(Layton)

No one disturbed us, which I was grateful for. I stayed awake the whole time with her on my lap. The whole time was only probably ten minutes but it felt like hours to me. I couldn’t get enough of her scent; it was perfect for her. She was perfect. And I knew her name now. Kida. I just hoped she wouldn’t disappear again.
Just then, as I took her hand and felt her skin with my fingers, she shuffled and started to come round. Staying quiet, I watched as she blinked her eyes open then sat up in my lap. A soft smile on my lips as she paused then side-eyed me. I tilted my head and let go of her hand, that was when she jumped off my lap and I had to grab her before she fell down the steps.
“Oops, nearly.” We shared an acknowledging glance of silent formalities. “Hello… again.”
Dropping her gaze, she stepped around me. “Hello.”
This girl was so difficult, I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re not going to walk away from me again, are you?” We both stood there quiet again for a moment. Clearing my throat, I spoke again. “I’m Layton by the way.”
“Ummm, Kee… I’m Kida,” I let her introduce herself. “Why are you following me?”
Slightly taken aback, I paused then chuckled. “Only you would be able to make me speechless, my mate. It’s nice to finally meet you, Kida.”
She blinked. “M…mate? What do you mean mate?” It was cute hearing her flustered.
“You and me. We are mates. I imprinted on you outside earlier and then you just walked away from me like you didn’t feel it.”
Again, she stood there seemingly unphased. “Feel what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she claimed and then began to walk up the stairs we had been standing on.
I was not prepared to lose her all over again; so, naturally, I followed her. “Kida, please don’t walk away. The least you could say is thank you.”
She stopped suddenly and I bumped into her. It seemed at that point she realised. “You?! That black wolf, was you?!”
I leant against the wall with a smug look and nodded my head once. “Hmm, yes that was me. You couldn’t tell?”
With a shake of her head, she replied. “Nope, I’m not a wolf.”
At those words, it all made so much sense. She couldn’t feel our bond because she had no wolf to imprint on me… yet I could to her. That’s why she just saw me as another male and could so easily walk away from me. “Wait… you’re human?”
She nodded innocently.
Just then, I heard the sound of voices heading our way. “Is there somewhere we can talk alone? Just you and me?”
She seemed reluctant with her answer. “Follow me, we can sit in my room.”

Stepping into her room, I looked around as I heard the lock clinking behind me. There wasn’t much in her room by way of possessions but it did seem very cosy, as small as the room was. Kida walked around me and sat next to her pillows on the bed. It felt strange to be alone with her yet that’s all I had wanted for the past few hours. Her back was pressed up against the headboard and she was clutching the pillow to her chest. Carefully, I stepped over and sat down on the other end of the bed. “I can see why you’ve been so scared of me now.” I dared to let out a brief chuckle, her body seemed to recoil. “Ahem. Kida, relax, I won’t hurt you.”
Deciding to give her some control, I got off the bed and walked over to the window, looking out over the forest, the tops of the trees lit by the waning half-moon.
“You did hear me when I said I wasn’t a wolf, right?” she asked after what seemed like hours.
“Does that really matter?” I asked in return, only then turning to face her. She had now shuffled down the bed and put the pillow down. “Wolf or not, you’re my mate.” I tried flashing her a soft smile but she only tilted her head.
“I thought only wolves could imprint on wolves. Humans don’t have that ability...”
I pointed at the end of the bed, she nodded then I sat back down. “Well, that makes sense why you didn’t feel our bond like I did. Only time will tell, but I hope you don’t reject me... if a human could even reject a wolf.” I allowed myself a chuckle which, to my amazement, made her smile too.
She cleared her throat. “I still haven’t said thank you for getting rid of Ryan off me.” She paused. “Thank you. Are you hurt?”
In truth I was aching, and I probably had a scratch or a bite somewhere. “Eh, nothing I can’t handle. I think I hurt him more than he did me.” She looked worried about that. “No one will ever hurt you again, Kida.”
Her lips smiled again, it lit her face up and my heart skipped a beat. “You can call me Kee.”
That seemed to be the moment where we both connected more. It hurt that she hadn’t imprinted on me like I had her, and it baffled me how a wolf could even bond with a human in the first place. As far as I knew, that had never happened in all of our history. I took the opportunity to look over her again, now she was conscious. She had such a slender frame. Her face was framed by wavy, light brown hair that flowed down just over her shoulders. My gaze travelled down over her small chest and then to her legs which she had hanging over the side of the bed. I had to catch myself and lifted my head up to meet her gaze again. Her eyes seemed heavy but they were mesmerising. They were green, but like an ocean green without a hint of grey.
Her cheeks seemed to blush and she turned her gaze away. It hadn’t occurred to me that she might have been doing the same. “When do you leave?”
“Leave? Oh... I guess I should be getting back home tomorrow, although it... really... doesn’t... What’s wrong, Kee?” I asked her suddenly as her smile faded. “Kee?” She turned her head away more and raised her hand to wipe a tear away, or that’s what I assumed. My hand instinctively reached to her cheek and gently turned her head around to face me. “Kida, why are you crying?”
Her green eyes glistened with tears as she stared at me. “Don’t leave me here.” Her voice was so quiet and croaky.
It hadn’t even occurred to me she would think I’d leave her behind. My arms moved round her and I scooped her up onto my lap. My muscles felt her tense up but I merely held her to me, my hand once again on her cheek as I looked at her. “Do you really think I’d leave you behind? I’m not letting you go now I’ve found you.” It was clear this was a little surprising to her but I was more glad she didn’t resist me holding her so close.
Without a word, she threw her arms round my neck and squeezed them tight. My arms slowly wrapped round her middle and we spent some slow minutes like this. The minutes must have ticked by us rapidly, as she was soon asleep in my arms. Carefully, I shuffled further onto her bed and laid her down on her back then, laying down next to her on my side, draped my arm across her midriff.
Before I could fully settle, my phone pinged in my back pocket. As I tapped the screen awake, I noted a message from Drew he had sent over an hour ago and the more recent one from mother. They both were asking me the same thing: where I was and when I’ll be home. Thinking quickly, I typed my one word reply: MATE, pressed send to both and then swiftly turn my phone to silent and slipped it back into my pocket.

