I opened my heavy eyelids, immediately recognized the white tiles in front of my nose and then got up carefully, to first get to grips with the events of the previous night.
His transformation, trembling with hatred, replayed in my head, giving me a pounding headache and, stunned at my stupidity in challenging and attacking him, I clutched my throbbing skull...
Only then, when I was beginning to perk up and the ghosts of memory were no longer raging around, did I get up and hobble over to the sink to stare at myself in the mirror, confused.
My green eyes seemed tired, the circles underneath were dark and I still had leftover pasta and sauce in my hair. Shaking my head, I removed individual spaghetti and let them fall into the sink, lost in thought, without taking my eyes off the mirror.
Since I wasn't going to leave this bathroom too soon anyway, I undressed piece by piece and hopped next to me to the shower stall to turn on the warm water.
After that, just like yesterday, I sat down on the floor of the cubicle and then, while sitting, began to wash thoroughly all over while a thousand questions raced through my mind like lightning.
What would he have done to me if Igor hadn't come between us?
What else does he intend to do with me now that I've made it more than clear to him to keep his hands off me?
How will I continue to react to him now that I felt the bond between us so intensely?
Could I keep resisting him so easily?
Or am I going to fall for him forever anyway, because of our stupid fate?
Breathing heavily and overwhelmed, I got up when I felt completely clean, then turned off the shower and took one of the bathrobes, only to pause briefly in front of the door. Luckily for me it was as quiet as a mouse in the house and my nose also gave me the certainty that there was probably no one else here but me, so I summoned up all the courage I still had and turned the small key and then, with bated breath, walked down the hall watch.
The coast was clear and I quickly hobbled down the hall to my room, hurrying to close the door behind me.
My heart was racing, but more from the effort and when I had calmed down, I turned to the bed, suddenly saw several bags and frowned at them at first, only to limp towards them, irritated at their existence.
Curious, I peeked into each one and then realized that it was probably clothes and hygiene articles.
There were several pairs of jeans, sweaters, T-shirts, underwear, socks, a hair straightener and various items for make-up and showering.
Excited to finally have my own stuff, I slipped into the black underwear, which smelled freshly laundered, and then selected a red blouse and black jeans to dress up completely.
It felt really good to finally have something normal on my body again, which didn't constantly make me smell Silvan, even if I had a queasy feeling about accepting these things at all, because they certainly came from him...
Just don't let him think I'm for sale. ..
Fully dressed and freshly showered, my thoughts revolved around only one thing, which made my stomach growl loudly several times.
Meal ...
I was so hungry that I was starting to think I was going to go crazy and hastily I hopped to the door, opened it quietly and listened one last time intently, and then, realizing that I was really completely alone, I climbed the stairs to trudge down.
I was surprised that everything looked normal again here. There was no longer any sign of the escalations. Neither from our food fight, nor from the balloons or the gifts, which didn't interest me.
Driven by hunger, I grabbed my crutch that was leaning against the banister and then made my way to the refrigerator, which was filled to the brim with the most delicious things.
I was completely overwhelmed by this huge selection, which was unfamiliar to me, and I would have loved to shovel everything straight down my throat, but then decided on a bread with cold cuts that I spread and ate so quickly that I would certainly have a world record for it can set up.
Of course, I grabbed one of the bananas that were on the counter for dessert, and when I felt somewhat full, I looked at the front door and decided to check, hoping to see if it might be open.
As if ....
Step by step I hopped towards her with confidence, while my heart jumped and my breathing became very shallow.
Arrived right in front of her, I watched my trembling hand as it slowly laid itself on the silver handle, then felt a tingling sensation in every single finger and immediately widened my eyes in surprise when, contrary to my expectations, it actually opened.
"Oh my God," I whispered beaming and then ripped it open completely to be so blinded by the sun that I had to put my hand in front of my face to protect it.
But I didn't care. I was free, or at least I felt that way, and as my eyes gradually got used to the sun, I hobbled barefoot but with my crutch instead, towards the bridge, which was the only thing that kept me from home separated.
****
The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in the light blue sky, which immediately put a smile on my face. I felt the warmth on my cheeks, closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the birds singing, which totally relaxed me inside. This is how a perfect day had to start...
