Cursed with an Alpha Soul | Werewolf Romance

Chapter XIII - The Connection

Benjamin and Ella stood in silence in the backyard of the Parker property. Chirps for forest birds and crickets from grasshoppers filled the silence. The light from the half moon and bright stars gleamed down on them. The Parkers’ backyard had open grass before the tree line of the forest fifty feet from the house. Ella stood with her arms crossed over her chest, uncertain on where to start the conversation. Ben kicked around grass with his hands pushed into his jacket pockets.

“Well obviously we have a lot to talk about.” Ben said, breaking the silence.

Ella nodded “Yeah, I know.” Thoughts of what Xan said continued to play through her head and she argued with herself internally about telling him or losing him for good. If Ella kept the truth from him, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t walk out of her life right now. She knew telling him would be a risk, but she could keep him around and maybe Xan was wrong; maybe she could protect him. “You didn’t give me much of a change to explain earlier.”

“Well yeah.” He scoffed, looking up from the grass towards her. “I had to get out of there. I couldn’t stay and watch my girlfriend flirt with the best-looking guy at our school, okay? It was torture.”

“We weren’t-“Ella began to dispute, but stopped herself. The thought of flirting with Carlos made her sick to her stomach, but she didn’t want to frustrate him anymore than what she already had. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” Although it wasn’t what it had looked like, Ella knew she had to apologize for it. She owed Ben that.

“You said that it wasn’t what it looked like… well then what was it? Because, to me, it looked like you were getting back with your ex.” He said bluntly. Ella could hear the hurt in his voice. It broke her heart, but she understood.

“Ew, no Ben that wasn’t what was happening.” Ella shook her head, unable to hide the look of disgust at the idea.

“Well then what was happening, because I can’t seem to find any other logical explanation for why the two of you were in the woods.” He said, raising his voice in frustration. Ben heard how he sounded and sighed apologizing for yelling.

“No, it’s- it’s okay.” Ella nodded her head. “That night at the Willis party… something happened to me.” She started off vaguely, still unsure how she was going to explain this to him.

“Oh my god, are you pregnant? Did he drug you?” Ben asked, ideas racing through his mind.

“No Ben! Just listen!” Ella groaned in frustration, trying to calm him down. Ben sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Please just listen.” She begged him. Ben realized the concern on Ella’s face. He took a seat on the wooden picnic table, staring at Ella as she spoke.

“That night something happened. I don’t know how or why, but something happened to me. And the only other person that I know that… has it too is Carlos. That’s why we were talking in the woods.” Ella sighed. The confusion on Ben’s face told her that she needed to explain more. “Okay um. This is going to sound really, really dumb.” She said to herself, pacing back and forth in front of her boyfriend. “I started to feel sick before the party. I went to the bathroom. Then I fell and hit my head on the wall and when I woke up in the hospital, I was different.” Ben continued to stare at her confused, waiting for her to get to the point. Ella groaned in frustration, saying the exact words were proving to be physically difficult for her. She felt as though it was not her secret to tell, that she wasn’t allowed to tell him. Annoyed with everything that had happened to her, she decided she was going to tell him. She was going to take back a little of her own life and chose to tell him. “I think I’m kind of a werewolf,” She blurted out “and Carlos kinda is one too.” She led on.

Ben stared at her in disbelief. “Okay,” he said standing “obviously you aren’t going to tell me what’s actually going on and instead you want to make up stories so I’m leaving.” Ben began to walk past Ella and back towards his car. She quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back; her strength causing Ben to fly back a few feet and fall to the ground. His eyes were wide in shock, stunned by what had just happened. She seemed to have been able to move him effortlessly.

“If I you aren’t going to believe me then I guess I have to show you.” She spoke. Ella leaned down grabbing the pocketknife from Ben’s belt that he carried with himself everywhere. Flipping the blade open, Ella yanked her long sleeve up past her elbow as high as it would go. She placed the steel blade against her forearm and closed her eyes.

