Chapter 29: Chapter 29

TWENTY-NINE

Willow’s chest heaved up and down as she wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead with the sleeves of her shirt. She inhaled and exhaled heavily just as she had been doing for the last few minutes. She was exhausted and ready to take a long bath. Decorating a house from scratch was much more work than she had anticipated, but despite all the hard and tiring work, an easy smile stayed on her face as she worked through the day.

She looked at the ceiling with a small smile as she thought about everything they had managed to get done. The house was much better now and she liked that it was the result of her work even if the money was Black’s. She still felt proud every time she looked at the walls, the new furniture, the carpets...it almost felt unbelievable. She twisted her body to look at the entranceway to the kitchen where Black was coming out with a bowl of cut fruits.

“Come and join me, the carpet is soft and comfortable,” Willow told him with a huge smile. She ran her fingers through the fibres of the carpet to emphasize her point.

Black opted for sitting and not lying down as Willow had done. “I think you should do as Charlotte says and study interior designing.”

Willow fought the urge to face-palm herself. She raised her body and picked up a piece of neatly cut apple before shoving it in her mouth. The topic of study was becoming exhausting. Charlotte didn’t miss a chance to mention it and after spending time with each other frequently, Charlotte got Black on her side. Ever since then, Black always mentioned something about, sometimes in the most subtle ways and other times in not-so-subtle ways.

“Rich people don’t go to school.” Willow retorted.

“You’re not rich,”

“Exactly! And I don’t wanna drown my poor ass in student loans.”

“That’s not going to happen. You love interior design so just study it.”

“You do realise that if I start studying once again, we won’t spend time together as much.” Willow mocked with a crooked smile. The look on Black’s face a second later made her laugh. “Do you seriously not have a job?” She asked after her laughter spurt.

“Of course I do. I have a Job doing what I love, serving my pack.”

“Exactly what do you do?... Like do you have a job in an office?” Willow persisted with her questions.

“This question sounds familiar.” Black mused. “Mainly, I train members of the pack.”

“Train?” Willow leaned towards Black’s body, resting her head on his shoulder. Naturally, Black’s arm went around her waist and pulled her closer.

“Combat skills and shit,” Black replied. “I train other warriors, especially trainees.”

“Warriors? Are you going to war?” Willow asked and laughed.

“In case of anything, attacks from rogues mostly or an enemy pack. There’s a lot that goes on that your kind are not aware of.”

Willow stopped laughing and looked at Black with an apologetic look. “Sorry, I...I was not aware that such actually happens.”

Black shook his head. “It’s okay.”

“Why do you hate rogues?... The first time we met, you were very apprehensive.”

Black stiffened and avoided Willow’s gaze though his hold around her tightened. Willow frowned when she saw his expression. He looked like he could hit a wall with his fist and not flinch from pain. Was it too late to take back the question? They had been doing this for so long that it felt normal, getting to know each other and asking questions when curious. Willow feared that she asked a more personal question.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer.” She immediately tried to cut out any impending tension or uneasiness.

Black faced her. “My parents were killed by rogues.”

Willow’s eyes widened. If she did not feel regret for asking the question at first, now she did. She wanted to take it back, fearing that she had crossed some unmentioned boundary. Black’s eyes looked empty but she could see the hurt and pain in them, it made her feel more terrible for asking the question.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have as—”

Black shook his head. “I know how your parents died, the least I can do is tell you about mine to make up for my cousin doing a background check on you.” Black cut her off.

“You did a background check on me?!”

“That’s beside the point right now,” Black answered. “Should I continue?”

Willow remained silent for a moment before nodding. She tried to search for any signs of discomfort on Black’s face, any show that he did not want to say anything but there was none.

“I had a brother, Wyatt, he became rebellious and went rogue. Honestly, I don’t know why but he felt like he was the one who deserved to be Alpha since he was the oldest. Isaac’s father was older than my father so he was the Alpha but my father was still of Alpha blood. Wyatt and I were born earlier than Isaac, obviously. And when Isaac was born, we were all close. I don’t know how Wyatt went astray, he didn’t seem resentful or full of Jealousy.” Black paused to place the bowl of fruits properly in front of Willow.

“When our parents found out that Wyatt wanted to be Alpha, they tried to talk to him but in the end, he ran away and became a rogue. I think everyone did not care after that what happened to Wyatt...I waited for him though. Everyone lost hope in him but I thought he would rethink his decision and come back, apologise and make everything right. I even tried to contact him but he blocked out all my attempts.” Black looked ahead, burning a hole into the freshly painted wall.

Willow listened attentively while chewing on the inside of her cheeks and playing with the fruits in the bowl. Her mind went back to the time when Levi told her to give Black a chance because he had already been through a lot. Was this what Levi meant? Even though Black sat stiff and his eyes looked devoid of emotion, Willow could still tell that this was hard for Black.

