Chapter 2 MEGAN.

Chapter 2

MEGAN.

She didn’t particularly like to run into him anywhere and did all she could to avoid that, especially after what he’d done. “Megan? Is everything okay?” Ryan asked from beside her, concerned about her change of countenance. She hadn’t even noticed that he hadn’t left. “Oh!”, Ryan followed the direction of her gaze and suddenly understood. Jake walked up with Bob, Frank, Hector, Elvira, and her crew; Ashley and Mandy. “What do we have here?” Jake drawled in his deep husky voice. “It’s the fated pair” giggled Elvira. The others laughed. “I was just seeing Megan off”, Ryan said casually, ushering Megan away from them, and feeling protective of her. “Oh don’t leave on our account”, Jake was mocking. “Why don’t you stay a while longer, let’s play fetch” Frank said. The whole pack burst into laughter. “That was a good one”, said Hector “Fetch, you’re killing me, man!” Bob howled laughing. Ryan’s face was a storm. Megan saw this and pulled at his arm away from them. “Don’t pay any attention to them”, she said quietly, badly wanting to get away from them. Ryan gave in. They had only walked a few meters away with the trail of laughter following them when Bob said, “ Yeah! Run away with your tail between your legs”. Ryan lunged at him, transforming as he went, taking Bob by surprise and flinging him like a ragged doll, sending him crashing into a tree. Megan raced back to stop Ryan while the rest of the pack formed a circle around them, transformed and snarling. Ryan and Jake stood face to face snarling and growling at each other, spoiling for a fight. Megan tried to transform but didn’t succeed, she stood beside Ryan whimpering until he calmed down and transformed back. Jake and Ryan had a brief stare-down, broken by Bob who had transformed, was itching for revenge, and lunged at Ryan but Jake put out a hand to stop him dead in his tracks, holding him back. Jake transformed back and so did the others, breathing heavily. Ryan turned to leave, and Megan patted him calmly on the back following him. “You should have let me”, whined Bob. “He is not worth it. Let them go” Jake looked at them until they walked out of sight. Let’s Go! Jake suddenly turned and ran transforming as he went, jumping from tree to tree and howling. The other pack members followed suit. A few hours later, Megan was in her room, Ryan had seen her to her door, she didn’t feel like hunting, so he had gone to join the others. She browsing through her phone looking for something to distract her, when a message popped in; it was her cousin, Sandra. She had sent her a picture showing off her younger brother and his beautiful mate. She typed ‘Congratulations’, added a few emoticons for effect, and sent it, then switched off her data. The last thing she wanted was a call from Sandra, hearing her excited voice going on and on about her brother’s mate and how their pack had increased and the inevitable question of if she was going to get another mate and when. Megan was the only one she knew in her family who had been rejected by her mate. Despite these feelings, Megan held on to the glimmer of hope that one day she would find her mate; a soul mate to complete her and make her whole. She held onto the belief that there was someone out there who would accept her for who she was, strengths and weaknesses alike. Her mind went back to what had transpired earlier that evening with Jake and his crew and why it had bothered her so much. Most werewolves find their mates in their mid-teens, and Megan had watched her pack mates find their mates and be paired off, forming strong bonds that seemed unbreakable. Of course, there were potential mates in the pack. There were even a few males who had expressed interest in her, but she somehow couldn’t shake the feeling that they were only into her because she was the only eligible female left in the pack. They didn’t see her as an individual but as a means to an end. “Owwwwwww”, she heard howling and she longed to be out with her pack, but that wasn’t happening tonight, no siree it wasn’t. She tried to shut her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. She tossed and turned, her mind roaming to and through many things. She was grateful to Ryan for saving her, and having her back at all times. He was kind and sweet. A guy any lucky female will be grateful to have. He was a gentleman, who made sure she was always alright. She’d heard about his mate’s rejection before he told her about it. She was shocked. She hoped he’d get a mate too. He had called to check on her; to make sure she was okay. He was also quiet and assertive; but his reaction tonight had been extremely surprising. Megan had never seen that side of him before. But she was sure he’d make a worthy protector. She smiled at this thought. She was still restless however and tossed several times underneath her duvet. The room suddenly felt stuffy, she needed to get out; to get some fresh air, and that was exactly what she did. She wore her slippers, put on a light dressing gown, and stepped out the door as a small gale of wind blew into her face, sending tendrils of her hair flying. She shut the door behind her, took a few steps out, and closed her eyes, inhaling the cool breeze. This activity was to heighten a werewolf’s hearing and scent-catching. She listened to all the night sounds while soaking them in; a chirp of a cricket, the croak of a frog, a night owl hooted afar off. She couldn’t hear the werewolves anymore and she strained for that sound, eyes still closed. She tried to see with her mind’s eye when shockingly Ryan’s face that popped up in her head. She raised a brow. “What was that?” She asked no one in particular. “I think this air might be a bit much for me”, she said to herself, fastening her dressing gown, and trying to stifle a smirk. She blushed slightly, turned around and went back into the house.