Christian (bxb)

A new face

(Christian)

I woke up later than I normally did and stayed in bed for a while. I stared at the ceiling before reaching inside myself again, searching for something I had been trying to find since my birthday.

Nothing.

No voice. No movement. No wolf.

I closed my eyes and tried again, wondering if I was somehow doing it wrong. Everyone else made it sound like their wolf had simply appeared one day. I was eighteen now, and mine still hadn't.

A knock came at my door before it opened.

"Christian?"

I looked over and saw Pop standing there.

"Yeah?"

He walked inside and looked at me for a few seconds.

"You tried again."

It wasn't a question.

"Still nothing."

Pop came over and sat beside me.

"I know you want him to come."

"What if he doesn't?"

Pop didn't immediately tell me everything would be fine. I appreciated that. I was getting tired of people trying to make promises about something none of us understood.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But you're still you with or without him."

I looked down at my hands.

"Doesn't feel like enough sometimes."

"It is to me."

I looked at him and smiled a little.

Pop bumped his arm against mine before standing.

"Arlo and I are going to Omegaville. You want to come?"

I hadn't been there in a while.

"Sure."

"Get dressed then."

Pop left, and I got out of bed. Maybe getting away from the pack house for a little while would help. I needed something else to think about besides my wolf and the triplets.

When I was ready, I found Pop and Arlo waiting for me. Dad was with them too.

"Ready?" Pop asked.

"Yeah."

Before we could leave, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Where are you going?"

I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Omegaville."

Greyson came closer.

"I'm coming."

"No."

He stopped.

I finally turned to face him.

"No?"

"That's what I said."

Greyson looked at Pop and Arlo before looking at me again.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need you following me everywhere."

"I'm not following you everywhere."

"You followed me into the forest."

"Because you ran away."

"And now you're trying to follow me to Omegaville."

His mouth opened, but someone else spoke before he could.

"What's going on?"

Jacob came toward us.

"Christian is going to Omegaville," Greyson answered. "I should go."

Jacob looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"Christian doesn't want you to."

Greyson looked at me again. I could see he didn't like this at all.

"Fine."

I grinned.

"See? You're learning."

Greyson didn't look amused.

Pop took my hand while Arlo took his other one.

"Ready?"

I looked at Dad.

"Bye, Dad."

"Have fun."

Before I could say anything else, Pop teleported us.

One second we were standing outside the pack house, and the next we were somewhere completely different.

I grabbed Pop's arm.

"I still hate when you do that."

"I know."

Arlo laughed as we started walking.

Omegaville had changed a lot over the years. There were more houses now, and people moved around doing whatever they needed to do. Some looked over at us, but most continued with their business.

Pop and Arlo were heading toward one of the larger buildings.

"I'm going outside."

"Don't wander far," Pop said.

"I won't."

I walked away before either of them could change their minds.

It felt good.

Nobody was following me. Nobody was asking where I was going every few seconds. Nobody was watching me like I might disappear if they looked away.

I walked between a few of the houses until I noticed someone sitting near one of them.

He looked around my age.

He had a sketchbook resting against his leg and seemed focused on whatever he was drawing. I stopped without meaning to because I wanted to see what he was working on.

He noticed me.

The sketchbook closed immediately.

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to spy."

He stared at me for a second.

"You new here?" I asked.

"Maybe."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's not really an answer."

"It was the one I gave you."

I smiled.

"I'm Christian."

He hesitated before answering.

"Eli."

"My Pop's best friend's brother has that name."

He looked at me.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. So I definitely won't forget yours."

That got a small reaction out of him.

He opened the sketchbook again, although he kept it turned away from me at first.

"What are you drawing?"

He looked down at it.

"Nothing important."

"Can I see?"

He studied me before turning the book enough for me to look.

It was the house across from us.

I looked from the drawing to the actual house and back again.

"You're good."

"It's something to do."

"I draw too."

That seemed to get his attention.

"What do you draw?"

"Mostly whatever I feel like."

"Same."

I sat down nearby, leaving enough space between us so he wouldn't think I was trying to get too close.

Eli didn't tell me to leave.

He went back to drawing, and I watched for a little while before looking around Omegaville again. I didn't know anything about him other than his name and the fact that he could draw.

Strangely, I didn't mind.

He didn't know about my wolf.

He didn't know about Greyson, Mason, and Jaxon.

At least I didn't think he did.

Maybe I'd finally found someone who could talk about something other than my wolf and my mate.