22

We entered his hut together and immediately the smell of stale smoke clung to my nostrils.

"Can't you even air it out?" I snapped at him and without resistance he nodded and opened a window. He then put the ashtray on the windowsill and then left the room.

I sat down on the couch and breathed in the fresh air until he came back with two steaming mugs and placed them on the table. "Listen. I-" "Please don't," I said immediately, shaking my head. "I don't want to talk or think about this evening. I just want to sleep and go home tomorrow."

He looked at me as if my words would hurt him, but I had no sympathy, on the contrary. If nobody dared to say anything against him or to interrupt him, then it was good that I would show him that you can't afford to do everything.

"You know where the bedroom is," he mumbled and disappeared from the room again. He probably got rid of newly added bras or there was still a woman in bed. I had to roll my eyes at the thought and took off his jacket in the process, but not without smelling it again first, for which I slapped myself in the face.

"I have to go again. Sleep well," he said in passing and slammed the front door behind him.

On the one hand I was glad that he was gone, but on the other hand I felt quite lost and lonely here in the middle of the forest alone in a hut. I tried to push the thoughts of wolves, war and death out of my head and drank a few sips of the fragrant chamomile tea, closing my eyes and enjoying the warm feeling that spread in my stomach.

As soon as I had put the cup back on the table, I padded into the bedroom and was amazed at the order that prevailed here. He had probably gathered everything together earlier and pushed it under the bed or squeezed it into the small closet.

I didn't think about it any further and took off my shoes to snuggle up in the black blanket and let my thoughts wander. It was about him, about Ludwig, about my grandfather and my experiences of the last few days. Eventually I fell asleep and sank into my dreams, warm and sheltered.

I woke up with a start, gasping for air. I was so hot that I immediately pushed the covers off me and wiped the sweat from my forehead. The sun shone brightly through the window and gave me a view of the small room that smelled only of Jayden. Because I slept in his bed, my hair and clothes also took on his smell, which bothered me but didn't bother me.

I carefully stepped out of the bed and removed the tight hair tie, which was already giving me a slight headache. With my messy, dark blonde hair, I quickly put on my shoes and walked to the door to open it quietly.

The living room looked beautiful in the sun because the wood of the floor was a completely different color in the light. I surveyed the bright surroundings, but then realized I was still alone. He probably didn't come back this morning. He was probably spending the night with one of his fangirls, which I couldn't care less about. I grabbed his jacket from the couch and put it on, then quickly left the cabin.

I briefly marveled at the beautiful tall trees, which I had never really noticed because there was always something else that focused my attention. I took a moment to tuck in with relish and let the sun shine on my face, then headed home.

Before the Wialtrama, I saw several men and women I had never noticed who were nicely dressed. I didn't want to pay any more attention to them, but oddly enough, everyone looked at me at the same time and gave me a friendly nod. I frowned in confusion and waved at him in embarrassment before quickly walking home.

As soon as I got to the front door, my grandmother opened it. It was kind of amusing to know that she could smell me from afar. "So you were with Jayden. Was he decent?" She said calmly and lovingly hugged me. "He wasn't even there," I breathed to her, then finally entered my home after being away for so long.

"Are you hungry? I made buns and eggs." She ran ahead into the kitchen and handed me a plate. I picked up the plate and scooped a large portion onto it. I was really hungry and I was amazed that I could go so long without eating.

I walked into the living room with my plate in hand and set it down on the coffee table, then took off my warm, fragrant jacket and started eating.

My grandma came over to the couch with two cups of coffee and sat next to me. "But someone's hungry," she laughed and then drank a few sips of her coffee. "Tell me, Grandma. I saw several people in suits and dresses in front of the Wialtrama. Do you know who they are?" I asked her, taking another bite of the delicious scrambled eggs.

I noticed her thoughtful look and then her eyes suddenly widened in delight. "Oh Chiara. I had completely forgotten. These are wolves from other packs and this weekend is our big celebration." She stood up and rubbed her hands excitedly. "You have to buy yourself a nice dress!", she said and disappeared into the kitchen with her cup.

I was left confused, wondering why other packs were here if they were at war? How many packs were there? And what kind of celebration should that be?

