I had to discover on my own that Samantha had left to go check out the college she would be attending, it wasn't until a week later did I also realize how much of a distance it was from here. During that time, I also did some reflection on myself since my talk with Abigail.
The separation between us cleared my head and made me focus on a few more things besides the battle of what goes on inside of me. I decided to get back into training with the other warriors, this was a slow start of me returning back to living life and catching up on what I missed out. This distraction keeps me from diving further into my thoughts but the conversation between Abigail and I lingers at the frontier.
Though my head clogs with decisions, with her so far away, it was hard to focus: when she was here, I could hear her heart beating around the pack and smell her scent encasing me in a shell of her presence without being close to her. Now, it was fading and leaving me a bit restless and antsy. I blink and return back to reality when a snap resonated close to me.
The small tree I was practicing on snapped in half.
"You okay there, captain?" One of the other warriors near me asked.
I turn to face him with a nod, "Lost focus for a moment," I tell him with a sigh.
He stares at me, then glances off at the sparring groups then back to me. "If you need to rest for a bit, we wouldn't—"
"No. I've been 'resting' long enough. I appreciate your concern."
Still, he stares at me with a look in his eye but smiles, not pressing any further. "No problem, take care."
With that, he backs away and joins the others with sparring practice, a few of them shifting into their wolf forms to practice further. The fresh chill breeze of the awakened season of winter rolls across the sky as leaves circulates amongst the ground, bringing forth the memories that drenched themselves in this season. My eyes find themselves gazing up at the light-colored sky, my mind once again wandering into the image of Samantha it has created to keep my sanity from boiling over. I think back to my options, encouraged by Abigail.
In my heart, it knew what my mind had decided before I could clearly acknowledge it. It was all set into stone, my heart trembling for the events that would soon unfold because of my decision, I knew it was for the best but not for me— but for Samantha.
~ • ~
Night began to transition the sky into a hue of dark and light colors of blue, the small twinkling of the stars popping into existence here and there. I wash away the days' events from my body in a seething shower, letting the water convert a barrier that drowns the conflicting thoughts within my head that formulates a damaging storm. It wasn't until after I dried and dressed that I felt her.
She was like a pressing weight on my chest, letting me know of her presence and just how much control she had actually had over me. I was out of my bedroom before I could even think about what I was doing, my longing for her fueling these actions. My feet brought me closer and closer to her, my body singing happily at the visual thought of bringing her within her arms. All thoughts and actions come to a halt when an unfamiliar smell wafts into my nostrils: a masculine odor.
I'm finally aware of my surroundings as I stand in the hall that leads toward the entrance of the packhouse, where Abigail greets Samantha—the unknown smell strongly comes off of Samantha. The chains of my control snapped like a twig beneath the pressure of a boot while my mind raced with undesirable thoughts and questions, blaring in my ears and overtaking any rational thought.
Soon enough, I was approaching the pair with alarming speed and all in one motion I grip her wrist and tug her back outside, letting the delicious sizzle of our contact seep into my veins, startling me.
"Mason, what the hell?!" Abigail calls out after me.
"Mason!" this time Sam calls my name, my ears twitching. "What are you doing!?"
Looking over my shoulder, my gaze collides with hers, those brown eyes boring into mine with the ability to make me lose my breath entirely— but the smell of another male overpowers the moment to intake the real closeness we had in years.
Once I know we're far enough, I release her, walking a few meters forward to catch a few calming breaths. The beast inside was raging like a bull, ready to spray red among the leaves that blanket the floor to the owner of this scent: I tilt my head up and inhale deeply.
"What's up with you?" she inquires, a sort of annoyance and a small twig of concern in her voice.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I step to face her. "Who have you been with?"
A short look of hurt flashed across her face before it became blank and anger took its place.
"Been with? In what way are you asking?" she mimics my movements of crossing her arms as well.
I say nothing in return but my silence also becomes my answer. She realizes this and scoffs, looking heavenward with disbelief in her voice as she speaks.
"I can't believe this. . ." she mumbles to herself. "I can't believe you're asking if I fucked someone while I was away."
A spontaneous growl reverberates from my chest with the following curl of my lip at the thought. I narrow my eyes, digging my nails into my flesh.
"What am I supposed to think when you have the smell of another male coating your body?"
"Not that!"
"You didn't answer the question. ."
