I couldn't sleep after an hour of my nap. Ryder's large arms were wrapped around my waist, warmth erupting from them. My eyes were sore, and so was my throat and nose.

Every time I tried to close my tired eyes, that note, the knife, my mother's lifeless face, would haunt me. I was exhausted, yet guilt and fear kept me awake.

I was terrified. Whoever this person was obviously wanted me and my mom must've gotten in the way. So who was she talking to on the phone? Perhaps that was the one who wanted to get to me.

Either way, every few seconds I would glance around the room. The window, the door, the bathroom and the closet. Paranoia was getting to me and had me twisting around in fear.

I glanced at the door once more.

"No one is getting in here Zara," I heard Ryder's deep voice sound through the room.

"I know..." I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

"No one will ever hurt you as long as I'm here," he said, and nuzzled his face into my neck.

I said nothing.

"School is tomorrow." I said slowly, changing the topic. He sighed.

"I can actually take you to school instead of you walking and then running like a bat out of hell." Ryder said with a humorous voice in attempts to make me laugh. 

"I suppose you can. But only till I'm back on my feet." I replied.

"What?" Ryder asked, pulling me closer to his chest. I sighed and turned my body so I could face him. My breath caught in my throat as I saw his perfectly chiseled face near mine. His eyes were dark which startled me some. We were much closer than I'd realized.

"Ryder, I can't stay here forever. I have to get a job, get money, get my own apartment." I said, looking down at his chest.

For some reason, leaving him seemed to have hurt me. My heart ached and every inch of my being seemed to have wanted to stay.

Ryder's eyes seemed sad and angry at the same time. "Just stay. Don't think about the future. We'll cross that bridge when we get there." he said, his voice strained.

I sighed, knowing I couldn't win this battle.

"And try to sleep. Ill stay awake angel." Ryder said in my ear. I rolled my eyes at my nickname  As if those words were my release, my eyes drooped and I finally welcomed the sleep.

--

I awoke three hours later to find it was now 8 pm. I yawned before stretching out my legs and letting out a dinosaur noise. 

A deep chuckle rumbled through the chest pressed behind me. My eyes widened. I totally forgot Ryder was with me. I was glad I had twisted positions and was now at my back to him . . . or rather glued to his buff chest.  If I was facing him, he'd be able to see my incredibly red face, or at least I hoped he wouldn't considering it was dark. Either way, chances are not to be taken around incredibly hot boys like Ryder.

"How long was I out?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. 

"A few hours. How are you feeling?" He asked, his voice somewhat husky, making me shiver. 

"Better. I think," I said, and for once it was somewhat true. The sleep helped my exhaustion, but not my other emotions - guilt and fear. Deep down, I knew that I had some sort of protection when it came to Ryder. We hadn't known each other that long, yet he seemed overbearing of me for some reason.

But I had to ponder, why me? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm a decent looking person and all, but there are a lot of good looking girls with killer bods at our school. Many were smarter than I was, funnier, nicer, yet from what I had witnessed, he had chosen me. 

A small part of me hoped he would forget about us and leave. Another silly side of my brain wanted him to stay. It was like brain vs. heart in my situation.

I wanted Ryder to leave me be sooner so that it wouldn't be as hard to let go of him. The thought of him being with some other girl had me on a rage inside my mind and it also scared me. Why did I feel so . . . possessive over him? It wasn't like me. I didn't really like boys very often,  so what was it with this one that made me feel so indifferent?

Then my heart was hoping that Ryder would decide to "keep" me. I didn't want to be left. I was alone for so many years that I eventually grew tired of it. And as much as I hated it, I still couldn't side with my brain or my heart. Either way, for now I'm sticking with a small part of my brain.

"Good. Are you hungry?" Ryder asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I really was the more I thought about it.

"A bit." I replied. Ryder's body warmth left me, making me feel alone and empty for some irritating reason. I felt compelled to reach my hand out to him and jump into his arms. 

Woah there Zara! Freaking slow down! Listen to me, your brain! NO MORE RYDER!!! My brain was chastizing me. Actually listening to it, I stayed still.

Ryder got up from the bed and walked around to my side and held out his large hand. I stared at it hesitantly before grabbing it. Sparks and warmth flew up my hand, causing me to silently gasp in surprise. I stared up at Ryder but it was too dark to see his emotion.

I left the warm duvet and walked out of the room hand-in-hand with Ryder. I couldn't help the small blush that crept onto my face as we held hands and crept down the marble stairs. I said nothing as we entered the elegant kitchen. I broke free of Ryder's hand and sat down on a small stool.

Immediately, Ryder went to the fridge and pulled something out. I stared at it. Sauce?

"Whatcha makin?" I asked more than curious. He turned to me and smirked, quite deliciously if I might add. 

"Pasta," He said before grabbing some small shell noodles and a strainer, along with a pot. 