After a while, when I opened my eyes and looked around, I immediately recognized the black SUV parked on the street behind the front yard. My gaze swept from him to the roses next to me, then I caught a familiar scent and hesitantly turned to the other side, where the forest was.
"Hey", a good-humored Bene greeted me and with his appearance, my plan to flee dissolved, unfortunately again completely into thin air, which I commented with a disappointed sigh.
After what happened last night, how could he be in such a good mood?
"Hi," I greeted him, also broken, and when I turned around to take a closer look at him, I immediately noticed the big bruises on his arms.
He was only wearing a green t-shirt, so I could see the wounds and I immediately felt really bad for him. It was certainly Silvan, whom he and Igor had tried to calm down and ashamed, I looked deep into his warm, green eyes.
"Bene, it hurts me"
"It's not your fault, it's fine," he immediately cut me off, smiling so heartwarmingly that I felt even worse for putting him in such danger.
Just because I'm always so overwhelmed with everything. How was I supposed to cope in such a situation when I always had an older brother who protected me from everything?
"Shall we have breakfast together?" he then asked and although I had so many other plans, I nodded and followed him back inside.
Damned! I was so close to freedom...
Once inside, he immediately ran to the kitchen and grabbed several utensils to start making scrambled eggs. Still feeling kind of bad towards him, I used my crutch to hoist myself to one of the bar stools by the kitchen island, then took a deep breath.
"It's my fault after all. I shouldn't have provoked Silvan like that and calling you a criminal wasn't my intention either. It was all too much for me and these strange feelings on top of that..."
He turned to me and grinned stupidly, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we broke into your house, beat up your brother and took you away against your will. I think you had every right in the world to call us criminals."
He laughed and shook his head and somehow I had to laugh a little at this absurd action before I had to think of my brother again.
Worrying about him was getting on my nerves more and more. I hadn't heard from him since that night. Still didn't know how he was doing or what he was doing... a horrible feeling.
"Tell me, Bene?", I spoke to him again and nervously played with my hands.
"Yes?"
He turned to me with the pan and placed it right in front of me on the kitchen island. Apparently he was good at cooking. It smelled really delicious and there were not only eggs in the pan but also tomatoes and peppers. How had he cut those so quickly?
I turned my gaze back up to him and then swallowed hard.
"Could I call Devin, please? I just want to know how he's doing..."
Bene's expression turned pitiful and I hated seeing him like that. He really was a nice person. At least that's how he seemed to me. I didn't really know him.
"Why don't you call him yourself?" he suddenly asked, then got two plates while I frowned at him.
"How am I supposed to call him myself?"
Bene calmly divided the food on two plates and then walked over to the couch to open the dark chest of drawers behind her. When he came back, I recognized the pink present with the white bow that Silvan had given me yesterday.
"Open it," he said and threw it at me. Not being the best at catching, I almost fell backwards off the chair, but caught myself at the last second by flailing one arm like a startled chicken.
Then, while he started shoveling in the balls, I ripped open the gift, full of curiosity. I immediately got my hands on a small card with a teddy bear on it.
Below it was...
_Happy Birthday_ _I can't allow you to leave here, but you should have the opportunity to stay in touch with the most important person in your life._ _Silvan_
Plain and simple. Just how I liked it and when my thoughts then wandered to Silvan, I suddenly felt these butterflies in my stomach, which made me gasp in shock. I still didn't really understand these Mate feelings. It was only a few hours ago, so maybe it was normal that I was so overwhelmed.
"What's going on?" Bene asked immediately, but I just shook my head and waved my hand.
"It's fine," I grinned and then busied myself with the rest of the gift.
A small white box, which I then opened and immediately started shaking.
It was a cell phone... I looked at Bene in disbelief, who was looking back and forth between me and the cell phone.
"He's not a bad person, Jade," he said and I immediately tried to turn it on.
"Oh no," I said disappointedly when I clicked on contacts and realized I didn't know my brother's number by heart.
How stupid was I?
Still, it meant a lot to me that he gave me this phone and I was slowly realizing that Silvan really didn't seem to suck as much as I thought he did, but there were still a lot of things I still didn't understand.
My eyes fell curiously to Bene, who had finished eating and was only looking into the living room, lost in thought.
"Why does he think we're the bottom scum?" I asked straight out, hoping for an answer that I should get in the course of this conversation.
