I Will Walk With You

(Frankie's P.O.V.)

I don’t know what these feelings are. When I look at him, my heart beats faster and I want to be closer to him. The moments he's allowed me to touch him and kiss brought me so much joy. It’s not like I just go around kissing boys, it’s just that Devlin is the only person I want to kiss.

Even though he didn’t kiss me back, it was still a breath-taking event for me both times. If I knew why I felt like this, it would be ok but I don’t know. I feel like he's the person I'm destined to be with but I know Devlin would tell me if he was my mate, he knows how much I want my mate. I don’t think he would hurt me like that.

I wish he would look at me. I don’t want to ask him to because he doesn’t look at anyone, only Sam and Eli. I'm not going to force him either. I wish I knew what he was thinking. If his thoughts are anything like mine have been this past twenty-four hours then he's thinking about me right now.

We pulled up at the mall and Sam helped Devlin out of the car and into his chair. Jealousy struck me as I watched the way he wrapped his arms around her neck and the way she rubbed her hand down the back of his hair when she put him down.

I growled lowly drawing the attention of everyone including Devlin. He didn’t look at me but I know I had his attention. Alex laughed and shook his head before turning and walking with Vanessa towards the entrance of the building. "Did I miss something?" Sam asked.

"No." I said stalely before turning on my heels and stomping off after Alex. I don’t know why I got so mad. Maybe it’s because he's the only guy I've ever crushed on in my life and I feel like Sam may be crushing also. She's already won him over; he looks her in the eye. I want his electric blue eyes to connect with my golden ones, just once.

Now I'm a little bit mad at him. I've been almost throwing myself at him and he won’t even tell me he's not interested. If he wants Sam he should just say it so I can stop wasting my time and making myself look like a desperate idiot. Something keeps telling me not to give up easily though.

'Battle of the Babes.' My wolf laughed. 'Do me a favor and don’t get your ass kicked.' I mentally rolled my eyes at her. I don’t see how I got stuck with a wolf as immature as Koro. She finds humor in the dumbest things. You can’t even think about the planet, Uranus, without her rolling with laughter.

Sam and Devlin caught up with us and we started our shopping spree. Eli better be lucky his money is nearly unlimited. We aren’t necessarily the cheapest pack in the state. "Where should we go next?" Sam asked after we had walked through the mall for two hours.

"Let’s go to Aeropostale!" Vanessa exclaimed. Alex rolled his eyes at her.

"Babe, do we really have to go in there this time?" He asked with a whiny tone. Alex absolutely hates the store. He says that only stuck-up preps shop there and he's never been nor will be either. Vanessa grabbed his cheek and squeezed it.

"Yes, Love, we do." She said playfully. "This is your punishment for making me wait." This time I rolled my eyes. Some wolves make mating too much about sex. Alex and Vanessa couldn’t stand each other before they found out they were mates. Afterwards they started having sex like the world needed repopulating.

Alex groaned as we entered the store. When I was younger, Kevin and I used to come here to poke the male models. We just wanted to test their composure; if they didn’t crack and try to chase us down they weren’t fun. I headed to my favorite part of the store, the perfumes and colognes. Sam drug Devlin off to the men's section to smother him in clothes.

I sighed sadly to myself. I was hoping I could be alone with him again today. I don’t want to seem clingy so I'll let her have this one. I can’t believe I'm secretly competing with my best friend for a boy who isn’t mine. I began to sample the large collection of perfumes, picking out the ones I like the most.

I think I went a little over-board; I spent ninety-five dollars on perfumes for myself and another one hundred and fifty dollars on men’s cologne. I didn’t plan on buying Devlin anything. My body just sort of drifted over and I couldn’t help it. I looked around the store to see Alex and Vanessa hiding in a clothes rack kissing.

I rolled my eyes and continued to scan the store. I spotted Devlin and Sam on the other end of the store. She has her face close to his as they exchange words. My heart beat painfully as I watched her kiss his forehead gently. My eyes filled with tears, I'm angry but I'm more heart broken than anything.

I grabbed my bags and walked out of the store. I don’t know why I feel so betrayed. It feels like Sam and Devlin took turns carving my heart out. I went on to the next store of my choosing. I decided I need some music to get me by so I headed to F.Y.E. I cried the entire way there, ignoring the concerned looks people were giving me.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned to see an extremely big guy standing in front of me. I could hardly see what he looked like because of my tear clouded eyes. I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

When his features were revealed, I had to lean back to see his face. He has soft, hazel colored eyes and honey colored hair. He has strong facial features; it is well defined and perfectly chiseled. No matter how hot this guy is, he'll never compare to Devlin.

