:)
The sky was bright and blue. The heat that only summer can bring pressed against Andrea's skin making her want to take a cold shower, and even though her long hair was twisted around and piled on top of her head with two pencils, she could still feel a few rebellious strands escaping and clinging to her neck.
Despite all that, Andrea was hell bent on finishing the painting in front of her. The past two months had gone by faster than she could comprehend, mostly because she rarely took breaks from painting.
And every time she stopped, she remembered Alexander with his soft words and pleading eyes, asking her to stay, to not give up on them.
Andrea's brush strokes became harsher.
If only she could talk to him for a minute, or catch even a glimpse of him, that would be enough. There were too many words on the tip of her tongue, words that were there to reassure and soothe, but there was no one to say them to.
"Careful there, you look like you want to poke a hole in that canvas." An unfamiliar voice behind her said.
Andrea let out a loud scream and jerked from her place, which caused the brush to fly out of her hand and slam against the canvas, creating a black line across the painting and ruining it.
A boy who couldn't have been older than her was standing across the room. With the glint in his eyes and the ease in his posture, he looked like he wasn't barging into someone's house.
With complete fear in her eyes, Andrea stepped back.
"Who are you?"
His smile was all mirth and fangs. "A new friend, hopefully."
"Get out," Andrea grabbed a brush a held it in her hand like a knife.
To her horror, he merely rolled his eyes and stepped closer. There was nothing threatening in his gait, but he exuded so much power that she was sure he could kill her with a snap of his fingers.
"This is lovely," He said, his eyes on the painting now and his hands clasped behind his back like a critic. "But looking at your paintings collectively is exhausting. So much...despair,"
Andrea narrowed her eyes. "Get. Out. Of. My. House."
"Let's not be dramatic, sweetheart," He sat down on the stool, stretching his long legs in front of himself like a cat.
"Who are you?"
He looked at her for a moment then grinned in a way that made Andrea want to take another step back. But she stood her ground and glared at him. She wasn't going to be intimidated by a random stranger who thought that it was a good day to break into somebody's house and criticize their art.
"You're rather persistent. For now, let's stick with the name Theo,"
"And what are you doing in my house, Theo?"
"It's quite obvious, isn't it? I'm here to help you."
Andrea scoffed. "With what? My painting skills."
"More like handling-being-a-demon-skills." He said and turned back to the painting. He casually picked up a brush and started blending the black line into the background, his fingers looking as though they were made to create.
Andrea stared at him in shock. How did he know about that? Was he a demon too?
"W-What?" She stuttered.
Theo didn't look at her and kept moving the brush against the canvas in a gentle --almost hypnotizing—manner. "There's no need to look so shocked, love. I don't believe I said anything rude or offensive."
He turned to look at her and Andrea exhaled sharply when his eyes flashed black.
"I'm a demon myself. Although, by now, they should've upgraded me to a Devil, but eh, life's though."
He dipped the brush in red and went back to painting on the canvas.
"Devil?" Andrea asked with a frown.
"They have a higher place in the underwold." He replied nonchalantly. "As I was saying, I'm here to help you."
"I don't need help."
It was his turn to frown. "If you want to become a demon, you will need to learn how to control yourself around others."
"And who decided that you should be the one to teach me?"
"You're the mate of a man who is going to become one of the strongest Alphas in the world. On top of that, your mother is very influential in the underworld."
His words, although not meant to hurt, made bitterness bloom in her stomach.
"Your reputation precedes you, and I hope I don't sound too full of muself when I say that training you will be very beneficial for me."
Andrea stayed silent.
Theo looked at her and his frown disappeared. "I'm sensing that focusing on becoming a demon is not your priority."
"As grateful as I am for your offer, Theo, I'm afraid that I can't accept it. Now please, leave my house."
He put the brush on the small table next to the easel which was propped in the middle of Andrea's bedroom. Theo walked closer to Andrea until he was standing right in front of her.
Andrea didn't like the way he was standing so close to her, it made her want to move away. Just as Theo opened his mouth to speak, a deafening screech echoed around them
&
Andrea jolted upright. Well, she tried to, but two arms held her down.
Her thinking was distorted for a few seconds, and she almost went back to sleep when Alexander's scent registered in her mind. But the screeching sound was ongoing, and it was starting to give her a headache.
Alexander, on the other hand, was still sleeping like the dead, which was unusual because he was the lighter sleeper of the two. His chest rose and fell against Andrea's ear, his heartbeat a steady rhythm.
"Alexander," Andrea lightly squeezed the hand resting on her waist to no avail. "Alexander," She raised her voice.
A deep inhale then a small movement.
"Shit," Alexander's voice was rough with sleep, which made Andrea's stomach do somersaults. "Sorry, baby,"
He kissed the top of her head before pulling away slightly to answer the phone.
The conversation didn't matter to her. Instead, she focused on his voice, her hand still holding his.
The alarm clock on her nightstand read 10p.m. Her mother was probably home, and Andrea was sure that she had checked up on her at one point, only to find Alexander there too.
"Are you sure it's her?" Alexander's voice was rising with shock.
How were they going to act around each other after this? Andrea could barely restrain herself from trying to kiss him, and she was still holding his hand. She tried to let go, but he held on.
