Life Without You

Chapter 11 - Eva

What I know about tracking could fit on a postage stamp to be honest, but what I do know is that you can’t be tracked through water, or at least it’s much more difficult. Keeping that in mind I run, fully clothed, into the sea and dive under the waves. Being in the sea is relaxing and I swim further than I intended, swimming as far along the shoreline as I can before reaching the cliffs. The night air is cool and strangely refreshing as I emerge from the sea and start to walk back to the house, carefully checking that I am not being followed as I go. I hope my dad and Sunny aren’t still awake when I get home. I’m not quite sure how I would explain my sudden late night swim in my clothes and trainers to them.

Thankfully the house is in darkness when I get back, and I silently remove my wet clothes and jump in the shower. Once all traces of the sea have been washed from my body I lay down on my bed waiting for sleep to take me away from my thoughts. But it doesn’t come. The more I try to force myself to sleep the more my mind wanders back to the wolf. The large, mysterious wolf in the woods. I can feel that Nya has already drifted off to sleep in my head. Content for now, with the knowledge that she has finally found her mate. Her mate, not mine. I have always been resolute in my opinions about having a mate. Perhaps it’s because I have no experience of other werewolves and how their lives usually work, but I can’t imagine letting someone else choose who I am supposed to be with. As much as I think my father is happy that I’m with Sunny, he has never told me that I should be with him, and I know he never would. The thought that there is someone out there who I am ‘supposed’ to be with has my blood boiling. I want to choose for myself, and right now I have chosen Sunny. I absolutely do not need someone telling me that he isn’t right for me. After staring at the ceiling for hours, I must have eventually fallen asleep, as I wake up feeling more exhausted than I did before. I can hear banging coming from downstairs and I gingerly dress, before following the sounds into the kitchen. Sunny is banging and clattering every piece of kitchenware as noisily as he can as he makes himself some breakfast.

“You were out late last night.” He states with his dark eyes fixed into a scowl and I scowl back in response. “Where did you go?”

“I told you I was going for a run.” My response is curt, probably more curt than it should be, but I can’t help it.

“Must have been a long run.” He says scowling at the food he is cooking rather than at me this time.

“Yes. It was.” I say, rubbing frustratedly at my tired eyes.

“Where did you go?” He repeats his question, only with more urgency in his voice.

“All over. The scenery is beautiful here. I wanted to see as much of it as I could.”

“Yes. It is.” He agrees with a weird sounding voice. “I think I’m going to start running with you from now on. It will be a nice way for us to spend time together, won’t it?” Although there is no way I want him running with me, as I won’t be able to shift and let Nya run free, I can’t tell him that.

“Absolutely if you can keep up with me, just don’t expect me to wait for you.” I say lightheartedly instead, forcing myself to sound pleased with his idea.

“I think I’ll manage just fine.” He laughs as if the thought of me being able to outrun him is ridiculous, despite the fact that he has never run before in his life, except for the short distance that he runs into the sea with his surfboard.

“I’m looking forward to it.” I reply with an insincere smile to hide my growing displeasure.

“Your father has gone to get an early start on the shop. I think you should go give him a hand, don’t you? It’s supposed to be our shop after all, he shouldn’t have to do everything on his own.” His voice sounds eerily domineering. He doesn’t normally sound like that.

“Are you not coming?” I ask attempting once again to be more jubilant, in the hope of improving his mood.

“I’ll be there later. I have something to do this morning.”

“Ok. I’ll go now. See you later.” I say grabbing a banana for my breakfast from the fruit bowl before leaving the house.

“What a dick.” Nya sneers in my head as we slowly make our way to the shop.