"No, I did not!" her voice projected in volume, echoing throughout the hollowness of the forest. "And it's a shame you can't have even a little bit of faith in me."
With my brows furrowed and my lips pursed together, I can only look at her. I did have faith in her, I had faith that she possessed the power to make me forget everything that I've been through and truly give me the love that I've always wanted, she made me realize that I actually wasn't pushing her away before because of Eleanor. . she actually scared me.
She was this pure rose that I've been gifted by God with, trusted to nourish and care for this beauty all while knowing of the shït that I was involved in— I was afraid if I truly loved her with all my being that she would be reeled into the things that made this job dangerous.
It was so much more than becoming a warrior for this pack than anyone let on.
Sam broke through the barrier of my thoughts with her movements as she turned to walk back the way she came. Anger still rolled off her in waves, with the tinge sense of hurt beneath the throes; there I go, hurting her again.
"It doesn't matter," she says, "at least he's someone that can touch me without fear."
I felt the shift within me and it was too late to mentally do anything to stop whatever was to come. Her words were like the awaiting knives of returned pain that I've given her, they cut through the shackles that imprisoned the creature and let loose his emotions. Before I knew it, I was in front of her in a shred of a second, forcing her back into a tree, my hand circling around her throat.
A deep snarl reverberates from my chest.
Her small gasp was her only reaction to the flurry of motions that occurred. She stared up at me with wide eyes, the fading sun altering the color of her eyes into a light brown as her pupils dilate. I could see a deep flush starting from the base of her neck and reach her cheeks like the color of a strawberry, in her eyes there was nothing but shock and the deep tinge of desire.
Looking down at her and the way her lips were slightly parted and how her lashes fluttered with each blink— my fingers press deeper into the flesh of her neck. The tip of her tongue whisks out to coat the plumpness of her lips in a thin layer of saliva.
A part of my body jumped to attention.
Before anything could truly happen, I gained back the control I partially lost and ripped myself with a growl, stumbling back. I clenched my hand to my side, letting those remaining electrical shock course through me deliciously.
"I can't do this anymore!"
I tear my eyes from the ground and find Samantha fisting her hair before she drops them at her side: she still faces my direction but tears fall endlessly down her cheeks, like a trickling stream that flows over rocks. I break at the side. My doing was causing this beautiful rose to wilt before my eyes.
"I can't keep doing this. I can't!" she cries, "Every time there's a small moment between us that gives me the slight bit of hope— you pull away. It's like your ripping my heart to pieces each time and I don't have another tear in my being for you to keep doing this."
At her pain, I feel the burning sensation of tears behind my eyes. She's quiet as she sobs into the palms of her hands, each wretched sob laced with sorrow and distress that stabs and tugs at the strings of my own heart. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms, to bring back the life of this flower but that would cause more pain and confusion.
I really was pathetic.
Samantha sniffled one last time and lifted her eyes, puffed and bloodshot. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning," she announces suddenly, "I decided to so early because I can't endure another day waking up knowing that I can't have you."
There was a short moment of silence, Samantha calming down for a moment as I finally weight the options that I've been given.
"I'm not going to stop you." I finally speak, I stare at her softly, taking small steps toward her. "I think we both seen this day coming."
"And I decided to let you go, Samantha," I whisper, finally reaching to where she stood, gazing down her in a different light.
Water wells up in her eyes once more, her lips trembling with the notation that she knew this was coming. A teardrop of my own skids down the curve of my face. The only thing I can do is cup her cheek and lean my forehead against hers.
"I hate you. ." she croaks, "so much. ."
As she shuts her eyes, tears spill over in the presence of the last fight in her being rung dry. His flower was on its last petal and I was the one to blame.
"I know."
—
The trees that surround them, lean in closer as if to shield the two away from the world, soaking in their sorrows and tears of what the future will hold for the both of them. As a last attempt to heal the withered flower in his hands, the male leans in for a kiss, further losing himself in the gift given to him. They inhale each other for the redemptions of their hearts— we can only hope what God has planned for the prospect of their lives.
Whether they'll be intwined or apart.
~ ✎ ~ ✎ ~
Th-th-th-that's all folks! 😁
Thank you for reading this far! that's it for the side story, I hoped you all enjoyed the characters Mason and Samatha. Mason is sort of a jerk right now but there will be character development for him in their story 😉
Goodbye.