Caden
I sit on the rear end of my car stretching my arms upwards while taking in the musky breeze from the trees that surrounds me.
I inhale slowly, letting the familiar scent fill my nostrils while I listen to every chirp and every branch rustling against each other.
I exhale slowly, putting down my hands while I open my eyes.
Today is a work free day for me.
That means no students, and no irritational humans, just me by myself. And what better way to spend your time alone than in the woods?
I stumbled upon this place a few years ago and ever since then I couldn't stop coming here.
I've always felt a powerful pull here like something is waiting for me.
I also come here to be alone and think, it's my own haven away from the background noise that comes along with being domesticated or as my father would say ‘a sophisticated breed'.
I take off my shoes so I can feel nature more deeply. This is the fastest way for me to connect.
As soon as my feet hit the ground my heart skips a beat and a flash of an image appears in my mind.
Someone's running.
I hold my chest and breathe slowly trying to control my racing heart.
I'm probably imagining things, no one's here.
I shake that off and take another step and I feel a surge pass through me and my chest tightens even further.
Something's wrong.
“Yes Caden, something's definitely wrong” my wolf, Von , says.
I turn on my wolf senses allowing Von to take charge.
He places my hand on the bare soil and we both take the vibration from the earth.
The image flashes through my mind again but more vividly this time.
Someone is indeed running from someone or something.
It's a female. We can feel her fear, and her breathing.
Suddenly I pick up her scent.
It's Ivy.
“Your mate's in trouble Caden, you better act fast now” Von growls.
I hop into my car and fast off towards the direction of her scent.
I suddenly hear her whimpering in fear as an image of her on the ground flashes across my mind and my blood begins to boil.
Who dares to touch her?!
Von accelerates our speed and the engine roars.
I smirk once I spot those bastards.
I let go of the steering wheel and allow the one trying to touch her get hit.
I watch him fly to the other end of the woods with satisfaction once my car comes in contact with him.
His cry of pain is utterly satisfying and his friends waste no time in leaving him behind.
Von slowly rolls back in and I take full control of the steering wheel again.
I drive slowly towards Ivy's shaking body.
I can feel her fear more intensely now. It scares me seeing her like this.
“Please don't hurt me!” I hear her little voice scream
“Those bastards really got her shaken up” growls Von
“Yeah” I reply, looking ahead at the idiot who's rolling on the ground.
I examine him briefly. He won't die, probably suffer from a concussion and a few broken bones.
I get out of the car and carry her shaking body.
I ask her if she's okay but all she does is stare at me, I can tell that she's holding back tears.
My heart hurts from the sight of her like this.
I assure her that she'll be okay but I doubt that that's going to do much for her.
I drive her off to her house with her giving me directions with her shaking fingers.
I look at her from time to time wondering how the hell she’s supposed to be my mate.
“She's so small and defenseless, how will she ever protect herself?” Von asks
Honestly I don't know why the moon goddess chose her.
I've known this information for over a year already but I still can't believe how this can be.
She's nothing like me, she's not even a wolf.
I exhale, shaking my head a little.
It's already weird enough that she had to conveniently be one of my students.
I had already told the moon goddess along with my father that I can't be with anyone right now, no matter what, especially since I'm trying to rebuild my pack.
I can't let anyone get in the way of my mission, especially if the person is a defenseless human that I probably won't be able to protect.
There's been enough blood shed and I can't have her be a part of the death row because of me.
I hate to say it but I can't leave her alone either. My pull towards her has been stronger since the past few months and I won't lie, it scares me more everyday.
She can't even protect herself, she keeps getting beat up by that tiny human.
We reach her house and I feel more at ease knowing that she's away from danger.
Her entire body is still shaking and I help her out of the car and place her in front of her front porch.
I scan through her features hoping she won't collapse at any given time.
“Can you make it inside?” I ask, trying to read her features again but she only nods in response.
“Thank you” her small voice reaches my ears.
Something about it seems different, almost angelic even.
“You don't have to thank me for doing my job”
My phone rings out and I reach for it from inside my jeans.
I excuse myself and swipe up, not bothering to check the caller ID.
Only one person would have the guts to call me when I'm out on my meditation.
