11. Kai Labrosky

He felt her the very moment he stepped out of the car, the wave of her scent, surrounding him, and messing up the pace of his heart as he fought to take control over his emotions. He tried to calm his devil, fighting to stop his body from moving to where he knew she stood. He knew if he saw her, he wouldn't be able to control himself.

So, he frowned, clenched his jaw, and blocked out all thoughts as his eyes found Brody Huffin's parents.

He wished he felt guilty for killing their only son, but he didn't.

Everyone knew that they had to stay away from the Bane woods. Though, despite how long the unspoken has been in place, no one could come up with a solid reason why. For most people, it is what it is, and they didn't question it.

The humans were meant to be aware of what lay in the woods at the dead of night, but they weren't meant to go see for themselves, they were meant to partially believe and hang on to that fear.

But that Brody kid just had to cross the line that night.

Ignorance, sometimes could kill a whole lot of people than aging, sickness or random accidents.

Brody was ignorant, and he knew that, due to the fact that Mikaela had tried to talk him out of continuing their late-night rendezvous at the Bane woods.

But this was part of tradition, he had to take care of the parents whose child had fallen.

He could feel his devil scratch at his walls.

Kai had never been so confused in his entire life. With Cassandra being almost impossible to shrug off, and the ache he felt from being so far away from his soulmate, His heart was stretched in the most unbearable way.

Which way would he follow? Naturally, what he was supposed to have done was put an end to his relationship with Cassandra, and explain to Elfrida why she felt so connected to him.

He couldn't deny the fact that he was scared, scared of what her reaction to the truth would be.

Would she take the next bus out of Westbane? Surely, he couldn't let her leave, and he as well couldn't stomach the thought of taking her to the Bane woods against her will, she had to accept this... accept him.

What could he possibly do?

Get to know her, work on their connection by making it stronger, and then tell her the truth?

What human would want to be in a relationship with a monster? Especially a human as beautiful as she was? This was harder than he thought it would be.

Having a soulmate wasn't on his bucket list this year, nor in his new year's resolutions, and not even considered when choosing his birthday wishes, and he wasn't prepared.

He wasn't prepared for her rejection. The pain it'll cause him to know she was in pain because she rejected him.

Why did things have to be so complicated?

Focusing on blocking off the thoughts, he made his way over to the Huffins.

Mrs. Huffins was the first one to see him. "Oh, Mr. Labrosky. Thank you for coming." She said, her voice thick with tears.

He opened his arms wide as she accepted the hug.

He channeled his strength, laying his hand on her back as he spoke. "Brody is in a better place, and he's frowning at you right now... you know he wouldn't want you to cry, yet, you're doing just that."

"It's just so painful, he's my only son."

"I understand, Stop crying, he's watching. And he's telling you that he's perfectly fine and happy."

Immediately she stiffened.

"You see him, don't you?"

"Y-yes, I see him." She whispered back, her voice no longer teary, but filled with adoration.

Kai broke away from the hug, looking straight down into her eyes. "You're gonna be just fine, Mrs. Huffins."

She nodded with a smile. "Yes, I'm going to be just fine."

"Good."

"Thank you, so much. You being here means a lot to this family."

"There's no thanks needed, Mrs. Huffins. This is Westbane, we're all each other's anchor. Should you need anything, you can come find me at the Banian Corner, I will try my best to see to it."

"Of course." She smiled up at him, before she joined her husband, whom He was sure Cassandra was done with.

"Kai is familiar with everyone,"

His ear picked up the voice of his brother, his attention shifting from everyone else as he listened on to their conversation.

"Sometimes he can be too nice, and too everywhere, it's irritating to watch."

Kai fought the urge to snort, anyone could have seen that the idiot didn't mean it.

"How so?" He heard Elfrida ask.

He could feel her curiosity all the way from the distance that laid between them.

"Sometimes people read into his actions too much, due to the fact that he's too nice to everyone. He raises false hopes and—I don't know, some of the stuff he does can be very misleading."

Kai furrowed his brows, knowing Rhett was doing all of this to get a reaction out of her, and him.

Rhett was all for coming clean to Elfrida about the truth of the town, telling her she was the queen to the supernatural creatures that dwelled at the other side of Westbane.

Being his Beta, his brother, and his second in command, Kai knew Rhett had his best interest in heart. But he didn't understand the worry that taunted him every day he had to wake up to the fact that his mate was a human who knew absolutely nothing about their world, and might flee, just by the mere mention of it.

"There was this girl, Anita..."

Kai sighed, mind linking to his Beta.

'Pulling the big guns, are we?'

'Anything to speed up this process, Princess.' He replied.

Kai shook his head, knowing he would have to intervene in their conversation soon.

"He would do all sorts of nice stuff for her... buy her flowers, chocolates in a box, presents and even drive her anywhere she wanted to go. Anita thought he had feelings for her, until she realized he was the same way to everyone else... She was crushed beyond anyone's expectations, she even sold her house and moved out of Westbane."

"Whoa..."

"Yeah, it's crazy how his charms or whatever, seems to—"

"Hey." Cassandra stopped his eavesdropping.

"Hey."

"Should we start heading back?" She asked.

He looked over at her. "You can head back if you want to, I have something to take care of."

Her jaw tightened. "The new deputy?"

He sighed. "Cassie, we talked about this."

"You promised you didn't—"

"I don't want to keep talking about this, Cassandra, it's becoming repetitive. I hate repetitive things more than anything, because it's frustrating, and I hate being frustrated. So, please, head home without me, and I'll see you later."

"Fine. Call me, at least." She said.

"I will."

Her eyes moved over to where Elfrida stood talking to Rhett, before they fell back to him, and then she began walking away from the funeral ground, back to the car.

