HIS BACK EYES, they just never left her mind. They stayed ingrained within her head, the black the colour of her now comfort for the heart and soul, in his black eyes, she saw home. She saw a glimpse of the eternal, of serene divinity. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at that thought. He had left without a word.
The scene just kept on replaying within her mind, an emotionless expression upon his face and the coldness within his eyes, really it told her everything she needed to know, but... questions still roamed her mind, swarming with theories; of who he could be, who was he? Why didn't he stay? What was his name? Why didn't he speak?
"Harlow, honey, are you okay?" Her nan says, causing her head to instantly wipe around to see her nan in the driver's seat, holding onto the steering wheel as she looked at the road ahead.
Was she okay? In all honesty, she felt far more okay; okay didn't even seem to exist in her line of vision. "Yes, I'm fine." She lied. This was starting to become a habit of hers, lying to her loved ones, but it was harmless. The truth was far more upsetting than the initial lie she was telling them. What was she supposed to say? She'd just met her mate only for him not to even acknowledge her existence. Only to have left and rejected her, at least that's what she thought. He hadn't initiated a verbal rejection, but to her, it seemed like rejection. He didn't say the words; his actions spoke louder.
Who was he? Harlow couldn't help but point out that he'd looked so familiar to her like she'd seen him before, but she couldn't pinpoint where she'd seen him. His clothing prevented her from further figuring that out; she barely got a glimpse at him in the first place, his features buried in the depths of his black hoodie.
Harlow didn't need to see his face to know he was her mate. The mate bond never worked in that way, which she wished it did. It might've made this a little bit easier. All the mate bond needed for you to recognise your mate was their eyes; somehow, your wolf would be able to recognise them in this way, a bond is formed.
Great, what a present thought...she had a bond with someone she didn't even know. Her life was a joke at this point.
"What happened back there? You looked so out of it." Her nan asked again for the millionth time, which she didn't blame because if she'd seen her like that, she would've wanted to know as well. "You seemed so consumed with shock."
True. Shock couldn't begin to explain what she felt. "It was just a panic attack, nan." She lied again, "I'm sorry."
Her nan and her mom both were aware the Harlow suffered from anxiety, she'd had many in the past, so it was nothing abnormal about that. But that never pushed the guilt she felt by concealing the truth from the only two people she was open about everything.
For Harlow, it was far easier to lie to her nan than tell her the truth. It was embarrassing for her to admit that she'd met her mate, and he had instantly left. Her dad had left her mom years ago, rejecting her altogether. The reason for that is still unknown to this day, her mom never talked about it, and honestly, she didn't think she would ever talk about it. And now, here she was, repeating history.
Damn. She was speechless, didn't know what to think about it. Every bit of her body surged with an emotion she couldn't quite decipher. It was a strange feeling. A tingling sensation, something that would be described as something you felt when you were happy, but she didn't feel happy. She felt confused, so confused and a little bit angry.
Maybe, she shouldn't have agreed to go to the supermarket with her nan in the first place, and then she wouldn't have met him. 'Dammit!' The thought of meeting her mate at a bloody supermarket was just not the way she wanted it to happen; it was so unromantic...so bland. Yet, her mind always argued against that thought with it was better meeting them there rather than not at all, even if they left just after she'd found them.
What was she supposed to call him? She couldn't just refer to him as mate, and it seemed wrong. Even if he was her mate, his leaving made her second guess herself like she might've just dreamt about, imagined it.
The car came to a slow stop, rolling into the driveway. Slowly, she stepped out of the car. Looking up at the house just as she always did, getting deja vu from the very first time she'd been here, she was three at the time. In the summer, her mom had let her stay here at her grandparent's house, only for about a week bu,t even then, her mind still couldn't imagine living here and yet, it has been a day since she'd first arrived here with the intension of just that. To live here.
"Harlow, help me with these, would ya?" Her nan's voice was pulling her out of her thoughts.
Their Head turned with a look of apprehension on her face. This was her new life, and so far it doesn't look good, but what else could she do...a day in and the unknown identity of her mate was still unknown to her, even after meeting him, coming face to face and yet, it was as if she hadn't met him at all. It wasn't like there was a way for her to change it. If she could, she would. So many say just that when they are in a predicament, yet none of them does, even if they had the opportunities to. She was one of those people, one in many.
"Yeah, sorry." She ran towards the back of the trunk, pulling the bags of groceries out.
In each hand, she carried one of those bags on either side, they were heavier than the ones her nan held within her grasp, but she knew she was older and less able to; hence she went to the supermarket in the first place... Following her nan to the front door, who had stopped in front, bags of groceries dropped to the wooden porch. She opened the door with the key she pulled out of her pocket, punching it within the keyhole and turning the lock and clicking it open, pushing the door open and stepped inside. And she went in after her, putting the groceries on the kitchen counter.