“Ella don’t!” Ben shouted, but it was too late. Ella sliced the blade over her skin, ripping it open. Thick, blood black as the sky began to run down her arm. She threw the blade aside into the grass. Ben stared at her in concern. His eyes watched as the blood streamed down over her light skin. It seemed as if it was coated in ink, the black color staining her skin. Ella took a deep breath, her eyes still closed, focusing on everything that had happened to her. All the things that she had been through and how it made her feel. The anger of losing the life she could have picked for herself. The fear of what this meant for her. As she let out her deep breath, her eyes fluttered open. She could feel her eyes shift. Though she could see perfectly through the night before, as if it was bright as day, now her eyes were red. They shimmered like bright blood rubies under the moonlight. She slowly moved her eyes down to meet Ben’s. His eyes watched as her cut began to close and the blood stopped running. The skin stretched back together, meeting ends and sealing. The cut was now gone, like it never existed. Slowly his eyes moved towards her face, staring at the strong red irises that stared back at him. Ella didn’t move. She gave him time to process and choose what he did next.

After a moment, Ben slowly rose to his feet and took small steps towards her. As he stood only a foot from her, Ella could see the reflection of her eyes in his. He stretched his shirt to wipe the blood from her arm, running his thumb over where the cut had been.

“Wow.” He whispered out, his hand cupping her face as he stared at her eyes. Searching for comfort, Ella placed her hands on his chest. Ben didn’t push her away. Fear made her stomach turn as she was terrified; he would walk away or call her a monster. As much as she loved him, if he chose to leave; she wouldn’t have stopped him. A soft smile curled on his lips as he brought his lips against hers. Ella finally relaxed, moving her hands to wrap around his neck. The kiss was gentle. As he broke away, Ben watched as Ella’s eyes opened. They were back to the green emeralds they were before. Ella hadn’t needed to focus to change her eyes, they had done it themselves as she kissed Ben.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” He whispered, feeling regret for almost having walked out of her life.

“It’s okay.” She nodded, understandingly, “I wouldn’t have believed it either.” She laughed softly, gaining a laugh from Ben himself.

“Let’s go back inside to talk, it’s getting cold, and you don’t have a jacket.” he said, rubbing her arms. Ella couldn’t stop herself from giggling, knowing she didn’t get cold anymore. “Let me just find my knife.” he said as he tried to glance around the grass in the dark. Ella bent down and grabbed it without any hesitation. "How did you see that?” Ben asked, struggling to see more than a few feet in front of him in this darkness.

“We have a lot to talk about.” She said, grabbing his hand and leading him inside.

The two had made themselves hot chocolate. Afterwards they both found a spot on the large, L-shaped white sofa. Ella laid between Ben’s legs, her back against his chest. A large, cream colored blanket was draped over them. The fireplaced crackled and popped as embers flew through the air before fizzling out. Both sat in silence, sipping their drinks, enjoying one another’s comfort as they had many times before. Ella placed her drink on the coffee table, listening to the soothing sounds of Ben’s calm heartbeat.

“So…” Ben led on, his mind racing with questions. Ella, knowing her boyfriend, let out a soft laugh. She knew he couldn’t hold back for long before he would start asking. “Ask away.” She told him, turning towards him.

“Who else knows?” Ben asked her. She shrugged, fiddling with her fingers.

“I don’t know if Carlos has told anyone, but besides you… just Xan.”

“Xan?” Ben exclaimed, nearly choking up his hot chocolate. “My best friend knows, but not me? Why did you tell him? Is he one too?” He questioned her.

“No, he’s not one of us. Like I told you, Carlos is the only other person like me that I know of. Xan isn’t a werewolf, but I made him a promise that I wouldn’t tell you what he is.” Although Ben wanted to get it out of her, he didn’t want to push her too far and make her stop answering other questions he had.

“Okay, have you uh- turned?” He asked, unsure if that was the right way to phrase the question. She gave a simple smile to reassure him then shook her head. “Uh no, not yet at least.” She answered. “Carlos has, but I don’t know why I can’t. So far all I can do is the eye thing.” Ben nodded, pondering for himself what the reason could be.