*****
(Kida)

“No, mother.” His voice was stern. “You’ll meet her at home, formally. I’ll see you later.”
I woke up to the sound of Layton talking on the phone. With one eye open, I looked over my shoulder and saw him standing at the far end of my room. He had one arm raised to shoulder level with which he leaned against the wall. He had just finished one call and was making another. I rolled onto my front, getting comfy again as I watched him, feeling his side of the bed was still warm.
“Hi, Drew... Woah! Calm down... Please tell me you’re still at Wintercrown... Great, ummm, I’ll text you when I have some idea...” That was when he turned around and saw me listening; with a smirk, he leant back against the wall and continued his phone call. “Oh, she’s cute alright, you’ll like her... I’ll text later, see ya, buddy.” And he hung up. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind, you fell asleep on me and I didn’t want to leave you alone so I slept next to you.”
My cheeks were burning and they must have been flushed. It was nice to hear he had stayed with me yet I was still wary. What if he was just saying I was his mate in order to seduce me? Honestly, I had no way of knowing. “No.” I paused. “Thank you.” In my head it was more a thank you for not using or hurting me in the night but I left it to those two simple words.
“Care if I join you again? It’s too early to be getting up,” he tilted his head and stepped closer to my bed.
My body instinctively tensed up and I had to fight it. “Er... sure.” I shuffled across a little.
He sat on the edge of the bed before swinging his legs under the covers, reaching his hand across made me withdraw my head further away. He frowned. “What is it?” He reached across still and he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear, to which I relaxed.
“I’m not used to someone being so nice to me... and being this close.”
He leant back against the headboard, slightly reclined. “Mmhmm, I was going to ask about last night but I think I saw enough about your life here. I probably should have asked than presume but... will you leave here to be with me?” He then gave a inhaled chuckle and shook his head. “Which is a strange thing to ask considering I can’t exactly leave my own pack...”
“Yes!” I answered all too eagerly, lifting my head and chest up. Any chance I could grab to get away from here.
Without another word, he turned his head and looked me in the eyes. A soft smile embraced his lips and he seemed to relax next to me, his hand slid down the cover and he gently brushed his fingers along my arm. As we looked at each other, I could see a glint of silver in the blueness of his irises, making his pupils seem darker somehow. If we were mates, true mates, I only began to wish I could sense it too, even a hint of it. He seemed to accept me for only being human, and I guess that’s all that matters.