*Josh's POV*
Light danced upon the wall as the sun began to rise, signaling the next day. As much as I hated it, I knew I needed to get up.
I have a lot of things to catch up on, so I can't afford to skip... My brain reminded me.
Reluctantly, I rolled out of my angel of a bed and walked over to the suitcase I never bothered to unpack. Pulling out the first set of clothes my hands touched, I headed to the bathroom for a shower. I placed my clothes down, but realized I forgot my shampoo and body wash.
Ugh... I'm still half asleep...
I sluggishly wandered back to my room to grab the necessities. Opening the door, I noticed something odd. I could have sworn that I saw a figure standing in front of the window, but as soon as my eyes focused, there was nothing there. I rubbed my eyes lightly as I strolled back towards my suitcase, grabbing my shower bag.
Re-entering the bathroom, I turned on the water, giving it a chance to heat up. While I waited, I took off my pajama shirt, revealing the abs I had worked hard to develop.
Wow, way to sound conceited... I inwardly scolded in an attempt to humble myself.
As if there were an imaginary scar the left side of my chest, I placed my hand lightly over my heart.
It still hurts, even to this day...
Staring deeply into the bathroom mirror, I pondered as my thoughts drifted back to the day I met her.
***
Rain was flowing down on the roof of the restaurant. I was supposed to meet someone for my father, seeing as how it has now gotten to the point that he is unable to come out of the house. There are so many people who want to kill him that he has resorted to sending me out as his "personal errand boy".
Does he not care that I too could be assassinated? I sighed sharply.
The waitress noted my obvious frustration, but rather decided not to get involved.
"Sir, would you like a refill on that coffee of yours?"
Shaking my head, I answered rather overtly, "No. It seems like the man I was supposed to meet had better things to do. I'll be going now."
I placed the money on the table, flipped up the hood on my jacket, and walked out the door. Frustrated and irritated, I practically stormed out of the door, however in one single instant, all of that changed. As soon as I walked out of the restaurant, I was hit with the most pleasant smell of cherry blossoms. I knew instantly that my mate was near by. I could feel it. My heart began to race with both excitement and slight anxiousness as I turned towards the smell.
I felt as all time began to slow as our eyes met.
However, she had her arms around another man who was facing away from me.
I felt my heart sink as I watched the scene play out. She was hugging this guy when she looked up and made eye contact with me. I averted my gaze and looked at my car. I decided I should leave as quickly as possible.
However, when she released the man, he turned around and made eye contact with me.
"Josh?" The man questioned.
My eyes shot open in pure disbelief. "Aaron? Aaron Monroe?"
"Yeah, man! It's me! How you doing, cousin?"
"I'm doing fine. Just stopping by for a moment. I was supposed to meet someone here from Gavin Williams pack..."
"What a coincidence! I was supposed to meet someone from Braen Williams pack!" He exclaimed before continuing.
"I was running late though. I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to my girl Brooke here, even if only for a moment."
She looked from me to him before she began to speak.
"Hi, I'm Brooke Stephens," she smiled lightly.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Josh Williams," I weakly attempted a smile.
"Isn't she just gorgeous? And she's all mine," Aaron proudly commented. Staring straight into her eyes, he leaned towards her for a kiss, but I didn't keep looking to find out if they actually did or not.
At this point, I have had a long frustrating day. I've been forced to drop out of school by my father who insists that I need to spend time training as the next alpha. My dad's lack of concern for anything has been ticking me off, and now, my mate is already with another man who just so happens to be my cousin.
Why does fate hate me so much... I thought angrily.
"Look, can we meet tomorrow or something? I've already been waiting here longer than I should have been and I am really exhausted."
"Sure man! I'll be sure to be on time tomorrow I promise."
"Yeah, see ya."
I didn't feel like going home that day. I was tired of dealing with my dad always yelling about something or another. So without warning, I drove to Tyler's house because knew he would always be there for me. He, of course, let me crash for the night. As much as that day sucked, I had to admit that it was probably the best worst day of my life.
As soon as I came back home, I was hoping things would be over. But maybe that was wishful thinking. The sound of something shattering caused me to jump.
"Son, how was your meeting..."
He had to know I didn't meet with Aaron, judging from his tone of voice and the beer bottle in his hand.
"The guy was taking too long..." I answered.
Suddenly, his free hand moved to slap me hard in the face.
"Do you not care? This was an important meeting and you just left?"
I really did not want to deal with my father right now. Thankfully, the door bell rang, breaking my father from his rant.
"Go on. Answer it. I'll be in my office."
Opening the door revealed the blonde haired, blue eyed girl I had met previously.
"Brooke..."
"Josh. I can't talk for long. But, I have been sent by Aaron to give you a message..."
"What is it?"
She seemed to be shaking, which was strange to me as it was a pretty hot and muggy night, considering it had been raining earlier.
"I've been told to tell you that I am being watched and I don't want you to be hurt..."
"Wait what are you-"
"Goodbye for now, Josh."
***
As the water from the shower began to fog up the mirror, I continued to reflect on the past memories of Brooke.
'I should have left her alone. Maybe none of this would have happened...'
'But then, you would have never met Selena.' My inner wolf unintentionally guilts me.
Selena... Who knows if I even deserve her? Jake's probably right. Maybe I should just stay away.
But... I don't want to hurt her...
For the first time as I stared back at my reflection, I actually admitted some feelings if any. I actually acknowledged what I had subconsciously been growing to feel all this time.
However, allowing myself to re-focus, I closed my eyes and splashed my face with water from the sink, slightly wetting my brown hair.
Now, to take that shower...
***
Feeling refreshed after having taken a shower, I made my way to the kitchen. I attempted to dry my hair by using the towel that was in my hand, resulting in fluffy hair. Not bothering to fix it, I walked to the pantry to find that there were some cereals for breakfast as well. Scanning through, my eyes caught a familiar blue box with the tiger I had known since childhood.
"Frosted Flakes it is," I muttered aloud as I took the cereal box and reached for a bowl simultaneously. As I prepared my cereal, I tried not to focus too much on Selena. Recently, she has been invading my thoughts more and more. Yet, more and more I feel like a total jerk. Probably because I am.
Yep, there I go thinking about her again...
With my cereal in hand, I walked toward the TV and turned it on. I had no intention of watching it, I just needed something going on in the background. It was too quiet in the apartment and I needed some noise to break the silence.
Heading back to my room, I continued to eat my cereal while attempting to multitask. I re-adjusted my navy blue shirt and brushed out my hair. On the way out, I placed the bowl in the sink and headed out to my car to drive to school.
------------------------------------------- PRONUNCIATION -------------------------------------------
A/N: This is just a Pronunciation thing because I want you to know how Josh's Dad's name is pronounced because it's a little bit different looking than it is actually supposed to sound
BRAEN is pronounced like BRYAN or BRIAN.
Also, a quick thank you to all those who have been supporting my book thus far. You guys are awesome and I love each and every one of you!
That is all :)