Wild

Chapter 35 - Angel

Storm

When I left our apartment, I didn't have any destination in mind. I just wanted to be away from my infuriating mate. My heart felt as if it had been pierced by thousands of sharp needles, and I just wanted to lick my wounds alone.

Teleporting to the woods where Kai and I had our first date, the memories of our time together fill me with a deep sense of loss, and it takes everything in me not to break down. Not yet. I know that breaking down is inevitable, but I have something I need to do before I lose my nerve.

I pull out my phone or try to, only then remembering that I had left it in the apartment. Cursing in frustration, I try to think about how to make the call without having to go back to the apartment. I don't want to see Makai. I could summon it, but on second thought, I don't even want to have it with me. I don't want to talk to anyone after the call I want to make.

After a quick deliberation with myself, I teleport to one of the rarely-used offices in the alpha house, grateful when I find it empty. It's a simple office with a desk and a dark wood conference table that seats thirty. The windows are closed, and the loud sneeze that escapes me is a testament to how long it has been since anyone has been here. Absently, I use magic to clean the dust before snatching the phone to make the call. The phone rings for several seconds without a response from the other end. I almost hang up in disappointment when she finally answers on the last ring.

"Hello, Aris."

Her voice is instantly worried. "Storm? Why do you sound like that?"

"I'm not feeling too good. I need to ask you a question. About Kai and me."

"What is it, Storm? I am happy to assist."

Shutting my eyes to fortify myself, I ask in a voice that sounds pitiful and broken, "How can the bond between Kai and I be broken?"

There's a moment of shocked silence, in which I feel all the air leaving my lungs.

"Storm, wh-"

"If we wait until the half-bond fades, will it sever the bond? The pain that happens when we're apart will not return, will it?" I rush out the words, afraid that if I don't I will not be able to find the courage to do so.

"Storm, what happened?"
Her voice is so gentle and sympathetic that it almost sends me over the edge when I answer her.
"Makai doesn't want me, so I've decided to do what he wants and free him and myself from the misery of our forced bond."

"Is Makai around? Let me-"

"He's not here. I'm not in our apartment. I needed some time alone."

"Are you back at your parents' then?"

"No. I don't want to see anyone just yet. Is it possible to break the bond?" I ask again.

Aris sighs. "I'm not completely sure what will happen. Your situation is...peculiar. I've not had a Rekan and his Raai have this kind of problem before."

I feel even more miserable. "Great. I'm the only Raai who has not been wanted by his Rekan."

"Storm, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. "

"It's the truth, isn't it? And it's not your fault that my mate doesn't want me."

Aris tries to reassure and comfort me, but it doesn't do much good. We hung up after I extract a promise that she will look into my situation with Kai and find a way to free us from the bond.

Feeling restless, I teleport to the woods outside the Hakhan Pack lands and shift into my fur,  just running with no particular destination in mind until I reach a stream. Looking around in awe, I gasp at the beauty around me. There are shrubs and wildflowers all around me instead of trees, and a stream which hopped over large rocks. The sound of the stream burbling as it bubbles over rocks and branches distracts me momentarily. It is soft, softer than the other sounds in the woods of other animals moving about, but it calls to me, and I move closer until my feet are lightly touching the water. Hopping onto one of the large rocks to look over the stream, I shift and think that Makai would love to paint here.