Stormy Grey

I'm floating in a void, numb and unreachable. The darkness that surrounds me is filled with a hollowness I cannot name or identify. A feeling of loss sings in my veins like poison, ill and vengeful, and my heart beats in a frenzy, thumping in a fashion far too loud to be normal. The darkness inside me feels heavy as if it's weighing me down or is it my lungs losing air?

I try to make sense of my surroundings, of what is happening but I'm just so confused. It's like my heart has been torn and turned inside out. And I feel lost. My breathing picks up suddenly, too panicked to control in my confused state and I'm left hyperventilating, clutching at my heart in the horrifying darkness as I cry, sob in pain and confusion, and loss of something I don't understand.

But suddenly, there's light. Bright and blinding. I close my eyes as it envelopes me, my body thrumming like a live wire. It feels like I'm being electrocuted. And then there are hands holding my face, the sparks they send into my skin making me gasp. And I realize that the reason behind me feeling so alive is their touch. It grounds me and makes my heart want to beat out of my chest altogether. My head is fuzzy like I've had too much alcohol and it thrums with a headache but I force myself to look up, needing to look and identify the owner of those hands.

I blink my eyes rapidly to focus on the person holding me in his arms and once my vision clears, the breath is knocked out of me. There, amidst the blinding light is a shadow, tall and strong that holds me in his arms with certain desperation that has me gasping. But that's not what makes my heart race wildly. It's those eyes...

Stormy grey pools of mercury blink down at me in affection, a look of astonishment passing them before they fill with pain. Thick lashes frames irises of cobalt blue mixing with a stark grey, so captivating; it makes me stop breathing for a second. There's a ring of red circling around his pupils, so distinct and clear like the reflection of an eclipse in the vast expense of the sea. I feel anchored even though the loss in my veins still sings, the loss of something far too meaningful. But I hold on to the security I feel under that gaze, trying to calm my breathing when I realize I'm still hyperventilating. But just when I start to get a grasp on my surroundings, a sound; shrill and piercing ring in my ears almost deafens me...

I jolt upright from the troubling yet somehow reassuring dream to the sound of my alarm going off and my heart beating in a mournful fashion. I rub at my chest when I feel my wolf whine inside me, a series of whimpers leaving my mouth under the influence of my wolf. She's restless inside me, chanting a mantra of mate, mate, mate in longing and it's enough to scare the living daylights out of me.

How can a she-wolf, dead to the underworld have a mate?

I run my fingers through my hair, tugging at the roots as if that would help settle the turmoil my dream has caused within me. Of course, it does nothing but annoys my wolf further and now she's growling in my head, calling me a coward for not searching for our mate.

Great start of the week, alright.

Since I can't seem to find success subduing my wolf, I change paths and start comforting her. Trying to make her understand that if our mate wants to find us, they can find us themselves. She snorts at my ill attempt at comfort but she settles nonetheless, huffing and puffing about how I'm stupid to believe she trusts my badly put-together words but she still calms. Allowing me a little reprieve from her troubling thoughts and I'm finally able to breathe properly now.

I rub my head worriedly when I think about what that dream could mean, most importantly "who" those stormy greys may belong to. If it's my mate like the way my wolf believes then I wouldn't have any choice but to go back to the underworld with them and how would I explain my death then? How would I explain the body that laid in place of mine when two coffins were pushed into the Sea of Wolves to meet the Moon Goddess? How will I get out of treason alive?

Although the possibility of an unlucky she-wolf like me having a mate fills me with dread, I can't deny the little bubble of hope, I feel nurtured within at the notion of finally having someone for myself, mine alone, one that wouldn't leave me, one that would love me for me.

Who wouldn't try to murder me...

And that part scares me because I cannot afford to grow attached to the idea only to come up disappointed when I find I have no mate and that dream was only a product of my wishful mind which longs to belong in a world that isn't for us.

After all, packless wolves go feral, Belle.

Sighing, I put a stop to my thoughts when I notice the time. All this depression would have to wait until I'm back home after taking my classes and doing my shift at the hotel today. I fly out of bed with the motivation of having tea if I could get ready in fifteen minutes and rush to the bathroom. In exactly thirteen minutes, I showered and blow-dried my hair. On a mission to pick out an outfit that won't be sweats, I make my way to my walk-in closet. The little space is too loaded and small to take a step inside but I call it a walk-in closet just for aesthetics. Three minutes and lots of digging later, I hold the outfit of the day in my hands. A pretty red velvet dress with my black ankle boots.

Scrambling when I notice the time, I hastily put them on before standing in front of my mirror, brushing through my hair one last time so the raven locks are brushing against the small of my back like a waterfall before loading my lashes with mascara to make the hazel in my eyes pop. Giving a once over to myself in the full-length mirror, I study the way the dress hugs my curves and my skin glows thanks to my recent heat. I deem myself presentable before grabbing my coat and book bag and beeline to the door, skipping tea because I didn't earn it.

*

The weather is pretty when I make it out of the dance studio, giving me an instant boost from the slump I got into when my contemporary dance teacher scolded me in the morning for being late to his class. It's surprisingly sunny today, little clouds floating lonely in the sky and a gentle breeze blowing, making my hair fly. There's a skip in my step, the sadness from early morning leaving me completely now which I'm immensely thankful for.

So when I register a mouthwatering scent suddenly, it has me stopping for a beat, a little bit of dread fills me when my wolf starts wagging her tail. In my dumbstruck state, I don't realize I've lagged behind my group of friends that doesn't notice me amongst their chattering. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I try to regulate my breathing, taking deep lungfuls to calm myself but the effect is the opposite because now my lungs are full of the scent of the forest after it rains but with an undertone of something I cannot name.

It drives my wolf crazy-me crazy and I don't realize it when I start walking towards the scent. My nose pointed upwards as I follow the scent into the Department of Criminology.

I realize my wolf has taken control over my senses when I sneer at a short girl who runs into me, baring my teeth. The girl who looks like a freshman with the way she cowers under my gaze watches me frightfully before holding her laptop to her chest and running away, the string of apologies that leaves her lips to follow after her. I belatedly realize what might have scared the poor girl so much. My eyes must be glowing cerulean right now, courtesy of my wolf being called to the surface. I mentally facepalm before drawing the reigns from my wolf, fighting for control before she outs us to the Human World.

But she's adamant, going as far to physically scoff at my struggle for control before she jerks her head towards a hallway the scent is the strongest in and rushes towards it. I hopelessly try to hold her back, trying to gain back the reigns of my body. We must look fudging crazy running in hallways like this. Just as I round the corner, I'm able to click back into the forefront of my mind, pushing my wolf backward.

But just then, I collide with a chest so solid, that the impact has me falling backward in alarm. But before I can hit the ground, I'm encircled by strong hands. Holding me up and breaking my fall. My wolf goes completely silent, and so do I when I feel sparks fly across the skin of my arm that is grasped by the stranger to steady me. I gasp, clenching my eyes closed when my dream from this morning comes back to me.

Stormy greys with rings of red.

I hold my breath, gripping onto the shirt that covers the expanse of a strong, solid chest before I open my eyes and look up meekly. The sight in front of me knocks the remaining breath from my lungs, making me gasp.

I'm met with the same eyes I saw in my dream...

Stormy greys...