27 A day with mate - Part 3

"W-What are you doing?!"

I turned my body around hastily, surprised to see something I was not supposed to see. It was pretty shocking to see him almost naked all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Why are you naked?!"

"Oh," he replied casually, as if only noticing the problem, "I'm going to shift and I don't want my clothes to be torn. They are expensive."

"You should've warned me!"

"Are you being shy right now?" He laughed, "You know, werewolves see each other naked almost every day. We are used to it."

"I'm not a werewolf," I protested.

"You'll have to get used to this sight in the future," he teased, "It's better to start early."

"What—"

"Hold this," he pulled my hand backward, handing me his clothes, "Don't lose it if you don't want me to go around naked."

Afterward, there were a few bone-cracking sounds, which I assumed was the sound of Luke shifting to his werewolf form. Only after the sound stopped did I turn my body back towards him. Turning around, there stood the same humongous black wolf that I knew, towering over my petite body.

He stepped closer to me, then lowered his head and rubbed it against my hand. He was like a puppy who was asking for a pat on the head. I smiled after looking at how cute he acted. I realized Luke and Wolfie acted differently. It was like they had two different personalities. Luke acted more cheeky and bold, whereas Wolfie was more on the cuter side. If you asked me which one I liked better, then I'll have to go with the cuter one. Not because I've always wanted a dog.

"I missed you, Wolfie," I said as I stroked his head. "You should shift more often."

He first growled lowly after hearing my words, then smiled while wagging his tail. What is this? He just showed me two kinds of different reactions. It was like he was both happy and unhappy with what I had just said.

He tugged on my dress and lowered his head even more, drooping as low as the ground.

"Are you asking me to climb up to you?" He nodded in reply.

Was he trying to give me a ride to the secret place in his wolf form? It would be like that time when I was saved by a werewolf and slept on his back. This will be the second time I will be riding on a werewolf. But I guess it won't be as scary as before.

"What about Nox?"

He shook his head and nudged me again, urging me to climb up to his body. I climbed up and settled myself on his back, holding onto his fur to not fall down. It has been a long time since I saw Wolfie and I've forgotten how soft his fur was. It would be nice if I could sleep while cuddling his soft and warm body.

After confirming that I was ready, he proceeded to walk towards the aforementioned place. He started slow but got faster as time went by.

"Why are you running so fast?" I asked as I clenched onto his fur more. It was getting very bouncy up here the faster he ran, so I stuck close to his body and hung myself around him like a monkey hanging on a tree.

He ignored my question and kept running at the same pace as before. At first, I was scared by the speed, but soon I got used to the pace and started to enjoy the wind that hit me as we ran. As I started to relax, the run felt much more exciting and less scary than before. Running like this made me feel free, like I was not chained to anything, and I could do whatever I wanted in this world. It felt great.

We got to the secret place in less than five minutes after we started to depart. No wonder werewolves were called supernatural creatures, because look at this inhuman speed. It was not normal. This place was even farther than the distance needed from Luke's house to the packhouse, and earlier, we needed twenty minutes to arrive.

He slowed down and finally stopped at the edge of the same cliff, which had magnificent scenery that I could never forget. It was beautiful, just like I remembered—no, I think it was even more beautiful now that it was the time of sunset.

The sky was lit with a mixture of red blended with orange, blue, and purple, with the sun shining its last amber of the day before it was soon taken over by the twilight of the night. The sea beneath was calm. Everything below the water seemed to darken as the day faded away. I took in this breathtaking view with my eyes, stamping it deep into my mind for me to remember for the rest of my life.

"I feel like you are the one doing me a favor instead of the other way around," I let out a chuckle as I got off his body. I walked closer to the end of the cliff, inhaling the fresh air that lingered on this plateau.

Everything about this moment was perfect. It made me wish for something that could not be granted. I wish that time could stop right at this moment, but sadly, there was nothing that could make it happen.

Wolfie sat down on the ground and I soon followed, sitting right next to him. I put his clothes that I had been holding next to me and leaned my head against his body, "Thank you for taking me here."

He glanced at me and licked my face. "Stop," I laughed as I pushed him away from me, "That's gross."

He stopped licking as if he was surprised to hear what I had just said. He dropped his face to the ground and gave me a side look with his sad-looking eyes. His ears were lowered meekly, his tail was also down. I have to admit this was the cutest thing he had ever shown me. I couldn't help but smile after looking at his adorable gesture.

"Sorry, you are not gross," I laughed heartily, "Why are you so adorable?"

He grunted and looked away, turning away from my directions. I snuggled closer to him and used both palms to lift his face to look at me, "Are you mad because I called you gross?"

Even after I lifted his face, he still kept his eyes on somewhere else but me. Looking at him now, I could conclude that he was obviously upset with it. So I forced him to look at me by following his gaze wherever it was focused on. He moved his gaze away numerous times, and I earnestly followed it until he grew tired of avoiding me and finally settled his eyes on me.

Our eyes gazed into each other and I now realized that Wolfie's and Luke's eyes' colors were different. Wolfie's was a brighter red, where Luke's was a darker shade of red.

