1. SHATTERED

 One year ago 

                            

                               Ariana

                

                I stood frozen in the hallway of our apartment, the grocery bags slowly slipping from my numb fingers to thud softly on the hardwood floor.

                  

                  One of the milk cartons I'd bought split open, the white milk spilling across the wood. 

                  

                  He was on the couch…our couch. 

                  

                  The couch we’d picked out together last year was because of its beautiful blue shade. His shirt was unbuttoned and she was straddling him. 

                  

                  Pain pierced my chest as I watched her tangle her hands in his hair, pulling him closer as they moaned noisily with their mouths tangled together.

                  

                  I must have made a sound… 

                  

                  I didn't notice that I did. A choked gasp, maybe. Or perhaps it was the crash of the bags. Whatever it was, Jake’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock that quickly melted into guilt. 

                  

                  “Ari…”

                  

                  His voice cracked as he pushed off the woman on top of him. She stumbled sideways with a startled yelp and bulging eyes. I was certain she didn't think he'd push her off so roughly. 

                  

                  The room started tilting around me. I felt so nauseous watching them stand in front of me. My chest felt as though it was sinking in, my ribs cracking under the weight of what I'd just seen. 

                  

                  My boyfriend of three years. The man I'd seen my future with. The man I'd given my virginity to… moved in together with. Oh my gosh… I'd never be able to recover from this heartache. 

                  

                  Three years. Three years of late-night talks… sex by the fireplace…him promising me forever and spanking me whenever I stole his clothes. The plans… the dreams… the promise ring… our life together… Everything had just….   

                  

                  … shattered.

                  

                  Broken into pieces beyond repair. I couldn’t even find the words to express the sharp pain that pierced through my heart. The only thing I could bring myself to ask was, “ How long?”

                  

                  “ Get out,” he said to the blonde woman who quickly grabbed her purse off the coffee table, cursing under her breath as she walked out. Another layer of heavy tension filled the room immediately as the door clicked shut behind her. 

                  

                  “ You didn’t answer my question, Jake,” I spat out in a shaky voice. “How long has this been fucking going on?”

                  

                  He slowly took a step towards me.

                  

                  “ Don’t you dare come any closer. Stay right you are. I expect an answer from your mouth, not your legs.”

                  

                  “ Baby calm down. It’s not what you’re thinking. This was a mistake. I was so stupid…,” he begged with his hand outstretched to me...expecting me to walk into his arms. 

                  

                  “ You’re not answering my question, Jay. You’re really making this worse. I don’t want to...”

                  

                  “ Three months.. Just three months,” he responded quickly, cutting me short. 

                  

                  Wow. Three months. 

                  

                  Three months out of the three years we were striving to build our life together. 

                  

                  I laughed out in sarcasm. The sound that erupted from me sounded nothing like my voice … it came out high and shattered. It was all coming to me now. It made perfect sense why he’d been coming home late claiming overtime. 

                  

                  Every time I’d wanted us to make love, he’d complain that he was exhausted and turn away from me in bed. He didn’t even like it when I wore his clothes anymore. Nor did he even find time to spend with me. 

                  

                  Not to forget the day he’d forgotten my birthday and when I’d reminded him, he told me he was broke and couldn’t afford to take me out on a birthday date night. He’d claimed our rent and bills were draining him and like the fool I was, I made excuses for him. 

                  

                  All that time.. he’d been sleeping around. Giving his body to a whore who couldn't care less about him. 

                  

                  Hot tears burned down my cheeks. 

                  

                  My legs were shaky and weak. They failed me and before I knew it, I was on the ground with my face buried in my hands. 

                  

                  Crying. 

                  

                  “ Baby… I’m sorry. You’re overreacting. Please let’s just forget this never happened.”

                  

                  Oh my God. Did he just say ..? I was overreacting? 

                  

                  I remained quietly still, waiting for him to get closer. 

                  

                  And when he did, I did not spare him. 

                  

                  My hand quickly struck across his face like lightning. He fell to the ground with his hand holding his cheek in surprise. 

                  

                  “ Me? Overreacting? How dare you! You cheat on me and then now, you have the guts to say I’m overreacting. You must think I’m a big fool, huh?”

                  

                  “ Babe… It’s not like that. You know I love you. Please let’s just let this slide.”

                  

                  “ Are you even listening to yourself! You love me?” I choked out. “Jake… you don’t destroy someone you love. You don’t lie to them every single day. You don’t..” my voice broke completely.“ You don’t make them feel silly for trusting you.”

                  

                  He attempted to reach out for me again but I got up quickly, stumbling back and slamming into the wall. 

                  

                  The impact jarred my spine, but the pain was far more distant from the agony that was ripping through my chest. He’d betrayed me. Made me feel like I was not more than enough for him. 

                  

                  “ Babe… I’m sorry. Are you okay?”He quickly rushed to my side.

                  

                  “ Don’t touch me,” I snapped .“Don’t you ever try to touch me again.”

