Behind the Lines

It has just been a few hours since the training has been over, and I feel even more emotionally drained than usual. I think the separation from Landon is finally kicking in, and I have no clue what to do. I mean, I’m not even mad at him anymore. After what he told me, he was only trying to protect me.

And yet, here I am, lying in bed, too exhausted and drained to move, still pondering about whether I should go talk to Landon or wait some time. Unfortunately, I have no more time to think before someone knocks repeatedly on my door, adding to the headache I already have.

“What do you want?” I snap weakly towards the door, moaning as I turn around to lie on my back.

Blaine comes barging in my room looking annoyed at me, frowning.

“Okay, what do you want?” I mutter, closing my exhausted eyes.

“I want you to talk to Landon, because both of you were fine this morning, and now you both are like walking zombies. Prank week is still on, and tonight is your big prank. You can’t do it if you are dead. Plus, you need to continue the training tomorrow and you need to be in your best shape. So for goodness sake’s please go and talk to your hubby,” Blaine fumes.

“It’s times like these when I know you are gay. Other times, you pass on being straight,” I point out.

“Don’t change the subject, Journey,” Blaine glares.

“Ugh, you caught me. But what do you want me to say to him? I need you to be with me so I can gain my strength back?” I question.

“No. You are going to sort things out, say whatever is on your mind, and then you both are going to nap together and then go for a walk and then prepare for your prank!” Blaine summarizes.

“You know the plan better than me. You go nap with him,” I chicken out.

“Nuh-uh. You are going to do it now! So let’s go!” Blaine rips the blanket off of me, leaving me exposed to the cold air and then hauls me up buy arm, stretching the muscles near my shoulder joint.

“Gently, Blaine!” I advise him

“That’s what she said!” he snickers, pulling me out of my room and down the hall where Landon’s bedroom is. He knocks on the door before entering and Landon mutters a weak, “Come in,” before Blaine barges into the room in the same fashion he did to mine.

“Landon, your mate is here. Talk, kiss, have babies, make-up, but please, no more fighting. I hate seeing people upset because of their mates, especially when it’s with one my best friends. So make-up!” Blaine pushes me to Landon, literally, and I trip over a discarded shoe, falling straight for Landon’s bed.

Out of instinct, Landon manages to catch my fall, still lying down in bed, and helps me balance my clumsy feet. All this time, the sparks I feel are going haywire and my wolf is jumping up and down from joy. Blood rushes to my cheeks and I realize I probably look like a tomato right now. Plus, the fact he is not wearing a shirt just makes it harder for me not to drool and make a bigger fool out of myself.

“You okay?” Landon worriedly asks his chocolate brown eyes boring into my green ones.

“Yeah,” I confirm. “Thanks for breaking my fall.”

“I don’t think I would have stopped feeling guilty if I hadn’t. Though it is my fault in the first place for not cleaning up,” he blushes, his eyes portraying guilt and love, making my heart flutter in desire and want and love as well.

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s Blaine’s. He shouldn’t have pushed me in the first place,” I mutter, my eyes never leaving his. His eyes are so mesmerizing, making you want to just look in it for an eternity. They are like pools of chocolate you just want to dive into, the swirls just hypnotizing you further in.

“You’re right,” his husky, deep voice agrees, “he shouldn’t have. I would punch him for it, but I’d figure I’d better not so you don’t get upset and I don’t have to deal with Claire or Bryn as well,” he smiles, making my heart flutter even more if possible.

“Um…” I start my mind unable to think of anything else to say. “What’s up?” Gosh, could I be anymore lame.

Landon chuckles deeply, “Just the ceiling,” he answers, smiling. I break out into a smile, and shove his shoulder.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” I pout.

He smiles wider at the action, “Well, I was thinking of taking a nap, but I think that I’ll just have to do this.”

“Do what?” my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“This.”

That is all he says before he grabs me softly but firmly and guides me to the bed, gently pulling me on it before he gets on top, straddling me. And then he starts to tickle my sides, making me laugh hysterically.

“No! Let me go! Please!” I beg him, laughing so hard that I’ll probably end up having stitches in my stomach.

“Never!” he taunts, one hand tickling my neck while the other stays tickling my side.

“Please! I’ll do whatever you want me to! Please let me go,” I laugh, tears trailing down my cheek.

“Anything, you say?” Landon muses, smirking.

“Yes! Anything, please no more tickling,” I deal with him.

“Hmm… okay then, this offer is too good to pass, so I will take it,” he agrees, smiling down on me.

“Okay, young warrior, name your price,” I start.

“You have to help me come up with a prank,” he says after a few moments of thinking.

