When The Wolves Come Out

Chapter 29

I wake up just as the sun is rising. I hear a twig snap from behind me and whip my head around.

"Hello?" I call out, my voice still hoarse from crying last night.

Nothing.

Suddenly, there's a crackling noise before a thick branch begins to fall from the tree above me, and before I can comprehend what's happening, someone pushes me to the side.

"Move!" the person yells and I instantly know it's a man's voice.

I watch as the branch falls exactly where I was sitting a few moments ago. I let out a shaky breath, looking at the man who pushed me out of the way. He seemed about my age, maybe a few years older, with dark hair and pale brown eyes. He stares at me in awe and I look away.

"Thank you," I mumble, not sure what else to say.

"You were almost killed," the guy says, reaching out and touching my cheek with his large hand. He brushes his thumb over my skin and I somehow don't find the position that uncomfortable. "What were you doing under that tree?"

"I, um... I ran away from home last night," I reply, the memory bringing a sick feeling to my stomach.

"Why?" 

"It's a long story, really. I don't want to bother you," I say, standing up and patting down my jeans. He stands up with me, never looking away.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Ashlyn."

"Ashlyn," he repeats. "I'm Stefano."

"Well, thank you for saving me, Stefano. I should probably be going."

I turn around to walk away but Stefano grabs my wrist and I feel tingles shooting up my arm. He stares at where our skin touches and immediately pulls away.

"Stay for a while," he breathes out.

"I shouldn't. I have places to go..."

"Didn't you just say you ran away from home?"

Crap.

"If you have nowhere to stay, you can come back home with me."

Usually I wouldn't accept these kind of offers from strangers, but there was something about Stefano that made me feel safe.

"Okay."

He smiles brightly, revealing perfect white teeth before walking away. I stand on the spot awkwardly, waiting to see if I was meant to follow him.

"You coming or not, Lyn?" he asks, laughing slightly.

"Oh, right." I mentally curse at myself for seeming so stupid.

We walk through the woods together for a few minutes before I decide to break the silence.

"So where do you live?" I ask.

"Just on the other side of that hill over there." He points in the direction we're going. "I live with my parents and brother at the moment."

"Oh, I did too, kind of," I say, not knowing which home I was referring to. Ethan's home was the only one that I really knew anymore, although I guess I can no longer call it that.

"You miss your old home?" he says, almost reading my mind.

"I didn't belong there anyway," I reply honestly, not sure why I as telling him all this. "How did you know I missed it?"

"I could tell from your eyes," he says, shrugging like it was no big deal.

"You're not..." I start, not being able to finish. He couldn't be a werewolf, could he?

"A werewolf?" he finishes. "Yes, I am. I thought you'd know about them."

"How?"

"The only other house around here is a pack house belonging to Alpha Joseph. Why did you live there?" Stefano seems to tell me all this calmly, as though it was a normal conversation for him which relaxes me slightly.

"My mate..." I mumble. "He lives there."

"And you left him behind?" I look over at Stefano who seems absolutely bewildered.

"I had to leave for the best," I explain, hoping he didn't push it further.

"It must be hard to be apart from him."

As if leaving one mate behind wasn't enough, I left two. Guilt begins coming back to me at the memory. I open my mouth to reply but immediately shut it again when a lump rises in my throat.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, Lyn."

"It just happened so fast. I don't feel comfortable talking about it yet," I explain.

"I understand."

We walk for about 20 minutes, getting to know each other and Stefano seems like a genuinely nice guy. I have a gut feeling to trust him and it's hard to not tell him everything about myself. He doesn't ask me about my mates at any point which I really appreciate.

We soon reach his house which is only slightly smaller than Ethan's and looks more homely. I smile.

"You're sure your family won't mind me being with here?" I ask nervously.

"Of course not." Stefano smiles, making me feel slightly better. "They love meeting new people."

He pushes open one of the double doors and leads me inside. The floors are all marble and there's a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I notice a bunch of cute black and white photos on all of the walls.

"Is this your brother?" I say, looking at a photo of two 9 or 10 year old boys.

"Yeah, he's only two years older than me."

"I had a twin; he always got on my nerves really but..." my voice slowly fades out at the sudden feeling of loss as I remember Aaron.

"It's okay to miss people, Lyn."

"I know. It was a really long time ago anyway."

Stefano and I chat for a bit longer until the front door opens and two adults who I assume are his parents walk in. His mother sees me and smiles, whilst his father only smirks at Stefano.

"Oh, hi, love. I'm Audrey!" his mum says, pulling me into a hug. "What's your name?"

"This is Lyn," Stefano speaks up for me. "We met in the woods this morning."

"He saved me from a falling branch, too," I add, peering over at Stefano who is now blushing.

"Is that so?" his dad says, raising his eyebrows. "It's nice to meet you, Lyn. I'm Alan."

Alan is the spitting image of Stefano, with the same hazel eyes and dark hair, along with broad shoulders and a sharp jawline.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Lyn has nowhere to go so I told her she could stay here," Stefano speaks up, standing next to me.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Audrey beams and I suddenly feel relieved and happy for the first time today.