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Leaves crunched beneath my footsteps as I traveled down a dirt-covered trail. A slight chill crept through the autumn wind, causing me to pull my cardigan tighter around my form. I glanced upwards, taking in the ever full moon perched amongst dark grey clouds. I huffed. Exasperated, tired, scared… None of these words quite fit how I’ve been feeling these last couple of weeks. It all happened on a normal night.
After I had finished locking up the clinic, I cut through an alleyway into the parking lot, much like I usually do, but something was different. I could hear the faintest rustling in the shadows and a low growl followed suit, sending shivers up my spine. Next thing I know, an enormous dog creeps out with the strangest eyes I’d ever seen. They glowed a piercing yellow and yet felt so human at the same time. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around to figure out the meaning behind all of it. I broke into a run and ended up making it out of the lot and into the open, but not before it gave me a nasty bite to remember it bye.
Ever since, it’s felt like my life has been gradually spiraling out of control, like an endless nightmare I can’t seem to wake up from. My senses sharpened—every light too bright, every sound too loud. My stomach turned into a bottomless pit, and my dreams… They were full of those haunting eyes, and my moods? I almost punched a cashier this morning for accidentally dropping my change. And my body itched, like something underneath was trying to crawl out.
I rubbed my arms, trying to shake the tight, prickly feeling under my skin.
All of this seemed to fuel my sudden trip to the more woodland areas of Haven. Here, I could breathe. No obnoxious sounds and smells, just myself and nature. As much as I tried to lean into it and let my mind wander, I couldn’t get rid of this foreboding feeling that weighed heavy on my shoulders.
Maybe I have a wicked cold... Or a brain tumor. “Or maybe I’m just losing it.” I shook my head.
I took another step—and nearly collapsed as fire lit up my spine.
“Shit—” The ground tilted. I stumbled to my knees, hands digging into the softened earth. My breath came in short, frantic gasps. My heartbeat ricocheted inside my skull as I tried to push through the searing pain that started to radiate across my body to no avail. I squeezed my eyes shut. It felt like my bones were bending, stretching .
Then it hit me—a tidal wave of pain so big it swallowed my scream.
My spine cracked. My back arched. Black, sharpened nails emerged from their beds, my fingers contorting to accommodate. I could feel every horrible, gut wrenching moment of my bones shifting, grinding against themselves as my body betrayed me.
I screamed—no, howled —as my legs bent backwards with a sickening pop. Black spots flooded my vision, my consciousness slipping in and out of my grasp as I writhed. My skin felt like it was ripping open as I finally gave into the sweet darkness that called out to me. But I couldn’t shake the sound of someone calling my name.
****
Plush bedding gave way underneath my weight as I shifted onto my side. I slowly cracked open my eyes to find them blinded by bright lights. Groaning, I turned over, placing a pillow over my head. As I began to drift back off to sleep a chill crept up my spine.
Where the hell am I?
I shot forward and immediately regretted it as soreness radiated across my limbs. My body ached like I’d quite literally been dragged through hell, my muscles trembling, my skin raw, nerves screaming. Oh my god. Last night… I frantically pulled the sheets off of myself. I was taken aback to find myself not even in my own clothes. Instead, a big dark grey t-shirt hung off of my shoulders and a pair of black shorts were fastened to my hips. My skin was streaked with dried mud and something darker. The worst part was I was clean enough to know someone wiped the worst off… but not enough to say how long I’d been here. Has it been hours? Days?
My heart hammered in my chest. It’s okay Raven, calm down. This is completely and totally fine, we can get out of this. I steadied a trembling hand against my chest and took a few deep breaths. Now’s not the time to lose my shit. I need to get out of here before whoever lives here gets back. Despite the protesting of my muscles against every movement, I pulled myself off of the mattress and began looking around.
The room that I’m situated in is hardly furnished. Nothing personal like pictures or clothes filled the furniture. The only sign of life here was a silver suitcase across the room by the closet. Whoever lives here didn’t intend on staying long it seems. I wanted to go through their bags in the hopes of finding a possible clue or identifier but something was telling me time is not on my side. Turning towards the door, I crept over and placed my ear against the hardwood. Closing my eyes, I tried to hone in on my hearing. Come on ears, you’ve been picking up on every damn thing this week. After a moment of listening to the refrigerator hum and a leaky sink faucet I resolved that I’m here by myself. I did, however, pick up on a car in the distance. It honestly could be a coincidence but I don’t have the luxury of the benefit of the doubt.
I slowly pushed open the door to find a small, connected living room and kitchen. I raced around the small space looking for anything that remotely looked like a phone but only found a decorative fucking landline. Why me?
The sudden sound of footsteps made my blood run cold. “Fuck,” I whispered, my eyebrows scrunching together.
My head whipped around as I tried to think of something.
