Our pack was quite small and everyone lived close to each other. It was a short distance to Frida's house, so we decided to walk.

Asael and Mordekai had caught up with us on the way. There were quite a few people heading in the same direction.

When we reached the party, we could tell it was a party. The house was loud, people were everywhere, and there was music blasting from the subwoofers.

We walked into Frida's overcrowded home, and thankfully not many people gave us the looks we normally get at school.

As Asael headed our group into the living room, Frida, who seemed a little drunk, saw him and immediately made her way to him. She gave him a tight hug causing him to blush from her gesture.

She told us to enjoy as she took Asael by the hand and to the dance floor.

As everyone else was either getting something to eat or drink, or go on to join the majority to dance, I stood there awkwardly looking for the one person a part of me hoped to see.

I was honestly relieved that Valente wasn't here, but I couldn't shake away the disappointment either.

"Too bad he won't see you in that dress," said Ima.

"Shut up," I told her, now genuinely irritated.

"Jeez. Someone's touchy," she replied.

I sighed. At that point I realized that I wished I was better with people. But I just couldn't get along too well.

There was no way I was going to dance with the girls because I knew I'd make a fool of myself. So I just found a stool near the kitchen counter and sat there, hoping it was an acceptable time to leave soon.

A boy I knew from school came and sat on the tall stool next to me.

"Didn't expect to see you here," he said.

I poured out a glass of punch for myself, and then one for him because I didn't want to be rude.

"Thanks," he said as he took the glass from me. I remember him from Valente's group of friends. He was at training too.

"Is it really that odd to see me here?" I asked him.

"Rayne at a party? No big deal. But you did turn Val down," he said.

I could feel my ears burning again.

"Don't worry. He doesn't talk about his personal things too much. He just told me when I asked him why he wasn't coming with us," he said.

"Oh," was all I could manage.

"Why didn't he come?" I asked without thinking.

I didn't want to sound as if I was looking for him. But it really did sound that way.

And it was a little bit true.

He just laughed lightly.

"I literally just told you. He didn't come because you said no to coming with him," he said.

"If a date is what he wanted, he could have gotten so many. Heck he doesn't even need a date to go anywhere," I told him, sipping on my punch, almost sadly.

"I think he just wanted to go with you. He told me he'd contemplated asking you ever since Frida invited him," he said.

It's really my decision whether I want to go or not, but this conversation with this guy was making me feel really guilty.

"Why'd you say no?" he asked me.

I stayed quiet hoping he would go away. My reasons seemed stupid in front of him, even though I knew they weren't.

"Rayne?"

Man this guy's persistent.

"Reasons," I replied.

Yeah sure, reasons.

He just smiled and shook his head.

"I was there too, all these years he's been avoiding you, ignoring you, and even asking other people to maintain their distance from you," he said.

"Oh you do now do you?" I said to him, sarcastically.

"He knows what everyone here thinks. Some of our elders want you gone from our pack because they blame you for what happened at Grimmileg Áras. And they've taught their kids the same all these years. The only reason nobody bothered you at school was because Valente told them not to. You'd get mean looks at best. And Valente had to lead by example, that's why he stayed away too," he told me.

"I didn't need his help. I could have handled myself. He would have been a better leader if he showed everyone how to be kind to everybody," I said, the bitterness I'd held in my heart all this time coming back, forming a lump in my throat.

"He was a jerk for doing that to you. But he was much younger and, if you meet his Aunt Sylvia, you'll know how controlling she is," he said.

"Then what caused his sudden epiphany now? Why is he not so much of a jerk now?" I asked.

"You should ask him," he said.

"He's not a bad guy," he continued. "Everytime he told someone to stay away from you, he thought he was protecting you. But if he's changing now, I think you should give him a chance."

I poured myself another glass of punch, and downed it much faster than my first.

"I didn't catch your name," I asked him.

"Kristján," he said to me, smiling a kind smile. "I'll see you around Rayne," he said, now getting off the stool and walking away.

This punch is really good.

I poured myself one last glass, drank it and walked out of the house.

I didn't realize how stuffy it was inside till I reached the front lawn. I dropped a text to Gló telling her I was heading home.

As I walked in the direction of my house, I removed my heels and continued walking barefoot, as maintaining balance was becoming more and more difficult.

As I neared my home, my feet didn't stop, and I kept walking further towards the eastern edge of our pack.

It wasn't a long walk at all, and I could guess the punch was spiked. And that's probably why I found myself standing in front of Valente's house, at 11pm.

I decided to reach out to him, the way he did to me. But I could feel a wall blocking me out.

"See? That's how it's done," said Ima.

I rolled my eyes and took out my phone before realizing, I didn't have his number either.

Great.

"Let's head back. The universe is trying to tell us something," Ima said to me, but her discouraging words didn't stop me. I was a lightweight afterall.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," I said to her.

"For once can you please think about what you're doing!" she said to me.

I ignored her and walked behind his house. It was a beautiful one-story building, not too much, and painted in off-white tones. The back of the house held a full garden with many flowers and vegetables.

I had enough sense to not throw something at his window because (a) I didn't want to wake his aunt up and (b) I didn't know which window was his.

I figured I'd just climb to the top-most window and hope for the best.

"Not this again," Ima said.

"I can do this Ima. Have a little faith," I told her.

"You're drunk!" she replied.

"Am not," I said as I made my way to the base of the house directly beneath the window.

"I can't with this anymore," said Ima, as I left my shoes on the ground near my feet.

I just smiled at whatever it was that I was trying to do, and started climbing the back, from the windows to the conveniently placed rainwater drain pipes.

As I finally felt the edge of the window with my fingers and climbed the rest of the way, hoisting myself on top, I almost screamed and fell backwards from fright if it wasn't for Valente's hand on my mouth and his arm around me, holding me tightly so I wouldn't fall.

I didn't remember his window being open and I didn't remember him standing there. But here he was, bare-chested, the warmth from his body on me comforting in the cold wind.

He was looking really amused, and I was just turning red from his close proximity.

"What you up to butterfly?" he said through the mindlink.

He probably didn't say his words out loud because of the way he was breathing so hard. His chest touched mine everytime he inhaled, but he didn't come any closer than he already was.

His grey eyes shone in the almost full moon, and I could see tiny specks of blue in them that I hadn't noticed before.

I'd never been this close to him before.

The very thought had my heart racing.

"I, I just-," I started, my legs aching from the weird position my legs were in on top of the window sill.

"Shh," he whispered and pulled me inside, not letting me go from his arms.

He sat me down on his bed, and went to close the window, before sitting down on the floor in front of me.

"Aunt Sylvia is sleeping in her room downstairs so we need to be quiet," he said to me quietly, not at all fazed that a crazy girl literally just climbed through his window.

"I'm sorry. I just, felt like it," I said, a little sheepishly.

Valente gave me a wide smile before he laid down on the carpet shaking from laughter. He wasn't too loud, but I guess he found something really funny.

His chiseled chest was on display, and I couldn't help but stare at him, lying on his back, laughing like a crazy maniac. It was funnier because he was trying not to make too much noise.

As he regained composure and sat back up again, he placed his arms on my knees, and sat up to look at me.

Usually he is hesitant to cross my boundaries, but tonight, at this moment, he wasn't. Just as I broke into his house without hesitation.

"You just felt like it?" he asked, looking at me with an intense stare, his lips curved into an amused smile.

I nodded my head, feeling a little stupid. But not too much. Seeing his smile right now made the effort and risk worth it.

He was so beautiful.