"May I help you?" I asked as I cleared my throat. He took a small step towards me.

"I just wanted to make sure you’re ok." He said. You look pretty upset." I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm just trying to get away from some people." He looked around cautiously.

"Is someone after you?" He asked with concern. I shook my head.

"No," I said trying to calm the large man. "I came here with them; my plans just aren’t going as planned." My plan is probably hugged up with Sam somewhere like Alex and Vanessa. That thought only made me cry even more.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. I shook my head and held my face in my hands. I couldn’t get the thought of Sam kissing the boy I'll probably fall in love with. I want him to be mine more than anything. I'm not even afraid to admit it. I'll fall in love with him and he'll fall in love with Sam.

"Hey, hey." The man said rubbing my arm. "It’s ok, come on, I'll buy you a coffee." I nodded my head and walked towards the food court after him. I don’t even care that he's stranger, I just need someone to vent to. We found our way to a booth in the corner. While he went and ordered drinks I accidentally put myself in a darker mood. Just thinking, I made myself even angrier at Sam and I'm furious with Devlin but I can only cry.

"Here's your coffee." He said handing me the hot cup. I mouthed thank you and cleaned myself up. Waterproof mascara my ass. "My name is Kalem Lex." He said offering me his hand. I grabbed it and shook it quickly.

"Frankie Waters." I said softly.

"So Frankie, why were you crying?" He asked politely. I sighed sadly.

"See there's this guy I met yesterday and I really like him. I'm not supposed to like him because he's not my- uh-" I don’t really know how to say it without saying mate.

"He's not your mate?" He asked surprisingly. My mouth dropped open and he smirked at me. I know he's human, I'm positive of that. "It’s ok; my sister is mated to a kid named Cory Tyse. Maybe you know him. He's the biggest idiot I've ever met." My mouth was still open as I shook my head.

"How did you know what I am?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I've been around them long enough to know how you guys move." He said. "You may not know this, but once we're around you for so long, we notice that you guys stick out like sore thumbs." I smiled sheepishly at him.

"You were crying because?" He asked after a moment or so.

"Right." I said getting back on topic. "I really like him. He's so sweet, and kind, and he's also the most handsome person I've ever lay eyes on." I sighed. "He's so shy and closed off because of the torment he endured from his old pack. I've made attempts to show him how I feel but it’s like he doesn’t even notice it.

I made him heart shaped pancakes and purple eggs for breakfast this morning. I kissed him for god’s sake," I whined. "Twice! And you want to know what happened?" Kalem nodded his head hesitantly. He's thinking, "This girl is crazy".

"I just saw my best friend kissing him!" I exclaimed as I threw my hands in the air. "He looks at her; he won’t even look at me. He doesn’t even have a clue what I look like. He lets her help him in and out of his chair." He cocked his head to the side with confusion.

"Chair?" He asked sounding just as confused as he looks. I held my head high with confidence.

"Devlin is in a wheel chair because he was born with Spina Bifida." I said with a bit of agitation. "He may sound like a jerk but he's the sweetest man I've ever met." Kalem put his hands in the air defensively.

"I don’t judge," He said. "I only want to help. I'm not going to be like most guys and pump your head full of angry thoughts towards the man you’re in love with." I blushed shyly.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I guess I just thought that you would be like my brother. He thinks it’s funny to hurt people who can’t fight back. I feel like I need to protect him, not because he's in a wheelchair, but because I care about him."

"Why do you care so much if he isn’t your mate?" Kalem asked leaning over his coffee. He has this really caring look in his eye like he wants to be able to give me good advice. I shrugged my shoulders hopelessly.

"I don’t know." I said. "It’s like when I first lay eyes on him, I knew I wanted to be there for him. My best friend is a lot closer to him than I am so I'm afraid I'll lose him to her. I know I sound selfish but I can’t help how my heart feels." He nodded his head.

"I think I understand what you mean." He said. "Maybe you should just give him time to open up to you. Don’t give up on how you feel just because of your friend. Maybe she's just trying to help him also. Did she kiss him on the lips?" He asked. I shook my head.

"See," He said smiling. "You have nothing to worry about. Maybe he's just afraid of his feelings. Some people who suffer from a disability tend to close themselves off from others. They tend to think that if they show how they feel, they'll be rejected. Maybe he feels the same way about you."

