Page 12 of The Wolf Slayer

“Are you okay? I hope you didn’t get in trouble.” Her warm voice gave him goosebumps all over his body. She seemed worried and he felt a sense of gratitude toward her, she was worried for his safety.

“I’m fine, and I didn’t get in trouble. Seth didn’t tell anyone that I met with you.”

“I’m glad. I was worried you would get in trouble because of me again.”

“How are you? I didn’t want to leave you, you were still very upset. Were you able to relax a little after I left?”

“Yes, I was. Don’t worry about me.” He could tell that she was being shy about it.

“I don’t think I can evernotworry about you.”

She fell silent as if she was unsure how to react to his confession. He wanted to change the subject, wanted to know more about her. He tried to push aside an overwhelming feeling of jealousy and ask the question that had weighed heavy on him the whole afternoon.

“Who was the man with you today?”

“Jason, my roommate,” she plainly stated before she continued with a soft and hesitant voice. “I didn’t think you would call me after today.”

“I needed to hear your voice. I needed to know you were okay. I don’t think I could ever not call you.” He knew if he wanted her to trust him, he needed to be honest about the way he felt toward her.

“I thought I had scared you away.”

“You could never scare me away. As long as you want me by your side, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you.” Her tone was full of gratitude.

“How about we both get some rest and I’ll check on you tomorrow again?”

“I would love that.” He could picture her smile and bright eyes as she said that.

“Good, now get some rest, beautiful.”

“You too, Blake.” And she hung up the phone.

Blake put down his phone and went to bed. It didn’t take him long to fall into a dream world built around Niev and his future with her.

A Special Night

Having Berta back was such a wonderful help, especially during the past week. The weather had been awful and Niev was glad to be able to drive Berta to work versus waiting in the rain for the bus. The weather wasn’t the only awful thing about the week–Mr. Hartman gave it a run for its money. Summer was the season which accumulated most of his yearly income and with rainy and stormy weather, people stayed away. The outdoor space wasn’t being used which dampened his mood. He seemed to be bugging everyone and always had something or someone to complain about.

Not just during this week but the last two, Blake had been her sunshine. He’d called her every evening, making sure she was doing okay. He brightened her mood and was basically the light at the end of the tunnel. Her mood lifted instantly at the simple sound of his voice.

Today had been her day off and she’d spent it at home. She’d slept in, made herself pancakes, and cleaned the apartment. If it hadn’t rained, she would’ve gone out to run a few errands and buy a few things she needed, but with the weather she avoided everything that meant she had to leave the house. It was dark, cloudy, and hadn’t stopped storming the whole day. She hadn’t seen Jason in two nights and had the apartment to herself. It was nothing unusual for him to be gone for days at a time. Every time he found himself a new fling, he stayed with them for a few days before he got bored and returned home.

She’d woken up in a good mood, but throughout the day it had worsened. She’d tried to keep herself busy and her mind occupied, but her thoughts kept straining back to Blake. She missed him and she wanted to see him again, but every time she brought it up to him his answers were vague. Actually, most of his answers about his life were fuzzy and undefined. He always tried to keep the conversations short, and primarily focused on her. Even though she enjoyed her phone calls with him, she was always sad that he ended them quite quickly.

He seemed to be very secretive, especially when it came to his family. She’d asked a few times about them, but he hadn’t told her anything. They appeared to have a strong hold over him and seemed extremely strict. The few details hehadshared with her reminded her of some of the cults she’d seen on TV. His family didn’t let any outsiders on their land, they seemed to have very strict rules everyone had to follow, and his father seemed to be the one who made all the decisions.

She knew those signs were red flags, but she was afraid to confront him. She was afraid to lose him. Something deep within her kept tugging on her, pulling her in his direction. Simply thinking about losing him made her heart ache. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could listen to his excuses as to why they couldn’t see each other. She missed him with all her heart and wanted to be by his side and feel his touch again.

A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the last time she felt his touch, his hands holding hers and his lips kissing her forehead and cheek. Her hands started shaking as if she was going through withdrawal. She had to put down the potato she was peeling and take a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

As much as she wanted Blake, she hated the distance they had between each other. Not only physically, but she had the feeling as if he was trying to keep her at a distance when it came to getting to know him. She sighed, grabbed another potato, and started peeling again.

She hoped he just needed time to open up, that maybe he had a hard time talking about himself and just needed to adjust to her. She truly wanted to get to know him and if he needed more time, she would give that to him.

A sudden knock on her door made her flinch, and all the freshly peeled potatoes rolled onto the floor. She let out a frustrated noise and walked to the door. The old lady from the downstairs apartment had been looking for her missing cat all day and had already knocked twice to ask if Niev had seen it. To hide her annoyance, she put on a friendly smile and opened the door.

She froze in shock as she looked at a soaking wet Blake. It took her a few seconds before she was able to move again. She couldn’t hold back a joyful cheer as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into the apartment and out of the rain. Wrapping her arms around him lifted a huge weight off her shoulders and all her dark thoughts disappeared at once. She could feel warmth spread through her body as she took in his amazing scent.

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