My Hope (Complete)

Chapter 36

Noah

I stay with Hope until the sun starts to rise. I changed back into my wolf form so that I could stay warm and wrap her smaller wolf inside my protective embrace. I could feel her even breaths and hear her steady heartbeat. That always makes me feel content and at ease.

I nudge her gently and lick the top of her head. I have to return home and get ready for work. I absolutely hate the thought of leaving her, but I already took Friday off. She will stay home today and adjust to her new abilities. She will also need more sleep.

Hope's wolf eyes pop open and she looks around in surprise. She isn't used to her sharpened senses. I'm sure she can hear the other creatures in the woods waking up as well. I touch her nose with mine. She closes her eyes and nuzzles under my chin once again. She doesn't want to get up. I have to drag myself away from her. Then I change back into my human form so I can talk to her before I go. I hate that I can't communicate with her through the mind link yet.

"I'm sorry I have to go Love." She nods her head and looks down. I can feel the sadness emanating from her, even though we haven't completed the bond. "Can you change back, so you can tell me how you are feeling?" She shakes her fur out and then transforms into my beautiful Hope. "Thank you for staying with me." She says. I bring her body close to mine and hold her for a moment before I leave. "Staying with you is all I wanted to do. You never have to thank me for that. How are you doing?" I ask hesitantly.

"I feel better than I did when I first got home. But I am still frustrated with my Dad. He has no idea how it feels to be away from you." "I think he will change his mind. Just be patient." I tell her, even though I don't feel that way myself. I want to mark her this very second and take her away where no one else will see her. But that is irrational and I need to be mature about this. I am the Alpha after all. I should show the utmost self control and patience. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so responsible.

She continues to hold me close, wrapped in my warmth. I place a kiss on her head. "You need to get inside where it's warm. Go to bed and sleep some more. Then work on shifting. The more you do it, the easier it will become. And the less likely you will accidently shift in the middle of your classroom." I tell her with some humor in my voice. "I don't want you to leave, but I know you have to go. So I won't beg you to stay." "I appreciate that, since my resolve is slipping as we speak." She gives me a big smile and a small laugh. That's my girl.

After a few more minutes of blissful hugging, I remove myself from her and make sure she gets into the house before I change back into my wolf and run home. I have enough time to shower and shave before heading to school. Today will be hard. Knowing she is suffering, and feeling the separation myself. It's even worse now that my wolf and her wolf have officially met. My wolf is anxious and worried about his mate. He want's to be close to her because she is so new. I am going to have to try and block his emotions if I plan to get anything done today.

I reluctantly head to work. Her empty seat is torturing me. I can barely concentrate. I assign silent reading in most of my classes. My brothers check in on me through the mind link. They know I'm suffering. By lunchtime, I feel like my wolf is just going to claw his way out of my skin if I don't change and run to my mate. I decide that I have to do it. I need to see if she's alright. I don't honestly know if I'm oaky. I let the twins know I'm going. Neither is of them are surprised.

I drive to her house a little faster than is safe. I ring the doorbell three times thinking that the more I ring, the sooner I will see her. Tempest surprises me by answering the door. She looks tired. "Thank God you're here!" She says, pulling me inside. "Her wolf howls an agonizingly sad sound every time she changes. And when she is in human form, she is in her bed moaning and crying. You have to help her."

I race upstairs and rush into her room. She is on the bed rocking back and forth. Her head pops up when I enter. I kneel down in front of her and lay my head in her lap. "I know, it's okay love." Tempest enters the room right behind me. "Noah, she can't go on like this. I can't see her suffer this way." "Our bond is extremely strong. Our wolves are fighting us to complete the marking." I tell her.

"Noah, don't leave me." Hope pleads with a scratchy voice. I raise my head and look in her eyes. They are red and puffy from crying. "I won't, I can't. I need you as much as you need me." I tell her as I cup her face with my hand. She closes her eyes and nuzzles into my embrace. I look at Tempest. She is clearly shaken. "I will take care of her. She will be fine now." I promise her Mom. She nods and lets out a relieved breath. "Thank you." she says as she leaves the room.

I pull out my phone and call the school. I tell them I had an emergency and wont be back today. Then I pick up Hope, kick off my shoes, sit on her bed with my back to the headboard. I cradle Hope in my arms. She snuggles in and I hear her sniffle. It breaks my heart just a little bit more. But my wolf is finally at peace. I can feel the tingles all over. Hope takes a deep, content breath and falls asleep. I want to ask her what happened while I was gone. It's only been about 6 hours. But I suppose a new wolf, looking for her mate can cause a lot of distress in that time. She clearly had it much worse than me today.

We can't continue like this. I have to mark her, even if her Dad disagrees. I hope Tempest can convince him to allow it. Otherwise, I could have a fight on my hands that I don't want. I need her Dad as an ally, not an enemy. His approval and respect is important to me. But I cant let Hope suffer like this. Maybe her wolf will calm down in a couple days. Or, she could get worse. I have no idea. Our people mark their mate immediately. This is unusual to say the least. I have heard that Hopes Father agonized before marking Tempest, but they completed the bonding sooner than me and Hope.

Hope sleeps peacefully in my arms for a while before waking and looking up at me with a smile that is full of love and happiness. She puts her hand on my face. "Noah, you saved me. I was going completely crazy. I can't communicate very well with my wolf, but I know that she wanted you near us. She forced the change over and over. She would run to the back door and throw herself against it, trying to get it open. I tried telling her you weren't out there any more. She would just howl, and in my head repeat Mate, over and over again."

My wolf and I feel pained by this information. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know it would be this bad." "It's okay, I know you didn't." We sit quietly for a moment. Then she looks determinedly into my eyes. "It's time Noah, you have to mark me."