I felt a bit out of place as I walked through the Howling Night. The plan was to originally wait for Eli before going out, but after being cooped up inside, I decided to step out and take a short walk; however, that didn't go as planned. A few minutes was all it took for me to lose sight of where I was going.

In other words, I felt like Eli. Somehow, I seemed to catch his inability to follow directions.

Normally, I would've turned around, retraced my steps, and attempted to find my way back to Eli's house, but I decided not to this time. I don't know why, but I continued going forward and looking around. I had my phone on me so it wasn't as if I'd be lost without a way for Eli to reach me. I was sure he'd freak out a bit once he realized I wasn't there though, because that's who Eli was.

As I walked, there were a few people who glanced at me. Some said hello and others just walked past me. There were a few who stared, but not enough to make me feel like some museum exhibit.

I continued walking around aimlessly, taking in the view around me until I bumped into someone, causing me to stumble back.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked as a minty scent flooded my nose. I glanced at the owner of the scent and was met with the sight of green eyes. He was one of the alphas and had been there when Eli and I first arrived. I traced my mind for a name, but nothing came to mind. I wasn't sure Eli had told me beforehand. Noticing this, the man offered me a hand. "Tatum."

"It's nice to meet you," I said as I took his hand, even though we'd met before.

"Out exploring?"

"Something like that," I replied. "I was tired of staying inside."

I knew Eli was dealing with his parents so it wasn't like I was mad at him or anything, but I did still want to spend time with him. That was a large part of the reason I agreed to come along after all. That was why I was looking forward to our date; it'd be the first time since arriving that we were able to spend time together.

"That's fair. I'm sure you didn't just come here to admire the houses. Honestly, I was surprised to see you in the first place."

A small feeling of discomfort filled me. I knew that Nixon already knew about everything Eli and I had been through, but just how much did Tatum know, and did it have anything to do with why he was talking to me?

"Eli asked me to. It was a last-minute decision," I replied.

He smiled at that. "He looks happier these days. It's nice to see after the last few months he's been having."

Guilt slapped me in the face. "Yeah."

It was around this point when I realized there were no other wolves around. It was just the two of us.

Tatum paused and turned to me. "Why are you here?"

The interrogative tone of his voice made me take a few steps back. "What?"

Noticing this, he seemed to soften slightly, but not enough to make me feel safe. "I don't mean to scare you, but I do have to ask what your goals are with you being here and all. I don't know all the details and I don't need to. What I do need to know is if this is just another phase or not. Do you plan on leaving Eli again?"

So he did know. "I don't plan on leaving him."

The words came out more bitter than I intended, but I couldn't help it.

Tatum studied me. "I wasn't trying to offend you, but Eli's already been through hell and back. First with his old pack and then again in Oakwood. I don't want the Howling Night to be the next on the list. He came here for a positive change and I intend to keep it that way."

I could tell that his words were sincere, but so were mine. "I won't leave him again. I lo—"

The rest of the words died in my mouth. I what? I..

Though I didn't finish, Tatum seemed to pick up on the rest and he smiled at me. "That's all I needed to hear. If you walk straight, you should find Eli."

With that, he left me and my mind immediately became a jumbled mess. What the hell was that? The words left my mouth effortlessly. My heartbeat rose and I inhaled shakily. I...I loved him.

I loved Eli. Shit, I fucking loved him.

The thought had never crossed my mind, but now it was the only thing I could think about.

As if on cue, my phone started to ring. I jumped slightly and pulled it out to see Eli's name there. I exhaled and hit the answer button.

"Where are you?" Was the first thing that left his mouth. I could hear the franticness in his voice.

"I'm..." my voice trailed off and I glanced around. Tatum's words echoed in my mind. "I'm close to you, I think? I'm walking toward you."

I walked straight like Tatum said and glanced around until I found Eli's dark hair standing near a tree with Willa on the ground beside him.

"You scared me," he scolded as I walked closer.

"How'd you know I wasn't at the house?" I questioned.

"Someone mentioned they saw my mate walking around. I thought you'd gotten lost or something."

"I knew you'd call before I got too far," I told him.

Eli pulled me down to the ground beside him and Willa who seemed to be distracted by a group of birds flying around. The sparks that shot through my arm caused me to jump and he looked at me strangely.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't tell him about my conversation with Tatum or my newfound feelings. "Did you manage to get everything sorted out with your parents?"

He nodded. "For the most part, yeah. I introduced them to Willa and they want to see if we can get Reed to come down and run some tests."

"To see if you're actually siblings?" I guessed and he nodded. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm kind of excited?" He shrugged. "I guess, I'm looking forward to having some concrete answers about who I was before I went into the system, you know?"

"Hopefully it'll all work out then," I smiled.

Eli returned it and linked his hands with mine. "I'm also excited about our date, you know? I have the whole thing planned out. You're going to love it."

"You're confident," I noted. "That's already an upgrade since the last time we went out."

"And I know where we're going, so you can't make fun of me this time," he said cockily.

My smile turned into an amused grin. "I'm sure I can still find something to tease you about."

"I can't win with you," he shook his head, not knowing just how much he'd already won me over.

"So, where are you taking me?" I questioned.

Eli scoffed. "I'm not going to tell you. It's a surprise."

"When did we agree on that?"

"When I said that I'd plan it," he retorted and when he saw my unamused face, he turned to me pleadingly. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I responded with no hesitation.

"Then trust me when I say you're going to like it," he said.

Had this been a few months ago, the answer would have been no. I wouldn't have trusted him and I would've done everything in my power to get out of it. But this wasn't a few months ago.

So, I tightened my grip on his hand and nodded. "Okay, Eli. I'll trust you."

AN: Part two will be their date!