-Jaden-
This was a disaster.
Oliver knew who I was. Tilly and Arch knew that Oliver knew. They were my betas, so they knew I got shot the second it happened. They and my parents. Half of the pack was coming for me when I ran home after that incident. They were ready for war, but I explained that the one who shot me was just a human who thought I was a regular wolf. I didn't tell anyone anything about Oliver. They all accepted my explanation.
All except those two bastards, Tilly and Arch. I was still out of my mind even though I shouldn't have been – regular hunting arrows couldn't kill us after all – so they knew something happened with Oliver. They kept asking about it until I blurted out that Oliver knew the wolf was me. I didn't tell them how he knew that. Even I didn't know how he knew that, but I had a good guess: he was a mind reader. He had to be. My mate or not, he shouldn't have been able to hear my thoughts. Although I was pretty sure I never called for him specifically.
Everything was ruined now. I was going to skip school, but then people would think I got scared by being shot, so I had to go. And Tilly wouldn't have let me stay at home anyway since she was now determined to force me talk to Oliver.
Which I was not going to do. I would never go near him ever again.
The only reason why I got away from Tilly was her high heels. She couldn't run as fast as I could so I managed to slip away from her. I kept going even after I was a few miles away from school, and once I was sure she gave up – which was a miracle – I stopped to take a breath.
I didn't know what to do. Things had gotten much more complicated than I could've imagined. Having a mind reader around would freak out a lot of people – it was mostly a vampire ability, so no one in my pack would take that information well. Oliver was a human, yes, but reading minds was really bad.
I turned to look back towards the school. Of course I couldn't see it, but I could still feel Oliver's presence. He was... surprisingly calm. And amused. Yes, I knew running away was not the most manliest thing to do, but for fuck's sake! I didn't want to have anything to do with the guy anymore! Why couldn't Tilly just leave me the fuck alone?! I was so freaking tired of being pushed around all the time!
I was so angry at that moment. Angry and tired. I turned around again and continued my way away from him. Yes, none of this was his fault, which obviously sucked for him, but I needed a break. He would probably start chasing me and ask stupid questions and throw demands at me just like everyone else did...
I stopped to glare at the snowy ground in front of my feet. To him, I wasn't Wolfie anymore. There was no going back anymore, and that pissed me off the most. Was it too much to ask to have a few moments now and then when I could forget about everything and just pretend I wasn't the next fucking Alpha?
I guess it was.
-Oliver-
I wasn't surprised that I couldn't sense Jaden's presence during the rest of the day. He probably ran as far as his legs could take him. I felt slightly bad about it, since it was obvious he didn't want to be anywhere near me, but I tried not to let it get to me. He seemed surprisingly skittish for a werewolf.
As I walked home after school, I couldn't help but think that maybe it was me who was crazy after all. I mean... werewolves. I was actually thinking werewolves existed. How crazy was that? That thought was so absurd I had to be crazy.
But then again... I just wasn't sure if it was crazy at all. Part of me seemed to believe it was absolutely normal. Like... Like I knew it was normal? Like it was something I just forgot and suddenly remembered.
I was giving myself a headache.
And there was definitely someone following me.
I carefully peered at the forest on my left, but I didn't see anyone or anything. I didn't stop walking, and I quickly turned to look where I was walking. It wasn't Jaden, or Jack. It was someone else.
Soon later, I saw the orphanage right in front of me, but I decided to walk past it, even though I didn't feel threatened at all. The aura that was following me was more curious than anything else, and it definitely didn't want to let me know it was close by. I kept peeking at the forest under my beanie, and once I thought I saw something move right behind the trees. It was close enough for me to get a better... uh... feel?
I knew that aura. Somehow.
I continued walking to the store that was close by, and I stepped right in. I had a plan and I was curious to see if it would work. I went straight to the candy isle and grabbed a handful of chocolate bars. Once I paid for them, I went back out, and started going back towards the orphanage, until there was no one around.
I stepped into the forest, making sure that I was still being followed. Once I was far enough, I stopped in the middle of the trees, and took one of the chocolate bars from my pocket.
"This chocolate is the best," I spoke out loud, and made a lot of noise opening the wrapper. I saw a pair of white wolf-ears popping up behind one of the bushes. I had to bite my lips in order to keep myself from laughing at the sight. She sure loved food.
