Chapter 22: Chapter 22
Everything is a mess. All around me, my surroundings nothing but in flames. I stand still, unmoving watching as my surroundings are engulfed by the furious flame around me. I know where I am but I also do not know. I look at the unfamiliar surrounding unable to move. Why the hell can I not move?
The blazing flames make me gasp in fear as everything around me gets swallowed by the fiery flames. Beads of sweat trickle down my forehead because of the heat, I want to run away but my feet are rooted at the center of all the chaos with no way out and no way in. Tears fall down my face as I try to let out a scream but no sound leaves my mouth.
I turn around only to be faced with a ring of fire around me. The ring slowly reaching out towards me, only a few more feet away from my body. I let out a gasp as the roaring flames snake towards me. Pain strikes through my whole body as the flames slowly eat at my body.
I'm fucking burning.
My whole body freezes as the fire consumes me.
"Aleisa" a faint sound calls out to me. I try to look at where the voice is coming from but the crackling fire does not allow it.
"Aleisa?!" The voice calls again but this time it sounds hurried and panicked....
My eyes falter open as I realize that it was a nightmare. It felt so real though.
"Are you okay?" Isaac asks me worriedly.
I look up at him and at my surroundings and remember that we spent the night in the tree house. I place my hand over my sweating forehead and gasp because of my own temperature.
"I thin-ow!" I shout out in pain before I could finish my statement.
A pain I am very familiar with surges through my body and my extremely pounding headache does not go unnoticed as I ran my hands through my hair vigorously. My skin itches and burns and all that my brain can make out is the fine male in front of me. Lust shoves different scenarios in my head and I look at Isaac with pleading eyes.
I cry out as the pain shoots through my body once again. My hands reach out to Isaac and I feel a ray of hope as my hands land on his chest and the heat is slowly consumed but only to come back even fiercer. Isaac shakes his head and takes a few steps back when he sees my suggestive eyes, he lets out a painful groan and looks back at me.
“Isaac…..please.” I plead and scratch at my skin.
Isaac quickly brings me in his hold trying to calm me. My body feels like it is on fire. A fire that cannot be put out. Isaac shakes his head and lets out a growl as he carries me out of the tree house until we reach the ground floor. The cold air whips around my heated body and I mentally sigh at the new surrounding temperature. My hands claw at Isaac’s chest begging for only his touch.
"Aleisa, calm down. I'm here." He says calmly, rubbing soothing patterns on my back, the Sparks still evident but the heat and pain overpowers the feeling of tingles.
I shuffle my body in his hold, making his hold grow tighter around me.
"I'm on fire." I screech, my throat dry causing my voice to come out as a scratch.
"I know."
I cry out, my cries coming out scratchy and dry. I watch Isaac from the corner of my eye with a panicked look covering his face as he trudges through the forest and avoids any clashing with trees. I suddenly feel the cold gust of water hit my body and I let out a loud gasp. I look down at Isaac’s shirt that is now wet and sticking to my body because of the water surrounding me.
I hurriedly go deeper into the water until I cannot be seen, letting the water quench the fire that is surrounding me. The depth of the small pond, shocks me as the cold water cools my body and I finally resurface from the bottom with a sigh escaping my mouth. I let the cool water soothe my hurting body as I ran my hands through my wet hair and then down my face, not caring that Isaac is watching. I quickly dive back deep into the cold water. I have never enjoyed a cold bath more than I do at this moment.
I close my eyes as I let the water do it's magic as I dwell in its coldness. After a few minutes, I open my eyes but Isaac is not here. I slowly make my way out of the pond and see Isaac facing the tree line and with his back faced to me. He looks tense and his fists are clenched, his shoulders shaking.
I tug at the shirt and straighten it though it is still wet. Stings of pain still surging in my body and a slight a headache after I come out of the water. I walk towards him, stings of pain shooting through my body with every step.
He runs his fingers through his hair aggressively tugging at it. It is stupid how I am going through pain but still thinking of how hot he looks when he is panicked. He turns around and notices me. Taking long strides, he takes a hold of me and pulls me into his embrace. He runs a hand in my hair and takes in a deep breath of my scent.
I feel tiny in his embrace, laying my head on his chest.
I slowly start pulling away but he keeps me tight against his chest. "You need to rest." His voice calms my wolf and I.
"I can't rest with pain striking my whole body." I mumble against his chest.
He slowly unhooks his arms and looks at me with hooded eyes, almost at the brink of breaking down into tears. He looks at me for a while, as if scanning for some sort of emotion.
"Aleisa," he breaks the silence.
"Mm." I hum in response.
"I don't want to be the one who causes you pain." His voice sounds tortured and hurt.
I stare at him not sure what to say.
"I don't want you to continue going through so much pain. I've noticed how the pain is slowly getting worse."
I have also noticed that it is getting worse. In the beginning I would fall unconscious due to the pain, now the pain will not even let me fall unconscious and the heat is getting worse. I do not know if I will be able to survive if another wave of heat hits me. I am not sure if I want to take the leap of what is required of me.
"All I'm trying to say please, let me mark you at least." He looks at me with urgency.
"No," the answer comes out to hurriedly.
"Aleisa please." He begs in a whisper.
"Isaac, I'm not sure yet."
I am not really so sure about doing that. Marking is something that I have looked forward to ever since forever and the thought of having my mate’s mark on my body has probably been one of my biggest dreams. But the same mark is supposed to bound me to my mate forever, there is no walking back after marking. The thought of walking away from Isaac breaks my heart but I am not so sure if he will not walk away from me.
