Raff

Before beginning this chapter I would like to apologize for not updating for so long and thank all of my readers for their support. I hope to resume a normal schedule soon.

I'm excited for tonight as I shower. Not only has Nina accepted me, but she even agreed to a date. I was a bit anxious, but more excited than anything. I turn off the shower, and walk out to the bathroom, and wipe the mirror. I look at my reflection, and take a breath to calm myself. I decided on simple jeans and a tee shirt. I take out my phone, and send Nina a quick message asking if she is ready yet. I got a swift response of her being almost done. I decided to head to her room to pick her up.
I waited a few minutes before knocking on her door. She opened on the third knock, and I couldn’t contain my amazement. She made such a simple outfit look amazing. She chose skinny jeans that showed off her curves with a simple v-neck tee-shirt. She wore her hair in her signature pony, and didn’t bother with makeup. She was effortlessly beautiful, and it was breathtaking. I stood there stunned into silence simply taking in her beauty when I noticed she started getting uncomfortable. Snapping out of my daze I cleared my throat.
“Ahem, you-you look beautiful.” I stumbled on my words a bit as I tried to compliment her and voice my thoughts. I see her blush as she looks down, and before I stop myself I’m lifting her eyes to meet mine. “Don’t hide, not from me,” I tell her gently as I can’t help but pull her into a slow gentle kiss. She responds just as gently, and we lose ourselves until we hear a throat clear behind us, and a giggle. We jump apart to see Derek standing with his arms crossed, and Grey is now doubled over with laughter. I’m not certain if he is laughing at us, or Derek who is looking at us both like a disappointed father. I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. Nina clears her throat next to me, squaring her shoulders in defiance.
“So, should we head down?” She questions Derek raising an eyebrow at him. Derek relaxes his shoulders, and breathes out as if to relax, as he nods his head. We all turn to head to the party, and thankfully get out of this uncomfortable situation. “You two take the teenage party first, and we will take the adult first, but that means y’all won’t be able to drink too much the first go around. Is that okay with y’all?” Nina finishes as she and Grey both turn to look at Derek. Who shrugs, and holds his hands up in mock surrender.
“I’ll be fine guys, I can handle it.” He urges as he begins to usher everyone in the elevator. Once we are in the elevator I see Nina prepare herself like always, and both the boys turn to me. “Stick with her, and just follow her lead, and whatever you do DON’T leave her alone, EVER, got it?” Derek orders. Not in his beta voice or anything, just as a concerned friend. Which in a way made it all the more imperative.
“I got it. I won’t leave her side.” I reply, squaring my shoulders in determination. We step out of the elevator to the backdoor. When we exit Derek and Grey head to the right of the pack house, while Nina heads left. I have no idea where I am headed, so I just follow Nina. We end up in the smaller training field. Inside there is music blaring with tables and chairs lining the wall. As we approach from the outside I see a large fire with chairs around it, and a bunch of people standing around it drinking beers of all kinds. I watch Nina approach the circle, and notice how stiff she is, even though she looks normal it is a very subtle shift in her attitude. Everyone greets her with respect, and seems to be truly happy for us both. I am still nervous about everyone knowing about us, but I am relieved I don’t have to hide my feelings from Nina anymore. I let out a sigh of relief at the thought, and look back to the crowd thanking them all for their kind words. Together Nina and I move inside to greet the people there. They all seem to be dancing, and having a good time, but when we walk in they all stop. Even the music stops playing as everyone turns to bow to us. They all greet us, and congratulate us, before resuming the music and dancing. Nina makes a few rounds to speak to some individually before we leave to go to the other party.

At the teenage party, the setting is similar to the adults but less calm. It is in the woods in a small clearing in the opposite direction of the adults. I notice Nina gets even more stiff than she was before, and I begin to worry. Suddenly a girl runs up, and grabs Nina by the arm. I didn’t even have a chance to see her face before they disappeared into the crowd. I tried to follow them, but she was too quick, and it was too crowded in the little clearing. I continued to search while getting increasingly worried. I had promised to keep her safe tonight, and not leave her side, but I let her get taken. Just when things couldn’t get worse I ran into Grey who swiftly realized Nina was not with me. His bright smiling face suddenly turned very serious.
“Where is Nina?” He asked in a hard tone. Fearing something might happen to her I quickly tell him hoping he can help me find her.
“When we got here some girl ran up and dragged her away, I tried to catch them, but she was too fast! I have been looking for them since.” I see his eyes flash black, and moments later Derek is next to him holding his hand. “Please help me find her, I’m really worried!” I plead with the two wolves who look like they could rip my head off. I see Derek’s jaw clench before he speaks.
“There is no need. How long ago was this?” Confused, and a little annoyed at how calm he seemed, I tell him.
“Like ten to fifteen minutes ago, why?” Derek gives Grey a side glance before sighing.
“Go to the pond, it is her hiding place.” That was all he said before they both turned around and walked away. Without knowing what else to do I headed off in the direction of the pond. I ran out of worry, and fear unsure of what exactly was going on. As the trees blur past my vision I replay my original conversation with the boys about how they said not to let her out of my sight. Such a simple task, and even that I failed to do. “Your father was right, you will always fail no matter how hard you try. She is too good for you, and you will never be good enough.” The intrusive thoughts penetrate my every being, and I stop just short of the clearing. Panting I debate whether or not I should turn around, but my worry for her pushes me forward. “I have to at least make sure she is okay.” I cross the clearing to see her tiny figure curled up at the edge of the pond. I approach slowly not wanting to disturb such a peaceful scene. I sit quietly next to her, but she doesn’t even acknowledge me. She just stares into the black pool reflecting all the stars of the night sky. I notice her breathing is uneven though, and look closer. Silent tears stain her cheeks as she sits there, and cries in silence. My heart breaks as I watch her try to hide everything behind her mask, but the tears break through. Unsure of what to do, but needing to do something I wrap my arm around her back, place the other one under her knees, shift her into my lap, and simply hold her. She flinched and tensed up at my touch initially, but relaxed after a second. My heart breaks more as I hold her in my arms as she cries.
I’m unsure of how long we stay like that, but I slowly feel her calm down. After a few moments of her not crying I shift her so I can see her face. Her eyes are all puffy, and her cheeks are stained with tears, so I gently use my thumb to wipe the tears away. When she blinks up at me with those big green eyes I can’t help it, and I lean down to kiss her gently. My right hand rested on her face, gently tilting her face up to me. I hear her gasp and feel her body tense up before she melts into the kiss. Sparks explode across my entire body. I had never felt something so wonderful as having her in my arms like this. I deepen the kiss, and she leans into me raising her hand to my cheek, slowly moving her arms around my neck, and hugging me closer. She shifts in my lap to get closer, and I groan at the friction. My sudden noise startled her, and she broke away from the kiss. I cleared my throat suddenly feeling embarrassed, but she just looked at me with now flushed cheeks and gave me a quick peck on the lips before standing up.
“Thank you.” was all she said as she held her hand out for me to take, so we could head back to the house together. It was enough for me. I smile and take her hand. When I stand up I pull her in for another deep, but quick kiss that makes her freeze up.
“Always.”