Chapter 5

Present-day,

By the time I got into my house, I could tell that my dad preparing dinner in the kitchen from the sound of his knife hitting the chopping board. I placed my purse on the couch before making my way to the kitchen. “Smells really good in here,” I commented as I opened the fridge and picked up one can of soda. “What are you making, Dad?” I asked, turning around.

“It is just the usual, Sweetie, you know—” Then he abruptly stopped. I watched him in confusion as he scrunched up his nose then turned to me with questioning eyes. “Where have you been?” he asked even though I had informed him earlier this morning that I was going to accompany Brett to his friend’s wedding.

“Brett’s friend’s wedding, why?” I opened the can and took a sip of the cold soda.

His eyes narrowed into a slit. “With who?”

“Brett?” I let out a nervous chuckle.

“No, I would know if it was Brett. You were with someone else,” he said as if he could tell. “Who was it, Xyrra?”

“How would you know?” I placed the can on top of the island next to the fridge and walked closer to the stove, curiously trying to figure out what he was making. My dad did not say anything for a few moments and I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Dad?”

He put down his knife carefully on the side of the chopping board then faced me with his arms folded in front of his black T-shirt and blue apron. “You were with a wolf, I can tell.”

“A wolf?” I chuckled. “There are no wolves around here, Dad. A dog, perhaps. Do I smell or something? Because I did let Mrs. Robinson's golden retriever give me a kiss when I was on my way home. He is way too cute.”

“No, you were with a wolf and I know it was not Eros. Who is he?”

“Seriously, Dad, I wasn’t with any wolf.” I frowned, confused by how serious he actually was with this wolf thing.

“Don't lie to me now, Xyrra. Who was he? You tell me right now,” he growled the last sentence and it automatically reminded me of Ryker Cromwell, the groom.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He suddenly lunged at me and held both of my arms with his bare hands. “Who was he?” “I don’t know who you are referring to.” His nails dug into my skin painfully as his breathing grew hard. Then I noticed his pupil, his hazel eyes turner dark.

“Dad, you’re hurting me,” I pleaded as his nails dug deeper.

“Who?” he growled out again, his voice was different than his usual voice. It was deeper and his tone was a tad harsher. I flinched. In all my life, my dad had never yelled at me or scared me like this. He had always been a loving parent and the person standing so close to me right now was definitely not my dad.

“I said I don’t know. I don’t know most of the wedding guests but all I know was that Alana was the bride and Ryker was the groom.”

“Ryker.” His grip loosened and his eyes kept flashing from black to hazel then back to black. “Do we know anyone called Ryker?” he asked but something told me that was not talking to me. His brows furrowed for a full minute before he blinked and his frown disappeared. “The Ethereal.”

“The what now?” My dad’s gaze back to me as if he had just realized that I was still there.

Slowly his eyes turned back to their natural color. “Nothing, Sweetie. It’s nothing.” He walked away and returned to chopping the onions again and asked, “Does spaghetti bolognese sound good to you?”

I swallowed hard and forced myself to form an answer, “Yeah, sure.” Then I made my back to the living room.

“I’ll go and clean up first, Dad.”

“Okay, Sweetie,” he replied, sounding every bit like my dad. By the time I grabbed my purse, I breathed out and realized that I had been holding my breath this whole time. Once I was inside the bathroom, I checked my arms at the mirror and the marks that his nails had left. Some of his nails had indeed broken into my skin and caused small bleeding. I dipped my towel into the bowl of water and tapped the wound. It stung a little but I was not feeling it as my mind tried to process what had just happened downstairs.

* * *

It was the lunch break when I noticed everyone’s eyes were on me as I walked into the cafeteria. Some I did know while most of the others were strangers to me. I held my head high and refused to feel intimidated by their blatant glares as I queued for my lunch. I ordered a sandwich and a can of coke which I could easily grab to go. Holding my breath, I was waiting for a pin to drop as I made my way out of the cafeteria and to the field.

