Forever Mine

FIVE

She was here.

Isaac played a dangerous game with gravity as his wolf teetered on the edge of the small cliff he stood on, his nose high in the air. Immediately, his body and mind were sent into overdrive by her floral scent floating on the breeze. He wondered what made her smell so divine. Was it her shampoo or the perfume she wore? Whatever it was, he wanted it bottled. It'd been two years since he'd smelt such things that could send his brain into a tizzy within seconds.

Two long, agonising years.

He closed his eyes as the slight breeze blew through his ruff, remembering her in the ballroom of the White Moon Ball. It'd been his second time at the age of twenty one. The first had been not long after he'd turned sixteen. Not long after the death of his parents. Not long after he'd been crowned Alpha of Moonlight Ridge pack. After he'd vowed to never be with his soulmate, no matter how much it killed both him and his wolf. This had been easy to live by as he'd thrown himself into becoming the most respected Alpha and strengthening one of the already strongest packs in the werewolf community. That was until he'd seen her that night, an image of raw beauty in a blue ball dress with golden curls cascading down to her waist which was flaunted by a narrow corset. Her eyes had been the most stunning cornflower blue he'd ever seen, alight with joy as she smiled. A smile which had both blessed and cursed his dreams every night since.

Isaac wondered if she'd changed much in the two years since. Would her hair still sway against her hips? Were her lips still perfectly rosy and plump, begging his lips to be against them? Would her eyes still be so blue? Was her smile still radiant or had the pain of rejection tarnished it, turning her bitter like it had himself? How was she even going to react to seeing him again? A slap across the face was the least he expected.

His wolf whined and his heart ached all over again when he remembered walking away from her in the gazebo. He'd wanted to run back to her, more than anything, but he'd forced himself to march on while her cries followed him. The pain he'd caused her had haunted him every day. Their separation had destroyed him too; the respectful Alpha he'd worked hard to be known as was quickly diminishing, incomplete without his Luna. All werewolves became stronger just being in the presence of their other half and when they weren't it was like dying a slow and painful death, their bodies beginning to fade with each day that went by.

Unfortunately for Isaac, who'd been cursed by Alpha bloodlines, he felt every high or low emotion that coursed through him tenfold to any normal werewolf. And ever since he'd rejected her he'd been floating along rock bottom. His temper, which was enough of a danger, had become shorter. Sleep was a lost cause. Every bone and muscle in both his wolf's and human form had weakened, they ached in the cold and seized in the heat.

Then the phone call had come.

Isaac didn't know what made him agree to acting as a safehouse for Roxy. It didn't make sense that she stayed under his roof when he was fighting not to cave into the infinite bond that would connect them for the rest of their lives. Maybe it'd been because he selfishly knew that when she would be around him, his weakened mind and body would heal. He'd be able to think straight again to make the best decisions he could for his pack's safety and wellbeing. The Alpha everyone feared and respected would rise again. Deep down he knew the true reason though, no matter how much he'd tried to fray the bonds that tied them, the thought of the she-wolf who'd been custom made for him being harmed damn near killed him. Even more so if he didn't do a damn thing to prevent it.

'Holy shit she's here, isn't she?' Isaac looked down to see Tobias' grey wolf hopping between sharp pieces of boulder to reach him.

He gave a warning growl in response, hating the way his best friend since they were children could read him like a book. 'I'll boot you off this cliff right now if you don't drop it.'