Chapter 19 - Smith

Zelena.

I headed up the stairs and back to Gunners room. I plopped myself on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Wow, how crazy was that. I thought back to the first day that I saw him, bumping into him in the hall. He made me feel so nervous even then. It makes sense now why I couldn't get him out of my head, why I felt so drawn to him. And in the hallway when he bandaged my hand, he is the first person that has ever made me feel safe. It's all so clear now, this weird crazy world that I've been plunged into, it's where I'm meant to be. With him. I sat up on the bed and decided to go and find him. I need to know if he feels the same way. I walked back downstairs and as I got to the door, Roe called out,

"Zelena, darling where are you off to?" she asked peering at me through the door of what looked like a small library.

"Just wanted a little fresh air" I smiled opening the front door,

"Okay, just don't leave the clearing"

"No problem". I walked through the door and pulled it closed behind me. I stood on the porch and checked out my surroundings. The deck I was on was huge. There was a big wooden porch swing to the left and some wicker chairs to the right. I walked over to the railing and looked out over the clearing. There was a big fire pit in the middle, surrounded by huge logs laying on the ground. A few small cabin-like houses were lined up on either side and more lining up behind them. How many people, or werewolves, live out here, I wonder. A few people were walking around the clearing. Two big men were chopping firewood at the tree line to the right and a group of men were sitting together under an open wooden hut. I was a little far away, but I swear one of the men in the hut looked exactly like Gunner, only older and with a beard. There was a smell of roasting meat wafting through the air, I lifted my nose and breathed it in. Smells good. I looked around the clearing, but I couldn't see Gunner, I went down the porch steps and headed toward the fire pit.

A strong surge of unease settled in my bones, and I could suddenly feel eyes on me from all directions. I turned my head and realized that the men sitting under the hut were all watching me. I heard whispers off to my left, I snapped my head and saw two women watching me and whispering to each other. They looked unsure, like they were sizing me up. I could feel the anxiety growing in me as I began to panic. I started walking faster heading to the back of the clearing, away from the scrutinizing eyes. The whispers grew louder in my head, but I couldn't make out the words. I started to jog towards the trees, wanting to escape the glaring eyes and inaudible whispers. As I picked up speed towards the edge of the clearing, I ran into someone, smashing my face into their body. The person grabbed the top of my arms and kept me from falling over. I looked up and saw that it was Smith, I felt a wave of relief wash over me, finally a familiar face. In a move still foreign to me and completely out of character, I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. His body tensed and he held his arms up not hugging me back. I let him go and stepped back, looking up to his face I realized, he is actually not that much taller than me, only by like a head.

"Well hello to you too" he smiled leaning back from me,

"Hi" I breathed smiling back at him,

"I'm glad to see you're up and about, Gunner mentioned that you were doing better"

"Gunner? Do you know where he is?" I looked around behind him, but there was no one else with him.

"He uh, he had to do something with Cole" he stuttered,

"He shouldn't be too much longer I reckon". Smith crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder, he was clearly very edgy. What have I missed?

"Is something wrong?" I asked,

"Nah nothing, don't fret it"

"Seriously Smith what's up?"

"Since when do you talk this much?" he scoffed,

"Don't do that, don't deflect. What's going on? Is it Gunner?" Feeling a little annoyed and anxious about his apparent mood change, I poked him hard in the chest. He turned his head from side to side, bouncing his foot. He stank of nervousness.

"Look you ahh... you can't grab people like that. Especially males". He was biting his lip and not looking me in the face. What does that mean, 'grabbing people' I didn't grab anyone.

"Huh?" I said screwing up my nose.

"Gunner, he'll be able to smell my scent on you now, and he'll be pissed" he whispered leaning down a bit.

"What, why?" I was so confused, why would Gunner be mad? I just hugged him, do werewolves not hug each other or something?

"You're his now, and if another man tries to claim you, he'll kill 'em. And it doesn't matter who either"

"Okay, whoa. And also, I wasn't trying to seduce you, it was just a hug. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just relieved to see a familiar face"

"Yeah, I know that, but he doesn't". I still didn't understand but I could see how worried he was. Whatever I guess, I'll just let it go.

"Okay sorry, I'll keep my distance" I said as I took another step back. He sighed, dropping his arms,

"I didn't mean it like that, we're still friends, just no touching" he smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. Friends, I smiled. I have friends.

"Okay" I grinned with a big toothy smile,

"What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked walking forward, away from the forests edge.

"I was looking for Gunner" I said as I walked beside him.

"Well Gunner's not here. But I am" he smiled with a little jump in his step.

