Mia's Path

MIA

“Jerk!”

I realized my mistake a bit too late. By the time my hands were on my mouth the damage was already done. Now they knew I could speak without a problem. I looked at Kyle by my side. Instead of a scowl he was grinning at me. Wait, I just insulted his Alpha, and he is happy about it? Yeah, totally a weird guy. But I liked him a little more now.

“Yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes, but he means well.” Kyle told me with a sad smile. “He just wants to make sure that the pack is safe, you know. He thinks that you are a threat–”

“Excuse me? I’m the threat? It was your wolves who attacked me.” I all but screamed at his face now. Damn pack wolves. They are all the same, using excuses to hurt the outcast. I’ve met my fair share of rogues and they were all good people. All my friends. They accepted me even though I’m human in a world I shouldn’t belong to.

Oh, Max, I miss you so much.

“Wait, we didn’t attack you. You brought a bunch of rabid rogues to our territory and almost killed me. We just dealt with the rabid rogues the way we should have.” That brought me back to the present. So, they weren’t allies with him. Still, I couldn’t trust them. Could I?

“Look, I can see you went through a lot, but I assure you we are not the enemy here.” Kyle took my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Usually, I had a good read on people, could tell their intentions and nature very quickly. And I was really trying to find the bad in him right now, but Kyle only seemed sincere and in general a nice guy.

Kyle could see the wheels turning in my head. If they weren’t the pack that was after me, maybe I could breathe a little, before running again. “So those wolves were strangers to you too?” Kyle nodded his head, and I released a breath I didn’t notice I was holding. I bit my lip while thinking what my next step would be.

I had to get out of here, but if I could not make an enemy out of this pack, that wouldn’t be so bad. “I’m sorry.” I said sincerely. If he was not against me, I had no intention to kill him or any other person here for that matter.

“For what?” Kyle asked me, confused.

“Hm, for almost killing you.” I breathed out.

“Oh! Yeah, thanks. I’m happy to be alive, I must say.”

I smiled at him. He was being kind to me and making me feel safe at the moment. He reminded me of Max. The same warm aura. I think my smile must have faltered because Kyle took my hand again and gave it a little squeeze.

And as always, my stomach decided to be loud out of nowhere and embarrassed me.

“Ok, enough talk and more feeding, I get it.” with a chuckle Kyle stood and left the room. I took a deep breath. Now that I was alone in the room for the first time, I had the chance to scout it and try to make my plan of escape. Pretty standard hospital room, the bed in the middle, with a TV on the opposite wall. To my right a couch that probably turned into a not very comfortable bed. By my left a chair and behind it a door that I assumed to be the bathroom. The window was behind my bed, and it was a big one too. That was good.

Kyle returned and immediately the smell of delicious food hit my nose and my stomach pronounced itself again. I offered him an apologetic smile. I was way hungrier than I initially thought. So as soon as Kyle positioned the trey with the bowl of soup, I attacked it. Thankfully it wasn’t that hot, so I was able to eat it pretty quickly.

“Do you want more?”

I simply nodded and waited for him to bring me a new bowl with some bread pieces. “Doc said you should not eat solid food, but come on, a little bread doesn’t count, right?” he winked at me. I had to admit that I was liking Kyle more and more by the minute. Again, I ate pretty quickly. It has been a while since I had a real meal, so better make the best of it while I can.

With a belly full of love and food I sighed contentedly. “That was great. Thank you, Kyle.” I said with a lazy smile. Now that I had my stomach calmed, I was getting sleepy again. Maybe it was a good time for a nap.

“Oh, I know that look. I’ll let you rest, Red.”

“Come on, Mia. You can say what you want but I know the truth.”

“You have no idea what you are talking about, okay?”

“I know you too well. You say you would be a tiger, but I know you would be a seal. Eating fish and sunbathing all day.”

“What’s the problem with sunbathing all day?” I asked Max with a pout. Was anything better than that?

I was cuddling on Max’s side on the old couch. We were watching a nature show and talking about foolish things. I was so comfortable on his chest. Sure, he had hard muscles, but not in an over the top way. He was lean and fit and had the best hug in the world. I nuzzled my nose on his neck and inhaled his scent. It was fresh like a summer day after rain with a hint of verbena.

Max hand cupped my face and I leaned into it. Today had been a good day, things were finally getting better. Our little refugee group was getting bigger and better at defending ourselves. I was happy with my life. I was happy with myself and most of all I was happy with Max. I opened my eyes and saw green orbs looking intently at me.

Before I could even think about something to say, Max leaned in my direction and his nose softly touched mine. His lips hovered over my own, almost touching, but not quite. My eyes closed on their own accord, and I lifted my chin a little bit, making our lips slightly encounter one another.

I felt his hand on the back of my neck and the other snaking around my waist, bringing myself closer to him. His lips pressed against mine and I heard him groan. My lips parted and he didn’t need a second longer before he deepened the kiss.

Max was kissing me. OH MY GOD, MAX WAS KISSING ME! And damn, that was a very good kiss. So, I did the only thing I could and kissed him back. My hands found his soft hair and I tugged at it a little. I pushed myself even closer to his chest, moving my leg so I was straddling him. His hand went to my waist and travelled to my ass while his lips left mine to kiss my neck.

“Red! RED!”

I jumped a little on his lap. Someone was calling me, but I couldn’t identify who, but the voice seemed concerned. Maybe was one of the newcomers. They don’t call me “Red”, though.

“It’s okay, baby. You are here with me.” Max brought my attention back to him. But we weren’t on our couch anymore, we were outside and there was a pack attacking our village. Max was covered in blood.

“NO!” I screamed.

I opened my eyes and was met with silver ones looking at me. The grumpy Alpha. He had his hands on my arms and was way closer than I would feel comfortable with. Taking a close look at him I could see some specs of gold in his eyes. It was hypnotizing and I couldn’t look away.

He searched my eyes for something, something he couldn’t find because he looked confused for a second. Frustrated even.

“You were crying in your sleep.” he said simply.

Max. It was a bittersweet dream. With a sniffle I wiped the tears still running silent on my face. I missed him so much it hurt. I was never going to see his smile or hear him accuse me of eating all the cookies ever again.

“What were you dreaming about?” Drake blurted.

I looked at him again. He was studying me carefully. There was no way I would tell him the truth or tell him anything for that matter. Max was mine to keep and nothing would steal his memory from me or even taint it. I kept my face emotionless and just stared at him. That was the most he was getting out of me.

He sighed heavily, he looked tired, and I almost felt bad for him. Almost being the key word. He was still a jerk. “Look, I know we haven’t started in the best way. I wish we could maybe try it again?” Those silver-grey eyes were boring into my soul. He seemed sincere and even hopeful. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, so I just nodded.