SIGHT OF THE MONSTER

Wilona's P.O.V

Damon rushes from the kitchen with his knife in his hands as he looks around wildly, only to freeze when he catches sight of the monster.

"You can't be serious." He says as he sags, tucking his knife away as he looks at me and then back at the black ball. "Don't tell me you're scared of Blaze."

"Blaze?" I question looking at the thing, trying to figure out what it was, but I couldn't for the life of me. "W-What the fuck is that?" I stutter out as it goes straight to Damon's legs. It was definitely not a dog, no dog moved like that.

"A bunny." He answers, leaning down to pick it up. "How do you not know what a bunny looks like?"

I relax instantly, dropping my head against my knees as relief cradles me. My heart slows itself alongside my ragging breathing and soon I feel myself blushing yet again with embarrassment. I peek my eyes over my knees to look towards Damon who was standing in the same space with the bunny, with... Blaze.

I could see now that it was clearly a bunny, the two horns I'd seen now believably ears that stood tall and the scary movements, hopping.

"You can't keep going banshee on me." He says as he puts the bunny back down. "I almost attacked my own fucking bunny."

I watch him as he walks back to the kitchen, my head tilting with confusion as I try to match the tall, muscular guy with a bunny. I would've never guessed he had a bunny as a pet and that he named it Blaze.

"You don't look like a... bunny type of person," I say carefully and he stops his movements to look at me.

He doesn't reply immediately and worry fills me that I'd overstepped or offended him in some way. People these days were sensitive about every little thing, he may try and sue me for 'assuming his pet preference' or some nonsense.

"You don't look like a rottweiler person." He replies eventually and I hum slightly in acknowledgment.

We stare at one another for a long time, yet it didn't feel awkward in any form. It felt like we were trying to figure one another out but didn't have enough pieces of the other to. It bothered and scared me that I wanted them.

I wanted more pieces to him.....

****

Damon's P.O.V

Patience.

Patience was something I'd always lacked when dealing with humans, well really any other living thing which wasn't my family or Blaze. It was stupid and pissed me off when my talons usually got the point across much faster. To be suddenly practicing it, at such an extreme level, was fucking hard.

I was quickly learning that patience was not a virtue I possessed and trying to practice it with Will was driving me absolutely crazy. I look across at my mate who was sitting innocently by the table, looking out the window with a longing gaze.

She had absolutely no clue what hell I was going through.

For one, I had to refrain from grilling her about what happened last night, about what led to her being in the state I'd found her in.

She was so damn jumpy that I knew even if I hinted at it, she'd bolt. She'd probably run faster if I tried asking about the crying, the walls weren't necessarily thin so it'd just set off alarm bells.

Then there was the no-touching thing, it shouldn't have pissed me off as much as it did. But fuck it bothered me to not be able to even brush my skin 'accidentally' against her own.

So I just had to be patient. It went against every bone in my body to stay a safe distance from her while act as if nothing happened when shit fucking happened.

It was straight-up torture.

Somehow, not being able to just know what happened hurt me more than that one fight I had with me against twenty rogues. And that fucking torture went hand in hand with the confusion which spread through me at being mated to a human. Just the thought of it made me cringe uncomfortably.

I look back at her with another frown, somehow expecting for her to magically became werewolf. Yet my heart still thumped at the sight of her, a stream of electricity rocketing through me as my eyes study her. She seriously was gorgeous, that much was undeniable. I knew it wasn't just her being my mate, that helped yeah, but she was indisputably beautiful.

I pull my eyes away once more, gritting my teeth to bite back a groan as my mind swirled with confusion. It made my skin crawl to think of her in an intimate way, yet my instincts urged me to.

It was a big blend of different emotions that left behind a shitstorm.

Just give it time Damon - Theo whispers supportively. Give yourself some time and let things work themselves out naturally. You'll adjust, trust me. Soon enough it won't matter to you in the slightest.

I'm having a hard time believing that - I reply as I sneak another glance at Wilona, she was too zoned out to even ask about the food.

I know but if it helps, you're handling this very well - Theo says eagerly and I can't help but smile a little at his joy.

And you? - I ask, checking in on him.

Oh, I'm fine. I'm just happy for you - He answers, his voice testifying in favor of his words. Now go before je notices you're doing nothing.

With that Theo fades away leaving me feeling a little better but with worries that still surfaced for.

Theo had made it abundantly clear to me the moment we'd met that he believed himself to be 'chaste'.

He did not want to experience or even try anything sexual in life and when I'd asked him about a mate, he'd simply said that there were other ways to show someone your love.

I'd always brushed it off, thinking that all that bullshit would go out the window the moment he met his other half. But now, suddenly, it made a whole lot more sense seeing as Wilona was a human and he didn't necessarily have his own other half.

But would Theo really be okay?

"How long does it take to make eggs?" Will asks suddenly drawing my attention back to her. I find her looking towards me with clear suspicion, her leg perched on a pillow on a small stool I'd placed there for her.

"I didn't make only eggs," I reply as I look down at the plates of pancakes, bacon and finally eggs. I make my way around the counter and towards her. "I made pancakes and bacon too." She follows my every move as if expecting me to throw the plate at her at any moment. I set them down gently just to prove her thoughts wrong if those even were her thoughts, for all I knew she was thinking about ketchup.

"Looks good." She says giving me a small smile which makes my heart squeeze itself.

Every time she smiled it made me feel just a little bit lighter inside, it was like a light shining into the darkness I'd been living in ever since I left home. I force myself not to stare and to go back for the cutlery.

"Water or orange juice?" I ask as I open the fridge.

"Water." She answers making me frown.

"What kind of person chooses water over juice?" I ask, unable to stop myself from voicing my thoughts.

"A person who likes water." She replies comically. "What kind of person offers up their opinion without being asked for it?"

"Well shit," I mumble in response making her laugh, while I stayed slightly stunned at her response.

Will was possibly the first person outside of my family who spoke to me without a single care. She didn't know anything about me and so she had no reason to fear anything. Not that she would have to if she did, I'd never lay a hand on her.

Unlike the humans in my school or the wolves in my pack, she wasn't afraid of me. She just thought I was Damon, her next-door neighbor who helped her out. It made a smile pull at my lips.

"Thank you." She says when I set the glass of water down.

She struggles to sit herself up while I slip into the chair opposite her, making my jaws lock at not being able to help. She manages and I quickly pick up my fork ready to dive in but freeze when she doesn't do the same, she just stares at the plate and the food in it.

"What? Do you want to say a prayer or some shit?" I ask, only to bite my tongue at my aggressive tone. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning and hunger made me cranky if not more prone to violence.