Chapter 13

ELI. The last few hours have been a rollercoaster of emotions. One moment I was making love with Ariella, and then the next moment she was telling me to leave her alone forever. But of course, after our intimate night together, there is no way that I will let her go just like that. After what we shared? The physical and sexual pleasure were beyond ecstasy, and that's why just like me, my wolf loved every minute of it. But more than the pleasure, it was the connection from our mating bond that made me feel more in love with Ariella. I can't explain it, but nothing compares to the sensation I got from our mating bond. Our scents mixing together, and then the eagerness and agitation from our wolves, and the emotions of your mate that get more apparent made me feel complete. I guess the saying about your mate as your forever other half is true because now I don't want to be away from Ariella. "Congratulations, Eli. Now you finally understand why we seem to not get enough of our mates," said Adam, my best friend, who was obviously teasing me over the phone. I immediately called him as soon as I left Ariella's hotel room to ask him for some advice since he had already been mated since last year. "Just be with her all the time and you'll get your problem solved. Be nice to her, you jerk. Soon enough she'll no longer be able to resist you with the help of your mating bond." I sighed as I shifted on my bed. I had rented a room in the same hotel, but I couldn't sleep after what happened so now I'm talking to Adam. "I'm not even sure if she feels the same intensity of our mating bond the way I did. Ariella tried to reject me every time she got the chance." "Of course she would," Adam replied, laughing heartily as if he was enjoying my misery. And maybe he does enjoy it like a true friend to me that he is. "After what you have done to her? I bet you everything I have that you wouldn't be able to approach her if not for your mating bond. That’s how bad you messed up." "Then what should I do? She always has her guard up. I don't know how to act in front of her that she'll approve of." "Oh, lover boy. I still can't believe you finally met your match. You were not like this with Michelle. Now you know how strong the effect of the mating bond is, especially if you were already attracted to that person before the mating bond manifested. You sound like a hopelessly in love man." "I think I am. No, yes. I really am in love. So what's your advice?" Adam laughed over the phone. "How would I know? I don't personally know your mate. And even if I did, I don't have any answer to your question. She's the only one who can tell you what it will take for her to forgive you. And perhaps give you a second chance. One thing sounds clear to me though. She seems adamant not to go back home, so don't try to guilt-trip her to return. Maybe support her decisions instead? Maybe that will give you some brownie points." "I already thought of that, but you know that she needs to go home to her father." "Oh come on, Eli, her father is old enough to fix himself. If you really want to win Ariella back, maybe try setting aside any obligation you feel towards your pack? And that includes her too. She left for a reason." I paused, thinking that Adam was probably right. "I guess there's no harm in listening to your smart but rare advice." "What? Me? I often give sound advice, you simpleton! You just don't listen to me!" he snapped, and we both laughed at that. "But kidding aside, just let her be, man. Don't become the reminder of the obligations she had already tried to escape. Become a friend to her instead." "Okay. Thank you for the obvious suggestion. Anyway," I said, before he could snap at me again, "do you know anything about this place where we are? It's called New Forks." "Not that I can think of at the moment. Why? Is there something wrong there?" "I don't know if it's wrong, but this place feels very mysterious and... different." "Oh? What do you mean by that?" "It's the air. It feels weird. Like something is looking at me all the time when I am outdoors. And it's very quiet and dull. The people I saw here won't even say a word. It's like they're robots or something." Adam laughed again even if he knew that I was being serious. "Where are you, at a place called Boretown?" "I'm serious, Adam. This place is oddly quiet and mysterious. It's almost lifeless. The only place that seems alive here is the restaurant where Ariella now works." "I don't know what you are trying to get at," he replied cluelessly. "Maybe small towns like that are really that dull? Or, yes, hear me out, maybe since all you can see is Ariella, maybe everything has become dull and lifeless to you?" I almost dropped my phone. "You know what? I'm hanging up." "Finally!" he said, laughing his ass off. "Now go and get your girl!" *** The next morning, I went shopping and bought a lot of things. I figured out that if I had to stay here in this boring town for a while, I might need to get new personal things like clothes. I even bought perfume and new shoes and I got a haircut. I prepared a lot to make myself look presentable because I wanted to show Ariella that I was serious about wooing her. But instead of going back to her room, I opted to see her at the restaurant. I went inside confidently with all the things I bought for her too. When a waiter came to my table, I ordered a simple breakfast for two but instructed the waiter to give half of it to Ariella who I supposed was inside the kitchen. The waiter agreed but kept on staring at me like I was a weird man. "I know her," I explained, but the waiter didn't react any further and just walked away. A few minutes later, Ariella came dashing towards me, looking angered. "You really are not going to listen to me, are you?" she said, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the paper bags that were on the seat next to me. "I bought you clothes and some daily essentials," I replied to her, smiling. "I noticed last night that you didn't have a lot of clothes yet. I also bought some groceries for you so you won't spend as much on food." She paused and blinked before replying. "I know what you're doing, Eli. I’m not easily bought, you know." I nodded and smiled bitterly. "But you should still take all these things with you. I'll just throw them out if you refuse them." "Are you guilt-tripping me now?" "No, Ariella. I'm just helping you. And didn't you mention that you need to find a new place? I found one, and it's definitely cheaper there than the hotel. You might want to grab it fast though, because someone else might take it. Here is the place," I said, giving her my phone so that she could see the photo of the place I was talking about that I searched online a while ago. "Where is this?" she replied. "Two blocks away from here. It's a nice deal, right? I already contacted the owner, but we have to go there right now if you want it." It was obvious that she wanted the place, but she was trying so hard to fight the excitement in her face. It was cute, and my wolf growled with approval inside of me. "Fine. Let's go check it out. But let me just remind you, Eli. This won't change my decision." "Okay," I said, smiling secretly as I stood up and watched Ariella go back inside the kitchen. "I'll wait for you here," I told her, but then I felt someone else staring at me, giving me goosebumps.