C9 Chapter 9

Five minutes into the snowy path, Lily began to regret her life choices when she heard a long series of wolves' howls that made her shiver.

"What the hell was that?"

Rhye furrowed his brow, knowing exactly what the human had been asking as he adjusted their flashlight. His five guardians had been howling half a mile behind them. So he told them to stop.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those howls... those are fucking wolves, right? Jesus, I don't want to be eaten alive."

"They are not harmless, Lily, they are the guardians of this mountain."

"Guardian? Are you kidding me? That only happened in the fucking movie, and trust me, they aren't like Jacob, who had a great, amazing body and eyes to die for. I'm not going to risk being a fresh meal for those wolves."

Rhye wondered and asked his five guardians if they knew anything about the Jacob she was talking about and all of them didn't have any idea.

"Who is this Jacob?" Rhye halted on his walk and asked.

"What? You believe those wolves are harmless, yet you don't know who this Jacob I'm talking about?"

"No!"

"Seriously? Where have you been? On the fucking planet of apes? Who does not recognize Jacob? From Twilight?"

He shook his head.

"Edward and Bella?"

He shook again as he continued to walk, and Lily ran to his side, "Wow! You've been so busy in your whole life that you didn't even have time to watch that movie?"

"I'm busy running a pack, I mean a business, and being CEO-"

"Stop! I don't want to hear any boring CEO life from you. But when we are back to civilization, I'm going to let you watch it and you'll see why vampires are not supposed to fucking glitter in the fucking sunlight."

"Hmp, you believe in vampires and yet you are scared of wolves?"

"Seriously? You are ruining my moment here?"

His dark brow arched.

Then she added, "But... truth be told, why are you so confident on this mountain?" Lily asked.

"I am a mountain gentleman. The elders... I mean, my grandparents and family have a small manor... I mean a house here… maybe an hour from here... at a human pace."

"Hmp, so how many girls have you brought here on a freaking cold night?"

"None! Why do you ask?

"Oh really!? I’m sure you say that to every woman you bring here. According to the papers, there’s someone new every week. You think I don't know?" Did that come out as jealousy?

Rhye laughed, and it mocked her insecurity.

"So you get your information about me from the papers?" His expression was a surprise.

"Of course, when I discovered you weren't Sgt. Anderson, I-I w-well...I did a little research and found out that you are the most eligible bachelor in town. You are the playboy of the century, rich, famous, and well not nice. But the thing is, I didn't find out that you have a twin until I dug up Gabriel's computer."

"Hmp! They are wrong. That was old news."

"What you do in your private life is none of my business, of course, and I have no right to voice my opinion," she mumbled, trying to shake off the flame from his scowl.

He hooked her with his gaze. "You are seriously good at your job, Miss Walters. You've dug something even my men couldn't do."

"Well, that's my job. You have to take risks outside of your comfort zone if you want to really live," she added.

"You're the one to talk to. But not all of us appreciate putting our existences on the line for thrills. I have people to worry about."

Lily raised her brow.

Rhye thought, answering her silent question, maybe because he was losing his grip on the few tendrils of sanity he had left by being so near her?

Changing the subject, he started to walk again. "But you know, my so-called personal life was no longer a secret to the public, and even my philanthropic endeavors and personal voyages into the many mountains of this region had saved hundreds of animal lives, " he said, annoyed as revulsion parted his lips. "Besides, a life lived solely for work is barely worth the undertaking of breathing. How do you not die of boredom?"

Lily smirked, "Wow! Seriously? I might die thinking about not being able to poop properly on this mountain. But of course. We are different. You, with enough money to line up your bills and drape the world a hundred times, should talk about saving the forest and its creatures. At least I’ll live to work another day," she mumbled, blinking back tears. What was it about the truth of being poor spoken out loud that hurt so much? She was jobless, probably going to be homeless soon.

"You’re not getting away with the easy answer, Miss Walters."

"I was hurt, betrayed by someone I thought loved me, and I did it because-" she coughed, her jaw clenched. "...never mind… but why are you so serious all of a sudden?"

"I'm always serious," he retorted.