“The next time I got to see Wyatt, he was leading rogues in an attack on our pack. My parents, uncle, aunt, Zaira’s mother and many pack members died that day because of my brother. We barely managed to drive out the rogues. That day, I lost my family but sadly, I did not lose hope in my brother. After he managed to escape, I was still hopeful for him.” Black scoffed at the end and looked down at Willow.

She looked at him with eyes full of sympathy. The thought of losing your own parents because of a sibling was dreadful. Willow grabbed his other hand and squeezed it.

“Nina managed to keep all of us sane though. She tried her best to make sure we never missed our parents and she treated Caleb like a baby. Zaira and Isaac grew resentful of Wyatt and I knew that they wanted nothing more than to kill him but I...I still believed that he had some goodness in him.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “But when he appeared once again after years and kidnapped Aleisa, I knew that I did not have a brother.”

Black stopped and only looked ahead at the plain wall. Willow let the silence hang for a while. Something bothered her about Black’s story. The fact that her best friend was also living such a lie bothered her. Even if Levi never admitted it, he was hopeful that Louis would change and treat him like a younger brother once again. Levi let himself drown in a toxic sibling relationship because he was hopeful and filled his head with lies.

Black had lost everything, his family and his brother. Willow was glad that he had Nina, his cousins and Zaira. Black was able to grow into a man because no one treated him differently for being related to the traitor. All of them embraced him. And if it were not for the fact that she knew, Willow could have easily mistaken Black, Isaac and Caleb for brothers. Not only did they share similar physical traits but they acted like siblings.

Still, Willow knew the pain of losing her parents. When she had lost her parents, the world felt like it were on pause...like her life could not go on. Her parents were her rock and whenever she was stuck, they were the first ones she thought about. When that sense of familiarity was stripped away from her she felt lost. Everything around her seemed to go on but in a haze. Even though she had Charlotte by her side, she still yearned for her parents. Black must have yearned for his parents as well.

“I’m sorry...” Willow whispered.

Black only pulled her closer to him before kissing her forehead and falling to the floor with Willow at his side. Willow adjusted herself so that she was partially on top of Black, her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat created a steady rhythm and she did not bother to complain about the cold and hard floor. Black’s body radiated comfortable heat and she had been lying on the floor before and so it did not bother her. It was actually comfortable.

“My parents died in an accident,” Willow spoke after a while and Black only looked at her with one raised eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. “Don’t say that you already know. I’m so ready to kick you in the balls for even doing a background check on me.” She warned and Black closed his mouth.

“My parents were the only people I knew, I basically depended on them for everything. When they died I felt lost and alone despite the people around me. I drowned myself in alcohol and wasted my life away the year when I was supposed to go to university. I remember excitedly telling my parents that I wanted to do interior designing.” Willow said with a small smile. Her hand rested on Black’s chest and she started writing on it.

“That’s how I met Louis. One of my friends took us to his club. He seemed nice then, sweet, and good-looking, and listened to me as I blabber about how horrible my life was going. You know, now that I think about it things escalated quickly and I was heavily infatuated with Louis. After lying to me and making false promises he wasted no time to reveal his true nature.”

Willow swallowed down a heavy lump in her throat. All these horrible memories brought only regret and pain. She did not want to receive them but she knew that for as long as she lived, she would always regret falling into Louis’ trap.

“He was walking me back home and when he told me to take a sit on a bench he scared the shit out of me by turning into a huge ass animal. That’s when he started threatening me. He threatened to kill Charlotte and after Levi became my friend, he said he’d do to him what he did to me. I was scared and I felt alone. Louis used me when he wanted for himself and when he found me boring, he threw me to his vultures. I was nothing but a whole to him. He...he used me li-like I was—”

Black pulled her completely on top of him and shushed her with his hand. Hot tears dropped on his hands and when he looked at Willow’s face, it broke his heart. Tears ran down her face. He could not stand how broken she looked and if there was something he was certain of in that moment, Louis was going to regret hurting Willow.

Black pushed her head on his chest and ran his hand through her hair soothingly, trying to calm her down. He continued whispering into her ears, telling her that she was now okay and that Louis could no longer hurt her. His other arm remained around her waist and he continued petting her hair until her breathing calmed down and she had stopped sniffling.

“I’m sleepy,” Willow’s voice was barely a whisper and it had become thick and ragged because of crying.

Black looked out the huge windows. It was already dark. He did not feel like driving all the way back into the city, he was exhausted. He wanted to lay on the ground with Willow on top of him and her scent being the only thing he could inhale.

“Should I drive you back home?” He asked despite not wanting to. He wanted to keep her with him, to let her move in.

