Mount Pleasant

Chapter 9

Bentley's POV

I ended up asking Nikolai to drive me home a little earlier than expected. Sure, I acted like it was no big deal that his bones can magically break into the shape of a wolf, but inside I was freaking out about it. I just simply do not understand how that is scientifically possible.

How can Nikolai expect me to believe that he is a shapeshifting demon that howls and has major bloodlust during a full moon? He must be out of his mind! I refuse to feed into his preposterous and childish games. I'm rather offended that he decided to use my blindness against me in this petty prank. It's bad enough that I'm beginning to feel romantic feelings for the guy, and now he has to screw it all up with a dumb hoax.

Shaking my head, I sigh and let my body sag into my pillows. I can hear mom and Lucas talking, both of them discussing potential places to dine out tonight since mom doesn't have to work. I close my eyes and feel myself beginning to drift off into a much needed sleep. I ate dinner with Nikolai so I'll be fine missing takeout with mom and Lucas.

My skin feels the bitter sensation of cold air and I can hear a whistling wind tousling the leaves on many trees.

Where am I?

It smells strongly of pine, so I'd imagine I was wandering through some sort of forest, with no idea how I managed to get here.

Suddenly, the sounds of running feet become louder and louder until I am physically knocked off my feet with something pressing down on my chest. I shriek. Terrified, I reach up and touch it. It's unimaginably soft and furry, and warm too. I feel a strange pang in my belly and chest. My senses feel overwhelmed with the strange surroundings and the strange animal on my chest. It nuzzles my face with a cold, wet snout instinctively causing me to reach up and wipe my cheek. When I reach back, however, the feeling of fur has been replaced by bare skin. Before I can react, plump and warm lips are placed upon mine, sending a sweet chill throughout my entire body.

Nikolai.

I awoke with a start, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Nikolai's game has begun to interfere with my thoughts, making me question myself. It was an unmistakable event that occurred, but it was also unbelievable.

Sitting up, I wipe away the beads of sweat across my forehead. I place my head in my hands and feel the familiar knot form in my throat as I begin to cry. I'm simply overwhelmed with everything that Nik just threw at me. I need time to adjust and make sense of all this preposterous information.

I take a shaky breath, wipe away my tears, and decide that I don't want to see or talk to Nikolai. Not now, not tomorrow, but when I feel ready. Right now I just need to focus on myself, my feelings, and the fact that I just moved to a new place and potentially caught feelings for a man. Everything happened so fast that I don't even know how I'm still holding on.

Feeling better, I get up and slowly make my way to the bathroom for a shower. — No, a bath. I call out for Lucas so that he can help. Lucas helped me figure out how to operate the shower in order to start up a bath. He went slow so that the next time I can do it by myself. 

I really appreciate Lucas. Yes, I understand that he is my brother and I should love and appreciate him regardless, but he really goes above and beyond every day. Especially now, since dad passed away. Before the big move, my small family was going through a lot. A few years ago my dad was laid off from his job and he struggled to find a new source of income for so long that he became depressed. At that point, my father lost all interest in looking for another job, and he mostly stayed at home drinking. That was very tough on all of us, but it mostly affected my mom. I can't even imagine how she felt watching her husband turn into an empty shell of the man he once was. And unfortunately, one night my dad chose to get behind the wheel of his truck while he was under the influence. He crashed his car that night, and he didn't make it out alive. But throughout everything, Lucas was always right by my side making sure that I was taken care of. He really stepped up and took care of the rest of us. I'll always be grateful for that. 

"Is the temperature okay?" Lucas asked, startling me out of my thoughts. I reached forward and felt the water. 

"Could you make it a little warmer?" I asked, then started to remove my clothes. 

"Of course." He replied. "It should be all set now. I'm gonna go into my room and start looking online for the books I'm gonna need for school. Just yell if you need me." 

"Okey dokey. Thank you." I responded. After the door closed I removed my boxers and carefully stepped into the hot water. I instantly felt my shoulders relax; I've been so tense all day because of Nikolai's crazy wolf thing. I feel so torn about whether or not I believe him. I can't deny the phenomenal electricity that runs between us, but I've also never been intimate with any other person so I'm definitely not experienced enough to know if that's an everyday thing. I also can't deny the instant wave of euphoria I feel when I'm around him. I swear, he can make my blood pressure skyrocket but also make me feel so calm at the same time. And then there's the fact that I felt an actual, furry being in my lap just moments before the fur seemed to disappear. 

I groaned in frustration and sank further into the water. I shouldn't be thinking about this. I'm trying to relax, damnit! I carefully wet my face and my hair before adjusting to a more comfortable position. 

*~*~*

The next thing I knew, Lucas was knocking on the bathroom door and calling out my name. I closed the curtain so that he wouldn't be able to see me when he entered the room. Then I shouted, "Come in!"

"Just checking on ya. Did you fall asleep? You've been in here for a while. I was starting to get worried." Lucas said, sounding pretty tired himself.

"Yeah, actually. What time is it?" I responded, sitting up and pulling the curtain back far enough so he could see my face. 

"It's just past midnight. Let me help you get out so we can get you to bed." He mumbled, yawning. I heard the closet door open and close before he was handing me a towel. I carefully stood up and wrapped the towel around my waist before fully opening the curtain. Lucas reached over and held my arm as I stepped out of the tub, and I heard him flip the switch that drains the water. 

"Thank you. Good night." I said, just as he kissed the side of my head and went back to his room. 

I got dressed and finally got into bed. Of course, as soon as I laid down I regretted not staying at Nikolai's place because instead of being curled up next to him, I only had pillows. Maybe I won't be able to stay away as long as I intended.

________________________________________________________________________________

Short chapter, so I apologize.

Also, I haven't updated this book in forever so I needed to write something quick and post it so that I could get back into the swing of things. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

I'm going to try and get on a regular schedule for you guys, so I'll keep y'all updated.

-Shy