Present, Parker's POV:
"Dirt get back here!" I howled into the wind. He might just be a pile of dirt, but he's faster than he looks. A storm was brewing, mixing with the orange of the fall canopy. The wind tugged my red wool scarf away, pulling me deeper into the forest. "Dirt the storm is getting worse! You have to come back!"
Only the wind responded forcing me deeper like a mother guiding her child. I couldn't leave him out here, it was too dangerous. Accepting the storm as my guide, I followed it. Leaves brushed against each other, the branches they were tethered to, groaning. Others were whipping back and forth, I picked up my pace.
"DIRT!" I cried out, holding the scarf to my neck. I stumbled forward, the wind urging me on impatiently. Somehow over the wind and the rustling leaves around me, the sound of a bell made me turn back. But when I turned around... no one was there.
"BELLE?" I called out. Only nature responded. I couldn't be mistaken, I knew the sound of her bell. A thin twig broke free of its branch, it hurdled toward my face like the wind was welding a small dagger. I dodged it just before it made contact with my cheek. Dirt returned to my mind again, I had no idea how such strong winds would affect him magic dirt or not, he was still just dirt.
I turned back around to follow the stream of wind, but froze in place instead. "Max?"
She was there in a red wool scarf like mine and a baby blue jacket like the one she used to wear when we went camping. She seemed unchanged, her Hazel eyes lively even in this dying forest. Inches from me, I could reach out and touch her but I didn't. Her face anchored me, the guilt anchored me.
She looked me up and down, the storm not affecting her in the slightest. "You know how Dirt likes to explore," she told me, almost scolding me except her voice was flat.
"Like you?" I managed to chuckle. She looked down, her eyes focused on some object. I followed it to see my arms wrapped around Dirt, he was grinning and relaxed like an idiot.
When I looked back up at her, her face was paler, her freckles more prominent. "You can find a pile of dirt, but you can't find your own sister," she scrutinized. The storm became more violent with her anger. I took a step back.
Her eyes hardened now matching the collapsing environment around her. "You're selfish, you're pathetic, you can't even protect me how do you expect to protect my pack?"
Her voice rung in my mind even as I awoke upright. My chest was heaving, Tristan's old T-shirt clinging to my back with sweat. When I looked over to where Tristan should have been laying, his spot was absent. Catching my breath, I wiped the sweat droplets from my forehead with the back of my hand.
Beside the bed, snoring lightly in his planter's pot was Dirt. Oblivious to everything as usual.
I wouldn't believe the dream, I wouldn't even think about it. Right now I was more concerned with where my mate was, he never left my side while we slept. I peeled the blankets from my legs, numbly forcing them to work after hours of sleep. With little idea of where I would find him, I left the room.
When I found him he was in the basement gym, doing pull ups in the dark. His plaid blue pajama pants hung lowly on his hips as he hauled his muscular body up and lowered it back down. He continued this motion, his back to me meaning he didn't know I was there yet. After a few more seconds of both concern and admiration (that body is totally mine) - I called out his name.
His feet hit the pavement with a slap, but he didn't turn around. Instead his back rose and fell under a sheen of sweat, his head hung lowly and his face was hidden behind the basement darkness. I furrowed my eye brows, "Tristan?" He lifted his head but didn't turn around. My instincts told me to go to him, but I stayed put. Like the dream, I felt anchored to the ground.
"I'll come back to bed in a few minutes, just let me finish my set," he said loudly. He continued to face the wall, avoiding me.
"Your work out couldn't wait until the morning?" I questioned.
"I think better when I'm moving... in that bed I just feel so... trapped," he revealed in a quieter tone. Tristan sat down on one of the work out benches, silently waiting for me to leave.
A weight lifted off my legs, I moved to him, pressing my hand on his sticky shoulder. Tingles flowed generously through my hand, but looking at his face now - he couldn't of looked more cold. I pulled my hand away, the sharpness of his eyes cutting straight into my heart. "What's wrong, Tristan?"
He seemed to pull further into himself.
"I am your mate. Mates don't keep things from each other, especially when something is hurting them," I stated, seeming to break down his walls. He looked down again, his proud shoulders slouching.
"I'm not enough," he confessed.
Anger set in me, "Don't you dare listen to Olcan! He is an angry old man, taking his spite out of the people closest to him. If I have to, I'll call him up right now...cancel next weeks dinner." Fuming, I went to do as I said - but Tristan caught my hand weakly.
"I'm not talking about Alpha Olcan."
