HER: Novel by Nicole Maria Navarro

Unexpected 4

It was Thursday. I was about to close up the office in about twenty minutes when I heard a truck pull into the parking lot.

I peered outside the window and noticed Sebastian jump out of his tall truck. I immediately turned around when he looked towards the window. It has been almost a week since I've last seen him. The green eyes were a permanent picture in my head. I knew what he was to me yet I made no move to return the fact that I knew. He didn't come by the shop at all and I was thankful after that because I wasn't prepared. I needed my time to know and understand. Although he didn't know about Thalia, I knew that the moment I would speak about her he would flip. He was a male wolf after all. What was I to say to a man that I was fated to? I didn't even hear the bell go off above the door, too busy with my thoughts about the handsome man who was on my mind every time I had a chance to remember those eyes. We locked eyes like we did when we first met, he had a gleam in them that made the green in his eyes look more vibrant than ever. His mischievous smile was perfect as it settled on his brown skin. His build seemed bigger than the last when he stepped in front of the counter.

"Hoping I'd see you here." Sebastian said while leaning against the granite top.

"Where else could I possibly be? I barely know my way to the shopping market after driving there only five times." I say raising my eyebrow. He makes a choking noise in the back of his throat while trying to cover it up behind a cough

"I..I can show you around sometime? If that's okay with you? It's a pretty decent sized town." He says stuttering. A slight smile appears on my face but then I remembered that I couldn't. I had a little one. I hated leaving her side but we had a bond. A beautiful one that I could never leave unprotected.

"What did you need Sebastian?"

"I came to ask you if you wanted to maybe have.. dinner?"He scratches the back of his head. I didn't know what to say. In fact I had nothing to say. I was tongue tied. Lost in thought as well at the fact that I could be found. He would know where I was. Speculation of a young mother with a pup who didn't belong to her mates was unwelcome. It was harder for them. Woman like me to be neglected. Damned.

"I..I don't think it's the right time to.." The pull was telling me yes but my mind was saying no. Not the right time. "Listen I've been caught up with moving in and arranging stuff. It's not a good time for me." I continue to stack a couple papers away. I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way around behind the counter.

"Well then, I know you got about fifteen minutes before the shop closes, I'll just stick around to get to know you better here. There's a Mcdonald's across the street, I'll get us something, like ice cream?" He says walking towards the door.

"Everyone knows Mcdonalds ice cream machines never work!" I shout.

"They'll make an exception for me!" he shouts back as he walks out the door taking no for an answer. A few minutes later the bell above the door chimes again and as I turn around to look Sebastian is licking his vanilla cone. He smiles in my direction and hands me the delicious creamy ice cream.

"So are you the only one that intruded into my lands, unnoticed?" He leaned against the counter. His arms bulging against his dirty black shirt. I smirk at his question and know that I have to be cautious now with what I say to him. The thought of him finding out about Thalia is something that I have yet to figure out.

"That I know of? Yes, it's just me." I say clearly lying through my teeth. It stays silent for a few seconds as we enjoy our ice creams in silence. I wasn't relaxed, I could never be relaxed knowing that somewhere out there Cole wanted my head on a spike. He only wanted her. Away from her mother that gave her life.

I slowly turn to look at him. I made contact with his green eyes and I couldn't help myself. I just stared at him. I wasn't close enough to see every little speck on his face but I could pinpoint them. He had no acne scars, he had very few wrinkles on his forehead and his lashes were undeniably long. He smiled as he seemed to notice me just looking at him. That immediately snapped me out of it. Shit.

"My bad.." I say as my cheeks turn a deep shade of red.

"No, it's completely fine." I smile and awkwardly tuck my hair behind my ear.

Minutes pass and not once did I notice the time fly by as we talked about the town and how much his pack spends their time in the woods. He was an Alpha and one that took pride in how close his pack was to one another. I wasn't part of a pack for what seemed like years. I was always the girl that kept to herself and never completely cared to know about the boundaries or bond that kept them intact. United as one group.

"I haven't had a conversation like this in a while." He says looking down at me and fidgeting with his pockets. A smile tainted my lips at his words. I was isolated for so long and to know that I was kept away from so much brought me sadness. It was time like these where I knew that there was more to life but I could never see it. I was always so consumed with the thought of Cole. He haunted my dreams and my reality. All those years with a man who never cared was brutal. I never wanted to feel that way again not in a million years. I didn't realize the feeling before when I was with Cole but now I do. It was like drowning. Every time I tried to take a breath of fresh air I was back in the water with his words and pain that never stopped. Not until Thalia.

"Shit." I got up from the desk chair and checked the time behind me. I grunt and it had to have been the most manliest and rude noise ever. Time really flew by when you didn't bother glancing at the clock. "I..- I've got to get home." Sebastian got up after me. His tall build casting down and making me realize that I wouldn't see him for a while but that was okay. I could feel the bond. I could feel the electricity that was in between us. Sebastian was it. A man whom I know was to help me. Sebastian would become a person of great fortune and I knew that tonight when we talked would be one of the many memories we would never forget.

"When will I see you again Bella?" His question hung in the air. My name rolling off his tongue was smooth yet demanding. It was his inner wolf that was calling to me, not him. There was a pull that we both knew our wolves couldn't resist for long.

"Soon, I hope." I smiled up at him. My eyes wandering over every inch of his face so that I had yet another memory to remind me of my fate. Something that I knew he would be apart of.