"But what if he doesn’t?" I asked. "What if he really does like my friend more than me? What am I supposed to do?" He grabbed my hand in his making me look into his eyes.

"If he likes her more than you he's a blind man." He said seriously. "You know, there aren’t many women out there who think like you. He's lucky to have someone like you in his life." I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I whispered shyly. I heard feet coming up from behind me. I turned around to see Alex stalking over to us. I sighed. Well there went that conversation.

"We've been looking all over for you!" He said. He looked over at Kalem then back at me with a large grin on his face. "Who's you’re friend?" He asked nosily. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Alex, Kalem, Kalem, Alex." I said quickly. The men shook hands and exchanged their hellos.

"Anyways, everyone's going to F.Y.E. I want to buy Vanessa some new CD's. She really needs to move on from that Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilera phase." He said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I was headed there next anyways." I said. I looked over at Kalem who sat smiling cheerfully. "Thank you for talking to me," I said. "And it was really nice meeting you. Hopefully it won’t be the last time." He nodded his head once.

"It was nice meeting you, Frankie," He said. "Here, take my card. If you just need someone to talk to, or if you’re interested in my services, just give me a call." He took a small blue card out of his pocket and slid it across the table. I took the card and the coffee he bout me, and thanked him. When Alex and I walked off, he wouldn’t stop staring at me.

"What?!" I growled, stopping and turning towards him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn’t say anything!" He said innocently.

"You’re staring and you know it, Alex." I said with a hard tone. He rolled his eyes.

"I was just thinking that you and that guy, Kalem, look cute together." He admitted seriously. I nearly gagged. Kalem is not my type. He's too tall for me; I look like a small child next to him. His hair isn’t dark enough, his eyes aren’t the color I want them to be, and his voice doesn’t make my heart beat faster. He's not Devlin so he isn’t right for me.

"You’re crazy." I said. "Kalem and I are just friend, if we're even that. I've known the guy for twenty minutes! I needed someone to vent to and he offered me his ear. That's all." Alex rolled his eyes.

"If you say so." He mumbled. I huffed and walked past him and into the destined store. Sam and Vanessa were scanning the shelves for their favorite genre of music. Sam is into rock and metal, Vanessa is like Alex said, she's still stuck in the nineties.

I looked around for Dev and saw him on the other side of the store with a pair of headphones on. I walked to the isle next to him and watched him mouth the words to a song. I watched his lips trying to read them, I ended up being mesmerized by how pink and plump they are.

I closed my eyes and sighed as I imagined his lips running over the pale, sensitive skin of my neck. I shuttered at the thought of him digging his canines into my willing flesh as I enter a state of pure bliss. Why can’t he be my mate? I would love him unconditionally and literally die for him.

Not being able to have him is complete torture. I've never felt this way about anyone. Up until yesterday, I still had it in my head that boys had cooties. Now look at me, I'm fantasizing about being marked but someone who isn’t mine. One day his true mate will show up and I'll have to bury my feelings and hope my mate finds me soon after.

I sighed and turned around only to bump into Vanessa and Sam. Actually I ran into their boobs. They both laughed a little. "We just wanted to make sure you were ok." Vanessa said. "You looked a little upset when you left the store." I gave her a half smile.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just had a lot on my mind." They both pouted at me.

"You know we're always here for you if you need to talk." Sam said rubbing my arm gently. I nodded my head and smiled.

"I know." I said. "You guys are always here when I need you." Deep down inside I knew I couldn’t talk to them about the situation at hand. If Sam likes Devlin, I know she told Vanessa already.

"So, do you want to walk with us?" Sam asked. "We need school clothes and supplies." She rolled her eyes. "I can’t wait until this year is over." I nodded my head and smiled. The girls squealed and grabbed my hands, towing me out of the store behind them.

(Devlin's P.O.V.)

I saw Frankie with some guy at the food court with some guy. He was holding her hand and she was smiling at him. At first I was heartbroken but then I remembered what I had told myself. I want her to move on and find someone who makes her happy. If it’s him then I have no choice but to accept it.

I had originally gone searching for her when I saw her run out of the store we were in. I could see she was crying and I instantly knew she had seen Sam kiss me. She had been telling me that she was happy that I was opening up to everyone. She said she can tell I am happier than I was when I got here. When I told her I was, she placed a small kiss on my forehead and told me she felt like a proud mother.

I felt someone tapping my shoulder. I've been sitting here listening to the same song for twenty minutes. Every time it ended I started it again. I opened my eyes to see Alex standing next to me. "What are you listening to?" He asked casually.

