My Mate's Touch

Chapter 22 - Elias

I was having so much fun in the Shadowclaw pack. Everyday here was much more eventful than it was back at home. To my surprise, I didn't miss Timbers Cross like I thought I would; I didn't miss my parents like I thought I would.

Aspen and Luca had been the best friends ever since I'd met them. We saw each other pretty much everyday and I sometimes wondered how we didn't get tired of each other. We talked about random things and always laughed. Sometimes, Aspen and Luca would start bickering, making the three of us laugh even harder in the end. I couldn't ask for anything more.

We were on Luca's couch in his apartment trying to figure out what to do again. He told me he'd been here for a little over a month already, but his apartment was still so bare. He hadn't even gotten a TV yet, which probably would've solved most of our problems considering we seemed to be dying of boredom so much lately. We threw around some ideas of what we could do, none of them sticking.

"Why don't we go watch the warriors again?" I suggested.

I couldn't stop thinking about how strong and fierce they were. The Shadowclaw pack really was something, and watching the warriors train made me understand why the pack was so formidable. Aspen looked as if she was trying to come up with something better and Luca flat out opposed the idea.

"No, no way," Luca said. "If we go, Aspen's going to make me train again and I already feel like my legs are going to give way if I stand for more than thirty seconds."

Aspen chuckled. "That's true, I would make you practice fighting me again. I don't know what we could do. What about... we go out for a run around the pack grounds?"

"No," Luca and I said in unison. "No exercise."

"You guys are so lame! Fine, that's all I got," Aspen said, exasperated.

I frowned in thought and suddenly it was as if a lightbulb went off in my brain. "How about we go on a tour again?"

Aspen and Luca looked at each other with deadpanned expressions and then looked back at me.

"That's what you came up with?" Luca said, obviously disappointed with my idea.

I huffed. "In my defense, Aspen said your tour of the pack was longer than mine! I'm sure I didn't get to see much at all."

"What about not wanting to exercise? You'd be walking a lot," Aspen questioned.

"Well, walking is different when you're not trying to exercise," I retorted. "Besides, there's not much we could do cooped up in here."

"I don't want to," Luca insisted. "I'm telling you, Elias, I'm so sore from training!" He glared at Aspen, pouting and rubbing his leg.

"I-I want to go, and we literally can't think of anything else!" I said, throwing my hands in the air, dropping them as I began to sigh. "Fine, I'll go on a walk, then."

Aspen and Luca looked at me with wide eyes, almost as if they were my parents and I was rebelling against them for the first time. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment and I huffed.

"W-What?"

"Nothing, you've just never done anything on your own here yet," Aspen said. "I never thought about it before. Luca, you need to go out too."

"I'm tired!" He said, his voice cracking slightly which made Aspen and I giggle.

I stood up hesitantly from the couch and walked towards Luca's front door, stopping and turning back as I was about to reach for the handle. "Is... is it really ok?"

"Is what ok?" Aspen asked, understanding what I meant after a moment. "No one knows you're human besides Felix, Xander, Luca and I. If someone does find out, it should be fine since the alpha's ok with it. You'll be fine, just try to come back before sunset."

I gulped. "W-What happens at sunset?"

"It gets dark! If you're going to walk around town, you might get lost. Just to be safe, come back while it's still light outside."

"Ok," I said quietly. "I'll be back, then."

I didn't know where to head once I first stepped out of the apartment complex, but it didn't take me very long to travel around the town. When I looked back for the first time, I realized how far I already was from the building.

As I walked around town, I noticed familiar areas like the dining hall and the Shadowclaw pack headquarters. I also saw many other buildings, including a few bustling shops and a sizable library. I am definitely going to have to check that out.

After about an hour or so of walking in countless directions, I looked at the sky. I could've gone back to Luca's place at this point since I'd seen so much, but there was still daylight left. I decided to glance around me and see if I'd missed anything.

A specific spot of darkness caught my eye. I turned around to look behind me and I realized no one was there. I was alone, looking into a dark forested area and I couldn't look away. This must be the end of the pack territory. I resisted the urge to step into the forest but as I turned away, I heard a faint whisper.

"Hey."

I turned around, and the voice spoke again.

"Hey," it repeated, and my eyes locked with a figure among the trees.

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Thank you all so much for supporting this story! My Mate's Touch went from 2k to 6k reads in the span of a month. I never imagined this story would grow as fast as it did, and it's all thanks to you loyal readers, voters and commenters. You never go unnoticed! ♡

This is the first time we're seeing the story through Elias' point of view! Who's POV is your favorite so far? And who is calling out to Elias from the forest? If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote and comment your thoughts! - D ♡