Torn Between Souls

HEAT

My head hurts. And I mean hurts. I wince slightly, as I try to move. My nose is filled with the familiar smell of my apartment, and something else. The smell of smoke, cinnamon, and something else I can’t pinpoint. I wrinkle my nose slightly and begin blinking open my eyes.

I’m laying in my bed, a heating pad tucked under the blanket with me. Across from me is the antique wardrobe from my aunt’s house. I see myself in the mirror and notice the bandages on my hand that is resting on a pillow and I gasp.

Last night comes flooding back to me. The wolf. The man above me. The crunching of my fingers.

The tearing of flesh.

“You’re awake,” says a deep and husky voice from the corner of my room.

I almost scream and bring myself to move my gaze. In the blue armchair in the corner of my room, sits the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I fight an audible breath, and for a split moment just stare at him.

His eyes are the deepest green I’ve ever seen. They’d almost seem black if I didn’t see the light from the window dancing across his gaze. His face could have been chiseled out of stone and there was a very slight olive hue to his skin. He had dark brown hair, that curled lightly around his ears, and his forehead. He was dressed in dark slacks, and a midnight colored collared shirt that was unbuttoned at the nape of his neck. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and I could see...blood.

I shifted away from him and narrowed my eyes, despite the pounding in my chest, and the heat creeping along my spine, “Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?”

The man chuckled slightly and looks away for a moment, “That’s an excellent question, Rose. What am I doing here?”

I frown, “What are you doing in my house? What...what happened last night? Who are you?”

My voice grew pitch the more I spoke.

“There was a...a-a wolf.”

The man takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment, before turning back to me, and opening them. His green eyes meeting mine make the heat in my chest stronger.

“There was a wolf. I killed him. He won’t try to hurt you again.”

My face paled, and I felt like I was going to hurl, my head spinning. The man stood and slowly walked to my side. He was so tall. Easily a foot taller than me. With broad shoulders that tapered into a solid waist and long legs. He held a glass of water out for me.

I took hesitantly, not wanting to lose the contents of my stomach. My fingers brushed his, and the man jerked his hand away. Before taking two long steps back. I was startled by his sudden movement, but the strangeness of the situation and my distrust of the stranger in my bedroom were not lost on me.

I took a few more sips of water and raised my gaze again to his. He was standing near my bedroom door. This time when I spoke, it was hardly a whisper.

“Who are you?”

For a moment, the man seemed pained, but then his face returned to his stoic expression. He let out a small sigh.

“My name is Matteo Volantin. And hopefully, I never have to see you again. Forget this happened.”

I stared at him dumbfounded as he took his coat off the chair, and left. I heard the front door close and for some reason, I began to cry. After crying over my confusion, and pain for what seemed like forever, I finally decided to look at my hand.

It was set properly, and a splint ran across my ring and middle fingers. They were purple and terribly sore, but upon feeling them, they didn’t seem to be broken. Just badly sprained. I winced as I applied pressure, and I got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

There was a small bandage across my temple, and when I removed it, it didn’t appear there had been much blood loss. My hair looked ghastly, and my eyes were puffy and red. The side of my face had some minor bruising and I had a headache from hell. What the hell happened?

That man, Matteo, he said had killed a wolf? And made sure to tell me that he would not try to hurt me again? Yes, the wolf had run after me, but I was walked through a forested park, at night. And he had been chasing it? I saw him! What was he doing chasing after a wolf? A...particularly huge wolf.

I shook my head and decided I needed a shower before I could think about this anymore. I sat letting the warm water pour over my skin, trying to clear my mind. I was frustrated, as I couldn't well row with my hand busted. And the weather was clear today. Overcast, but clear.

I dried off and slipped into a pair of leggings, and a loose cotton t-shirt. Thank goodness it was my day off. I methodically made myself a cup of coffee in my french press and cooked myself an egg, before sitting down at my computer.

