Chapter 10 Not forever

Ara's POV

I woke up with a little headache. I groaned as I sat up, memories of my weird dream replaying in my head. It was the weirdest dream so far. I mean, how can Cyrus be a werewolf? Do those things even exist? I laughed to myself and mentally waved a hand. Of course, they do, I exist after all. Still, werewolf? Bah.

Arabel, you need to see a therapist, you are getting weirder by the second. Oh, maybe a nice vacation will do you good.

I agreed with my subconscious's suggestion, I needed it badly. Maybe there I would meet another interesting guy and forget about my best friend's hot best friend or spend the entire vacation pining over him. Vacation canceled.

"Hey," I jolted my head in the direction of the voice. My mouth fell open when I saw him there, sitting on my bed and staring at me. I blinked and smacked my cheek. My cheek stung from the heat which meant the man in front of me was no illusion. Wait a minute. I'm on my bed, he's here... which means it wasn't a d...d...d... I passed out again.

Cyrus's POV

The good thing is that she didn't freak out in a screaming kind of way or called me a monster. It was the first time a human didn't react that way.

«How is it good? She woke up four times and fainted immediately after she saw you» Kent said scoffingly.

«There's still hope» I assured him.

«If I get rejected, it's your fault.»

«You get rejected? What happened to us? And how is it my fault?!»

«First, it was that stupid joke, then it was the kiss and you sealed it by dragging me here to reveal our secret. You are an animal!»

"Ironic," I murmured out loud. Arabel sighed softly in her sleep, starting to wake up from another fainting saga. Her toes brushed against me and a curse left my lips. I had taken off her shoes and placed her foot on my thighs. Ara stiffened as if realizing that someone was there.

"Okay, Ara," she whispered, "you are going to wake up and you won't faint if he's there," she motivated herself. She slowly opened her eyes and panic spread on her face, again.

"Please don't faint!" I shouted as her eyes started closing again.

"I'm not fainting, just closing my eyes," she murmured. I breathed out with relief. There was silence for a few seconds with the sound of her heartbeat and uneven breathing echoing in the room. I started stroking her feet gently and she slowly calmed down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have walked in here and shown it to you like that. I should have explained properly," I apologized. Ara remained quiet for two minutes before she chuckled.

"If Kevin was here, he would scream excitedly and demand you turn him into one too," my heart sank to my stomach and I unconsciously grabbed her foot and squeezed it. Arabel sat up, yanking her foot away from my hold. "Are you trying to break my foot? I'm still trying to get used to this and you're already planning to kill me?"

"Who's Kevin?" I asked with a tight smile, biting back the real question I wanted to ask. Ara looked at me with an unbelievable expression on her face. "Who is Kevin, Arabel? I need to know." I snapped.

"Are you being serious right now? You tried to break my fucking foot and the only thing you have to say for yourself is who is Kevin? Ha!" She laughed sarcastically, throwing her head back and bringing it back. "You are not funny at all."

"It's a werewolf thing, okay!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up with annoyance. "Werewolves are very possessive and territorial. You're an actress, you must have come across something like that. I'm sorry, okay but I need to know who the other men in your lives are so I'll know how many rivals I have!"

The corner of her lips twitched and she broke into a peal of laughter. I was confused. What's funny? "Oh my goodness, you should have seen your face," she laughed, "you looked like you were ready to kill someone," then I realized she was messing with me from the start. "Of course, I know about the werewolf thing, I wanted to try it out-"

"Kevin, who's Kevin?" I blurted out, still interested in who Kevin is.

Ara giggled. "Kevin is my brother, I have two of them," she said between her profuse giggling.

"Oh," I murmured.

«See! She's taking it lightly» I told Kent.

«Shut up, lightly doesn't mean rejection» He scorned. Stupid wolf.

"What's his name?" She asked curiously, snapping me out of it.

"Who?"

"Your wolf. I've watched and read some books about werewolves all thanks to Kev. They can communicate with their wolves and sometimes their wolves have names. So what's the name of your wolf? Or is that theory true?"

"Kent."

"Cyrus and Kent, nice match?" She asked unsurely. Kent snorted and I rolled my eyes. Of course, the name didn't blend because it wasn't his original name. At first, I started calling him Kent to annoy him because it was the name of our previous master and he hated Master Kent. Then I became used to it. Sometimes, I forget his real name.

"His original name is Cyril, but I call him Kent because he hates the name."

«Oh, brother» Kent scoffed.

She chuckled. "So am I like your mate or something?"

"You are,"

"That will explain the scent and unusual attraction. Do you belong to any pack house?" She asked, folding her legs into her body.

"I'm an Alpha," I said calmly.

"Alpha! As in the king of your pack," I nodded. "Wow, okay. And Mindy?"

"She is also a werewolf but she left after she married Chris who is also a werewolf from another pack. He's sort of the omega Prince of his pack. Omega prince is the last son of the alpha, just so you know."

She laughed uneasily. "First it was ice, then Jena and Raquelia, followed by my mother, and now a werewolf is my destined husband and not just any werewolf, a fucking Alpha. What else do you have for me, life?!" What is she talking about? "Now I'm completely gone deep into this supernatural shit. What now? Because if you think I will let a total stranger mark or 'mate' with me, then you are mistaken,"

"Arabel-"

"No, Cyrus. I can't do this right now. You have no idea how much of a hurricane my life is right now and your presence is just the cherry on top. I need time to process this, can you leave my house?"

"But..."

"Please!" She flared.

«See! I told you. She just indirectly rejected us!» I ignored him and stood up. She wasn't freaking out or calling me a monster, that was enough hope for me. The people who had accidentally stumbled upon my secret didn't react well but she was taking it better than I thought. In fact, it felt as though she was more surprised by the fact that we were mates than the fact that I could shift into a wolf.

"If you ever need me," I paused my lips, pulling out my card from my wallet, "please give me a call," I dropped the card on the nightstand. I was glad she wasn't treating me like a freak, but her rejection still hurt as bad as it should. "By the way, please try not to make your house a giant freezer, it's not good for your health," she rolled her eyes. I sighed and turned but turned around again. "Are you going to reject me?"

"What?"

"Reject the mate bond? You know, turn me down as your mate?"

"Cyrus-"

"I know I am a monster, a freak of nature, and every bad thing you can think of, but please, give me a chance. Don't reject me before you get to know me. I promise you, I am not an animal even if I'm almost an animal. I-"

"Cyrus, shut up," she deadpanned with the same deadpan expression on her face. I pinned my lips shut. "Believe me when I say this is not the first blow life has given to me. For now, I just need time to process it but I won't reject you. I'm not foolish enough to throw away my soulmate without getting to know him, all of him."

«I did it!» Kent exclaimed joyfully.

"Thank you," I muttered. Arabel smiled back at me, a real dazzling smile. I couldn't help myself. I lowered myself onto the bed again and pressed my hands on it to support my weight. I unconsciously used my speed to do that so she didn't see me move until my lips were on hers. A chill went down my spine as my freezing lips met her cold, sweet ones. I brushed my tongue over her lips. It still tasted like snow cones and melted peaches and cream popsicles. When I kissed her before, her tongue tasted like some kind of shaved ice. It was fascinating and enticing.

Unfortunately, Arabel pulled back and pushed my face away with a groan. "Stop making the processing difficult," she complained. "No kisses, just get out," she said coldly. I whimpered but stood up straight.

"Bye, Ara,"

"Not forever." She muttered. Hopefully.