4

-But...

-Please Laura, I know you're scared but I gave you time. I couldn't bear to suffer any longer like during his two years.

-I couldn't do it Alex. Might as well be honest, anyway he said it, he feels my fear. I run my hands over my face. On the other hand, if my sentence does not please him, he seems to adore hearing me pronounce his first name.

- There are no reasons. You'll learn.

-I am not a wolf. I counter immediately.

-You don't have to be one.

-Whether ! I'm not the one you need! I don't have a soul mate, I don't feel like you! I protest. I want to help him, sincerely, but I don't have the guts. I can't.

He growls in a very intimidating way. I suspect he doesn't like what I'm saying, but it's the strict truth. All the love he has for me is linked to this soul mate story and I am incapable of feeling it.

-I'm your soul mate! His composure crumbles visibly when I question the link.

- That you growl does not change anything! I don't feel the connection!

-Humans develop it alongside their soulmate! It's you alone who prevents you from feeling it. His deep voice echoes in the air and I find nothing more to say.

I get out of bed avoiding his gaze to stand at my window. I let my drifting eyes stare into space. He takes this lack of reaction for a surrender on my part, it is.

-Stay with me, please Laura. You no longer have any excuse holding you back, there's no point in looking. He gets up and comes to stand next to me. I can feel the father's hope in his voice. He's right, it's time for me to take responsibility, I can't afford to behave like a child anymore. My brain constantly alternates between fear and a sense of duty, getting tired of it.

-All right. I answer him without daring to look him in the face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see his smile widen in wonder. He slides his hand down my cheek and turns me to him. He leans towards me with the intention of kissing me but I immediately turn away. Far from getting upset, his hand deflects and goes gently through my hair.

I smile shyly and he walks away from me.

-We have to leave tomorrow first thing in the morning, I'll pick you up. Sorry to do this in a hurry.

I nod and he walks out of my room. I'm finally breathing normally, all the tension that resides in my muscles and in the room escapes.

It takes me a while before I come out of my own room and find my parents in the living room. My sister has been hiding in her room for a long time, I know she's the one who let him in.

I explain to them what happened and my decision to leave with him. My father remains suspicious of him and my mother, even though she is also worried about me, is more understanding. They will not oppose my choice and it takes a weight off my heart. I hug them in my arms then I go back to pack my suitcase.

My head buried in my closet, I still manage to hear my sister arriving on the sly.

-Laura? Uh, I wanted to tell you that

-Yes, I know it was you who let him in and no, I don't blame you. Yes I will tell you everything I promise.

She smiles, though a little embarrassed that I figured her out so quickly.

"In my defense, he was waiting outside the house and I wasn't going to let the Alpha Supreme wait on the porch!"

- Was he already there when I got home?

-Yes, he was waiting in the kitchen for you to come up. He knew you were going to run away otherwise.

- He would have caught me. I shrug my shoulders.

-He didn't want to scare you. It's cute I think.

-Yeah... I don't want to contradict her but I find that locking myself in my own room so as not to leave me any way out is a good way to scare me. He literally could have done whatever he wanted with me, I'm no match for a werewolf of his power. Nor to any werewolf in fact.

She smiles then happily asks:

- Do you want help packing?

-Why not !

-We can come and see you at the Supreme Palace, do you think?

-Of course you do, silly!

I ruffle his hair and we continue to put my things away, laughing.

I wake up with a start because of my alarm clock, although I have tried all possible ringtones, none wakes me up without cardiac arrest! I get ready mechanically, as if I were going back to class, but I take a good 10 minutes to lower each of my two suitcases in turn. My mother makes me check for the third time that I have all the survival necessities with me, as if I were going to the depths of the Amazon until finally there was a knock on the door to get me out of it. Calvary. I know she's stressed but she'll end up stressing me too if she continues.

My father is going to open and it's a new wolf who faces us.

-Hello, I'm Loïc, the delta of the Supreme pack. I'll be escorting Laura to the Alpha.

-Hello, um, just time to say goodbye?

-Of course.

I hold them all in my arms. I don't know how soon I'll be able to come back to see them, despite my father's promises to come back for me if Alex dares hurt me. I know for a fact that he won't let me go anytime soon.

Loïc grabs my suitcases and hands them to one of the wolves accompanying him. He puts me in a car that seems to cost a small fortune and we head to the airport.