Chapter 25

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*Trent*

I woke up earlier than I would have liked and spent a minute staring at the roof in the moonlit room while wondering why the hell I woke up and did not even feel fatigued by it.

The silence made me uncomfortable. I was not too fond of the quiet or being by myself because my mind always drifted into the past, to memories of my mate. The crippling pain was something I actively forced myself to ignore on a daily basis. If I kept busy, it distracted me.

I was about to get out of my floor-made bed, knowing there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep again, but paused at the sound of whispering.

"Corey." It was Jayden. "Corey! Move your arm!" his voice was a soft hiss.

"No," Corey replied stubbornly, although sounding very sleepy.

"It's around me!" Jayden hissed; he sounded a little off... It sounded... shaken? I couldn't exactly place it, but it didn't seem happy or angry.

"You think I don't know that? It's my arm, Jayden. Now be quiet and go back to sleep."

My eyes widened, and I wanted to say something, but my surprise helped keep me silent.

"But you-you're naked," Jayden whispered.

He didn't sound happy about that either. Actually, it leaned more towards fear, or was it just me? I had just woken up. Everything sounded a little off, a little shaky in the silence surrounding us.

Corey gave a soft chuckle. "I'm not wearing a shirt; I would hardly consider that naked Jayden. What? Am I not hot? I could have sworn you thought I was the night we played the board game. If I remember correctly, you tried so hard not to stare."

I was beginning to wonder if it was really Corey I was hearing. Was I still asleep? Why was I dreaming about the two of them then? That would be weird.

"What? No-no. I wasn't – You're not... I-I mean – I'm not saying you're not... Well, not-not... Um..."

Corey chuckled again as Jayden stumbled over his mumbled words nervously, and I frowned. Jayden's flustering was adorable, but what were they doing? What was Corey doing?

"Go to sleep... It won't be like this later."

I heard a soft kiss, and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets as they shot wide open.

What the fuck?! Had I imagined the sound?

"Then why even bother?" I heard Jayden whisper.

"I don't know... Just for the moment, I guess... Just for the feeling... Just pretend right now..." Corey drifted.

My jaw clenched as my anger spiked. What the hell was he doing?

"I-I don't want to pretend..." They were quiet for a few seconds. "This... Why do you keep...?" Jayden drifted.

"Because it keeps getting stronger... you know that. It's tiring to fight."

I shut my eyes tighter feeling hurt by that, and it wasn't even directed at me. Corey really still thought the only reason he was drawn to Jayden was the pull? Was he just clueless? It was clear he felt something more but didn't want to admit it for some reason.

"I'm tired too..." Jayden whispered.

"It's almost over."

There was another beat of silence before I heard a soft, defeated sigh.

"Fine..." Jayden's mumble was followed by some shifting before his voice broke the silence again, "Corey?"

"Mmm?" Corey sounded like he was already drifting off.

"If you were gay... Or bi... Would you... Would you have accepted me?" Jayden whispered carefully.

"No."

The reply made me hold my breath. That single-worded, simple answer even felt like a blow to my chest.

If it felt bad for me to hear that, I did not want to imagine what Jayden felt at that moment. The thought of my mate ever saying that to me when she was still alive just made it feel like my heart was shattering in my chest. It was not even happening to me, but it made my body feel cold and lame.

Maybe this witch was what was best for them. At least, it was what was best for Jayden. I knew Corey would regret it eventually. At that point, he deserved that.

Jayden didn't say anything, and instead, Corey's sleep-hazed voice sounded again. "No more talking. Teddy bears shouldn't talk."

There was a soft gasp.

"You-you remember that?" Jayden's voice was quivering.

"I was drunk, not hypnotised. I remember a bit. I also remember you making me brush my teeth after I threw up, I remember... You're too nice, you know that?" Corey mumbled. "Jayden, please sleeeeep," he dragged out the word.

I bit my lip hearing Jayden give a strained chuckle despite the fact that he was clearly unhappy before they went silent again.

To make sure they would not notice my overhearing them, I did not move for a while before sitting up. I looked at them and held my breath seeing Jayden's face hidden in the crook of Corey's neck, Corey's chin on top of his head. Corey's arm was around Jayden, squeezing his mate to his chest. I wondered if that was something he had done in his sleep.

What an idiot.

The sight sparked a strong indignation. I felt bad feeling bitter towards Corey. No one deserved what had happened to my mate and me, no one deserved to lose their mate. Yet, in the least, a resentful part of me felt like I deserved to be with my mate more than he did. I would never...

I rubbed my face, sighing and trying to calm down. He was my best friend. I didn't like the begrudging feelings.

Feeling bad about my thoughts, I looked back at them and held my breath.

Despite how much Corey seemed to hate their pairing... it just looked so natural seeing them together.

