Page 12 of Wolf's Whisper

"Hey Akira, aren't you going to sit down with us?" he called in my direction as he threw a big strip of meat at me. I thanked my fast reflexes as I caught the meal thrown at me and happily sat down on my log as I devoured what turned out to be dried deer.

"Yo, Aspen! Haven't you been feeding her?" the raven-haired boy called Aspen sitting next to me.

I threw a stick at his head and interjected. "Him, feeding me? I have been feeding him for the past days!"

The crystal sound of a babbling brook found my ears and as I turned to find the source, I found myself staring at a beautiful face. Ashleigh. When she laughed, a cute set of dimples appeared in her cheeks and she it made her look a lot less stoic. Gorgeous.

"Oh my god, that is priceless! Akira, you’re my hero," she chuckled as she briefly touched my shoulder in appreciation. Her attention was quickly drawn back into the group conversation, but I kept staring at where she touched me. Was it even possible to fall under someone's spell just like that?

I silently chewed on my strip of meat as I watched the group all chatter away. They definitely seemed comfortable around each other. I wondered why I had found Aspen so far ahead of them and why nobody had come for him sooner.

Weren't they worried about him?

"Show me your leg!" I heard Danny call from the other side of the campfire as she pulled his leg from underneath his furs. He protested a little as she poked the rapidly fading scar on his body. I guess being a shifter does have its advantages.

I wondered how that would play out, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Ashleigh for long. She just drew me in and like a moth to a flame, I couldn't resist her.

Her raven-black hairs flowed over her shoulders like a dark waterfall and her blue eyes were made from the bluest of all the blues. Her ears moved up and down as she chewed on her strip of meat and the way she moved was vaguely cat-like. She was utterly spellbinding.

I realised I had been staring at her non-stop, so I quickly tore my eyes away from her. Instead, I stared at the dancing flames of the bonfire and the multiple people that were apparently camping with us. At least, judging from the tent that JP was trying to set up and Darren who seemed to have half a kitchen stowed away in his satchel. He had quite a bad boy attitude, but that just disappeared into thin air as he was happily shining up his pots and pans. Somehow, he must've figured this was the perfect time to set it all up. He seemed so happy with his cooking ware, I didn't have the heart to tell him we were moving camp tomorrow.

A bit further, Ashleigh was pulling out furs from her pack as she and Aspen seemed to be setting up a tent as well. Great, now I didn't need to share my tent with the clingy wolf anymore.

I realised I was low key creeping on Ashleigh, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She was just so utterly stunning. The way the muscles of her back rippled under her shirt every time she bent down and her tight...

No! Bad Akira. You can look but you can't touch. I stared at the beautiful woman as she turned a couple of branches handily into a simple frame.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud voice. "You showed her your wolf? Are you crazy? You know how dangerous that is!" I heard Ashleigh from across the campsite yell at her brother, who was sheepishly grinning at her. He nonchalantly scratched the back of his head as he awkwardly waved at me.

She followed his gaze, slapped him over the head with a "Why would you do such a thing?" and barged in my direction. With her finger pointed angrily at me and rage blazing in her eyes, she stomped towards me. I involuntarily took a step back, my wolf flinching inside me as we witnessed our mate approach us with such furiosity.

"You! What did you do to my brother that he would show you his wolf?" she yelled at me, her finger jabbing harshly into my collarbone.

"Oi, you’re hurting me!" I called back as I slapped her hand away.

"I will do so much more than just hurt you," she growled as she brought her face impossibly close to mine. Her eyes had darkened in anger as they bore deep into mine. Damn, she was scary.

Mine. My wolf growled inside of me, not liking being threatened by our mate one bit. And drawing from my wolf's strength, I found the courage to push Ashleigh away from me. My hands only barely grazed her shoulders, but the effect was instant.

“You’re so dea... Oh..." Ashleigh stopped dead in her tracks as we touched. As our wolves touched.

A voice, besides my own, filled my very being as I suddenly heard what was unmistakably my soulmate's.

Hi. Ashleigh's wolf whispered as she reached out to the wolf in my chest. And while I stood in the cold winter's night with snowflakes decorating my skin, an unrivalled warmth engulfed me as I exchanged my very first words with my mate.

Mine. My wolf happily yipped back, repeating the only word she seemed to know.

I finally dared look back up in Ashleigh's eyes and found all the darkness gone. The dark circles around her eyes had made way for a beautiful sparkle. Her pink lips were no longer shouting profanities at me and her slender hands were no longer used to attack me. Her whole demeanour had changed from endless rage to utterly bewildered.

A gust of wind caught my hairs as they tangled them in front of our faces. A soft finger grazed over my cheek as Ashleigh pushed the lost strands of hair behind my ear. Her eyes flickered happily as a smile curled up one of the corners of her lips. I leant closer to her, a whiff of wild strawberry catching my nose. Wild strawberries, here, in the middle of winter?

"Hi," she now whispered, our faces so close our noses almost touched.

"Hi," I murmured back, our hands falling down from her shoulders, our fingers intertwined before they reached the height of our hips. As she was only slightly taller, she had to bend her head down towards me as her glacier blue eyes pierced into mine. The wind got hold of my hair again, but this time she wrapped my dark strands around the beautiful woman in front of me, where they got lost in her own sea of black hairs.

"I’m sorry, I didn't realise..." she started her apology, but I quickly cut her off.

"It's fine," I whispered, drawing my wolf to the surface so she could revel in the presence of her mate.

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