Stranger Yet

Chapter 13: Enough is Enough

Ayra stormed down the stairs to meet her stalker.

Her mother was, much to Ayra's relief, asleep on the couch already. She opened the door trying not to be too loud and closed it behind her. She crossed her arms and looked out towards the trees, scowling. She could hear him, but he hadn't come up to her door, as she'd demanded.

"Where the hell are you?" She called out to the trees.

I don't have clothes here. I hadn't intended to shift.

"Well, Why didn't you say that sooner?" Ayra reentered her home and cracked open the door to her parents' room. Her dad wasn't a slim man, but the clothes he kept from when he was younger would probably do the trick, as far as pants go. Lucky for Ayra, he kept them in the bottom drawer of his dresser. She figured he just liked to look at them every now and again.

She pulled out one of her father's T-shirts, and a pair of his old high school jeans. The shirt would be baggy on him and the pants would fit him a little snug, but at least he would be able to talk to her in person.

She looked over at her snoring father and closed the door, careful not to disturb him.

She went back outside with the clothes and walked them across the street. She tossed them on the duff in front of the wolf. The silver wolf cocked his head at the clothes, before sniffing them, seemingly reluctant.

"Just put them on." Ayra said as she walked back to her house and sat on the porch steps.

From her perch, she watched as an unamused Tiernan stepped out into the light. Though she had a serious conversation planned with this man, she couldn't help but break her own 'This is serious' façade. His appearance was too much, and laughter burst from her gut against her will. The shirt had swallowed him down to his knees, but the well-loved acid wash jeans had him looking ready for a flood.

Ayra choked down her laughter and cleared her throat. She let the silence resonate for a moment before she got down to business, "So, I assume you're following me for a reason. Did you figure out what it was you were hoping to figure out?" She stood up and faced him head on, glaring.

"Not quite."

That was it? That was all he had to say?

Ayra was pissed.

"Okay, listen here, creep. If you wanted to know about my day to day life, all you had to do was ask. You didn't need to," she started ticking off on her fingers, "assault me, kidnap me, insult me, OR stalk me. VERY unnecessary. Seriously, what's the point in having fucking telepathy if you choose not to use it?" She threw her hands in air dramatically, waiting for his response. She knew she should just kick him in the nuts and be done with it, but something stopped her from living out the ball-breaking fantasy.

"Rogues lie. It's what they do. I can't trust an outsider's word." The temptation to injure him became harder to resist.

"So. The only way I wouldn't have lied is if you kidnapped and interrogated me? Really? That's a crock of shit and you know it!" She realized she was yelling and looked back at her house, looking for movement through the window. No lights had flipped on, so Ayra assumed her parents had not been too disturbed.

"Alright, well, I still have questions. Want to answer them now? Civil conversation. No kidnapping."

Ayra considered it. She was still pissed that he had called her a liar, but she wanted him off her back. "Go ahead and ask. I'll decide if I feel like answering your questions, now that you've violated every single one of my rights." She plopped back down on the step and grabbed her arms to shield herself from the sudden cool breeze.

Tiernan pointed to the space next to her, "May I?"

"Suddenly so polite." She quipped, but after a moment, nodded.

Tiernan sat beside her and began, "Well, for starters, what do you know about your adoption?"

Ayra licked her lips and looked up into the clear night sky. "Not a whole lot... Just that I was abandoned and that my mother had found me nearby. Next question."

"Abandoned? Nearby? As in, in this town?"

"Yeah, It was in this town, but not IN town. I was left in the forest..." Ayra turned to Tiernan. "Why is it that you're so interested in my adoption?"

Tiernan ignored her question. "In THIS forest?" he pointed to their surroundings in disbelief. No way had she come from HIS forest.

"That's what I said."

"That's not possible." He stated shaking his head dismissing her. "where were you actually found?"

"Well, that's what happened, so yes, it is possible." Ayra's anger took hold again. "Okay, I've had enough of this. I answered your stupid question and you indirectly called me a liar. I'm done. If you follow me again, I WILL pummel you. Do you understand?" She was no longer shielding herself from the wind. She had leaned towards him when she threatened him, her chest open to express her lack of fear, and her willingness to 'duke it out'. Tiernan had a hard time focusing on her words all of a sudden and instead he found himself staring at the way her bottom lip jutted out slightly when she was angry.

He had the sudden urge to bite it.

As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he reeled back, disgusted with himself. What the fuck was he thinking? Ayra mistook his expression. "Don't think I won't. I've already proven I can!"

Tiernan's face sunk into his neck, "Just because that happened ONCE does not mean I will allow it to happen again. Don't get cocky, outsider." Tiernan stood up and tore the 4x shirt off and stalked off, Ayra's eyes glaring holes into the back of his head. He left the pants on the road, choosing to strip before getting into the forest. Ayra's eyes shifted as he dropped his pants, and she stared a little too long at his firm naked butt before finally shielding her eyes and flushing. She was grateful that he didn't have eyes in the back of his head.

After a moment, she yelled out to the trees, "AND DON'T FOLLOW ME ANYMORE!!!"

She had been too loud that time. The lights flicked on in the living room and her mother poked her head out the door.

"What are you doing out here, hun? And who are you yelling at?" Sarah squinted as she looked around, sleep still in her eyes.

"Just a dumb dog, ma. Sorry I woke you."

"Come inside. You shouldn't be out here this late."

With that, Ayra was off to bed. She grumbled her way up the stairs, but as soon as she was in bed, she was asleep.