“That’s it?” I ask surprised. I was expecting him to come up with something more diabolical.

“Yeah. Why? Where you expecting me to ask you to help me with a murder?” he asks, eyebrow raised in mock interrogation.

“Well, not murder exactly, but maybe kidnap,” I joke, smiling devilishly.

“I’m hurt you would think of me that way, fair maiden,” he feigns mock hurt, holding a hand to his heart.

I roll my eyes at him, “So who are you planning on pranking?” I ask.

He gets off of me, not that I minded in the first place, and lies down on the bed next to, holding his head up in his palm.

“Brandon.” He states.

“Why? What did he do?” I ask.

“He put itching powder in my underwear,” he blushes.

“Well, I wish I could’ve seen your reaction!” I exclaim, smiling haughtily at him.

He rolls his eyes at me, “I’m sure you would have loved to see me suffer, Nay,” he states, using my old nickname.

“I sure would have,” I smile cheekily, poking his cheek.

“So, have you got anything in mind?”

I close my eyes for a moment to think. After a few moments of silence I open up my eyes and smile naughtily at him, an evil glimmer in my eye, against my little brother. I have to say, out of all my brothers, he did care for me. He would talk to me when no one else was in the house and we had great times together by ourselves. I didn’t want anyone to know we talked, knowing that my parents or other brothers would order him to stop.

“Okay…? You’re look is freaking me out now,” Landon says, smirking.

“Well, you know how he’s allergic of cinnamon, right?”

“Yeah,” he says, confused,

I continue to explain my idea, “Well, I was thinking of putting cinnamon in his dinner today, just to see his reaction for a moment,” I finish. It was nothing really diabolical, but Brandon turns red when he eats cinnamon and his cheeks and tongue puffs out and it’s like listening to a baby talk for the first time. The reaction only lasts for a few minutes since his werewolf body kills off the reaction, but it is so worth it.

Landon smiles brightly at my idea, his eyes gleaming with happiness he did not have a few days ago. Did my presence really affect him that much that his eyes shine with brightness… and adoration?

“You are a genius,” he compliments, looking right into my eyes.

“Thank you, thank you very much,” I mimic Elvis while he chuckles at my poor impression.

“I heard you are pulling a really big prank today. Is that right?” he questions.

“Yup, and this conversation stops right here because no one ever knows of my plans. They just know when it is going to happen. So asking me is just a futile effort,” I inform. My heart starts to beat faster as he places his hand on my waist, not even knowing he did it. Everything is so natural with him, that I lean in towards his touch.

“C’mon, you have to tell someone!” he complains like a little baby.

“Nope. Not a chance.”

“But what if you forget your plan? Someone needs to be your back-up hard drive!” he urges.

“Landon, I never forget my pranks. The day I forget my prank is the day the world will end!”

“Well, the world will end sometime. No one knows when, it could be today or in a few hundred years. Who knows? But if you tell me, I am sure that the world will continue to go on and that your secret will be safe with me,” he promises.

“Not a chance, Landon. Good speech though,” I smile cheekily, patting his cheek softly in condolence.

“Damn it! It took me all night to come up with that!” he says sarcastically.

“Puh-lease, I could come up with something better than that in a minute!” I snort, laughing.

He opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he sings happily, still looking at me while I roll my eyes at his childlessness, but blush anyway.

The door opens and the room is instantly filled with an overwhelming smell of roses and lavender. Are they trying to suffocate us?

“Ugh, what is she doing here,” Macy’s voice fills the room, complete abhorrence in her voice. Since my back is to the door, I cannot see her face, but I can imagine it.

“Question is, Macy, what are you doing here?” Landon retorts, glaring at her, looking behind me.

“Well, I thought you could use some excitement in your life and came here. I mean, what can she possibly offer you? She’s lived most her life under a rock, anyway,” she sneers.

I turn to my other side, facing her, my back now towards Landon. His hand is still placed on my waist, though now the hold is firmer. I look at what she is wearing… or what she is not… and notice she is clad in just a mini skirt that could pass as a handkerchief and a shirt that ends right below her chest, displaying the rest of her stomach out in the open.

“You’re right, Macy, I did live under a rock for a while. Excuse me for not joining you in the street corner for an easy lay,” I snap.

“Are you calling me a slut?” her eyes glow with anger.

“No, honey, I’m calling you a prostitute.”

“Do you know who I am?” she venomously spits out.

“Please, is that the best comeback you could come up with. I could eat alphabet soup and shit out a better comeback than that,” I smirk, knowing I’d end up winning this conversation.

