Werewolf Compilations
Chapter 95

James leaves my bags on the bed before giving me some time to get settled all over again. The bed still smells of roses, and I feel somewhat at home when laying in it. I place my books back on the shelf along with the diary and find the phone to be still hooked up on the bedside table. The bathroom has my half used hair products still in the shower, and I wonder if anyone has been in here since I left. It seems to be untouched.

Once all of my clothes are put away, I grab my iPod from the side pocket of the bag. It accidentally slips from my hand and falls to the floor, tumbling under the bed. I get on my hands and knees, peering underneath to find it, and I see it resting beside something dark. My hand swipes my iPod out first before grabbing at the piece of fabric. Right when I pull it out, his scent bleeds onto my hands and crawls up my arms. It's James' shirt.

He's been in here.

Without thinking, I make my way towards those taunting doors and knock, hoping he is inside. It takes a few seconds for him to appear, and I hold the shirt out to him. "I found this under the bed," I say, finding my reason to see him.

James takes the shirt from me, not knowing how to explain himself.

"You slept there, didn't you?"

He sighs and leaves the doorway, wandering in. I step inside, not going far enough to fall into the trap. James tosses the shirt onto his bed and turns to me. "It smells like you in there. It helped me sleep."

I nod, satisfied. "I want to be with you, James. I want to sleep in here with you, but you have to understand that your bed smells like her. I'd be sleeping in her place, and I can't do that. What you did to me-it can't be fixed with an apology and explanation. The pain I felt can't go away so easily."

"Then tell me how to make it better," he says genuinely, almost begging for the answer. "All I want is for the past to go away, for your pain to go away. Rae, I want you to trust me. I don't want you to see me as a monster anymore." Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Then you're going to have to show me. That's why I'm here, for you to prove that you've changed. Show me that I can trust you."

James crosses his arms and nods, hopefully understanding. It must be odd for him to hear orders from someone else rather than giving them. I never thought I would be telling an Alpha how to act and what to do. He reels me in and wraps his arms around me, embracing me, and it takes a few moments for me to realize what is going on. My cheek is against his shoulder, and I can almost hear his heart. It is as if I was wired to be able to hear it, to depend on it, the constant thumping. My muscles quickly relax, recovering from the shock.

"I'm sorry. I've never felt this regretful and thankful. I'm going to fix this, Rae, alright? I'm going to make things better," James murmurs by my ear, almost whispering to me, only needing me to hear it. "I just need you to know that I'm sorry. I can't believe I did this to you."

I feel his hands grip the back of my shirt, holding onto me as if I am about to fall. "I really hope so, James."

He lets me go and tells me he has to check up with Will, but that he'll be back by dinner. I watch as he makes his way downstairs and towards the door before finding my way back to the kitchen. Thankfully, Gail is still there. She smiles when she sees me, telling me to sit, asking if I'm hungry, offering to make me a snack. She starts putting something together anyway, even without an answer.

"James said he'll be back for dinner," I say, sitting at the counter, watching her.

"That's lovely. It's about time he sat down for a proper meal. I swear, every time I get here in the morning, food that was in the fridge the night before is gone. I offer to leave him a plate, but he just says I don't have to go through the trouble-oh, I can make something nice for you two. What do you like? Red meat? I'll go fetch a few things. Should I get a bottle of wine? Do you drink wine?"

"Uh-no, that's alright. No wine, thank you. Are you sure you can bother with all of this?"

Gail waves me off. "I've been waiting for this."

My heart begins to race just from thinking about sitting down with him for a meal. It seems odd, out of place for us, but it may be a step in the direction of healing.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," Gail says while placing a plate of cheeses and crackers in front of me, sliced into little cubes or ready to be spread. I look down, not knowing any of the cheeses, most of them foreign to me. "Dinner will be around seven." Then she's out the door as well.

I take a deep breath then pick up a square cracker, taking a bite while I try to calm myself.

It's not a big deal. It's only dinner. Gail is just excited, that's all. It's only your first actual sit down with James over food and chatting about things other than your problems. It's only actually getting to know him, and him getting to know me. Asking questions. Questions about my family, my past, my opinions, my dreams, at least that's how everyone else makes it seem. Oh, Goddess.

My heart begins to beat even harder, and I swiftly bring another cracker to my mouth, needing to focus on anything else.

Do I have to dress nicer than average? Can I wear normal clothes? Do I have to wear a skirt? Do I own a skirt? Will I be expected to know what each utensil is for? How many utensils will there be? Is this my first date? Is this a date? How can it be a date if we're just having a normal dinner at the house? I don't know how these things work. The other girls-they'd know what to expect. But of course, I'm not like them. Of course, I've never had dinner with a man before.

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