“Hello father”
“Son, I need you here at once” his voice echoes from the other end
I try to fish out any emotions I can pick out from his voice but he is a master of concealing his thoughts and emotions even without sounding like a robot. He always had more control than me over his emotions. Something I failed to learn.
I'm not going to lie, it irks me everytime he does this.
Now I have to ask.
“Why, is anything the matter?”
“No, but your presence is greatly needed” he says and then he ends the call.
I find her still watching me from her door.
“I have to go,” I tell her “Be safe”
She nods in response and I suppress the urge to pat her head.
I give her a curt nod and get into my car and I'm about to drive off when a red mercedes parks near the house.
It's her mother.
Irritation instantly fills my system.
“Ugh her again”
She gets out of her car and looks at me with a small smirk on her face.
“Hey there” she waves
“Good day Mrs Carter” I respond curtly.
Her body language tells me something is up but I'm not sure I'd like to stick around to find out what it is.
“I'll be seeing you around soon” she coos, making my skin crawl.
Why on earth do you have to be my mate's mother?
I start the engine and drive off as fast as I can away from her.
I really don't need her trying to do anything out of place again like the way she usually does.
Traumatizing memories of her awkwardly skimpy clothes resurface in my head and I shudder.
“What do you think he wants to see us for?” Von asks, distracting me from the horror i just fell into.
“I have no idea”
It doesn't take long before I reach the mansion.
The gates open for me as soon as I get close enough and close behind me.
“This better be good” I mutter as I step into the house
I find dad talking to someone about something and they're both laughing.
I catch a familiar scent and I stop on my tracks momentarily.
My dad spots me and gestures to me to come closer.
“Ah son you're finally here”
I walk into the living room and see Ivy sitting on the far corner looking at her feet awkwardly.
What is she doing here?
“Ah Caden you finally made it” says Mrs Carter giggling with a glass of wine in her hand.
My skin crawls.
My eyes dart from Mrs Carter who's being held by the waist by my father then to Ivy who's now looking at me with intense shock on her face then back to Mrs Carter.
“Father, what the hell are they doing here?”
CadenMy gaze shifts back to my father who in turn gives me a sheepish smile.“Father?”Mrs Carter clamps her hand together and smiles at me widely.“What's all the silence for, we should be happy”she giggles.I squint my eyes at her trying to see what she's getting at.She hugs him tightly.“Your father and I are in love and we're getting married”Von and I gasp at the same time and Ivy almost jumps out of her seat.Seems like she wasn't aware of this either.I take a step back not knowing what to say.What am I supposed to say?“Damn this is awkward,” Von says.“What?” She asks before kissing my father on the cheek and my heart beat stops for a second “Aren't you guys happy for us?”The room goes dead silent and none of us speak for what seems like an eternity.“Ivy doesn't look too good” Von finally says and I scan her demeanor. He's right, she looks like she might get a heart attack.She shouldn't be here, all this is too much for her.Why would they do this? They know damn well t
Ivy Mom's car pulls over at our house just as Caden gets into his own car.She greets him with a big smile and waves which I find both suspicious and almost embarrassing.“Honey I have a big surprise for you, get in the car” she says as soon as he drives off.“Mom can this wait? I just want to lay down for a bit”“Nonsense, we need to go now” she replies then pauses to look me up and down “Are you cold? You're shivering”I open my mouth to speak but before I can say a word she drags me into the car and before I know it I'm sluggishly buckling on my seatbelt dreading every moment.“Here, take a sweater” she says, throwing me a white cashmere sweater she brings out from the back seat.I examine it, feeling the texture.It's the real thing and it's new too.Mom didn't own anything like this, at least non that I know of.I look at the back and find multiple shopping bags and boxes and I'm immediately taken back by the sight.“How?” I mutter“You'll see” she smiles at the rearview mirror
IvyThe rain outside seems soothing enough to pacify the turbulence occuring in our house.It's a Saturday morning and all I want to do is sleep and get the rest I deserve but mom is too preoccupied with moving in with her boyfriend to care.I secretly hoped the rain would be enough to stop her from packing up but she made it clear that that won't be the case once she dragged me out of bed.Now I'm in the living room exhausted and sweaty from all the activities that came along with moving.I look around with tired eyes at the boxes that lay here and there.Packing my stuff from my room wasn't so hard since I had barely settled in anyway. My mom is the one taking her time with this.I just want everything to be over.It feels so funny how we just got here not too long ago and now we're moving out. Who are we even going to sell the house to?Mom comes out of her room with a few boxes with her phone in-between her ear and her shoulder.“I’m so happy with him, he's so sweet you've just go
