Chapter 2

Clara's pov

"I told you, you shouldn't have trusted him. See where you've gotten us now?" My wolf who had been prominently silent while I was being kicked out finally stirred into action.

I was taking one laborious step after the other. The rain had toned down, but the storm in my heart intensified. The few passerbys I saw had umbrellas over their heads and passed by me without second glances.

Within my heart, I sighed, and those people probably had a home to go back to... a family waiting for them.

I never did.

I was abandoned at an orphanage at birth, tossed around through the system until I turned 18, and came to Twilight City; the land of opportunity and power. There wasn't a single day that I wasn't busting my a** off.

Who could have thought that after everything, I'd end up right back at square one; being homeless with a backpack slang over my shoulder, holding only the most basic of necessities?

"I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO TURN OUT LIKE THIS FROM DAY ONE!" Veil screamed within my subconscious, "HE WAS ALWAYS SUCH A FREAKING DEADBEAT BUT YOU FELL FOR HIM JUST BECAUSE HE HAD A SUGARY TONGUE EVEN WHEN I TOLD YOU NOT TO CHOOSE HIM AS MATE!"

"Veil, please not now–" I tried to reason with my wolf, but she was determined to tear me a new one.

"It has to be now, b*tch! I told you a million times over that there was something off about that guy, but you dismissed me every single time! Now look where it's gotten us we've–"

I was so engrossed in the arguments happening in my subconscious that I didn't even realize when my footsteps had derailed right into the road, neither did Veil.

Then suddenly, headlights poured all over my body, and a horn was blaring high above the rumble of thunder. In that split second, I didn't run my feet, remained still like they were glued to the asphalt.

I simply shut my eyes and held up my hands in front of my face, waiting for my impending fate. Tires screeched, and my body clenched up for an impact that never came.

After a second or two, I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was completely unharmed. The car that almost hit me must have swerved at the last minute and then accidentally crashed into the nearby pole.

My feet wobbled like jelly.

I had already become dirt poor overnight.

What if the person inside that car was seriously wounded?

I would have to take care of the hospital bills, I... who didn't even know when my next meal was coming around would have to handle hospital bills?

Subconsciously, I moved closer to the car, recognizing it to be a rare model that only three people owned in the country. This person must be loaded! But without realization came another crippling thought. If I took this person to the hospital, wouldn't they sue the life out of me? And since I don't have money to pay, I would probably spend the rest of my life rotting in prison.

The weight of my leg shifted between doing the right thing and saving my own skin.

After all, where had all these years of selflessness gotten me in the end? Drenched in the rain, cold and alone.. but. If I leave here now, will I ever be able to forgive myself for doing this very thing?

Veil was troubled, probably feeling guilty and scared.

Before I could make a decision, the car reversed from the pole.

The weight on my chest immediately lifted. Whoever was inside must be okay–right?

My thoughts came to a hault when someone stepped out of the car. He was built, with a fine muscular body outlined through his white shirt that had gotten sticky and translucent because of the rain. He approached me with a coat in arm and held it over my head.

"Are you okay?"

To think that those three simple words were the last straw for me, I crumbled every defence mechanism, my heart crashing down in flames. I just couldn't be strong anymore, didn't know how to.

But as I was melting away, he picked me up, and His touch felt oddly warm while we were surrounded by the cold, Veil seemed relieved.

I didn't ask the stranger any questions. He carried me to his car like I weighed less than feather. Then he opened the backseat door, holding me with just one arm, dropped me slowly into the seat, and got in after me.

By this time, I had already been in the rain for too long, and I was shaking hard. Seeing the luxury of the interior of his car made me stand out like a sore thumb, to say the least.

This man should be disgusted, I was a mess of rainwater, mud, sweat, and tears, yet he carried me in when he had no obligation to.

I was going to get pneumonia and die if I remained in my wet clothes, but I didn't want to seem like a pervert.

"I need to take this off," my breathless tone from crying and cold made it sound sultry, and I blushed but waited for his response.

He nodded at me, and his blue eyes turned away. I struggled with the buttons until I realized that I might just die of cold before I even get halfway with this.

"Please..." I gasped out, holding his collar and tugging it for his attention, "... help..." I said, pointing at the buttons with my free hand.

His eyes slowly reeled over to me, shifting from a deep hypnotizing blue to an overwhelming golden hue. His wolf must be coming out, my ample chest was already fairly exposed when he reached for the first button, and I gasped when the pad of his finger grazed my skin.

Instantly, his burning golden gaze met me. I started burning up. This was getting a little bit complicated.