The Call

After spending hours in bed relishing in Kiara’s body, Forrest and his mate both lied in his bed, panting in exhaustion, but not tired enough to be lulled to sleep. While Forrest was trying to gradually let sleep overtake him, for Kiara, she was more bothered to be put to sleep, even after what they did.

“Forrest. Is something wrong?" she dared ask.

Forrest took a moment to take an a breath and exhale, answering, "Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Kiara turned to her side, facing her mate, and propped up on an elbow. “Forrest. I'm a werewolf, just like you are. You know how sharp our hearing is. Or did you really think hours of sex was enough to mask your problem?”

While Forrest would normally not like to be questioned for his actions, if it was his beloved mate asking, who was he to deny her a response? "A thought has been plaguing my mind all day today. Been trying to push it away, but it kept persisting.”

Kiara raised a brow at the response. “Is that really it?”

Confused by the question, Forrest turned to her and asked, "What are you talking about?"

“I’m saying, I don’t think you're telling me the whole problem. Come now, what else is there?"

Forrest did not know what she meant in her statement. Though thinking about it, it was not as though he was thinking about Christen just today.

"I suppose you can say that. I actually have been having these thoughts for a while now. Only I didn’t think much on those. Not as strongly as today.”

“How do you mean?" Kiara persisted.

“You remember that human girl I was married to? While she was a poor, lowly human, she had some awareness of her place in my life. The only time she showed any resistance in what I do was when I wanted her to sign that divorce paper. Even then, it was all nothing but questions. And though she tried to talk me into giving her a chance, she quickly clammed up. Remembering about her made me wonder why all other humans could not be just as mindful of their place as she was. Perhaps then, they could actually get somewhere with their pitiful lives, instead of slaving it away. Complain about whatever ‘unfairness’ they claim to be victims of.” Once he was done explaining, Forrest noticed an odd expression of Kiara’s face. "What is it?”

"Do you ever regret what you did to her?" she suddenly asked, much to his bafflement.

“‘Regret’? What do you mean?”

“Divorce is one thing, don’t forget you also kicked her out of her house. It may just be a shack to you, but wasn't it still her home?"

Forrest was quickly getting annoyed with the conversation, as he retorted, “‘Used to’. That place is no longer a house anyone would just live in. Besides, her family has a house of their own. It's not like she is completely without shelter.”

“Even so, you're thinking about her. And have been for a while, from the sounds of it,” Kiara pointed out. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you don’t just regret what you did to her; you miss her.”

Forrest couldn’t believe what he was hearing his own mate suggest. Him? A proud werewolf? Feeling regret for what he did to a human? Moreover, long for her?!

"If you’re trying to make a joke, Kiara, you’re failing at that,” he said.

“I’m not joking,” she corrected. "If anything, you could say I actually feel the same way.”

That piqued his interest even mere. “How do you mean?”

“Well… There's this human girt at my father’s company. She was engaged to a seemingly good man, and was really happy with him.”

Forest raised a brow at the words used. “‘Seemingly gentle’? ‘Was’ happy?”

"I met him one day and sniffed out the scent of another female on him. I tried to warn the employee about him, but she didn’t believe me. Until, one day…”

It did not take long for Forrest to realize what happened next. A realization that made him scoff. "Just what makes humans pathetic. If not that stubbornness to believe they are in the right, then it’d be the disloyalty?"

Rather than agree with him, Kiara remained saddened. "Normally, I would agree with you as a fellow werewolf. But living in this world for so long, getting close to the humans? I feel more sympathy towards her. When the employee found out the truth of her now ex-fiancee, she became so depressed. Kept making mistakes she normally wouldn’t make. She even fell down the stairs once and…”

Forrest raised a brow when his mate stopped there. “And?”

Kiara took in a breath before resuming. “She had a baby. His baby. And she lost it.”

The wards shocked Forrest then. The human was also pregnant with a child? Yet the male still abandoned her fur another without a second thought?

"She originally wanted it to be a surprise. When she lost it, she was glad she did. Said that the baby at least died without knowing how cruel the world is. It was all just a front, though, to hide how she truly felt, losing her child.”

Forrest didn’t know why but he started to think about Christen again upon listening to his mates’ story. Even though he never touched her, at the very least, if she was anything like Kiara's employer…

“What happened to the female after that?”

“She mourned. Without anyone else noticing, she cried for her baby. Kept blaming herself for letting it die. I gave her some time off to heal, but... Every time I visit her, she looked so broken.”

A scoff left Forrest's lips, as the male werewolf was filled with disbelief by what his mate was saying. "They're only humans. They're not worth our time," he reminded her.

“If I hadn’t spend so much time in this world, I would’ve thought so, too. Not just as a businesswoman, but also as a person. I slowly came to realize the humans are not as lowly as we believe. Perhaps there are some that are either too pitiful or low for us to give any attention to, but truthfully? They are not so different from us.”

Forrest remained silent as he listened to Kiara’s words. While it does not change his prospective an humans, seeing his beloved feel anything for them brought upon mixed feelings in him. A sigh escaped his lips, and he reached for his phone on the nightstand by him.

“I feel like making a call to someone. Not because I was a bit moved by your speech,” he informed.

Kiara simply smiled at him and closed her eyes, turning to her other side to give him some privacy, and catch some sleep. As she rested, Forrest scrolled through his contacts to reach a number he never thought he would call again. A number he told himself to delete, yet kept forgetting to do so. A begrudging expression formed on his face at the sight of it. He really did not want to make this call. But, in respect for Kiara’s change of view towards the humans, he at least would have to do this much.

‘Let's just get this over with,’ he told him self, making the call.

Several rings later, the call was picked up, and a slurred, drunken voice answered, "Hello?"

Forrest raised a brow at the voice in slight shock before pushing it behind him. “Hello. Is this the McGuire Residence?"

Following the gulp heard on the other end, the voice answered, "Oh, if it isn’t the great Forrest Riverdale? To what do we peasants owe this call?"

Worry started to fill him more than he did feeling offended by the response. "Is Christen there? I wish to speak to her.”

“’Christen’? That little bitch? Sure. I’ll let you speak to her. If that piece of shit of a bitch ever comes back!"