Cookie: Hey all! For those able to vote and comment, thank you very much! Your support means a lot. Hugs and kisses for everyone! Well...except if it's Hershey's Kisses, then that's mine :D My chocolate!
YOUTUBE link: "All Of Me" By John Legend. This was the song I was listening to while writing the last pages.
Picture is of Justin Gaston as a possible Shay cast. I still can't find my perfect Shay. Ash Stymest is okay but he's just too...um, slim and "pretty" boy. The Shay in my head is a little more masculine. Justin Gaston almost fits Shay's profile.
Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays... I'm still open to suggestions for Shay and Channing :)
READ/VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY!
Warning! Unedited (as usual)
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Almost an hour after leaving work early, claiming a family emergency, I was seriously started to re-evaluate my decision leaving with the blonde bombshell claiming to be Channing's cousin.
"Did you really have to park a mile away from wherever the hell you're taking me?" I asked, stumbling after Heather through the woods. If I had known that I'd be traipsing through the woods at midnight, I would have worn boots and brought a flashlight with me to work today. With only the nearly full moon lighting my way, I could barely see shit. Heather on the other hand looked right at home.
"Hey," I barked, getting more irritated the longer she ignored me. She had barely spoken to me during the thirty minute drive out here, into the more rural area surrounding the city. "Are you listening to me? Where the hell are you taking me?"
"I already told you," Heather snapped back without bothering to look back at me, "I can't just bring you in through the front gates. Without our Alpha's permission, no outsider is allowed within the compound. I'm risking my ass just to sneak you in to see Channing."
Nearly tripping over a tree root, I cursed under my breath. "If I'm suppose to be Channing's mate, why the hell am I still considered an outsider? From how Channing described it, he made it seem like finding your mate is a special occasion."
Not that I was buying into this whole, werewolf/shifter business. My very human brain just couldn't wrap around on the idea of a person turning into an animal. It was impossible. Shit like that was for books and movies, not the real world.
"Son of a bitch!" My foot slipped on something wet and I found myself landing hard on my ass. I hissed and glared up at Heather's back. I may be many things but an outdoorsy person I was not. I've never even been out camping.
Heather stopped walking and finally turned to me. "Will you get up? We're almost there and I don't want to get caught cause you can't stay on your feet."
I pushed myself up and dusted my soiled jeans with disgust. "Cool your tits, sweetheart, I'm not exactly used to this. How the hell can you see your way around here?"
"I'm used to these woods," she replied. "And besides, I'm a werewolf. I was born to be in tuned with nature."
"Right." I looked at her up and down, "you're a werewolf."
She was barely five foot six and was skinny to boot. The girl had no muscle tone. I didn't know how she got into the club but I was willing to bet my left nut that she wasn't a day over eighteen. The makeup on her face only tried to make her look older but it no longer fooled me.
"Don't think I'm weak just because I don't have a dick." Heather's eyes glowed red. "I can kick your ass all over these woods without breaking a sweat."
Okay, what was up with them and their creepy, glowing eyes? "You guys gotta teach me how you make your eyes glow like that," I said. I brushed passed her, not wanting her to see just how bad the flash of her eyes had spooked me.
She quickly caught up but this time remained at my side. "To answer your earlier question, it's true, though knowing Channing, he probably told you some over romanticized version of mates. Anyway, you are his mate, so our Alpha should welcome you with open arms but it doesn't work like that here."
I looked at her. "Huh?"
"Channing...he's different. And our pack...well, our pack doesn't like his difference."
"Just cause he's mixed breed right?" See, I can play along.
"Yeah. They think he shouldn't even exist. He's a half breed plus he can't shift right. The last time they forced him to try..." Heather shook her head. "It was bad. He looked deformed. Wrong. He smelled wrong. The only reason no one has tried to kill him is because his father is one of our Betas and well, have you seen Channing?"
I chuckled. "Yeah. He's huge."
"And freaking strong," she added. "I don't think anyone really wants to test how strong. At least not alone."
"But he's gentle," I pointed out. "At least that's how he appears to me."
"He is. The gentle giant. He grew up way in the country with his mother with barely any company so he's more naive than you realize." Heather laughed softly. "You should have seen him when he first arrived at our doorstep last year. He was so cute and wide-eyed. Everything impressed him. He'd been so hyper and ready to please but now..."
"But what?"
She shrugged. "Being around those who hate him for what he is, it's hard for him. Don't get me wrong, that guy is resilient. No matter how bad they treat him he's still so nice and polite. He gives most of his pay checks to the pack funds. But he's not like he was before. His brightness has dimmed."
