Chapter 179: bad news

"This thing is massive, Andrey Volkov. I can't carry this and see", Elena giggled.

"But I love them"

The light over the theater back door shone down on her like a golden halo, and the flowers flamed her heavenly face. Elena was picturesque and more beautiful than any great painting in the world.

My wolf stirred, tightening beneath my skin, reacting to her like a pulse of instinct I couldn’t cage.

Words formed on the tip of my tongue for her. Something at this moment was pushing me to open my mouth and spill the secrets, I had buried so deep that I didn't register they were there at all until recently. I had to tell her everything because our time together would be over soon, and I didn't want it to end.

The wolf inside me wanted to claim, to confess, to drag her into my world but she was human, untouched by the shadows I lived in.

Clearing my throat, Elena looked back up at me, smiling over the crimson red roses. I was ready and willing to drown myself in the pools of her blue eyes.

"Elena, I need to tell you something, about me,  I am a ........"

"Oh! Sorry", Just as I began, she interrupted. "My phone keeps buzzing in my pocket but I can't reach it. Can you grab it for me so I can see who keeps calling me?",

"Of course", I agreed but I deflated. Elena stuck out her hip and I heard the slight buzzing of her phone in her back pocket. She shifted the enormous bouquet to the side as I dug into her pocket.

Her scent hit me, warm, soft, human and my senses sharpened automatically, curse of the beast that lived beneath my skin.

The phone stopped buzzing when I got my fingers on it, but not a second later, it was going off again. My brow pinched as curiosity swirled around in my head. Who would call Elena this repeatedly on a Friday night?!

I answered the call and pressed the phone to Elena's ear. She giggled and smiled at me before lifting her shoulder to hold the phone against her ear. Letting go, I took a step back, wondering if I should take the flowers for her.

"Hello?", She kept her eyes locked on mine.

"Yes, this is Elena Martinez",

Elena was gnawing on her bottom lip as the voice at the other end of the line began speaking. I noticed the slight changes in her body as she listened, the sag of her shoulders and the way she froze. It felt like there was a wall falling around her and the shadow coming to life in her features.

Her pulse dropped. Her scent changed. A cold dread rippled through me like winter wind down my spine.

I saw the moment the light in her eyes faded away and the smile disappeared from her face.

"No", She whimpered. There was much agony in that one word, and it sent a painful chill down my back.

My wolf reacted instantly, hackles up, muscles tightening, instincts screaming to protect her from whatever was hurting her.

I couldn't help it when my instincts pushed me to take a step closer to her, but I still couldn't hear what was being said through the phone.

Without warning, the flowers dropped from her hands and bounced on the pavement. Her eyes blankly stared at them, and I caught her bottom lip trembling.

"No, you wrong. This is a joke. You lying", Elena shouted through the phone, grabbing it with her free hand, knuckles white with the grip she had on it.

"Elena", My hand reached out for her shoulder but she whipped around and slapped it away while keeping her focus on the phone.

Her sudden rejection hit my wolf like a blow, making the beast recoil and snarl inside me.

"No", She all of the sudden fell to her knees, and a broken sob wretched from her lips.

"No, please, no..... nooooooooo ",

For a moment, I was stunned. I didn't know what was happening, who she was talking to, or what could upset her to this degree. I completely froze when she slammed a curled fist into the pavement and wailed.

Her pain was tearing through me, raw, primal, unbearable.

"He can't be gone, he just can't be", The phone dropped from her hand. She threw her head back and screamed at the black sky overhead.

That's when my body let me jump into action.

My wolf surged forward, needing to shelter her, to close around her like a shield.

To comfort her with whatever was wrong, no matter what was wrong.

"It's alright, Elena. Hey come here", I dropped into a crouch and placed my hand on her back.

When she felt my touch, Elena fell and threw me off. Her head snapped up at me like a cornered wild animal, her face twisted with deep heartache. Her tears on the stage as Odette were nothing compared to the rivers steaming down her cheeks now.

My heart fell through the bottom of my chest as Elena leapt up and stepped away from me as if she didn't recognize me anymore. She set her beautiful mouth into a deep frown and those crystal eyes were now dark.

"Don't touch me", She snapped at me followed by a shaky sob.

I stopped breathing.

My brows shot up at the tone of her voice, feeling as if she were slapping me in the face.

Elena was pushing me away.

"What's wrong, baby?", Everything in me yearned to go to her. To scoop her up and wipe those tears away from her face, trying to hold onto her and ease this sudden pain despite not knowing what caused it.

My Alpha instincts roared, demanding I fix what hurt her but I couldn’t. I didn’t even know what monster she was facing.

"No", The smack of her palm on my cheek stunned me. My head jerked back, and I held up my breath. I traced my fingers over the sting on my face, staring at her slack jaw.

Elena's eyes went round as if she realized what she had done. She took a step back away from me, crushing the flowers under her feet. Her chest rose and fell quickly, panting as more tears fell from her.

"I'm sorry. I'm....sorry but I can't.....", She covered her open mouth with a trembling hand, trying to muffle the sound of her crying.

Her anguish shredded through both man and wolf alike.

"Elena wait!", Pure fear seized me in its claws when I realized she was backing away from me. She was leaving me.

"Please wait, Elena. Talk to me, Elena",

"No, I can't do this. There's no point if he is gone. I just... I can't....", She spoke but she hesitated, paused and stared into my eyes for a second that stretched half of my life. Yet the distance between us was still growing, like a chasm splitting the earth and pulling us further apart.

Then my mate turned away from me.