"I think we have company," I murmured, standing up.
"What are you talking about?" Kayler paused, probably trying to sense Piper as well. "I'll take care of her," he said, standing up too.
"I'm not afraid of her," I let him know, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.
"There's no need for a confrontation, Carolina. Piper is here because of me."
"Yes, but this is my house," I replied, leaving the room and going downstairs. Kayler followed behind me. "And it's time to confront that woman."
"Carolina, don't make things worse."
"Enough, Kayler, leave me alone."
At that moment, a car parked in front of the house. I could see through the window that Elias was driving, and Piper got out of the car looking annoyed and walked towards us. When she reached the door, she knocked desperately. I gestured to Kayler to let me open it, approached the door, and opened it.
"Where is Kylie?" she asked, entering my house as if I had given her permission.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Get out of here," I followed her.
"Kayler Brown, you're a..." she stopped herself. "...one thing is letting Kylie stay with you, and it's a whole different story bringing her to your lover's house," she snapped.
"Excuse me? Carolina is not my lover; she is my wife," he asserted. "You are the one overstepping boundaries."
Ouch, that must have hurt because Piper didn't say anything. I'm sure she couldn't find words to defend herself because deep down she knows it's the truth. It felt wonderful when Kayler said that I'm his wife.
"Shut up, give me my daughter, and I'll take her far away from you."
"Kylie is with Mrs. Lane, and you're not taking her anywhere. You said she would stay with me for a week, and that's what I'll do. Now leave us alone, or my patience will run out, Piper," Kayler asserted. We know that Kayler is stronger than anyone, and those who disobey him on his territory end up in a bad state.
"Kayler, you can't do this to me."
"Of course, I can. You're under my orders, and you do as I say. Now leave or face the consequences," he snapped. His gaze was dark and dominant. I felt proud that Kayler loves me in that moment.
"This won't end here," Piper backed away and looked at me. "You, you're the cause of all my misfortunes. You'll pay dearly," she threatened.
"Don't threaten me. Remember very well who you're talking to, Piper. We once killed your sister in this same place, be careful or you might meet the same fate."
Piper glared at me.
"Maybe you'll be the one who gets killed," she muttered through clenched teeth, turned around, and left my house. Piper will never give up; she loves being in conflict. I know she's serious, and now she's stalking me everywhere, trying to harm me, but I won't let her.
"She's crazy," I murmured once Elias and she had left.
"Don't pay attention to her. I won't let anyone harm you," Kayler approached me. I turned to look at him.
"Thank you," I gave him a half-hug. "I'll make breakfast."
"Wait," he grabbed my arm and made me face him. "I love you," he kissed me softly on my lips. I felt butterflies in my stomach; it's incredible that even after being together for years, I still feel things as if it were the first time.
"Let's go," I half-smiled. I haven't forgiven him yet, so I don't know why I'm acting as if we were a couple. I decided to stop judging him and try to get along, but this is another level. I enjoy it, I enjoy kissing him and feeling him close, but I don't want to get my hopes up again.
In the kitchen, I prepared eggs, tomatoes, onions, and toast.
"Avocado," he said, cutting one and adding it to the plate. "You know we need to hunt, right? We can't just rely on this food."
"I like it," I shrugged.
"But you shouldn't get used to it, or you'll become weak. And you need to nourish our baby, they need meat," he informed me. I hadn't thought about that, and perhaps he's right. I'm pregnant with a werewolf baby, and I can't feed it with this kind of food.
"Let's go hunting then," I looked at him. "Before Mom and Kylie come."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, I need to feed Damián," I replied.
"Damián? Do you know it will be a boy?"
I shrugged because I actually didn't know.
"It's just a hunch."
"I believe in your hunches," he approached and took my hand. "Let's go, I hope you still remember what hunting is like."
"More or less."
"We have to go a bit far because sometimes there are people from the village, and I don't want them to panic again. We still keep the secret of the werewolves."
I nodded as we left the house and walked towards the forest.
"Do you think nobody knows? I mean, the village, they haven't been very discreet," I wondered.
"Some take care of erasing people's memories when they see us, so they don't get alarmed and won't alarm others. We want the village to have peace and live like normal people, without fear of going out."
"Who takes care of erasing their memories?" I asked because that interested me.
Kayler turned around and looked at me. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just simple curiosity."
Although, come to think of it, when we went to the academy, there were people there who did that, but I think they were vampires. I still remember the prank they played on me as an "initiation," where one of them used their powers to erase my memory. I suppose one of them is an ally of the wolves and takes care of that function. It's just that I never looked at their faces, so if I ran into them on the street, I would never recognize them.
"Okay then, ready?" he asked. We were far enough to transform. It's been a while since I've done it, so I'm not that prepared.
"Yes."
Kayler was the first to transform into that huge black wolf that once was my guardian, and he still is. He's very beautiful. Kayler pricks his ears back and growls at me.
"Come on, Carolina, transform." I heard his voice in my mind.
"Okay," I sighed deeply and focused, but at first, nothing happened. "I don't understand what's happening," I kept trying to transform, but nothing happened. It's as if I couldn't do it anymore. My heart raced with fear. "I can't," I told Kayler.
"That can't be, he said. Keep trying."
"I can't, Kayler," I panicked. “I don't know what's happening.”
“It's normal, you're pregnant, and sometimes it's difficult for pregnant women to shift. My father told me that my mother experienced the same, so don't be afraid. Let me try something.”
Kayler approached me and let me caress his fur. It's very soft and smells good. You wouldn't say it smells like a wet dog, but it doesn't.
“Carolina, I can hear your thoughts.”
I laughed.
"I'm sorry, sometimes I forget how tedious it can be."
The good thing is that once you're in human form, I can't hear them, or else I'd be dead from embarrassment.
"Let me concentrate," I said, forgetting about all the problems and bad things that have happened to me. I just focused on running through the forest, free as the wind. I closed my eyes and let my inner wolf take over my entire being. When I felt the changes, I opened my eyes. It's happening. Seconds later, I turned back into that white wolf with celestial spots.
"I did it," I said. "Now we can only communicate mentally."
"Of course, now follow me. I'll show you where to hunt." Kayler ran, and I followed. I had forgotten what it feels like to run on all fours. I don't get tired, I don't feel any pain, and I'm very fast. I ran until I positioned myself alongside Kayler. Our fur waved in the wind. "This way," he stopped, and I stopped behind him. "Do you see those deer?"
Ahead, in a meadow, there were two deer peacefully grazing.
"I'll go left, and you go right. Don't worry, I know you can do it."
I nodded as Kayler went left, trying not to make any noise. I crouched and walked slowly towards them. I stopped when one of them paused from eating and sniffed the air, sensing danger. Seconds later, it resumed eating. When Kayler went left and caught one of them, it was my signal to pounce on the other. I ran towards the deer and grabbed it by the neck.
"We got them!"
After a while, Kayler and I had breakfast peacefully in the forest. However, not everything is perfect in this place. We heard a shot in the distance, putting us on alert.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"Local hunters, we have to leave."
Before we could even move, a shot sounded too close. Then I looked at Kayler lying on the ground.