Visionary Wolves

Chapter 3: Deal

“Not me. I'd fight my way to the top," Evan said, puffing out his chest.

“Of course, you would. You'd find any excuse to brawl," Hadleigh muttered.

After they were cleaned up, they sat on the shore of the lake. Hadleigh pulled her knees up to her chest and squeezed the excess water from her long red hair. They both were quiet as they stared out at the now placid surface of the lake.

“Have you ever heard of someone taking as long as me to come of age?" she asked him. Evan glanced at her. “Besides the story we all know."

“Well, no but that doesn't mean anything is wrong with you," Evan insisted.

“It's hard not feeling that way sometimes," Hadleigh said wistfully.

“You shouldn't. You're one of the fastest, if not THE fastest runners I've ever seen. You leave me in the dust regularly. Imagine how you'll be once you can shift!"

“Really? I thought you always let me win," Hadleigh suggested honestly.

Evan slapped her on the arm, pushing her slightly.

“Ow!" she cried. “What was that for?"

“Do you think I'd purposely make myself look like an i***t?" Evan asked, throwing his hands out.

“Should I answer that honestly?"

Evan feigned a vengeful expression.

Hadleigh laughed before pausing and asking seriously, "Do you ever wonder about your mate?"

Evan scanned her face with interest. She noticed some of his attractive white teeth against his pink lips when he smiled at her.

"Sometimes, but I already have an idea of who I want," Evan said, picking up a smooth, dark pebble and turning it over in his fingers.

“I don't think we can choose who we want," Hadleigh said quietly. Evan appeared forlorn as he stood up and began to toss the rocks as far out as he could. She knew that Evan could be her mate, but her visions were telling her otherwise.

Hadleigh watched as the moon's reflection scattered in ripples from his aggressive skipping. Tears welled up along the edge of her lids unexpectedly. She tried desperately to hold in sobs with her eyes closed. It hurt her to see him upset and she was feeling especially raw lately.

All at once, she heard Evan's skipping cease. She opened her eyes just as he crouched down beside her.

“I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be. I know it's hard without your dad. And the confusion about the delay." Evan spoke kindly to her.

She nodded sniffing.

“You want to know why I'm not worried? I leave things up to the Moon Goddess."

Hadleigh turned to him sadly but with a spark of hope.

"You really think she'll keep watch over us? That I'll be normal?"

"You're already better than normal." He smiled. His confidence lent itself to her just like her father's had. After he helped her stand up, they both decided to go back to the den and try to get some rest.

Hadleigh felt reassured by Evan's words at the moment, but she wasn't sure if he had purposely omitted something. Sometimes Evan's jealousy clouded his judgment and he'd hide even from her.

***

That night, Hadleigh slept fitfully. Her dreams were peppered with scenes of a red-furred wolf jumping out at her. In a few visions, the wolf shifted into her father. At other intersections, Keiron was present along with the pleasant, wafting aroma.

With each repeated exposure to him in her dream he was impossible to ignore. Sometimes, they were standing closely together, in another he pulled her in for a kiss. When she woke up, she felt confused.

Keiron didn't seem like the kind of person she wanted to be with. It felt like he enjoyed humiliating and pushing her around. What kind of mate would do that? She wanted someone who cared for her when she was feeling vulnerable.

Yet, she couldn't get him out of her mind.

Hadleigh shuffled her way to the bathroom to have a proper warm shower. After the recent training, she was sore. Just as she was about to close the door, her sister blocked her way.

Dinah stood five inches taller than Hadleigh. Her long blond hair was spilling down her tan shoulders onto her large breasts in her skimpy sleepwear as she leaned on the doorframe of the bathroom.

“What, Dinah?"

“I hear you're training with Keiron."

“Yeah, I am," Hadleigh said. “Why do you care?"

“Keiron's really hot. It's too bad he has to waste his time with you." Dinah rolled her eyes.

“I think he may be my mate," Hadleigh mumbled.

“You? Yeah, right!" Dinah burst into uncontrollable laughter holding her stomach.

“No loss to me if he isn't. He's kind of a d*ck."

Dinah's mate, Ian, came out of her bedroom then. He wrapped his arms around Dinah's stomach and kissed her cheek. Hadleigh felt striking jealousy in her stomach. Dinah noticed Hadleigh's face and smiled, enjoying her sister's insecurity.

“Don't worry, I'm sure you'll—"

Hadleigh slammed the door in Dinah's face.

“Don't be such a brat, Hadleigh!" Ian shouted. She let out an angry sigh as she got into the shower.

When she was finished washing up, Hadleigh used her towel to dry off while studying herself in the mirror. She hated to admit it but Dinah's snide comments had a bit of truth in them.

