Whispers

Chapter seventeen

I burst into the dining room, and freeze. Ray is laying on the floor, underneath the paws of a huge black wolf. No one moves, everyone too afraid to get the wolf off of Ray. It is almost like they've never seen a wolf before.

"Hey!" I yell, out of shock, earning the attention from everyone in the room, including the wolf. In the second after I did that I realize just how stupid I really am. I snap out of my shock induced trance, to the wolf stalking towards me. I watch as Ray scrambles away, her face drained of color, and then look back at the wolf. The wolf stares me down, its head lowered and teeth bared to me, red eyes full of nothing but the will to tear me to shreds.

Well, running it is.

I turn and run towards the back door, thinking the wolf is going to follow me out. With a quick look backwards confirms my thoughts. When I get to the back door, I tear it open and run towards the woods. I don't have to look behind me that it's following me--I can practically feel it's breath on my neck. I quickly transform into my wolf, not caring if my clothes tore, because my wolf runs faster. 

Then, without warning, I run into something invisible, and it knocks me out of my wolf form. I fall back onto the ground, my sore back hitting the packed dirt, with a grunt. Looking down at myself I see that I am still fully clothed, which is weird, but I'm not going to argue. I roll over, breathless, and see the wolf at the edge of an grassless clearing.

The black wolf is staring at me, sizing me up, as I transform--painfully--back into my wolf. With little coaxing, I feel the energy that I have felt so many times before kick in, but this time, I know what I'm doing--I have a front row seat to what is happening. 

The black wolf attacks first, which I am able to dodge. I attack back, ramming it in the side with my body, trying to knock it off balance. During that I narrowly miss him biting down on my neck, but I find a weakness--A huge gaping wound on his back leg. While dodging another attack, I duck under him and clamp down on his hurt leg. The wolf yelps and was able to twist his hurt leg out of my jaw. He backs off, and I am able to use this time to ram him into the barrier, knocking him out of his wolf form. 

The shock of seeing him out of wolf form causes me to shift back. A little ways off I hear people yelling--They've found us and are coming to help. 

The guy gets up to his feet, his red eyes glaring at me, "At least they taught you something useful, Gillian," 

My wolf and my mutant ability take over together just as the other pack members make their way to us. By the time they actually got to us, I had the guy pinned to the ground by his throat. 

"Get this beast the hell off of me!" He screams as I bite down harder on his throat. I replace my mouth with my paw and urge myself to shift back, the wind around me picking up and the smell of rain filling my nostrils.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I say through a clenched jaw, my hand wrapped around his throat. He smiles up at me and laughs as someone else makes their way to the side of me.

"My Master wants you, not me," He whispers. My hands tighten around his throat without my permission. All I can think about is getting rid of him--If he's gone I can live in peace, and I don't have to worry about who ever his Master is. The wind picks up more as I feel someone trying to pry my hands off of him. A pair of arms wrap around my body, pinning my arms to my sides, and distracting me long enough for my hands to let go of the guy. Tingles and shocks run up and down my body; I don't have to look behind me to know who was able to grab me and get me to release.

I watch as two other guys--whose names I don't remember--drag the unconscious guy away from me. I fight against Jason's bear hug, but it's useless. 

"Jason! Let me go!" I scream, out of breath. The wind picked up more and the thunder began to roll, the smell of rain filling my burning lungs. I kick Jason in the shin, which makes him grunt, but he doesn't let go. If anything it makes him hold on harder.

"I am not letting you go until you calm down," He says through a clenched jaw, struggling to keep me in place. 

"I am not going to be calm until you let me go!" I yell, shaking. The breeze grows stronger as the sky grows darker, the visual threat of a storm making it's presence know.

Jason, finally lets me go, my body going cold and empty at the loss of contact. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Why are you so out of breath?" I ask as the rain starts pelting down on us. I don't turn around to face Jason at this point, afraid of what I will see. I'm not even sure what I am afraid of.

