Mated to a Human

☽ 29 ☾

I wake up in Harvey's bed, not remembering when I fell asleep. The movie is over, and the TV screen has gone idle. There's no clock in the bedroom, so I get up and pad to the bathroom where I left my overnight bag and my phone inside of it. I rummage around until I feel the sleek device at the bottom under my clothes and toiletries.

1:02 am. The house is quiet — I wonder if Jalen is still here.

As though triggered by my acknowledgment of it, the silence in the house interrupts with a distant clamor and then a flurry of voices that sounds like no more than grunts and mumbles from upstairs. Is Harvey back?

I tuck my hair behind my ears and contemplate quickly if I should go down to see him because he definitely isn't alone. Would it be awkward if I showed up on the staircase in front of his pack, or would they think nothing of it because we're soulmates? I bite my lip and drop my phone back into my bag as I decide to see him. Since others are here, pajamas aren't my ideal outfit to greet people, but I'm decent enough and, after all, it's the middle of the night.

I leave the bedroom and the voice becomes clearer, but they've moved deeper into the house. I round the railing post at the bottom of the stairs and peer down the dimly-lit hallway to the parlor. The voices sound from the adjacent hall leading to the right where the dining room and kitchen are.

"We'll deal with it after, just take it off so we can cover it properly," I hear one voice dominate.

I venture along the tight hallway, seeing Jalen pass by the kitchen entrance, but he doesn't notice me.

"Quiet down, Mia's upstairs," Harvey says from somewhere out of view.

"Did you call Marianne?" Jalen says.

I move slower the closer I get to the kitchen. Whatever's happening is chaotic, and I worry I'll only get in the way.

"She's on her way."

"Just hold that there."

"Jalen, check on Mia," Harvey suddenly says. "I don't want her coming in here."

My heart lurches — he can smell me — so I step into the kitchen entrance to spare Jalen from catching me, to make myself known, but the happenings inside are more turbulent than I expect. Jalen, Luke, Liam, Kieran, and Harvey are strewn about the kitchen. Jalen halts right in front of me, surprised.

"Shit," he gasps at my pop-up.

Past Jalen, Harvey is sitting at the kitchen table. He's holding a bundle of white cloth against his right side, making the deep red blood seeping into it obvious. Panic suddenly comes over me; he's hurt.

Harvey see me. Jalen brings an arm around my shoulders to try and guide me away. "You don't want to see this," Jalen assures.

I try to look back at Harvey again.

"Jalen, it's fine," Harvey calls, slightly defeated. "She's already seen it."

Kieran — who's sporting a gleaming scarlet cut from his cheekbone to his chin — leans over the counter while Liam and Luke stand around the kitchen table near Harvey. Though Jalen isn't holding me back, I'm reluctant to move. They're all watching me like they're waiting for me to say something.

"It's okay, Mia. You can come here," Harvey says and drags out the chair next to him.

I go the the left side of the kitchen where he's sitting. "What happened?"

"We were tracking, found the...shapeshifter, and it nicked me."

"Nicked? She has eyes," Kieran criticizes.