I felt the urge to punch the ones who treated him wrong, but I was guilty of the same thing. I grimaced thinking about it. I hadn't exactly been the most welcoming to him yet he still sent me gifts.
"Meeting you had given him hope," Heather continued on. "But with your rejection, well, I think he's given up. If his own true mate can't love him. Who else will?"
"You love him."
"I'm not enough. I'm only one person."
"I'm only one person," I reminded her. They expected so much from me that it was hard not to be overwhelemed even if my mind told me that this whole werewolf nonesense was bullshit.
"Yeah," Heather agreed, glancing up at me. "You're only one person but you're also Channing's mate. That makes a world of difference."
We walked the rest of the way in silence. I kept replaying the look of hurt on Channing's face everytime I had denied him and I felt really bad for it. Anyone in my situation would have freaked out. Hell, I thought I had handled it better than most people would have. Still, I had hurt Channing and it didn't set well with me. I didn't want to be like the others to him, and that thought didn't make any sense to me since we barely knew each other. I shouldn't care so much of how he thinks of me. But I did.
"We're here," Heather said, stopping at the edge of a small clearing. About four feet downhill from us stood a huge, spiked wooden fence about fifteen feet tall. I couldn't see what was on the otherside but It looked like a fort from this side.
I whistled. "How the hell are we suppose to climb that shit?"
"We don't. We're gonna climb that." She pointed above us and I followed her finger.
My face dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Nope," Heather cheerfully patted my shoulder. "It's the only way in. Now come on. They have guards who checks the perimeter every hour like clock work so we have fifteen minutes to sneak you in before anyone comes around."
"Guards?" I looked at the wooden wall of fortress. "What is this, a prison boot camp?"
Heather chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, you have no idea. We can't even shit without asking our Alpha first."
I watched her stalk over to the huge ass tree we're suppose to climb and frowned. "You're kidding right?"
She looked back at me. "Our Alpha is a strict, control freak. That's why when I sneak out, I make sure to have a car waiting for me in the city. Now come on, we gotta get moving."
I looked down at my black, now dirty, Vans and shook my head. "I'm not exactly dressed for tree climbing, sweetheart."
Since we didn't exactly have a strict dress code at my job, I was already wearing casual clothes; faded blue jeans and a black polo shirt covered by an equally black denim jacket. While I wasn't dressed for clubbing, I wasn't exactly dressed to be walking through woods and climbing monster trees either.
"And you think I am?" Heather shot back. "Stop whining and follow my every move. You'll be fine, city boy."
I stood back and watched her grab the lowest branch and hoisted herself up to a bigger, thicker branch. She stood up and beckoned me with a finger. "Well? Come on."
"Fuck," I muttered and stepped closer to the tree. I mimicked her movements but it wasn't easy. All this time I thought I was in great shape but it took tree climbing to realize that maybe I should start going back to the gym.
Telling myself not to look down, I looked up instead and watched Heather effortlessly swing onto another branch. Shit, she could move. And with high heeled boots on. I grinned when her leather clad ass came into perfect view. Nice.
"Stop staring at my ass." She looked down at me and smirked. "And keep up."
I shook my head and chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." As annoyed as I'd been with her earlier, I was starting to like her a little. She was like the little sister I never wanted.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we made it to the longest branch hanging just barely over the wooden spikes. I looked down and whistled. The inside did look like a big ass fort with houses made out of logs and everything. I spotted a few with TV dish satellites on rooftops and was impressed. How they got reception out here was anybodys guess.
"It's pretty out here," I admitted as the cool night breeze brushed against my face. And it was nice. The air smelled cleaner and the noises in the woods no longer creeped me out. It was like the animals and insects were all singing together in perfect harmony. They weren't loud, but they were there. Mother nature's creation.
And any more of this and I'll start sounding like a Hallmark card, I thought with a breathless laugh because shit, I was still panting from climbing this big ass tree.
"We're going to jump," Heather said.
I looked down. Yeah...hello no. That was about a twenty foot drop. "You're nuts. We'd break our necks."
"No, we wont. Follow me."
"Wait!" Too late. The crazy bitch jumped and smoothly did a black flip, landing right on her feet like a cat. My heart was beating against my chest so fast that I'm surprised it didn't jump right on out. "Holy shit! How'd you do that?"
"Werewolf!" She replied in a sing-songy voice.
Right. That again. Still can't believe it. She must have taken gymnastics or something. The girl was a lot sturdier than I thought.
"Well? Come on. Jump."
I was barely keeping my balance on the branch and now she expected me to jump? "Admit it. You're trying to kill me."
"Shay! Jump!" She opened up her arms. "I'll catch you."
I laughed at that. "You're joking." I may not be as big as Channing but I was no light weight. If I fell on her, I'd be breaking some bones.
