I wasn't a person who second-guessed everything. I definitely had my moments, but overall, I was usually confident in my decisions. However, it seemed with Reuben that the confidence I once had would disappear in the blink of an eye. This time was no different.

Reuben stood in front of me. His eyes were darting around, focusing on anything that wasn't me and I could feel the confidence I previously had begin to deplete. Was this the right decision? Should I have followed him? Should I even be trying to fix our bond?

It was one thing to say it to myself, but it was another when he was standing in front of me.

Reuben's eyes shot toward a small clearing between two trees and before he could potentially decide to run away again, I held my hand out.

"Don't run away," I pleaded. "Please?" His eyes shot to mine and he bit his lip. "I just want to talk."

That's right. I wanted to talk to him, but would it make a difference in the end?

"Now's not a good time," Reuben muttered and I frowned.

"Not a good time or you just don't want to talk to me?" I challenged even though I feared the answer.

Reuben sighed. "Eli—"

"All I'm asking is for a conversation," I cut him off. "I just want to talk to you about..."

About everything. About his rejection, about Oakwood, about Fen.

Everything.

"I don't know what you're wanting me to say," Reuben admitted with a frown on his face.

"You don't have to say anything. You can just listen."

A tense silence fell over us. Reuben's eyes started to dart around again until they finally settled on me.

"Eli—" he started, but his words were quickly cut off by the sound of footsteps.

Neither one of us had the opportunity to react before the small brown wolf from the other night sped past us followed by a larger, dark blue-eyed wolf and a smaller, grey-eyed one. My eyes widened and I turned my head to face Reuben just as he shifted and took off in the direction the other wolves had gone.

Did he know them? Did he know the brown wolf?

Without thinking, I followed Reuben's lead and quickly shifted into my wolf, grabbed my clothes with my mouth, and took off as well.

Who were these wolves? I knew before my arrival that there were other supernatural creatures in Oakwood and I knew that there likely were other wolves in the woods as well, but this was different. I clearly had smelt at least two of these people. One was strong; a clear sign that whoever the scent belong to was nearby. The other was fainter, like it was sticking to the wolves but it wasn't their scent. Likely someone they had interacted with before. Then there was Reuben's and one that was unknown entirely.

It didn't take me long to catch up with the group. The brown wolf was in the lead. It ran quickly which was likely from fear, but why were these wolves chasing it and why did Reuben know them? Were these wolves trying to harm or help the wolf? That was the question.

Despite its weaker form, the brown wolf clearly had the advantage in these areas like it had the night I tried to catch it. The wolf clearly knew the area better than any of us and it was clear by the way the blue-eyed wolf was running that it knew this. It knew that if it let the brown wolf out of its sight then it'd be gone. So that begged the question of just how many times had they done this.

The grey-eyed wolf was different. It almost seemed like it was trying to stop the blue-eyed one given its movements. Its eyes weren't focused on the brown wolf at all. Reuben followed the two of them, but it seemed that, like me, he was playing catch up. Not truly in on the chase but trying to figure out what happened.

The chase continued until the brown wolf abruptly turned and disappeared behind a tree. The blue-eyed wolf came to a stop and let out a loud, frustrated growl. The grey-eyed one stopped as well, but it appeared more annoyed than anything.

The two wolves began to shift back and before my eyes, two men took their place.

Two very naked men.

"The hell was that?!" The smaller man growled at the larger one. "You probably just scared the shit out of them!"

The larger man briefly glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. "You said you were trying to catch them so that's what I did."

"I meant by winning its trust or something like that."

The larger man frowned. "My way was easier."

"Your way failed," Reuben said, emerging from behind a tree and now fully clothed.

I didn't see him disappear nor did I see him take any clothes, but it made sense that if he was frequently shifting out here that he'd have extra pairs hidden.

"It was closer than you've ever gotten," the blue-eyed man argued. "What were you doing while I was trying to get the wolf? Talking to—" his eyes darted down to me and furrowed. "Who the hell is this?"

"None of your business," Reuben snapped back while I stared better at the two, wondering what was happening. "And the only thing you accomplished was scaring the wolf off. Probably traumatizing it in the process. You fucked up. Again."

The two glared at each other and before things could get any worse, I quickly shifted back and got dressed. I lightly placed my hand on Reuben's shoulder, but immediately moved it when I felt him tense under my touch.

"Arguing isn't going to change the fact that what's done is done," I said to him, and the larger man from before scoffed. The two of our eyes connected and I immediately realized why he looked so familiar.

He was the man I'd bumped into before.

Clearly, I wasn't the only one to realize this because I saw the way his eyes flashed before he scowled.

"If you're coming then let's go, Arlo. I don't want to be here anymore," he muttered.

The smaller man, Arlo, glanced over at Reuben and then back at the blue-eyed man who was now walking away, and frowned.

"I'll call you later, Reu," he promised before taking off after the blue-eyed man.

I could tell by the way Reuben's jaw clenched that he was clearly upset. Part of me wanted to touch him again, but I knew that was a bad idea given his reaction before.

"Reu—" I started to say.

"Stop," he sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

I did. I wanted to talk about what just happened. I wanted to talk about who those people were. I wanted to understand just what the hell happened. But instead, I bit my lip and nodded.

There it was again—that tense silence from before. Neither one of us said anything as we walked side-by-side back toward the town, but my mind was full of questions. I kept stealing glances at him, but Reuben was determined to only look forward and keep his eyes away from me.

I couldn't stop the pain that filled me. I knew that he'd be standoffish—hell, I expected it even, but it still hurt.

"Why are you in Oakwood?" Reuben finally asked me.

"Pack business," I answered honestly, but I wasn't sure if I should elaborate or not just yet. I wanted to trust him, but I knew that I couldn't just tell anyone why I was there. Even Reuben; especially given how his friends reacted earlier.

Reuben nodded and we continued to walk in silence much to my dismay. Silence and I didn't get along. I was a talkative person; I liked to get to know people. I didn't like the awkwardness.

Once Reuben and I reached the outskirts of town, he stopped and sighed.

"Earlier you said you wanted to talk," He glanced over at me and I nodded. "Okay, let's talk."

Surprise filled me as I stared at him. "Are you serious?"

Reuben nodded. "Tomorrow at twelve. Meet me at the library."

A smile broke out on my face and hope filled me. Maybe this could turn around. Maybe he was having second thoughts about his rejection. Maybe I actually could fix this.

I turned my head toward Reuben so I could thank him, but the words died on my lips when I saw his face. While I was happy, he seemed to be lost in thought with a grim expression on his face. He was lost in thought; almost like he was planning something.

Maybe this talk wouldn't go the way I hoped after all.