Chapter 39: Chapter 39

"Sorry, she can be quite pushy," Reahlyn turned to me, but I just gave him a warning look.

"She shouldn't be running around in such a thin dress in this cold. She's so warm, she must have a fever already," I warned, but he suddenly burst out laughing and didn't take my concern seriously at all.

"Don't worry, she won't get sick," he smiled amused and I didn't understand the world at all anymore, but let it be. Nobody seemed to listen to me anyway. "I cooked something over there. Let's get something in your stomach first."

He was about to run ahead of me when I took his hand tightly in mine and he immediately looked at me in surprise, his eyes taking on that sparkle he always had when I was near him. Then we walked together to the big hut and I was amazed at the really generously set table.

"Who else is coming to eat?" I asked, still looking at the food. There was really all sorts of fruit and vegetables that you really couldn't buy in Juneau at all. In addition scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, fried eggs, eggs with tomatoes... Oh my god... Apparently he had prepared every variation and in such a short time. How was that possible?

"None. I didn't know what your favorite food is, so I made a little of everything."

I looked up at him in complete amazement and he just shrugged his shoulders with a smile.

"And what if I said now that I don't like eating eggs?" I asked him with a serious expression and I could almost see how nervous he was getting.

"Then I'd be pretty stupid there," he grinned, embarrassed, and I immediately had to laugh from the bottom of my heart for the first time in a long time. The sound was already strange to me, but I enjoyed this feeling to the fullest and Reahlyn seemed amused by my laughter.

"Don't worry. I'll try some of everything you made, too," I replied with tears of joy in my eyes and then sat down at the table, overjoyed that someone had gone to so much trouble for me.

I put some of everything on my plate, ate in peace and kept looking gratefully at Reahlyn, who was sitting across from me and drawing something. I really hoped he wasn't going to paint me because the last few days must have left marks on my face. At least that's how I felt after all the tears and far too little sleep.

And then I realized again that I couldn't stay here forever. This bitter truth rammed itself into my mind and then wouldn't let me eat anymore.

I put the fork down and grabbed my pounding head, letting out all the pent up air that was stuck deep in my throat.

"I would ask if everything is okay, but I can already see the answer in your empty eyes," Reahlyn then turned to me, putting down the pencil to get up and walk around the table. "Please tell me what's going on. You didn't come to me in the middle of the night for nothing."

He sat down in the chair right next to me to put his hand on mine and gave me a sympathetic look.

"I don't want you to do anything stupid," I then whispered and immediately got a confused look from him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If I told you even half of what has been going on in my life for the last few years, you would surely be on your motorbike shooting someone dead faster than I could have finished talking and then I would blame myself make you into something you shouldn't really care about."

"How can you say that," he suddenly got louder and also took my other hand in his to look at me intently. "Of course I care about you and there will never be anything that would make me stop caring about your well-being."

I snatched my hands from his and stood up to put some air between us again. It was all too much for me.

"That's exactly what I mean!" I blurted out, overwhelmed, while glaring at him angrily. "Don't think I'm ungrateful or anything, but that's just too much. How can you interfere in my life like that, even though you don't even know me!" I yelled at him and in that moment I didn't even know why I was ever that angry. Was it because I couldn't handle this concern for myself? Was I mad at him for showing me how easy everything could be, or mad at myself because I just wished no one had to suffer because of me?

I was about to turn to the door when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back roughly.

"You're not going to run away just because you feel cornered," he growled sternly and gave me a warning look, but I immediately tried to free myself from his tight grip.

"Let go of me," I demanded and tugged at his hand, but it wouldn't loosen a bit. "Reahlyn, please," I begged and felt the first tears running down my cheeks.

"I'll let you go when you finally stop caring about others more than yourself," he said calmly, and immediately countless tears flowed from my eyes, which I could no longer hold back. Reahlyn pulled me into a tight hug, wrapped my trembling body and it was a totally liberating feeling to let everything out and not to be alone...

"Why are you like this to me?" I then sobbed, clutching his sweater while looking up at him and not having the slightest idea why he was being like this to me.

"Well, you're my soul mate," he explained to himself totally calm and I just frowned in irritation before I pulled away from him and wiped away my tears.

"What are you talking about? There's no such thing as that," I shook my head in disbelief, but when I looked into his eyes, I knew he meant it completely.