"There is something that makes Silvan and the rest of the superiors think so. You have to ask Silvan yourself what happened. I have no right to tell you."
Dissatisfied with this answer, I sighed to myself and then put the phone down to concentrate on my now cold plate.
Bene seemed to be watching me while I was eating, which made me quite uncomfortable, but luckily for me, he then looked away from me and took a deep breath.
"You know, that may sound cruel on its own, but you should know that only two people have dared to beat the alpha so far..."
I caught his eye and looked at him questioningly.
"And what's cruel about that?"
"That of the two only one is alive, and that is you."
I choked on a piece of paprika and lightly tapped my chest, shocked at his calm way of telling me such things.
"Are you saying that Silvan has killed someone before?" I asked wide-eyed, thinking about home, where rape and forced marking were the order of the day, but murder was never an issue with us.
"I meant to say that he really likes you," he explained, looking at me intently as if to urge that thought deep into my consciousness, but I knew full well it was just the connection. Why else would someone like Silvan be interested in someone like me?
"He likes me because I'm his mate and certainly not because of my moody personality."
Bene shook his head at my statement while leaning on the kitchen island to give me a completely serious look.
"How many women do you think he's thrown at, but you're different and I can tell he really likes you. You don't say yes and amen to everything, you're stubborn and strong, even though you might not be yourself "Imagine that all the men just stick to you and talk after you. How boring is that? But then comes this one who defies you and makes you different from everyone else. Would you do it Are you interested in the mass that smears honey around your mouth, or in the one who seems to be somehow different?"
Good question. I'd never really cared about anyone and boys certainly weren't glued to my ass, but I still kind of understood what he was saying and was even a little bit proud to be different from those drooling zombies.
"It might be that I would find the one that is different interesting," I then admitted and he nodded in agreement.
"It would be the same for me," he added, getting a sad expression on his face. So sad that I eyed him worriedly.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, suddenly watching his warm green eyes fill with tears. He ran his hands through his short brown-blonde curls, avoiding my gaze.
"Bene?" I asked again, but he didn't notice me at all, wiped away a single tear and ran past me out of the house so quickly that I needed a moment to realize what had just happened.
"Bene!", I called out loud and got up as fast as I could to follow him with my crutch, but as soon as I opened the front door, I realized that he was already over the mountains. His torn clothes lay in front of me on the narrow path, but as long as I could smell his scent I would follow.
When I then ran hard towards the forest and felt like the biggest idiot hobbling around, Igor suddenly appeared next to me.
"Where are you going?" he asked, looking at me with interest. His scars looked even worse than usual in the sun, but I couldn't care less about that at the moment. My concern for Bene made my heart race, even though I didn't even know her. It wasn't until some time later that I realized why this was the case.
"Turn around!" I ordered Igor, who then only looked more confused.
"Are you hard of hearing?" I asked and as soon as this broad bald man had finally turned his back to me, I jumped onto his broad back with all the strength I had in one foot.
"Here you go," I handed him my crutch and then clung to his shoulder.
"Are you all right?!" I heard him ask angrily, but didn't give him any reaction.
"That way, but fast."
I pointed in the direction of the forest and I wanted to smack my foot in his side so that he would finally move, because I was getting more and more impatient and slowly Bene's smell disappeared.
"It's okay," he said annoyed, but luckily for me, he started running and we arrived between the trees not a minute later.
Even though I was sitting on the back of an idiot I didn't like at all, worried about Bene and missing my brother, I suddenly felt just breathtakingly good between the trees.
The sun shone through the leaves of the trees, giving this forest a special green that looked more beautiful than any other color in the world. Far away I could hear the river rushing out of the lake and if Igor hadn't been panting like a weary hippopotamus I would have been able to really enjoy the sound.
Unfortunately, Bene's smell disappeared completely. Of course he was a lot faster as a wolf than this guy below me with me on his back. I felt really bad not being able to do anything at that moment, but maybe he just wanted some quiet.
"You can stop," I instructed Igor, who immediately slowed down and stopped at a tree on which he supported himself with his hands.
Aren't werewolves supposed to have a lot more stamina?
I carefully climbed off his back, took my crutch and watched Igor hyperventilate in amusement until I looked around the forest and explored everything very carefully. Even the forest near the superiors seemed nicer to me than ours, although it was the same.
Why was that?