PARMUS
I tossed and turned that night, so when I was suddenly shaken awake I was ready to scream. My eyes went wide as I stared into Owen's bright green eyes. "It's snowing." My eyes went wide with excitement as I shot out of bed and over to the window.
Sliding the blinds aside I stared at the white filled grass in astonishment. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it as it fell to the ground slowly. Ready to be in the snow, I shot for the door. But before I reached it, Owen's arm wrapped around my waist. "Woah, you're not going out there until you bundle up." I stared down at my shorts and oversized t-shirt then nodded in agreement.
I pulled away and went in search of something to wear. It was five in the morning and I knew I wouldn't get back to bed so I decided to quickly do my morning routine. Grabbing my clothes I retreated into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. After I finished I changed into a pair of jeans and a thick hoodie. I slid on a pair of dark brown snow boots then left the bathroom.
Owen was seated at the edge of my bed staring out of the window when I walked in. His eyes met mine before he stood and walked towards me. He handed me a pair of black mittens while he placed the matching beanie on my head. I eyed the mittens, then him. "Thank you."
"My mother made them for you." He explained as he placed each mitten on my hands. "Your mother is very kind." His intense eyes bored down into mine. "She is." He brought his hand to my cheek as it slowly trailed its way down. My breathing began to get heavier as I bit my lip instinctively.
Out of nowhere he pulled away, but not before placing my hood over the beanie. "Let's go." He said after clearing his throat. Nodding, I followed after him.
Before I knew it we standing outside of the pack doors. My eyes scanned my surroundings as the snowflakes fell on my face. I walked off of the porch of the pack house and onto the snow-filled ground. "When was the last time you saw snow?" He asked as he joined me.
"It was a long time ago. I just remember Dalton throwing a snowball in my face and me crying to my mom." My eyes dropped down to the snow. The distant memory becoming too overwhelming to think about.
"Sounds like Brinn and me. She would always throw a tantrum and tell my parents whenever I did something she didn't like." I found myself laughing at the thought of Owen and Brinn as kids.
"Were you close to your mother?" My smile dropped as I looked up to meet his gaze. "I guess you could say that." I casted my gaze down to my shoes. "I don't like to talk about her." He nodded then reached for my gloved hand. My eyes stayed glued to his hand as he wrapped it around mine.
"Brinn and I used to stay up hours just playing in the snow. One time we stayed out too long and I got pneumonia." We both stared out into the distance as he told his story, neither of us taking our eyes off of the woods up ahead. "It was horrible, I was so weak I couldn't even get out the bed. Brinn begged my mom to see me but my mom didn't want Brinn to get sick next so she kept her away. But Brinn being Brinn, she always found a way." I turned to see him smiling at the distant memory.
"She would read to me outside of my room every night until I felt better. My mom only allowed for us to play in the snow for a few minutes at a time after that." He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "She sounds like a good sister." I stated.
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she is."
"Is Kohl adopted?" It was something I had wondered from the moment I met them. Brinn was awfully young and Kohl didn't resemble either her or her mate.
He nodded. "Yeah, they adopted him a few years back, but don't bring it up to her. It hurts her feelings and angers her wolf when people point out that Kohl isn't biologically hers."
"Okay noted." I liked Brinn very much and hoped to create a friendship down the line.
I finally gained enough courage to ask my next question. "What if Kohl and Nara are mates?" He shook his head, chuckling a little bit. "Not possible, they created a family blood bond years ago when Kohl was six and Nara one. They're siblings in the moon's eyes, anything more would be flat-out weird." He said with ease.
I had heard about a family blood bond in a book I read a few years ago. The blood bond was created hundreds of years ago by our elders. Sadly some selfish wolves only adopted to strengthen their bloodline, by combining theirs with the blood of an alpha. It made me sick to my stomach how greedy people could be.
My wolf shook me out of my thoughts as she searched the back of my mind, itching to be let out. Owen sensing my discomfort, shot me a stern look. "Hold her back Parmus, don't let her control you." I closed my eyes in an attempt to resist her future actions, but all it did was leave me with a raging migraine.
Owen shook his head and sighed as he realized I was fighting a losing battle. Before I knew it my clothes were shrugged off as I shifted into my wolf. She sniffed her way to her mate until her nose landed near his navy blue shoes. She stood on her haunches and placed her front two paws in the middle of his stomach as she stared up at him.
He ran his hand through her fur causing her to let out a purr of satisfaction. I mentally slapped myself, feeling embarrassed by her actions. He lead us back to the porch of the pack house, before he sat on one of the steps. My wolf laid on her stomach, occasionally nudging his thigh. Inching forward, she rested her head on his lap. He chuckled and began rubbing her fur once again.
