Her Protective Mate

Seventeen

When I wake up, the sky is dark, and my phone says it's only a little after three in the morning. I stretch, feeling an ache in my neck,and rub the spot before I hop out of the bed. Outside, there is alight that shines underneath my door, and I hesitate, hearing voices.

"You marked her?" someone hisses, and there's a thump against the wall.

"Be quiet, Jonah. I didn't mean to!"

"If she finds out, she will be pissed, Fynn. Do you understand that? She will leave you."

I grab the door handle, ready to open it. "I know. It just happened. Please, I can't lose her. He's after her, Jonah. He's going to get her, and I don't know if she'll make it through that."

I can imagine Jonah shaking his head, telling him no, but everything they talk about makes my head swim, and I stagger back, not wanting to hear anything else. Without a second thought, I dive in the bed, curling up on my left side and throwing the blanket over my head.

Someone opens the door, and I hear it close just as quickly, the bed dipping behind me. When arms wrap around my waist, I feel the warmth above my shirt, and I shift, acting as if I had just woken up.

"Did I wake you up?" he murmurs sleepily in my shoulder, his body growing warmer the closer I cuddle to him.

"No," I reply, turning completely so I am facing him.

When I look at him, his eyes are closed, but there is a warm smile on his face, and his fingers dance along my waist. I curl into him, brushing my fingers over his face slowly.

"Can we talk?" I whisper, watching his eyes fluttering open to give me the bright gray orbs that I had learned to love.

"What about, kitten?"

I shift, feeling the warmth that floods my face, and hide my face in his chest. "What does it mean to mark someone?"

His body grows tense and just like that, I'm left alone in the bed, staring at Fynn as he tugs on a shirt and his jeans. "Where are you going?"

When he looks at me, the moon gives him a dark glow, and I feel my heart skip a beat, my eyes taking in every inch of his face. His lips curl over his teeth in a snarl, his eyes narrowing into slits to where the light in his eyes grow dark. I could tell he wanted to speak, but instead, he shook his head and buttoned up his shirt, letting out a tense breath.

"Fynn, please don't go." I beg, sitting up. My eyes capture his, and he growls at me, closing the distance between us.

"I'm not good for you, Sofia," he growls, pinning me down. I whimper, watching as his eyes only began to grow darker. "I think you should stay away from me."

"Fynn, please-"

When he pushes himself away, he throws the door open, his body tense. I  don't try to ask him to stay this time, and when he fully leaves, the tears start to flow out of my eyes. My body shakes on it's own, and I cover my face with the pillow as I start to sob, my heart breaking all over again.

–

Fynn didn't turn up at school the next week, nor did he come over to the house. After aunt May and uncle William had returned, the tension only grew between Cole and I. Everyone noticed it in the house, and would make an effort to keep the two of us apart. After four days of not seeing or hearing from him, my stomach began to grow queasy with worrying that something had happened to him.