Find My Heart - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Cole
It was a bad idea.
I knew it was a bad idea so why did I let Emily talk me into it?!
The last time I had this feeling was.......it was when I went to that first party with Natalie. And that didn't turn out too well.
It was Friday afternoon and the sun was still high in the sky. I only had morning classes on a Friday so Emily was at my house by 2 o'clock ready to pick me up.
I had a small rucksack with me as we were spending the night at Worthington Manor before Emily was going to drive me back in time for working on the project at Highfield Hall on Saturday.
My dad was out of town on some work thing so he had no idea that I wasn't going to be home tonight. I didn't usually lie to my dad, but hey, let's face it, there were bigger secrets I was keeping from him.
WEREWOLVES FOR FRICK'S SAKE!
I had to bite my lip to stop from giggling at how ridiculous that sounded.
Emily had told me it was about a three hour drive to her home. We'd been on the road for about two hours and I was already busting for a pee.
"Are we nearly there yet?" I whined.
"Oh my god, what are you, three?" She said, smiling despite my patheticness.
"No, I just really need a wee," I moaned, jiggling a little to prove my point.
"See, that's exactly what a three year old would say. Didn't you go before we set off?"
"But I didn't need one then."
Emily just rolled her eyes and we went back to silence.
It wasn't uncomfortable silence though, and I just spent the time looking out of the window and enjoying the scenery.
My eyes began to get heavy so I closed them, just to give them a rest, not to sleep of course.
"WERE HERE! WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!"
I sat bolt upright as if I had been caught sleeping in class. That had never happened before.....honest...
I looked around at my surroundings.
All I could see were trees.
"Where are we?" I asked, only to notice that Emily had already got out of the car.
I quickly released my seatbelt and stepped out of the car, suddenly aware of large shadow towering above the rear of the car.
My jaw dropped open as I took in the sight before me. I mean, I'd seen large buildings before, but never one so, so imposing yet beautiful.
It was made of stone that had a reddish tinge to it, and had more windows on this one side than I could count. The windows all had intricate stonework around them, and the roof was full of lots of spires with these spindly things on top.
The front entrance was huge, with columns of stone on either side, and two large steps leading up to a massive wooden door.
I was grateful when Emily started pulling me away from the front of the building and round the back. Somehow, it just didn't feel right going to the front door.
What would I do? Knock?
We walked at quite a pace, and I managed to stumble more than once as I looked at everything, but where I was putting my feet.
Eventually we made it round the back of this humongous building and I was surprised to see what looked like another set of smaller buildings round the back.
"What are these?" I asked, pointing towards the smaller buildings.
"Oh, they used to be the stables, and a food store, and other such buildings used by the servants who worked here years ago. They've all been converted into apartments now."
I glanced around briefly, then frowned.
"Why is it so quiet?"
Emily sighed and slowed down to a more leisurely pace.
"Because most of the pack has moved into Highfield Hall now. Some are still here, and others are just staying with family elsewhere, but there are only a few still here."
"Why's that?" I asked, wondering why anyone would ever want to leave this place?
"Erm..."
I noticed Emily had stopped, so I turned to look at her, raising my eyebrows in question.
"Can we talk about this later?" she asked, "I really need to find out where Nathan is."
"Ok," I said, letting it go, despite the curiosity I could feel burning in my mind.
We entered the building from the back and Emily led me down a long corridor and into a room that looked like a study.
"Just wait here," Emily said, pointing over towards a dark green leather couch.
Before I could anwer her, she had darted out of the room, I assumed in search of Nathan.
I twitched my nose, taking in the smell of the room. It smelt slightly musky, like it hadn't been aired in a while. There were lots of shelves with books on, and a rather large looking shiny mahogany desk in the centre of the room.
The green couch was off to one side and I went over and sat on it. Yes, as I thought, not particularly comfortable. Sure it looked the part, but it was rock hard.
I snapped to attention when I heard raised voices close by.
I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I was almost sure one of the voices belonged to Nathan.
Shit, was he mad that I was here?
I could hear the angry voice getting closer, and before I could engage my brain, the urge to ran became too much, and I bolted out of the door, and back the way I came. Or so I thought.
In my panic I must have taken a wrong turn as suddenly everything looked unfamiliar.
The voices were getting louder and more urgent, probably having discovered I was no longer where Emily had left me.
The corridor was full of doors and I picked one, turning the handle, only to find that it was locked.
I frantically tried the next, and the next, cursing as each one was locked.
"COLE!"
I froze.
"COLE! FOR FUCKS SAKE WHERE ARE YOU?!" came the growl.
Yes, that was definitely Nathan. And he was pissed.
Finally one of the handles gave way and I shot into the room, closing the door behind me.
The room was quite dark as the curtains were closed, but when my eyes began to focus, my breath caught in my throat.
