Nveah's heart hammered inside the confines of her chest, feeling Sin's body heat that felt so familiar.

Then, without warning, she felt a deep energy to through her whole body. Their eyes met and some kind of force was attracting them to one another. They were like gravity, ready to catch one another when they fell. She had never felt this before before but she knew, deep within her heart, that as long as she was in his arms she would be safe.

"Thank you so much, you're too kind Sin," she said a flutter of her eyelashes and heart.

Sin could feel Nveah's beating heart as he smiled lovingly at her, feeling the deep energy they shared, "you're very welcome," he said sweetly as he arrived at the entrance to the restaurant, he looked down to Nveah, "you okay to walk the rest?" he asked.

As Sin observed his new mate held in his arms, a happiness washed over Nveah's expression, a look that was the prettiest Sin had ever seen. It wasn't an expression just on her face but her whole being, her heart and soul. So pure, soft and tender. Blossoming like a teardrop flower on the first day of spring. It was an expression he felt reflected in his own heart and soul. It was beyond beautiful, beyond divine.

Nveah blushed from the extended eye contact, "I think I can walk the rest of the way, my leg is feeling a lot better than before."

"Okay, I'm here to catch you if you fall," Sin said encouragingly-holding the door open for her like a gentleman, Nveah wore her sweet as honey and as brilliant as a diamond expression as she entered the restaurant. Sin followed behind her, catching sight of his pack stood waiting for him, as well as another group of young boys shooting Nveah pointedly pissed off glares. Immediately Sin could feel an internal growl rising to the back of his throat, a rage boiling over at anyone who wished his mate harm. Who were they and what was their problem?

"Ignore them," Sin said in a low voice, shooting the cowardly boys a threatening death glare.

Nveah could feel the angry eyes on her as she anxiously rubbed the back of her head, she took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as she looked to the pack as took their seats at a long booth, "I'm happy y'all made it here, most people here are scared off by the forest."

"We ain't afraid of no forest!" Desire blurted out, earning a laugh from the rest of the pack.

As they finished laughing the the boys stomped over to them, well muscled and with perfect hair, held back with sweatbands tied around their foreheads.

The second one began to approach Nveah Sin bolted out of his seat, standing strong between his mate and the enemy, "do we have a problem here?" he hissed
under his breath, red eyes burning with a thinly veiled rage.

Nveah gently touched Sin's arm, "it's okay, just let me deal with them."

Sin reluctantly sat down, his every muscle tensed and poised for a fight. He watched Nveah with equal parts fear and hope, not wanting her to get hurt but equally wanting her to be strong and stand up for herself.

Nveah's attention turned to the boys, her arms crossed as she uttered in a trembling whisper of an absolutely petrified voice, "look I'm doing what I was told by the principle, please Judy leave me alone."

One of the boys' fists clenched "what are you gonna do about it?" he taunted evilly before his friend snatched Nveah's bag and ran outside with it, throwing it onto the main road to be run over by cars.

Immediately and without thinking Sin and Nveah bolted after the bullies, his werewolf form barely contained as he snarled at the boys, who sniggered as they ran off.

Nveah was left speechless, her belongings smashing into the tarmac as car wheels chewed them up and spit them out. Her heart dropped and she stood frozen, her mouth covering her mouth and tears welling in her eyes as she fought her hardest not to scream-watching Sin pick up what little remained-namedly her favourite book with pages torn off.

Sin saw Nveah's eyes fill with tears as he returned to her, and his heart broke with the sheer devastation he saw held within her teary eyes. She didn't deserve this. She was his mate and he failed to protect her.

"I..I'm so sorry about this, they hate me a lot because
I'm a good girl and I do as I'm told," Nveah said as she tried to wipe away her tears that threatened to spill over into heartbroken, hysterical sobs.

"It's okay," Sin hushed supportively, "you're not just a good girl-you're a great girl," he said as he smiled at his mate.

Calypso emerged from the restaurant doors, "you get your bag back Nveah?" he questioned, looking at both Sin and Nveah, Sin shook his head.

"Want us to chase the bastards down?" he asked Nveah; speaking with a slow and deliberate deadly seriousness, a contrast to his usual eccentric and zany character.

Nveah offered Calypso a weak and watery smile as their eyes met, "I'll be okay, I'm used to this-last time it was my school clothes," she said, Sin's heart only sunk further, he frowned sadly when he heard Nveah tell him about her school clothes. Poor girl, she didn't deserve any of this

She carefully took back what was left of her gnarled possessions, running a pale, thin hand against a page of her favourite book that was marked with a bent corner-clearly something special was on that page. She couldn't help but look to Sin, would he be the Prince Charming to her damsel in distress? She liked to think he would.

"And don't go after them. If I try to do anything about it they will just be even nastier to me," she sighed to defeat, Sin felt his blood begin the boil.

He had to save her.

"Are you sure you want us to leave them alone?" Sin asked, "we could sort them out for good if you want."

"No. I don't want you to get caught up in my mess."

Sin merely nodded, "okay. We won't mess with them." He watched her blush as he looked at her flick through to an old drawing dated heard back.

"Huh, this is an oldie," she said with surprise, "at least the drawing is okay for the most part," she said as she stared at it with sentimentally, it was a drawing she done of the strange, large wolf she rescued from a hunter's trap.

White ears with red tufts of fur, a white stripe along the muzzle, a white nose and chin, a scraggly goatee. Sin was looking at himself.

She showed him the drawing and he tried to hide his surprise at seeing his own face staring at him.

"That's a nice drawing. So you like wolves then?" he questioned, a smile warming his heart in the face of tragedy.

"You like it?" Nveah grinned as she squirmed with embarrassment and shyness.

Sin looked to her, a calm expression on his face, "of course I do."

"That drawing is of a wolf I rescued from a hunter's trap years ago. I remember it like it happened yesterday; I found an injured wolf in the forest and I couldn't bear to leave him for the hunters so I released him and helped him get better. It took a while and I fell asleep with him a few times, I don't really know why he never attacked me-but he let me do what was needed, but once he was better he left and I never seen him again."

Sin repressed a loving smile as she told him about the hunter's trap. He remembered it like it was yesterday-the most bittersweet day of his life, the day his parents were killed by hunters and he was forced him to step up as alpha male at the meagre age of sixteen.

But it was also the day he met Nveah.

"Sounds like you have a way with wolves. They're creatures that understand what loyalty and love is. They mate for life y'know," he said, "who knows, you might see him again someday."

Meanwhile the werewolf hunter's floor length, tan trench coat dragged along the crunching blanket of fallen leaves that was the pavement.

Concealed inside his coat was a gun loaded with silver bullets and only silver bullets. As he walked his
eyes landed on the sight of black blood staining the tree root.

"Not a chance in Hell...," he said grunted disbelief, at his age, with all he's seen, nothing should shock him. But shocked he was, "the prophecy...it's coming true..." he grumbled.