Heather drew out an exasperated breath. "Shay, I'm stronger than I look. Now jump! We only have about five minutes before the night patrol gets here."
"Okay, okay, damn it." I rolled my stiff shoulders. "Right. I can do this." Crouching down steadily, I placed my hands on the branch as tight as I could before slowly slipping down and letting myself hang.
"Get out of the way!" I shouted down at her. I took a deep breath and hoped that I wouldn't break every fucking bone in my body.
"Just do it!"
I let go and let myself drop. I was prepared to eat dirt, but I wasn't, however, prepared to be caught. I opened my eyes to find myself in Heather's arms.
She smirked. "Hey."
I gaped at her. Holy...! She actually caught me like I weighed like nothing! "Fuck, put me down!" I wiggled until she released me. I stepped away from her, still shell shocked. "You caught me."
"Told you I'm stronger than I look. Werewolf, remember?"
I shivered. "Okay, you," I pointed an accusing finger at her, "are a freak. And..." I felt a blush creep up from my neck to my cheeks. "And don't you dare tell anyone about this. I'll deny it." I quickly walked around her and kept going.
Nope, that did not just happen. A little slip of a girl did not just catch me. No fucking way.
"Hey genius!" Heather called, "you're going the wrong way. Unless you wanna end up werewolf chow, you better follow me."
I did a one-eighty and shook my finger at Heather as I bypassed her. "Not one word, brat."
Heather flipped her waist length hair back and sniffed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
I let her lead the way as we tip-toed from behind one log house after another like thieves in the night. Every crack of twigs beneath our feet made me twitchy and paranoid, expecting a huge beast that looked like the typical depiction of Hollywood werewolves to jump out from the shadows.
I watched Heather's slim back as we slipped behind another house, realizing that I was actually considering that Channing and Heather might be telling the truth. That or they belonged to some kind of occult.
"Okay, all clear," Heather whispered. She pointed to the open window we were crouching under. "This is Channing's room. He lives by himself so you shouldn't get interrupted. Go in and fix him."
My eyes drifted from her to the window. Well shit, now that I was actually here I didn't have a clue what to do. What to say to Channing. My first instinct had been to follow this girl to save him but didn't think about how exactly I was going to do that. I wasn't usually this impulsive. I thought things through before doing anything so nothing could pop up and bite me on the ass.
I met Heather's impatient eyes. "What do I do? How do I help him?"
"You're his mate," she hissed. "Figure it out."
"You know," I growled, "it's so damn easy for you guys to say 'mate' this, 'mate' that when I'm the one who's struggling to adjust here. You say your werewolves, okay, great, more power to you, but you've had your whole lives to understand this shit when I've barely had a week. Cut me some fucking slack."
Heather went silent for a moment. She stared into my eyes and sighed. "Okay, sorry. You're right. Just...just try your best, okay? I know that if he sees you he'll-"
"Get his hopes up?" I finished. "Heather, mate or not, I still might not be able to give him what he needs."
Heather slumped, looking tired. "Shay, he just wants you. Any part of you."
I glanced at the window. Yeah, that's what worried me. Channing seemed to be the kind of guy who will ask for only a piece but ends up taking everything. He could consume me.
"Go," she urged. "I'll be out here keeping a look out."
I took a deep breath and let it out with a huff. "Okay. All right." Fuck, what am I doing? I stood and peeked into the dim room. I spotted a large bed and what looked like the outline of Channing's large frame underneath white sheets. For a moment I hesitated with uncertainty.
"Go," Heather hissed again.
"Stop rushing me," I snarled back before slipping inside. I caught my right foot on the window sill and nearly tripped but I steadied myself with the tall lamp conveniently placed next to the window.
"Careful, dufus," Heather whispered from outside.
I resisted the urge to stick my hand out to flip her off. Instead and I cautiously made my way around the bed. I didn't think that I made enough noise to wake the dead but shit, there must be something wrong with Channing if the big guy could sleep through someone sneaking inside his bedroom. I hadn't exactly been that quiet.
I paused at the head of the bed and gazed down at Channing. Moonlight showed me his sweaty face and his trembling body. He was curled up on his side, white sheets covering him from shoulders to toe. The way he had himself balled up reminded me of a child having a nightmare.
I knelt down and brushed his sweaty, dirty blond curls from his forehead. "Channing?" He shivered and moaned in response. I felt his forehead with the back of my hand and frowned. Damn, he was burning up.
"Channing," I said louder. "Wake up, love."
His lashes fluttered for a few seconds before murky, golden brown eyes met mine. "S-Shay?"
I tried to smile. "Yeah, it's me."
His answering smile was shaky. " Am I dreamin' again?"