"So you are"

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, what can we do?" I asked. He thought for a moment looking around the village, then he snapped his fingers and smiled jumping forward in front of me and walking backwards

"I've got it, follow me". He turned around and started jogging off to the left. I followed behind him. This was the most I've exercised since getting here. It felt good to run, to be outside and to feel the fresh air on my face. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, ahh freedom. We ran between two of the cabins and through some trees until we came to another small clearing. Smith slowed down and turned to look at me over his shoulder,

"We're here". He stepped to the side so I could see the full field.

"Wow" I gasped. It was beautiful. The field was covered in flowers, there were patches of pink, purple, and yellow. The smell of sweet wildflowers filled my nose. I walked forward into the field, brushing my hands along the flower bushes as I went. I turned to look at Smith. He was standing with his arms crossed watching me with a huge, satisfied smile on his face.

"This is amazing" I gleamed at him,

"Thought you might like it" he huffed proudly. I ran to the middle of the field and spun in circles, it was the most glorious place that I've ever seen and I never want to leave again.

"I love it here, I want to stay forever" I called out with a widespread smile. Smith laughed and walked slowly into the field towards me,

"That's what all the girls say" he chuckled. I snapped my neck and looked over at him. What did he just say?

"How many girls have you brought here?" I questioned. He chuckled again with a blush of his cheeks, and rubbed at the back of his neck,

"Three or four" he said, as his smile got bigger.

"And here I thought I was special" I faked scoffed and giggled. I sat down in a patch of yellow flowers, grabbed a large bunch and buried my face into the petals. The smell was so good, so fresh and wild. I laid back on the ground and looked up at the blue sky. This is what I imagine heaven would feel like. Smith walked over and laid down in the flowers a few meters away from me.

We laid there quietly, just looking at the sky, for what felt like hours. We talked a little about the other girls that Smith had brought out here and the trouble he had caused with them. He told me jokes and funny stories about Gunner when they were kids. I've never met someone like Smith. So laid back and unapologetically themself. It's refreshing. The sun was moving away, and I was starting to doze off when Smith jumped up with a sudden burst,

"We gotta go" he said quickly,

"Why?" I asked sitting up,

"Gunner's looking for you" he said waving his hand at me.

"How do you know that?" I started standing up slowly, hesitant to leave the beautiful field.

"He's flashing me". Wait they can flash with each other, why didn't I know this?

"You guys can do that?"

"Of course we can, now let's go" he said waving his arm again. I started to jog in the direction of the village. Smith was beside me but started inching in front. We ran through the trees and came out into the clearing, slowing to a walk. I smiled at Smith, and he nodded towards the fire pit. I looked over just as Gunner spun around. My heart exploded as I saw him, I felt an urgency to run to him, to be in his arms. I walked quickly towards him, not wanting to look desperate. He took a step forward, and in a blink, he was right there with me wrapping his arms around me and picking me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist locking my ankles together and squeezed my arms around his neck. He had his hands on my backside holding me up. He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and sniffed at my hair. His body tensed a little as he sniffed harder into my hair and around my neck. That's when he lifted his head and growled. His skin started to burn hot, and his heart was racing. He very slowly put me down and stepped around me as he continued to growl ferociously. I turned to see what he was growling at and saw Smith raising his hands and walking backwards, staring at Gunner with fear on his face. Gunner walked towards him leaning forward, growling and baring his teeth. I remembered what Smith said about me hugging him and his scent on me. A flash of heat waved over me, and I began to feel a deep rage running through my body. I jumped in front of Gunner and shouted,

"STOP NOW!"

Gunner glared at me and growled and tried to step around me. His growl enraged me as I felt the fire burn in my chest and the needles run up and down my arms. Without a thought I smacked him across the face. One huge hard slap, right on his cheek. I stood up on my toes to get close to his face and growled at him. I could feel the growl grumble through my body as it roared in the back of my throat. My first ever growl. Gunner stopped looking at Smith and stood up straight looking down at me. He was shocked. He blinked his eyes quickly as a smirk started to spread across his face.

"Did you just growl at me?" he snickered,

"Yes" I said strongly.

"Fuck you're sexy" he smiled picking me up and spinning me through the air. He put me down and pulled me into his chest hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry Smith, I didn't mean it" Gunner said with his cheek pressed to the top of my head. I could feel his body start to cool down, as did my own.

"All good, man" Smith sighed loudly. Cole and a few other men had gathered behind us watching on. Gunner then lifted me up, throwing my body over his shoulder, I squealed with shock and excitement.

"Come on you" he laughed smacking me on the ass,

"We've got business to discuss". He started walking towards the main house and I looked up as we passed the group of men. They were all smiling and laughing, grabbing Smith on the shoulder and shaking him, patting him on the back and ruffling his hair. He looked scared but relieved. Smith looked over at us and I lifted my hand and wiggled my fingers at him, he smiled at me and did the same.