Chapter 6 #3
His gaze snapped up, and all the wonder I’d guessed at earlier shone on his face. “The bond.”
Oh shit.
“Fuck, Elijah. I loved you before, but it pales compared to… to whatever this is. I just know that I’ll never love anyone as much or as deeply as I love you.
This is incredible. I just know. I mean, I’ve read what it's supposed to be like, but this is so much more.
So, so much more. If I didn't already love you, I definitely do…” His words trailed off.
I watched as a range of emotions flashed across his face.
Hurt, fear, anger, betrayal, confusion. He stumbled back, breaking the contact as horror finally took precedence.
“Josh, wait.”
"You didn't want the bond. You… you called it a death sentence. You called being bonded to me a death sentence."
"Josh."
He shook his head as he came to the last conclusion I wanted at that moment. "You let me believe..."
Bile crawled up my throat at the hurt that laced his scent. "Josh, please." I stepped forward, and he stepped back, his gaze lost and uncertain.
He shook his head again and staggered back another step.
"Don't do this," I pleaded.
His foot slipped on some leaves, but he maintained his balance and kept retreating. I saw it in his eyes the moment the flight instinct took hold.
"Wait!" Too late, Josh turned and bolted. "Fuck," I shouted and took off after him. Once again, my delay gave him all the head start he needed. Fucker was stupid fast, and he hadn't even turned yet, which he would.
I have to find him before he does.
It was pointless to call after him, so I didn't bother. Josh knew how to shake a tracker like nobody’s business. All I could do was pray that he was too distraught to do it right now. At last, I heard the telltale pained moans of a shifting werewolf. I altered course and emerged in a small field.
Josh lay panting through the final phases of his transition in the dewy grass, his black coat shining like a raven's wing beneath the moonlight. His sides rose and fell in ragged breaths. Then he heaved himself to his feet and met my gaze. He took a step, and his leg threatened to give out.
Thank the goddess, he's exhausted.
"Josh, please listen to me."
He bared his teeth, and a growl rolled across the field to reach me where I hovered on the tree line. His hackles rose, making him appear twice his size as he lowered his head and continued to produce the ominous sound.
What do I do? The hospital will never let him leave now.
I sighed and slid to the ground, defeated. "I know what I said."
His tail lashed behind him.
"It's not that I didn't want you. I was... scared. It was new and sudden, and I hadn't anticipated that, least of all with you." Too late, I realized that was the wrong thing to say.
His growl lowered another octave.
I smacked my head against the tree at my back.
All I’m doing is making it worse. I can’t go back to that house alone again. I just can’t.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the wave of hopelessness that crashed over me.
It took everything I had not to fall apart right there.
I’d waited and prayed to get him back, if only for a night.
Wish granted. One night and now he was gone again, his mind ravaged by moonlight and his body consumed with anger.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before I noted that his threat had faded. Not sure what I would find or even if he was still there, I chanced a look. He sat twenty paces away, glaring at me, the moon glittering on his damp fur.
"I always knew you'd make a beautiful wolf."
His lip curled, exposing a sharp canine.
"It's twisted, I know, but you've always been beautiful. I didn't expect this to be any different."
He dropped the snarl and padded over, still keeping his distance.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't think you could ever feel the same. I wasn't sure I'd survive that."
He offered a quick huff and a short growl.
I chuckled. "Yeah, I know. You're a killing machine, not an actual robot. Can you blame me, though? The only side of you I'd seen was cold and distant."
His green eyes sparked in the white light.
I sighed. "I know you had your reasons. Look, can we have this conversation later? You know, when I don't have cold water up my ass?"
He offered a low growl and zero sympathy.
"You have to change back. They won't let me take you home if you can't change back on your own."
He bared his teeth again and spun to walk away, close enough that his tail slapped me in the face.
"The fuck? Rude."
He glanced at me over his shoulder.
"Of course you know all about werewolf etiquette," I grumbled as I stood up, but didn’t leave to let him change on his own. As angry as he was, he'd want me to stay.
He reached where he’d initially transformed and shook out his fur. His coat settled, and the change took hold.
I never took my eyes off him, watching the entire grueling process while keeping an eye out for any threats.
After about twenty minutes, the transition was complete.
Josh knelt in the grass, one hand planted firmly on the ground and the only thing preventing his exhausted body from crashing to the earth.
After a few more minutes of strained silence, he pushed to his feet.
He wobbled, and I rushed forward to help him.
His furious glare stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Don't touch me."
My heart sank, but I took a step back. He didn't spare me a second glance as he stalked back to where our change of clothes still waited with unerring accuracy. I looked up at the moon for inspiration and ran my hands through my hair before following him.