Jayla We both turn around at the same time to see Megan standing in front of the tent with her hands clasped together in a shy manner, and a tiny frown on her face.The wind makes her clothes stick to her skin, making her bony and fragile body even more evident. It brings pain to my heart every time l look at her."He is your guardian," she says, repeating her sentence and grabbing my attention.We both stand up and walk up to her."What do you mean?" Shane asks, voicing my thoughts.Megan sighs and motions toward the tent. "Can we please go inside and talk? I am feeling cold out here."It in't even cold at this time of the year, but we didn't object because she probably isn't used to standing outside in the nature and bearing the wind anymore."Sure," Shane agrees and I nod my head.We go inside and sit on the bed that I had prepared for myself. I notice that she has covered Kendra's body with a blanket and the sight makes me breathless for a moment, so I have to turn away quickly t
Jayla"What are guardians?" I ask Megan curiously, now confused as ever.As I ask my question, she looks surprised as if she expected us to know about it already."You don't know what guardians are?" she asks, confirming my thoughts and again, we both shake our heads.She sighs softly before she starts to speak. "I will tell you," she says.I cut in. "Okay," I say, nodding my head, curious to know more about what she said.The she resumes speaking again. "Guardians occur in pairs. It can be two females, two males, or one each of the two genders who are selected by the Moon Goddess. Guardians are always mutual. And that means if you are his guardian, then he is your guardian too. Guardians were made by the Moon Goddess for all those who don't have a tough life or a potentially tough life. You have a special connection with them. Just like you do with your mates, but in this case, it is a bit different. First of all, it is far less intense than the mate bond which means that you won't r
JaylaThings are going to be tough for you, Jay. As soon as we get back to the pack tomorrow, you will have to face all the pack members and you know how they are. They are going to talk about you, gossip about everything, and they won't care if you hear it," Shane says with a severe expression on his face as we sit on the green grass of the forest outside the tent."I really don't care about them anymore. Or anyone for that matter. I don't care about what they say," I tell him. "You know after all that I have been through, if there is one thing that I have learnt, then it is that when hard times come, you are all that you have -only yourself. Everyone ceases to help you, your parents, your friends, your partner. Everyone. Regardless of whether they wanted to help or not. You are only one who can drag yourself up from the dark abyss that you are into bright light. Someone can lend a hand but we have to reach out ourselves first."I don't really care about what others think because I
JaylaSo when Shane stands up and walks away, I want to walk away too. And it is certainly because I am not ready to confront this person I had once loved with all my heart.My eyes fall on Tyler once more and I give him the best glare that I can muster, hoping he will just leave but he doesn't. Instead he comes and sits beside me with a determined look on his face.Oh how I wish he had this determination before when I had literally begged for his love. But now this determination is just like an unnecessary stubbornness for me.I don't speak. I don't want to be the one to start the conversation. Then he opens his mouth to speak when he gets the hint that I am not speaking first."So," he begins. And I have noticed that it is a sort of habit that he has. Whenever he is nervous, he starts a conversation with 'so.'I still don't say anything and I look ahead. It is almost dark by now so I can still see his face but l don't really want to see it."I just don't know what to say," he says a
Jayla"Strength comes at a cost I never knew I was capable of paying," I finally say after a long pause.He looks up at me, while I look at the woods and continue. "You know when I was there for weeks," I say, referring to the place where I had been held hostage. "I was locked in a smelly room. That room smelt to the extent that it was hard to sleep at night. I have fought darkness alone in those nights. Sometimes I would hear screams of other prisoners being tortured and abused. Those voices scared me. I hugged myself because I was seeking comfort in those times. There were days when he beat me up to the extent that my wolf couldn't heal fast. I have held my wounds overnight so that I wouldn't lose too much blood and I have seen my blood stain the floor many times. One time, he chained me with silver and it numbed my senses to the extent that I couldn't feel anything. "I have reminded myself of who I am when I was alone. I had no one to help me, Tyler. Kendra was the only one who u
Jayla I stand in front of the mirror, and I run my fingers over the black dress I am putting on. I try not to let my fingers shake as I do so and clutch the tiny piece of paper tightly in my left hand.I slip my feet in black heels to match the dress and sit on my bed afterwards, just staring at space. I need a moment to collect myself.It takes me all of my courage not to run back into my bathroom and curl up like a ball and cry. It feels like I am lifting heavy stones up as I move my legs to walk out of my room.I close the door behind me and quietly walk down the stairs, holding the railing tightly becauseotherwise l would have fallen due to my shaky legs."My poor baby," my mother coos, her eyes filled with remorse and tears and she rushes forward to hug me.My father stands behind her with a sad smile on his face, silently offering his comfort just like always. They too are clad in all black, ready for the tough day."Come on," my mother says, sniffing as she grabs my hand and
Jayla"Kendra Simmons - A selfless soul "The biggest gift you can give to yourself is through giving the gift of happiness to someone else.Beloved daughter, sister, friend and mate."The gravestone doesn't express half of what she was, how great of a human being she was and the great deeds she did to help others. They might not be so great to others but to me, she was an angel who came into my life and tried to make everything alright.I watch silently as the proceedings go on. Shane, Tyler, Jessica and her brother, Liam are also in attendance at the funeral along with Megan and Kendra's parents, of course.I was surprised to see them at first, but then I found out that Megan called them from their pack so that they would be able to attend the funeral. Megan's parents are here too, comforting their daughter as she sobs relentlessly. My heart squeezes in guilt every time she cries and I have to look away in shame.It is difficult for me not to break down myself, but I contain my emo
Jayla"Why is it that I am excited and nervous at the same time?" Megan asks me as she sits on my bed with me, packing up the last of her things into a travel bag."You will be okay," I say, chuckling at her excitement."No, but you don't understand! I haven't been there in ages!" she says. "I am looking forward to going to school again and meeting new people, but I am afraid of the kind of looks I will get from the people who know me and have seen me before. Also, I don't know what they will think of me or if they will pity me. I don't want them to pity me, Jayla. I am really tired of receiving sympathetic looks from everyone everywhere and people treating me like I am made up of a brittle material like glass that can shatter into pieces at anytime."Her eyes cloud over in sadness and I completely understand what she means and how she feels. I really sympathize with her and her plight."You don't have to worry about anyone," I tell her."If you think about others, you will stop thinki