Wolf under an oak tree.

“Jace, is everything alright?”

“Iris.” he started, but then he moved towards me and gently guided me towards my bed, and once we were seated, he continued. “I felt your fear and pain, that is the reason I came here.”

“What do you mean you felt my feelings? How is that possible?” I was beyond confused I mean, yes, it's only been a day since I knew that werewolves existed.

“We are mates Iris, and the closer we get to each other, our souls tend to get closer too, and once the mating process is completed, our souls will be one. Now that we had our first kiss, that sort of initiated the process so I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions, while you can do the same too.” wow, now that is a lot of information to process, but the more I learn about what mates are, and how it works it leaves me fascinated.

Wait! Did he also say that he can read my thoughts?

“Yes, darling, I can read your thoughts too,” he said, and there was a cheeky smile on his face.

“Then why can't I do the same to you?”

“With a little practice, you can too. But that is not why I am here, apart from your feelings, you kept thinking about a guy named Alan and how he isn't dead yet. What are you hiding, Iris?” all playfulness has left now, and there was a thick tension in the air.

“Al...Alan, he was my ex, and he was abusive.” that is all I said, but I know that Jace needs an elaborate answer than that so I continued. “We met in America where I was previously working, he was an executive manager at a company, and it was all like, love at first sight, it didn't take me long before I moved in with him. When we first started dating, it was all fine, we were like all the other normal couples he was much better, he cared for me like I was a rare gem, and he never cheated in our relationship at all. And before I knew it time flew by, and I didn't know what changed him suddenly, but one day he came home drunk and started beating the hell out of me.”

“Why didn't you complain to the police, Iris?” Jace raised his voice.

“I was about to do that the next day but then he apologized for what happened last night and begged for my forgiveness, and me being foolish, I believed him, but I still regret my decisions that day I shouldn't have fallen for his charms. Because that day was just a beginning and what followed after that is something that I will never forget for the rest of my life.” fresh tears were pouring down my cheeks, and my heart tightened with all the torture that he did to me.

It was two weeks since Alan had gone on his business trip to God knows where, and these two weeks were the best in my life, so I thought of inviting a few of my office colleagues over to my place.

“Hey, guys, want to have dinner at my place?” within five minutes of sending the message, I received a chorus of yes from my friends, so I quickly put away my phone and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Two hours later, I was done with dinner and finished setting up the table too, so after taking one last look at the dinner table, I went to my bedroom to take a shower.

Once I was done with my shower, I applied lotion all over my body before going inside the walk-in closet to select a dress. It took me twenty minutes to choose, and I quickly wore a champagne red plain dress with long sleeves that ends just an inch above my knees and paired it with a pair of peach-colored heels.

Wow, Iris, I think you should become a fashion designer one day.

I giggled at my own silly thoughts before leaving the closet, and I quickly applied some light makeup, just as I was applying a final coating of lip gloss, the doorbell rang, so I quickly kept my makeup products away and went to open the door.

“Hey, come on in, guys!” I greeted my friends, Shawn, Rose, and Jack, and guided them toward the living room

“You look lovely, Iris.” Shawn complimented, which caused a blush to appear.

“Thank you, so would you guys like to have dinner now?” I asked them, and they eagerly nodded their heads. Dinner went well we had a lot of fun.

“Hey Iris, Jack and I got some important work to do tonight, so I guess we will make a move now,” Rose said after she was done with her wine.

“Yeap, there is a major project that we have to complete tonight,” Jack said with a smirk on his face, and I shook my head.

“Yeah right, anyway thanks for coming over, I guess I will see you guys on Monday then,” I said.

“Of course, all right, bye Iris,” Rose said, and both of them left my apartment except for Shawn.

“Alright, Iris I will leave now too,” Shawn said.

“Thanks for coming.”

“That's alright, and by the way dinner was delicious.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him, and before I could comprehend what was happening, Shawn stepped toward me and gave me a friendly hug, and I too returned it. And when I stepped away from him, that is when I saw Alan standing behind us with an expressionless face.

“Al...Alan?” my voice was shaky, and my hands started to sweat and shake, but I quickly hid it behind my back.

“Hello, darling, did you miss me?” he asked me in his sinister voice before walking towards me and pulling me into a hug.

“So, you have been a bad girl while I was away,” he whispered in my ear, and my heart started to palpitate in thinking about what he is going to do to me.

“So Shawn, I guess I will see you at work.” I forced my voice out of my throat, and at first, Shawn looked suspicious, but then he just nodded his head before leaving, once he left, Alan dragged me inside the apartment and threw me against the wall, and I heard a crack followed by excruciating pain, and I know that I might have broken a rib or two again.

“I have only been gone for two weeks, and you have already started seeing someone else?” his voice echoed across the apartment, but I kept quiet and curled myself into a ball.

“It's not wh...what y...you think.” I stammered, but he came toward me at an inhumane speed and started kicking and hitting me with any objects that he got, and at one point, the pain was too unbearable, so I lost my consciousness.

I didn't go to the office for almost two weeks after that.

When I looked up at Jace’s face, I can see that he was livid after what I showed him through my thoughts.

Wait, now I should remember to ask Jace to teach me how to communicate using my mind.

“But yesterday, there was a letter on my nightstand, and I think it was from him,” I whispered the last part, and I can feel my heart tighten, I am damaged goods, and I know that Jace deserves someone who is worth his time. So I prepared myself for the rejection that is going to come.

“Where is the letter now?” Jace asked, and his eye color was continuously changing from chocolate brown to liquid gold, I know that Sparkle is trying to get in control.

“Jace, I think you should calm down,” I said in a shaky voice, and I slowly placed my hand on his shoulder, which made his tense shoulder relax, he closed his eyes for a few minutes before opening them again, and his eyes were back to their normal color.

“I am sorry if I scared you, Iris. It's just that when you showed me how abusive he was, my wolf and I couldn't control the anger that bubbled with me.” Jace's voice held the pain that he felt within, and I felt guilty for making him feel that way.

“I will understand if you want to reject me, Jace,” I said and when I looked up, I saw that his face was blank, so I steeled myself for the rejection that is going to follow.