Crimson Mist ✔️

49: Canines and a neck.

"Dani."

He says my name like a whisper, so far away, yet I still hear it. The cold breeze in the winter night doesn't affect me anymore. I'm warm..

The sound of his feet touching the ground makes me nervous when I realize he's walking towards me. Fast. Just as I'm about to turn around and go inside to the safety of my own house, his arms sneak around me in a heart-warming hug, and I swallow all my doubts.

He smells divine, like the product of some magic meant just for me, like he's meant just for me. The warmth of his body makes the mist in my mind grow thicker, and I reluctantly lean into the embrace, and lets him hold me tight, while we just bask in each others' presence for a few minutes, without saying a word.

"I was going to sleep in the car outside the forest for tonight, because of the moon, but..." He stops talking, and pulls away from me, just slightly. He pushes my hair behind my ears and lock eyes with me. To say I'm not happy he's here would be a lie, but I'm not jumping up and down with happiness either.. "I fell asleep, and when I woke up an hour later, I was walking towards your scent, between all the trees. I... couldn't wait."

"It's okay," I reply, a half-truth, but it's sincere.

I lean into his chest so I can avoid looking into his eyes. They make me want to rip his clothes off and just do this thing, make us... mates. I bite my lip and sigh, before he clears his throat.

"I need to tell you something," he says, and puts me at arms length. He really wants to look at me for this, and I obey. This one time.. "I'm going to stay here, if you'll let me. I promise there will be no more leaving this time, no more heartbreak or burning, and no more back and forth. I'm here now, and I'm not going to leave."

"O-"

"I love you, Danielle," he continues, interrupting my attempt at agreeing to it. "What happened when I got back to the Crescent village was horrible.. I tried to fix it, but I can't, so I had to come up here in a hurry. We have to do this together, okay?"

"Do what?" I ask hurriedly, before he can keep talking.

He looks pained, like something very wrong happened, and he doesn't know how to say it.

I bit my tongue just as I'm about to yell at him to tell me, and put my arms around his neck instead. I hug him, hard, just to show him that I'm here and I will try my best to help with whatever it is that happened to his pack. He sighs, and his shoulders relax a little as I pull him closer, and his arms closes around my waist, holding me tight.

It feels like I belong in his arms, and for the first time I'm not overwhelmed by doubt. His vulnerability makes me see a different side to this. It goes both ways. He is affected by my touch too, he relaxed when I hugged him, and I'm not the only one who feels this way. It makes me feel less alone, like I finally believe that we're in this together, him and I.

"We've got to stop Nathan," he mutters into my hair, before he buries his face in my neck.

"Why?" I ask, and pull away from him. His eyes staring into mine makes it hard to think straight, especially when the glowing, yellow full moon is taunting me in the corner of my eye. "What's going on?"

He pulls me in for another hug, again, and sighs.

"Is this your house?" he asks, and we both look to the almost finished house. I nod, and he smiles weakly. "I love it."

He grabs my hand, and doesn't say another word before dragging me towards my home. He's gentle, yet very determined. I couldn't have said anything if I wanted to, my mind is too full og unanswered questions that I don't know where to start, and it doesn't get any better when I see Jeremy glance over towards the window in Tyler and Michael's kitchen. I see him and Tyler lock eyes for a second, and I know they're communicating.. Tyler disappears just before I see my cousin's silhouette in enter the room, and Jeremy pulls me away, into my own house.