After a few seconds, Black thought Willow already fell asleep because of the lack of movement but when she shook her head he felt relief.

“I think Charlotte is having sex with our neighbour, I’d rather stay here.” She replied. “Besides, I know that you want me to stay.”

Black chuckled before kissing the top of her head. “Whatever you want.”

He said before standing up and automatic Willow’s legs wrapped around his waist and he carried her.

......

“Why aren’t you at school?” Willow asked before moving the new dining table a little to the left.

“I’m thinking about dropping out,” Caleb replied simply.

"What?!” Willow turned to him with a shocked face. Caleb looked unfazed by Willow’s shocked look, instead, he remained in his seat with his phone in hand.

“You heard me right.”

“Why?”

After spending a lot of time with Black and visiting Isaac and Aleisa a lot, Willow managed to apologise to Caleb and they now had a better relationship. After all, Levi was her best friend and Black was Caleb’s cousin, she had to try her best to keep things peaceful. And other than that, Caleb was great company when he was not staring at his phone.

“I figured if I drop out of school, I’d have more time to spend with Levi. Can you believe we’ve not even had our first date yet?” Caleb said with exaggeration and Willow rolled her eyes.

“Let me guess, Isaac has no idea,” Willow said it more as a statement than a question.

“Of course, he doesn’t. If anyone finds out, they’re going to keep yapping about how school is that and this. Isaac never even used to go to school, he just went to write the exams.” Caleb rolled his eyes and switched off his phone.

“And Levi? What’s his take on this?”

“He doesn’t know anything but I’m sure he’s gonna be mad,” Caleb replied nervously.

“Exactly! Go to school kid.” Willow said before hitting the top of his head.

“Hey! I’m not a kid and I’m taller than you.”

“Everyone is taller than me. What’s your point?” Willow gave Caleb an amused smile. “I’ll keep this a secret if you help me set up the remaining things but you have to go to school tomorrow.”

Caleb scowled and stood up. “Whatever,”

Willow’s smile became bigger when Caleb stood beside her and started helping with the remaining things. Everything was already in place and the house could finally be called a home. Most of the heavy and serious work had been taken care of by the experts and Willow was glad that Black’s money had gone a long way.

After she was content with everything, she sighed and sat down on the floor and leaned against the kitchen island. Caleb handed her a glass of juice before sitting beside her. She looked around with a proud smile and drank the juice. The only thing she hoped, for now, was that Black liked it too because she surely did.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips when her thoughts wandered more to Black. She had not been able to see him as much as she liked. For the past week, he was busy and whenever she came to his house, he would be rushing out or already gone. And when he came back in the evening, that is if she was not already gone, he would be very exhausted.

To say the least, she missed spending time with him. What she did not understand was this yearning feeling she kept feeling every minute of the day. She couldn’t even sleep properly without thinking about Black.

“I’m so hungry, is there no food?” Caleb broke the silence and took a sip of his juice.

“The refrigerator is there, go knock yourself out.” Willow pointed at the refrigerator.

Caleb pursed his lips together. “Hmm, I miss Levi.” He sighed and stretched his legs.

“I miss Black,” Willow admitted. “You know what? I think I want some food.” She stood up and walked over to the refrigerator.

Caleb decided to move onto a chair and watched as Willow started moving around the kitchen and cooking food. He was utterly bored and he couldn’t even call or text Levi because Levi would not reply either way. He was always busy.

“How does this mate stuff work?... I mean Levi always talked about it but I still feel like I know nothing.” Willow said as she cut a tomato.

Caleb put on a ‘thinking’ face before answering. “Mm, I guess it’s the best thing that can happen to any werewolf. Heck, I still can’t get over the happiness of having a mate.”

“I know all of that, Levi is always talking about your smile and “beautiful” eyes.” Willow countered and rolled her eyes. She scoffed when Caleb’s face turned red.

“Well, having a mate is like marriage for us. It’s a for-life thing and instead of a wedding band, the male marks the female though other couples mark each other for equality.”

“How does this marking thing happen?” Willow asked dreading the reply. She was not stupid, she had the slightest idea of what Caleb meant.

Caleb rolled down the top of his shirt the area where his neck and shoulders met and where Levi’s mark was. Willow stared at the obvious bite marks on Caleb’s clear skin. It was clear that canines punctured the skin and it had healed properly but left behind a mark. She frowned when she thought about the pain Caleb must have experienced. But unlike her, Caleb looked at the mark with unmistakable admiration.

“Levi has one as well,” Caleb said with a bright smile before fixing up his shirt once again.

“Is...Does Black have to m-mark me?”

Caleb remained silent for a few seconds. He wondered if he should answer the question or avoid it. Willow’s eyes were still trained on the covered part where his mark was. She looked scared.

