Severed Connections

Chapter 8: Unclear Intentions

Chapter Eight: Unclear Intentions

(Stranger's POV)

I had not meant to come in here, grab her, and kiss her.

But when she turned around and looked at me with those innocent, frightened, wide blue eyes?

I gave in to the wolf inside me, the one that growled and clawed at my soul annoyingly, beckoning me to her as she had beckoned me all these years.

Years of restless sleep as her wolf called out to mine, and of course, the other packs. But there was something about the way my chest pounded when I awoke from sleep all those nights, grasping at the blankets and gasping for air like I couldn't get any.

How could I explain such a feeling? It was as though I was being pulled to an invisible force, but not against my own will. I merely couldn't find the source of it all. The confusion, the despair, the want. She made me feel all of these things.

"Asteria," I said impatiently, pulling her to her feet and into my arms. She seemed so fragile, trembling in my embrace, looking up at me like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

This surely would not do.

I had heard the rumors of her recent appearance and possible capture by the pack down south. I'd heard of her fragile, emotional nature, the way she broke down at a moment's whim. I had even heard their uproar at her lack of knowledge. No knowledge of markings, no knowledge of shifting, no knowledge of anything really.

They called her May, which was quite amusing to me, seeing as it was not her real name. I was certain she did not know this tidbit of info either.

Everything I had feared was reality. Asteria was raised by human Hunters who were supposed to kill her as a child. Instead, they'd obviously taken her in as their own, suppressed her natural shifting abilities, thus making her feel out of place, isolated. Perhaps their initial intentions had been to love her, dote on her, make her one of their own. Or maybe -- their intentions had not been so pure. Surely they'd known how she would feel isolated being kept from her own kind. And not just because she is a shifter.

I'm almost certain with all of me that she is the same shifter, the same Asteria, that my parents had destined me to marry.

Asteria was my mate. I knew it now as she stood in front of me, the look in her eyes telling me what I needed to know. She could feel it too. The way our wolves collided as did our human bodies. The way the wind swirled around us in a quiet but intense frenzy.

The elements called out to me and I answered without hesitation, letting them do as they pleased. I heard the crackling of the bathroom mirrors as they quietly shattered bit by bit, their shards flying around us in a whimsical circle.

And the element of fire was not fire behind, the gusts of wind fusing with the flames -- a whirlwind of fire and wind that circled us, as if beckoning us, encouraging us greedily.

I was happy to indulge the elements, seeing as though my composure was completely lost at this point.

She gasped against my lips as I crushed hers with mine, not holding back as one of my arms wrapped around her waist and tucked her in close to me, my other hand running through the free strands of hair that were not braided, pulling a few strands to see her reaction.

To my great and delighted surprise she groaned and kissed me even harder, her arms reaching up and draping themselves around my neck so I couldn't pull away even if I wanted to.

I didn't want to.

Chuckling, a low growl emanating from my chest, my hands grasped her bottom and pulled her body up before she could register what was happening. But again happily she obliged, immediately wrapping her legs around my waist.

I could practically feel her heart pounding in her chest as her lips collided with mine over and over, a frenzied dance of sorts as the wind moved her hair as though it were an elegant train behind one's dress.

And that was when I heard the water faucets start. My eyebrows raised but I didn't dare break the kiss and stop what was happening, as I was completely invested at this point.

Knowing full well there was no one here with us because I'd locked the door upon entry, I waited to see what was happening, my lips trailing from hers and to her jawline hungrily, finding her neck so I could nibble and suck, my breath warm against her neck.

Asteria made a very cute noise that I couldn't help but chuckle at again softly.

Then I noticed the water, floating alongside the fire and shards of glass, its motion as elegant and defined as the woman manipulating it.

I didn't think she even realized she was doing it. She likely never knew she was even capable of it.

"Asteria," I murmured against her skin, pulling away and cupping her face in my hands. She stared up at me, with those bewildered blue eyes, panting softly for breath. I watched as her eyes turned from mine to look at the whirlwind of glass and water and fire we'd created around us. She gasped, her mouth agape as she stared, at first shocked but then in awe.

"Did...did I do that?" she managed, turning to look back at me.

I nodded and smirked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before the wind just blew it back anyways.

"Mmhm...some of it, anyways."

"Who are you? Why...why did you kiss me? And why does every single part of me want to be close to you -- when I just met you? This, all of this, is insane. I'm not this person. I would never do something like this, let alone with some guy I just met. What's going on?"

"It's a really long story, as I'm sure you can guess. And we don't really have time for that right now, since twelve packs are gathered in the conference room waiting for us. More specifically, you."

She seemed to come to her senses in that moment -- the wind and fire ceased, shards of glass falling to the floor, the water splashing down around us unceremoniously.

"Shit, p-put me down," she said urgently, pushing at my chest firmly and trying to untangle herself.

"Sure," I said in a sigh, letting her down easily, eyebrows raising as her feet touched the floor and she stumbled a bit.

"Damn it, I'm lightheaded," Asteria said softly. She leaned against me though I'm sure she didn't want to, trying to catch her balance. I obliged and supported her, my arms grasping hers gently.

"Can't imagine why," I said sarcastically.

"Shut up," she said, wrinkling her nose and making a sad attempt at glaring at me.

She looked too tired to manage it properly, so I cut her some slack and resisted the urge to give another sarcastic remark. I supposed she'd been through a lot in the past few days. Which is why I couldn't understand the lack of empathy from the other packs. Surely no one could be expected to do well under these circumstances?

As inhuman as we all were and always will be, our ability to process events was also heavily reliant on our connection with our inner wolf, so to speak. If we could not shift or be with our packs, we felt something lacking deep within. I'd heard of rogue wolves with no packs eventually losing their minds and dwelling into darkness, either consumed by depression or something else entirely. It was unfortunate, but a very harsh reality. Without our packs, without our ability to shift, we could hardly be expected to process our emotions or traumatic life events.

"I'm sorry," I found myself saying aloud, my hand softly squeezing her arm.

Asteria blinked and looked up at me again, confused.

"For what exactly?"

"That you've had to go through all this alone--" I started, interrupted by a very loud and very urgent banging on the bathroom door.

"May?! Are you in there?? Are you okay?!"