Chapter 3

At noon,after 9 failed attempts to call my mom,I was watching a couple of videos on my phone.Videos of me at my boring job;which I was probably fired from by now anyway.Maybe this is all a dream and when I wake up,I will be at home on my soft bed and my mom knocking on the door and telling me that I'll be late for work in her croaky voice.I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply for 5 seconds,retained my breath and exhaled.I opened my eyes and once again I saw the white ceiling,with Jay’s face along with it.”That’s a great way to start ”.I jerked from my resting position."Why are you here?",I asked.

"I told you to come outside after you were done eating",he replies.

"Why is service so bad here?",I ask about to go on the 10th attempt to call my mom.

"It's the woods.So obviously"

I sat up and it was then that I realized that he was shirtless.I took a long gaze at his chest and his abs. I've never been this close to a shirtless man before. A hot shirtless man.” Camilla?”.I blinked, realized what I had been doing, and blushed.

Within seconds, we were outside and we walked deeper into the forest till we reached a river; the same river I tried to take a bath in. Then he turned to me.” Werewolves are naturally one with nature, and really agile when faced with unexpected situations”.He came closer and for a moment, I think we're about to have a moment. Like the one we had the last time.” I need you to be agile”, he says and without warning, he pushes me. I felt my legs leave the ground and my nostrils fill up with water as my clothes got heavier and pulled me under. Maybe this was it, I could let myself drown and forget about all this.

Or I couldn't.

I remembered his words; I need you to be agile. I had underestimated how strong I could be.I desperately tried to use my strength to come push myself upwards. When I reach the top , I feel exhausted and angry."Rude!" ,I say but he only chuckles. I grab his feet and pull him into the water. I saw a small smile spread on his face as I dragged him under. He dived deep under and for a second, I thought he would drown. But I felt a tickle on my leg and his whole body surfaced,sending water was everywhere. Beads of water ran down his chest and all the gel in his hair had dissolved.His hair was long and messy and he shook his haired back and forth trying to get the excess water out.I was so distracted by his hair that I couldn't feel his strong arms around my back.

”Take off your clothes”, he says.

"What?Why?".I mean, I don't mind...

"You need to learn how to swim. The next time I teach you, don't forget to borrow a swimsuit from Lizzy".I immediately ceased my delirious thoughts."Right”, I said. I throw my shirt and shorts at the bank.I had on my ugliest bra and panties on.At least I'll be underwater most of the time. He takes my hand and submerges most of my body,except for my head,in the cool water.

“ Release Yourself”.

I exhale sharply and submerge my head underneath. I could feel the pressure of the water lift my abdomen upwards. Startled by this force, I place my hands on Jay's shoulders.I pull my head out of the water and cough violently.Jay pats my back.I had forgotten how long it had been since the last time I swam.

He places his hands at my sides and tries to pull me up.”Let's continue this another day.Tomorrow, we hunt”

I picture a gory image of myself fighting fearlessly with a bear, my teeth stained with blood, I'm half naked when I hold the bear's head up and let out a victory cry.

” I’m not that strong in hunting ", I say.

“You’ll see how strong you are", Jay says and he places his hands on my waist and pulls me forward. My skin warms up despite the cold water. His hands have done something to me,something no one's hands have done."I’m sure your legs aren’t for nothing”.He pulls me underwater, his eyes fixated on mine the whole time. He mouths, "Kick" but I don't kick, I can hardly concentrate with the way he looks at me like that.The water only makes the green in his eyes look even more distracting. He pulls me up immediately. I choke and gasp for air.

"I guess I'm gonna need more practice", I say.

"You do".

I takes everything in me not to stare at his majestic body. I distract myself with the trees, the water-anything.

“One day,Am I gonna transform or something?”.I spread my hands and felt the water waft through my fingers. Such a stupid question.

“We'll work on that later”

"How later?"

"Soon"

He places his hands on my wet but bandaged shoulder.”You’ll be okay”

I hadn't even noticed that I had been submerging my injured shoulder in the water,the whole time.What was more surprising is that it didn't hurt as much.

I still stay in one place.” But, my shoulder..”.He turns to look at me.

"You'll heal fast. It's a perk for the Adolpha pack" and with that, he dives underneath and comes back up quickly.

He carries me in his arms and I feel his chin on my shoulder. He paddles to the shore with me and tells me to dry up, wear new clothes, and come back.” We’re done with agility now it’s time for strength”, he said.

********

I dry up and come back. I don’t see him anywhere. He’s probably hiding. I become alert and take slow steady steps. I sniff the air and feel his presence, he’s somewhere off the ground. A tree. I sniff and touch a few trees till I find one that I guessed he had climbed. I had a huge surge of strength and I was shocked to hear myself growling. It’s true, I’m turning. I jump exceptionally high and grab a branch. Then another and another and another, till I reach the top. But he's not there.

"You were close enough".

Jay's voice comes from a neighboring tree. He relaxes on a wide branch with his palms on the back of his head. He waves to me and gestures to me to jump over.

"You're too far away", I say

I regained my balance on the branch I was on. It was so difficult to let my feet rest on the branch. Jay held out his hands, making sure I knew that he would catch me if I jumped. How sweet.

I took a few clumsy steps backward and ran towards him. I used all the inhuman force I could feel to lift myself off the branch and nearer to his open arms. I closed my eyes and braced myself for impact. But there was none.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was in his tree!

Jay grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. I willingly let him pull me closer and before we knew it, I was close to his chest and one of his hands were resting on my back.But then I realize that if I wasn't this close to him,I would've fallen off the tree.

“Look up there”

I lift my eyes to the sky and see a beautiful sunset.”It’s beautiful. Do you see this every day?”

He smiled.”Yeah, but I enjoy it more today"

“Why?”

“Because I'm not alone. I hate being alone”

"I hate being alone too",I reply.