I watched the cheerleaders practice at the far end and took a seat on the bleachers. It was quiet and peaceful compared to the crowded cafeteria and I was grateful for it. The fewer people I had to interact with, the better. My sandwich was half-finished when I heard the footsteps approaching me and looked to my right. To my surprise, it was the groom from yesterday’s wedding, Ryker Cromwell. He was wearing a casual shirt and a pair of dark pants.

“I have told you to leave me alone unless you want to clear the misunderstanding you’ve caused.” I moved my gaze straight ahead, not wanting to spare one look at him because every time I laid my eyes on him, it reminded me of my stupidity of almost giving up my virginity to him in that ladies’ room over a week ago.

The bench dipped a little as he sat. “It was not a misunderstanding, Xyrra.” The way he spoke my name sent shivers down my spine and I did my best to put on a poker face. “Unfortunately we are destined to be together. You truly are my mate.”

I finished my sandwich and crumpled the paper wrap into a ball then I took my time cleaning my palette with the soda before I turned to him. “How many times do I have to tell you that we are not in any relationship and I certainly am not your mate. We are not friends and we didn’t become friends out of a spur of the moment just because you used me as an excuse to jilt your bride.”

His silver eyes narrowed. “Do you think I want a human mate?” he spat those words at me as if he expected me to understand what it meant and for the record, I did not.

“A human mate?” I gave out a mocking laugh. “What are you? Five? Are all your other mates are inanimate objects or animals or something? What I said still stands, I don’t want anything to do with you.” I dismissed him and turned back to watching the cheerleaders trying to build a human pyramid.

His hand suddenly gripped my shoulder and forced me to face him. “Do you think I want this? I don’t but it falls on my lap anyway so I have to deal with it. Do you think it is easy for me to hurt Alana like that?” I tried pulling my shoulder away from him but it only made his grip tighten.

“I still don’t understand why you did it. If you love her then feel free to marry her, don’t hold back on my account. We made out. Once. That’s all it was and I can easily forget that ever happened if you tell everyone right now that it was just a misunderstanding,” I spat my words back at him, feeling annoyed with all of this aggression.

“Can you really forget what happened?” His voice sounded unsure.

“Sure can,” I lied. He did not need to know how I had spectacularly lost control that night, how I had let a stranger touch me the way Brett never did.

“I can’t marry Alana. Not when I know you exist.” Ryker dropped his hand and sighed. “I suppose there is no easy way to explain to you unless I show you and have you meet him.”

I frowned. “Show me what and meet who exactly?” He took my hand and rose to his feet.

“Come on. I can not do it here.”

“Go where and do what?” I stood as he tugged my hand.

He did not answer my question instead he shook his head and said, “Just wait. It will all make sense.”

Out of curiosity, I followed him down the stairs and all the way to the space below the bleachers. I tugged my hand from his grasp and he finally let go. “If you are trying to do anything funny, I will scream my heart out.” I pulled out my phone just in case and held it in my hand. “My best friend is on speed dial and he will be able to track my phone because I gave him my Apple password so like I said, don’t try anything.”

Ryker rolled his eyes at my threat but did not say anything. He kicked his shoes off then pulled his socks off before putting them into his shoes while I stared oddly at him. Then he started stripping his clothes. “What are you doing?” I took a step back and was ready to run.

His hand grabbed the edge of his boxer brief then paused. “I suppose I should leave this on not to scare you.”

“What are you trying to do here?” I looked away, feeling uncomfortable watching him with only his underwear on no matter how good his body actually looked. It was too bad that he was such a weirdo when he had the body of a Greek God. I swear God could be cruel sometimes.

“Look at me, Xyrra.”

“Uh-huh, no thank you.” I stared at the ceiling, watching the plank of woods holding the bleachers upright.

“Xyrra, look at me right now.” There was something in his voice which I could not pinpoint but whatever it was, I found myself tilted my jaw down and staring at him. I watched his silver eyes turn jet black and his hair grew longer. In fact, all of his exposed skin was now covered with black fur. His face elongated, his nose and mouth turned into a muzzle. Then as he opened his mouth, I could see his canines protruding and before I could do anything, he had turned into a giant wolf in front of my very eyes.