“Excuse me, but I could beat your ass any day,” she smirks.

“Really? It didn’t seem like that today when you couldn’t even jump over the tires properly,” her smirk falls, replaced by a deep scowl.

“Landon, what do you even see in her? She is just a little slut, going from guy to guy. I mean, all her friends are all guys,” she states, picking at her nails confidently, glaring at me.

“First of all Macy, you call me a slut one more time, I’ll make sure to make your life here a living hell. Second, that seems to be a lot coming from you. I mean, you probably did the whole pack three times now. Third, how loose is your vagina? Can’t be the delightful for the guys anymore. I mean, I heard virgins are in these days, which means you are going out of business,” I lecture, my eyes burning with pure anger for this girl. I mean, who the hell she thinks she is, coming in my mates’ room and trying to get into bed with him, is she that desperate?

Clearly having nothing else to say, she stomps her foot on the floor in frustration and turns back to the door on her heels. “This isn’t over, Journey,” she warns, slamming the door behind her in the process.

“Well, that went well,” I say turning back to face Landon again, who is looking at me, again, in complete fascination.

“What?” I ask him, confused.

“You are incredible,” he whispers before leaning his head and kissing me on the cheek, making my skin light on fire at the small gesture. I blush and look away from him, avoiding his gaze, but he seems to enjoy my embarrassment. He puts his finger under my chin and pulls it back up so he can see me.

“You look adorable when you blush. You don’t have to hide from me,” he whispers, looking at me right in the eyes, making me blush even more and smile like an idiot.

We stare at each other in silence for a few moments, basking in each other’s presence. A few minutes go by, though it feels like hours, before Landon breaks the silence.

“Will you ever forgive me?” he solemnly asks, looking at me with pain in his eyes. Pain of the past.

“I already forgave you. It’s the trust you need to work on. I forgive you, but it’ll take me sometime to trust you,” I explain to him.

“I understand. I won’t push you for anything,” Landon states, smiling sadly.

“If it helps, I’d like to start by being your friend,” I say, hoping to lift up the spirits in this room.

He smiles greatly, all signs of remorse gone and nods heavily.

“I wouldn’t miss that offer for the world,” he murmurs, pulling me closer. We share yet another moment of silence—sweet and nostalgic.

“So, tell me about yourself. We haven’t talked in a long time,” I start.

“Okay, well, I still love camping, drawing, painting, and singing. Currently, my favorite color is green, my favorite food is fudge brownies, and my favorite animal is the wolf, no doubt. What about you?” he throws the ball in my court.

“Well, I still love to draw and paint. I’ve developed a new interest in writing poetry. My favorites color remains lavender, and nothing has really changed, except the fact I could probably beat you in a race now,” I smirk.

“Of course you can. You are a Royal Black,” he states.

I look up at him with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “How did you know?” I ask.

“You don’t have alpha blood, but you made my whole pack cower, even me, in fear of you this morning. No normal wolf, with no high rank, can do that, especially to another alpha,” he explains.

“You were scared of me?”

“I’m not going to lie, but yes. My wolf was scared of you. He is scared of the power you have over him, but he loves your wolf anyway,” he mutters in adoration, once again.

“Now that I think about it, you were always pretty submissive to me,” I smirk.

He laughs and nudges my shoulder with his hand. “I always knew you were special, Journey. I never had a doubt about it.”

I smile at him and playfully nudge him back.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Landon suggests.

I shrug my shoulders, “Sure, I’ll just go put on my sneakers,” I say, getting off from the bed. I didn’t notice until now how warm Landon kept me. Without his arm at my waist, everything feels cold.

I swiftly walk out of the room and head over to mine, going over to my closet to grab my converse. I slip them on quickly, almost falling over, and run out the door and back to Landon’s room. This time, Landon has a shirt on, accentuating his muscles, and his shoes. Even though he is dressed casually, he manages to look like a Greek god.

My eyes go back to his and I blush when I know he caught me checking him out. A smirk adorns his face and there is a twinkle in his eye, telling me that he finds it amusing.

“See something you like?” Landon asks.

“Yeah, your painting,” I say, pointing behind him. I see he is in a middle of a project, half of the canvas painted while the other remains blank. I don’t really know what it is yet, since he only painted the sky, but I can tell it’s on its way to being a masterpiece. Landon always had a knack to pull off beautiful paintings. He makes Van Gogh and Picasso look like chumps.

“Thanks,” he smiles walking towards me. “Shall we?” he asks.

“We shall,” I confirm.

And we start our trek into the woods.

We start our trek to a beautiful night, and hopefully many more to come.