"Uh- Vulnerable by Secondhand Serenade." I said quietly.

"Got a girl on your mind?" He asked just as casual as he had before. "A girl who's name starts with F and ends with rankie?" I looked at his face with complete shock. He has a big smile spread across his face. When I didn’t say anything he rolled his deep green eyes at me. "I'm not stupid, Devlin. It’s obvious she's your mate. My question is, why haven’t you told her yet?"

"I- uh- I-" I froze up, not knowing how to explain myself. "Please don’t tell her," I pleaded. "She'll hate me if she finds out."

"I'm not going to tell her," He said honestly. "I just hope you can find the courage to tell her yourself. She deserves to know, you know. You’re supposed to be with her so why are you hiding?" I shrugged my shoulders and looked away from his serious expression.

"I'm not good enough for her, Alex." I whispered. "She expects things I can’t give her. I can’t give her the life she truly deserves." Alex sighed sadly and shook his head.

"How about we grab some food and you can try to help me understand all this." He suggested after a second. I nodded my head and followed him to the checkout desk. After we paid for our items, Alex led the way to the food court. I groaned as I looked at the spot Frankie sat in as she talked with that guy.

Once we had gotten our food, we found a secluded table in the corner to get comfortable. "So," Alex said as he shoved two fries in his mouth. "How long do you think you can keep this up without her finding out?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Hopefully forever." I replied. "She'll be happier if she never knows I'm who she got stuck with." Alex stared at me intensely.

"Why do you hate yourself so much?" He asked curiously.

"Come on, Alex." I said sounding a bit whiny. "Isn’t it obvious?" I asked as I pointed down at my personal prison.

"What does your chair have to do with who you are inside?" He asked questionably. "I only have one leg but that doesn’t mean I'm going to let that keep me from being happy." I looked him in the eye.

"It’s a lot harder when you've never been happy." I said. "I don’t know how to be happy, or strong. I don’t know how to maintain a confident state of mind. I only know how to hate myself for how I am." Alex sighed next.

"She still deserves to know, Devlin." He retorted. "I know if I couldn’t reject Vanessa, you won’t be able to do it to Frankie." I looked at him with a shocked expression.

"You tried to reject Vanessa?" I asked in disbelief. I would have never guessed that by the way they act together. They look so happy and perfect. Alex chuckled and nodded his head.

"We actually tried to reject each other." He said sounding as if he couldn’t believe it himself. "Before we knew we were mates, we absolutely loathed each other. I thought she was a stuck up bitch and she called me a sarcastic, overly excited unicycle." Wow, that actually hurt me.

"She called you a unicycle?" I asked. He laughed and nodded.

"It’s the best damn insult she ever came up with." He said laughing again. "Anyway, we both decided we didn’t want anything to do with each other so we went our separate ways."

"What happened?" I asked curiously. "Why are you together now?" Alex looked away from his food and up at me.

"Every day that I was away from her, the urge is with her got stronger. He said. "The need to touch her and hold her, the need to mark her became so overbearing. One day I saw another wolf flirting with her and I snapped. I actually took my leg off and beat the kid with it. I knew if I had shifted I wouldn’t have hesitated on killing him."

"How long did it take?" I asked referring to the time between the rejection and when he finally cracked. Alex shuttered as if talking about it brought back awful memories.

"Twenty-seven days, fourteen hours, fifty-three minutes, and seven seconds." I looked at him with wide eyes. "When you experience what I did, it’s easy to remember the time." He said. "Not telling her will only make it worse in the end. You haven’t seen Frankie pissed off, and I doubt you want to. She has a habit of throwing things when she's upset. It’s scary stuff."

I think I have seen Frankie pissed off and Alex is right, it is scary stuff. I frowned to myself as we fell silent and ate our food. I tried talking to my wolf while I ate, I begged him for advice and I pleaded for confidence. I begged him to at least make a sound so I would know he's really there. Just like every time in my life, he failed me.

I know I need to tell Frankie but I can’t do it without my wolf's help. Your wolf is basically your mentor throughout life. They are supposed to be there to help you make decisions about any and every problem you may encounter. It’s just so fucking hard to do the right thing when everything you've ever tried to do get shot to hell.

I was brought out of my dark thinking by the sound of beautiful laughter. I didn’t even have to turn around to know who had produced the beautiful song-like sound. I glanced behind me to watch her sashay over to our table. I looked back down at my half eaten burger when she stopped at my side with her hands full of bags.