He knew he had to do something about Cassandra, and he knew it wouldn't be as easy as he kept thinking it, but it had to be done.

In the meantime, he was going to listen to his heart, and seek the only person he ached for.

His soulmate.

It still felt so foreign for him, even when he thought of it. She was a beauty, and was made just for him.

He had spent all his life, all his life trying to find that one thing that completed him, he knew, he could feel it in his bones each time one of his packmates found their other half, he could feel it that there was an incompleteness within him, but he had never paid much attention to it.

He didn't think that the angels would favor him, as they had favored his people.

But seeing Elfrida in those woods that night, he finally felt the space that had been in him his whole life, fill up.

He wouldn't let anyone destroy that, not even himself.

Elfrida

What really is wrong with me?

It wasn't as if I hadn't been close to Rhett a few moments ago, why did my body react this way whenever Kai was near? This is insane, and so damn embarrassing.

We had walked quite a long distance from the cemetery, and so far, he looked like he was enjoying the silence, just walking and looking around as if making sure everything was in its place.

Did he do the same with Anita? Is this him trying to work his charm on me? Because If I had to admit, it was really working, I was falling harder than I had ever fallen for anyone in my entire life.

"Were you born here? In Westbane?" I couldn't help but ask. The fact that I wanted to know more about him, still shocked me till this day. I wasn't usually one to get eager, or to ask someone about their background history. 

He looked over at me, dark eyes showing softness. "Yes."

"So, you've lived in Westbane all your life?"

"I have. It's a beautiful town, it's hard to imagine living anywhere else."

I nodded. "I can understand that."

"Where were you born?" He asked, sounding almost as curious as I was.

"Monaco. It's a beautiful place... never got to see much of it since I left there when I was 5."

"Why did you leave?"

"I had my first family in Iowa."

At this, he furrowed his brows, he was clearly confused.

"I was raised in an orphanage." I said. "People there told me I was left in front of a cemetery."

His brows furrowed in concern. "When you were just a baby?"

I nodded. "They told me on my fifth birthday."

I briefly wondered why I was telling this to him, I never told anyone, ever.

"You said, your first family. Were there others?"

"Oh yes, they were. My first family didn't want me anymore after a month. Chris had lost his job, and his wife had been kicked out from her job as cheer coach in some community college. They said they couldn't take care of me anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said.

I chuckled. "Oh, please... It happened years ago. The other families too—they ended up getting into bad situations weeks after getting me. I personally think it's the fact that I was found in front of a cemetery."

"You think you're responsible for these things?" He asked, his attention fully on me.

"I know I am, Kai. I mean these things don't stop happening... wherever I go, it's just the same thing. I used to think I was cursed or something." I chuckled. "I later ended up in some foster care in New York city. When I turned 18, I joined the army."

At this, his eyes widened. "You joined the army?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I did."

"Why did you leave?"

"I was advised to... after I lost my whole team on my first mission."

At this, he whistled, clearly shocked. "Now I see the reason why you would think you're cursed."

I laughed at that. "Westbane used to be a peaceful town... until yesterday... with Brody Huffins death, I can't help but think I'm responsible for it in some sort of way—"

He stopped, pulling me to face him. "Oh no, I assure you, you're not responsible for that."

"Am I not?"

"Of course, you're not, Elfie. Brody got killed by some rogue animal, he didn't listen to the warning, he went to the Bane woods, and he died. That's not on you."

I looked up at him, his eyes so beautiful they rendered me speechless. How could someone look so good? It's impossible.

So impossible that it made my heart skip several beats... I felt my cheek grow warm as my gaze slipped down to his perfectly shaped lips.

If I hadn't been so lost in looking at him, I would have registered the fact that he was also lost, looking at me.

I felt his hand cover mine at my side. "I think, you coming to Westbane, is the very thing this town needed." He said, voice so calm and soothing as electric-like sparks shot through my nerves from where he touched me.

His skin felt so warm against mine, and just like clockwork, my stomach began doing flips upon flips.

His other hand came to stroke my cheek softly, and I fought the urge to close my eyes at how amazing his touch felt.

His gaze was lost on me. "Poor thing, you've been through so much." He said. "If there was a way, I could take those bad memories and replace them with sweet, nice things..." He added.

"That sounds impossible."

"For me, it's not so far-fetched."

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. "The only possible thing I can think of is making new memories... that's one reason why I moved here. I want to get away from everything. I just want to start afresh. To make new friends... start a family."

"Start a family?"

"Yes."

"I've also been looking to start one myself."

I raised my brows. "You have?"

"Hm." He nodded. "I just couldn't find the right person... but—"

"But?"

He smiled. "I stopped searching."

I furrowed my brows. "When?"

"Well, I think it was the time a certain redhead pointed a gun between my eyes."

A grin broke out on my lips. "This is all so weird and impossible." I said, breaking away from his hold, his charm... as if I could.

"What is?" he asked.

"This? You? I mean—I never am this overwhelmed by the presence of anyone, and I'm ashamed to admit but, there's something about you, Kai. I just can't help but- think of you."

A small smirk kicked up at the side of his lips. "Never," He cupped the side of my face. "Never, feel ashamed of your feelings. They are the real you." He said, alluring eyes drawing me further into him... I'd lost count of the amount of times my gaze fell to his lips.

"Besides, I haven't been able to get you out of my head either. When I close my eyes, you're all I see... and to be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way."

Okay, that's it, Elfrida! You're leading this race... you're taking the first stand.

"I know this might seem too forward, but do you want to go back to my place? Like right now?"

His eyes darkened, his smirk becoming sinister. I'd be worried if I didn't feel like I was completely safe with him.

"I'd be a fool to object to that."