"Well I'm sure that I don't want to see you in pain!" He growls furiously. “And I’m never going to fxcking walk away from you!” His eyes flash a deeper color with anger and that fuels the heat within me even more.
“I am not sure Isaac!” I yell at him and throw him a dead serious glare. “Someone better might come along the way and you will throw me away like a used toy.” The words sting my tongue as I let them out.
I would not handle the pain for a second time and it would probably get even much worse if he marks me. I do not want to get too close without being sure. I would rather have suffer through all the heat waves than go through the pain of losing my mate to another woman.
“You don’t trust me.” His voice has lowered. “You think that I’m just to jump off to the next girl that I see.” He glowers.
“What do you expect me to think?” I cannot recognize my own voice. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes and don’t know if I can put my full trust in you yet.” I breathe out as my voice lowers at the end.
"I'm sorry." He apologizes upon seeing my defeated and quivering form. "I just don't know what to do, I'm supposed to protect you and make you happy, not make you go through pain." He whispers the last part.
"I know but all I'm saying is I'm not quite ready." I say. "Okay?"
"Okay." He says. “But I am going to make sure that I earn your trust.” The determination in his voice scares me.
I slowly wrap my arms around him and take in a deep breath. His scent filling up my nostrils, making me feel safe around his arms.
His warm breath fans my neck and my body feels so much cooler in his embrace.
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"Aleisa!" Isaac shouts from downstairs. "Get down right now. We need to go."
"Jeez mom." I groan as I step down the stairs.
"I would have done more than your mom if you spent another second up there."
"Oh! And what would be that." I exclaim as I step on the last stair.
We are going back home, earlier than planned I am excited to be going home but I am also going to miss this place. Isaac apparently knew that we will have to cut our holiday a day earlier and had already packed while I had not. He has been bugging me ever since we came back to the house and hurrying me to grab my things.
"Why, let me just show you." He says as he slowly lifts me up and places me on his shoulder like a sack. I shift around trying to get down but his hold is too tight.
“Hey, that’s unfair.” I shout over his shoulder.
“I know.” He replies simply and carries my duffel bag in his other hand.
I slowly give up as Isaac lifts up the last bag and starts walking out of the house and towards the car. His muscles flex as he keeps a hold of me and the bag. Oh! I love the view.
"Not as much of a view as the one of your ass." He says, chuckling.
"Hey! Put me down right now."
"I'm sorry sweetheart but I'm kind of loving this other side of you." He says and I swear, I can hear the smirk in his voice.
He cautiously places me in the passenger seat and then goes back to his seat. He smirks at me before revving up the car’s engine, bringing it to life.
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In less than an hour, the car pulls up in the front of my house. I smile at the image of the pack house in view. I look at Isaac with a smile and he stares back at me silently. I must admit that I surely did miss Dylan and all his antics but not a single word is getting out about that. I look back at Isaac and then at the house and sadness fills up my excited emotions.
I do not want to say bye and let him go back to his pack. I know that I am being selfish but all I want to do is keep him to myself with no one to disturb us. I cannot imagine not having to eat his food, No offence to my mother’s cooking.
"Woo hoo, my favorite love birds are back." Someone hollers.
I turn around only to be faced by my stupid asshole brother. I groan when he opens the passenger seat door with a wide smirk on his face as he stares between Isaac and I. He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
"So you guys made up after all huh?" Dylan says.
"I didn't know you're generous enough to open the door for me."
"Oh no! I just don't want to watch my lil' sis doing all this PDA." He says as he gestures to me and then to Isaac.
I stare back at Isaac and I feel my cheeks go read. Oh no, I'm blushing. I have got to get this blushing looked at. I cannot be having a red face every time I am walking or when someone mentions Isaac’s name. I would have been glad if I blushed like a normal person with color only hinting at my cheeks lightly but I blush like a whole tomato face with my nose, cheeks and ears tainted red.
"Aww, is my lil' sis blushing." Dylan smirks and I shoot him a patronizing gaze.
"Shut up Dylan!" I shout as I step out of the car after pushing him.
Isaac helps me with the duffel bag while Dylan places his hands over his heart dramatically. I roll my eyes at his dramatic act. I lead Isaac through the doors of the pack house. We enter the house and we are immediately faced with my parents.
"Mother, Father." I exclaim silently.
They are not supposed to be here until after a week more. Why the heck did Dylan not phone us when they returned? I really feel like a kid who has been caught snooping around and doing something wrong.
"Alpha Isaac." My father greets. "A word please." His serious tone makes me even more nervous.
"No problem." Isaac responds following my parents lead to my father's office.
My mother turns with a look that says, ‘I will deal with you later’. Dylan and I watch silently as our parents and Isaac are finally out of view. I do not want to know what that look promises but I know that it is something that I am not looking forward to.
"Do you think he's in trouble?" I ask Dylan as I fiddle with my fingers.
"Maybe." Dylan laughs. I give him a stern look. “I’m just kidding, he's gonna be fine, he's an alpha and he's got quite a persuasive tongue."
"Is that how he got you to side with him?"
"Maybe."
I give him a look of disbelief before I turn my head and notice Allan at the foot of the stairs staring back at me with disbelief and dare I say it, disgust.
Why? I didn't do anything.