"Don't be upset. I'm sorry, okay?" I appealed, but there was still no response from him, so I urged him again, "Hmm?"

I didn't expect to hear any words coming from a wolf, but I was hoping for some sort of response. He only stared at me as if I was his prey, rooting his gaze straight at me. I had forced him to look at me before, but now that he was staring at me this intensely, I was the one who wanted to avoid his gaze.

"W-why are you staring at me? I let out an awkward laugh, "You are making me a little nervous." Actually, not a little, but very nervous.

Still unfazed by my question, his gaze never went away from me. That made me wonder if there was actually something wrong with him. But it didn't look like he had some kind of problem. Instead, maybe I did. I am in trouble.

I slowly retreated my palms that were on his face before, hiding them behind my back. His gaze was starting to get into me, so I just decided to stare back at him confidently. I was not going to lose this staring battle if that was what he wanted to do right now. Was he really that upset?

We stared at each other for some time, before he scooted closer to me, which made me move back. What was he trying to do?

Seconds later, the same bone-rattling sound was heard in this quiet area. The big black wolf reduces in size, forming into the shape of a man. The soft fur crawled back to his body and was replaced by smooth skin. Even after shifting back to human form, I was still small compared to him.

He moved closer without breaking his gaze away, while placing both arms on the ground beside where my body was sitting. The distance between us was close to gone when he started to move his head towards mine, with his gaze moving down from my eyes... to my lips.

I turned my head to the side after realizing what he wanted to do. I quickly snatched his clothes off the ground and threw them at his face, "Y-your clothes! Wear your clothes!"

I stood up and walked a little to the forest, waiting for him to finish putting on his clothes with my back to him. I used this little time I got to calm my nerves and pounding heart. Was he trying to kiss me before?

"Rabbit," he called out.

I turned around slowly, "A-are you finished?" I stupidly asked the obvious. There was no need to answer that question as I could see that he was completely dressed right now.

He walked towards me with the same blank expression he had minutes ago, which had me swallowing the lump in my throat nervously. He stopped a few steps away from me and pinched both of my cheeks, "What? I'm gross?"

"No... it was a slip of the tongue," I replied.

"It seems you've made a lot of slips today," he said while pinching my cheeks side to side lightly. "Let's go back," he released my cheeks and held my hand. What is this? Is he not mad?

"Are you mad?"

"A little," he said in a hushed tone, "How can you say that I'm gross?"

"I'm sorry," I pouted, "You are not gross."

"Then what am I?"

What is it that this man wants me to say? "Umm... handsome?"

"That I am," he grinned, "How is it?"

"What?" I asked him, getting confused with his questions. 

"The ride?"

"Oh, it was fun," I smiled, "Can you give me a ride again sometime? I've never felt this free before! It was crazy running wildly like that."

"Really?" he let out a soft chuckle, "Is that why you liked me in my wolf form better?" When I told you I stopped breathing for a moment, I did. I see this man holds grudges very well.

"I like both forms," I gave him a smile to escape his question, "Do you have split personalities?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you act differently when you are in your wolf form and now."

"It's because both me and my wolf have our own minds. I can interfere with my wolf's actions when I am in his form, like how I can move accordingly to what I want when I shift. I can also suppress him as I hold more control of this body," he explained, "But there might be a time where I lose it and my wolf takes over me completely."

Then when I asked him to shift more often, was it him who growled at me? I nodded at his explanation. That explained why he acted so differently when he shifted. I wanted to see a time where Wolfie took control of his body and acted cutely while in his human form. That would be a sight to see.

"Do you remember what I told you about last night?" he asked.

"I don't remember anything after drinking with Emma," I shook my head.

"I'll be leaving for the neighboring pack for two days."

I stopped in my tracks after hearing what he had just said, "Why?"

He also stopped, "I need to help them with the attacks that are happening there. The attacks are horrendous, they take up a huge number of lives. I can't stay put."

"When will you be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," he grimaced at his own words, as if he didn't want to say it out loud.

"Can't you take me with you?"

"You are asking the same question you asked when you were drunk," he smiled and patted my head, "My answer will also be the same. I can't, Violet."

I smiled sourly at his answer as I knew the reasons why he didn't want me to go with him. It must be very dangerous, and he didn't want anything bad to happen to me while being there. 

"Will you be okay?" I inquired worriedly, "I mean, you said that there were a lot of attacks."

"Are you worried about me?" He laughed, "Of course I will be okay. You know that I am the Alpha, right? The strongest werewolf out there. A mere rogue can't hurt me."

I wonder just how strong he is. What made him so full of himself? Regardless of how strong he was, I couldn't help but worry about him. Everyone could get hurt and I didn't want him to get hurt. I wish there was something that I could do to help him.

"Stay safe," I reminded him, fiddling with my fingers before saying, "Come back quickly."

"I will," he pecked my cheek, "Will you miss me?" I slowly nodded to his question bashfully, and a dashing smile appeared on his face. "Me too."