"Maybe not with you humans," he shrugged, smiling. "But we do."

With us humans?

"Oh. Hallo, Love."

I heard Reahlyn's mother's voice very clearly behind me, but I kept staring into his eyes questioningly until I remembered something Pablo had told me at the very beginning of our relationship.

Creatures that live in forests and have similarities to wolves. Who would never be cold, who would live forever. Strength, courage and cohesion were her greatest gifts...

Then suddenly his smell came to mind. That scent... that wasn't a dog...

Then I saw Maisie dancing through the cold in her dress, this incredible warmth she radiated, just like Reahlyn...

I can smell you, he had said...

"Love?" he asked me worried, but I took a step back and looked at him with wide eyes. That could not be true. Those were all fairy tales. Pablo laughed when he told me about it and now I was standing in front of one. This fairy tale came true and I didn't know whether to scream, run away, or faint.

My body was unable to move, my breathing became ragged and my heart stumbled a few times with the adrenaline rushing through my body.

"Du b- ... Aber d- ..."

I kept parting my lips and pointing my trembling hand at him, but not a word came out intelligibly. Just snippets of words that showed exactly how confused I was.

"Reahlyn, what's wrong with her?" his mother turned to him, standing right next to him to eye me with the same concern.

"Probably a shock," he whispered, and then I really fell over on my side. My legs buckled, my eyes grew heavy and all I could see was the wooden ceiling above me, which grew darker and darker before I was caught by two arms at the last moment.

Ice cold liquid was thrown in my face and I immediately woke up and looked around in panic.

"Calm down," Reahlyn said to me, who was sitting on the floor next to me and smiled.

Damn, he had a nice smile. It also made me smile, although I should still be confused, but somehow I wasn't. He didn't scare me. On the contrary. I found it absolutely fascinating what he was.

Apparently I fell on my head too hard....

"Can you please help me up," I whispered in a low voice and he immediately rose to offer me his hands, which I took and let me pull up. "Thanks."

"Are you okay?"

He held me by my shoulders, apparently thinking that without his help I would fall over again in an instant, which wasn't a bad idea from what I'd experienced.

"Yes, it's alright," I murmured quietly and now, based on the latest findings, looked at him very closely. His lips that smiled slightly... His blue eyes that fixed me... His tousled hair... Somehow he didn't look like a wolf at all...

I stuck my nose out at him and sniffed his hoodie, which made him watch me with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that about?" he grinned and immediately my gaze fell back up into his face.

"You smell like a...well...wolf," I explained, biting back the word dog. Who knew if it would have offended him.

"How do you know what a wolf smells like?" he immediately asked with an amused expression, which made me smile in embarrassment...

"Well... Like a wet dog, just a little fresher."

His loud laughter then made me wince, but I quickly got used to the sound and smiled at him in relief.

"You're reacting pretty easily to everything, except for the fainting spell. Is everything really okay?" he asked again and I just nodded and then pointed to the chair I had been sitting on before.

"But I would like to sit down and ask you to tell me everything in detail."

"Of course," he immediately said understandingly, and while I took a step towards the chair, he watched me very closely, as if he wanted to be there to catch me in case I got dizzy again.

I really liked it...

He sat down opposite me, looked at me expectantly and I took a few deep breaths to fully engage with him and his story. It still seemed absolutely unreal to me, but it snatched me away from reality and that did me incredibly well. As if at least part of a fairy tale would actually come true.

"So," I then began nervously, playing with my fingers uncertainly on the dark wooden table. "So you are a wolf."

"Yes," he said quietly and seemed nervous about how I would react, because he ran his hands through his brown hair several times.

"And I'm your soul mate?" I added uncertainly, biting my bottom lip.

"Yes," he said again and slowly it was driving me crazy to have to pull everything out of him.

"Now can you please summarize everything I should know?" I asked, slightly upset, and he immediately responded with an apologetic smile.

"Well, we wolves transform for the first time during puberty and learn to deal with the transformation and the senses given to us in time. When we are fully grown, that is when we are 18 years old, we are destined to have a partner for life It can be another wolf, but it can also be a human, like you, only humans don't feel that connection as much as we do."

He told the whole thing very calmly and I was able to follow him so far and although it was absolutely fascinating, it also scared me in a way. It's not everyday that you were destined for a supernatural being. Maybe he was wrong too?