Meeting In The Middle

Covered In Sand

The white room was completely silent apart from the faint beeping of a machine Damian was hooked onto. I stared out a window. It was barely dawn and small flurries of snow have already fallen from the sky. They painted the ground white with tiny snowflakes. I sigh and shift my legs, making sure not to make any noise. Damian was resting peacefully on the white bed. His face was still and pale. He was exhausted from yesterday's unfortunate events. The bullet was taken out during a surgery and he's been sleeping ever since. I stayed with him, Ryder being occupied by all the Alpha duties. He had dragged the wolf pup to safety and ran back into camp with the pup. Damian's story was all over the camp. I waited patiently for him to wake up as I watched the snow, lovely flakes drifting onto the ground. It definitely wasn't enough to build a snowman but it was definitely something. I lose myself in thought when Damian spoke.

"Mariana?" He whispered his face full of wonder. I slowly walk to his bed, confused.
"No, it's Rosella." I say, watching his face fall. He rubs his face, frustrated and wearing a mask of stress.

"I'm sorry, Rose." He apologizes. "The surgery must've gotten to my head."

I shake my head. "You don't need to apologize."

He tries to sit up but I stop him quickly. He groaned when he moved his chest in pain.

"Don't move." I tell him. "You'll open up the stitches." He lays his head back on the pillow and looked at the white ceiling.

"Thanks for everything." He said genuinely. "Especially that motivational speech when I was so close to giving up." I scoot my chair beside him. He continues. "I thought that without Mariana, my mate, it wouldn't make a difference anymore. I could just die and join her angel in heaven, but you were right. She would've wanted me to live."

He exhales then his eyes meet mine. "If I had died then, I wouldn't be able to see the amazing Luna you would become for this pack."

He grins at me, giving me a playful punch on the arm, then wincing in pain as he moved his chest muscles too much. I tried to hide a laugh but he laughed first. "Looks like I should keep resting up before I do anything else."

"Take care of yourself and call me if you ever need me." I pull the blanket over him and he smiles.

"Thank you for being here with me this entire time even though I locked you up on your first night here." He says quietly. "I'm sure you will be an amazing Luna. I'm glad I picked you."

I try to contain the joy as I walk down the halls to my dorm room. I swing open the door and I see Ryder seated on the couch with a tense expression across his handsome features. I perch on the seat beside him.

"What's wrong, Alpha?" I ask him, my spirits high. When he glares at me, I frown. He stays motionless for a minute now and I was fidgeting with my uncombed hazel hair. He tightens his jaw when he starts talking.

"We're you with Damian the entire night?" He demands, his eyes darkening. I bite my lip.
"Yes." I reply softly, preparing for a raging lecture.

"Did you not hear me when I told you NOT to be alone with any other man?" He was exasperated and tired. I nod mutely and shrink back into the couch, trying to hide myself. Ryder was mad and I didn't want to see this side of him. He was towering over me, his face twisted in an angry frown. I shudder as he leans closer, and I close my eyes. I could sense him inching himself closer when I feel a light butterfly kiss on my forehead. I open my eyes, surprised how someone so livid could be so gentle. He was still angry with me but after he was in contact with me, he had calmed down. It was nice to have a calming effect on a fast-tempered guy.

"What am I going to do with you, princess?" He groans and I giggle.

"You're so cute when you're frustrated." I admit. "I should make you frustrated more often."

"Absolutely not!"

I giggle loudly and stifled laughter. I wanted to capture this feeling and put it in a bottle. His usually composed features were always a bit off and his face would turn a light shade of red. He would always  tighten his jaw and that made him extremely attractive. He didn't know that though. He sighs and shakes his head.

"What did I get myself into?"

He slips into his leather jacket and smiles at me before leaving. "Don't get into any trouble again princess." I roll my eyes as Fern walked into the kitchen, still in her PJ's and messy bed head hair. She yawned when she saw me.

"Why up so early?" She asks me, still half asleep.
"I was with Damian. He woke up."

She stirs her steaming cup of coffee and shuffles her way upstairs. "I'll visit him when I'm actually awake and my brain is actually working." She makes a strange gesture with her hand as she turns up the stairs, the red cup of coffee in her hand. I roll my eyes at my sleepy friend. Is she always like this? I smile and decide to get some fresh air. Maybe I could bump into Caleb or Lucian. Haven't seen them at all yesterday. I walk down the trail, covered in a thin blanket of snow and step into the base camp. The kids were playing in the small piles of snow they had collected. The werewolves of this pack sure get up early. I kneel beside one of the children who was playing alone in the sand-box. He was picking up a pile of sand in a dirty yellow pickup truck and wheeled it over to another destination to drop it off. I could feel myself smiling without even meaning to. He looks up at me with bright brown eyes.

"Hey there buddy, my name is Rosella." I greet him. "What's your name?"

He dumps a pile of sand onto the growing mountain. "Max." He says quickly and picks up another load. I grab another one of the trucks from his small collection and help him pile up the sand. He laughs and throws sand onto me. I look at him with fake horror.

"Oh no! What am I going to do now?"

He laughs again and starts pouring sand all over my feet and legs. Eventually, my entire lower half was covered in sand. He had a face of pure happiness when he played with me and I could feel his joy spread to me. After half an hour, his mother came looking for him. He had picked up all his toys and followed after his mother, chattering about how he covered me with all the sand. I wait until he's out of sight to brush the sand off of my legs. He was such an angel. I decide to head out to purchase a couple of toy cars for him, to thank him for the wonderful time we shared together. I wander around the pack land, looking for Lucian and Caleb, someone who could drive me to a convenient store. I felt like we were very isolated, considering the amount of trees surrounding the area. I give up after walking around the woods. I didn't even know where I was going anymore, the forest was too big. I wander around aimlessly and find my way out after making a dozen wrong turns. Ryder was gone on some errands so I head back into my dorm. Fern was still sleeping soundly in her room so I leave her be. I didn't want to deal with a grumpy Fern. I simmer some canned soup over the stove in a pan. The sweet aroma of seafood and garlic found its way to Fern and she shuffled into the kitchen with her purple and pink polka dotted PJ's. She rubs her eyes and wash her hands in the sink.

"I smell food." She mumbles and sits by the dining table. I grin at her as she almost falls asleep on the table. I place the bowl of soup by her face and she grabs a spoon from a drawer. For a very organized person, she was definitely not functional in the morning. I scoop another bowl of soup for myself and another for Damian. Ryder could have the leftovers in the pan if he were to come back. I set my soup on the counter and bring the bowl to Damian who was two stories below us. I head down the stairs, the steaming bowl warming up my cold hands. When I push open the door to Damian's room, I could hear muffled voices coming from his room. One was Damian's and the other was Ryder's. I sigh. What are those two up to now?