Sitting up, she hoped that her hair wasn't too messy and that she hadn't drooled everywhere.
"Which hospital?"
Andrea's head snapped towards him at that. She was not surprised at his words as much as she was surprised at the relief with which he uttered them.
However, her surprise turned into something else when she noticed his messy hair and sleepy eyes. He was slightly smiling, which melted her heart.
His eyes focused on her, and the smile on his lips broadened when he took her in.
My heart is gonna stop if he continues to look at me like this.
He was still listening to the other person on the phone, but his hand squeezed hers, then brought it up to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles.
Jesus Christ.
"Yeah," He said into the phone. "Starting tonight? Yeah, makes sense."
Andrea knew him enough to recognize the hint of worry in his voice, but she patiently waited until he hung up to finally talk.
"What was that about?"
He looked like he was weighing his words. "They found Ariel in the woods. She's in the hospital now, and the doctors don't think she's seriously hurt. Not physically, at least."
"That's good. I'm glad she's fine."
Silence.
"What else?"
Alexander let out a sigh. "The alpha wants everyone in the pack house tonight until everything calms down."
Refusal was on the tip of Andrea's tongue, but Alexander quickly stopped her.
"Your mother can stay in our house. My father rarely goes there anymore, and I don't think she'd like to be surrounded by werewolves."
"Alexander..." Andrea said. "This is a bad idea."
"I'll be there. He won't do anything. I promise."
He opened his arms wide, signaling for her to come closer. Despite her better judgement, she was in his arms not a second later, clutching his shirt between her fingers as if she hadn't seen him in years.
"That was the best sleep I've had in a year." He murmured in her hair.
Andrea remembered how tired he always looked, and then the image of him awake in his bed, tossing and turning, made her hug him tighter.
"Me too," She whispered.
They stayed like that until their scents became one, after which she pulled away to look at him.
"What do we have to do now?"
"I'll take you and your mother to the pack, then I have to drop by the hospital to check on Ariel,"
Despite her nod, Andrea's couldn't deny disappointment from showing in her eyes. I don't want this to end, they said. Alexander pressed a reassuring kiss on her lips that, to her chagrin, ended way too soon.
"Pack your bags. I need to make a few phone calls, and judging by the way your mother has been pacing around the house ever since we woke up, I'd say you need to talk to her."
His words proved to be right when Andrea walked downstairs to find her mother standing in front of the window, her fingers tapping against the sill.
"Mom?"
Her mother's arms were around her as soon as she finished speaking.
"I heard about your friend. I was so worried that something happened to you." She pulled back to assess Andrea, as if searching for bullet wounds. "What happened, sweetheart?"
Andrea sat her down on the couch and told her everything. Well, everything except for a few details such as the fact that she was the one who found the corpse. She was sure that saying that was the quickest way to give her mother a heart attack.
"The Alpha is worried about the attacks, which is why he wants everyone to move back into the pack house." She concluded, not sure of how her mother would take it. "We will stay there until they find the murderer, or at least until things calm down."
Her mother nodded quickly. "It's secure there, right? You won't be in danger."
"Yes. And Alexander said that you can stay in their house, since no one sleeps there anymore."
That seemed to take her by surprise. "Me? I'm not sure it would be a good idea for a human to stay with werewolves--"
"You don't have to interact with them!" Andrea was quick to interject. "The house is secluded. I won't leave you here alone, mom. And we can leave whenever you want."
But the answer was already clear in her mother's eyes.
"Sweetheart, I can't leave. The pack house is too far from my job, and I wouldn't feel comfortable there."
"But there's a murderer-"
"On the loose. Yes, I know. And I will be careful here. You, on the other hand, will be safer among werewolves. Don't worry about me, honey."
Andrea wanted to say no, but she knew that her mother will not budge. So instead, she gripped her wrist. "Please let me know is something happens. You're always welcome at the pack house."
"I will." Then a playful look entered her eyes. "So, I get it you and Alexander are mending things?"
"I...don't know." Andrea lowered her voice to a whisper, even though Alexander was still on the phone. "I can't imagine what it would be like if anything happened to him, but at the same time, I can't stand being away from him." At this point, she was going to take it day by day and hope that the outcome left them both unscathed.
"Honey," A warm hand enveloped hers. "You need to fight for the people that you care about. I've seen the person that you became without him, and while I'll always be proud of everything you do, I also want you to be happy,"
"I love him, mom," Her voice was a whisper. "And I hate how helpless I feel."
"Look," She took a deep breath, as if preparing to take a blow, "When your father passed away, one of my many regrets was not spending more time with him. I always wished that we had met sooner, or that he had lived longer. Despite all the years that we had spent together, I still felt like he deserved more. If you have the chance to give your love to someone, don't back out." Her hand caressed Andrea's cheek. "I don't want you to feel that regret, Andrea."
Sometimes, despite everything, Andrea wondered how she had gotten so lucky. She could have been just another orphan lost in the system, but instead she was here, with the kindest human being that ever existed.
She wished that she could take away her pain, the only thing she could do was hug her tightly and tell her that she loved her.
"You should go pack," Her mother said after a while, wiping her teary eyes. "We don't want to keep prince charming waiting."