“He obviously wants to, it’s literally instinctual for him...but I’m sure he won’t force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.” He answered.

“And we’re supposed to have sex...I mean mate?” She said awkwardly and Caleb burst out laughing.

“You’re so awkward,” He continued laughing before he finally stopped and spoke once again. “Don’t worry about anything, you’re still growing your relationship aren’t you?” Caleb asked with a raised eyebrow. “Or do you want to fuck my cousin already?”

When Caleb flashed her a smirk, Willow threw a spatula at him. She was unable to recover from his words and her face flushed a deep crimson colour. Caleb, after recovering from the spatula attack continued laughing at her expense.

“Shut up Caleb.” She threatened him with a knife this time and Caleb tried to hide his laughter by placing his hand on his mouth but his laughter only escaped as muffled sounds.

Before Willow could throw another threat, Black walked into the kitchen. He walked over to Willow and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her head. He breathed in her scent and his shoulders relaxed before he looked up at Caleb.

“Are you hitting on my mate?” He asked his cousin with a scary tone.

Caleb rolled his eyes and only placed the spatula back in its rightful place. “He just said something about you that made me blush.” Willow defended Caleb.

“Really? What did he say?” Black asked seemingly curious.

Willow’s recovering face flushed even deeper. “You don’t need to know,” Willow said hurriedly.

Caleb chuckled before looking up at Black. “She wants to—”

“Shut up, Caleb!” She shouted and glared at him.

Caleb raised his arms before taking his phone. “Please don’t do nasty stuff in the kitchen, I already catch Isaac and Aleisa doing enough of that. Shout for me when the food is ready.” He said before walking out of the kitchen.

Black turned Willow around and nuzzled his head in her neck, lightly breathing in her scent. Willow wrapped her arms around him and welcomed the warmth that his body provided. She did not know when it started happening but they gradually got so close to share intimate hugs and Black always left light kisses on her face, neck and hand whenever he had the chance. Willow was not complaining though, she liked receiving his affection.

“I missed you,” Black confessed before placing a light kiss to her neck. Willow tried to ignore the shiver of pleasure that went through her body but she failed.

Black felt Willow shudder in his hold and smirked before kissing her neck once again. His lips lingered for a while before he opened his mouth and started kissing down her neck and to her exposed shoulder. Before Black knew it, he was not only kissing her to tease her. When he realised what he was doing, he stepped back and took a deep breath. Willow had her eyes closed and when she opened them, she looked up at Black.

“I missed you too.” She said in a breathy voice.

Black smiled and looked down at her lips before stepping back. He could not get her out of his mind and now that she was in front of him he wanted to kiss her so badly he was afraid that he would give in to his urges. He kept telling himself that he shouldn’t cross any boundaries but if he continued standing close to her, he would lose his resolve.

Willow followed his eyes and smiled sheepishly before turning around and focusing on the food that was still cooking. She stirred it before turning back around. She wrapped her arms around Black’s neck before pulling him down to meet her lips. Black’s eyes widened and he remained stiff for a while before looking at Willow’s closed eyes and finally kissing back.

When Black got over the shock, Willow smiled against his lips and opened her lips. Willow would have been lying if she said that she had not imagined not once but many times how Black’s lips would feel against hers. It had become her mind’s favourite hobby, hashtag always thinking about Black’s lips.

Now that she had a feel and taste of his lips, she didn’t want to step away. She tightened her arms behind his neck and opened her mouth, allowing him entrance. Black wasted no time to invade her mouth, he had already imagined kissing her so many times. He wrapped his arm around her and placed the other behind her head and deepened the kiss.

When they both pulled away, Willow was breathless and grinning from ear to ear. Black smiled down at her before leaning back down and pecking her lips but Willow opted for something different and deepened the kiss.

“Whoa! I clearly said not to do nasty stuff!” Caleb’s voice made them pull away.

Caleb gave them a disgusted look but Black looked displeased and only glared at him. “What are you doing in my house?”

Caleb looked around before chuckling. “Ouch! When this place was empty you were always at our house but now that it looks like something from MTV cribs you want to kick me out.”

“Your mate is probably waiting for you,” Black said and Caleb’s eyes widened before he rushed out of the kitchen and the only thing they heard afterwards was the sound of a car.

“He told me that he was hungry,” Willow said and looked down at the food that was clearly too much for only two people.

“Don’t worry, I have an appetite for two people,” Black told her before pulling her closer. “Where were we before that imbecile decided to disturb us?”

Willow’s face darkened. She looked down at the floor and avoided his gaze. Black kissed her cheek and when she looked up he smiled at her.

“I’m very hungry and I don’t think I’ll be able to let you go today.”