I shook my head. "Nah, man, I'm real."
Channing's thick brows furrowed down in confusion. "Then what are you doin' here if you're real? I thought you didn't wanna see no more."
I traced his brow with a thumb and sighed. "Heather brought me. She said you're dying."
His frown deepened. "Dyin'?"
"She said it's my fault," I whispered, bowing my head. Seeing him so feverish like this with dark bruises around his beautiful eyes made me feel even worse. This was not the vibrant man I met over a week ago. I didn't mean to cause this but my actions towards him did cause it and that just killed a piece of me inside.
"I ain't dyin', Shay," Channing said. "Well, not now anyhow. I ain't gonna meet my makers just yet."
My head shot up. "What?"
Channing looked thoughtfully at me before a real smile bloomed across his lips. "Were you worried about me, Shay?" Sheets rustled and his big hand appeared to cup my cheek. "You came for me? Cause you thought I was dyin'?"
My eyes searched his. "You're not dying?"
Channing shook his head. "Feels like it but naw, I ain't dyin'. I get sick the closer the moon is full. My body becomes feverish cause my body's trying to shift but it can't." He looked down in shame. "I ain't right."
I landed on my ass before I knew it.
"Shay?" Channing looked worriedly down at me. He tried to sit up and reach for me but I threw my palms up to ward him off.
"Wait," I rasped out, "just...wait." Drawing my knees up, I rested my elbows on them and bowed my head. Oh fuck. Oh sweet fuck. I let out a deep breath. The relief flooding through me just left me breathless. The heavy pressure that had remained on my chest since Heather's announcement slowly released and I was left feeling shaky and boneless.
"Shay? Are you okay? What's wrong? Are ya hurt?"
I looked up at the sound of Channing's anxious voice and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, man. Yeah. I'm...fine."
And scared. Very fucking scared. If I had already unconsciously felt this way towards Channing with only spending a little time with him, well...well I was completely fucked.
"Shay?" Channing whispered, voice strained and uncertain.
I ran a tremoring hand down my face and sighed. "Yeah, love?"
"Can you come up here with me? Can you lay down next to me? If'in it's not too much trouble, that is." He looked hopeful, doggy ears pointing straight up. And yeah, I'll admit it to myself now. They were dog ears I was seeing on the top of his head.
I pushed myself up and groaned. My muscles felt like jelly. I shrugged off my denim jacket and tossed it on the dresser across the room. I took off my shoes and rolled off my socks cause after walking all over the woods, they were damp and dirty.
"Sorry if my feet stinks, man," I said, sitting on the bed. Channing scooted over to make room for me and I was suddenly very much aware that he was naked underneath those sheets. Sweat still clung to his naked flesh, making his tanned skin gleam under the moonlight.
I froze as my eyes took him in. The sheet had ridden down to his waist, exposing his magnificent torso to my view. I could tell that he lost a little weight since the last time I'd seen him but he was still impressive. Thick, powerful shoulders, biceps bulging with muscle and his chest...
Unconsciously, I reached out and felt for myself the fine, softness of what little chest hair he had. His defined pecks felt soft and hard at the same time under my wandering fingers. My fingers trailed down from his chest to follow the disappearing line of hair to his stomach until they hovered dangerously close to the edge of the sheet covering the rest of him.
Channing shivered under my touch. "S-Shay?"
"Sorry." I jerked my hand back and swallowed. "Uh...shit. Sorry. I don't know what I was-"
"Please," he cut me off. I looked up to find his amber eyes glowing eerily. The smoldering passion directed at me made my mouth dry. "Touch me," he begged.
What the fuck am I doing? I thought even as I went on my knees on the bed and reached out for him. I dragged my shaking fingers through his curls and shivered at his soft moan. My heart quickened when he turned his face slightly and nuzzled my right wrist.
His intense eyes never left mine when his tongue darted out to taste my skin. Oh shit. My lips parted and his eyes immediately zeroed in on them. I licked my lips and watched as his eyes followed every movement.
He captured my wrist and tugged. I let out a startled gasp when I dropped against him. Even though I had a shirt on acting like a barrier between us I could feel the heat of his skin sear through the fabric. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart against mine.
"Shay," he whispered longingly, gently rubbing his forehead against mine. "My Shay."
I closed my eyes because a stupid part of me thought that everything would be less intense if I kept my eyes shut. Oh, I was wrong. So fucking wrong. The sensory feeling of his fingers grazing against my cheeks nearly melted me.
"My Shay," I heard him whisper again. "Mine."
Yours, I thought.
***
"What's going on in that beautiful mind? I'm your magical mystery ride. And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me but I'll be alright"- All Of Me by John Legend