Undauntable

Changes

Another letter lay perfectly propped up on the folded pile of clothing.

Frantically glancing around, I see nothing. There are no more foreign scents. Closing my eyes, I focus on sounds, but hear nothing. Not even the distant snap of a twig or the hoot of an owl.

The forest is eerily silent.

Snatching up the letter, I pulled it up to my face, inhaling.

Frustration bubbled like a cauldron in my stomach. First, I feel as if I’m being watched. Then, my mind starts playing tricks on me, now this....

Tossing the letter to the ground, I quickly pull my clothes on, and then grab the letter, shoving it into my hoodie pocket.

“Brielle, I swear to our Goddess, if I find out you’re behind this; I’ll strangle you with my bare hands,” I mutter under my breath, shaking my head.

“What are you doing out here this late at night?” a deep voice echoed through the night.

Turning to my right, I notice a man standing with his arms across his chest watching me.

“Whatever I want,” I scoffed.

The man rolled his eyes, “You’re not on patrol and you’re not from this pack. Who are you?”

My teeth clamped together as I reminded myself that he was probably a warrior, and was just doing his job, “I’m here visiting my sister. Your former Alpha. I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a jog. I’m assuming you’re on patrol?”

“The infamous Bailey Graff,” he smirks.

“The one and only,” I rolled my eyes, starting to walk once more.

“You’re making waves in the werewolf community,” he jogged to catch up, before outstretching his arms to dramatically create a rainbow, “A she-wolf finally snags the title of lead warrior.”

“Don’t sound too excited.”

His chuckle boomed as loudly as his voice, “Don’t worry. I’m not impressed by much. Including you.”

My feet stopped moving as I turned towards him, “Well, s**t. I am going to have to cry myself to sleep tonight knowing that I didn’t impress,” my eyes roamed over him, “You.”

I pouted my lips and wiped an imaginary tear.

Now that the trees were thinning, moonlight cast a glow over the man before me. He was tall, but not to the point that I’d have to crane my neck. His dark hair was cut short and light stubble dotted his jawline.

Navy blue eyes met mine as he quirked a brow, “I like you.”

“The feeling is definitely not mutual.”

I continued forward, ignoring the sound of his footsteps beside me. The feeling of his eyes burning into the side of my face was uncomfortable. I didn’t like being studied. Shockingly, I didn’t like being the center of attention, despite wanting to lead.

But when you love something so much, you push those feelings aside for the bigger picture.

“I’m Cyrus, by the way,” he outstretched his hand.

Gripping it in a firm handshake, “Not so nice to meet you, Cyrus.”

The laughter that echoed around us sounded genuine, “That’s fair. I’ll admit,” he paused for a moment, “I expected you to be up on a high horse. Nose stuck up in the air like you were better than the rest of us peasants.”

I turned towards him with a smirk, “I am better than the rest of you peasants. But I’m humble,” I winked.

A small part of me believed those words, but a bigger part of me knew that it was all a lie. I wanted to be better, the best, but truthfully? I was no better than anyone else.

My hands gripped the letter in my pocket as we neared Brielle and Brody’s house. It felt hot beneath my fingertips as I played with the wax seal.

“I’d better get back to patrolling. It was nice to finally meet the one and only, humbled Bailey Graff,” Cyrus smirked with a wink.

“You should do that. I picked up a foreign scent by the lake. North-Eastern side.”

Cyrus’ jaw dropped, “And you’re just now telling me this?”

I shrugged, “What can I say? I was having too much fun being misjudged by some lowly warrior. And besides, I’m fairly certain they left. Didn’t smell like a rogue either.”

“Not the point,” he gritted his teeth, pulling his shirt off and revealing a perfectly chiseled six-pack. I’ve seen the warrior's bodies constantly back in Crimson River, but none of them looked like that.

My mouth went dry as my eyes trailed down the perfectly carved muscles all the way to the V that disappeared beneath the hem of his sweats.

“Like what you see?” he smirked, gripping the waistband of his pants and sliding them off. He made sure to move slowly, taking advantage of my weak moment.

“I appreciate your dedication to the position,” I said lamely, picking at the wax seal like the distraction might save me from this incredibly awkward moment I’d created.

Cyrus’ lips curled into a smirk before he slid his boxers down, tossing them into the pile with the rest of his clothes.

Don’t you dare f*****g look, B.

Swallowing hard, I kept my eyes level. Definitely NOT glancing down at the thing between his legs. Didn’t notice it at all. Not all eight inches of it.

“It was a pleasure. I’m,” I nodded my head in the direction of the house, “Going to go get some sleep now. Good luck on finding the intruder.”

Cyrus didn’t bother responding, shifting flawlessly into a massive brown wolf that reminded me a lot of River, Wes’ wolf.

A pang of guilt lanced through my chest as I stared frozen in place at Cyrus’ wolf.

After what felt like forever, I forced a smile, nodding, and turning around. The sound of paws padding against the cool dirt echoed behind me.

I’ve barely been separated from my mate for a week and I’m over here checking out random f*****g warriors. What does that say about me?

After quietly slipping back into the house, I fell backwards onto my bed, flipping the lamp on and holding the letter above me.

It looked identical to the first one. Same black envelope. Same golden seal stamped with the two swords and large E behind them.

I silently wished I could talk to someone about this. Years ago, that person would have been Wes. f**k, I miss him. He was my best friend. I wonder how he's doing... I've wanted to call him, just to hear his voice. You don't really know how much you rely on something as small as the sound of another person's voice until you can no longer hear it.

And seeing Cyrus' wolf tonight was like a smack to the face.

I never meant to hurt him. I loved him. I still love him. He will always be a part of me, no matter where this life takes me.

Getting that letter could have been the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. I know I needed to be honest. With him. With myself. But it was so abrupt. I went from accepting my reality, to doing a 180, and walking away from everything. There was no time to grieve the life I was leaving behind.

And I'm not even sure what I'm leaving it behind for.

This time, I wasn’t so careful with the envelope, tearing it open in frustration. The feeling of this all being for nothing weighs heavy on my chest like a ton of bricks.

Another shiny black postcard peeked out of the top.

Pulling it out, a string of numbers stare back at me.

52.14153, -122.14451

-Z and X

What could that mean?