"You scared the hell out of me. What were you thinking?" He asks, his voice dripping with anger and something else that I couldn't identify. I turn to look at him. His body is tense and his eyes have gone completely purple. I try to swallow the sudden surge of anger that I feel, but it doesn't stay down.

"I wasn't thinking. I just followed my instincts." I spat. I start to shake harder as the rain coats us both, soaking us to the bone.

"Your so called 'instincts' are going to get you killed." Jason grits his teeth as he gets to his feet. I stand up too as he begins to walk away from me, the wind picking up as I do. The trees around us being to bend and sway in the storm as the ran comes down harder. I grab Jason by the shoulder and feel him physically flinch at my touch, and spin him around to face me.

"I didn't see any of you doing anything while that thing was on Ray," I say, feeling my anger leave me as he looks down at me, his eyes full of something I can't read, "Why do you even care?" We stand there silently as it continues to rain down on us and as I start to run out of energy. Jason managed to calm himself enough that his eyes go back to their blueish purple color. He blinks a couple of times, his face clearing of any emotion he was feeling, and stares right at me.

"You could have died," He whispers, his breath fanning my face, "Sorry that I didn't want to see your dead body lying in a clearing." 

I feel the storm start to dissipate as my energy runs out. My stomach does a flip--Jason's face is so close to mine. The energy between us is so charged that I feel empty when he backs away from me and turns from me, leaving me alone in the clearing, "I'm going back to the house," He says before stalking off through the woods.

I stand there for a second, thinking about everything that just happened within the last thirty minutes. The storm has past, and it left me shaking even though the humidity of the afternoon came back right after the clouds left the sky. I will my legs to move and, in a daze, I get back to the house and into my room.

When the door closes behind me, I collapse into it, my legs shaking so bad that I am almost unable to keep myself standing. All of it, every bit of it, is too weird--first I have a dream about a black wolf attacking me in the woods, and then a black wolf shows up. I rub my face, my body sore and raw--I need a shower.

I get into the shower and stand under the warm water, allowing it to wash over me and heat up the chill that had settled in my body. After I finish, I dry off and get dressed, sure that I missed dinner. I sigh, my stomach is empty, I need to eat something. 

I get into bed anyway, burying myself under the covers hoping I could forget about everything that happened today. I just get comfortable and am about to fall asleep when someone opens the door and closes it softly. I roll over and smile at Bane, who looks utterly exhausted. I sit up and smile softly, tears forming at the brim of my eyes, when Bane comes over to me and hugs me. 

"Gill," He sighs, "You didn't need to do that," He squeezes me harder, as if he is afraid to let me go. I sigh and hug him back. 

"I acted on impulse, I didn't mean to--," I start to cry, the build up of emotion too much to deal with. 

"Gill, it's okay. We're all just happy you're okay," He says softly, letting me go. I swallow down the sobs that have made their home in my throat. 

"Jason hates me," I whisper with a chuckle, "Bet I made him regret coming to get me from my old pack," I rub the running tears off my face only for them to keep coming. 

"That's bullshit," Bane laughs and wipes tears away from my eyes, "Jason's upset, but he won't stay that way for long. Especially not at you," I look at Bane, trying to figure out what he meant. He rolls his eyes at me, as if to say that I can't take a hint and says, "He doesn't know why either, but he likes you. I mean, come on, he practically begged Dom to train you, just so he could be near you. Hell, man didn't even leave the infirmary when be brought you here. Doc had to all but drag him upstairs just so he would shower and eat." 

I shake my head, "I doubt that, Bane. I know you know him better than me--," 

"Know him better than you? Angel and Jason are my best friends. I know more than anyone, and believe me, I know when one of them has a crush on someone," Bane lays back on my bed, his head lightly brushing up against the wall. I readjust my body to sit against the wall and stare up at the ceiling. 

"Why is all of this happening to me?" I ask the ceiling while closing my eyes.

"Because you're the werewolf version of Harry Potter, and you're the chosen one," I giggle at Bane's explanation, "Either that or you're stuck in a teen fiction book. Take your pick." 

"I highly doubt I'm the chosen one," I say around bouts of laughter. 

