I watched him, my eyes bulging with surprise. I felt my anger start to wear off, and I swallowed."What do you mean it's not yours?"He raised his hand and passed it through his hair. "You know...when I found out she was pregnant, I...I was even more confused as to why she left me. I was even more hurt that she wanted to keep a child away from me, but then..." His voice trailed off as if he hated what he was about to say. He closed his eyes and shook his head, then opened them again."Austin...""I need that run now. You don't have to come with me.""Austin..."He said nothing and heaved another sigh, but he seemed to back out of leaving. He turned and started to make his way to the room.I thought to myself about everything. What if I should have done something else? What if I should have waited for him?I turned quickly and ran after him, then wrapped my arms around his, intertwining my fingers on his stomach, so I was pressing his back to me."What are you doing?" He asked me, but

I sighed and leaned away from him. "I guess you need someone."He said nothing to it and I gradually lost appetite. "What introduction do we have to do?" I asked, hoping to get an answer from him this time around."Yours." He answered frustrating me even more.I swallowed and stood up, feeling my frustration hit peak. "What's your problem?"He looked up to me. "What do you mean?""Why are you doing this to me? Why are you confusing me?""Confusing you?"I sighed, pushing my tongue into my cheek. "Last night, you were all about how we weren't in the same room, sharing a bed. This morning you are all cold and business like, treating me like the substitute, all over again. Until when will I be in Catherine's shadow? Until when will I have to guess what you feel for me?"I saw him blink slowly, before setting down his cup. "I too, am guessing. Sometimes I want to hold you, sometimes I don't. To me, that's not really a commitment I want to give to anyone."He stood up, pushing his hand in

I slowly put dinner together, while keeping an eye on Austin's door. It was still closed and I hadn't heard him move, not even once. I finally turned my back on it, convinced he would wake when he wanted to, and focused on cooking instead. We both skipped lunch, but I knew he wasn't in the mood to eat then.Neither was I. The whole thing about Eric and Catherine bothered me. How was she so flippant with the mate bond? It is, afterall, the strongest bond known to mates and werewolves. How could she have rejected him, cheated on him and gotten pregnant for someone else all while knowing he was her mate? It didn't make too much sense to me.Or maybe I just couldn't relate to whatever she had felt because I wouldn't be able to do it to Austin. With the way I felt for him, I could as well be his mate.I kept the ladle I had been working on, my breath hitching at the thought. My mate died and...he rejected his mate, Catherine. Does that not mean we are both free wolves now? Does that not me

He turned off the light in the room when I was done, leaving only the bedside lamps. It gave the room an illusion of sunset, and I smiled at it."It's really pretty."He nodded. "I guess." I stood up from the bed just as he put the covers around and straightened the pillows. I noticed just how extremely clean he was.I sighed, hating that I had to leave now. "Goodnight then." I said, shrugging so he wouldn't see just how much I hated the idea of leaving.Without waiting for him to say a word, I turned to the door.He caught my arm again, just before I got to the door. "Where are you going to?""Uhh..my room. I thought you were getting ready for bed."He nodded. "I am. But where are you going to?"I was blank. "What...""Share my bed. Share my room."I felt my throat go dry with the intensity in his eyes. I blinked to snap out of it, but it felt like I was only falling deeper. Hell."Uhmm...okay. I will shower first."He slowly let go of my arm and nodded.I swallowed, all though extr

Breakfast was silent and awkward especially for people who had such a blissful night. It was crazy just how much one bad thought can ruin everything.I watched as Austin ate slowly, as if he was a little wary of me. Or maybe he just had his own thoughts too."Maybe we should start locking the doors," He suddenly said, dropping his fork. I looked up to him."What do you mean?""Catherine came in because the doors were open, isn't it? We should start locking it."I swallowed. "Why? Are you scared she might do something or...that she might be able to convince you?"He looked at me for a while. "Convince me regarding what?"I swallowed. "I don't know, I just... Forget I said anything."I dropped the fork too and leaned back. Looking at my plate, I realized I had only made a mess of the food and not actually eaten anything.Austin seemed to notice it too. "You seem different."I looked at him. "I was expecting you to pick offense at that."He sighed. "It sounds more like you want to pick a