Fated

Chapter Eleven: The Affair

"Claire..." Isaac breathes between kisses, hovering over me, my body still pinned beneath him.

My hands wrap around his neck, pulling him closer to me so I can feel his body against me, deepening the kisses.

"Claire..." He repeats again, one of his hands tracing the side of my body, towards my lower stomach.

My own hand follows suit, tracing down from his neck, to his stomach, to his trousers - my fingers dance over him now, barely touching, teasing.

Just as I move to really touch him, Isaac freezes. "Claire... I can't..." His head drops to my shoulder, his breath hot against my skin.

A heavy weight places itself upon my heart.

"What? Is - Is everything okay?" I ask, concern and slight hurt injected in my voice. 

Isaac doesn't respond, still breathing quietly into my shoulder.

"Isaac... Isaac, sit up," I soothe in a low whisper.

I'm worried about him - this hasn't happened before...

I scoot up to a seated position from under Isaac, lifting his head from my shoulder.

Isaac drags his body up, facing away from me, his head hanging.

"Isaac, what's up?" I query, moving to sit beside him. My hand glides over his back in a circular motion, trying to soothe and relax him, encouraging him to tell me what's wrong.

He turns his head, still hanging low, to look at me. His eyes just stare at me for a moment, as if trying to read me, or maybe as though he is debating something - one of those furrowed browed expressions, but concerned and fragile - something about his expression makes me want to reach out to him, to comfort him, to make it all better.

He looks so scared, so lost.

"Isaac?" I encourage him, my voice still low and gentle.

He looks away again, back to the floor. Within a second, however, his expressions transform. His body becomes tense as he straightens his back, sitting upright now. His head still hangs a little, but he looks at me directly now, a sad expression coating his face.

"No, it's nothing. I just... I'm just scared of hurting our cub." He scratches the back of his neck, averting his gaze once again.

Although something inside me twists at his response, I can't help but burst out laughing.

"Isaac -" I break between chortles - "Isaac, did you..." Another roll of laughter, "Did you take s*x ed?" I finish laughing now and simply give him a warm, bright smile.

Isaac just stares at me, completely taken aback, "I.. I-" He struggles to finish.

"Phew," I wipe a small tear from my eye, "Okay - so! There is physically no way that our cub could be harmed by us having s*x - your uh... um, can't reach that far. That's the whole point."

He gives me a blank stare.

"Think about it - think of all the people throughout history, before complex thought or speech was even a thing - who had s*x during pregnancy. It's totally fine."

"Oh..." Isaac looks down at his lap. "S-still. I'm not comfortable being together like that right now. It freaks me out. I just want to protect our cub."

I throw him a small smile, "Mmhm," My head nods, "That's fine. Thanks for being honest."

Although disappointed, I've gotta respect Isaac. I couldn't sleep with anyone who didn't want to, who didn't consent to it. 

"Honestly, I'm proud of you for saying no. It can be hard for a guy to say no in our society - I'm glad you didn't feel pressured." I rub his hand as I speak.

"Mm..." Isaac considers what I've said. His body relaxes now - a deep wave of tension rolling away from him.

I wait in silence for him to speak, worried that he may be feeling fragile. Though after a few moments, I can't wait any longer.

"Are you okay?" I break the silence, still inputting as much warmth to my voice as possible.

"Hm?" Isaac seems shocked that I had spoken, jumping a little at my words.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about studying. Forgot how close the exams were."

... Huh? Interesting train of thought? I guess??

I suppose I can't blame him - final exams are incredibly stressful, and I know he hasn't been working very hard to catch up...

"Ah... I see..." I look around my room, "Well - do you want to study? I can-"

"Yeah, yeah I really think I should go study, honestly. I have a lot to do." He interrupts, standing up halfway through his sentence, ready to leave.

"Uh - okay..." He lifts his bag from the floor. "Well... call me later?" My voice is a sea of disappointment. 

"Yeah, I will." He doesn't meet my gaze, moving towards my bedroom door.

His feet move step by step through our hallway and down the stairs, and each step, I follow behind in silence.

Something isn't right...

I can't ignore my gut feeling anymore - but, I'm obviously not getting anything from Isaac...

"Well, that's me. I'll call later. Take care, yeh?" His body finally faces me again, and all I can do is stare at him, wondering about the possibilities of what could be going on.

A few seconds pass before I respond, so, rather than waiting any longer, Isaac lifts my hand and gives it a small squeeze, before placing it on my lower abdomen. His thumb caresses the area for a second.

"Yeah... Later..." I finally get out, shaking off my emotions and concern so I can just see him off. I stand on my tip-toes and plant a small kiss on his cheek, "I love you, take care."

His hand now removed from my body, he gives me a small smile, before turning and leaving, quietly. 

Something isn't right...

"Hey mum? Dad?" I call, walking through the warm, oak hallway.

"In here, dear!" My mother's voice rings from the living room.

I make my way into the room, the heat hitting me as I enter. The fireplace roars, the lights dimmed and the TV on - some reality show playing. My parents sit on the leather loveseat in front of the TV, sharing a pot of tea and an array of cookies. The atmosphere is so warm, so inviting - I can't wait to join them once I get back.

"Hey! I was wondering if one of you would like to treat me with a lift to the shop?" I bate my eyelashes at them, earning a chuckle from my father, a smile and an eye roll from my mother.

