"You can come out. I won't bite," I say, still facing the meadow.
I hear steps approaching me and see Landon come into my line of sight from my left. I glance over at him and see he is holding a blanket. He stands there and we lock eyes with each other for a moment before I turn my eyes back to the meadow.
"No smart comments?" He asks almost amused.
"I don't have any left in me." The wind picks up and I shiver slightly from it.
From my peripheral view I see Landon slowly make his way over to me and feel him drape the blanket over my shoulders before going back to standing a few feet away from me.
"You don't talk much do you?" I ask
"Never had anyone that took the time to listen, so I don't talk if I don't have to," he says while stuffing his hands in his pockets. I only now realize he's not wearing a jacket. "I always used to come here when I was a child," I don't know if he's speaking more to himself or to me but I listen nonetheless. "Running away from my duties and my father were my favorite past time."
I glance over at him and he has this far away look, lost in a memory. We sit in silence for a few minutes and I'm the first to break the silence. "It's beautiful," I say.
He smiles softly. "People say the spirits of the forest enchanted the meadow so that it stayed warm below the cliffs edge all year round. It's a sacred place of the pack," he says proudly.
"Why are you out here, Landon?"
"You're not the only one who can't sleep," he says.
I nod but stay silent for a beat before speaking again. "I apologize for causing trouble for you. And I would like you to know that I do appreciate you helping me," I say sincerely.
He hums in acknowledgment. I nod to myself. I begin to get more anxious the longer we sit in silence. Why hasn't he asked about my power? Is this a trap? Is he-
My thought is cut off when a wrapped up sandwich is hovered in front of my face. I look up to Landon but he's not looking at me, so I take the sandwich from his hand. Unwrapping the sandwich hesitantly I sniff it before taking a bite. This is the best sandwich I've ever had.
"Thank you," I mumble.
He only nods.
On its own accord, I feel my magic slowly reaching out to Landon. I feel it wrap around his leg and snake itself up his side to gently brush against his ear. At least my magic likes him. I look over to Landon, expecting him to be in horror or disgust but I only see awe and a small smile. I look away quickly.
Landon must have put this blanket in a fire because slowly I find myself drifting in and out of sleep from how warm it is. Through seconds of being unconscious and conscious, I'm laying on the ground one second, then I'm being carried through the woods again. The smell of mint draws me into a deep sleep and I snuggle closer to the smell.
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I wake up to a woodsy smell. I don't open my eyes but I bury my face into my pillow and sigh. As I do this I feel something wrap around my waist. My eyes slowly open and I'm not in my room and not in my bed. I look around the room and see it's still dark outside before looking down and seeing I was actually laying on someone's bare chest. As I look up I find Landon who is asleep.
What. The. Fuck.
Looking back down I take notice of his chest tattoo that also spills over onto his shoulder in a sort of tribal pattern. God he looks really good right now. Hesitantly I bring my hand up to his chest and gently trace the lines of his tattoo with my finger. His skin is smooth beneath my finger and my wolf is basically purring at finally touching her mate. I carefully sit up onto my forearms, as not to wake him up and my hands stray away from his tattoo on his shoulder and up his chest. I look at his neck and notice two puncture wound marks on the left side of his neck. I look up at his face before looking at his neck again as I reach out to touch it.
Before my hand even makes contact with the skin on his neck, Landon's hand comes up and catches my wrist before flipping me over so my back lands on the bed, with him hovering over me. I gasp at this and look up at him. His hand is still holding my wrist as he used his other hand to hold himself up and he's looking down at me with a stern expression.
"Don't do that again." From his tone I could tell he's crossed with me, but his face conveys a different emotion he's trying to mask.
"What is that?" I ask. I get another look at the two equidistant puncture wounds and shock fills my face. "Did someone mark you?"
His eyes widen. I have my answer. If he was mad before, he's livid now. He lets go of me and gets off the bed before walking to the door and opening it. "Get out...NOW."
I think about listening to him, but instead I press him for answers. "I'm not leaving until you tell me who did it." Marking someone is a very intimate thing that should only be done by a mate. Marks are mostly given by the male counterparts in the relationship to the female, and it is rare, at least by Spring customs, for women to mark the men. So I'm curious to know who did it.
Instead of telling me to get out again, Landon leaves the room instead. I follow him out into the hallway, but he's nowhere to be seen.
"Landon..." I call him but he doesn't respond. I messed up.
I make my way downstairs and search the living room and follow a hallway down to what I assume is his office with no luck. I make my way into the kitchen and spot Eli who's stirring a cup of coffee. I walk over to the back door of the pack house, ready to go searching for Landon.
"I wouldn't go chasing after him. He looked pretty pissed," he drawls and he takes a sip of his coffee.
I sigh. "How long does he usually go off like this for?"
Eli thinks. "Could be an hour. Could be several... depends." I don't know how he's so calm about this. "Don't dwell on it too much, he'll show up at one point or another. But he did tell me to make sure you eat, so what do you want?"
As I watch Eli make food for me, I can't help but think about two things: the fact that Landon took the time to assure that I'm fed, even when I pissed him off and most importantly, who marked him?
YOU ARE READING
Shadows of Dawn
Teen Fiction•• When the Goddesses created werewolves they took one soul and split it in half, giving each half to a female and male wolf. This created a perfect soulmate also known as a mate. Aeralyn is a mystery. Her rough past left her with something only som...