"I'll get the other two bags." She says. Harlow saw how drained her nan looked, and she didn't want her to carry anything more or do anything else but rest.
With a smile, "Oh, thank you, sweetheart."
Something within the air felt tense as she walked further towards the front door, standing on the front porch, shifting from foot to foot as she felt the hairs in the back of her neck rise. Something felt off, very off. Goosebumps prickled her delicate skin, and it was similar to what spider-man got when he sensed danger. Her spider senses were going haywire at this point, and she didn't understand why. There was nothing there.
Nonetheless, Harlow's eyes scanned the driveway carefully, looking at the trees that surrounded the house. Her nan's house was quite secluded. The forest surrounded it, just like it did everyone else's houses in this pack. Everything was so spaced out. At first, she thought it was weird but then brushed it off as it meant she had more privacy.
Harlow couldn't help but feel like something was out here and the gut feeling she felt told her that something was watching her.
On the outside, she looked fearless, like she could take an army of rogues, but on the inside, she was scared and a little spooked by everything. Nevertheless, there was nothing there. Everything was quiet, just as it always was.
God...She felt like she was going insane.
She was walking down the remaining steps, grabbing the last two bags and closing the trunk of the car so quickly. Just as quickly as she'd come out, she'd gone back inside. Not taking any chance, if her gut feeling was right, then being inside was a better decision than being outside right now.
Turning the lock to close from the inside, a sigh of relief escaped. Today was...eventful.
Walking through the little hallway that connected the living room and the kitchen. Dropping the bags where the others remained.
"I'll unpack, sweetie." Her mom said, walking back into the kitchen. "Go catch up on homework."
Harlow wasn't going to argue with that, even if she didn't have much homework to do. Walking up the stairs, and just as she was about to enter her room, something stopped her from going in further. Hallow's opened her window. Something she knew was strange because she'd never opened it initially, not since yesterday.
The very same chill ran through her, heart ramming in her chest so quickly. She was confident her mom wouldn't have opened it, she never went into her room without her being there, and her nan was with her...so how did it pop open?
Slowly she approached it, grabbing her curling iron in her hand just in case someone was in here. 'Oh god, oh god.' Her mind was in panic mode, and this place just kept getting weirder and weirder.
She checked the door behind her, pushing it slightly to a close. If someone was behind there, she wanted the door open, just so her mom and nan could hear her scream. Nothing. Harlow's eyes moved towards the bathroom. Heart accelerating at a quick pace, it felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest at any minute. When she entered the bathroom, checking behind the shower curtain. Still Nothing, no one was in her. When she didn't notice anything, she approached the window and closed it shut, making sure to lock it.
Sighing in relief, this place was different and not in a good way.
For the past twenty-four hours, so much has happened. From meeting Mia and the ball, she was being forced to attend to meeting her mysterious mate. Harlow couldn't help but miss her old, everyday, monotonous life. She preferred stress free.
Maybe a shower would do her good. Dropping the curling iron, she did just that. She was spending the afternoon relaxing.
HARLOW SLAMMED HER HAND ON HER BEEPING ALARM CLOCK. The alarm clock in platinum chrome sings each morning, signalling the transition from sleepy dreams to wakeful happenings. After yesterday, she wanted today to be different. Typical, just like the rest of her days were. Throwing her legs over her baed, she sat up, rubbing her eyes for a good five minutes before she ever attempted moving. Early mornings weren't her thing, especially if the school was involved. Standing up, she walked towards her bathroom. Harlow still felt the uneasy feeling in her gut that someone potentially might've been in her room. She'd even asked her mom and nan if they'd gone in her room to open the window, and they'd said no. Alarm bells went off at that point; it defiantly confirmed that someone had been in there. She was sure of it and knowing that it never eased the feeling she felt inside. The water fell into her hands, and she s
HARLOW COULDN'T HELP BUT PLAY WITH HER FINGERS, scratching at them within her lap, anything to drive away from the nervousness she felt in this moment. "Have I done something?" She asked anxiously. Everything about this situation was not ideal for her; being called into the headmistress office always meant you did something wrong, but it was only her second day here; she can't recall doing anything out of line. At least she didn't think so? All she wanted was a normal, stress-free day. That's all she asked for, and it defiantly wasn't a lot. The headmistress entangles her hands together, laying them on her desk as she leaned into them. Her back straightened in front of her. A composed look emitted, her seriousness ladened behind her eyes, which seemed to hold a secret Harlow didn't know. If it weren't for the hectic whirling anxiety that was like a hurricane inside her, she would have asked her about it. &n