After a while, my wolf let out a restless yawn. Seeing this as my opportunity I pushed her to the back of my mind and took back control. His fingers stilled in my fur as he sensed the change. My eyes darted up to his then back down, feeling ashamed I couldn't control my wolf.
It had become more frequent since I'd been here. I didn't know why, but it was starting to scare me. He proceeded to stroke my fur as he spoke. "It's not your fault. Your wolf is built off of animalistic instinct, but it's up to you to control her. It will hurt and take a lot of energy out of you the first few times, but you have to learn Parmus." Drifting my eyes to his, I sighed.
We sat like that for an hour before he got called into town to handle a dispute. After he left I retreated to my room, where I changed back into my skin. I smiled as my clothes were placed neatly on my bed. My jeans were torn to shreds, but the rest of my oversized clothing was still in good condition.
I changed into a pair of grey thick leggings and a black long-sleeved shirt. Staring at the alarm clock, I sighed. It was 6:37 and I had to meet Carter at seven for training. I was slowly dreading it, but knew it had to be done. Deciding to leave my hair down, I slid on a pair of tennis shoes then left the room.
I didn't have a big appetite this morning so I went with a bowl of cereal. I ate my food on the living room couch as I watched cartoons. You were never too old for cartoons in my opinion.
Time flew by, and by the time I looked back at my phone I had five minutes before I had to meet with Carter. I groaned then placed my empty bowl in the sink. I had to force my sore limbs to take me down the stairs.
When I walked into the gym, Genevieve was glaring down at Carter as he sat on his usual spot of the ring. "It's too early for this shít Eve." He growled, annoyed.
The door slammed behind me, causing them to snap their heads in my direction. I shot them both a sheepish smile, embarrassed to be caught overhearing a bit of their conversation.
Carter sighed and ran his hand over his face. "I'll talk to you later."
"No, we're good." She said as she turned and walked towards me. "Good luck." Was the last thing she muttered to me before she left the gym.
"Um so I guess I'll start moving those rocks." I said with a shrug.
"Oh no, we're doing something different today." I walked towards him, furrowing my eyebrows. "Like what?"
He shot me a smirk. "I'm going to teach you some basic fighting skills." I nodded hesitantly, not sure how this would go.
I spent the majority of practice punching the punching bag and learning how to block punches from my opponent. We were in the ring only a few feet away. "Arms up, always protect the money maker." He motioned to his face and I couldn't help but laugh. I placed my arms in front of my face like he instructed. "Never let your opponent know what your next move is going to be. Keep your eyes locked on theirs."
"Got it." I said nodding.
The sound of the door slamming had my eyes snapping towards the door, where one of the She-wolves walked in. I instantly dropped my arms and regretted my decision as Carter grabbed my arm and twisted it. "Ow!" I said annoyed. "Don't get distracted. You let your arms down, perfect opportunity for me to kill you." He released me, pushing me back a few feet back.
The she-wolf busied herself by folding the clean towels and placing them on the rack on the other side of the room.
Once Carter got his footing he straightened and took a step closer to me. "Okay Parmus, Let's spar." I shook my head instinctively, knowing I was nowhere near ready to go head to head with a Beta wolf. "I'm good."
"Scared?" He questioned with a smirk.
I nodded. "Yeah, I don't want to fight you." It was true, I was terrified. He had years of training on me. It wouldn't be a fair fight.
His smile quickly faded into his usual straight face. "Too bad." That was the last thing I heard before he punched me in the shoulder. I held my shoulder and gawked at him, shocked he actually punched me. "Hey! That's cheating I wasn't ready!" I yelled.
"Do you think the person who is trying to kill you is going to care if you're ready or not?" I shook my head and got into a fighting stance. I knew I wouldn't win this, but I wasn't going down without a fight.
***
Ah! It's been a week and I know you guys didn't expect an update until next week, but surprisingly my college classes were mostly introductions this week. 10/10 recommend online college classes by the way. It's great for if you're busy and can't physically be in a classroom for hours at a time.
Anyway back to the story. So I hope this chapter cleared up the whole Kohl and Nara mate thing lol. Reasons why they won't me mates: I thought about it, I honestly did but...well it's just weird ya know? A lot of people were saying it would be like Brinn and Titus, but come on guys let's be real. Brinn and Titus did not grow up in the same household and share the same parents lol.
Kohl will still be very protective of his sister. Their sibling bond had already formed when Kohl first touched Brinn's belly while she was pregnant with Nara. I'm sorry if some of you are upset, but just please try to understand.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Song:
fallingforyou~ The 1975