                  

                  I looked around. I felt so suffocated. It was as if the air in our apartment had been infused with poison. The scent of her perfume… their sweating … It was driving me crazy. 

                  

                  I clawed painfully at my throat, gasping as my tears blurred my sight and smudged my mascara.

                  

                  I couldn’t stand being here anymore. 

                  

                  I turned and ran. 

                  

                  Down the hall… down the stairs…and finally out into the cold without my coat or phone, without anything but the hurt burning and building in my lungs... the image of them burned forever behind my eyes.

                  

                  I didn’t stop running until I was sure I couldn’t see the city lights anymore and I was deep into the dark woods. 

                  

                  The woods had bordered the north edge of town. I’d passed here a hundred times in the daylight but never by this time. Never like this.

                  

                  I didn’t care.

                  

                  The cold bit into my skin almost immediately, cutting through the burning ache in my chest. I pushed deeper between the pines.

                  

                  I didn’t even know how long I’d walked. 

                  

                  It could be twenty minutes. It could be an hour. 

                  

                  I just wanted to go far from home. 

                  

                  I stopped in my tracks when I heard something growling. 

                  

                  Low. Wild. Too close. 

                  

                  A shape moved between the trees to my left. Low to the ground, its eyes caught the moonlight that pierced the canopy. Yellow eyes.

                  

                  Thoughts quickly raced through my head, my heart thumping loudly out of my sternum. Bear? No. 

                  

                  Bears didn’t move like that. Not with that fluid like , deliberate move with its shoulders rolling along. It was definitely a wolf. 

                  

                  But I’d never seen a wolf this big before. They looked nothing like the ones in the zoo or documentaries. This one was very huge. 

                  

                  It stepped fully into view, its lips peeling back to reveal very long and sharp teeth. Saliva dripped in threads from its jaws. The fur along its spine bristled, standing up in a ridge that even made it look larger. 

                  

                  I took one step backward. Snow crunched under my foot. 

                  

                  There was nothing I could do at this point. Death was literally standing face to face with me. There was no way I was going to come out of this alive.

                  

                  The wolf lunged. 

                  

                  I let out a scream, throwing my arms up as if it could stop it from attacking me. I felt its hot breath hit my face, rank with blood and wilderness. Then its claws raked the air aiming to strike at my throat. 

                  

                  I clamped my eyes shut, my body shuddering in fear and defeat. Despite how much of a good person I’ve been all my life… this was the kind of death that had been deemed inevitable for me.

                  

                  I waited for a move but I didn’t feel a scratch. I opened my eyes only to see the wolf and a strange figure tumbling into the snow as they fought fiercely. 

                  

                  I fell backward landing on my hip with a deep sigh of shaky relief that my life had been spared. 

                  

                  The figure was a tall, broad-shouldered man in all black clothing which was now torn at the sleeves. But he moved nothing like a human. 

                  

                  I was surprised at how brave he was to fight with such a wild animal. Unless he was out of his mind, he couldn’t be that bold. He drove the wolf back with super brutal strength, his fists connecting to the wolf’s jaw in a bone-cracking force. 

                  

                  The wolf, now fully provoked, tore at his arm but this stranger didn’t even flinch when the animal’s sharp teeth tore through his fabric and skin.

                  

                  Then the impossible happened. 

                  

                  The man’s eyes had flashed … an unnatural silver glow. His body rippled and his shoulders broadened further, claws extending from his fingertips and a hint of fang catching the moonlight. He let the loudest, inhuman roar I’d ever heard.

                  

                  Fear gripped me like a prisoner as I rubbed my eyes continuously, convincing myself that I was probably having a nightmare. Unfortunately… All of this was real. 

                  

                  The wolf whined and tried to circle. But then my rescuer didn’t let it go scot-free. He grabbed the beast by the scruff, lifted it as though it weighed nothing, and threw it into a tree trunk ten feet away. The tree bark exploded on impact. The wolf yelped in pain, staggered back up, and bolted into the woods with its tail tucked between its legs. 

                  

                  Silence rushed back in, broken only by my ragged breathing and the soft patter of snow. 

                  

                  The man straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders. Blood streaked his forearms but to my sheer horror, I watched his wounds close… skin knitting together… right before my eyes. 

                  

                  He turned towards me.

                  

                  God, he was beautiful in a terrifying way. His sharp features were shadowed, his black hair dusted with snow. His red eyes were still glowing, fixed on me with an intensity that stole the little breath I had left. 

                  

                  “ Are you okay?”

                  

                  The words hit me like adrenaline. I’d seen too much … The fear and the terror were crashing over me all at once.

                  

                  My vision tunneled, his bright red eyes, the only thing I’d seen before my legs buckled. 

                  

                  Strong arms caught me before I fell into the snow, pulling me against a chest that felt like heated stone. His pine, wild scent flooded my senses as I felt darkness swallow me whole. 

                  

                  I couldn’t feel anything anymore. Not the ground. Or the cold.

                  

                  Just him.