Chapter 21

Isabella shook her head and took his hands in hers, but the fire returned and she quickly let him go. "It doesn't have to. It's my fault for overreacting, but Peter, when it comes to you...." she shook her head; Isabella couldn't imagine life without him. It physically hurt to do so.
"But that's not why you're almost ten feet away." He said in an angelic voice. "Is it?"
As their eyes met, he saw in his what she knew - admiration, devotion and disbelief. She blinked twice in surprise that he could see through the peephole into her soul. She tried to move, but couldn't, afraid her knees would give way if she took a step.
He turned his gaze to the ground and put on the crooked smile that, no matter how many times Isabella saw it, caused tiny tingling sensations in her body.
"No, it's not..." she paused and stared down at her feet.

"I'm really sorry." Said he sincerely. "I can take you home right now; I don't know what I did wrong, but it won't happen again."
"Victor." Isabella's voice sounded hollow and foreign. "You didn't do anything wrong. But sometimes you stir up feelings in me that make me afraid of losing you, and sometimes, like just now, I feel like I'm losing myself."
He narrowed the distance between them, raising his hands as if to place them on mines, but letting them hang loosely at his sides. "I ...," he hesitated, foot half raised. "Is it all right for me to stand here, or should I step back?"
At this thought, Isabella had to smile. "Actually, you could come even closer."
He wrapped an arm around her and looked at me questioningly. "That's fine, too," she said.
"But that wouldn't be bad." He said. "Losing you to me, would it?" he sighed, looking so depressingly good. "...Because I know I've given myself to you. What you do with me is up to you."
Isabella giggled, admiring the sparks his touch ignited. "I've decided to keep you until you decide to leave."
"I don't think that's an option I'd be willing to accept. I won't do it unless it's for your safety and happiness."
She laughed bitterly, "Safety maybe, but happiness without you? That's impossible."
He was silent for a while. "You know we're going to a place crawling with Wendigos who may or may not want you dead."
"Why would they want me dead?"
"You're a werewolf. Need I say more?"
"Nope," she said, emphasizing the word. "You've said it all."
He nodded.
Isabella stared at her feet as she said, "Besides, they won't hurt me."
"And why not?" he sounded amused.
"After all, I'm their alpha companion. If they do anything to me, they'll challenge you."
"My goodness," he paused and let out a barking laugh. "You sound so sure I'm going to come to your rescue."
"Well, I'm sure you'll."
"I'm sure you'll."
Isabella smiled. "You can't deny that you're jealous of me."
His eyes lit up humorously. "How do you come to that disturbing conclusion?"
"I've seen some of the things the Wendigo has done, or should I say, that you've said."
He sighed contentedly. "Please tell."
"Like the stunt you did by the car. You were jealous."
"I'd every reason to be, too." He pouted and looked at her with lustful eyes. "I can't have another man ..." he broke off, his voice hard.
Isabella ran a hand over his arm, pausing when she reached his bicep to squeeze it. She loved the feel of his skin on her. It was like touching fresh water from the lake.
"It's not like I wanted to do anything," she said. "It's more about never settling for second best when I can have you, and besides, I doubt there's anyone as sweet as you. I really enjoyed you."
He grinned knowingly. "I seem to have that effect on women."
Isabella pinched his arm.
"That really hurt." He said with a playful grin, and then he suddenly stopped and scanned the surroundings around them - his eyes alert, looking right in front, left behind. He made a face of concentration. On impulse, she stood protectively in front of him.
He looked down at her with a smile.
"What're you doing?"
"Protecting you," Isabella said, clenching her hands into hard fists. She was ready for anything, and her eyes roamed the forest.
"And I thought I'd to protect you," he smiled wider and Isabella gasped, he was even that handsome. "You can't protect me from my own kind."
She felt foolish now. "Then why did you stop?"
"I wanted to know how long we'd before it rained."
She blinked more than necessary. "You can do that? Wow." Peter could do anything, of course.
"Ten minutes."
"Huh?"
His tap touched her cheekbone ever so lightly. Her heart skipped a beat, and then her pulse soared. "We've ten minutes left."
"Then how long do we've until we get there?" said Isabella as a shiver ran down her spine. Maybe Isabella should have put on the leotard she'd left outside the door. "Wherever we're going," she added as an afterthought.
He smiled wryly. "Just less than a minute now."
Isabella nodded and hugged herself tightly as a breeze blew. A minty scent polluted the air. No doubt Wendigos lived here.
He wrapped his arms around her and automatically felt warm. How did he manage to stay warm in such harsh weather? He led the way as we walked up the short path.
"What's this place?" asked Isabella as he knocked on the door, and before she could answer, he opened the door.
Startled, she stared at him disapprovingly. "No one invited us in?"
He waited a moment. A faint voice said, "Come in.
"They just did." He said cockily. "This is where the Wendigoes live. You can see the mountains in the distance." He paused to nod in greeting to a girl who smiled at him longer than necessary. Isabella stared at her. She barely noticed. She followed Peter's every move with her eyes.
"But this is a house." said Isabella, choosing to ignore the girl. She's not that pretty anyway. Oh, who am I kidding? She's a beauty from paradise. Isabella said bitterly to herself.
"I smell something." said Peter, sniffing me.
Panicked, Isabella copied him. She'd made sure to use Callie's vanilla soap this morning. Or it could be her strawberry shampoo. It had to be. Isabella knew she shouldn't have bought it. "What's it?" asked Isabella hesitantly. She was afraid to know. "Do I smell bad?"
"Don't move ..." he sniffed again. "I smell jealousy. Someone is jealous."
Isabella was silent for a while.
"Of you..." she tried to sound casual, but her voice sounded shaky. At least the shampoo is safe. "Never."
He grinned, ignoring her. "This is our school. On this floor are the dorms. There are buildings..." he opened the door and they stepped into another hallway. "Here."
"So you teach here."
"Yes." He said.
"What do you teach?"
"History."

