My eyes were closed but I could feel the light shining on my face.
I was feeling hot yet I could feel a very cool breeze blowing at me as well.
There was something warm clasped around my hand.
I stirred a bit and the warm feeling left my hand.
I knew I had been sleeping for a while now but I couldn't help but still feel so super sleepy even though I was tired of sleeping, if that made any sense.
With much effort I peeled my eyes open.
The light that attacked my sight gave me an instant headache.
I shut my eyes again and pressed my fingers to my temples hard in order to suppress the ache. It didn't really do much.
"You deserve that."
I paused.
I opened my eyes again just a fraction and looked around.
I was in my room.
Buried under a heap of blankets.
No wonder I was feeling hot.
When did I get here?
My eyes landed on Damon who was standing by my door with his arms crossed over his chest.
I opened my eyes and looked fully at him now.
"Huh?"
"Don't you 'huh' me. What the hell were you doing in the woods? Outside pack territory?"
Outside pack territory?
What is he talking about?
Oh.
Yeah.
Wow.
I didn't realize that I had gone that far on my little expedition.
"I, uh, I shifted and I went for a run. I didn't know I had gone that far." I told him with a little shrug as I sat up in bed.
Then he scoffed.
"You didn't know. You didn't know." he repeated it to himself.
I was getting really hot but for some reason I didn't want to pull down the blanket. I saw it as some kind of shield against my impending attack.
Yeah, cause a bunch of soft cushiony blankets are going to save you from this one.
It's worth a try.
"Shifted in the middle of nowhere, run for miles without any spare clothing, left pack territory, jumped into a river, whose current would have either carried you away or drowned you once fatigue had set in, that is, if the bear didn't kill you first. And you say you didn't know."
I sat there and stared at him a bit confused.
Why was he so mad about this?
There's no way I could have anticipated coming across a bear.
Granted, I should have had clothes available and not gone beyond the pack's perimeter but it happened, it wasn't intentional on my part, maybe my wolf's, but it happened.
Nothing really serious happened for him to get all riled up like this.
If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now.
You would have been dead a long long time ago.
Exactly.
It wasn't in his face exactly that I saw the anger, since his face seemed neutral.
It was his eyes, his eyes looked like they were holding back a raging storm.
"Its true, I really didn't know-" I tried to explain myself further but of course he didn't let me.
"Do you know the danger you put yourself in?" he cut me off.
Now that surprised me.
I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped me.
"That's it?" I let out another humourless laugh.
"Of all the times you have been needlessly angry with me over stupid issues, this has got to be the least believable one yet." He seemed thrown off for a while.
"You really want me to believe that you're mad because I put myself in danger? Like I would purposely go out there and just put myself in harm's way? And since when do you care what happens to me?" I said it without emotion in my tone but somewhere at the back of my mind I could feel myself caring about his answer to my last question.
He didn't address it directly though.
Or at all.
He just sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Were you leaving?"
"What?"
He looked back down at me. "Were you leaving the pack?"
"You mean like you asked me to?" I asked him with a cocked brow.
"We already spoke about that, I didn't mean it."
I regarded him silently.
I didn't know what to make of this. He has sent me so many mixed signals that I had absolutely no idea where I stood.
"So you want me to stay?"
Now it was his turn to silently regard me.
For a brief moment, I could see his eyes soften as he thought to himself.
I had no idea what he was going to say. He acts like he doesn't want me around and yet sometimes he does. He makes it seem like he absolutely has no interest in me but yet he doesn't want anyone else around me.
He wants me on some days, and on most he can't stand me.
I wonder if the bond conflicts with his emotions as it does to me.
I constantly feel the bond trying to make its way to the front of my brain, attempting to take control over all my emotions. I don't want to give in, I can't just yet.
I don't know how I would handle the feeling of completely giving into it, into him, and then being left cold all of a sudden.
The mating process isn't even halfway done and the feelings towards him are already so much.
To be honest, I'm scared of what may be.
He opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, not actually knowing what to say. Or how to respond to my question.
And I knew I wouldn't know how to respond to his answer, no matter which one he chose.
His face was straight again when he finally spoke. "I want you to do what you want." But I definitely wasn't expecting that response.
Was he giving me a choice? To go or stay? Where would I even go to if I did choose to leave? I had no job, barely finished highschool, relocating at this point seemed farfetched.
I subconciously remembered Latifah's words and what dangers we could face if I leave, now that he has marked me.
I sighed.
"Tell me Damon, what do you see happening between us?" I needed to know where he stood so that I could take my own ground. I hated this air of uncertainty between us. I could handle it, whatever it was. But I just needed to know.
He seemed like he didn't know what to say.
I was worried for a moment that he was only concerned about me now because something could happen to him if we were separated.
You know that's not true.
I don't, do you?
He was so mad about the fact that I'd put myself in danger with the whole bear thing-
Then a thought came to me.
I stilled.
"Look Adriane, -" he started.
"Wait." I started sorting out my thoughts.
He stopped and looked at me.
"Did you, did you take down the bear?" I asked him but I already knew deep down inside. It was him.
"Why th-" he was cut off again. But this time not by me.
Latifah stumbled into the room panting and fell to the ground.
Damon immediately rushed to help her up while examining her face to make sure she was okay.
She didn't look okay though, she looked far from it.
Her face was as red as a tomato, and tears had covered her whole face and were still endlessly streaming down it.
The atmosphere suddenly dropped in temperature and I could literally feel her despair coming off in waves.
It was engulfing, making me suddenly feel sick. Forgetting everything else momentarily.
She was trying to speak but her voice was betraying her. She couldn't stop shaking enough to get her words out.
Damon looked alarmed and almost weary.
"Mom, what, what is it?" He shook her gently because she was still sobbing on the floor as he was crouched down beside her.
Latifah took in a shaky breath and tried to look Damon in the eye.
Okay, now she was beginning to scare me. My heart rate picked up and then it infinitely slowed down right after.
"D-Damon, Ana-" she paused and tried to steady her voice.
Damon froze.
His face drained of all colour and void of any emotion that was there before.
Latifah continued. Much to our agony.
"She left us. She's gone."
And just like a flash Damon was out the door and Latifah remained on the floor.