Chosen by the Goddess

Chapter 7

    I had packed light, I figured I din’t need much for two weeks in the woods. I didn’t like having much stuff with me anyway. Rhys had raised an eyebrow while taking a critical look at my backpack. He had asked whether I was sure if that was all I needed. I had replied that I was old enough to pack for myself and that I was indeed sure. I hadn’t had breakfast yet and his tone was annoying me. Now I feel sorry, I hasn’t said much to me after that. 

    I am walking a little behind him, he carries my bag and I am not sure what to do with my arms. I just swing them awkwardly, a little too eager, by my side, while following the big man in front of me who, for my taste, seems a little too sure of himself.  

    “Lets get food first” he mumbles while barely turning around. 

    “Are you hungry?” I ask him, knowing that the answer was obvious, but not talking was worse than asking stupid questions. 

    “Yes, I am getting cranky and so are you.” Was that an insult?

    “ I am not cranky” I protest.

    “Fine. Just me then.” He replies. He is right. He really did get cranky. So did I, but I did not want to admit that. I waddle behind him, not really trying anymore to keep up. That seemed to annoy him even more but he didn’t say anything. Why am I even going with him? I try to think of a reasonable argument, other than the fact that he had invited me. I cant find one. I settle on the fact that I don’t have much to lose anyway and if I die, at least I’ve been on an adventure. Maybe. 

    Just when I start to think about who would get my stuff in the case of sudden loss of life, Rhys grabs my arm. He had stopped without me noticing and I had been well on my way past him, following a random stranger. 

    He had stopped in front of a bakery and was holding the door open for me to enter, so I do. I hear him order as look at the display of baked goods. When he finishes, he turns to me. 

    “What do you want?” Still that tone. The man is definitely past cranky, I think to myself. 

    “What are your vegan options?” I ask the lady behind the counter. She starts naming things and I decide to go with a croissant and black coffee. I turn to Rhys, only to meet his dumbfounded stare. Did I miss anything? I fail to understand the situation. Rhys moves when he is asked to pay. He hands over too much money and leaves without waiting for the change. I grab our stuff and stumble out behind him. 

    He doesn’t say anything. I begin to nibble my croissant. The situation is strange and I don’t actually feel like eating, but I am too hungry and know myself too well. We can’t both be in a bad mood. 

    We don’t walk much farther, we reach a small parking garage and I am frankly quite happy. We could have ubered here. He approaches a black SUV, opens the back door and throws my backpack in. Without another word, he gets into the drivers seat and shuts the door with what feels like too much force. I walk around and climb into the passenger seat. I try to manage our food without spilling the coffee. 

    I somehow master to arrange the items neatly onto my lap without any accidents happening, when I notice that Rhys had turned to me and was watching struggle. I look at him, hoping he would finally tell me what was going on. He takes a deep breath. 

    “Vegan?!” That catches me by surprise. 

    “Delta, are you f*****g serious? Vegan?!”

    “Um… Yeah” I stutter. That cant be the reason he is so upset, right?

    “What the hell?! Are you riffing me right now?” He looks angry and I don’t understand why. Tears start to cloud up my vision. Why is he yelling at me?

    “Why are you yelling at me?”

    “Delta…” he starts, sounding softer now. 

     “What is it? Jesus Christ will you talk to me? What did I do?” I wipe my tears away, feeling stupid for my emotional reaction. I can see him again and his features had softened. He doesn’t seem so tense anymore. 

    “Im sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

    “Cool, that’s why your yell at me?” I answer sarcastically. “I don’t understand your problem. What did I do?” He chuckles. Then leans a bit closer to me and looks right into my eyes. 

    “What is going on is, that the mate I plan to introduce to my supernatural pack of carnivorous apex predators is… a vegan.” 

    “Oh” It is only now that I notice the irony of this. “Sorry, I should have told you” I mutter. 

    “Sure, a little heads up would’ve been nice.” I look down at my hands and bite my lower lip. It seems so obvious now, I just hadn’t thought of it earlier. 

    “Its gonna be fine though, there are probably some bananas in the fridge, or something like that.” I look up again, only to catch him smile at me. 

     “Sorry I yelled.” He says, with a more serious face. “I forget that you don’t know me that well after all and that I can be scary, even though I try not to be. Especially not with you.” Now he looks really sorry. He has a mild smile on his lips and I notice only now that his hand is resting on mine. I don’t pull it away, but I also don’t want him thinking that that is the kind of behavior I will accept just like that. 

    “Danish?” I ask. Before using my free hand to grab the bag from the bakery and hold it out to him. With a sigh, he takes it from me, starts the car and maneuvers it out of the garage and onto the streets.