Distinctly Defiant

Chapter 12 ~ Doubt

Chapter 12 ~ Doubt

Everett was kneeling close to Vivienne knowing that what she was going through was due to the effect the moon had on her. He was dangerously close to her, with save but a sheathed dagger attached to his belt. If she began to shift and tried to attack him, he had more than a good chance at quickly arming himself. From what he had heard the first shift was the most painful and took the longest. The shift also occurred earlier in a werewolf’s life, by puberty at the latest, although it was normally earlier. There was no telling how Vivienne’s age her first shift, or even if she was capable surviving it at all.

He noted her paleness of her skin, with flushed spots on her cheeks, even as she stared right back at him a lot better than just a few minutes before. She nodded, seeming out of it. She licked her lips and after what looked like she was gathering her confidence she began to lean in towards him, and he suddenly understood.

Everett was transported to the similar situation back at the last inn when he hadn’t been thinking straight and was about to kiss her. She had backed out of it and as soon as she did he had come to his senses. He didn’t know what he would have done had she followed through. Her moving away had prevented him from dealing with the repercussions of his actions. Yet here she was, initiating a kiss this time and he was the one left with the choice.

However as he thought about that incident he also was very aware of what had happened after. Vivienne’s animalistic anger had been frightening and only made him surer about his group’s purpose. Werewolves couldn’t keep running about unchecked.

He took a deep breath and could easily smell the ever present smell of vanilla that surrounded. The scent was more powerful now, just like it had been when she had been punching a hole in the wall due to the excessive anger she had been dealing with. The scent seemed to strengthen when she was more in touch with her werewolf side.

The cause of the anger was likely due to the full moon later that night.The moon affected werewolves in different ways, anger was not unheard of but he couldn’t help but wonder if it was due to something else. It could have something to do with her specific situation. Her scent brought his attention back to her.

He sighed, taking one last look at her. She was nervously biting her plump, rose coloured lips. The pallor of her skin was slowly warming up. The flickering light from the fire cast strange shadows on her face; her glowing eyes were even more noticeable. Strands of her golden, natural highlighted hair moved with the wind. She impatiently tucked her hair behind her ears. Her eyes drifted shut and lean leaned in further.

Making a snap decision Everett placed his hands of her shoulders and gently pushed her back. Deciding to make a joke of it he said, “Whoa there, are you okay? Feeling light-headed? Can’t sit up straight?”

He forced a smile on his face as he stood up pretending he didn’t see the depth of emotion shining in her golden eyes. Her eyes had opened straight away when she had heard him speaking and she seemed horrified. She avoided eye contact, choosing to stare at the ground as she wrung her hands. Everett considered apologizing to her, seeing how much instantly she had regretted her actions. Yet he said nothing, saying something, acknowledging the moment would only make things more complicated, for the both of them.

She gave a laugh that sounded nowhere near convincing but once again he ignored it. This wasn’t what he had signed up for. He was supposed to make her trust him and then simple endure spending time with her until such time that she either shifted or his group got tired of waiting. Sooner or later this mission would become more trouble than it was worth. Either way would result in the death of a werewolf. No one could have predicted that the girl would come to have more intense feelings towards him.