Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Soren woke to the sound of screaming, the sound was raw and loud, like someone in excruciating pain. It wasn’t until James flew through the door in only his boxers, that Soren realized the sound was coming from her. He was at her side in a flash, arms wrapping around her as she struggled to breathe. Her heart was pounding, and it felt like it was going to rip out of her chest at any moment.

“Outside.” She forced out from between shallow breaths. Luckily James didn’t argue, he just wrapped one of the many blankets around her, cocooning her in warmth before sprinting outside. They were there in seconds, James sat on the porch steps, letting Soren look up at the moon, watching as slowly but surely her breathing evened out and deepened.

He couldn’t explain the pure terror that had shot through him at the sound of his little mate screaming for dear life. He thought someone had gotten into the house, that she was in danger, but in fact it was her dreams that haunted her, that had woken her up. He could feel the clammy nature of her skin, how the night air was freezing it, making her colder than she had been just minutes ago. Placing her down on the steps as if she was made of glass, he forced himself to pull away from her. Standing up was one of the hardest things he had to do, but his wolf’s need to protect was trumped by his need to keep her safe and comfortable, he didn’t want her to catch her death outside in the chill.

“Wait. Don’t go, please.” Soren’s voice was raw and scratchy, evidence of the painful screams that had clawed their way out of her. James heart broke,

“I’m not leaving you, I’d never do that. It’s too cold out here for you dressed like this though. I promise I’ll be right back.”

Soren’s head nodded ever so slightly, her eyes pleading at him to come back as fast as possible. James sprinted inside, collecting the sweatpants and hoodie she had been wearing before bed and grabbing some blankets up off the floor – he’d have to remember to question her about that later, now was definitely not the time.

Back outside she wasn’t where he had left her. His heart jumped for what felt like the thousandth time that night until seeing her huddled against a tree along the line of the forest. Walking over he didn’t comment, just pulled the hoodie over her head, moving the blanket only to pull the sweatpants up and over her shorts-covered legs. The other blankets he used to wrap her up once more, layering her as much as possible.

Her gaze lay on him the whole time, and yet he felt as if he wasn’t truly seeing her, like he was invisible. He hated that feeling, crouched before her he waited until her eyes came back into focus, and she noticed him.

“Thank you.” She said, motioning to the blankets that lay partially in her lap.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t come back.” James refrained from telling her that he had told her he would right as he was leaving,

“Of course, I did. You’re going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me.”

She didn’t have the energy to smile back.

“Do you think you’re calm enough to go back inside?” He asked softly, his hands aching to pull her into him, and his wolf howling to get her back where it was warm, and he could protect her.

“I can’t, James. I can’t go back in there.” Her voice had a pleading tone to it, and James wondered just how much she hated living with him. His wolf whined, he was failing at keeping his mate happy.

“Alright.” He conceded, he just wanted her to be happy, and by the way her body had stopped its shivering, he was reassured that she was warm enough.

“Do you think maybe you could shift? I think it would help me sleep.” With the way she was looking at him, James would have granted her anything.

“Of course.” The shift came easily. His wolf had been dying to come out since the second he heard her in distress. Going to take off his clothes so they wouldn’t get ruined, James noticed he was still only in his underwear. As a wolf the cold didn’t bother him, but he felt bad knowing he might have made Soren uncomfortable with his nakedness. Shifting came fast and the pain was gone before he knew it. In his place stood his chocolate wolf, deadly to all but her.

Padding his way closer to her he watched as she lay down, her back against the trunk of the tree. The tree seemed to cradle her, its branches arching towards her as if trying to comfort her. James took note, she had said the trees took care of her, it seemed he was wrong in doubting her. Laying down beside her, he pressed up against her, his fur protecting her from any chill that might still be affecting her.

Soren curled up into him, running her hands up and down his side, calming both herself and him. It didn’t take long under the night sky and with him at her side to fall into a tranquil sleep, where no dreams plagued her.

The next morning Soren woke to see her wolf lying next to her, his one eye was cracked open, meeting her gaze as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. He stood, treading slowly towards the home, his head turning around to look at her, motioning with a flick of his head for her to follow.

Inside, James was a man again, wearing only black sweatpants low on his hips. Soren could make herself tear her eyes away from the well-defined plains of his stomach and chest. James was most definitely a fit and able-bodied man to say the least. Soren felt drawn to him, shuffling forwards to stand just in front of him, a hair’s breadth away from being pressed up against him. Still enthralled, she placed her hand on his chest, resting her head against his heart. She loved the sound of it beating, soothing her with its constant rhythm.

James coughed, clearing his throat, and she shifted away from him, her cheeks beginning to heat up.

“I thought maybe we could go on a walk today and I could show you around. Margot said you might like to see more of the territory.”

“I’d like that.” Soren was glad he hadn’t brought up what had happened the night before, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he asked her what had happened.

They ate their breakfast in silence, the eggs and toast filling and satisfying, before dressing to go out. James grabbed his clothes and changed in the bathroom, coming out in jeans and a tight-fitting black t-shirt. Soren still could not get over the sheer size of him, and how his presence just filled up a room. While he had been in the bathroom she had put on a pair of comfy black leggings and a white long sleeve from Margot, pulling his grey hoodie over her head to complete the look. She was swimming in it, but she loved that it was his and that it made her feel safe and less vulnerable to prying eyes.

Seeing what she was wearing made James clear his throat,

“I don’t know if you’ll want to wear that.”

“Oh, sorry, did you want it?” Soren felt bad, she hadn’t even thought that he might want it back, it was his after all. She had just adopted it as her own.

“No, Ren, that’s yours now. It’s just that we might run into some of the pack today, I was thinking of taking you in town for lunch, and if you wear that everyone’s going to know your mine. You already smell like me from being here so long and people will already be looking because we don’t get a lot of strangers coming through here. Wearing that would be like tattooing my name on your face for everyone to see.”

“Okay,” Soren shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

James’ jaw dropped, his eyes incredulous at her response,

“Really? That doesn’t bother you at all?”

“Well, I am yours, right? And you’re mine? At least that’s what Margot said. So, I just figure it doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks, but I can change if you want.”

She moved to pull the soft material over her head, but two large hands stopped her, gripping her sides with the lightest of touches.

“Keep it on. If you’re okay with it than I’d love everyone to see you wearing it. I just didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. They mean well, but the pack loves gossip, and you’re going to be a big deal. As for what Margot said, she was absolutely right, you are mine, but more importantly, I’m yours, you have me, mind, body and soul.”

“Well, that was cheesy.” Soren smirked, loving the way his face went red as her comment embarrassed him, she was glad that for once it was her with the upper hand,

“Now come on, I want to see everything.”

Pulling a blush pink toque and matching mittens on, she grabbed his hand and lead him towards the door, her happiness about getting out of the house was making her bolder than she had been, finally getting comfortable around James as a human, and the house as a whole. James chuckled at her eagerness to explore. His chest filled with pride as he thought of all the best places to take her, proud of the pack that he and Matt had fought so hard to maintain, and of the people that helped everything run smoothly. He couldn’t wait for the pack to meet his beautiful mate, he wanted to show her off and brag to everyone.

First though, he directed her towards the place he knew she wanted to see first, the forest.