" 'Course honey, let me go put my boots on. You go ahead and get the car started and warmed up." My dad's voice is so hearty, so kind - I feel so reassured with him around me, so protected, like everything really will be fine.

My mother laughs, "Hurry back though! I don't want to miss the show and I can't watch it without you!"

The music in the car blares throughout the short journey to the shop - my father and I taking turns to play some of our favourite songs. 

"Okay dad!" He cuts the engine after having arrived at our destination, and I make my way out of the caer, into the chilly weather outside, "I'll be quick - do you want anything? Shall I grab something for mum too?"

"Ah, yeah... Maybe... A can of soda for me and..." He looks up in thought, as I stand shivering outside of the car, "A bar of chocolate for your mum." He gives me a kind, tired grin - exhausted from his work as Beta of the pack.

"Of course! Two minutes!" I call, shutting the door behind me. I practically run into the shop, trying to escape the air biting at my skin.

The shop is small, one of those old, kinda dilapidated little town shops, where you wouldn't feel safe eating their 'fresh' to-go food - but their snacks are fine!

As off-putting as the shop might seem initially, it has been part of the community for so long, it's got this weirdly homey vibe to it, welcoming honestly. Thus, it's still pretty popular with all of the locals, which is why it's no surprise that it's still busy, even at 9pm, close to its closing time.

A small group of 2 women and 1 man had gathered in a small section in one of the isles beside me - gossiping about something by the sound of their tone.

Ignoring them, I grab the few missing items I had been searching for.

However, just as I am about to turn to take my few items up to the till to pay, I hear something that makes me stop in my tracks.

"So, you heard? About our future Luna??" The man's voice is much too excited and much too loud.

"I know! Can you imagine? It's no wonder they've been hiding it - what, with that relationship Isaac had with the Kelly's daughter?" The first woman chimes.

"Oh yes! I even saw the two together the day before Isaac's birthday!" The second woman beams, before hesitating, "Though, is that really enough of a reason to hide the future Luna of our pack?"

"There's definitely something else going on," The man laughs, still much too excited.

"Hush now, we need to be careful - the Smith's themselves might now even know that their daughter is the future Luna!" The first woman commands in a hushed voice - not hushed enough, clearly.

My head spins at their conversation, my heart hammering a heavy, pained beat in my chest.

No... What are they talking about... 

They don't know anything... They must be confused...

"How did you hear of the news anyway?" The second woman inquires, leaning in, desperate for more information.

"Oh, I didn't just hear of it," The man chimes in glee, "I saw it - with my own two eyes. Isaac, and the Smith's daughter, together in that summer house by the lake. And I really mean - t o g e t h e r," He emphasises the words, a sly smile playing on his face.

I want to barf. 

What do they mean... None of this could be true... I saw Isaac a few hours ago... And, and Sophia is my best friend...

The women gasp, letting out some giggles in excitement.

"But are you sure? Did you really see her? What's her name again... The Smith's daughter... Sophie? Are you sure it was her, and not the Kelly's daughter?"

"Oh absolutely, I even saw them again on my way here!" The man raises his hands.

On the way here... But... I saw Isaac a couple of hours ago...

My stomach twists and I can feel the nausea rising...

Claire. We must leave. Now. Cynthia reaches out to me, alighting her energy to pour additional strength into me, enough to force me towards the till, to pay for my items and leave, and enough to put a blanket over my nausea. 

Cynthia... I... What do we do?

We must find out the truth for ourselves.

Okay... 

The car journey with my father passes in silence this time, my father had fallen asleep while I was in the shop, so he didn't have the energy to even realise something was wrong. Honestly, I am so grateful that he didn't.

After passing the snacks to my mother and father, I make my way to my room, to plan. 

I need to stay calm, collected, objective. I can't just charge in there...

But time is of the essence - if what the man had said was true, then Isaac and Sophia would still be there now.

The summer house is about a 20-minute bike ride from here. I can make that. But it would be quicker for me to let Cynthia run instead.

I throw on a big hoodie over my sweatpants before making my way downstairs.

"Mum, dad, I'm going to go for a run with Cynthia," I call to them from the doorway of the living room.

"What?" My mum jumps a little and looks at me, concern written everywhere. "It's so late, and so dark, and so cold! Will you be okay?"

"Yep, I'll be fine - she just needs out for a bit, and honestly, it would help me relax too." My parent's faces both relax a little at that.

"Okay, but please, be careful - signal us if something happens, okay?"

"Of course - you know my call!"

After hugging them, I practically run out of the door, sprinting into the cover of the woods before I strip down.

Okay Cynthia, let's go. 

And like that, Cynthia is free.

Her fiery red coat whips in the air, shimmering in the moonlight. She's never run this fast before.

In no time at all, we reach the summer house. I can feel Cynthia's anxiety now that we have slowed. Her tension. It matches the depth of my own.

We stalk, slowly, to the backroom of the summer house. The lights are on inside.

The summer house is never used at this time of year...

My heart drops as I finally realise there may be some weighting to what the gossiping group from the shop were talking about.

This couldn't be real.

Cynthia hides just at the edge of the window, before peering in, slowly.

And there, in the middle of the room, in the middle of the bed - Isaac and Sophia, naked, under the sheets.