Keiron was rich, talented, and gorgeous while she was a lowly Eyres. Maybe her visions about him being her mate were wrong.

Hadleigh got dressed and left to go get something to eat.

When she saw Evan, he stepped to her.

“Good morning!" he said.

“You're cheerful today."

“Why wouldn't I be?" he asked her. “You look amazing." Evan's eyes moved up and down over Hadleigh's body.

“Really?" Hadleigh glanced down at herself unsure of what he saw.

“Yeah," he said with an upper inflection at the end. “This isn't the first time … oh, I know what this is about. Dinah, right?"

“Maybe," Hadleigh said quietly.

“Dude, f*ck her and Ian. Do not be jealous of them. Their relationship has the depth of a toilet."

“What's that mean?"

“You know, it's not very deep. Bad analogy, huh?"

“Maybe, but it fits perfectly!"

After Hadleigh ate in the dining hall with Evan, she raced outside to get in a morning jog. As she was crossing the field toward the path, she was surprised to see that Keiron was there. Another unexpected visit. The dew was still on the grass as she walked toward him, making her sneakers damp at the top of the toes.

Maybe she should ask for a copy of their schedule.

"Why are you here so early?" Hadleigh asked.

"Figured I'd get a jump on the day. It'll free up the night." His breath was visible in the cooler late summer air. As his dark bangs blew in the breeze, they appeared shiny in the sun. She noticed that both of his eyes had long dark lashes despite the lighter shade of his left iris.

“I was planning on going for a jog," Hadleigh said, hoping to push back their training. The sun was rising higher in the sky over the Eyres fields of crops.

“Then, I'll join you," he said, as he put on black sunglasses.

Hadleigh felt her insides tense up. Jogging was her time to let go of her stresses and lose herself in the simplicity of a single task. Having him with her would wind her up further but ... now that she was close, the visions of him from the night before came flooding back.

Why did she feel attracted to someone who wanted to play mind games with her?

The two barely spoke the entire time but when they got back to their training area, she was pleasantly surprised that the warm-up had served to remove some jitters.

Shortly after they returned, they took their places to spar.

At first, Hadleigh was doing okay with training but as soon as Keiron got her down, what little confidence she had mustered was stamped out. Her sister's words were still fresh in her mind and her own doubts were overtaking her.

“On your feet, Hadleigh. We're supposed to be at this every day. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

“How am I doing that?"

“You're letting your head get in the way of your nature," Keiron said.

Hadleigh paused, concealing her shock. She wondered if he was psychic. That was the second time he could see how she was feeling.

“How would you know? You don't know anything about me!" she shouted, hoping to convince him.

“I can read you like a book."

“If you're so good, tell me what you see." She crossed her arms.

“Well, for one, you're supposedly the fastest wolf in a 100-mile radius, even without your wolf."

“Rumors aren't the same as reading me, Keiron."

“Is it true?" he asked. She ignored him and blew some of her thick, red hair out of her face. “I have a proposal for you. If you can beat me in a race, we can skip training for today and as a bonus, I'll tell you something I know about you. Something you don't know about yourself."

“Sounds good to me! To the lakeshore," Hadleigh directed.

The two walked over to the edge of the lush, green field. She stared once into his multi-colored irises and then faced forward. They both counted down to three and then took off running. Hadleigh sprinted with all of her might, her feet kicking against her backside as she gained more speed.

Hadleigh could feel the earth beneath her feet as she pressed into it. When she peered over her shoulder for a quick peak, Keiron was extremely close. Once she saw the beach, an extra surge of energy hit her and she ran so fast she nearly fell over while crossing their imaginary line.

She had won!

“Are you sure you haven't shifted yet?" he asked breathlessly. She glared at him. “I'm serious. Nobody has ever beaten me."

“What about your pack of Ramseys?“

“Nobody," he confessed with emphasis. Pride filled her chest as she smiled in child-like glee. Keiron stood up and walked closely to her. Somehow his taller stature didn't seem as looming as before.

“You have better command of your body than you let on. I can help you channel it."

“It isn't the same when we're training."

“Why not?"

“With running, I just do it. I don't have to think."

“And I will teach you to fight the same way. But," he paused to wipe his face of sweat. “A deal is a deal. Do you want to give up on today's training?" Keiron's eyes dropped down to meet hers.

For a second, she became lost in how exquisite he was. His eyes were alight and his face was slightly flushed. She imagined running her fingers through his thick black hair. And his lips would taste–

"Hadleigh?" Keiron's voice brought her back to reality.

“Uh, no. Let's keep going," Hadleigh said.

She wondered if she would be able to keep her hands to herself.