Curious, I grabbed my mug and followed her to find out more about the weekend.

When I entered the kitchen, she was frantically rushing from cupboard to cupboard, placing heaps of bowls on the counter. "What's the matter?" I asked in astonishment. I had never seen her in such a hurry. Actually, she was otherwise calm herself, even if everything around her sank into chaos.

"I'm making muffins for the party and I'm still making my famous potato salad." She beamed at me proudly and poured her various ingredients into a yellow bowl.

I took a step closer to her and watched as she slowly started to sweat and giggled at the sight of her. "Did you want anything else or do you just want to keep laughing at me?" She narrowed her eyes briefly and studied me while I shook my head and cleared my throat.

"I just wanted to know what kind of celebration this is and why a celebration when we're at war?" She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a sleeve and smiled at me. "Chiara, if you want to know, go see Jayden or Chace. I'm busy and I really need to hurry."

She hastily turned my shoulders towards the door and was about to push me when I raised my arms in the air and laughed. "It's okay, chef! I'll leave you alone."

As soon as I stood in the hallway, she closed the door and I could still hear the music she turned on the radio. I shook my head in amusement at her manner, then ran up the stairs to my room to finally shed my alpha-smelling clothes and change into a comfortable jogging suit.

Since I had no intention of going to Jayden's or Chace's, nor Ludwig's, I grabbed my headphones and listened to loud music while I started gathering my clothes to wash.

Singing and dancing, I cleaned up the rest of my room and only stopped when the last speck of dust had passed.

"Chiara!", out of breath, my grandmother tore the headphones off my head and glared at me angrily. "I've called you at least 20 times. You have visitors downstairs." Irritated, I put my headphones on my dresser and followed her down the stairs, happily throwing myself into Malou's arms.

"Long time no see," she said, giggling, and nodded to my grandma, who was staring at us curiously. "I'll bring Chiara home tonight." She explained to him and she pulled me out of the house.

I wasn't in a hurry to bring a jacket, but this black jogging suit was really warm. "Where are we going?" I asked her while she was still holding my hand and pulling me behind her. "I got permission from my dad to take his cows to a small pasture where they're supposed to graze for a few days and since you don't have anything to do anyway except turn the boys' heads, I thought you might like to come with me. "

I gave her a pleased nod and was really relieved that it wasn't Jayden's ambush. It was going to be a beautiful day with her and the cows, I was sure of that. It also gave me the opportunity to ask her about the celebration.

Her home was further away than Ludwig's house and the area looked rather modest. The houses were also big, but they looked more like old farms and instead of cars, you only saw tractors here. I could hear the chickens cackling and the kitchen mooing while the smell of hay and straw hung in the air.

"We'll go to my place for a moment, then we'll put on dungarees and rubber boots." She pointed to the house at the back, which was painted red and white and was therefore easy to distinguish from the others.

There was a small yard in front of the house entrance and everything was surrounded by a white fence. She led the way through the courtyard door and immediately closed it behind me. I also understood why.

Two beautiful greyhounds appeared in front of me who ran panting towards Lou and jumped up wagging their tails. "It's okay, okay," she tried to calm the dogs down, but they only stopped when a man came running and whistled loudly.

"Who is that?" I asked Lou quietly. "My father, Abraham."

I immediately eyed him curiously and recognized the same ice blue eyes that Jayden had. "Hello, Chiara. Lou has already told me a lot about you," he held out his hand in a friendly manner. It made me wonder more and more how someone like Jayden could come from such warm, down-to-earth people.

"Hi, it's my pleasure too." I gave him my hand and he smiled really kindly. His black mustache matched the rest of his short black hair and rounded off his overall look well.

"So you know what to do?" He then turned to Lou, who seemed visibly annoyed. "Yes! For the third time," she answered and pulled me past him by the sleeve towards the house. The entrance looked really inviting. Some flower pots and several pairs of rubber boots were in front of it and I could see beautiful white curtains through the windows.

"Don't scare me, okay?" Lou warned me, but I didn't know what she meant. "Because of the party, Jayden is here for once. Just ignore him."

I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly, then reluctantly followed her into the house.