STAWP | Chapter 42

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Okay, so I was talking to my friend today and she said no one reads werewolf books anymore. Obviously, I still read them, and so do you guys, but are you mostly reading other stuff now? Is something else in that isn't werewolves? Are werewolves dead now? :'( Should we all just move on to bigger and better things? Please say no!

Oh, and here's another chapter. 

I have 20 more chapters written, but there's a bunch of typos, so I'm slowly posting them as I edit :) 

I could probably edit another one tonight and post it if you want?

Enjoy! 

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Logan

I continue trying to link with Saffron even though it feels hopeless. We've been doing this for over an hour and no matter how hard I try, it's not working. A part of me, somewhere deep down, knows I'm not the one who needs to try harder. It doesn't really matter what I do. I can link. Saffron's the one who can't.

I open my eyes and look at her. She's tense, almost shaking with her effort to concentrate. Suddenly, her eyes fly open, meeting mine. Her pupils are dilated, which isn't something that should happen from linking. She licks her lips, drawing my attention to the pink, glistening temptation and I lean toward her. Saffron stiffens and I hear her pulse speed up. She trembles and I hope she feels the same desire that I do.

To my disappointment, Saffron shakes her head vehemently back and forth in a firm no and then scrambles to her feet. "I can't do this," she says, backing away from me like I've suddenly developed something contagious.

"Do what?"

"Nothing." Saffron mumbles the word and takes off.

"Saf, wait," I cry after her, jumping to my feet, but she's already breaking into a run across the clearing. I give chase.

Saffron stays human as she runs. If she were to shift, she'd ruin her clothes, and that's something we usually try to avoid. It's a lucky break for me, because as a wolf, my mate would leave me behind in a cloud of dust. As a human, I'm obviously going to win. I'm taller. I have way longer legs. Plus, I'm a guy, which makes me faster. I can probably catch her before she leaves the clearing.

This time, it doesn't feel like a game, not like when I chased her around the car. It isn't fun, like before, and I just want to catch her so I can find out what happened. With an added burst of speed, I sprint in pursuit. Saffron heads straight for the trees and I follow, but she manages to enter the forest several seconds ahead of me.

Our mate is in tip top shape, I brag to my Wolf. She's fast. I mean, track team fast, and then some. Our pack will be so impressed.

My wolf agrees and cheers me on as I run. I start to close the distance slightly when Saffron stumbles. One of her shoes flies off and lands in the bushes, but it doesn't slow her any. I think about stopping to grab it for her, but I don't want to give her that much of a head start. Plus, it'll still be here later. We can come back for it. I run past it and don't even bother to look where its twin lands when she kicks it off.

Once Saffron is barefoot, she speeds up further. She's so fast that there are several feet between us when she breaks out of the trees. She has a good lead, and can probably get to her room and lock the door without me catching her, but she doesn't. Instead, she comes to a stop, and I grab her around the waist as I run past.

"Oof," I complain as Saffron back slams into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. The impact almost topples me but I manage to keep my balance. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close, and when we've both slowed to a stop, I spin her around. With my mate's body flush against mine, and my arms wrapped around her to hold her in place, I can feel her every breath. She's as winded as I am, and our pulses race in a synchrony. She hugs me back, and I feel her warmth through our clothes. Then, she begins to struggle.

"Let me go." She shoves against my chest, her breaths coming out in gasps as she tries to break free.

I can smell the panic coming off her in waves and immediately let her go. She stares up at me with wide, terrified eyes, like she thinks I might hurt her. I can't stand seeing her that way. What happened? An hour ago, I was chasing her playfully around the car, and she didn't seem the least bit scared. Now, she's looking at me like I'm... well, the big bad wolf. In any other situation, that though would be hilarious, but I can't laugh when my mate is like this. I need her to be okay first. I need her to know I would never hurt her.

"Saffron? What is it?" I ask. "Is it—"

"It's nothing," she interrupts, backing away from me, eyes still wide and fearful.

I hold up my hands, palms out, and take a step back too. How can she still be afraid of me? I've never hurt anyone in my entire life. Yeah, I've gotten in some fights as a kid, but it was never anything serious. Just roughhousing, when the other kid and I were evenly matched. I never attacked an Omega, and I could never hit a weaker wolf. I'm an Alpha for Goddess sake. I'm bound to protect my pack from harm. Yeah, Saffron may not know that about me, but she should know I could never hurt her. She's my mate.

"It's something," I counter, taking her hand gently in mine.

I begin drawing slow circles on her wrist, soothing her. I just want her to be able to talk to me so I could find out what's wrong. So I could help her. Why did she break into a run and try to get away from me in the first place? We were just sitting across from each other, trying to link. I didn't say or do anything. Was she worried I'd get frustrated with how long it was taking? Was she afraid I'd hurt her for not learning how to link? I know she can't help being like this. Like she said last night, sometimes instinct takes over, and she can't help it.

"Just leave me alone," Saffron suddenly shouts, shoving me.

I stare her in shock. My mate, my innocent Omega, just stood up to me. My terrified mate just had the courage to tell me to leave her alone. Yeah, she's mad at me for some reason, but I can figure out why later. It's not important. What matters is that right now, she's not acting like an Omega. She's acting strong and brave and... trembling in terror?

I gape as Saffron suddenly does a one-eighty and looks up at me as if I've grown a second head and picked up a machete. "What's wrong, Saf?" I whisper. I'm almost tempted to look behind me to see if a monster has materialized, but she's looking at me, not past me.

A second earlier, I was ready to celebrate, thinking I could finally claim my mate. Now, I'm not sure I ever will. Why is she scared of me again? Why is she acting this way? I growl in frustration, which turns out to be the absolute worst thing to do.

Saffron's lower lip starts to tremble and she looks up at me with huge, tearful eyes. My heart clenches at the sight, and when she shrinks in on herself, I don't think I can take it anymore. Her shoulders hunch, her back rounds, and it feels like a punch to my gut.

"Please, just tell me what's wrong," I demand, panicking. Saffron literally looks like I just punched her in the gut. Like she's a tiny, innocent victimized Omega and I'm this evil monster Alpha who's about to hurt her. 


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Did what happened in this chapter make sense?

I know it's from Logan's POV, but are you getting why Saffron's acting the way she is?

Do I need to go back and edit it so it's a little clearer? 

<3 Thank you for reading! 

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