I was so sure it was Arianna who woke up and followed me out. Because she's my true mate, I'm able to feel her presence when she's approaching me.
Shrugging off my confusion and deciding that it's probably because her son shares her blood and I just happen to be attuned to her energy, I turn back to Noah.
The moment our eyes meet again is the exact moment I realize I can't be upset with the boy, even if I'm livid about the situation with his mother.
He's an innocent child who has no fault in any of this.
My anger toward Arianna is ridiculous, I know, but I'm allowed to feel my emotions, which I've kept locked up in a heart that refused to feel before. I let my guard down tonight, only to get my heart ripped to shreds.
It's probably what I deserve, anyway.
Besides, there's something about the boy that makes it impossible for me to stay mad—at least, not at him—and my heart softens when his lips form a pout.
“Want snack…” he says as if he's complaining, and his groggy tone makes me chuckle lightly as I mask the way I'm feeling toward his mother.
Even if she moved on because I rejected her in the past, it gave her no right to use me as a rebound while her heart and mind are still on James.
It churns my insides to think that we had sex while her mind was on someone else.
Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I turn my attention back to the little hand that holds mine, realizing that I won't be able to escape Arianna. The child is pure, and I won't stop being a friend to him.
“Of course, buddy,” I sigh as I lead him to the kitchen, contemplating whether I should get some pack members to fix her old cottage and move them out, or keep them in my house.
It's pointless, anyway, being stuck having to face the fact that I'll never have Arianna's heart. I'm just the true mate who rejected her, but I can't accept only that. I want it all with her, if I'm going to risk the support of my parents and the council. I'd rather stay alone, then.
I help Noah onto a chair and go to the pantry, shoulders slouching with my discontent.
“What do you want, bud—Noah,” I correct with a sigh, wanting to distance myself from the child if I decide that moving them out will be better for my sanity.
“You choose,” he yawns and remains calm while he sits at the table, kicking his feet. I glance over my shoulder at the boy, who offers me a sheepish grin as he waits for me to decide on a suitable late-night snack.
Like he trusts me…
He has no idea that his innocent face will always serve as a reminder of my past mistakes, sending Arianna into another man's arms and losing her heart to him, going as far as having Noah with the other man.
Fuck you, James! I think scornfully as I force a smile on my face, jealousy pulsing through my being. I just can'taccept that Arianna was happy without me, jealousy and rage simmering deep within my being, my inner wolf wanting to run.
As far away from Arianna as possible.
It's a good thing my friends are visiting in the morning. Lord knows I need to escape this madness!
Chapter 15 - Arianna
I wake up with a start, sucking air into my lungs when my neck is sliced by the sharp, discolored talons of the strange werewolf-like creature who's been chasing me for weeks.
Another cold sweat.
Another terrifying nightmare.
My hand flies to my throat as I scratch at my skin, my insides feeling so dry that my first instinct is to reach for the water bottle I keep on the nightstand. Without looking, I attempt to close my hand around the bottle when all I get is empty air.
That's when I remember I'm not in the guest bedroom, but in Tyler's bed after he carried me back from the woods.
I turn to the side, only to find the bed empty, Tyler's warmth still lingering on the covers on his side, his pillow freshly dented as if he left recently.
Letting out an unsteady breath, I'm relieved that I woke up in his bedroom, and there's still hope that we'll have that conversation he promised before I fell asleep.
Before I had another petrifying nightmare in which James shifted into a horrific creature—a mangled wolf that stood only on disjointed hind legs—and chased me through the woods.
