Three: Why did you leave?

"I feel like I'm missing something," Elena stated as she gestured between myself and the Alpha. To be honest, I did too. I didn't understand why I felt such a pull to the man next to me. "You guys seem very friendly."

The man chuckled, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. "You can say that we are old friends. I'm Alpha Gabriel Miller."

I turned to meet his hazel eyes, watching as they darkened. His pupil swirled as if they were trying to draw me into him. A flash of black fur appeared in my mind, and I squinted my eyes at him. His hair was dark, but it wasn't the same shade as the wolf that came to mind. Then again, his hair color may have lightened with time.

"Can you still hear me?" The sound of his voice resonated through my head, startling me. I jumped from the couch, ripping my hand from his.

"It was you!" My arm crossed my chest to hold the other elbow as my hand covered my mouth, fingers tapping against my top lip. I began to pace, much to the two witnesses' amusement. "You are the wolf from that night!"

Gabriel stood slowly, as if approaching a skittish animal, his hands slightly outstretched in front of him. "I am."

"Why? Why did you leave for so long? I waited outside for you every day for months! Everyone thought I was crazy! You let me think I was crazy!" The feeling of betrayal crashed into my chest, taking me by surprise. I didn't know him. He had no obligation toward me. Yet, the crushing pain was overwhelming, and each breath hurt to take in.

My odd attachment to this man wasn't healthy, and my mind began to swirl. They were all right. This is probably another hallucination. I wanted him to be mine after knowing him for five minutes even though I was convinced he was a supernatural creature. That's not normal.

Where did my mind draw the line? Was it even capable of even doing that?

"I dreamt about you every night! You never even came back to visit even though you said you had to find me. Why? Why did you need to find me? Oh my God. I am crazy." I threw my hands up into my hair. The light blonde strands were tied into a tight bun that began to fall when I pressed my fingers against my scalp and curled them around the tendrils that fell.

"I did! I visited you or had someone check on you every day for the past ten years. I watched over you every single day." His firm voice halted my escalating panic but did nothing to relieve me.

"And you just watched them take me to doctor after doctor? They treated me like I was fucking looney, pumping me full of drugs and locking me in my room because they thought I was unstable and could be a threat. You never thought to knock on the door and transform into your furry self to convince them I was telling the truth?" My pacing continued, and I narrowed my eyes at him when he stood in my way. I could feel myself tumbling down the spiral. My breathing picked up, and a cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

The warmth of his hands sent a wave of calm through me as they were placed on my shoulders before he pulled me into his chest. "Sshh, Sweetheart. I've got you."

After several deep breaths, my hands stopped shaking, but I refused to pick my head up from his chest. His scent was so pure and masculine that I wanted to bottle it up so I could smell it whenever I wanted to. His chest had vibrated against my cheek when he spoke, assisting in soothing me.

"I know you have questions. I will answer all of them. It is forbidden for us to show ourselves to humans. I wanted to put a stop to it all. You shouldn't have had to go through what you did, and I am so proud of how strong you are. You shouldn't have been able to hear me all those years ago, and the fact that you could, only confirmed my theory when I told my father about it." His hand moved to the center of my back where he gently moved it up and down in a calming manner.

"Even if you couldn't show yourself to them, why couldn't you come talk to me?" The way I mumbled into his shirt reminded me of a pouting child, and I pulled back, embarrassed. His hold loosened, but he did not let go.

"I wanted to, more than anything, but I was not allowed. You are a human. I know you heard me before, but you weren't meant to." He opened his mouth to say more, but I cut him off.

"How is that even possible?" The befuddlement in my voice brought my words out at a higher pitch than I had meant to, and I snapped my mouth shut, clearing my throat.

"It is how we communicate with others of our kind. I can speak to anyone in my pack from anywhere." Gabriel's hand stopped moving on my back, and his thumb began to rub comforting circles into my skin. It made sense that they were able to communicate in their other form. The fact that they actually did have another form, was what I was still focused on. That and the validation of my sanity.

"But you said you had to find me. Why?" I looked up at him, meeting his stunning hazel eyes. They seemed to darken even further as I waited for him to answer my question.

"Because you are my soulmate."

The world around me stopped, and I was mystified by the sincere look on his face. For a man so large and intimidating, the softness in his eyes made my heart stumble out of rhythm in my chest for a brief moment.

I could feel it. Everything in me was screaming that this man belonged to me, and I to him. The impossibly strong pull I felt toward him wasn't just in my head after all. He was real.

Elena's voice cut through the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt this moment, but I don't see how I'm a part of this. As a human who just learned your secrets, I have to ask. Are you planning on killing me?"