SCHOOL HAD ENDED AN HOUR AGO; after having to pick herself up from whatever that was, her day went by pretty quickly. The moment she had come home, her feet had made her go into her room. Avoiding the two people she loved so much, but she felt drained. Her mind raced with theories about where the burning pain came from, but initially, her mind constantly came up black. Maybe she was ill, had food poisoning or stress. Stress was the one number one on her list. For the past two days, that's all she's felt. Stress and panic, fear consumed her entity. Everything felt so off, she felt off, and now her body was failing her. What else was there for her to experience? From the unknown suspect of someone breaking into her room to finally finding out the actual name of her mysterious mate. Her body collapsed on her mattress, her face smudged into the softness of her duvet cover. It constricted her brea
"MICHAEL COLLINS." Just hearing his name brought chills running up and down her spine. They had to get out of here. This place, this pack, was going to be a graveyard after everything goes down. Harlow couldn't believe this was happening; obviously, she had a vague idea that it would happen but not this soon. Besides, Harlow thought her new Alpha prepared this pack for this sort of thing, but she guesses he wasn't. "Harlow, sweetheart, we need to leave." She heard her nan say, it was then that she realised that her mom was nowhere to be found. Everyone she knew was here; her nan, Mia and Ryan...so where was her mom? When she had gone to sleep, she was in the house, downstairs. "Where's my mom?" Harlow asked, her voice breaking slightly. Already her brain was thinking the unthinkable, had her true mate obliterated her from existence. She hoped not. 'Oh, God!' Where was she
HARLOW COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS HEARING HIM SAY. Her eyes widen with fear, fear of her mother's life. She witnessed his canines grow, and it became obvious that he was about to shift, and it came just as a surprise to everyone else that surrounded him, including his own. Everyone knew that he rarely shifted in battle, so what had changed now.He was a man who preferred his weapons to slaughter his enemies. Some even said that he never shifted as he wasn't even one of them; he wasn't a werewolf which was absurd. Obviously, he was, but people still liked to speculate on the likeliness that he might not even be either human or a werewolf. Be was some other type of beast.A small tear left her eye, completely betraying her. This was it. She could no longer take this anymore, and she had to do something, anything to save her mother's life."No!" She screamed, stopping Michael from ever finishing his shift. Harlow scarred
"HARLOW, ARE YOU DONE?"Her nan asked, and she turned, smiling."Yes. Has the Alpha left?" Harlow asked, standing up and plopping a Rolo in her mouth. Since last night, there was extensive damage to the town. House was crumpled down, and trees remained damaged from the fire, and the conclusion as to why it was it was, was still being figured out. Michael had left a great deal of damage, but her nan's house was left untouched. It seemed he had missed this part entirely, and Harlow couldn't help but wonder why?"Yes, and I'm glad. We didn't need all this negative energy in the house." Her nan smiled, leading her into the house. "You need to go to bed; you have school tomorrow.""Do I have to, nan?" She grumbled slightly, but her nan only gave her a look that told her it wasn't up for debate. The sheer thought of going to school after such a day was the least pleasant thing ever to cross her mind; Harlow's mind w
WAKING UP THAT MORNING WAS CONFUSING, her body didn't feel rested as it should have done. Her mind was fluttering with the dreams she dreamt of last night; it didn't come as a surprise to her that it was of him. That's all her mind obsessed over, Michael, Michael, Michael. Harlow wished she could think of anything else, but it seemed nearly impossible at this point. After their encounter that night, she felt disgusted with herself for dreaming of him in such away. She'd dreamt he had broken into her room, and she couldn't even believe that her mind was creating these weird scenarios that seemed too far fetched for her; Michael was defiantly not the type to do such a thing. "Harlow, what do you think? Is 2 pm okay for you?" Mia questioned, waiting for her reply patiently. Although Harlow was so focused on her mind that she couldn't pay attention anymore even to know what she was talking about, "What do you think?" She continued.
"WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?" Mia asked her, pointing to yet another dress. "You have to try it on." Harlow had never met someone more persistent than anyone she has ever met in her life, which didn't consist of many people. Sighing, "Fine." Taking the dress in her hands as she walked to yet, another changing room with Mia trailing behind. Taking the strapless dress as she examined the fabric of the dress. It was a strapless black dress that ended just before her knees. Sequins decorated the side of it, making it look fancy. Yet, Harlow had never felt so uncomfortable with what she was wearing in her life. She looked like a hooker in this dress; it just looked awful. "That looks amazing on you. You have to buy this one." Mia though disagreed with Harlow's negative thoughts towards the dress. "Hey, Matt," Mia called. The worse part about this shopping experience was that Ryan had decided