I watched him start it off, somewhat entranced by his cooking abilities. Hell, I burnt water. 

"You're staring," Ryder said, his back turned to me. My face heated up immediately. 

"I . . uh . . you can cook . . ?" I muttered dumbly.

"Yes. I've always liked to cook," He said, focusing on stirring the sauce in with the noodles. I smiled to myself. 

"You're still staring," Ryder said as he turned around, a deadly smirk plastered onto his perfect face. A million shades of red crept onto my face once more. Embarrassed, I stared at my hands like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

I felt a shadow loom over me, followed by footsteps. A hand lightly tilted up my chin so now I was staring into the deep brown eyes of Ryder. "I never said I didn't like it when you stare at me," He whispered, his voice incredibly husky, sending tingles into my stomach. How was he so confident and bold? Meanwhile, I could barely get out a sentence without sounding awkward.

I gulped and stared into his eyes, which seemed a dark chocolate shade of brown. I stared at them for a while. They never seemed this dark. How could his eyes have possibly changed color?

Ryder noticed my unnease before slowly backing away and getting back to his handy work. Feeling a little disapointed, I continued to feel awkward.

"So, do you have any siblings?" I asked Ryder. He froze and turned around, his eyes wide.

"No." He said darkly in a harsh voice. I backed away, slightly scared of his darker side that he was now showing me.

He stiffened when he saw my discomfort. "What about you?" He asked.

Ryder's POV***

Desperate to change the topic, I turned it around and stupidly asked, "What about you?" 

At that point I could've slapped myself in the face. Of course she didn't have any siblings! Why else would she be staying with me!?! I felt incredibly stupid but kept a straight face the whole time.

"Uh no." She said with a laugh. I smiled and put the pasta in a bowl for each of us.

"Favorite color?" I asked her. 

"Uh teal. Duuur!" She said with another hearty laugh. Again, with a stupid question. Of course her favorite color was teal! That's the color her whole freaking room was!! I'm the Alpha, yet I'm asking her all the wrong questions. I've never felt so . . . dumb in my whole life.

"You?" She asked after her laughing fit. "Green." I muttered lowly, still embarrassed, which is something that doesn't happen very often. I was never flustered around girls, yet here I was, totally screwing up.

"Favorite animal?" I asked, breaking out of the dumb question stage. She smiled softly.

"Foxes." I stared at her. Why foxes? She foresaw my questioning stare and soon answered. "Foxes are sly and don't rely on anyone. They're . . . individual and free. Oh and cute," She said slowly with a small smile as if having a memory.

"Any way, what is your favorite animal?" She asked. I smirked and felt my wolf stir with humor inside me.

"Wolves," I replied. Now she pondered.

"Because they're awesome, loyal, fierce, powerful and just overall perfect." I said, my wolf dripping with humor inside of me. Oh the irony. And so the question game continued as we ate our pasta.

We laughed about multiple things and I was glad I could get her mind off of the death of her mother for a little. She was handling it rather well compared to how others would.

Zara picked up a noodle and tried to throw it into the sink, but missed horribly. And I would know because it landed in my hair.

Zara covered her mouth with her hands. "I-I'm so sorry." She said, her face turning red. I smiled maliciously. At this, she caught my hint and made a run for it around the island in the kitchen. I followed her with my bowl of pasta shells, and flung a couple at her. She tried to duck but wasn't fast enough. One landed her shirt, the other in her hair. 

She gasped and glared at me playfully, squinting her eyes. She eagerly ran towards my sink and grabbed the faucet head. She pulled it from its tube and pointed it at me. My eyes widened and my hands went up in defense.

"You wouldn't." I challenged. Her smile grew wider. 

"Wanna bet?" She asked. I smirked. "I do."

"If you're right then-"

"You have to stay here for the rest of the school year." I cut off for her. Her eyes narrowed.

"And if I do it, then . . . you have to do whatever I say for 5 whole minutes." She dealt. I grinned ear to ear. "Deal." And with that, my interesting little Zara pulled the faucet lever, and out spurted the water in a straight direction.

Water droplets pelted me in the face and soaked me. My shirt was wet and my hair was as well, but I was completely fine with this outcome.  After she turned off the water, I could hear her angelic bubbling laughter. 

"Oh, you're going to get it." I said with a smirk that made her smile drop. She laughed as she ran out of the room, me trailing behind her in a wet mess. I cornered her back into the living room and smirked. My shirt was soaked and getting water everywhere so I did the one thing I knew would drive her mad. 

I lifted my shirt up and threw it to the sink, now topless. Zara's eyes greedily scanned my chest,  her eyes turning a dark shade of hazel. Zara bit her lip, licking the top.

Before I knew, my wolf had taken over, seeing our mate perfrom such an action. I rushed towards her, my mouth connecting to hers. 

Well, you waited but was it worth it?

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