Chapter 7

• There is truly no place like home I mumbled heaving a sign of relief as Tyler unlocked my door to let us in. Through the window, I could see the vibrant glow of a full moon.
• The favourite feature of my room is the window; it was a regular picture window but I had the most spectacular view of Meadow Lake. It gave the room a surreal feel. Every evening when I stare at the moon, I ponder on the existence of the moon goddess, Was she even real or was she a myth? I understand that it's in our werewolf nature to have faith in her, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was aware of me or what I was going through.
• I've been used to living alone all my life. After leaving foster care when I came of age, I was assigned a room where I’ve lived alone for a pretty long time because no one wanted to be assigned the same room I was in and frankly I enjoyed having my own space where I felt safe after a difficult day. Asides from the locket my mum gifted me; my room was the other thing that kept me from putting an end to my life. It was unquestionably my safe harbour whenever I felt threatened or unsure about something.
• Tyler carried me carefully to my bed. He was curious as to why I locked my room while no one else did. He growled when I just shrugged and claimed it was for safety reasons. My room wasn't untidy; it was just empty and tiny.
• "So this is your room" he stated disappointed with how small it was. I nodded my confirmation as he looked around getting more displeased.
• I stood there watching as his hands ran over my belongings on top of my dresser. The books; The Tempest, Pride and Prejudice, North and South and The Notebook were on the bookshelf including my diary with an illustration of a jasper. Beside it was the locket I was gifted by Mother hanging on the jewellery holder.
• I stood in front of a photograph of Mother admiring her delicate features and wishing I had her by my side especially now. I never met her but she was indeed a sight to behold. A few years back, I had to courage to walk up to the elder wolfs and asked them about her. Everyone that knew her said that her smile was enough to light up the gloomiest of hearts. I noticed Tyler’s attention shift to the tally marks I made on the wall that counted the days since I last transformed and also a countdown to the day I’ll abscond the pack.
• "What's all this?" he inquired, turning to face me with a puzzled expression.
• “...um... It’s all the full moons since I last transformed" I replied, my eyes downcast and my hands fidgeting.
• "Why would you do that?" he questioned, perplexed by my actions which sounded like a silly idea.
• "I'm not sure, but counting them just gave me a wider scope of my situation," I replied as he continued to look around.
• "What situation exactly?" he inquired as he approached my restroom door, which he promptly opened to check further.
• This discussion was driving towards a perilous path.
• "Of my wolf's inexistence," I said stating the obvious reluctantly but making sure to avoid giving away my other motive.
• "And how are you so sure of that?" Tyler asked furrowing his eyebrow.
• "Because my birthday was two days ago and nothing happened, A wolf knows its true purpose on its birthday. For me, I've got nothing " I exhaled deeply attempting to remove my shoes without untying them. This simple act proved to be very difficult as my entire being was fatigued. Tyler's head snapped to mine so quickly that I thought he would sprain his neck.
• "Your birthday was two days ago?." he inquired
• "Yes," I replied, finally pulling off my shoes.
• "Once again, another miserable birthday has passed," I murmured to myself.
• Then my chin was tilted up, and I looked into Tyler's golden eyes. The sensation was something I'm not sure I'll ever get used to.
• "Happy birthday, Kaya," he said sweetly before moving forward to plant a kiss on my forehead.
• I was utterly astonished by the way he wished me a happy birthday so conveniently.
• "um.. thanks," I said feeling strange to hear those words because no one had ever wished me a happy birthday this sweetly.
• "My pleasure," he said, his gaze holding mine for a moment.
• "I don’t get it though, why mark the days since your transformation?" his voice dripped with inquisitiveness.
• I couldn't exactly tell him I was planning on eloping so I deflected
• "Is it possible we discuss this some other time? I just- I'm exhausted." I said heaving a deep sigh.
• ''Of course," He replied as his gaze shifted to my lips causing me to shiver.
• "I need to get you warm, Kaya."
• Did I hear him right? His statement resonated in my mind as I thought of the multiple interpretations of his statement.
• No one had ever shown so much concern about me let alone being so intimate.
• My heart raced as I thought of our bodies colliding.
• "Um....I- I- don't think that's a. Um.." I licked my lips, failing miserably in even expressing a sensible statement and before I could collect my thoughts properly, he ran his thumb tenderly over my lip.
• "I just want to hold you, Kaya, you are shivering. And I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to." He assured me with his thumb still caressing my lips.
• His touch rapidly circulated hot energy through my entire body. The sensation felt both strange and at the same time, thrilling. How could I refuse this feeling, this warmth?
• Before I could process my thoughts, I nodded my head in approval.
• I observed as he moved aside to pull off his shoes, then his pants, then his shirt.
• My gaze travelled down his tall muscular figure and I felt weird for staring.
• The bed dipped as it welcomed his weight making me tilt towards him while his hands slid down my back to my waist and stopped, drawing me against his warm body. I soon found myself staring into Tyler's eyes, which stared back with longing.
• He extended his hand to my cheek and whispered "I need you to understand that I will always protect you.”
• His thumb stroked my cheek so gingerly that I wanted to melt. The solid mass of heat beside me felt so real, I couldn’t doubt his existence. I prayed to the moon goddess that he was here to stay as the realization that my life was genuinely changing dawned on me. As I thought this through, hot tears welled up in my eyes so quickly that it was difficult to blink them away.
• "Thank You" I voiced feeling grateful.
• After that, I closed my eyes allowing his caress to coax me into slumber. This was the best night I’ve ever had.