CadenI can't say I was entirely sorry about what happened yesterday but if I didn't apologize father would probably have me disowned.I roll my eyes getting out of bed.I easily cook up some eggs and bacon for myself and Ivy and prepare some Omelets and toast and then green tea for my father and Mrs Carter. Father always loved his green tea in the morning and Elowyn seemed like she would like that too seeing how she looked fit.I'm not really sure what Ivy would like so I just make her what I'd eat in the morning.Father's scent followed by his distinct footsteps fills the room.“You've always been a good cook, it amuses me that you're a lecturer and not a chef” he jokes.A smile curls at the corner of my lips.He never exactly fancied my job, said it makes me too serious.“You really don't need to flatter me so early in the morning”Cooking has always been my thing, father on the other hand would probably burn down the kitchen if he goes near the stove. Either that or we'll all die
IvyI tap my fingers on my lap aimlessly as a means to distract myself from the fact that professor Caden is just inches away from me behind the wheel.Mom was able to squeeze me in especially through such short notice into the ballet classes that had already started commencing but I'm more than determined to catch up.Dad used to take me to ballet class all the time when I was just a little girl but then I stopped going after they separated. I had too much mental breakdown to focus.But this is my second chance.I've dreamed of doing this again for just a long time and now this is going to be my reality.“Turn left” I tell him and he takes a sharp turn as the car swerves softly.I see him glance at me and the butterflies in my belly do a summersault.“You seem excited”A small smile stretches across my face.“You have no idea”We stop in front of a ballet school in the center of town that I've been eyeing for a while. I look in awe at the building.It's run by the best instructor in
Caden War cries cascade my ears as claws clash against each other. Howls of pain follow.Blood spills on every inch of the once green pasture.Bones cracking.Women crying.Children crying.More blood.More howling.I find myself in the midst of the dark.I'm in a burning room.“Run Caden!” A woman screams before she's consumed by fire“Mother!”I jerk and my eyes move slowly around my room.This is the tenth time I've had this dream, each one being more horrific than the last.I close my eyes and slowly regulate my breathing.Beads of sweat roll down my forehead,down my neck.These dreams are a reminder of our massacre. A reminder of how I failed my pack.I let them down.I let my mother down.I open my eyes and step down from my bed and land on the cold floor.I balance myself above the ground with my palms rooted on the ground.With each push and pull motion I make I exhale slowly.“Hey maybe you should stop now” Von says“No”I'm not just exercising. I'm preparing myself for the
IvyThe satisfying feeling of the burning aftermath of working out finally sets in over my third squad.I fan myself with my hand.I've achieved my goal for the day after a series of procrastinating and I'm more than happy to be done.I had found this gym just a few blocks away from the building where I take ballet lessons and I've come here ever since. The gym instructors are great too.Dare I say that this is one of the few things that I actually like about this place.I catch Aria alongside Freya with my peripheral vision. I honestly don't know how we all keep bumping into each other but at this rate it's becoming so draining.I'm just glad that none of them has the guts to actually try and bully me in the gym.The rules are pretty strict here.Any form of bullying or harassment will lead to you into getting kicked out.I see her talking to a group of people and she's flashing them that fake smile I know too well.I have a strong feeling she's planning something, I just don't know
IvyI scribble aimlessly at my note pad trying to pass time from the boring lecture.This has to be the longest day of my life to say the least.“Pretty eyes” someone to my left whispers to me, snapping me out of my lost little world. I see them looking at my note.I take a better look at what I've been doing and see that I've been doing all this time and I find multiple sketches of professor Caden's eyes.I blink multiple times not realizing what I've been doing.“Um thank you” I tell her and close the noteI deflate a bit on my seat and I find myself drowning in the thought of professor Caden again.Ever since what happened at the gym I don't know what to think. I know it should never have happened.But it felt so good.The thought of his lips on mine sent chills down my core and I bite my lips to suppress a moan.The way his hands caressed me like he was hungry for me.Those strong big hands.Snap out of it Ivy!I jerk back to my senses and sit up straight. My cheeks burn in shame.