"I mean, think about it," Bane adjusts himself to sit next to me against the wall, "Powerful abilities, shitty past, a couple of male friends. Hell, you even have the hair," I roll my eyes at Bane. 

"I'm not a red head, I'm a blonde," I look down at my hair and back at Bane. 

"Okay, I'm sorry, you're a 'strawberry blonde'. Which is red for blondes," I sigh in fake frustration and we laugh together. 

Talking to Bane, even about something as stupid as being blonde or a red head, made me feel way better. We are laughing about something else incredibly stupid when a knock comes to the door.

My hair stands on end. I already know who is at the door. 

"Come in," Says Bane, unsurprised when Jason opens the door. In his hand he has two plates of food and a couple of water bottles tucked under his arm. 

"I noticed you two didn't eat, so I brought you food," He says, walking in and closing the door with his foot. He hands us the plates, drops the bottles on the bed, and turns around to turn Bane's bedside lamp on. 

Jason looks like he has just reset after the chaos the ensued this afternoon. He is dressed in a worn pair of jeans and a loose gray t-shirt. His hair falls slightly in his eyes as he plops down on Bane's bed with a sigh, and then catches me staring at him. I swallow and immediately advert my eyes to my food. I don't even take into account what's on the plate, I just start shoving it in my face. 

"You two really need to learn to eat regularly," He says to us as we eat. I don't need to be looking at him to know that Jason is still looking at me, as if assessing if I was really sitting in front of him. I swallow the mouthful of food I am chewing and grab a water bottle. 

"Nah, eating regularly is for wimps," Bane says around another bite. I gulp down some water, catching a glimpse of Jason's eyes on me. I stop drinking and feel my face go red as I turn my attention back to my food. I finish far before Bane, who knows how to eat at a decent pace, and put my empty plate beside me, regretting scarfing down the food like a starving animal, "Damn, girl. Were you hungry or something?" 

I chuckle and move to sit with my back against the pillow so I'm not sitting face to face with Jason, "I didn't eat much this morning, so yeah. I still have to get used to eating on a regular basis. I'm not used to it." 

"Well you were in the infirmary without any real food for what, Jason?" Bane swallows his last bite and puts his plate with mine. 

"About two weeks, I think," He says, leaning down on his knees. 

"It's not just that," I say with a sigh, "I didn't each much at home either," I say, earning a wary look from the guys, "Don't look at me like that, it wasn't intentional." 

Bane nods, not needing further explanation, but Jason is still looking at me weird. I look at him with a questioning look, "I know you're going to ask, so just do it," I sigh, leaning my head back against the wall. 

"They kept food from you?" He asked, disbelief with a twinge of anger seeping into his tone. I chuckle slightly. 

"Not them, my dad mainly," I play with a loose strand on the blanket. 

"Wowwie we are the golden trio for daddy issues aren't we?" Bane says, a scornful laugh escaping his lips. I laugh slightly too, "Next thing you tell me is that you also have mommy issues. Wait, do you?" I laugh at his question and shrug. 

"I mean, my mom hasn't been in the picture since I was a kid. I get mixed reasons as to why. I was told it was a rule that the father took the kids if two wolves split, I was told it was because she didn't want me and willing let me go with my dad, and I was also told that she was the one who left. I don't know which to believe," 

"Cheers to childhood trauma," Bane raises his water bottle up and bumps it against my, almost empty, bottle, "Because we wouldn't be here without it," He takes a huge gulp and then sighs. 

"You're nuts," Jason sighs, a small chuckle fighting through. 

"Don't act like you don't have any issues with your parents, dude, I already know it all," Bane points to the ceiling from his position on my bed. I look at Jason and see him roll his eyes. 

"Yeah yeah. Both my parent's are dead though, so," I feel my eyes widen. 

"Well that took a dark turn," I say softly. Jason shrugs at me, his eyes softening when he looks at me. 

"It's the truth though," Jason pushes himself off the bed, "It's only 8 PM. You guys going to settle in for the night?" He grabs the plates from the bed and kicks Bane, who has dozed off, "Bane, your bed is over there," Bane moans and sits up. 

