Lure To The Woods

XXVI

I looked up from my bowl of cereal tiredly as Xavier floated through the front door. He sent me a smile, briskly kicking off his shoes and taking his coat off. The sun was already up, but Xavier clearly hadn't slept. After the murder had happened, he had clearly been working non-stop to protect the pack. After Jude's appearance, he'd shifted into overdrive, working all night at the pack house.

"Get any sleep last night?" Xavier called from across the large room.

I shook my head simply, finishing up my breakfast. It was getting to the point of exhaustion where I started to get dizzy, but I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night. The mental image of that creep Jude staring at me was burned into my brain. It felt like every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were his staring back at me. Try sleeping with that mental image...

"How did the meetings go?" I asked, washing up my bowl.

"Stressful. They managed to track him for awhile, but his scent became inconspicuous towards the edge of town. We know that nobody was hurt, so at least there's that. I've heightened security further and set a curfew for pack members to keep them safe." Xavier listed off, collapsing onto the sofa while loosening his tie.

"When was the last time you had a good nights sleep?" I frowned, watching his body crash into the sofa with concern.

"That night I slept with you?" He grinned lazily, making me blush.

That was the last time I had slept well too.

"You should take a nap." I suggested, siting next to him as he sprawled out on the sofa.

"You should take one with me." He smirked, taking ahold of my hand.

"I have school." I shrugged, "Speaking of which, I should get going."

"Cameron White caring about getting to class on time? What happened to you?" He teased, making a slight frown slip onto my face.

"I'm just trying to get the elders to take me seriously." I muttered, dropping his hand.

"Oh, baby." He sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

He pulled me in for a hug and I settled into his chest, enjoying the tingles that immediately rushed through my body. It was a sensitive topic for me, since I was sort of still butt hurt that the elders didn't think I was responsible enough. To them, I wasn't good enough for Xavier and that hurts me for obvious reasons.

"I don't want you to think that you need to change for them. I like you exactly the way you are; I like that you know how to have fun. The last thing I'd want is for you to compromise who you are so that they approve. Hell, I don't even meet the high standards they have in place." Xavier attempted to comfort me.

"Are you sure?" I mumbled, scanning his concerned face intently for an answer.

"One hundred percent certain." He whispered, his hand brushing across my cheek.

I sent him a small smile and mouthed 'thank you'. Clearly, he meant what he was saying, but I was going to try and brush up on my act anyway. This was final year, so this mattered. My GCSE's were pretty terrible, so A-levels were my last chance to get some good grades. Not to mention, it might help me get back into my mum's good books- something I needed all the help I could get with right now.

"Cam, would you do me the honour of going on a date this weekend?" Xavier suddenly boomed, making me jump as my head whipped towards him.

He had mentioned wanting to do this whole thing properly- starting with a date- but with all the commotion I hadn't expected one so soon.