To Feel Again [Welcome To Wolf's Peak]

Chapter Four - Owen

Owen

I was feeling particularly low this week. Niko had been working a lot during my downtime from work so I hadn't seen much of him. My sister, Ginny, seemed to be seeing how far she could push her boundaries. I'd caught her trying to leave the house after her curfew and she gave me a bullshit excuse about leaving a project she was working on at a friends house. I wasn't cut out to be a parent or Ginny wouldn't be behaving like this. She'd been such a good girl before our parents deaths and our move across the country. I knew some of her behavior was caused by both of those things but that boy, Mark, was a very bad influence on her and Ginny didn't take me seriously as a parental figure.

I was feeling defeated in all aspects of my life; Ginny's behavior, Niko's busy schedule and Adrian's complete lack of interest. I couldn't even escape it all at work because I'd noticed Jacob Mentis watching me closely more than once with narrowed eyes and a thoughtful look. It was starting to make my skin itch.

I rubbed at my tired eyes and switched off the television. It was later than I normally went to bed but I'd been waiting up in the hope that Niko would stop by. I hated going to sleep in my bed without his arms wrapped around me. I'd been spoiled in the short amount of time we'd known each other. 

I turned off the lights throughout the house as I made my way to my bedroom. I turned on the lamp by my bed and stripped down to my boxers and a fresh T-shirt for bed. I'd brushed my teeth and was pulling back the bed covers when I noticed that my curtains were still open so I crossed the short distance between the bed and the window and reached out for the curtains but stilled mid-motion.

A shadow had moved below my window and I knew that I wasn't imagining it. I pretended to struggle with the curtain as I let my eyes adjust to the shadows outside. I could make out the shapes of trees and rose bushes and even the chairs that were sitting on my porch but what set my pulse spiraling out of control and made me light-headed was the distinct shape of a man almost hidden by one of the trees bordering my property from my neighbor's.

I pulled the curtains closed, almost pulling them from the rail in my haste, and fished my phone out of my pocket. I pressed the screen and placed it to my ear. I listened to it ring and was beginning to think I wouldn't get a reply when I was met with a panted, "Owen? Hi love."

"Niko?" My voice wobbled, it was embarrassing to say the least that I sounded as scared as I felt.

"What's wrong?" His tone changed from pleasantly surprised to concerned in an instant.

"There's someone hiding in my back yard." I wasn't sure why I was whispering but the situation seemed to call for it.

I could hear a curse from Niko's end of the call and then the sound of pounding feet. "Stay inside and lock the doors. I'll be there in a few minutes." The call ended and I put the phone down on my dresser. I was tempted to look and see if the shadow was still there but I wasn't brave enough. I sat on the side of my bed and counted down the minutes until I heard a growl outside. I ventured over to the window and looked out through a crack in the curtain.

Below I watched Niko's wolf, a beautiful black beast that moved with more grace than an animal its size should. He moved around the yard growling once or twice before changing direction. Whoever had been down there must be gone now. I turned and jogged downstairs. I made it outside just as he was coming up the porch steps and he shifted back to human form as he reached me. It still freaked me out to watch him do that but I was getting better at dealing with it and not showing my fear.

"I told you to stay inside," he said with a stern tone. "Are you trying to get yourself hurt? What if someone was out here?" 

He ushered me back inside the house and took the throw from the back of the couch to wrap around his waist before facing me again. I mourned the loss of seeing his perfect form in its entirety. "But there was no one there I could tell that by the way you were searching. If someone was there then they'd already left." I crossed my arms over my chest and took a defensive stance.