---Kim's POV---

I snapped my eyes open, although I was still trapped in my own dark world. Quickly sitting up, I held my breath while I slowly turned my head. Eventually, I sighed deeply and collapsed on my bed. It was just a dream. It was strange though; I could have sworn that the last sentence of the dream, along with the kiss, was real.

My hand moved on its own accord and touched my forehead while I absentmindedly wondered what the hell was going on with me. First, I accept a ride home from Will, who had remarkably, never made a move towards me. Then, I was getting flustered with his presence, up until the point that thinking of him made me crazy. Not crazy crazy, just, a good kind of crazy...I hope.

And now I could have sworn on everything that I hold dear, that I had heard his voice in my dream, saying that he would protect me. Even more, I had the feeling that I was being watched. But I couldn't hear anything near me, only the rustling of the leaves outside.

"Great, now I'm really going crazy." I muttered, annoyed with myself while I covered my head with my duvet, grumbling in myself. Taking a deep breath until my lungs felt like they would pop, I slowly blew it back out before I accepted the deeper darkness of sleep. Maybe I could have some happy dreams for once.

---Will's POV---

I landed on the ball of my feet without making a sound. I glanced up, expecting that Kim would pop her head out of the window to shout out or investigate further. Since nothing happened, I darted to the cover of the woods, where I turned back and stared at Kim's house.

Stupid idiot! Stupid, stupid, stupid.... I smacked my head each time while I paced around. She woke up! She could have found out that I was in her room!

"She's our mate, she would understand." My wolf soothed, wagging his tail like a love-struck puppy. He kind of was, the way he was drooling over our mate. He let the comment slide; only giving me a throaty chuckle as a reply.

I looked at Kim's room longingly but I knew that it would take some time before I'm actually allowed there, let alone sleep next to her. A sigh escaped my mouth before I shifted and walked towards a patch of grass, circling around before I lowered myself on the ground, my head on my paws.

"Will? Where are you?" My head snapped up while I looked over my shoulder, in the direction of the packhouse. Right, I ran away while I was ticked off; they might be a little anxious about what I might have done.

"At Kim's house. I needed my mate." Several images flashed in front of me while father's thoughts became more and more confused. I snorted at one particular image and grunted "Not in that way dad." I sighed and closed my eyes, falling asleep on the lullaby of Kim's heartbeat.

--------

"So, when are they coming over?"

My ears flew up so fast that it strained a muscle. I flinched, pawing at the ear before I shook myself out and stretched my paws. Damn, sleeping close to my mate, although it was in the dirt, really improved my night rest. A yawn escaped my mouth while I waited for Kim's answer. Apparently, Kath was fed up with waiting, because I heard the tapping of a foot.

"Helloooooo? Planet Earth to Kim?" I snorted, slightly amused but my wolf didn't like the tone Kath used with our mate. The urge to see Kim, to see my mate became more powerful.

I could take a small step forwards, just so I can look in the living room.

A few steps later, I had a clear view of the living room, where Kath leaned against the counter while she watched Kim, who was grabbing a box from the closet.

"Sorry, Kath. I was... thinking." Kim shook her head while she opened the map and traced her fingers across the sides. Kath tilted her head slightly while Kim pulled out a ten-dollar bill and folded it lengthwise, stuffing it away in her purse.

"About what?" Kath asked, unfolding her arms while she stepped towards the table and sat down, crossing her legs on another chair. Kim's fingers stopped for a moment and I noticed a small hint of fear and pain in her smell. "Nightmare." She mumbled.

Kath's expression fell and I saw that she wanted to say something but Kim continued "To answer your question, my parents are busy working, so they'll probably show up in a week or two." Kim pulled out a few dollar bills and made a square of them before she stuffed the map, rather roughly, away.

Kath sighed before she spoke up in a soothing tone, "Kim, they might-" Kim interrupted her with a hand gesture and walked towards the kitchen while saying, "No Kath. I'm not stupid. Ever since I became blind, they started working more and longer, even in the weekends! And when they call to hear if everything is okay, it's a call of less than five minutes!"

Kath turned around towards Kim and I froze when her eyes flashed over my wolf form before she let out a startled yelp. Thankfully, only my head had been poking out the bushes, so I moved back quickly while Kath rushed towards a startled Kim.

"What? What is it?" Kim asked in a slightly frightened voice, making me uneasy; my mate shouldn't be scared of me. Kath was still looking in my general direction before she muttered, "I could have sworn I saw.... Never mind, my mind must be playing tricks on me."

Thud.

"OW. What the hell KIM?!" Kath shouted out after Kim successfully smacked her on her head. Kim gave her an innocent smile. "What, thought I'd smack some sense into you. Might jumpstart your mind a little." I barked out a laugh at that. Glad I had feisty mate. Kath rubbed the back of her head with a small frown on her face before she nodded. "I guess I kind of deserved that."

Kim and Kath were playfully bickering with each other while they walked towards Kath's car. The sound of a snapping twig caused me to look up into Dad's wolf eyes, which were shining with amusement.

"You got yourself a nice one, William." He gestured with his nose to Kim before he turned around. "You might want to get changed and go to school. Remember that she needs a lift today?" A lift? Oh! I dashed up with a yip, leaving a trail of dust behind me while Dad laughed, shaking his head amused. I forgot all about it, I could spend some more time with my mate.

---Kim's POV---

We walked into school laughing while Kath eagerly pulled me towards math. "I'm telling you, it has nothing to do with David!" Kath said quite loudly and I chuckled. She has been in denial since this morning, when I had brought the 'Do you like David' topic on.