"I am definitely going to bed," He walks over to his bed, pulls up the blankets, and collapses down into the mattress. Without looking he reaches and shuts off the light, leaving Jason and I in the dark, "Don't do anything nasty while I'm in the room," He whispers before falling silent. 

I hear Jason sigh, "Bane, really," which makes me laugh. "I'm sorry about him, he says stupid things when he's half asleep," 

"Well you say stupid things when you're awake. Now shut up, I'm trying to sleep," I bust out laughing, pushing myself off the bed. 

"I'll walk with you to bring the plates back to the kitchen," I whisper, walking with Jason out of the room. We walk down the hallway in semi-comfortable silence--neither of us knowing what to say. We get to the kitchen, and Jason rinses the plates before placing them in the dishwasher. 

I lean against the counter, my legs cold after being under the blankets. 

Jason sighs while drying his hands and then leans against the counter opposite of me so that we are facing each other. I cross my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my malnourished body, and smile awkwardly at him.

"Gill--," 

"You don't have to say anything, Jason. It's fine," I swallow and look away. I look into the light on the ceiling, trying to prevent myself from crying again. I am so sick of crying, especially over nothing. 

"Would you let me finish?" Jason sighs, frustrated. I look at him, satisfied that my tears were going to stay where they belong. 

"What, then. What were you going to say?" I say, doing my best to not get defensive. Jason looks me over, and then meets my eyes again. I feel the blush from earlier coming back to my face. 

"I was going to say that, if you're cold and don't have any sweatpants, that Kitty probably has a couple spare pairs. She would be more than happy to get you a pair," He pushes off the counter and faces the window in front of the sink, now refusing to look at me. 

I shake my head and laugh. Without thinking, my feet bring me right beside him, almost touching the arm, both of his hands shoved deep in his pockets, "That's not what you were going to say, and you know it. So just say it," I whisper, leaning my hip against the counter to hold me up. 

Where did this sudden confidence come from? I swallow down the nervousness I am feeling and watch Jason's facial expressions. 

"No, it was exactly what I was going to say. I'm sorry, were you expecting something else?" He looks down at me, his face emotionless. 

I don't know why that hurt, but it did. I suck in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "Fine," I push off the counter for the last time, "I'll see you tomorrow for training," I walk away from him and back down the hallway to my room, fully drained and ready to go to sleep. I fall down into the bed and it takes less than a minute to find myself sinking into a dreamless sleep. 

Then, I am sitting up by the river. I look around, recognizing the trees and the feel of the water on my bare feet. I push off the bank, sinking into the river, and find that the water comes up to my waist. I laugh, the feeling of total freedom taking over. 

"What are you doing?" I look behind me and Jason is standing  there, staring down at me. 

"Enjoying the river," I extend my hand out, "Join me?" 

Jason shrinks back, and I take back my hand as I feel the smile slip from my face, "Or not, you don't have to," I slip lower into the water, the thin dress I have on soaking through completely. The river water feels nice on my skin. I put my head under, drenching my hair and come up with a smile. 

Jason is sitting at the bank with his feet in the water. I swim over to him, the current of the river slightly pulling me down stream, and prop myself up on the bank. Jason ignores me as I do this, refusing to look at me. I sigh and look out into the woods. 

"Why am I here?" He asks. 

"Don't know," I say, not knowing what to tell him. 

"Are you calling me here?" He looks down at me, his eyes full of something I easily identify as hurt and pain. 

"I can't talk to anyone via mind link, not even in dreams, and you think I called you here?" I pull myself out of the river and start to wring out the dress, "No, Jason. I wouldn't call you here." I mumble before shaking out my hair. 

"You have to be doing it somehow--," 

"Well, I'm not. If you want to leave all you have to do is walk in the direction of the pack house, and you'll be back to your dream," I look down stream, the pack house barely in view, "You don't have to be here and you're more than welcome to leave," 

Jason gets up, aggressively, and stands in front of me, "I didn't say that I wanted to leave," He crosses his arms, his body language screaming power and annoyance. 

