Chapter 5 Second Chance

Rufus’ POV

Opening the fridge, I pulled a beer from inside and closed the door harder than I intended. Popping open the can, I brought it to my l*ps and consumed the cold liquid inside.

‘Alcohol won’t solve your problems,’ my wolf Silver chuckled inside my mind.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I replied internally to my wolf.

‘Oh come on you old fool,’ Silver responded ‘I felt that mate bonding as strong as you did, probably stronger. Freya is your eternity,’

With a grunt, I tried to ignore Silver’s ridiculous words as I made my way over to my favourite armchair. Sitting down, I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. The big game was on, turning the volume up, I hoped the sound would drown out the voice in my head.

‘You know you can’t get rid of me, jerk,’ Silver said with a sigh ‘And you also know it’s incredibly frowned upon to reject the Moon Goddess’s choice for you. You offend her!’

I sipped my beer again ‘Yeah, well she offended me by promising me my first mate for eternity,’ I paused ‘But Mia was taken away from me, so I’m not best pleased with the high and mighty moon lady right now,’

Silver sighed ‘Rufus, you need to let go. You’ve been given a second chance, not many of our kind are so lucky,’

‘Sure, I’m real f**king lucky,’ I grunted, taking another mouthful of beer ‘She’s far too young for me anyway,’

Silver laughed lowly ‘You know, just because you act like a sad old man, you’re actually not that aged. Plus, a younger woman might be exactly what you need. Breath life into the old man,’

‘You’re testing my patience,’ I said, becoming increasingly annoyed with the little shit in my head and his wrong opinions ‘Just leave it will you, I’m not accepting that girl as my mate, it’s just wrong. Plus she’s my daughter’s best friend. You’ve seen those American chat shows right? I don’t want to end up on one of those,’

‘It might do you some good,’ Silver sighed with defeat ‘But just think about it Rufus, the Moon Goddess has blessed you with a chance to be happy once again,’

‘If the Moon chick cared that much about me, she wouldn’t have taken away the only woman I have, and ever will love,’ I said, making an attempt to push Silver into the far reaches of my mind to shut him up.

Silver fell silent for a few minutes, before eventually speaking up ‘Rufus, I know you’re hurting. I can feel it in your heart, I share your pain as I hurt too,’ He paused ‘But you need to appreciate what you have from Mia. Beautiful memories, and two even more beautiful children,’ another pause ‘Would Mia want you to be sitting around like this? When was the last time you had a shower? She would want you to be happy and live your life, all Mia wanted was yours, Sienna and Milo’s happiness,’

Tipping the can upright to get the last dregs in my mouth, I screwed the can up in my grip and tossed it to the ground ‘I hate that you’re right, every single damn time,’ I said with a grunt ‘I need to think about this, clear my mind,’

‘Shall we go for a run?’ Silver asked.

A smirk shaped my l*ps ‘Now this is something we can agree on,’

Standing from my chair, I unbuttoned my shirt and allowed the fabric to fall open revealing my toned muscular chest. I pulled the shirt off my b*dy, and let it fall to the ground.

Making my way over to the back door, I opened it and the cold air hit me. My skin prickled with the cool night air lapping against me, and as I sniffed the fresh air, an array of scents filled my senses.

‘Can you feel that?’ Silver asked ‘The call of nature, no matter what happens in life, we will always have the wilderness,’

‘She calls to me’ I said as I took a deep inhale ‘Let’s run,’

Stepping out of the house, my eyes focused on the forest ahead of me. My feet began to walk, into a sprint and then into a full run. It wasn’t long before Silver brought himself into the front of my mind, and my b*dy transformed.

Landing on four paws, I felt the exhilaration fill me, pumping through my veins like adrenaline as I ran as quickly as my b*dy could manage.

Reaching the forest, I didn’t slow down my speed, I kept on going until the moonlight was dimmed by the trees overhead.

‘This is how we lose ourselves,’ Rufus spoke inside my mind ‘Now we can clear our heads and think deeper,’

Without a reply, I kept on going. Trampling over twigs and grass beneath my paws, the snapping of wood from my weight sounded and echoed around as I ran.

‘To the stream,’ Rufus said ‘That’s my favourite place,’

‘Of course,’ I replied, already heading that way ‘I remember. The day Mia left us, what a beautiful day it was by the stream,’

‘Mia was so happy,’ Rufus paused ‘Even before she…’

I knew Rufus couldn’t finish his sentence, but I knew well enough how he was feeling, how his heart ached. No one would fill the space in his heart left by the loss of Mia, no one. But Freya could help Rufus repair the hurt, he just needed to realise it.

As we reached the stream, I heard the water gently trickling as we grew closer. It was the most relaxing spot in this forest.

I felt Rufus bringing himself forward, and my form shifted back into the human shape occupied by Rufus.

Walking toward the stream, my eyes lay on one particular spot ‘I need to look again’ I said to Silver, knowing full well he knew where I was heading.

Kneeling down, I picked up the smooth rock and turned it over. There lay the engraving that Mia left on the stone that last day we spent together. I smiled as I read the words carved on the stone’s surface – Mia + Rufus.