Meow, Meow

The moment I near her house I know that something is wrong. I can feel it, inside and out. Goosebumps rise on my skin and skid to a stop in my animal form.

The Tracker.

He's close, super close. So close I can smell his distinct evergreen and musk scent lingering in the air. I crouch low to the ground, my ears pricking up and my pupils dilating.

He’s coming, I think to myself getting ready for an attack of some kind. But minutes pass, and still nothing. Wearily, I relax from my prowling position.

He has something else his sleeve, I know it. But my mind quickly leaves this subject on the ground when I feel that same intense pain from before. Her pain.

Without thinking, I shift into my human form and dart up her driveway and towards her front porch. Two ancient words slips from my mouth, unlocking her door.

Furniture scatters as I fling it open and rush inside. My feet carry me quickly towards her bedroom, where with my enhanced senses I can hear her on the other side of her closest door. Slowly, I open the door, pushing back the racks of clothing.

Narissa is up on her feet in a flurry of motion that causes the things in her closet to rattle. From her erratic breathing and the shift of her body, I can tell, even in the dark that she’s about to attack me within moments. I can also feel the fear pouring from her skin in intense waves.

“D-Don’t come near me,” She commands, shakily, “I have a weapon.”

Instantly, I take a step back, throwing my hands up in an unseen defensive position, “Narissa, it’s just me, I’m not going to hurt you, I only want to see how you are,” I reassure quickly.

“Penelope…how do I know it’s really you?” Suspicion laces her voice, which comes out only just above a whisper.

“Your favorite colors are teal and purple. You always chew on your pen when you’re frustrated, and you eat bacon bits on literally everything.”

A soft thud echoes throughout the tiny space as whatever it is in her hands falls to the ground at her feet. Suddenly, her trembling body is pressed against mine and I automatically wrap my arms around her.

“It’s going to be alright," I breath, petting the back of her head gently.

A slight yelp escapes her lips as I lift her off the ground with relative ease despite my visibly petite frame. Once I deposit her onto the bed, I flip the switch on the lamp she previously tried to assault me with.

I gasp, taking in her full appearance in the shadows. She looks weak, exhausted, and scared out of her mind. Her normally glowing skin is pallid and sickly and her eyes are red behind their puffy lids. But all this is not the reason I gasp. It’s the dark inky looking mark that I notice spreading across her chest.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone.” I growl, more mad at myself than anything.

I should never have left her alone. No matter what she said. I knew what he was capable of and I still did it. I failed, I didn’t protect her. I didn’t protect my mate.

A restrained whine leaves my mouth as I immediately shift onto the bed, reaching out to fully inspect the dark magic beginning to seek into her body, poisoning her with passing minute. But before I can press my fingers against the spot, her own trembling ones push my limbs away.

"Don't," She mumbles. Her face is contorted in pain and there’s a panic rising up in her eyes.

My blood boils with anger, while guilt and shame also wells up at the back of my throat. Both make it hard to think rationally or even breath.

“Oh, baby,” Biting back the tears that want to leak from my eyes, I reach out to run my fingers lightly against hers. “This is all my fault,” I admit in a trembling whisper, my hand moving up to press against her face, running my fingers along the smooth skin of her cheeks and upward through her tangled locks, absently grazing her ear. Suddenly she recoils from my touch, turning her head away.

“I-I lost your earring. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t. I was at the bar and it was dark and...” She pauses to inhale shakily before continuing her explanation, “And then he came out of nowhere and he asked me…I didn’t know what to do and-”

“It doesn’t matter,” I interrupt her gasping rush of words, “I don’t care about an old earring that I should have let go of a long time ago. All that matters is that you’re here in front of me.”

Her gorgeous eyes flit across my face, full of a copious mixture of suspicious, pain, and I think guilt or shame. As if what she did was so horrible and so wrong when really I’m the one who made the mistake.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, I did. I didn’t protect you. And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. But I promise I will from now on. The Tracker or anyone else is never going to harm you again.”

For a moment there is nothing but silence, my fervent declaration hanging in the air like a mist. She inhales, eyes drifting away from my face and towards her bedspread. Her fingers absently come to conceal the visible evidence of the Tracker’s magical administrations.

My heart quivers inside my chest at her silence. It’s killing me. I don’t know what she’s thinking. I don’t know. if she mad at me because I left her and now she’s hurt? I don’t know if she thinks I’m a bad mate? I don’t know if she even wants to speak to me after this, or see me? I don’t know if she’s going to reject me fully this time.

This thought in itself is enough to make my tears start rolling. “I know I haven’t been a very good mate, and I’m so sorry, but I’ll be better I promise. I’ll heal you, and everything will be alright,” I whisper, my voice and hard to come out. Before she can react or protest, lean across the space she’s made between us and pull her into my lap, clutching her tightly, but enough to crush her with my desperateness.

I want nothing more than for her to realize that I would do anything for her, that I would protect her with my life. That at this point I don’t really care about me. All I care about is her. I don’t want her to hurt, let alone have it be because of me. I want her to know that I care about her, I'm going to be the best mate that I can be. If she'll have me.

“Pen..elope,” She sighs, leaning into my embrace and wrapping her arms loosely around my middle. Her face presses against the crook of my neck, where I can feel her warm gasps of breath as it sends tingles all across my body.

I’m hit with a million and one feelings and sensations. My pulse races, my stomach flips, and every fiber of my being seems to be electrically charged.

A soft giggle escapes my mouth, I run my fingers up and down her body, massaging her gently, willing away her pain, her unease, her guilt. Everything.

This is the closet we’ve ever been. At least with me in my human form. I didn’t know that she could be so receptive to my touch or that she would allow me to even be this close to her. Let alone while I’m naked, which she doesn’t seem to notice. Or at least I think until she pulls away, quickly pulling distance between us.

But instead of embarrassment showing past the distorted lines of her face, I see an expression similar to one that I've seen on her before. And the last time she said it my heart nearly broke into pieces.