Ciao

It was 8 in the morning when Ender and Kai set out towards the woods to drop the latter off. It had barely been two days since he got to know Kai yet Ender had grown fond of him. He had woken up on the couch, flustered, cause it seemed like he had slept on Kai's lap all night. The man had a hand around him, securing him from falling off and Ender wiggled out of his grasp only to run to his room upstairs with his cheeks dusted pink.

"You can drop me off at borders, I can find my way back"

"I am not leaving you in the middle of the jungle to navigate back home alone when we just saved you from a possible death a few days ago," Ender declared in a tone that meant no arguments. He pulled up at a drive-through outlet, it was going to be a three-hour-long drive, possibly more if the holler was located far away.

"Please Ender, I know these woods inside out, it will be easier to go by foot, I know the trails that will take me straight to my tribe. Drop me off near the woods" Kai turned toward him with pleading eyes, "I don't want you traveling back alone"

Ender shook his head, handing him a bottle of chocolate milk that the latter seemed to love. Jake and Mia were supposed to come with him but they were sleeping and he didn't wish to wake them up. He was about to drive back onto the main street when someone jumped in front of the car and Ender groaned when the guy removed his helmet. It was Max.

"Ender, I'm sorry for my behavior last night, forget it as a drunken mistake, please" Max begged, holding his arm through the open window.

"We need to talk, Max. But later" Ender shrugged out of his grasp

"Where are you going with him?" Max asked, now glaring at Kai who scowled back at him "Don't tell me you're dropping him off alone?"

And before Ender could say anything, Max hopped in the backseat, "I'm coming with you"

"No you're not, please get out, Max"

But he just crossed his arms on his chest, his decision made, "No matter how much you despise me, I'm not letting you venture into the woods alone, Endy. Never thought you'd be so reckless"

Before he could argue, Kai spoke in his favor, surprising Ender because it was clear that the latter didn't like Max much.

"He's right, although I assure you nothing will happen to you, it's safe to have someone with you"

And Ender had to give up, he turned up the music when Max began apologizing to him again, he was in no mood to talk with the guy. He didn't understand why his friends, including Jake, urged him to give Max a chance. The man was clingy, he always made Ender feel uncomfortable and since the beginning, his intentions had been very clear. That sly kid had somehow managed to win over his friends so he could hang out with their group more often. He'd rather spend time with Kai over Max. Kai may have this rough look about him that made him look intimidating but in just a span of two days, Ender had realized he was a caring person and more importantly, was honest.

"I'm familiar with this area, you drop me off now" Kai insisted when the road to the woods began. He was leaning out of the window, nose scrunching as if he was sniffing the air while Ender tried to hold back his laugh.

"Not happening." Ender said in a firm tone, "Besides, I want to see the hollers and if your tribe is nearby, then I wish to see it as well if that's okay with you."

"What's there to see? A bunch of foolish old people living off the grid and-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion Max," Ender glared at him through the mirror, "neither did I ask you to accompany us. If you don't like something, keep your mouth shut instead of criticizing"

"There isn't much to see really," Kai spoke, a little hesitant, "the hollers are almost deserted except for a few families and our settlement is miles away from the place. But since you insist on coming, I want you to meet someone"

Ender raised his brows at that and Kai gave him an awkward smile.

"Amelia," He says, "She is like a maternal figure for me"

Ender remembered him mentioning that his family had died, "Is she like an adoptive mother of yours?"

"No, my parents are" He paused as if struggling to find the right word, "They are like the leaders of our tribe and Amelia is a friend of theirs. But me and-" another long pause, then he took a deep breath before continuing, "My best friend Lara and I, we used to spend most of our time at her place."

There it was again, the sadness, he had the same expression when he mentioned that name the last time. And it was only now that Ender realized how Kai stalled whenever the topic of his life came up. He tended to give clipped answers whenever Ender would ask anything about his life back in the woods and Ender wasn't the type to pry too much into someone's business.

"Will we be able to keep in touch later? Do you have a phone?" Ender asked after a while and heard Max snicker in the back.

"Amelia has one, I'll have to ask her"

"Wow," Max huffed, "It took me a week of following you around just to get your number yet here, you ask this moron after getting to know him for 2 days?"

This guy was truly getting on his nerves. Ender looked at him through the mirror, "You basically answered your own question, you followed me around, annoyed me till I gave you my number out of pure frustration" and that shut him up for good.

It was well past noon, they were deep in the woods with Kai navigating them effortlessly, and they finally reached the holler he was talking about.

"Do people actually live here?" Max asked

Ender drove slow, the road was more like a rough trail and the houses were worn out. They saw a few people sitting on the front porch looking at them with curiosity. Kai guided them to the last house in the area, it was bigger than the rest of them and seemed well maintained. There was a car parked nearby, Ender parked next to it and before he could even switch off the engine, Kai was out and running towards the door.

"I'll keep the keys here, sit in the car if you wanna," he said to Max before hopping out on the neat gravel path

A young woman with long brown curls opened the door and yelped in surprise, pulling Kai into a hug.

"Where were you? Alpha had the whole pack searching for you" panic evident in her voice as she fussed over Kai, checking if he was okay. "They found the rogues you hmph" Kai put a hand on her mouth before she could continue.

"Before we talk about that," Kai turned around, "I want you to meet Ender. He and his friends found me and took care of me"

Ender waved his hand at her, watching how her lovely eyes went wide as she looked him up and down. Her lips moved around silent words as if she was too shocked about something, which in turn made Ender feel more awkward. He looked between her and Kai, the latter subtly squeezed her hand and she regained her composure. He had overheard their conversation before and now this gesture made it look like they were trying to hide something from him.

With small, uncertain steps, she came to stand in front of Ender, she was almost as tall as him if people considered 5'7 as 'tall'

"Hey," she extended her hand rather awkwardly, "I'm Amelia. Sorry for all the trouble you might have faced because of him" she pointed at Kai who rolled his eyes, "He is very stubborn"

Ender chuckled as he shook her hand, "Oh no, he was very good actually. The only trouble we had was having to trek while carrying his heavy ass"

Amelia tittered while Kai groaned, "You weak punks need to build some muscle"

"Why don't you come in? We can sit and have some snacks" Amelia smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes, unlike the warm one she gave to Kai and Ender felt as if she was just being formal.

"Uh I would have but I kinda need to get back early." he took a step back, scratching the back of his head. "But before I leave," he turned to Kai, "So, can I get the number? I wish to stay in touch if possible"

Kai looked at Amelia before responding, "You can take the details from her." He then reached out to hold Ender's hand, tugging him towards the house, "I'd like it very much if you could stay for a while. You took such good care of me, let me thank you properly"

His expression softened as he looked at Ender with pleading eyes, and how was he supposed to deny. Ender nodded before pointing back at the car, "Let me just inform him once"

"Bring him in, if he wants to that is" Kai then spun around and pulled Amelia inside in a haste.

"What are you doing?" Amelia hissed once they were inside the house, out of earshot. "Did those rogues bite off your brains? Why the hell did you bring a human here?"

"Amelia" Kai held her shoulders to stop her from pacing, "He's my mate"

She let out a nervous giggle "This is not the time to joke around Kai"

"Do I look like I'm joking? I feel the pull Amelia" Kai cried out, falling to his knees clutching his long silvery mane, "It's like he holds the threads of my being in his hands, my emotions are a mess with him around and I've never felt this...this pull so strongly before, not even with Lara."

The color drained from Amelia's face, "It can't be. No. A human and a wolf, it's preposterous."

"What do I do Amelia? What do I do-" Kai whined.