Lola’s pov,
When Noah ran away from the crowd, Lola followed him. She had not spoken to him since he rescued her from Marc. She would have been dead if he hadn’t found her in time. She saw Noah run into the forest and she tried to follow his trail. She found him sitting against a tree with his head between his legs. He looked up when he heard her approach and Lola saw he had been crying. A little pinch went through her heart, for some reason she couldn’t bare seeing him so sad and vulnerable.
“Are you okay?” she softly asked.
Noah turned his head away, “You were right I was turning into my dad. Look at what I just did. I killed someone’s son because I missed all the signs. I hate that I must act cruelly to make people fear me.”
Lola sat down next to him, “I did not mean what I said about you turning into your dad. I was trying to hurt you I am sorry. But why do you behave so cruelly then if you hate it?”
Noah gritted his teeth, “I learned at a young age what happens when you are not feared by everyone. What happens if someone smells weakness.”
Lola looked at him confused, “What do you mean?”
“The Grey Oak pack wasn’t always the ruling pack. Years ago, the Fire Wolf pack ruled. They were loved and respected and only used violence as a last resort. When my grandmother got raped the punishment, they gave the rapist was exile. My grandfather was furious and thought the Fire Wolves were weak. He convinced other packs that they needed to do something to protect their women. So, one night when everyone was sleeping, they burned all the Fire Wolves alive. I was just a boy at that time, and they wanted me to help set fire to all the cabins. I was just about to torch a cabin when I heard a baby crying. I couldn’t force myself to burn this innocent baby alive. I put the baby in a small basket and threw it in the river. I don’t know what I was thinking because I just killed that baby from drowning instead. I was panicking and when I came back the village was nothing, but ashes, and my hands would be covered in their blood forever. That day I made a promise to myself that I would never let something like this happen again. The slaughtering of innocents because others saw an opportunity to take power. The Fire Wolves even had magic so if they had used that no one would have dared to go against them. If people had been scared of them, they wouldn’t have been massacred. So, I learned that day that in order to keep all the packs together they have to fear you.”
Lola suddenly understood a bit better why Noah behaved the way he did and why he seemed to have so many personalities. He wasn’t schizophrenic, he was just acting based on childhood trauma.
She took his hand and said, “Even if that is true. Is that really how you want to live your life? Is it worth sacrificing yourself and your integrity because of something that might happen? People change, times change it is no guarantee that what worked years ago is still the best way forward at this time.”
He stared into her eyes, “I can’t change the whole system on my own. I am just one man.”
Her heart was beating rapidly when she said, “What if you don’t have to do it alone? We could change these packs for the better together.”
Confusion flashed in Noah his eyes, “What do you mean?”
“I am saying I accept the mate bond.”
Moonlight broke through the trees when the words left her mouth. Shining light on Noah his face, he looked at her with a mix of hope and confusion. The only thing she heard was the loud beating of her own heart when Noah’s gaze went from her eyes to her mouth and then back to her eyes. His pupils were slightly dilated when he took her face in his hands and bent forward. Lola closed her eyes and inhaled his scent of pine trees and eucalyptus. She felt his warm lips lock onto hers, kissing her in a way that made the rest of the world disappear. She only felt his moist lips pressing on hers first gently but quickly they became hungrier. He was kissing her with a passion that left her whole body tingling, begging for more.