I might have been spending a little too much time with the girls, because I grabbed my phone from the accent table as I got up and silently snapped a picture of them. Corey was setting himself up for misery anyway, at least he would have a little commemorative photo to reflect on.

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*Corey's POV*

"Water?" Hayley held out the bottle to me.

"No, thank you. Jay?" I asked.

An exasperated sigh came from Trent as soon as I spoke, and I looked over, confused by his mood. He just shook his head, leaving me more bewildered. He had been cold towards me since we woke up, all the way through breakfast; had barely said more than a couple of words to me. I was so confused. His behaviour and lack of explanation were annoying.

"No. Thank you," Jayden mumbled without turning to me.

I understood why. I was being an asshole again. During breakfast, I received a call from Ariana. Of course, I was happy to hear from her and we flirted a little. I had made it clear to Jayden that what happened while everyone was asleep was just for the moment, hadn't I?

Though, watching him make his way through the trees while not so much as glancing back at me, all I wanted was to be back where we were earlier that morning.

I sighed, shutting my eyes while inhaling a breath of fresh air.

No. A few more hours. A day at the most and it would be fixed. I would never think about him again. We would all just forget everything that had happened in the past few days... Maybe, I wouldn't have to stop thinking about him completely. Perhaps we could be friends... After a while apart.

Deep inside I knew it would be impossible, I could never forget about him, and we could never be friends. Even after the witch would have done what we were going to ask, I knew I would always feel something towards him. I didn't exactly know what. At the moment, it was just remorse and pain.

"I can't hear..." Sean suddenly stopped walking.

"Can't hear what?" Hayley asked.

"Everything. I can't..." he sighed, rubbing his ears.

"I-I can't hear anything either. We should still be able to hear cars; we're not that far into the forest," Kaden's voice was a little panicked.

Focusing on the sounds around us, I realised that I couldn't hear cars either. Or the leaves at the treetops as the wind blew through them, the birds high above the trees, or bugs that we, as werewolves, would normally have had no trouble hearing. I couldn't smell as well either.

"What's going on?" Izabella asked.

"It's just the forest," I pointed my hand at a branch on the ground and mumbled a short spell that was supposed to set it alight, but nothing happened. "Remember what Marc said? No supernatural abilities. We're completely human out here. I'm guessing we won't be able to shift or heal either."

There was an instant spike in my anxiety, and I fought to keep from looking over at Jayden as concern flooded me about him being unable to heal. What if he got hurt in the forest?

"Alright. Everyone, stay calm," Sean said.

We were in a forest we had never been in before and we couldn't shift. Of course, everyone was going to freak out. Even my body felt uncomfortable. I could feel my wolf, but being in the forest made it feel unnatural which made me feel sick. What was weird was that it seemed to have no effect on the pull I felt toward Jayden.

Even more concerning was the relief I felt at that realisation.

"We have these, right? We'll just have to use them with caution if it comes down to that," Sean said, carefully taking the gun from its holster around his waist. "Hopefully it doesn't."

Collectively, we had three guns. Sean, Trent and I each held onto one. We might have stolen them from a police station, but we would return them later... So, we kind of borrowed it? Without asking, of course. We had no intention of using the weapons. It was just a precaution.

"I don't like this place..." Izabella mumbled.

"Me neither." Sean took her hand. "We have to keep moving. Hopefully, we find her before dark."

"And if we don't? We sleep outside or keep walking?" Jayden asked.

"Neither. We'll have to find a cave and hope that it's empty," Kaden said. "Let's get moving."

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*Izabella*

We had been walking for hours, and for the first time in our lives, we were all completely exhausted, our legs aching. We had walked through some thorns and Sean, Corey and Kaden were the only ones who had healed slightly fast. Trent took a little longer while Hayley and I were still healing.

From my observation of the cuts on his hands, even with the power boost I had given him, Jayden's wounds were taking the longest to show any healing progress. He seemed to be doing alright though, as if barely noticing.

Sean and I were trailing behind everyone else, guarding the group from the back as Corey led the front.

Hearing a soft rustle made me turn to look behind us, and I froze catching a glimpse of eyes through the trees before they disappeared. My breath caught as my gaze stuck to where the eyes had been, my heart picking up.

They weren't those of an animal.

I recognised them.

"Izzy, why are you stopping?" Sean tugged my arm gently.

"There-there's someone there."

I let go of him and attempted to walk towards the trees, but he grabbed my hand again.

"Stay still, I'll deal with it." His hand automatically moved towards the gun.

"No," I mumbled, pushing his hand away from the weapon.

"Izabella, we can't shift. Don't go running into the forest," Hayley said.

"But I –" I froze, catching sight of the eyes again. Without a doubt, I recognised them.

"What is it?" Sean asked, softly.

"Adan..." I whispered.

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