Three
1213 Words
Elara’s POV
I stand in the middle of the clearing. Others go about their business but it's only one person my eyes find--Ember.
"Elara?" Ember's holding some pieces of wood. I can tell she's planning to start a fire. The others continue with what they're doing-clearing the weeds and cleaning the meat. But I can tell they're curious about me.
"Ember," I whisper. I know she's shocked to see me but she's the only family I have, the only family I know.
Amber doesn’t say a word. She just stares at me as her lips tremble as if she’s about to cry and her eyes are cold.
“I-I’m here,” I whisper to break the ice.
“Wow!” Ember finally says something then looks at the duffle bag in my hand. She grabs it from me and heads to a door and I follow. The cabin is built in L shape form and has numerous rooms that accommodates werewolves here.
“So what happened?” Ember opens the door and drops my bag on the bed. “I thought you wanted freedom? You wanted to be part of something.” Ember mockingly grimaces as she claps her hands together. One thing I hate about my sister is her need to tell you I told you so but I’d rather be around her than watch Lukas date Thalia.
“It’s complicated,” I say, then point at the chair beside the bed. “Can I sit?”
Ember gives me a fake smile. “Yeah. it’s your home too.”
“Well it doesn't feel like it,” I say. Ember’s eyes widens but instead of retorting rudely she slumps on the bed.
“You’ve left for 6 years, Elara…”
“I…”
“Not even a call. No letter… just nothing from you and now you’re gonna be mad at me.”
“I know and I’m sorry,” Ember gets off the bed. “Cool. I need to finish with the woods I’m gathering. Later…” Ember leaves the room and slams the door.
I can’t help feeling bad for what I did to Ember six years back. We’d just lost our parents and our former pack and all Ember wanted was to keep us safe.
“You are so reckless…. I keep telling you this,” Ember’s voice cracked with frustration as she paced in front of a makeshift camp. we can make mistakes not now… where we don’t have any protection.”
I scoffed and seethed. “You don't tell me what to do so I can take care of myself.”
A low growl escapes her mouth. “I’m not trying to control you stupid. We need each other now!”
I crossed my arms and frowned. “I can survive without you.”
Ember’s eyes flashed with pain and her voice turned softer. “I know but things are different now. DOn’t you get it?”
I rubbed my hands over my face and I can feel my frustrations boiling over. “Maybe it should’ve been you instead of mom and dad. That way I won’t listen to your constant nagging.”
I didn’t even wait for her to say anything. I grabbed my bag and left. So… yeah, I totally get why she’s mad now.
Feeling restless, I leave the room and sit just outside the door. I'm not if I'm supposed to join the others. I'm not even certain they'll welcome me. So I just watch the others cook and clean up, including Ember. As I look around my eyes lock with a guy making the grill. He smiles at me then waves over.
"Come!" he shouts and I saunter towards him. The boy has a slight musky aroma, a hint of sweat. "Hi."
"You've gotta be the long lost sister, right?" He looks at me again and I can’t help but notice his beautiful gray eyes.
“Yeah,” I manage to say as I nod. “That’s me.”
He nods. “Cool. I’m Aiden.”
“Elara.”
“I know… but that's a strange name…” Aiden chuckles and flips the meat to the undone side.
“Yeah… my parents mixed their names Archer and Elena,” I wrap my hands around myself, smiling for the first time today.
He laughs. “They’re so cool.” He says mockingly but I can tell he’s only kidding. For a moment, I wish this is how Lukas talks with me but I know that’s wanting too much.
“Ember never stopped talking about you when she found this place,” he says. “She’s a good one.”
I nod. I know how much Ember can be frustrating but she’s definitely a good sister.
“You know, Ember reminds me of someone I used to know,” he says, his voice turning serious. “She was my best friend in my old pack. We did everything together. But then…” He pauses, looking away.
“But then what?” I ask, curious and concerned. He sighs. “But then something happened that made me leave my pack. Something I don’t like to talk about.” He looks at me with a sad expression. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you, if you want to hear it.”
“I wanna hear it,” I say softly. “But only when you’re ready.” He smiles faintly.
“Yeah,” he says. “So are you back back.” He pauses, then says, “or you're visiting.”
“Uh... yeah. I'm back,” I say. He removes the grilled meat and put it in a plate.
He hands me a fork and says, “So what brought you back? I mean, you seemed happy in New York.”
I take a bite of the meat and try not to moan. It’s delicious. “I was happy,” I say. “But things didn’t work out with Lukas.”
He frowns. “Lukas? The guy you were dating?”
I nod. “We weren't dating. He was... he was my mate.”
He looks surprised. “Your mate? As in, your soulmate?”
I sigh. “Yeah. But he broke the bond. He said he didn’t love me anymore.”
He reaches out and touches my hand gently. “I’m sorry,” he says. “That must have been hard.”
I feel a jolt of electricity from his touch and look into his eyes. They are a deep gray like a cloudy sky. I notice how handsome he is, how his dark hair falls over his forehead, how his lips are slightly parted. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
No, I scold myself. I shouldn’t be thinking about any guy now, especially when I just had my heart broken by Lukas, the love of my life and mate.
I pull my hand away and say, “It’s okay. I’m over it.”
He smiles sadly and says, “You don’t have to pretend with me, you know. I can tell you’re hurting.”
I shake my head and force a smile. “No, really. I’m fine.”
Aiden nods and says, “Okay. If you say so.”
- Writer