When I get to the beach, my eyes are instantly drawn to a figure sat on the sand, with his back to me. I can tell that he is tall, even though he is seated and quite a distance away. I can’t keep my eyes off him, despite the fact that he isn’t anything like my normal type at all. Well he’s not like Sunny. His hair is blonde, not dark like Sunny’s and it’s longer on top but shaved short at the sides, whereas Sunny’s has always been between his jawline and his shoulders. What skin I can see is tanned, but still pale in comparison to Sunny’s. However much I try to drag my eyes away from him, to look at anything else, they seem to be drawn back to him. Something about him is intriguing, more than just his height and the fascinating way his tight white T-shirt exposes every muscle in his back from so far away. He shifts his weight, bending one knee, as he leans back against his hands in the sand. The muscles in his huge arms bulge as they take his weight. I can feel Nya sniffing at the air with my nose hoping to capture his amazing scent again, but for now he is either too far away or the wind is too weak. I finally manage to force my attention away from him as I enter the shop through the door that my father has propped open, presumably to get rid of the overpowering new paint smell in here. My father is busy unpacking stock from large cardboard boxes and I quickly go to help him. Hopefully keeping busy will keep my attention away from the figure outside.

Every now and then the wind picks up and I catch the wolf’s scent, causing me to stop what I am doing. It’s going to be almost impossible to get everything done that I want to do today with him so close to the shop.

I finally have enough of this torment and decide to confront him. I storm outside, stopping just in front of him.

“Are you going to sit there all day?” I demand, my hands on my hips to stop them from shaking.

“No. I’m leaving town for a few weeks soon. I just wanted to give you chance to say hi to me before I leave.” What? He’s giving me chance to say hi to him.

“Well hi, now I’ve said it, I guess you can leave me so I can get on with my work.” I say with a monotone voice.

“I haven’t been stopping you from doing your work. I’ve just been sat here watching the sea.”

“It’s off-putting.” I seethe through gritted teeth.

“You know why that is don’t you?” His turquoise eyes widen as he speaks drawing me towards him.

“Look. I don’t know what you want me to say to you. I’m not just going to fall into your arms and beg you not to go.”

“Good, that would be really weird. You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me, and I can’t stay, even if you get down on your hands and knees to beg.” He slowly rises to his feet and I almost feel weak at the knees as he towers over me.

“Bloody hell, you’re tall.” The words are out of my mouth before I realise.

“You’re just short.” He chuckles revealing a perfect pair of dimples beneath the sparse stubble that coats his flushed cheeks.

“I’m not short.” I retort quickly. I’m definitely not short. At 5’8 I’m above average height for a woman and about the same height as my father and Sunny.

“If you say not. I’m Tommo by the way.” He holds his hand out expectantly towards me and I quickly look around before deciding whether I should take it.

“Eva.” I say tentatively shaking his hand. Sparks shoot up my arm and encase my whole body in a warm tingle the instant his hand touches mine. He keeps holding on slightly longer than a normal handshake as he leans closer to me.

“My wolf is called Ash. He says your wolf has the most beautiful eyes. He’d like to know her name as well.”

“She’s called Nya.” I don’t think, I just answer as if in a trance. My heart pounds a little bit harder in my chest with every word he speaks in his melodic, deep voice.

“Nya. It’s …. Perfect.” The words are so seductive coming from his perfect mouth.

“Hmm.” Nya sighs contentedly.

“I’ll see you in a few weeks.” He says coolly.

“Where are you going?” I know I have no right to ask him that, but somehow I can’t help myself.

“It’s quite hard to explain to an outsider.”

“Outsider?” I shout, releasing my frustrations at him. This was not going the way I imagined it would. Here I am pathetically hanging off his every word, silently praying for him not to leave me, whilst he seems completely indifferent.

“Don’t worry shorty, I don’t mean it as an insult. You kinda are an outsider though, with you being a lone wolf.”

“I am not short!” I shout standing on my tiptoes but barely reaching the top of his huge chest. He shrugs his strong shoulders effortlessly, before turning his back to me and walking away. The urge to run after him and wrap my arms tightly around his substantial chest is huge, but instead, I stand watching as my mate walks cockily away from me.

“Did you feel those sparks? If that’s what they do to your hand, what are they going to do when he touches other places?” Nya asks what I have been wondering myself.

“Easy girl. He’s not going to touch other places.” I assert stubbornly, but the thought doesn’t disappear quite so easily.