I stared down at him, "Wh-"
"I'm not enough for you," he said, his voice breaking at the end. For the first time tonight his eyes met mine and their sharpness bled into blue tears.
"Tristan," I breathed, "What on this Earth could make you think that?"
His hand slipped from mine, taking his powerful tingles with him. "You barely speak to me, and if you do it's about the pack or your sister. The last time we even kissed was at the Kytani court, and every time I get close to you - you pull away from me. I love you, and I'm here for you and no matter how hard I try to be what you need, you turn to Dirt with your time, or sulk in your art room. I can't help you and it kills me, Parker, it tears me apart to see you hurting and I'm powerless to help." By now Tristan's face was wet with tears, his eyes wavering as much as his voice.
I sat down on the bench next to him. Pressing my hands to my mouth, I processed his emotions as they barreled through our bond. "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling this way?"
He wiped his tears from his reddened cheeks, "Guess we just suck at communication."
"You and Max are the most important things in my life - When I lost Max I never expected to lose you too." I broke down. "I can't -" Tristan grabbed me, pulling me into the warmth of his bare chest. "I love you so much," I sobbed, "And I'm so sorry that I've hurt you."
"Shh baby," he whispered, his nose finding his way to the crook of my neck, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
I started laughing at us and our mess of sweat and tears, I pulled away from his embrace enough to see his handsome face. "Will you - my handsome, intelligent, brave, loving -"
"Don't forget sexy," he chuckled following a sniffle.
I rolled my eyes playfully, "Will you - my handsome, intelligent, brave, loving, and sexy mate - go on a date with me?"
"On one condition."
"Anything you want," I chuckled.
"Please wear my leather jacket, because you not only look good if it's a leather jacket, you look absolutely divine if its mine."
I shook my head, "You and your leather jackets..."
***
Present, Blue's POV:
It was dinner time and Gabriel was determined to cook me dinner. Something about being a good employer or something...
Back when I was Nytari we are out a lot and if we were back at the base, the woman cooked the food while the men cleaned the dishes. Since then I've cooked for myself and hunted for myself, I've never had a man do it for me until today.
I was perched on a high hill, raised above a lush, green, valley. Somewhere below was Gabriel, doing his best to hunt us a meal. As much as I appreciated the gesture, I wasn't a patient person. In my boredom, I reached for the bow, slinging the arrows across my back.
Maybe I can snag a bird or something as a side dish or maybe I just need something to kill.
Making sure to be quiet on my feet, I stalked through the forest. Not straying far I found a dove settle on a branch. Raising the bow, I aimed - the bird flew off. Swearing under my breath, I pursued it deeper into the forest. The white of its little body made it an easy target, it wasn't hard to follow.
After another minute, the dove came to rest on a lower branch, ten feet from where I stood. Again I raised my bow, the notched arrow firm as I pulled back the quiver. Stay where you are. With perfect form I nearly took the shot, but the dove escaped with a swoop of its tiny wings. Freedom flowed through his delicate wings as his plumb body taunted my hunting skills.
The dove was in the air for only a handful of seconds before it flew down to the ground, fifteen feet away. He pecked at the forest floor, obviously trying to get at an insect. I breathed silently through my dry lips. I crept a couple of feet before taking aim for the third time. The dove jumped up and on top of a decaying tree, still harvesting the insects inside.
Before I even had time to reposition. A pair of hands jumped from the vegetation surrounding the fallen tree. The dove was snatched before even he could react. I lowered the bow, but kept it close to me. Narrowing my eyes, I could make out a filthy figure with stark white hair hidden behind the tree. Stalking closer, I could hear its animalistic grunts, and the tearing of flesh.
Before I could get within seven feet, a twig snapped under me. The creature whipped around --- the girl --- with a face paler than that of a porcelain doll, and eyes unusually large for a human. Not to mention, irises red as blood. Her eyes matched the color of the blood smeared across her lips. I only saw her for a handful of seconds but she couldn't have been older than nine.
"Looks like we'll be having bear for dinner," a voice from behind me said. I jumped, meeting Gabe's proud expression. On his back he carried the carcass of large black bear, on his face he wore an excited grin.
Turning back around, the girl was gone..... as well as my dove.
"What are you doing out here?"
I turned back to Gabe, his gaze following where I had been looking. I gritted my teeth, "Just some target practice."
This answered seemed to satisfy him. "Ok, we'll help me skin this bear so we can get to eating." I rolled my eyes, following the over excited Boy Scout back to our camp site.
Hey guys!
Who do you think that red eyed child is? Let me know in the comments and please feel free to vote! ❤
MI_Hook