OCCASUS

Chapter5

She was feeling nonchalant about believing the truth. There was something mysterious going on in Silver Heaven. Asher could hear footsteps approaching him as he lay partially unconscious, but the footsteps seemed to be coming from far away. He winced and opened his eyes slowly. The intensity of the sun made him close his eyes immediately. His head was pounding and his body ached. Raking his mind to remember what happened last night, he opened his eyes slowly once more as he remembered. Last night was the worst. He had a rampage went into the town without having a clue about what happened. The last thing he could vividly remember was him convincing Rachel to visit Elias with him. Sadly, they never got the chance to meet him.

Asher was afraid of what he might have done. Had they revealed their secrets to the townsfolk? It seemed so. If that was the case, the bayou would be crowded by now. Maybe he was wrong. The footsteps became clearer as he took in his environment. Asher realized he was lying on dry leaves stark naked. He had torn through his clothes during the transformation. Asher had gone through several transformations, and none of them were as painful as this one. He still couldn’t fathom what went wrong. All of a sudden, he felt anger grip him, making him burst through his clothes. That didn’t make any sense. Something must have triggered him. But what could that have been? His nightmare? It couldn’t be. He had a similar nightmare on numerous occasions, and it never led to him losing control. Plus, it affected the whole pack.

His thinking was disrupted by the footsteps that seemed to have stopped before him. He swayed his head to the side and found a pair of boots covered in dirt a few inches from his face. Still half confused, he looked up and saw Rachel staring down at him with a pair of clothes in her hands. She wore a pair of khakis and a black tank top and her dark brown hair was pulled neatly into a ponytail. She threw the clothes at him and sighed.

“Get dressed, Asher,” she said, placing her hands on her waist. “The Elders have requested to see you.”

Asher sighed and rose to his feet slowly. His head had stopped pounding now, and he was fully aware of his environment. The morning sun washed through the bayou and lit their surroundings. He could hear the birds chirp as they flocked around from tree to tree in search of food and shelter. Asher slid his legs into the pair of jeans while Rachel turned around to give him some privacy. Asher zipped the jeans roughly and clung to the shirt.

Rachel held herself from having a peek at him while he dressed up. She felt so dirty that she had even thought of this. They were werewolves, so they had seen each other’s nakedness multiple times. But today, it awkwardly seems enticing to watch him dress. Asher wasn’t happy that the Elders were looking for him, but it was expected. This was the first time something like this had happened, and he had a gut feeling that it was only the beginning. They were going to criticize him for not taking responsibility.

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” He asked.

Rachel turned around, and her eyes met Asher’s well-chiseled torso. Her cheeks began to heat up as Asher’s muscles flexed in his attempt to wear the shirt. Rachel threw him a pair of leather boots, and he went on one knee to wear them.

“I don’t know, Asher,” she said. “Last night was scary.”

“Are we in a crisis? Did the townsfolk see us?” Asher asked as he tied the laces hurriedly.

“Well, luckily for us, no one saw us last night,” she said. “At least none that we know of.”

Asher clenched his jaws as he tied the laces on the other laces. The memory of last night came back. He could remember darting through the woods with tremendous speed. He could feel the anger that racked his body as he made his way through the woods. Reminiscing on such an emotion made him feel dirty. Then, he could remember running into trouble. He had almost been hit by a vehicle.

He could remember…

He remembered staring at the driver. It was a woman. She had a pair of glasses on. And she looked startled. Asher’s heart skipped a beat. He had been seen! Did she tell anybody? If she did, then he would be in so much trouble.

“Asher?” Rachel’s voice sounded like a knife stabbing him back to reality.

“Yeah!” He answered with a jerk.

Rachel looked at him suspiciously.

“Did anyone see you last night?” she asked.

Asher didn’t know what to say. He can remember last night vividly now. They had stared at each other for some moments, so it was obvious that she had seen him. She had been scared. He could remember the look in her blue eyes. She looked confused too. Who wouldn’t be? There was no doubt that he had come in contact with a human. He had broken the pack’s code, which was never to reveal himself to a human. As the Alpha of the pack, he felt so ashamed of himself.

Rachel was staring at Asher as she waited for an answer. He looked lost in thought. It seemed like he couldn’t remember what had happened last night. There was a look of confusion and realization on his face. She had woken up in her house and had gone to see if the town was in a ruckus. Luckily for them, the town seemed so calm, which meant that nobody must have spotted them.

“Asher,” she called again.

Asher looked up at her. He rose to his feet slowly and flashed a confident smile.

“No. I wasn’t seen,” he lied.

Rachel smiled at him.

“Come on, we have to hurry,” she said. “I’m sure the Elders won’t be pleased that we are wasting time.”

“Right,” Asher concurred with a nod.

Rachel began moving. Asher gulped hard. He didn’t like to lie to Rachel, but she would be disappointed if she found out that he had been spotted. For now, it would be a burden he had to bear alone.