Chapter 147 – Furry Friend

Cassidy stood there staring at the enormous wolf. Her body still tingled with excitement as she looked at the ferocious predator. She had no fear, even though he could tear her apart. There was a feeling deep inside her that told her that she was safe and he wouldn’t harm her.

Cassidy’s heart raced as she took a brave step toward him. The black wolf continued to stand frozen in its place and didn’t growl as she continued to move closer to him. She timidly extended her hand to pet the furry animal.

Alden, Jacob’s wolf, didn’t show any excitement as his mate moved closer to pet him. He didn’t want to scare her and have her run away from him, afraid that he might hurt her. He thought to himself, if this was the only way that he could be close to his mate without her knowing that it was him, then so be it.

Cassidy placed her hand in front of his snout, allowing the large animal to take in her scent. She wasn’t sure if this was how to come up to a wolf, but felt it was a good start to show the large animal that she wasn’t there to hurt him.

Alden released a purr from his chest as he lowered his head, allowing her to pet his head.

She giggled and moved her hand to the top of his head and started to pet him gently. She moved to the side and continued to pet his shaggy dark fur. Cassidy felt a connection to the wolf as she ran her fingers through his hair. She didn’t understand why she felt completely safe around the black wolf, and at the moment, she didn’t care.

He lowered himself down to the ground.

She smiled as she, too, moved down to the ground and laid her head against his stomach. “How am I so comfortable with you and know that you won’t hurt me?” she said aloud to the wolf.

Alden let out a moan as he lowered his head onto his paws.

Cassidy sighed as well and looked up at the star-filled sky. She started to feel a heaviness in her heart, like a piece of herself was missing. She pulled out her phone and clicked on her lock screen to turn it on. She sucked in a breath as she stared at the photo of her and the mysterious man with his arms wrapped around her. Why would her brain want to block him from her life? Why couldn’t she remember the man who seemed to be someone important in her life?

Cassidy closed her eyes as flashes of images filled her head. She tossed her head back and forth as she saw vague images of things she didn’t want to remember from the night at the warehouse. Cassidy let out a cry as she popped herself up and away from the wolf. She covered her face with her hands as she let herself cry into them.

She heard a whine come from the wolf as it inched his face toward her; she peeked out from her hands to look at the large animal and found him staring intently up at her.

“I’m sorry; I don’t mean to be sad around you. I’m missing pieces from my memory and don’t know if they will ever come back to me. But I get flashes of images, horrible things I saw the night that Mr. Santos had taken me away. I saw someone kill a woman with his bare hands, and somehow, he is a part of my past.” she explained to the wolf. “I know you can’t understand me, but it is nice to talk with someone who knows nothing about my past, and I can talk freely without being judged,” she admitted.

“There is a part of me that wants my memories to come back. To have all the pieces to the puzzle and know all the answers to the questions I keep asking myself. But there is this small part of me that wants to move on. That there is a reason that my brain isn’t allowing me these memories, that it’s protecting me from something that happened to me, that may have been the worst pain I had ever experienced, and my head didn’t want it to be a constant reminder that I dwelled on. I mean, my whole life, I’ve dealt with pain and loss, from losing my parents as a young girl in a car accident to losing my Pop Pop earlier this year. When is it my time to be able to live a semi-normal life where I find a man who will love me and treat me as if I’m his whole world?”

Alden lifted his head and gave a small lick to her cheek.

Cassidy let out a small laugh as she pressed her lips to the side of the wolf’s head and then wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

“Thank you, thank you for listening to me,” she confided. “I hope you will come and visit me again sometime soon. I’m sure you probably won’t. Maybe I’m asleep in my bed, and in the morning, I’ll wake up and learn this was all some crazy dream I had. But in the meantime, if it’s okay with you. I would like to just lay here and enjoy the night sky.”

Jacob sighed with happiness and sadness at the same time for his mate. His heart ached hearing how she was conflicted on whether or not she wanted him back in her life. He was such an idiot for making such a rash decision and killing Hannah without looking around to see if she was there. It didn’t occur to him how traumatizing it could be for someone who didn’t grow up within the pack.

Alden laid back down on his side, allowing his to rest her head on his stomach between his legs as they both stared up at the brightly lit sky.