I took a small bite when the ears disappeared, waiting to see what she would do now. Then, after a short moment, a white wolf stepped carefully from behind the bush, sniffing the air.
"Want some?" I asked, and kneeled onto the ground, holding a piece in my hand.
She didn't hesitate much when she walked to me, keeping her eyes on the chocolate. She snatched it as soon as she was close enough, and ate it with a pleased look on her face. Even her tail was wagging slowly. Once she was done, she turned her yellow eyes at the rest of the bar.
"Isn't chocolate dangerous for you?" I asked, but she let out a high-pitched, demanding bark. "Well, if you're sure," I chuckled and gave the rest of it to her.
Once she ate it all – it didn't take long – she started sniffing my pockets.
"No touching – let's save them for later," I told her, stopping her nose from getting into the pocket. She seemed disappointed for a moment.
"You are very pretty," I told her, and she seemed to forget to be disappointed. She shook herself and stretched a little with a happy look on her face. "I think I saw you the other day. With the big brown wolf – is he here as well?"
She shook her head a little.
Like, how was I not supposed to believe in werewolves?
"Okay," I said and took my glove off, before I carefully placed my hand on the back of her neck and scratched her a little. "Your fur is really soft."
She sniffed my arm carefully, moving her nose upwards until her whiskers were tickling my cheek. She was wagging her tail the entire time, clearly enjoying my attention. She absolutely loved it when I scratched her behind her ears.
"Why are you guys so interested in me?" I asked – I couldn't stop myself from asking that, even though I knew she wouldn't answer me. "What's the deal?"
Her expression turned sadder – at least I think it did. She sat down in front of me and let out a silent whine, lowering her head and pinning her ears back.
"Maybe I'll find out one day," I said. "I think I know what you are, but don't worry – I won't tell anyone. I just would love to know if I'm crazy or not. So... If you don't mind me asking... are you guys really werewolves?" I spoke quietly.
At first I thought she wasn't going to answer me, but just when I was about to sigh, she nodded.
"Okay," I smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm not going to tell anyone – I promise."
She wagged her tail again, looking happier.
"So... you didn't catch him? Jaden?" I asked, and she snorted loudly, rolling her eyes. "He seems really fast."
She snorted again, and let out a quiet mumble – I was pretty sure she was annoyed.
"Don't worry – if he doesn't want to talk to me, that's fine. He seems a bit... dramatic," I said carefully.
She rolled her eyes up towards the sky and let out a deep sigh. I had the feeling she was trying to say, 'you have no idea'. I laughed lightly and scratched her neck.
"Did he tell you he got shot with an arrow? You guys should be careful around here... People around here don't like wolves..."
She got up on her feet, poked me on my chest with her nose and barked at me a few times in a playful manner.
"I like wolves, yes," I chuckled. "Wolves are awesome."
She seemed happy with my answer.
"But you really shouldn't come here," I said, feeling sad. "I don't want any of you to get hurt."
She snorted at my words. She seemed awfully confident. I was worried that she was too confident.
"Just be careful, all right?" I asked and stood up from the ground. "I should get going now – I promised to help our cook today."
She barked quietly and started walking towards the orphanage. I followed her, regretting my promise to help Stella, but I hoped this wasn't the last time I would see the wolves. Werewolves. My God... I should probably go get checked for those brain tumors...
She walked me all the way to the orphanage, and stopped where Jaden always stopped to say goodbye to me.
"Well, this is my place," I told her, like she didn't already know. How did she know anyway? Did Jaden tell her about me? I wanted to ask but I decided I probably didn't want to know – I was too invested in that guy as it was, and I didn't want to get my hopes up since Jaden didn't seem like he wanted to hang out with me anymore.
Tilly looked up at me and wagged her tail, pushing herself against me. I had to focus on my balance for a moment, since she was awfully large, even though she wasn't quite as big as her male friends.
"All right, all right," I laughed, and petted her neck. "I don't know why you were following me today but thank you. This was really great."
She barked at me, and I scratched her behind her ears for a moment, but then I really had to go. I didn't even know what time it was.
"Well, I should go now," I said with a sigh. "Bye," I told her, before I reluctantly stepped out of the forest, and made my way across the street. Once I reached the front door, I turned around, but Tilly wasn't there anymore.
"See you at school tomorrow," I whispered, since I had wanted to say that to her, but I never found the courage to speak it out loud.
Because that would've felt a lot like I had actual friends.