My apartment was small. Upon walking in there was a small kitchen with a slightly crooked island in the center and very little cabinet space. To the right of that was my small round dining table- a thrift find- loaded with my laptop, a few old coffee cups, and disheveled books and papers. A reddish-brown loveseat with a plush blanket sat in the center of the room, facing a television, and my window overlooking the coast, and trees. My bedroom door just to the right of the front door, opened to my bedroom and bathroom.

I opened my laptop and took a deep breath.

“Well, at least I have a name”, I said aloud.

I punched in the man's name and set my eyes on the screen.

MATTEOPOV

I could see into her window from across the street where I stood in my black coat and scarf. She was hunched over her laptop, her wildfire hair laying over her shoulders and falling across her arms and the middle of her spine. I could still smell her on me, all springtime, and honey.

I closed my hands into fists at my sides as a rumble began in my chest, and I closed my eyes, containing the feelings I had that were drawing me back across the street, up those stairs, and back into her bedroom.

Her bed.

My phone shattered the moment, and I took it out of my pocket before the first ring was complete, “Oui.”

“We found another wolf south of her apartment, and Cleo and Celeste found a small encampment in Portland. Jace is headed their noW to help deal with them.”

“Thank you, Christian, have you spoken to Jeremy?”

“Yes,” the voice on the other end answered, growing meeker in tone, “He wants to see you.”

I didn’t say anything, just closed my phone and began walking down the street. Within an hour I was back at the office, in a high end and private area of Olympia. I walked through the lobby, nodding to the doorman, and stepped into the elevator, pressing a button.

When I reached the top floor I looked around, and my eyes found Christian in his lab coat in the conference room, Jeremy towering above him.

I stepped into the room, “Brother,” I said with a wry smile.

“You TOUCHED THE GIRL,” he almost roared.

Christian shrunk. He was a human, and a shy one at that, but he had become a trusted and valuable assistant.

“Jeremy, the girl got hurt. I was keeping my distance and came across a wolf hunting her. There are others nearby. She is no longer safe,” my voice was cold, dark, and sharp. It seemed to scare Christian more than Jeffery’s roar.

My brother stared back into my eyes for a moment, and finally, he looked away, sitting down.

“What we need to figure out is what is drawing them to her. I have been trailing her for weeks, and there is nothing to be suspicious of. She rows goes to yoga and goes to work. She hardly has friends. Her family isn’t nearby..” I said, staring at space. I didn’t tell them the other things I had noticed.

That her hair floated when she slept. That when she ran through the forest, the branches and flowers leaned towards her. That right before rain touches her skin, it seems to hover in the air.

Jeffery cleared his throat, “I have some business to handle in Germany. I’m sick of that damned girl.”

With that, he stood and exited the room without another word. Christian seemed to relax for a moment.

“Christian,” I said, looking to him, “I need you to take another sample of my blood.”

He nodded, looking a little perplexed, “Are you sure? A sample was just taken a few days ago.”

I just stayed silent, and he stood and made his way to the lab. I sat in a chair and rolled my sleeve back up. What I didn’t tell him was why. Ever since I had been trailing her, I had felt something inside me stirring. When I had spent a long day following her closely, or spent time hovering in her window at night watching her sleep, I would feel a strange pull. And my body had changed. I was faster, stronger, and sadly, I craved blood more.

Christian returned with his cart and took a few samples of my blood. The quiet was stark, and he broke it by asking:

“What are you going to do about Rose?”

I shook my head slightly, “Nothing. I left her with my name, and if I’m right, she’ll come to us.”

Christian nodded, almost sadly, and left the room. I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath. I could still smell her on me. Touching her. Carrying her to her room, dressing her wounds, laying her in her bed. SO much contact. My skin tingled when I touched her. First, she had been a theory, then an obsession, and now, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. Constantly. I only had theories, and though so much of me hoped I was wrong, a small part hoped I was right.