Isabella groaned. "Couldn't it be something else?"
He shook his head. "No. Then you must hate the story?"
"What makes you think that?"
He raised a perfectly straight eyebrow. "Your reaction to it," he said uncertainly.
"You're wrong."
"Really?" He asked, turning his attention to her.
Isabella stared at him. Did he have to be so smart? "You've just given me another reason to admire you," she said sarcastically.
"In that case, shall we proceed?"
Isabella nodded, impressed by the images of the Wendigos they passed. She couldn't take her eyes off them and he couldn't take his off her. She wondered what he saw when he looked at them. Was he as awestruck as she was when she looked at him?
"This is where we hold our meetings." he said, turning right and stopping to look at her.

Isabella averted her eyes from him, "Meetings?"
He didn't answer, instead opening the door to a crowded cafeteria. She was in a crowded room, but she'd never felt so alone. It was probably because she was the only one of her kind, or because she couldn't spot a familiar face anywhere.
Isabella was grateful, however, for the man who held her safely under his arms. All her worries were gone; she looked up at his strong jaw as he cleared his throat. He mixed both Pauline and Stephen very well.
"I know most of you've heard the rumor." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. It was the first time he'd been so formal, and Isabella looked up at him. To match his voice, he wore a gray, silver suit that set off his features perfectly. He continued as if he didn't mind her scrutinizing gaze. "Yes, they're true. I've a werewolf mate."
"Will she leave her pack for us?" asked a man in the back row. Isabella refused to look anywhere but at her mate.
"No, she won't..."
"Then we can't use her here." Said the same throaty voice. Isabella wondered if he was a pureblood or a converted Wendigo. "This is against the rules. No werewolf can know about us. Your loyalty lies elsewhere."
"My loyalty lies with Peter." How dare he question her? Isabella stared at the floor. She still couldn't face them.
"Then prove it." Said the same man.
She looked at him closely. He was probably her age, but his voice revealed what his body couldn't say, he was older, much older.
"Geo, calm down..." said Peter with thin lips.
"Geo," Isabella said, putting a hand on Peter's, hoping to calm his animal. She continued only when she felt her companion relax. "If Peter or the situation requires it, I'll leave the pack. I can't leave now. I don't want to start a war. It's not worth it." It wasn't worth it.