Jackpot.
Flinging open the hardwood cabinets, my eyes locked on a cast iron pan, and I quickly grabbed it. I blew out a shaky breath as I heard keys jingling and fitting into the lock. Maybe if I have a running start I’ll catch the fucker off guard . I rubbed my sweaty palms against the sides of my shirt and lowered myself into a crouch. With a snarl I didn’t recognize as mine, I lunged—arms outstretched, barreling towards the figure in the doorway.
“Raven!”
His voice hit me like a punch to the chest. The pan slipped through my slackened fingertips, falling to the floor with a loud clang.
Eric.
Except he was different. He was older—a sharper jawline, more muscle, face worn with something I didn’t recognize: intensity, weight, command. But those eyes…
God, those eyes .
He stood there, hands raised in surrender. Eyes wide—but not afraid. Just, searching.
My mind scrambled to catch up with what I was seeing. The man I haven’t seen in nearly four years. The man who up and left me without a single word. The man that I fucking mourned like a death because in a way something in me had truly died the moment he walked out of my life.
Fury bubbled and festered in my gut, itching at my throat to be released. “No, no, no you don’t get to fucking do this. You fucking left. You vanished. And now I wake up in some cabin and you're here ? After all of this time?”
He took a hesitant step forward, sending me two steps back, nearly stumbling over the couch. “Don’t.” I bit out.
“I only did it to protect you.”
“From what, Eric,” I nearly shouted, incredulously.
He scrubbed his face with his hand. Gesturing to my side, he continued, “From that.”
My hand ghosted over my side, where the pair of crescent teeth marks sat on my stomach.
“You were bitten by a werewolf, Raven.”
It felt like the entire world slowed to a stop. I could practically feel my lungs constrict, begging for oxygen as I stood in a lifeless heap.
“I’m a werewolf, too. I was born like this, not bitten.” His voice was soft, like he was nervous I could shatter at any moment. Maybe I would at this point. “You had shifted last night when I found you.”
Shifted.
The word caught in my chest.
“I only just got back to Haven a few days ago, I wasn’t even sure if you still lived here but I felt you last night. I didn’t know what was happening but I knew I had to get to you. When I found you, you were unconscious, lying in a thicket five minutes from here.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he recounted everything.
Something in my chest twisted. I want to scream. I want to hit him. I want to collapse into his arms and cry into his shoulder like I used to when everything felt like it was crashing down around me.
“All I wanted to do was keep you safe from all of this.” He swallowed. “But it looks like I’ve only put you in more danger.”
Everything inside of me begged for this to be some horrible nightmare, but I looked at him, really looked—and saw it. The truth in his face. The wolf glowing just behind his eyes. And I saw me , reflected in them.
“I know you’re confused and scared, Raven, but you’re not alone.”
I laughed. Harsh, bitter.
“Raven, you have to understand—”
“Fuck you, Eric.” The hurt and anger that sat at the pit of my gut, now boiling over. “You broke my heart. Do you understand that? After you left, I was a shell of myself, an empty fucking husk. You shattered me and now you think that you can just waltz right back into my life now that you’re ready? Fuck that.”
I hadn’t noticed that I was crying until I felt damp spots spreading across the neckline of my shirt.
“Raven, there hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t thought of you.”
“Then why did you go?” I whispered. “You could have told me, Eric.”
“What was I supposed to tell you?” He chuckled, sadly. “Hey, babe! I’m a werewolf, run away with me while I go become the Alpha of my pack because my father was fucking murdered.”
His words were like a smack to the face. “I’m so sorry, Eric.”
A suffocating silence fell over us. I don’t even know how to feel anymore. It’s like all of the wind has been knocked from my lungs. The answer to all of the bitterness and the aching pain I’ve learned to carry, standing before me, but what do I do?
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to piece together everything. “You said you felt me?”
He nodded. “You’re not just a wolf, Raven. You’re my mate . The bond was already there when we first met. I think that’s why everything between us always felt so intense. We just couldn’t claim it when you were human. Now…”
Now, everything had changed.
“Raven,” He took a small step forward, as though he were approaching an injured animal. “I can’t put into words how sorry I am for leaving you. All I wanted was to keep you safe but after spending all of this time apart, I can’t imagine going another day without you. I don’t expect you to forgive me in a day but all I’m asking is for you to give me a chance.”
It feels like my head and heart are at war with themselves. I closed my eyes, exhaling. I hate that my heart still beats harder when he looks at me like that. “I’m still mad at you.” I huffed.
“You have every right to be.”
“I don’t know if I can ever trust you again.”
“I’ll earn it,” he said, stepping close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating off of him. “Every damn day.”
I didn’t pull away when he touched my hand.
I didn’t stop the tears when he gently pulled me into his arms.
I just let myself breathe—for the first time in weeks.