Pride, Mates, and Past Mistakes

When You Miss a Phone Call...From Your Mother

*Sierra*

I sighed in my sleep, trying to stretch my left arm out to the side, but it wouldn’t budge—something soft was blocking it.

My eyes fluttered open.

I squinted at my surroundings in confusion—I wasn’t in my bedroom with Doreen. I was draped with a blanket from of the bedrooms, lying on a couch, in front of a T.V. — I was in the living room of the hotel room we had.

How had I gotten on the couch? I turned my head to the side to see if there was anyone else in the room, but our hotel suite was filled with the peaceful quiet of everyone sleeping. I could hear Nolan snoring in the bedroom to my right.

To my left, a soft, barely there hue of light was nudging in through the glass doors of the balcony, which meant that it must still be early in the morning.

A bell went off in my memories.

The balcony…

And just like that, a tsunami of memories flooded through my brain.

The beautiful nymph from Jacob’s gang, somehow getting inside my head, taunting me…

Memories of my bullying, memories that I had shoved away, coming back to haunt me…

New York City looming below me, my legs tensing as I readied myself to jump, to end it all…

I could feel my blood running cold, my heart skipping a beat as I realized that—I had almost jumped. I had nearly killed myself…but I didn’t. No, something had stopped me.

Not something, my wolf purred softly. Someone.

As if on cue, a movement in my peripheral vision caught my eye—Cody strolled through the kitchen entrance, holding a mug of something that was visibly steaming.

 “Oh,” He said, stopping short in his tracks when he saw me. “You’re awake—uh, here—one sec—”

And with that, he disappeared, darting back into the kitchen. By the time he returned, he was holding two steaming mugs, and I’d sat up on the couch.

“Here,” he said, offering a mug to me. “It’s coffee. You’ll need it today…you, uh, didn’t get much sleep.”

I mustered a tight lipped smile and thanks, although I was unable to meet his eyes. I took the warm cup from him. He took a seat at the end of the couch I was sitting on.

My mind was still whirling as I curled up at my end of the couch, pressing the warm cup of coffee closer to my body.

It had been him.

He had been the one who stopped me from jumping last night.

The one who’d brought me inside, laid me on the couch, put a blanket on me—the purple bags underneath his eyes were a testament to that.

He’d saved my life.

Cody cleared his throat, and I could see him turn his head towards me in the corner of my eye.

“How…how are you feeling?”

I plastered a tight smile onto my face, glancing at him. “I’m good,” I said in a faked cheerful tone. The fakeness behind it was so obvious—even to me. “I’m good,” I repeated for no particular reason, although I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince—Cody, or myself. “I’m good. I mean, why wouldn’t I be? I just—it was just cold out and I—I just…I’m good,” I repeated lamely, pressing my lips together. My hands were shaking uncontrollably.