Chapter 9

I blinked twice just to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. I couldn't believe it. Eli was really here standing in front of me. I was so surprised that I felt like I was petrified. I couldn't even talk. My wolf was also making it harder for me because it was howling like crazy. And then there it was... Eli's scent got to me and my body's temperature went up as he dashed towards me. "Finally, I found you," he said, grabbing me by my wrist and then hugging me, my head sinking into his chest. I didn't know what to do, I wasn't even sure if my brain was still working at this very moment. All I knew was that my wolf had melted into this submissive character that I knew was because of my mating bond with Eli. He lifted my face gently and our eyes met. I was caught off guard when I saw the emotion etched on his face. I'm pretty sure that it was worry. Eli was worried about me. "You... f-found me." That was the best that I could say. "Yeah. I was very worried about you, Ariella. You suddenly disappeared... I was searching for you everywhere." I tried to get away from his embrace by gently pushing him away, but moving while my wolf was over the moon with Eli’s presence was a challenge. "How did you find me then?" "I asked for help from a witch. Your friend wouldn't help me, but I understood why—" "Did you, though? I heard you got mad at her." Eli looked ashamed when I said that to him. "I'm sorry. I knew it was wrong, but I had to find you no matter what." "Why?" I asked, and that question made all the difference. All of a sudden my wolf went quiet, then I was able to move my body without a single problem again. Because of this, I was able to push Eli away, shocking him. "And why are you surprised that I'm mad at you? Did you already forget what you did to me?" "Ariella... No... I... I'm sorry." The silence between us was deafening. "You should be. I don't even know why you're here." "I knew I was an asshole to you. I knew I hurt you. But please, will you hear me out? I am still your mate. Our mating bond hasn't been broken yet." I faked a laugh. "Oh, is that what this is all about? What, was the pain so unbearable for you that you finally decided to keep me beside you? You couldn't handle your wolf's antics very well? Is that it?" He couldn't answer any of my questions, so I must have hit the nail on the head. "You really are something, Eli." He was about to respond when we heard some voices coming from the restaurant. Some customers had come out and were chattering loudly towards the parking lot. "Ariella, could we talk in a more private space? I have something to tell you." "You can say what you want to say here," I told him. "But people might hear us." "Then don't talk to me about anything." I knew I wasn't making sense, but now that my wolf had gone quiet, my headspace had also gotten clearer. The anger and pain that Eli had given me were all coming back to me like a series of surging waves. "I no longer want to talk to you, Eli. Just go back to your pack and leave me alone." "Ariella, please..." "Just go, Eli, while I'm still being nice to you." "We have to talk, Ariella. But I can't say anything here because someone might hear us. Please believe me. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." I admit that I got curious as to what he was going to tell me. And he was right, he couldn't just say things about our kind out here where humans could hear us. Exposing the existence of our kind to humans was a crime in all werewolf packs. It was considered a capital sin, punishable by death. If we were going to talk about anything werewolf-related we had to do it in private, away from human ears. But still, there has been so much drama between the two of us already and I don't know if it's still wise to trust this person. "I don't know, Eli. The last time I trusted you, a lot of bad things happened to me. All at once." As I said that, Eli suddenly dropped to his knees, looking at me with pleading eyes. "Just this once, Ariella. Please give me a chance to talk to you." Looking around, I told him to get back on his feet because I didn't want us to catch anyone's attention. Anyone who could see us right now might think that we are in a lover's quarrel. Eli got up, and then I saw that the restaurant behind me had started closing. David and the others might see me here with Eli if we stayed here, so I finally gave in to his plea. "Fine. But this is the last time, Eli." He looked very grateful for my decision. "Thank you, Ariella. Come on, we have lots to talk about." He was motioning me to hop into his Jeep, but I suddenly felt reluctant because this was the first time that I'd be in his jeep and the scene in my head sent me back to that one time we were alone inside a car. That moment when we almost kissed and almost became a couple. "I'm not going inside that," I told him as if that was my way of resisting. "We can talk in my room at the hotel, and we could walk to get there." Eli got confused as to why I was acting this way, but there was no way that I was going to be inside a vehicle where we would get that close again. *** It just dawned on me that it seemed very foolish that I refused to be in his Jeep but I let him inside my room back at the hotel where I was staying. But this was inevitable, I told myself, since we were going to talk about something humans aren't allowed to hear. I saw Eli looking around the room as if expecting to see someone else. "It's just me. What did you think? I eloped with someone?" He blushed when he heard that. I sat on the bed while he sat on the chair propped next to the bedroom wall. "You should come back home, Ariella. This room looks expensive." "Yeah, I know I can't afford staying here for long," I replied casually, ignoring the first part of his sentence. "I have to look for a cheaper place soon." "You should go back to your pack, Ariella," Eli repeated. "If I had known that you would run away if I rejected you, I wouldn't have done that." I didn't know what to feel at this point. I wanted to hit him for what he was saying, but I also kind of wanted to hear his thoughts on everything that had happened. I wanted to rant at him, but I composed myself because I wanted to let him see that I was fine without him. "There was no more reason for me to stay there, Eli." "I thought you would stay with Kayden, but I heard that you two broke up." Hearing that from him felt like a knife just cut through my chest. “Y-Yeah. That was to be expected, I guess. No one wants someone who's tied to another werewolf, after all." "I'm glad that you broke up with Kayden though," said Eli. "Because he was cheating on you all along and I beat him up when I found out."