"Sure Kath, I mean, it's not like you want to go to math to see David again, huh?" I smugly asked, earning myself a poke in the ribs before Kath replied, "NO! God, you're annoying!" She let out a loud irritated huff, causing me to laugh again. I heard the doors behind me open and a waft of pine forest, rain and a masculine scent waved towards me.

"Hey Kim." Will spoke up from behind me before I felt his presence at my side. I smiled lightly while I said, "Hey guys." Will chuckled lowly, obviously amused with either Kath's tantrum or me. I hear another guy chuckle before he asked, "What's up with her?"

I grinned some more, rolling my eyes while I felt slightly uncomfortable without my glasses; Kath deliberately forgot them this morning. "Hey Tyler. Young love, I think." I heard a whirl of wind before Kath nearly shouted "I'm not in love with David!" Ignoring her comment, I 'looked' behind her and loudly said "Hey David! Over here!" while I waved my hand in the air.

Kath quickly spun around, nervously saying "Oh, where? Where is David? Is my hair okay? Where did you..." I heard some soft snorts and chuckles from behind me before Kath turned around. It was obvious that she fell for it, so I gave her a lopsided grin while I waved my hand in front of my blind eyes like an idiot.

"That's what it'll sound like when one of you spots him." I smirked before the guys roared in laughter and I felt Will's chuckle vibrate through my arm. "I can't believe you fell for that one Kath." A new voice said, followed by a nervous squeal from Kath.

"Hi David..." I bit on my lip to prevent the laughter that wanted to come out; Kath almost sounded like a love-struck teenager, her voice pitching up from her nerves. I felt strong, warm arms loop around my waist, pulling me away while Will said "I'm getting you to class before Kath decides to pick a fight with you."

I chuckled lightly, shaking my head so my curls swept over my face. Will pushed them back away before he asked, "What's so funny?" I just shrugged lightly before I said "Kath would never pick a fight with me." We walked around a corner before Will leads me towards a chair at the back of the classroom and sat down beside me.

"Really? And why is that?" his fingers brushed over my cheek to pull the curls away. Although it was a nice gesture, it made me tense slightly; I wasn't used to any friendly male contact. The bullying, kicking and beating, yes but a simple hello... not so much.

I sighed before I counted down on my finger, "One; she's my best friend, I just know she wouldn't. Two; She pities me because I'm blind and three," I smirked slightly, "She knows I can kick her butt."

A snort escaped from Will's throat while the class started to fill. "I've got a feeling that things will get pretty interesting with you around." He said, his tone truthful and filled with amusement. I smiled slightly before I turned my attention back to the lesson.

---

"Well, that's it for now. I see you guys back after lunch." Miss Devon said while the sound of chairs scraping of the ground echoed around me. The heels of our art professor walked closer, coming to a halt at my table.

"So, Kim, I'd like to see your progress, if you don't mind." I smiled at the source of the sound while I removed my hands from the canvas and took a step back. I tapped the desk with the back of my hand until I felt my cleaning cloth and rubbed my fingers clean with it.

"Hmmhmm..." Miss Devon hummed in appreciation while I used my cane to walk to the sink. "It's funny to say, but I learn more from you then you learn from me Kim." I laughed at that statement but Miss Devon replied "It's true, I mean when the dean told me I would have a blind student in my class, I only thought that you would be able to make clay sculptures."

I shook my head slightly while I turned the faucet off and dried my hands. Miss Devon continued, "But now you tell me that you can paint too! I can clearly see the image that you've outlined with the structural paint. And you've already started to add color too. Good job, Kim." The canvas was moved and I smiled lightly. Before I could step outside, Miss Devon stopped me by saying, "For the next assignment, you'll need to make a portrait of someone... Is that possible for you?"

"Oh, and it has to be someone else then Kath; the artwork must be different than this one." I swallowed slowly before I nodded. "Okay Miss, no problem." A sigh escaped my lips while I stepped out the classroom, brushing my hand through my curls in wonder; how the hell would I find a new 'model'?

I followed the sounds to the canteen, searching for Kath. A frown appeared on my face when I arrived and noticed that our normal table was empty; Kath had finished class before me, so why wasn't she here?

"Kim! Over here!" I heard Kath's voice shout out from somewhere at the other side of the canteen and I rolled my eyes. Sure, wave me over, I can totally see you. Note the sarcasm.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me young lady! Follow the sound of my voice..." she sang the last part and I snorted, mumbling, "It's hard to miss." I heard a few snorts coming from the table while I made my way over there, nearly colliding with Will when he stepped in my path.

"Blind girl, coming through!" I said when he bumped in my shoulder, making me sway precariously. He quickly put his hands on my shoulder to stabilize me and led me to my chair. "Sorry about that, it appears some idiot," he paused momentarily, probably giving the person in question a glare, "shoved me into you."

"Sorry Kim." Tyler spoke up in a happy voice before I was pushed down in a seat. I huffed while I placed my cane away while mumbling, "Sure, manhandle the blind girl." A warm hand brushed over my face, pushing the hairs away. My first, unconscious reaction was to lean back, resulting in a slightly pained sigh from...was that Will?

"So, how was your day Kim?"

I smiled when both Will and Kath asked the question at the same time. Shrugging, I replied "Pretty good, I've just finished an art class." Will coughed beside me while I heard Tyler spray his drink over the table before he asked in a surprised tone, "You can paint? Like real life models and such?"

"Yeah, Miss Devon said I needed to search a new model for my paintings." I answered, slightly rolling my eyes at the surprised tone in the guys' voices. Some people were really stuck in their ideas...

"I'll do it."