The room was totally empty of furniture, but all the way around the edge of the room were lots and lots of small metal cages. The kind that would house rabbits.....
I let out a petrified scream as I had serious flashbacks to my recurring nightmare, and I ran out of the room like my arse was on fire.
I ran at full speed down the corridor, rounding the corner and face planted into a solid wall, making me fly backwards through the air, landing in a not so graceful heap on the floor.
"Uuuugghhh!" I moaned, while writhing around in pain from the impact, both from the wall, and the floor.
Suddenly I was being scooped up off the floor, and engulfed by a set of strong arms, my face buried into someone's firm chest.
A chest that felt surprisingly like the wall I had just crashed into. Hmmm.
I didn't need to open my eyes to know whose chest it was and I let out a sigh of contentment.
I felt like I'd come home.
I felt Nathan bury his face into the top of my head and inhale deeply.
"Did you just sniff me?" I mumbled into his chest.
"You just smell so good," he growled before inhaling again.
I chuckled, slightly nervously. I'd read the fairy tales. Big bad wolves liked to eat the main characters didn't they?
I felt his hand stroke my hair, instantly calming my nerves, only to have them reawoken a minute later when I felt him kiss the top of my head.
Oh, frickin fizzlesticks, Nathan Blake actually kissed me!
And yes, it wasn't a lustful passionate kiss, but in some ways this was better. It was the kind of kiss that showed you cared. It made me feel....precious.
"Are you ok?" Nathan asked, finally pulling me back by my shoulders so he could look at my face.
"I'm fine," I said, giving him a big cheesy grin.
That wasn't completely true. My legs felt really wobbly, and my mind was a bit foggy, almost like I was a little tipsy. But I don't think it was the fall that had caused that.
Nathan smiled back at me, and I got lost in his eyes. How could I have ever thought they looked dead and cold? Up this close I could see that his grey eyes had streaks of silver running through them, reminding me of a starry galaxy floating around in space. His eyes were not empty at all, they held a whole world in them.
"Well, look at you two," came Emily's voice, breaking the spell that had been cast between us.
Nathan immediately pushed me back, using enough force to make me stumble slightly before finding my balance again.
I saw a flash of concern cross his face before it was replaced by a blank stare as he turned to face Emily.
I unconsciously wrapped my arms around my body, feeling suddenly cold.
Nathan immediately began to shout at Emily, something about bringing me here, but I wasn't really listening. I was trying to work out what I was feeling. I didn't feel right. I felt ill, but not in a way I recognised. I didn't have any pain, other than a slight ache from where I fell, and I didn't feel sick, or have a headache. But I just didn't feel right. I felt...... I felt sad. And not just the normal sad, but an overwhelming, not sure if I was going to burst into tears kind of sad.
"Just go! And take him with you!" Nathan spat at Emily, the sharpness of his words bringing me out of my thoughts like a slap to the face.
He turned and stormed off, his head held low and his shoulders hunched.
I wanted to shout after him, but I couldn't seem to form any words.
So I tried to run after him, only Emily grabbed hold of me, pulling me back.
"I have to go after him," I said, suddenly feeling incredibly anxious.
"No, we need to go," she said, "I'm sorry Cole, I shouldn't have brought you here."
"No," I said, shaking my head, wishing the foggy feeling would go, "I need to see him."
"It's not safe Cole," Emily said, "we need to go," and I heard the pleading in her tone.
Suddenly she had my full attention.
"What do you mean, it's not safe?"
"Just that," she said, before grabbing hold of my wrist and dragging me in the opposite direction.
"Tell me what you mean? Why isn't it safe?" I asked as she led me back outside and towards the car.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "All that matters is that we get you back home."
"Na ah," I said shaking my head. "You can't tell me it's not safe then say I have to leave Nathan. I'm not leaving until I've seen him again."
We'd arrived at Emily's car, but I was standing stubbornly with my hands folded across my chest.
I didn't know what had come over me. I wasn't usually someone who would refuse to do what they were asked, but from some reason I just needed to see Nathan again. I just needed to know that he was alright. And I also needed to know that he wanted me. I didn't want to be pushed away again. That hurt far more than any knocks and scrapes I'd had in the past.
"Come on Cole, please get in," Emily said, opening the car door for me.
"No," I said, standing firm.
"Please, it's what Nathan wants," she said, giving me a pleading look.
Normally that would have worked, but right now there was no way I was going anywhere until I'd seen Nathan and been reassured that he wasn't in any sort of danger.
"Nope," I said, making my feelings known by sitting myself down on the floor next to the car.
"UUURRGGGHH!" Emily growled in frustration. "Ok, stay there. I'll see if I can go and find him."
I smiled smugly as she stormed off.
I didn't care about anything anymore. I just wanted, no needed to see Nathan.