Hidden Away

Fourteen: Heart-to-Heart

Two large, strong arms caught me as I stumbled back, steadying me. The hands detached themselves from my arms, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake.

"Ms. Bloodmoon, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

I looked up to find the most captivating grey eyes I had ever seen staring back at me. Tendrils of emotion swam in them, making me stare into them longer. I tried to pinpoint the emotions, but there were too many that swirled around together for me to decide what they were.

"Ms. Bloodmoon?" I snapped out of whatever trance I was in upon my name being called. My arms instinctively wrapped themselves around my figure, my hands tracing the area where the sparks danced along.

"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." I avoided making eye contact with the eyes that I had just spent a whole minute staring into. I walked past him quickly, not wanting to be in his presence any longer.

The feeling of a hand attaching itself around my wrist made me stop on my tracks. He didn't need to pull me back for me to stop. The sparks that erupted around the site was what made me stop.

"Why are you leaving?" The way the words slid past his lips made it very clear that he wasn't happy that I was leaving without acknowledging what we were.

"I can't do this whole mate thing," I said, tugging on my wrist. He didn't let go. "Seriously, I'm not looking for a relationship." This time, he let my wrist go and my hand wrapped around it, slowly massaging it. It didn't hurt, but it felt warm and tingly; a feeling I wasn't sure whether it was a good one or not.

"I didn't ask for a relationship," he countered. "In fact, I didn't ask for anything at all."

"Great," I said, feigning excitement. "That means I can go and there won't be a problem." I turned back around and started walking away once again, only to be stopped by the same voice.

"Wait." I stopped, but didn't turn around. "Can you at least give me a chance? I mean, we are mates, but if you don't want a relationship, I won't force you into one. Can you at least get to know me before you decide that I'm the person you want to stay away from?" I thought about it for a moment. I guess I was being a little too stubborn.

I turn around with a sigh. "Okay," I said slowly. "Sorry, I'm just... off today." I extended my arm towards him. "I'm--"

"Norah," he finished, recieving a look from me. "Sorry," he whispered. "It's just that everyone knows about you." He took my hand and shook it. "I'm Andrew." I must've looked like a dork with the smile I had on my face. Something about his name made butterflies erupt in my stomach. It was a simple name, but the feelings it gave me weren't so simple.

Then I realized it was the bond's handy work and my smile dropped.

"So," he drew out slowly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his grey sweatpants. "Do you want to go do something?"

"Smooth," I teased, making him chuckle. "Where do you want to go?"  Andrew seemed surprised I took his offer. If he was any other person, I would've said no without batting an eyelash. Since he's my mate, I got a sense of security around him, which helped me come to the conclusion that I would be fine.

"I know a great place in town where we can get some food and do some stuff," he said.

"What kind of stuff? You're not gonna kill me and dump my body are you?" I joked. A joyous laugh erupted from both of our throats.

I'm glad I didn't leave.

"Maybe I am. You'll never know until it's about to happen."

*