Intertwined souls

Perspective

BLAKE -

Never in my life had I gotten such a small amount of sleep as I did last night. I spent all night watching Octavia toss and turn on my bed. It was fascinating watching her move around so much yet never actually wake up. It was about 6:00 when I decided to get up and get my day started. I left Octavia a note telling her that I would be outside feeding the animals and I would come back when I was done and set it on my pillow.

I headed outside and went about my usual routine but I wasn't paying any attention to what I was doing. I wanted so badly to take her in the shower last night, but I couldn't do that until she knew who and what I was. Mating with her would not be fair if she didn’t know what was going on.

I knew from the second I laid eyes on her that she would be my mate. My inner wolf howled and paced until I finally talked him down enough to let me take it slowly with her. Everyone in the town was a part of my pack and when they heard that a human had moved in, it didn't take them long to figure out why I’d let her stay. Rumors that the alpha had found his mate were going to travel fast, so every opportunity to be with her I took it, so she couldn't hear anything from anyone around town. Pack business needed to be handled as well, but I had my Beta to assist. Of course, my Beta, Josh, had plenty to say, but it wasn't unheard of to have a human as a mate, just a little more rare for the alpha to have one. Josh and I had grown up together and he met his mate a few years back at a regional pack meeting,the same night that Noah was born.

I knew that having a human as the alpha's mate would make some of my pack uncomfortable, but at the same time I knew that everyone wanted me to find her. Especially Josh and Cole.

The night that Noah was born, my ex, Sabrina, left and as far as I can tell, no one had seen her since then. For a long time, I thought that she was my mate. I had never seriously been with anyone before her and I truly believed that she was my mate. It was after she left that I realized, had she been my mate, I wouldn't be alive.

When mates are separated, by death or not, they start to die from the inside out. And when that didn't happen to me, it was a hard realization and I didn't date after that. I had been single for 4 years and was convinced I would forever be the East Barron pack alpha, without a mate.

I finished taking care of the animals and decided that I wanted to go for a run. It had been about 30 minutes and I could hear her still asleep in bed. I stripped off my clothes and laid them on the back porch, sifting into my wolf.

I ran through the woods behind my house and felt all my stress float off in the wind. I could feel my senses heighten more. The more time I spent with Octiava, my wolf wanted to keep her and claim her as our own. He was angry and wanted to be set free, but understood the consequences of what would happen if we forced her into mating. Already, I couldn't stand the thought of losing her. It didn't feel right when I was away from her. I felt antsy and impatient, I had snapped at my pack members this week more than I ever had.

I had always been good at composing myself and keeping a level head, but since I met her, and even before, it had gotten a lot harder to keep myself in check. She sent everything into a calm chaos, everything felt unmanageable and erratic, including myself and my wolf. Off in the distance, I could hear my horses and cattle moving around and decided that it was time to head back home.

Still in my wolf form, I arrived at the back of my property and was walking back when I could hear Octavia in the house, talking to someone. I shifted back, put my clothes on and headed inside.

“ No, Nia” Octavia gasped. “ It was huge. I've never seen anything like it.”

She listened to the woman on the other side for a few minutes and then let out a long ragged breath. I was walking up the stairs and decided to pause and do a little eavesdropping.

“ I don't know, Something feels off” She said “ I’ve had a weird feeling ever since I woke up and mentally I feel like I can't take a breath”. She continued.

“And after seeing that dog, I definitely felt like something wrong. I walked outside to see if I could find Blake, but as soon as I saw it I came back inside and I don't know where he is”

Fuck, she saw me. I should’ve been more careful. I don't want her being scared of me before I can explain everything to her. I’m at a loss for words, but I could feel her emotions as if they were my own. I could sense her fear radiating off of her skin, and I couldn't bear to watch this and not do anything about it.

I walked around the corner of the stairs and into the bedroom and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, her knees were pressed tightly against her chest and her head was lying on her crossed arms. She looked up at me and her piercing eyes almost made me lose my breath.

“ Is everything okay?” I asked and wanted to comfort her, but in all honesty, I didn't know how to help.

“ Nia, Blake just got back. I gotta go” She said. I could feel her relief starting to cloud the fear she was feeling. She took a breath and nodded her head. “ Okay, I love you too, bye”. She hung up the phone and quickly stood up, walking across the room.

She wrapped her arms around me and I could feel her fast heart rate starting to drop. I embraced her, resting my chin on the top of her head. She looked up to me as if to say something but instead shook her head and stepped away to lay back in the bed, wrapping herself in a blanket.

“ Are you okay?” I questioned her again. I wanted to hear her say that she saw me, but if she did, I wouldn't know what to do or say. Seeing how she felt made me feel vile inside, disgusting. I could feel her panic racing through my body.

“ Blake, you’re going to think I’m insane”, she whispered.

“ I would never”, I walked over to her, rubbing her back and taking a seat next to her. She was shaking under my touch.

“ I saw a god, like a huge dog blake.” She shook her head and looked down. “ it was bigger than my car, and it was pure black and-” She looked up at me and her breath hitched “ your eyes…” She trailed off staring at me. I

knew where this was headed, but I knew as much as I wanted her to be that she wasn't ready to have this conversation. I’ve known from a young age that the only reason I stood out as a wolf, other than my size, was my eyes. Everyone had told me since I was a child that they had never seen a wolf with eyes that looked like mine, nor have I ever seen anything like them myself. My father had always assumed that it had something to do with my mom's family. Her mother was a witch, from what I could understand. My father would never talk about it, but I picked up some things here and there from the older women in the pack.

I felt her panic start to rise again, and her breath started to turn into small quick breaths. I kissed her on the forehead to try and calm her.

“ Look, we have a lot to talk about, but not today. We need to get ready for Noah’s party. Are you hungry?” I said changing the subject. I knew it wouldn't work, but instead of questioning me she nodded her head and I stood her up.

“ I’ll go downstairs and cook something for you to eat. Once you're done, we can stop at your house and you can grab what you need” I asked her, grabbing her hand and leading her downstairs. She agreed and followed me down. She sat on one of the kitchen stools as I made some eggs, bacon and toast. She ate it peacefully but I would occasionally catch her looking out the back door.

I don't know how she saw me, I felt like I had been far enough away the whole time. My mind was racing when I realized that I didn't shift back into my regular form until I was already at the back door. That explains how she would've seen my eyes. I wanted so badly to explain everything to her but I was scared that she would be afraid to stay with me, and I couldn't let her leave. I needed her.

A few hours had passed, she showered and gotten changed and we were headed to meet up with my family. The dress she was wearing was absolutely ridiculous, and in combination with the heels she was wearing, I couldn't look at her or I wouldn't be able to stop myself from staring at her. I could feel her questions lingering but instead decided to distract her by letting my hands explore her thighs. We almost didn't make it out the door in time but she reminded me that it was my son's birthday and we needed to leave. I had placed heated kisses all over her before we had even gotten into my truck, and she gave them back to me.

I was excited for her to meet everyone else in my life that was important to me. All of my pack members, whether they had kids or not, would be there. They were all under very strict orders not to mention anything that would make her suspicious of anything, but I was most worried about my sister. I knew that she and Octavia would get along but once Kayla got to know someone, she was a little too open and honest with them. She understood what was at stake though and she wanted it to work out for me. She had met her mate when we were in high school, and he was perfect for her. I knew that she wanted that for me.

We pulled up to the Aquarium. I got out and opened that door for Octavia, leading her out of the truck and placed one more kiss on her lips.

“You are perfection, my love” I whispered to her while placing a light slap on her ass and we headed inside.