"I hope you don’t mind but I did some shopping for you." She said shyly. "Like always, I think I may have gone a little overboard." I took a deep breath and tried to find my voice.

"It’s fine," I said with a small voice. "Thank you." She sighed with relief aaand flopped down in the seat next to me. Vanessa took a seat next to Alex and Sam sat between her and Frankie.

So, what did we miss?" Sam asked when she got comfortable. I tensed up and glance at Alex who sent me a reassuring smile.

"Nothing much," He said shrugging. "Same old, same old. Pregnant teens, old women lying about their age, the economy is shot to hell and the government is driving the world into the ground, the basics." The girls rolled their eyes at him and went to order lunch for them.

"What do you guys want to do next?" Vanessa asked after they finished eating. Sam and Frankie started to name off things we could do until it’s time to go to the theatre. Its two thirty now and we don’t have to be there until eight. We have a lot of time to kill.

"How about we go carnival." Sam suggested. "It’s leaving tomorrow night and we haven’t been once since they set it up."

"Sounds like a plan." Alex said. "Maybe I'll make a few stops at the kissing booth while we're there." He glanced at Vanessa playfully, she snarled viciously at him nearly drawing the attention of a few people walking by.

"If you want to keep your lips and your life," She said glaring at him. "I suggest you zip it!" Alex flinched at her tone but pulled her out of her seat onto his lap. He smashed his lips into hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

"I love you." He said with his forehead pressed to hers. She smiled and pecked his lips once more.

"I love you too." She said leaning against his chest. I mentally groaned to myself, all of this public display of affection is getting to me. Frankie sighed sadly and her shoulders slouched forward in a depressed manor.

"Are you ok?" I asked unable to not check on her. We haven’t really spoken today. She's the whole reason I even agreed to come.

"Yea," She said sounding a bit unsure. "I'm just tired. I haven’t been sleeping much lately." I can tell by her voice that it’s more than that. Seeing Alex and Vanessa together got to her as much as it did me.

"We can go home if you want." I suggested. If she really is tired I want her to rest. "We can go to the carnival tomorrow before it leaves."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "If you really want to go we can. I don’t want to ruin your day." I smiled slightly, at least she's thinking of me in one way even if it is just to make sure I have a good day.

"I'm sure." I said sincerely. "I could use a nap too. I'm not used to moving around this much, my arms are killing me." She seemed to perk up a bit.

"I could push you to the car if you like," She said. "I don’t want your muscles to be sore later."

"You don’t have to do that for me." I said glancing up at her slightly. I looked at the pale skin of her neck but no further. She put her hand on top of mine. I had placed it in my lap and looked at me.

"I know I don’t have to but I want to." She said with a sweet voice. I smiled cheekily and nodded my head. After clearing everything with the rest of the group, we rounded up our bags and headed back to the pack house. Frankie pushed me to the car, helped me in, and she sat close to me on the ride back, very close.

When we made it back everyone went their separate ways. Sam went to put away her things, Alex and Vanessa trailed off to do god knows what and Frankie and I went to our rooms to rest. I seriously need a nap; I have a throbbing headache that can only be fixed by either sleep or death.

After putting away the various articles of clothing, music posters, cologne, and what seemed like hundreds of other items, I climbed into my bed. I sighed with content when my knotted muscles started to unravel. Before I knew it, my tired lids had fallen shut.

I awoke to the smell of flowers and I felt someone pressed tightly to my side. I lay there with my eyes closed, too afraid to open them in fear that when I did, Frankie would be laying there looking up at me. I know it’s her because every nerve in my body is alive. I listened to her breathing and found that she is sleeping.

I opened one eye and looked over at her. Her head rests in the crook of my arm and her legs are wrapped tightly around mine. She has an arm thrown across my chest. She looks so comfortable and I'm not complaining but why is she in my bed? I attempted to move but she groaned and pressed herself closer to me. Shit! I cursed silently when I ran out of ideas.

I looked back down at her and thought. Should I embrace this moment or keep trying to get out of bed before she wakes up. I tried plan B again only to be pulled back by her set of tiny hands. When I gave up on plan B I initiated plan A. I slowly wrapped my arms around her body and pulled her as close to mine as I could get her.

I buried my face in her hair and talked to her silently. I told her everything I couldn’t tell her with her awake or even with real words. I told her how much I love her and how much it hurts me to do this. I don’t think anyone understands what is going on in my head. Hell I don’t even know what's going on.