Legends

Pressure

The weekend passed and I stayed in bed. I got up to use the bathroom but I didn't leave my room any more than necessary. Dad brought me my medication and food but nothing made me feel better.

I felt worse than when Shiloh actually died.

I wasn't looking out the window to see if Zack was there. I didn't care. I never wanted to see him again. I didn't care if it hurt him or upset him. He deserved it.

My chest ached. A weight crushed me unlike anything I'd ever felt. Then again, I never knew a loss like this.

My grandparents passed long before I could remember. I was still in diapers when I went to their funerals. Everyone else missed them but I couldn't remember anything about them to miss. I saw pictures but it wasn't the same.

I pulled a bottle of water off my nightstand and pressed it to my forehead. The condensation felt good on my skin; it relaxed me. I didn't feel any better but at least I wasn't as stressed as I'd been.

Dad helped me get my homework from school. I didn't want to go back and have people pity me. No one knew Shiloh like we did. No one understood the pain we were going through.

Even having the chance to do my work when I wanted to wasn't helping me. I had no desire to do the work. I just wanted to lay in bed and cry.

I got up and put all my books and folders on my desk. I downed the water in the water bottle and tossed it in the garbage.

When I stepped up to the desk, I glanced out the window. The yard was empty. The grass was growing tall and would need cut soon. None of us had the energy to do it. Or anything for that matter.

I didn't see Zack outside. I even tried to look into the woods but I didn't see anything. Hopefully, he got the hint that I never wanted to see or hear from him again and would leave me alone.

- - -

I woke up in the middle of the night, sick to my stomach. My heart was pounding and I was sweaty.

I guess being outside in the cold for too long made me sick.

Could it have anything to do with the bite?

I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. My hair was knotted and dark circles were under my eyes. I was a mess and I felt it.

I managed to get a shower and remove the tangles from my hair. I pulled a t-shirt on and went to the window. Zack was lying just beyond the line of trees, his head resting on the ground. Even as a wolf, he looked sad.

My chest ached and I recognized it as the same one I'd had the past few days. Why was seeing him, or not seeing him, making me feel so different?

Go to him.

I shook my head at myself. My brain told me that going to him would make all of this go away but I didn't want to believe it. He was a horrible person and I wasn't going to just forgive him because he was bonded to me by a stupid imprint.

A soft whimper left my lips and Zack lifted his head. He stared up at me, a happy recognition pooled in his eyes. Was this the kind of hopefulness he'd been waiting for? Was this a sign of things to come?

I really hoped not.

He took a few steps toward the yard before he phased into his human self. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with white mountains painted on and jeans that cuffed at his ankles. Everything about him was dark but his eyes. They glowed in the moonlight and I found it hard to look away.

"We need to talk." I could see his mouth moving but I didn't expect to hear him. His words were soft, like they lost effort as they traveled to my ears.

I swallowed and, again, found the same pull to him. I went outside like nothing was wrong, like I was in complete control of my body and the situation in front of me. I couldn't understand why my body was making me talk to him and see him.

Was it really my heart doing these things? Was I pining after him like a lovesick puppy?

Ugh. Just the thought made me want to puke.

The closer I got to him, the lighter my chest felt. My head didn't hurt near as much and I felt less sad. Still sad but... not near as bad as I had been feeling.

He must have either felt it or noticed the look on my face, the relaxed movements my body made. "You feel it too?"

I just nodded, not quite sure what to say. He was the werewolf expert. I had no idea what was going on with me or why it was happening all of a sudden.

"This whole... 'hating me' thing doesn't seem to be working too well."

"I guess not."

He pulled a hand from his sweatshirt pocket and took mine. A shot of electricity ran up my arm, raising all the hairs on my body.

I jumped and removed my hand from his. I knew what static electricity felt like but this was much stronger. It was stronger than anything I'd ever felt before. My heart was pounding in my chest erratically. Every nerve in my body was buzzing, vibrating, at its peak. I felt more alive than I'd been in a long time.

"What... what was that?"

"You. And me. No one else makes me feel this way but you."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been imprinted before."

"Are we the only ones?"

He shook his head. "There's five of us. Six counting you."

My eyes widened. "Have any of them been imprinted?"

He shook his head. "Just you and me."

"What do we do now?"

"It's only going to get worse the further away we are to one another."

"So we have to be around each other all the time? That doesn't seem very fair."

"It doesn't have to be awful, Kinsley." Deep down, I knew that but my mind kept telling me that's all it could ever be. Why was I expecting the worst when I barely knew him?

I sighed. "I don't like being dependent on people. Especially not when it concerns my happiness."

"I can't do anything to change things. The imprint happened and... we can't change that." He was starting to sound... uppity, angry, upset, impatient almost. Like he wanted to move past this questioning stage and move to... a relationship?

"I'm not living with you. Or the other guys. That's not... that's not happening."

"If you shift in front of your parents..."

"I won't."

He sighed. "Shifting's not something you'll have control over. At least not for a while. You're still young so your body is going to do what it wants, not what you want."

"I'm not-"

"Kinsley, you don't know the first thing about werewolves." He was right but his words did sting. I hated being called stupid or implying that I was. But werewolves weren't something we learned about in school. They shouldn't even have been real.

"Then teach me."

He started backtracking, his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. "Come with me."

"Zack, I can't just-" He was getting further away and I had to make up my mind before it was too late. I groaned and took off after him. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.