood that we couldn't talk within earshot of the house.
"So," he said after fifteen minutes of walking. "That's your house?" My footsteps had slowed to a casual walk.
"I wouldn't consider it my house," I replied. "You've met the majority of the ones who live there I suppose. Alder was with Daphne and Rosary outside." I didn't know why I was telling him this. Hopefully, the visit scared him enough so that he wouldn't come back again.
"They seem pretty intimidating," he said with long pauses between each word. "I couldn't imagine living with Kian."
I shrugged. "Kian's not too bad, it's Finn who's a little too much at times." I wasn't close enough to see if he responded or not.
"So, do you think you'll get a sign?"
I almost burst out laughing at the question. "Why are you so obsessed with a damn sign?" It had been bugging me since he first mentioned it.
"Signs are important, they tell you when and when not to invade others territory," he informed. I stopped walking.
"Why do you say it like that?" I asked. It sounded like something Kian or Finn would say.
"Like what?" The sound of his footsteps stopped too. "Like we're leading an alien invasion?"
I crossed my arms. "Are you hiding something, Farley?" I didn't know why I cared. Perhaps it was just plain curiosity, but I was intrigued by this man. He didn't seem at all phased by what he had just gone through.
"I'm hiding a great many things," he said coyly, "Are you hiding something?"
"I don't really have anything to hide, personally." I didn't really care for or understand secrets. Other than these interactions between myself and Farley. I knew that if the others were to find out I had lied, they knew where to go to settle things. "Why are you hiding things? Do you have other intentions in the forest?"
"At the moment, my only intention is getting to know you more."
I felt my cheeks starting to heat up. His words were surprising and new. He didn't know, but he was risking his life to come and see me, for some reason I didn't understand.
"You shouldn't," I told him. "You don't know anything about the people I live with. They could be dangerous for all you know."
"Because you're wolves?" His sudden question caused my breathing to hitch.
"Yes," I replied. "And that means that they have...how'd you know?"
The dirt under our feet had turned to gravel at this point, as we reached the path where we had first met. "I overheard you and Cedar talking," he admitted. "On the day we first met."
"Yet, you still came and talked to me?" I asked. "That was very stupid of you."
He laughed and nudged my shoulder lightly. "I've heard that a few times actually, particularly from my alpha."
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. It was a single minute of shock before I shook my head. "I shouldn't be surprised," I admitted. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "I've not really met other werewolves."
"You haven't?" His voice was a little higher. "Surely you have."
I shook my head. "Nope, just stuck with this lot." I laughed lightly, in a futile attempt to make me seem less pathetic. "Have done for around ten years."
"Ten years?" he exclaimed. "You don't look any older than eighteen." That was good to know. "Usually, werewolves start living with their pack when they're fifteen, that's pretty universal."
I hummed and tilted my head. "Never knew that, I just stayed where I was told." Probably a bad decision on my part, but I wouldn't last a day by myself. "What's your pack like?"
"They're very cool. It's a small pack but we all care for each other." He breathed in so much; I heard the inhale. "Do you want to meet them?"
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Let's share some books-What's your favourite werewolf book?
Mine has to be the Mate series by Sian!