2. Nine

Being enveloped in Harper's arms had brought a feeling of peace to me. I had even felt the tingles that I didn't feel a few weeks ago. The fabled tingles that ran through your body, brought you to your knees and gave you a high dose of sheer pleasure. Being in your mate's arms had some benefits.

It had all felt right at the moment. But then as I laid in my bed that very day, it had never felt so wrong. The dynamics of our relationship weren't that simple and I didn't think it ever would be.

I knew the bond between us would only work towards bringing the both of us back together and it's pretty needless to say that it would be a very unhealthy move.

Moreover, I would be bruising my self-respect and dare I say it, ego if I were to even think about getting back with him under these circumstances. I wouldn't have to think twice about it if the fucking bond hadn't messed up my mind and the realization only made my resolve harder than it was before.

I had no idea what Sebastian's motive behind offering me a getaway was, but the more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea of going away for some time, seemed to me. 

It was embarrassing to admit that I didn't even think twice about the poor wolf who had lost its life in such a brutal way. I was only thinking about my relationship problems like an obsessed teenage girl who was fucked in the head. And I didn't want to be that girl. I wanted to get my priorities straightened and sorted out.

The very next morning, I called Sebastian on his cell and told him that I would be happy to take his offer if it still stood. I couldn't make out his feelings by the sound of his voice, it was smooth and detached as always in the matters of business. 

I would have given anything to figure out the thoughts racing through his head. We worked out all the details of my travel and I couldn't have been happier with the decision I had taken. A decision that filled me with happiness.

Sebastian had assured me that he would take care of my parents. As the school was controlled by werewolves, he could come up with some kind of paperwork that would explain that I was working on some sort of project that was essential for my college applications. As a student who had a good GPA, I knew my parents would be convinced to let me go away for a few weeks. If all reasoning failed, Sebastian had implied that he would just use his compulsion to convince my parents. I did feel a little guilty when he said it like that and I was hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

I knew I would be gone for at least a month or two and being the dork, I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to cover all the syllabus I would be missing. Sebastian must have rolled his eyes when I mentioned this point.

He offered me two options. He could enroll me in the school's distance program for the time being or he could talk to the principal of the school of the area I wanted to go to. I could join the school for the time being and not miss out on any syllabus. Being the suck-up I was I decided I wanted both of the options. That way I wouldn't be giving up on my schooling experience and still know what syllabus was being covered back home.

I was worried about Harper coming after me because if he found me then all this trouble would have been for nothing. It pained me to imagine being away from him but I knew it needed to be done. I had no idea if we would ever work out in the future but I knew we were toxic right now. Harper wouldn't let me go if he even had a whiff of what we were planning, even though he would agree with the reasoning. Werewolf alphas were crazy that way.

Sebastian hesitated before answering this doubt of mine. I knew he couldn't promise that the trip would be a secret from Harper. Sooner or later, Harper would come to know about my departure. The both of us had an idea how Harper would react to such a condition and neither of us wanted to witness it.

So, Sebastian promised me the only thing that he could, that he would try to contain him as much as possible.

Sebastian had earlier mentioned that the destination options were open to me and I knew I wanted to get created on that front, at least. I wasn't a total sucker.

"I have always wanted to see New York. Or maybe San Diego. Or Nashville. Someplace Nice." I had already started daydreaming about soaking up the sun on one of the Californian beaches.

A sigh was my only response and alarm bells started ringing in my head.

"You can't go that far, Zara."

"Well, why the hell not?" 

Another sigh. "Because of the bond."

Well, fuck the bond.

"Your mate bond is still new and you're already having problems. Cue in distance and it will cause you gut-wrenching pain as the days progress. The bond will want you to be near to your mate, and do things that I believe you will regret later."

Well, if you knew about this part, why didn't you tell me about it before? What good is putting distance between me and Harper, if I couldn't put enough of it?! 

"Then where do you suggest I go?" I sighed and rubbed my temple to calm the frustration and helplessness boiling inside me.

"I think your best bet would be Mylta!" I could sense the hesitation in Sebastian's voice and for good reason.

The second nearest city to Arada was a day away and was more of a quiet little town. Mylta was a budding coastal town that had the most beautiful beaches ever. The coastal town, Mylta was a favorite spot for us Aradans to vacation.

Like I said, it was only a day's drive away. I wanted to put more distance between me and Harper and Sebastian knew it too. I wanted to go somewhere where Harper couldn't travel on a whim and catch up to me.

Well, it was as good as I was going to get.

"Where are you going to stay?" 

"I could rent an apartment," I said, hesitantly but I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. No one gave accommodation to minors and that was exactly what I was.

"Zara, I know your sister is attending her college there and I know that she's also rented an apartment." Oh god, no. 

I didn't like where this was going.

"I don't want to stay with her," I mumbled but I didn't get my way because the bastard used compulsion on me. In his defense, he told me that he would feel much better if I stayed with my sister, instead of being alone.

So, here I was, driving in my BMW, on my way to my sister's place, sighing every second, already dreading what the future had in store for me.