Accept Me

20: "I love you."

I stare into the darkness made darker by the cover of the treetops. I can still see the outline of his back as he walked into the shadows, can still feel the touch of his lips. 

Go! Something roars at me, making me gasp as I surge forward.

I nearly fall but manage to find my balance as I keep moving, directly behind his scent trail. I start off slow, unsure of my steps, but I find the courage to speed up and follow his scent. I breathe heavily as I keep speeding up, my feet barely touching the ground as I run. 

Not too far in I see him standing in front of a tree, simply staring up at the canopy with his arms laying limply at his sides. I don't pause as I bound towards him and leap, tackling him to the ground with my arms wrapped around him. He grunts as we land on the hard ground, sliding a little from the speed at which I approached. We stop at the edge of a tree and he begins to growl before my scent makes it into his senses, paralyzing him in my arms.

"I love you." I whisper. "I will never let you go."

"Dylan-"

"No. Nothing you say will change my mind. Now that I understand what's going on, I will not make you feel responsible for something you have no control over. I'm sorry for not listening to you before." 

He breathes heavily as he squirms in my arms, and I let him move until his arms are around me as well, my body lying comfortably on top of him. 

"Are you sure?"

"With everything I've got." I say sincerely, leaning down and kissing him.

~~~

I smile to myself at the scene that plays behind my eyes, nodding along with a proud grin. I wipe some dirt off myself before confidently marching towards the tree line, following the scent trail that still faintly lingers.

How long was I standing there? I ask myself as the scent seems to have faded a lot. I begin to jog in order to catch up to Tristan.

I run for a few minutes before I begin to worry, thinking that I should've caught up to him already. I frown at the growing darkness, my heart spiking at the thought of being stuck in the forest, wolf or not. I decide to shift in order to give myself the upper hand in case something decides to jump out at me.

I frown as Tristan's scent gets stronger but seems to be weaving between the trees, as if trying to throw something off his scent. I easily untangle his trail and stay on track, noticing that I'm getting closer to him.

I come to a small clearing and see him walking, his head hung low and his feet dragging against the ground. I make a happy sound at the back on my throat that seems to catch his attention, but he doesn't turn around.

Fine, want to play like that? I growl lowly and speed up.

Too late, I notice the tension in his body, the way his hands are curled into fists, and the fact that our bond is still torn and I'm downwind so he won't know it's me until the last second. 

Everything moves in slow motion as I try and break, but continue to skid towards him quickly. I watch with wide eyes as he slowly turns towards me, his claws extended and a sharp-toothed sneer on his face. He swings at me, his eyes recognizing me just as his claws tear into my arm.

I howl in pain as I go flying to the side, blood immediately pouring out of the gashes in my arm and staining the ground underneath me. I shift back and hug my arm to my body, rocking back and forth from the pain.

"Dylan!" Tristan cries as he runs to me and kneels beside me. "Oh Goddess I'm so sorry Dylan."

"It's...ok. You didn't...know it was...me." I gasp, gritting my teeth in pain between words. I look down at my arm and nearly faint at the bloody limb. "Oh Goddess, I think...I see bone." I gag and lean over to vomit.