I decide to match him, "Well you didn't need to," I get closer, close enough to feel the static between our bodies and the soft wave his his breath on my face, "You're so concerned about me calling you here like I want you here, so go. Leave. Get out of my head," I say, my voice raising out of frustration. He sighs and looks down the river, as if considering it. I hold myself back from grabbing him and asking him not to leave.

"Do you not want to know why we are both called here almost every night? Do you not care?" He is becoming exasperated, and I don't care. I feel my emotions shutting down. 

"Nope," I smile through a clenched jaw, "I don't." 

"You're lying," He smirks, "You're a shitty liar."

"I'm not lying, I don't lie," I say poking his chest, "Unlike some people I know." 

"I've never lied to you," Jason laughs in disbelief. I uncross my arms and poke him in the chest again.

"Then what were you going to say in the kitchen before you made up that bullshit excuse of going to kitty for sweatpants? Hmm?" I put my hands on my hips, waiting for his answer. Jason rubs his face and give a muffled sigh. 

"I was going to say that I was sorry for getting angry earlier today," He says quickly before looking at me. My feet move on their own to close the small gap between us. I get on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. He only hesitates for a second before wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground about an inch. 

"You're an i***t. You should have just said that," I said into his shoulder. The warmth of his body against mine feels good as the, especially after being in the river, and the vibration of his chuckle against my chest makes my heart skip a beat, "I'm sorry I worried you. It wasn't my intention. I just reacted, I didn't think." 

I feel Jason's heart pick of speed, matching mine easily, as I feel him embrace me closer. 

"I already forgave you, I just don't like that you did it," He lets me back down onto the ground, the loss of heat and frequency of small shocks running through my nerves making me feel empty again. 

"Well, hopefully it won't happen again," I lean my forehead against his chest, just to get a little bit of his warmth and electricity flowing through me again, and feel him brush over the damp strands of hair before kissing me on the top of my head. 

"I f*****g hope not," He whispers, his voice husky. My heart starts to pound faster and I can feel my legs start to shake, "I seriously don't know what I would do if anything happened to you," my eyes flutter close as I nuzzle into his chest further in effort to hide my face. I feel Jason's arms wrap around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his chest. 

"Why is this happening?" I ask, almost breathless. I feel Jason kiss me on the top of the head again, his lips lingering there as he spoke.

"I don't know," He sighs, "I'm just as confused as you." 

I am about to pull away, convincing myself to do something other than hide, when Bane's alarm clock pulls me from my sleep. I sit straight up, my heart pounding. Bane, like the last couple of days, moans and slams his hand down on the snooze button. 

I can still feel the heat of Jason's chest against my face. I cover my face with my hands, my face burning red--What the hell is going on? I have a mate. Sure our bond is broken, but it's improbable--no, impossible--to have two mates at the same time. 

I push the blankets off of my legs, and go to the closet to get ready for the day. I pull out a pair of leggings, a loose t-shirt, and get dressed in the bathroom. By the time I'm out, Bane is awake and getting ready. Before we are able to leave, a knock comes to the door. 

My heart slams against my ribcage; Is Jason here to talk about what happened? I hear Bane open the door, and say hello to the person on the other side, my heart slowly calming down with the knowledge that it wasn't Jason on the other side of the door. 

I turn around to see Dom standing in the door frame, "Hey, Gill. How you feeling after yesterday?" 

I shrug, my body sore, "Fine, I guess. Is everything okay?" 

"Actually," Dom sighs, "Yes and no. I was wondering if I could have a word with you later today?" I freeze, my stomach turning into a knot, "It's nothing you did. I want to talk to you about yesterday and what happened." 

"Oh," I say with a sigh, "Okay, yeah. Of course. When do you want me in your office?" I ask, sitting down to slip on my shoes. 

"How about right before you go to training? I'll let Jason know so he won't think you're making him wait. Sound good?" I swallow at the mention of Jason and smile at Dom. 

"I'll see you then."