Falling For Storm

Amara

I was trying to process what I’d just witnessed, and I couldn’t make sense of it all. The doctor kept asking me questions about how I was feeling and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn’t even understand. All I could hear was his muffled voice. I was obviously still in shock, so my thought process wasn’t really working. Seriously, who in the world would be able to when I just saw Storm turn into a really huge black dog and kill three other huge dogs that were attacking us? Wait, are they dogs or wolves? How did that even make any sense? Was I going mental? This wasn’t Twilight or The Vampire Diaries; this was real life, for Pete’s sake! I was so confused, and I didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Clean your bite wound with these at least three times a day until it heals, and wrap it well,” the doctor said, handing me a few bottles.

I was still too shocked to reply with words, so I just nodded, took the bag of bottles, and walked out of his office like the living dead. Storm stood up when he saw us come out and immediately walked towards us. Instead of reacting, I just sat on the bench, still trying to think about what happened, while they discussed things in hushed tones.

At one point, Storm raked his hands through his hair, looking angry and agitated. I was supposed to be really, really scared of him right now, but it just stopped being that way soon after we drove away from the lake. I remember saying that I was afraid of him when he asked if I was cold or that, but I may have said that out of spite. Now, I don’t know what to think or feel and just want to go home. When they were done speaking, Storm crouched in front of me to hold my gaze, but he didn’t attempt to touch me.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked, concern evident on his face.

I didn’t have the strength to answer, so I just stood and walked out of the hospital like I was in some sort of trance. He caught up to me, opened the door to his car and let me in.

“Amara I-,” he was trying to say something, but the words died in his mouth.

“What just happened and what’s going on?” I finally asked.

“I’m going to tell you everything you need and want to know, but please let me take you to my house because you’re much safer there,” he answered, urgency palpable in his voice.

I stared at him, blinking, for a few good minutes before lifting my chin to give him permission. I wasn’t sure if I trusted him enough, but he did protect me and take me to the hospital, so that probably meant I should, right?

We didn’t speak for a while until he broke the silence. “How are you feeling?”

I turned to him slightly before speaking. “The doctor gave me a few shots in there, so I guess I’ll be fine, or maybe not. At least I’m still alive.”

His grip on the wheel tightened, making his knuckles turn whiter.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice a mere whisper.

Sorry for what? For turning into a large dog? Killing the other dogs? For bringing me to the hospital? Sorry that I got hurt or that I learned something absolutely strange about him?

“What are you sorry about?” I asked, clearly confused about why he was apologizing.

“For putting you in danger, for not being able to get to you in time before you were bitten, for scaring you,” he sighed.

I shook my head at his reasons because, if anything, he did save my life. That was what I was realizing just now. If he meant to do me harm, then he could’ve done it on our first date.

“I was scared because I couldn’t understand what was going on. You only read these things in books, you know. It’s supposed to only exist in fantasy or fiction novels or movies, but it wasn’t your fault, Storm. You told me to stay close to you, and I ran.” I confessed, and he took a double-take at me.

It was true; he did say that no matter what happened, I should stay close behind him, and I didn’t, so getting hurt was my fault. I shakily reached my hand out to him, palm up, encouraging him to take it, and he did, interlacing our fingers tightly and letting out a shaky breath.

I then placed our linked hands on my lap and said, “I just maybe need time to think about this and try to understand what I saw.”

He lifted our hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles before setting them back on my lap. I should really be running for the hills, but I couldn’t seem to hate or feel disgusted with the whole situation or Storm. He rescued me today from... Wait a minute!

“Those huge umm-” I started.

“Rogues,” Storm stated, finishing my sentence for me.

“Right, rogues they are. They turn into humans too?” I asked.

He nodded his head in response, and I gasped at the thought.

“But you killed them.”

He flinched at my observation, and for some reason I felt bad for stating the obvious. I just couldn’t fathom the idea of humans being killed, but at the same time, I understood that they weren’t just humans.

“I did.” His voice was low and quiet.

“But why?” I asked.

“My world is different from yours. Let’s just say that the Rogues are the murderers and Wolves like me are the cops. There’s no way to take them down but to kill them, because if we don’t, a lot of people and other wolves will die.”

I let his words sink in and decided that I could accept that answer. I wanted to know more, but I didn’t ask any more questions or say anything else until we arrived at Storm’s house. The moment I stepped inside their home, Dakota and her mother came barreling towards me and enveloped me in their arms.

“Oh, God, are you alright?” Dakota asked.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, my dear,” Sumire added.

“I’m okay, I think,” I answered, smiling a bit.

“Here, let’s have a seat. Would you want to eat or drink something?” Sumire asked, as she rubbed both my arms to comfort me.

“I don’t know if I’m hungry, but if it’s okay, can I have a glass of water?” I requested.

“I’ll get it. I’ll fix you a mean sandwich too,” Dakota chimed in.

“Thank you,” I stated as I sat beside Storm, who wrapped an arm around me.

For a minute, I stared at nothing in particular, spacing out, and then later wondered when any of them would start talking.

“Okay, I have a lot of questions. Can I start asking now?” I questioned.

“Ask away,” Storm answered.

“Are you guys really wolves?”

It was a dumb question because I literally saw my boyfriend turn into one, but still, I needed to hear it from their mouths again.

“Yes. You see, we’re not like regular wolves. As you can see, they don’t turn into humans. We’re more like shapeshifters,” Storm started.

“Like the ones in books and movies?”

“Sort of, except those are made up, and we’re real,” Sumire confirmed.

Soon, Storm’s entire family told me about them, and I learned that Storm’s father used to be the alpha, which I equated with the president or the Mafia boss, and now Storm has taken his place. They told me about the rogues and that they’re not the only wolf pack in the world, but they’re the most respected in the world. Oh, and they also told me that I’m Storm’s mate—whatever that meant. All I knew was that we were dating.

So, here I was, right in the middle of complete information overload, trying to digest everything I’d just heard. Did I also mention that I needed to stay in the pack house at least until they were able to figure out why the rogues had been attacking? Apparently, I didn’t have a say in this, at least not until I became Luna. Again, I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t have it in me to ask more questions. I was exhausted, and my wound kept pulsing, so all I wanted to do was pass out and probably stay that way for twelve hours.