stands still for a moment when she gets outside, not sure where to go, but as soon as she sees an opening in the forest, she runs barefoot towards it as fast as her legs could carry her - she needed to find Tobias.
'This would be so much easier if I could transform' Isabelle thought to herself.
One thing about Isabelle that she didn't like to talk about was the fact that she had only ever shifted once on the full moon of her thirteenth birthday, like all other werewolves, but ever since, it had not happened, even though everyone else around her turned on every full moon afterwards, like she should've done. In some ways, Isabelle was glad she didn't have to keep going through it because it was the most painful thing she had ever felt but she never felt normal or included when everyone would go out as a pack to hunt every month, she would be left at the pack house with all the people too ill and weak to transform so that's what she became known as: Weak.
Alpha Jay would try to encourage her every single month, as if telling her enough times she could do it would make it happen, but it never did. Isabelle had a good sense of smell and relatively good balance, just like the other werewolves, but couldn't turn like everyone else.
Soon enough, it was accepted that Isabelle was simply different, but Alpha Jay never treated her any differently because of it; he would simply tell her that she was his special girl whenever she was feeling down about it.
Just as Isabelle was coming to terms with being different and that maybe it wasn't a bad thing, Alpha Jay had died and suddenly Isabelle was not welcome in the pack anymore. Isabelle was teased mercilessly about it being told she wasn't a real werewolf, she was an embarrassment, and nobody wanted her around.
Tears had been streaming down Isabelle's face since she had run from the bedroom, half because of the fear of never seeing her best friend again but the image of Alex's shocked face kept flashing through her mind this wasn't how things were supposed to be and Isabelle was terrified that she had already ruined the best thing that could happen to her.
As the adrenaline was starting to wear off, Isabelle realised that she was running barefoot on twigs, leaves and mud which made things painful and much harder to run when she was already becoming increasingly worn out.
After some time, it felt like forever to Isabella, but she couldn't be sure. Isabelle started to lose hope; she had been running around in circles and still had seen no sign of bulkoso. She could no longer smell his trace anywhere, so she had nothing to go on to find him. Isabelle slumped against the nearest tree before sliding down it to sit down, she brought her knees close to her chest and rested her cheek on her knee as she cried softly.
Everything around Isabelle is eerily quiet, with the only sounds being her heavy breathing... that is, until she hears the stereotypical horror movie snap of a branch close by, which brings Isabelle to attention, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end.
Isabelle stands up and steps forward to see where the noise is coming from even though she couldn't fight anything off if there was something dangerous waiting for her. Isabelle isn't sure if the yellow eyes deep within the bushes are real, so she goes to get closer, even though her inner wolf is screaming for her to move away. For some reason, she doesn't feel scared.
As Isabelle takes another step, there is rustling behind her, so she quickly turns round to see Alex walk through the trees with anxiety in his eyes, which turns into relief when he sees that she is okay. Isabelle spins back around in the direction of the eyes, but they are gone, making her think she had imagined it all.
"Isabelle?" Alex says softly not walking closer until he knows how she is feeling
"I said don't follow me", Isabelle sighs. It wasn't an angry sigh, not anymore, as she knew he hadn't realised how important bulkoso was to her, not to mention Isabelle knew he would eventually follow her, no matter what she said - he was the King after all.
"You knew I would", Alex starts as if he's reading her mind ", I brought us some things so that we can have a stakeout until we find the cat...
Bulkoso" he quickly corrects himself with a nervous smile on his face.
Isabelle hadn't even noticed the backpack he had with him full of things. One minute, she was thinking how sweet he was, feeling her tummy warm with happiness, but then she started to cry again.
"What if I never find him?" Isabelle asks through her tears.
It was at this moment that it truly made sense to Alex how much bulkoso meant to Isabelle, which meant that he would do anything to find the cat and let it live with them, even if he thought it was the oddest thing he had ever seen.
Alex knew he would do anything to ensure his mate's happiness.
Bulkoso was to Isabelle what Jackson was to Alex. They were best friends and would feel like they were missing a limb if the other were gone. If Jackson went missing, Alex wouldn't rest until he had found him, and that was exactly what Isabelle was going to do, so as her mate, Alex would be there throughout it all.
Werewolves were pack animals, so it was very rare to find a werewolf within a pack who didn't have any friends, but Alex knew that something wasn't right with the pack that he had found Isabelle in, but now wasn't the time to question that.
Alex pulled Isabelle into a hug. Shehe flinched at first, but very quickly settled into it. Neither Alex nor Isabelle could stop themselves from smelling the other person; it was the most addictive thing either of them had experienced.
"You will find him, I promise. Look, about a 5-minute walk is a lake, it's my favourite place to go and sit while I think about things, why don't we go there? There is no point in running around, getting upset but never finding him, let him come to us when he is ready" Alex explained
Isabelle, who was still pressed against Alex's chest (A place he didn't really want to move her from), nodded. Isabelle took a deep breath and started to walk in the direction Alex pointed, but he noticed that she was uncomfortable walking as she was limping, so he went behind her and lifted her bridal style into his arms, making her squeal in surprise. Alex catches a glimpse of the bottom of Isabelle's feet, which are covered in scratches and cuts, which makes him angry. He isn't even sure who or what he is angry at, but knowing that his mate is hurting angers him.
Alex carries Isabelle with ease until they reach the lake, even in darkness, it was one of the most beautiful, relaxing places he had ever seen. Alex gently placed Isabelle on her feet, telling her not to move, as he didn't want her to have further damage to her feet.
Isabelle watched as Alex reached into the bag and pulled out a blanket, which he lay on the floor, and told her to sit on it.
"A blanket? Really? You really did think of everything," Isabelle teases playfully with a small smile on her face, but Alex could still see the anxious lines on her face as she looked around, hoping to see Tobias. Alex sat down next to Isabelle and pulled her close to his body to keep her warm. He kissed the top of her head, never wanting this closeness to end. Of course, he wanted to make her happy by finding bulkoso, but he was glad of his disappearance just because he could experience this moment.
"This could be a long night so I thought I'd make it as comfortable as I could" Alex shrugged as if it was nothing.
Both Isabelle and Alex fell into a comfortable silence, all of Isabelle's thoughts being about bulkoso as she felt like thinking about anything else would make her head explode.
Alex's thoughts were whirling around so quickly he barely had time to contemplate each one but it was mainly due to his new mate, his pack and the prospect of life never being the same again.