"Then why did you not? I mean, you knew all along that I was wrong and yet you did not correct me for thinking that you… you and Gabriel..." But she knew that it was a lie as soon as the words rolled off her tongue. She remembered that he insisted that he was not the one who sucked his ex-boyfriend's dick.

"Are we going to keep going round like this? You know very well, I did tell you many times, but you were so drunk" he barked.

"Can we not talk about it, Mr. Gosling?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to forget it and deal with it like it was just a nightmare."

"Oh really? As far as I can remember, those moans of yours weren't groans of a nightmare." He smirked.

"Shut up, will you? I agree with your stupid contract, but you also agree that we will forget what happened. Remember?" She stopped herself from kicking the man in the groin. She folded her arms and hugged them tightly against her chest.

Right. He did everything on his own terms, without giving her a choice. He didn’t depend on anything or anybody. Not that she didn’t appreciate the integrity. She wished she could breeze through life, leaping from one journey to another, never needing another soul to survive this boring life. Called "Single Life"

Oh, and with enough money to have financial security and the added bonus of never feeling alone, never being abandoned, betrayed, or feeling useless

Reading her mind, Rhye sighed.

She stepped back to avoid his hands. "You don’t know me, Mr. Gosling. I'm alone. Since God knows when… I only have myself to rely on, and when I met Gabriel, I t-thought… I thought he was the one to... g-give me w-what I yearned for so l-long..."

"That’s where you’re wrong, Miss Walters. I see right through you, and you’re scared as hell. You aren’t alone. You have me now."

"That doesn’t change the reality... you have I mean, this between us was nothing but a convenience on your part."

"Come on, let's not talk about it. But remember, you’re a fighter. You’ll find a way into my world and you'll know that you were never alone." He took a step forward, and his hand closed on hers. "I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Stay with me for a couple of years and let me show you something rare. Let's be friends for a start and yes, let's forget what happened," his dark blue soft eyes gleamed, "...something few humans have ever seen."

"You’re right. I’m frightened," she conceded.

A spark lit his face. "That’s the best part."

"Seriously?" Don’t tell me you’re half-human and I’ve been seeing you as some sort of vampire who sparkled in the sun with an expensive tailored wardrobe who also happened to occasionally sport a fang?

Reading her silent questions, he wanted to laugh, but gazing at her hopeful eyes, he added, "Whether you believe it or not, Miss Walters, it’s true. I’m not a fool. Everyone has a fear. But know this… Fear is reasonable. Fear keeps a man alive. It’s only a problem when it restricts us from doing what we want. When it stops us from discovering our limitations."

Lily thought long and hard about what he was really saying. But, to Rhye, he needed to see that she would concede, that she would follow his lead, to the world of the unknown.

"All right. I’ll do it. I'll try this new life you offer. And yes, we are friends now, but no touching, and if you let me fall off a hill or something out there, or be eaten by a wolf, I’ll really kill you."

His arm slid around her waist, causing her tummy to drop faster than if she had free-fell from a thousand feet.

"I won’t let anything happen to you," he mumbled as he breathed warmth into her neck.

"You can put your trust in me, Lily," he said calmly.

Her muscles pulled tautly. She took a step back. "I- I don’t know."

"Stop right there. Do not think about such things. Now if the wolves were to attack you, which isn’t going to happen, you wouldn’t have to kill me. I'll be dead too," he mumbled with his coy, upturned smile, and her heart flickered.

The honest truth was that Lily wished her chaotic and boring life could be untangled by completely hooking onto someone else. Someone powerful like Rhye. Someone who could share life’s responsibilities If that were an alternative, she worried she would never let go.

But it wasn’t. By choice or by force, everyone left.

And yet, the pull toward Rhye was too strong to ignore. As though by a gravitational force outside of her control, she leaned forward until she rested against his solid-walled chest.

His arms stalled but then wrapped around her shoulders. "Now, let's walk before the flashlight runs out of juice."

For whatever reason, the comfort she felt should have frightened her, but it didn't. She nudged

"Let’s go." They walk again.

Rhye turned to face the dense woods, ignoring the tightening knot braiding itself deep in his heart, he sighed. She was so alone and trust would not come easily to her.