All Chapters of Unrequited Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

~15 Years Ago~ My lungs feel like they're on fire, with each breath searing hot pain spreads through my chest. I can barely feel my legs; they've gone numb from exhaustion, threatening to buckle beneath me with each desperate stride, but I push myself harder. I force myself to run as fast as my battered body will allow. However, it isn't fast enough. I can hear them gaining on me, heavy footsteps, and paws crashing through the underbrush, closing the distance that I created in a futile attempt to escape. But I have to escape. I have to try. My body, heart, and mind can't take another day living like that. I wish I had my wolf, but he hasn't come to me yet. I'd be so much faster; they wouldn't be closing the distance so quickly. The branches tear at my skin as I race through the woods, leaving a trail of my blood and scent everywhere I turn. Sharp thorns snag at my flesh, creating new wounds to accompany my old ones, but it doesn't hurt anywhere near as badly as they hurt me. The ph

~14 Years Ago Cont.~ “RUN!” Keith's voice rings out over the angry men's loud voices, a desperate command that cuts through the chaos. My stomach drops, and a distressed whimper slips past my lips, despite my attempt to swallow it down. I look at Jason, and he is frozen, staring at the bedroom door. He is pale, probably just as pale as I am. But even though I'm terrified, my heart pounding like a drum against my ribs, I have to push past it because I promised Keith I'd get his brother out of here, so I spring into action with a surge of adrenaline. I fight every instinct that screams to curl up under Keith's sheets and hide, to make myself small and invisible, and I force myself out of bed. I grab Jason's wrist, pull him to his feet, and shove the window up with trembling hands. I carefully lower him out of it, his small body dangling before he finds his footing on the ground below. I jump out after him, the impact jarring my teeth. I grip his hand tightly and run toward the woods

~Two Months Later~It's been two months since the day we met, and my wolf has come to enjoy our new friend's presence just as much as I have.Keith is a breath of fresh air in my dark world. He doesn't see the dirty, broken person I am. He sees a friend, something I've never had but always wanted.His visits are random, and that's to be expected of a teenage boy still under his parents' roof, balancing school and werewolf training. I've grown so accustomed to Keith's presence and his earthy scent that I don't even wake if he sneaks into my cave while I'm sleeping. He curls up against me in the pile of fluffy blankets he gave me shortly after we met, just like he does today.When my eyes finally flutter open, I feel his arms wrapped around me and his warmth against my back. I turn in his arms to face him, and find his dark gray eyes already on me. His eyes sweep over my face with a softness that makes my heart race, and then his hand reaches up to rest gently against my cheek. I smile

~Third Person~Walker looks up from his laptop when Derek shifts restlessly in his seat yet again. The Alpha raises a questioning eyebrow, then clears his throat. The Delta 1 looks up from his phone and raises an eyebrow back. “Can I help you?” Derek asks in his typical cocky edge. Walker fights the urge to reach over his desk and choke his Commander. Instead, he lets out a long, heavy breath through his nose as he folds his hands on the desk.“Aside from the fact that you're a pain in my ass, you clearly have something on your mind, so spill it!” Walker says as calmly as he can while closing his laptop. He exhales a heavy breath as he leans back in his leather chair and folds his arms over his chest. Derek growls as he sets his phone down on the desk, then tightly folds his arms over his chest and leans back with an angry huff. “I want to choke him! I want to rip his fucking head off, then drive all the way to Florida, and feed it to the fucking crocodiles!” Derek snaps angrily.W