Unexpected Mate

Trust

She had become closer and closer to Chase during the time she had been there. She hated to bring up leaving to him because she didn’t want him to think that she wanted to leave him, but she needed to get on with her life plan. Things had changed so drastically in the past two months. And she still wasn’t sure how they were going to react to her asking about leaving. She knew they had wanted her to stay because they were worried about her posing a threat to the pack because of the things that she knew. When she asked, she tried to do it delicately? Chase didn’t get mad, but he did look incredibly sad. She hoped that was not a bad sign.  He told her that he would bring it up at the next pack meeting.

                He kept his word as he said he would, and he did bring it up at the pack meeting. To her surprise they called for her to join them which they had never done before.  They asked her several questions and then decided that they would let her go. She packed her things and said her goodbyes and then Chase drive her back to the campus. She had taken his phone number before he left. She knew she would miss him and the friends she had made there. But she also knew she needed to finish her degree and what she had come there for.      

                The semester came and went, and she had texted Chase here and there. She had also messaged Ella. Ella typically texted her right back, but Chase didn’t always. Sometimes she didn’t hear from him for days or longer at a time. That made her worry because she couldn’t help but think that maybe he didn’t feel about her the way that she did about him. Maybe she had misread things. Maybe they were no more than friends. What if he had a girlfriend? How would she handle that? During, her break she had hoped to be able to spend some time with them but wasn’t quite sure how to ask. She decided that she would bring the idea up to Ella first. And that was what she did. Ella was excited to be able to see her, but she said that she would have to get approval, but she didn’t see why it wouldn’t be okay. Tahlia had avoided the nature trail since being back because it still scared her some. She wondered if that creep had been watching her for a while and maybe that was why she had the uneasy feeling like someone had been watching her before. Then another part of her wondered if Chase had been there since she had been back. She did miss him. She wondered if he had missed her as much as she missed him. Ella got back to her to let her know that the pack had agreed that she could come for a visit. She had planned on going to spend her break there. She was so excited to be able to see them all, especially Chase and Ella.

                Ella came to pick her up and they laughed and talked on the way back. She asked Ella about Chase and she said that he had been away recently but would be back soon. Tahlia wondered where he had gone and why he hadn’t told her he had been away. She wondered what he had been doing. She had barely heard from him for the entire semester. She had only been told by Ella that he was doing okay. She asked Ella where he had been, and she just danced around the question and didn’t really give an answer. Soon they arrived at the compound, she was greeted by everyone and welcomed in. They had a big dinner that night. She still wondered about Chase but decided not to push it anymore. She wondered when he would be back. She hoped it would be soon.

                A week passed before he came home. And he hadn’t texted her in that time until the morning he came back to tell he was on is way. She was so excited that he would finally be there. When Chase arrived, he hugged her and genuinely seemed happy to be there with her. But he seemed tired and a little distant at the same time. She hoped things hadn’t changed between them. They spent some time that evening out by the pond and he seemed almost like he had before she left. She sat next to him on the bank and told him about everything that had happened throughout the semester. She even told him that she had missed him. He told her he had missed her too. She asked him why he hadn’t texted her more, was he somewhere that he didn’t have signal or something, like on another planet? He laughed and told her that he hadn’t had access to his phone very often and that he had thought about her a lot during the time that she had been at school. That made her smile but still wondered if there was more to it than that. He must have picked up on it because he asked her what was wrong, what she was thinking? She decided that honestly was the best approach and so she spilled it all to him and bared her soul. She told him how she felt about him and how she was unsure if he felt the same way because he had blown her off all semester. He seemed to be upset and told her that he hadn’t blown her off and he didn’t know how she could possibly think that he didn’t feel the same about her. She asked why he hadn’t texted her back then. He told her it was complicated, but she wasn’t sure what could be complicated enough for her to not understand it. She couldn’t believe this; they had just gotten back together and were arguing. That was not how she had seen that going. But she needed to know what had happened. So, she went on and asked him was he with someone else? To her surprise he got incredibly mad and told her that he didn’t know how she could possibly think that after the time they had spent together, and then he stormed off. A few minutes later she could hear a wolf howl. She guessed he had shifted and ran off, away from her.

                She stormed back to her room crying along the way, thinking about what an ass Chase had been. Why were guys like that? Why couldn’t he just explain what had happened? She was upset but so mad at him at the same time. On the way back to her room she bumped into Ella who wondered why she was so upset. They went back to Tahlia’s room to talk. Ella asked what had happened and she explained it all. And the look on Ella’s face made her regret telling her. Ella told her that she should trust him and give him the benefit of doubt. That made Tahlia really angry. Why was she taking his side? She thought that they were friends. Ella explained that she wasn’t siding with Chase. She wasn’t siding with anyone, but there was more to it than Tahlia knew, and she should ask Chase about that.  Tahlia asked Ella if that was the case why wouldn’t he have just told her that? Ella looked like she had bitten into something bitter but went on to say that maybe he was protecting her… Protecting her? from what?