“What else can you do?” he asked curiously.

“Well,” she sighed, “I’m pretty strong and I can run really fast. Faster than a car. I don’t get cold or hot anymore. I can see in the dark pretty much like it’s day time.” She paused thinking of anything else, “Oh, and I can hear good. Like I can hear your heartbeat.” She told him.

Ben’s eyes grew in shock, “You can hear my heartbeat?” he questioned. Ella nodded with a giggle, “It’s crazy, but yeah I can.”

“You can’t hear my thoughts right?” He asked as a joke, though part of him knew it was a possibility. Ella rolled her eyes, punching Ben’s shoulder, “Shut up!” They both erupted in laughter. Ella sat to straddle Ben’s lap, resting her arms loosely around his neck. As their laughter calmed, she noticed Ben’s expression change. “What?” she asked him, still smiling towards him.

“So, you and Carlos are just… friends I guess?” He asked for reassurance. Ella’s smile faded slightly as she rubbed her hands on his chest. As badly as she wanted that to be the truth, she had told herself no more lies. She wanted to tell him everything regardless of how it may make him feel. She knew bringing Ben into this world meant not hiding anything from him. She felt as though keeping secrets from him after he knew this had the chance of getting him hurt.

“Carlos is just… a friend, I guess? He’s the only person I have that truly understands what I’m going through. He understands what I’m feeling. I don’t have any feelings towards him, but I can’t lie to you and tell you there isn’t a part of me that does. Whatever it is that happened to us, made this sort of connection between us that I can’t explain. But I promise you, I love you not him.” She reassured him. As much as Ben hated Carlos from everything he had heard of their past, he understood that Carlos wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He wouldn’t ask Ella to break off the only other person she has that can understand her. A part of him also knew she couldn’t even if he asked. For now, at least, Ben would learn to accept Carlos being around. He hated the idea, but he had no other choice.

Ben nodded his head, motioning to Ella that he understood. She gave a relieved look, placing her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She focused simply on his heartbeat, slowly drifting asleep. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Carlos slowly crept up the stairs of his home, leading his girlfriend Jude behind him. He listened closely to the sound of any of his siblings awake. He had snuck numerous girls into his rooms before, but had never gotten caught until the morning after. Slowly he pushed the door closed, trying not to make a sound. As he turned around, he saw Jude had already removed her top and sat in the middle of his bed in her black lace bra and shorts. Carlos gave a dark smirk, sliding open his side drawer and pulling out one of many colored condom wrappers.

He placed it between his teeth as he stripped out of his shirt. Jude’s eyes roamed over the boy’s body, her mouth dropping slightly. “Have you been working out more? You look huge.” She whispered. One of the many perks Carlos had noticed since the change was his muscles tightening. It looked as though he had been hitting the gym at least three times a day. “Something like that.” He vaguely replied. Jude laughed mischievously as she began to undo Carlos’s belt. Unfastening with one hand, her other reached up to pull Carlos’s lips to hers. The kiss was aggressive, and s*x driven, no emotion behind it. Carlos had been with better lays, but Jude always stuck around. He knew she was strictly there for the image. She so badly wanted to be the bad cheerleader dating the high school football star. She faked love and emotion on social media and in public, but behind doors it was simply physical. Carlos felt that Jude wanted it to be more, but Carlos had never felt anything towards the girl.

Stripping down to his boxers, he pushed Jude back down onto the bed. He positioned himself on top of her. Jude’s legs quickly wrapped around him, pulling him close. She began aggressively grinding against him, trying desperately to turn him on. His lips trailed down her neck, sucking onto the freshly healed skin he had bruised a week ago. Jude’s hair pulled at his hair, moaning in an effort to turn him on more. Though she did not have feelings for Carlos, she did love how he felt in bed.

