Chasing Melody

Dear Journal,

Never play with a wolf’s mind. It is mental torture to ask a hypothetical question.

You learn something new every day.

I am getting smarter every day,

Genius,

Melody Hunter

Chase refuses to look at me as we walk into the trees where we usually train. Chase is rubbing his shoulders as if he just got beaten up by a bigger person.

“Calm down Chase it was just a question,” I say nonchalantly. If I would have known that this would be his reaction I would not have asked it.

“Melody," he hisses out, "this is not a game for me or my wolf and I swear I felt as he was going to rip me into shreds because of your hypothetical question,” he rolls his head around trying to massage his muscles.

I would offer to pay for a spa day since I am the reason that he is in pain but thought better of it.

“Sorry, do you still want to train we can do this some other time if you want,” I suggest. If he says he would like to postpone our training I could have a free day. Before my hopes even begin to lift he brings it down with one word.

“No!"

Damn it!

"We’re getting started right now. I want you to run,” he straightens himself out and I stare at him confused.

“What is running going to help me with?” I am fit. I can run, I run like hell when my mother finds me in the forest.

“It’s going to show me if you can outrun a werewolf now go,” he growls.

“What?” I stammer as I see him crouch before me.

“You better start running,” his voice is a low growl as I see what he is doing. He is showing me what a werewolf is capable of.

My feet stammer back and twist my body to run. I run through the trees and I can hear Chase’s footsteps behind me.

“You need to run faster,” he bellows and I push myself to run faster.

Glancing back there is no one in sight. I can hear him, this seems deliberate. There is a sharp pain on my side as I stumble over a fallen tree. My feet stomp hard on the ground as I drop onto a tree.

"Move," he growls and I still can't see him.

"I'm tired," I whine as I search for him. A growl makes me jump straight and take off running again.

Two strong warms arms wrap around me and my body flings back as I crash into his hard chest. I scream not from fear but surprise.

“Fucken shit! You’re fast,” I pout as I hoped that I could outrun him longer than I did.

“I knew that you were slow but God Melody you’re—”

“Shut up,” I smack his chest as I push myself away from him.

“We are going to have to work on your endurance,” he remarks. "And on your running style. I have never seen someone's arms flail as much as yours."

“And how do you plan on doing that?” I straighten out my shirt, it appears that it lifted when we collided, and his eyes trail my movements.

“I can think of a few ways,” he chuckles and closes his eyes as he shakes the thought out of his head. I know what he means. Chase might be my shadow, a werewolf, but above all, he is a man and I know that he thinks I am pretty. He made that clear when he first met me but once he knew that I was the person he was going to be shadowing he went all professional on me.

“Like what?” I remark. He does not answer instead he tells me to follow him back with his head. We walk back and I catch up to him but I know that he is walking slowly for my benefit. Gazing into his dark eyes I can see that he is talking to his wolf and I do not know if it is considered rude to interject.

“Chase!” a girlish scream makes Chase snap out of his thoughts and suddenly his arms swings back hitting me across the chest pushing me behind him. The air in my lungs escape me and I gasp for breath. His eyes focus on the girls staring at us with curiosity.

“Letty, Brooke,” he sighs in relief as he releases me.

“Yeah, it's just us,” one of the girls smirks at him.

“Melody,” the other one says but she is not saying it towards me.

“Brooke, stop it,” I guess they are having a conversation with their minds since he seems frustrated and she looks amused.

Brooke has brown hair that is somewhere between wavy and straight, brown eyes, and if I may say so a nice body but that is part of the whole werewolf package.

“Well, I am happy that we found you.” She says glancing over at me quickly and her eyes return to Chase.

“Why is that?” He seethes at her.

Whoa, buddy what’s going on here?

“You see Letty and I are having a party tonight at the Wolf’s Den and we are trying to make it bigger than Kiero’s pack’s party so I was hoping that you would come and join us.” She smiles at him sweetly and I roll my eyes.

“I can’t I am a shadow now so that is what I do,” he remarks and looks down at me but I do not look at him I keep my gaze on Brooke as she turns her gaze on me.

"Who would be after this," she takes a whiff and her nose scrunches up, "human? There is nothing remotely interesting about her. Let her stay in her room for the night and come."

"Like I said it is a hard pass. I have a job to do," he pushes me back and gestures that he wants me to start walking.

With a defeated sigh Brooke says, “Then bring the runt.” Her gaze turns into a glare as I glance away.

Oh hell no!

“Did she just call me a runt?” I look over at Chase as if I need a verification when I turn my deathly glare over at Brooke, “You fucken mutt!”

“Oh snap that hurt,” Letty finally speaks. She steps away from her friend. Letty looks like her friend except for her dirty blonde hair, probably dyed that way, and her blue eyes.

Calling a werewolf a mutt is equivalent to calling a wizard a mudblood in Harry Potter. Her eyes widen and the rims of her pupils darken.

“Don’t do it Brooke,” Chase steps in front of me. It is as if a switch went off in her head and her eyes return to their normal color.

“I’ll act like that didn’t happen and I will see you,” she rolls her eyes, ”both,” she hisses, “there, ciao,” she blows a kiss in Chase’s direction but he ignores it.

The girls walk away and I can feel my blood still boiling. Even the pest in town knows that I am not up to par with my wolf yet.

“Melody,” he wants me to look over at him but my eyes stay on the place where the girls vanished.

“Who was she?” I ask and turn to look at him.

I can see that he wants to avoid that but if he knows me. He knows that that is not going to happen, “She is my ex-girlfriend,” he sighs. That somehow catches me off guard but I should have seen it coming.

“What happened with I’m waiting for my mate?” That is what he said before.

“Melody, haven’t you ever fallen in love,” slumping my shoulders I shake my head, “well it happens even when you know that they are not right for you. Brooke filled that lonely void that I didn’t know I had until she came into my life but that part of my life is over and I would like to leave it in my past. We’re friends now but she likes to remind me that we were more than that.”

“But how did she know where to find you?” I ask. We are in the middle of the forest. Finding someone can't be that easy, can it?

“I don’t know she has always been good at finding me whenever she wanted. It’s like she has a Chase compass implanted in her.” I have to laugh at his remark.

“Stalker is more like it.” I giggle, “so are you going to her party?”

“I go where you go, pup!” He gives me a sideways glance and I smile back at him.