His Little Human Mate

Chapter 11

Noella

The fabric of the thin tent loomed above me, taunting me with the fact that my eyes wouldn't shut.

I sat up, huffing a sigh. A wolf howled in the distance, and I shivered. The sound of danger always came out at night, and it was doing nothing to lull me to sleep.

A crack sounded outside, and I jumped, my thoughts immediately thinking of ways to ward off a predator, but then I saw the faint glowing light of the fire still burning outside.

I slipped on my boots, wrapped the thin blanket I was given around myself, and unzipped the tent, but it wasn't until I'd finished zipping it back up and turned around that I noticed I was not the only one out there.

A shadow loomed by the flames, his head in his hands and his feet tapping a nervous rhythm in the snow.

I was standing at least ten steps away from the fire, and yet I knew who sat there, bathing in the orange light. I also knew that he was probably out here for solitude.

I turned around to try again at the impossible task of sleep, but then he called out, "You can stay out here." I whipped around, but his figure hadn't moved. "If you want," he added. "I don't mind."

Something about his voice had the cold whispering away, heat replacing it as I took slow steps to sit beside him.

"You couldn't sleep either?" He asked softly as he glanced over at me.

His eyes held mine for a minute before flitting away, but the feel of them stayed on my skin. It was strange, the effect he had on me.

"I haven't grown accustomed to sleeping in the woods, I suppose," I murmured. "Not like you guys have."

Silence stretched after that, and it was about to reach an awkward stage when he asked, "How's your wrist?"

I blinked, then glanced down at the sprained wrist I had forgotten about until then. The thin white wrapping was dirty now, but it was still holding up relatively well.

"Whatever that doctor gave me must have been very strong," I replied.

"You have no idea," he muttered with a shake of his head. "I have more in my bag if you need it. Just let me know."

Warmth spread through my chest, and I smiled to myself as I looked into the fire.

"Do your parents live out here?"

I didn't know what compelled me to ask the question, but I was suddenly overcome with curiosity.

His foot tapping got faster, and his back straightened slightly, barely noticeable if one wasn't looking for it. If one wasn't searching
for it.

My question went unanswered, but I was not about to push him into something too painful to voice, so I sat there in silence with him.

"My mother passed while giving birth to me," he started, voice thick. "She was very sick while she was pregnant, but none of the doctors believed her when she said it was more than morning sickness." He scoffed, his eyes, full of anger, stared into the fire. "They told her that pregnancy often made women delusional, that all she needed was a good night's rest. Giving birth to me was the last nail in her coffin."

I was speechless. I had dealt with grief, loss, and the agony of not knowing if someone would come back to you, but I had never felt guilty over someone else's death, never felt responsible for one. It was palpable, the pain of responsibility he carried. The fault he felt was swirling in the air, drowning him, suffocating his soul.

"How could you-" I stopped, unable to even believe he thought this of himself. "How could you blame yourself like that?"

"How could you think I'm innocent?" He asked incredulously.

My brows furrowed, pain throbbing through my heart at what a terrible burden he took upon himself.

"You were barely a person. You had just been brought into the world. There's no way it could be your fault, Nixx."

He shuddered, a feeling entering his eyes that I couldn't decipher.

"I think you believe if you make yourself seem like a monster, then nobody will expect a hero," I said, moving closer to him so our eyes connected. "But your walls aren't iron, Nolixx. I see you."

His eyes swirled with something akin to desire, but that couldn't be right... right?

But then he was tilting his head, inching closer, and I didn't stop myself from doing the same.

Our lips, moments apart, electricity pulsing between them. So close, so-

A scream reverberated through the air, and I was fairly certain it sounded like a male.

"Rowan!" Kyler shouted, his voice shaky. "You can't do shit like that, man! You know how jumpy I am at night!"

Nixx chuckled, and I whipped my head back to him, my lips twitching at the sight of his smile.

"Those two are always at it," he muttered. Then, standing, he said, "We should probably try to sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."

I nodded, way too enthusiastically, as I answered, "Yes, yeah, we should do that."

He nodded, and then I walked away, trying not to cringe at the fact that we had almost kissed.

Trying not to cringe at the fact that I wanted to.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Cold is my new nemesis. It had taken up room in my bones, filled my blood, and frosted up my insides. I didn't know when the temperature dropped to this degree, but I could tell you that it was not fun.

"Almost there, guys!" Nixx shouted from the front of the line.

The hundredth shiver of the hour racked through me, and I almost groaned at the feeling of my toes slowly being sucked of sensation.

None of the men were complaining, and it was either because they were really resilient, or incredibly prideful. It also could've been both.

"You doing alright there, El?" Kyler asked.

His use of Alairia's nickname for me didn't go unnoticed, so I replied with, "I'm doing great, Ler."

My voice was honey-sweet, amusement threading every word.

"Ler?" He asked, incredulous. "Why not Ky?"

I shook my head, a stupid grin on my face.

"I'm guessing that's what everybody calls you. I want mine to be unique," I said with a shrug.

He scoffed, but I saw the twitching of his lips.

"Ler is not unique, it's weird. Like calling a deer an er or something."

I chuckled. "When did deer come into the conversation?"

"Since you decided that nicknames should no longer make sense," he answered with a laugh.

"It makes sense," I argued. "It's just not what you're used to! I promise-"

"We're here."

Nixx's voice was all at once loud and quiet, the words he spoke forcing everyone into silence, too afraid to summon the dangers of the forest.

The space around us simply looked like a wide expanse of trees and snow-packed earth, but I knew how deceiving those bushes could be.

"Split up into pairs of two!" Nixx shouted. "Noella, you're with me. Search this place from top to bottom! No corner left uncovered!"

"Yes, Alpha!" They all replied.

I still hadn't figured out why they called him that, but as I followed Nixx through the forest, I decided it didn't matter.

I was about to see my father again. We would go home, and I wouldn't have to sleep in my car anymore. I would have real company, instead of always talking to Bertha.

I would have my dad back.

A/N
Thank you so very much for reading!❤️
Let me know if you have any comments or critiques!