❁ C H A P T E R  E I G H T ❁

I woke up with a painful headache, and my parents once again yelling at me. I buried my face in my pillow as they yelled, nearly falling asleep once again. I couldn't fall asleep, though. Not anymore.

The verdict in my house was that I was going to be grounded for a month. No more, no less. It was surprising, normally it would be much longer.

But I found when I stumbled downstairs, that there was another issue floating around my house. One that held a much more important status.

"Her birthday is on Monday."

I stopped half way down the stairs, pushing myself against the wall so I could listen. I knew what they were talking about- and it wasn't about me.

I frowned as I closed my eyes, heightening my senses so that I could hear with utmost clearness. I could hear my mother sigh. It was a pained sigh; and upset sigh.

I tugged at my Necklace, wrapping my fingers around the ring. It was hers, once. Before-

"I know, I know... Ruby's going to have a tough time, she always does," My mother answered back. She was probably looking towards the stairs, thinking about me in my room.

I could hear my pulse in my ears as I strained to listen. I was too hungover for this.

"Why don't we send a letter to her parents-" My father was always an optimist. Always wanting to do the right thing.

"They don't deserve a letter!" My mother snapped back, and my father sighed in response. I wanted to tell her that she was right, but I couldn't find my voice.

My parents went silent for a few fleeting moments, and then my mother talked again.

"She was more ours then theirs."

I felt my eyes welling as I took a deep breath, letting my hands fall from my necklace.

Mecah

I opened my eyes, and swallowed. My throat was starting to constrict as I started to remember. Shaking my head, I calmed myself down, before walking completely downstairs. My mom was turned away from my dad, chopping up a banana for her fruit bowl.

She turned to me when I got downstairs, and gave me a slight smile. She was thinking about too many things to be continuously mad at me.

I gave her a smile back, and went to hug my dad, who was reading a newspaper. He gave me a kiss on my head, and asked how I was feeling.

"Good," I lied, pushing myself up onto the stool next to him. We had a kitchen island, and barstool on one side. That's where my dad liked to sit and eat breakfast every morning.

My mother put a bowl of fruit in front of me, and I started eating graciously. I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

"I'm going to go to the store to get some groceries, do you want to come Ruby?" My mother asked, cleaning up the mess she made.

I shook my head, shoving another spoonful of fruit into my mouth. I used to love go grocery shopping... when I was nine.

My mother already knew the answer before I said it, so she left soon after that. My father followed, saying he had some work he had to do.

When they were gone, I cleaned up my bowl, and decided I needed to go for a run. Dottie had been neglected for too long, and was itching to have control.

I had a box behind a shed that I put my clothes in when I shift, so I stripped and put them in it. The shift was painful, more so than usual. My fault, since I hadn't shifted in so long.

My wolf was a spotted brown and black wolf. My parents both had solid coats, and I just had a mixture of both of them. I was small, but not too small. Just average. Small for alpha blood, though.

The woods behind my house went back as far as you could run. They went into Royal Grove, a huge natural park. It was often frequented by people, so I tended to stay in the proximity of my house.

As I ran, Dottie slowly took over. She enjoyed being in wolf form, much more than when I'm in human form.

"It's because you do stupid things in human form", she'd always say. She wasn't wrong.

I just sat back and let her do what she wanted, until I got a whiff of something. It smelled, sweet, and familiar. Taking back control, I put my nose to the ground, taking a deep breath.

Vanilla.

Everywhere. It was everyone. I hadn't noticed because I wasn't in control, but now I couldn't think about anything else.

He had been everywhere. In my woods! Mine!

I angrily snarled to myself, lifting my head as I narrowed my eyes, looking in the layers of the trees. He was here, I could feel it. Did he know I was here too? Probably.

I took a few careful steps forward, straining my ears once again to listen. I could hear the leaves fall from the trees, and the sound of distant animals stepping on sticks. But not a wolf.

He came up from the side, quiet, and meticulous. How had I not heard him? I could only figure his training had been intense.

His wolf was large and a warm caramel color. He stalked forward slowly, looking me over to make sure I was not a threat. Once he figure out who I was, he went out of danger mode, and stood up straighter.

I growled at him, staking my dominance. What dominance? I wanted to laugh at myself. He just looked down at me, unaffected.

I wanted to yell at him that this was my territory, and that he was intruding, but I couldn't.

I growled again, this time angrier. This time, he growled back, much more ferociously. His growl was loud, and it made me whimper. It wasn't out of fear, I wasn't sure I would ever fear him. I wasn't sure why I did it.

After I whimpered, he went quiet, his eyes studying me. I could feel the atmosphere change from tense, to something else. I even thought I saw something flash in his eyes. Regret.

It was gone in seconds though, and he turned to leave. He was going in the way of my house, our houses, so I followed him. He was a few meters ahead of me, and he walked at a steady pace.

When we got to the clearing behind our houses, I veered away from him, going to my shed. I peered behind me, and he was nowhere in sight, so I changed back into my human form. Dottie was silent, just as she was when he growled at us.

I got my clothes on quickly, making sure that he was nowhere in sight. Somewhere in me, there was a feeling that I wanted him to see. Maybe he'll like me then.

I brushed off the thought as I tied my shoes.

When I walked into the clearing, I saw him. He was bent down, messing with something on the ground. It was flowers, that were severely dead. Not his fault, they've been dead since before he moved in. The real estate agent in charge of the house had put flowers up, but they were never watered.

The wind blew gently, caring my scent with it. When it reached him, he looked up, his eyes finally reaching me. As always, he looked neutral.

I wasn't as nice, giving him a nasty glare. Angry, yes. I was very angry. Angry at him, angry at life.

Some might say I'm just being angsty.

He glared back at me, standing up straight. My eyes traveled down, and I lost my glare as I saw that he had no shirt.

No. Shirt.

I know a new thing about Connell now. Under those button ups he wears, he had abs. He was also tan, which made me wonder how often he didn't wear a shirt.

Do all English teachers have abs?

He noticed me staring, and he cracked a smile. Yes, that's right, Connell smiled at something!

With a huff, I turned on my heal, leaving quickly. My face burned, and I hoped he hadn't seen. Of course he had to see me ogling him though! I wanted to make him want me, not look like I want him!

When I got to my door, I looked towards his house one last time, and for a brief moment, our eyes met once again.

And then we both turned away.

Authors Note

Sorry for the wait! I hope you guys enjoyed! Got a lil steamy near the end. Just the tiniest tad. Maybe more in the future? Also, a bit of foreshadowing for something in the future, as well. (Not the steamy stuff).  Okay, that's enough. See you in the next chapter! Also, Happy Easter!

Love,

Elle Kay