“Oh my god, yes.” She repeated in his ear as he began to massage her breasts. As he closed his eyes, he began to picture devious thoughts in his head of what he wanted to do. How he wanted to do it. Carlos could feel the hunger inside of him, one he hadn’t ever felt before. He felt that he was holding back and wanted to give it all his strength. He could feel the rumble in his chest, a growl from deep within. He contained it, holding it in.

“Carlos” He heard the voice whisper, sounding different than before. Carlos kept his eyes closed, forcing his lips against hers. A low growl rumbled as he took dominance over the kiss, his hands gripping onto her wrists and pushing them above her head. “Please” The voice said again, he felt her arch against him showing her craving for more. As he pulled his head back, his eyes fluttered open to see Ella laying below him. Startled Carlos quickly sat up to his knees, staring at the girl below him. Jude laid there confused, looking up at him.

“You good?” She asked. Carlos rubbed his eyes, staring at Jude below him.

He nodded his head, “Yeah I’m fine.” He said, shaking off whatever had just happened.

“Better be.” Jude said seductively, pulling Carlos back down to her. He tried to fight away the image he had just seen, focusing hard on Jude instead. Jude didn’t notice his distraction as she unclasped her bra, harshly kissing the football player. She began to push off her shorts and underwear while they still kissed.

“Carlos” Ella’s voice rang in his head again. As hard as Carlos tried to ignore them, the harder the images forced their way back into his head. Though his body kept moving and reacting to Jude, his mind was somewhere else.

Carlos stood at the edge of the bed, a grin on his lips as he stared at the sight before him. Ella laid on the bed, her hair sprawled out along the pillow. She was dressed in only red lacey lingerie. Her eyes were bright red rubies, matching the flashy fabric on her soft skin. As she bit her lip, her shining white fangs pushed into the soft flesh. In a second he was on top of her, their bodies tightly pressed against each other. Both of their hearts pounded at over 300 beats a minute, the same speed of a running wolf. Carlos’s red eyes gleamed back into hers before their lips collided. The kiss was different. Something inside of them burning, as if screaming finally! Ella’s hand gripped into his hair, as the other hand intertwined their fingers together. “Please.” Ella begged, arching her body into his. Carlos simply ripped the bottoms off of her, earning a giggle from her. Carlos did the same to his bottom, throwing the ripped fabric aside. His hand cupped her face, staring into her eyes. His thumb brushed over her swollen bottom lip, grinning as he stared down at her. She put her hand over his that cupped her face, rubbing it gently. She reached up, pulling him gently towards her. Just as their lips touched, she stopped him, staring her red eyes into his. “I love you, Carlos.” She whispered.

“I love you” A distant voice drew him from his deep thought. Jude repeated it again, smashing her lips against Carlos’s. Suddenly, the kiss tasted bitter and foreign to Carlos. He felt no pleasure from what he had before. As Jude’s hands began to pull down the waistband of his boxer Carlos quickly gripped onto her wrist. Shocked she pulled back, staring at him confused.

“You should go.” Carlos said blankly, getting up from the bed. He began to toss her the clothes that were scattered on the floor.

Jude scoffed, staring at Carlos who continued to get dressed into pajamas. “Excuse me?” she said in disbelief. Carlos turned to her with no expression, “You need to go.” He said again, opening the bedroom door for her. Jude covered herself in embarrassment, quickly throwing on her clothes.

“This is ridiculous. Don’t ever call me again if this is what you’re going to do!” Jude ranted on. Carlos didn’t care about anything she had to say. He simply tuned her out, all the way down the stairs and to the front door. The entire walk she continued to talk about how wrong this was and how he was losing something good. As he opened the door, Jude stood there with her hands on her hips. “Well? Do you have anything to say?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “See you at school.” He said, pushing her out the door and locking it behind him.

Carlos let out a deep sigh, sitting on his bed. Pulling his phone off the charger, he scrolled through all of his notifications looking for anything from Ella. As he opened their messages, he saw the notice that she had read and not replied to him. Groaning, he tossed his phone back on the side table and tried to fall asleep.