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So much for romantic novels.
Frustrated, I kicked a mini rock, and at that very moment, it started to rain.
I thought the sky was making fun of me, or maybe it was karma kicking me in the butt. I ignored it. I promised myself that I wouldn’t be a snowflake.I wouldn’t let Titanic be my end. Drowning to death in the name of love would be too tragic. And corny!
I tried not to disappoint myself.
I really tried to not cry over a boy … and another boy. But like I said, it was easier said than done.
Aimless, I kept walking until my knees gave out with the weight of my anguish. As the heavens let loose with more and more icy rain, I crouched down, wrapping my arms around my abdomen as if I could hold in my childish whimpers. But no, my tears wouldn’t stop falling just as the rain wouldn’t let up.
I hated it too. I hated it when women cried in books and movies because it made them look weak. I hated it, but I couldn’t help doing the same. A broken heart was still a broken heart, no matter how strong you thought you were.
For what felt like hours, maybe less, I grieved and grieved and grieved, like aMary Suein stupid books I wanted to cut into half and burn. I finally understood the emotional pain of a heartbreak and how debilitating it could be. Thank goodness nobody was there to witness my defeat.
Or so I thought.
A large, white wolf appeared out of nowhere, eyes glowing red, but with its front paws stretched before it, as if bowing to me.
For a second, I stopped breathing.
It may just be an animal, but not an ordinary one. And the thing hanging on its mouth wasn’t a Bully stickeither. It was an umbrella. A yellow one. It encompassed the three Cs: classy, comforting, but also creepy, since it didn’t come from a person’s hands. Fear and excitement and shock—an unusual mix of reactions—bubbled in my chest and made me pause for a minute as snot clogged my nose.
“Don’t move … don’t move … don’t move …” I sniffled, pathetically.Save me, said the pessimistic side of my brain.It’s okay. You’ve read about werewolves and other supernatural beings, and you’re a big fan, this is nothing. Just imagine it’s Chul-soo, the werewolf boy. He won’t bite, said the optimistic side of my brain.
Fan or not, I still had to consider the very real possibility of being eaten alive by the biggest wolf—if not the first real werewolf—I’d ever seen.
Part of me wanted to scream, and the other part wanted to make friends with it.
Which choice would be best?
The wolf laid the umbrella on the ground before me and trotted back a few steps.
What the hell?
I locked eyes with the white wolf, whose crimson red eyes sent chills down my spine, strong and persistent. Observing closely, I noticed something else—the soft glow in its eyes. The wolf was trying to send me a message. Assuming it wasn’t bad news and was only being friendly enough to share an umbrella with me, I relaxed.
It’s Old Corvine. Anything is possible!Though, if I had been a veterinarian, maybe I’d have a better chance at comprehending the animal’s body language.
Cautious, I grasped the umbrella from the ground, pushed the button on the handle carved with the lettersYYW, and watched it expand enough for my slim frame to fit underneath. With the umbrella held above my head, I felt somewhat free to do whatever I wanted—free to wipe the snot over my nose, free to look ugly after crying, free to be … vulnerable. All the while, I was hyper aware of the soaking wet white wolf sitting right next to me instead of wandering off to wherever it came from.
“You’re a weird one,” I said, eyes now glued to the large animal. When it met my gaze, I couldn’t help but put on a smile.
They say one must fall in order to rise again. But here’s what I thought… without the white wolf’s presence and kind gestures that were better than a mere human’s, I would have fallen into the dark abyss, too broken and beyond saving to rise again.
A Love Unnoticed
It wastwelve midnight when I snuck into my own room through the balcony, naked and drenched in rain. After shaking the water off my hair, I wrapped myself in a bathrobe from the armoire I had vandalized in kindergarten. Afterwards, Cole barged in unannounced.
“Hey, have you seen Aera?” he asked.
I hummed, my mind wandering back to what had happened earlier. It was no one’s fault, really, but I still held a grudge against Cole for being unable to control his longing for Keith. He’d seen the hunter wide awake and, in a state of relief, he kissed him without a warning. I should have seen this coming and never left the house. I should have sat with Keith. Better yet, I should’ve taken more time to figure out what Rainer was doing, so I could have prevented Keith’s injury in the first place. As a friend, a cousin, and pack leader, I was letting everyone around me get hurt. Including the girl I loved.
I wanted to give Aera some space, but the moment the rain started pouring like cats and dogs, my inner wolf and I couldn’t leave her alone. I took the umbrella from the round-style metal rack situated by the front door and followed her scent into the dark.
Aera had been crouching on the other side of the street when I found her a few blocks away from home, all alone and shivering. I had a feeling she’d only push me away if she sawhumanGray, so I shifted into my white wolf form and managed not to scare her away too much as I approached her in her vulnerable state.
I’d then listened to her rant about her snot and walked her to her house like a typical stray dog.Looks like I’ll have to scold her for being so calm around strange wolves.
