I slowly slide on the off-shoulder shirt, trying to avoid the pain pulsing through me every time I move. Jaxon apparently couldn't make his point without some bruises. I have them across my jaw line and on my shoulders and legs. They've turned a bluish-blackish color, and my concealer barely covers them.
I French-tuck the shirt into the black skinny jeans I'm wearing, then slide on a pair of black boots. Jon was kind enough to send me my belongings, seeing that Jaxon wouldn't allow me to return to collect them. "Isabelle!" Jason's voice carries through the house. "Time to go!"
I sigh, and exit the room, not even giving my appearance a second-glance. I drag down the stairs, seeing Jason, Grant, and Neil waiting patiently for me.
"Ready?" Grant asks as my feet hit the landing.
"Let's get this over with," I murmur, pushing past them and out the door.
"Don't you want to know where Jaxon is?" Neil questions as they follow me.
"Not particularly," I say monotonously, walking a few paces in front of them.
"Why not?" He pursues my negativity. I stop in my tracks, turning around to face them.
"Because," I say the word with a hint of an attitude to it, "I hate him." I say spitefully, spinning around and starting up my walk again.
They seem shocked by my response, but they quickly regain themselves and catch up with me. "Jaxon is already at the barbecue," Jason says, despite my couldn't-care-less attitude.
"Like I said, I don't care," I say harshly, not looking him in the face. Suddenly, I'm pulled to a stop by a hand on my armâugh, Jason.
"What?" I raise my eyebrows expectantly. "Don't touch me." I pull away from his grip and he lets meâprobably because he knows Jaxon won't like someone else man handling his mate.
"Listen, pup, you're new to our pack, so you don't know exactly how things run around here. No one ever disrespects Alpha Jaxon and those who do are punished," He says formally and threateningly.
"I'm supposed to care, why?" I ask.
"Because," A new voice breaks in, and I go stiff at the sound, "You belong to this pack now, sweetheart." I slowly turn around, my eyes meeting those cold, blue stones. "And now it's time for you to meet everyone." He holds out his hand, and I don't even look down at it. He huffs, forcing me to hold his hand as he drags me on to the pack picnic. "...Ladies and Gentleman, our new Luna, Isabelle Quinn!" I hear over a sound system. Oh no.
My social anxiety gets the best of me and I stop, not wanting to break through the trees to the picnic area. "Come on, child," He chides impatiently.
"Y-You didn't sayâ" I squeak, but he yanks me through the forestry and into a large crowd of around five-hundred. My old pack only had one or two hundred- this must be why Jaxon is so powerful, strength in numbers.
The crowd suddenly parts like the red sea, allowing us to move to the stage. I trudge beside Jaxon reluctantly while avoiding the curious eyes of his pack.
He helps me up onto the platform, guiding me to the podium whilst the announcer steps aside for us. "Hello, Moonlight members," Jaxon says formally. "I would like you all to meet my mate, Isabelle Quinn, from Moonstone up in Tennessee. We will do a brief question and answer session," I tense up at his words.
Way to not consult me on this, I send him through our link.
He shoots me a glance, You did not want any part in being my mate, so why should I consult you? I'm about to answer back, when he pulls me up to the podium.
"First question," His voice booms over the crowd even without a microphone.
"How old are you?" A young girl questions.
"Eighteen," I answer shakily.
"Was it hard to leave your pack?" A different woman asks from somewhere in the crowd.
"Yes, of course it was but I know that I'll be happier here, with Jaxon," I force a smile, attempting to obey Jaxon's commands to act happy.
She seems satisfied with my answer, and nods her thanks. "Any family?" An older man asks.
"No sir, my father is dead and my mother is missing. I have no siblingsâto my knowledge," I answer honestly.
It's silent, suddenly, and all is still around us. They're all just staring at me, and I'm seriously contemplating curling up into a ball and dying.
As Jaxon is about to wrap it up, a small girl steps up, clinging her blanket tightly to her, "Do you love my brother?" She asks, her voice coming out quiet and sweet. Her brother?
Yes, that's my sister Annabeth. Answer her. His voice pops in my head and I put the wall back up so I can't hear his nagging.
I smile at her, the features she's wearing reminding me of Jaxon. Her black hair falls down her back in ringlets, and she possesses those same eyes, except hers are full of light and happiness, whereas Jaxon's are cold and lifeless.
"Of course," I say kindly, earning a loud cheer from the congregation.
He steps in front of me, "Let's eat, shall we?" Everyone cheers even more, then begins to disperse to the tables of food.
I take a large breath, my muscles relaxing. "I don't feel very well," I confess to Jaxon.
"You're probably just hungry," He shrugs me off.
"No, Jaxon, seriously. I need to get out of here right now," I say, panicking a little. I need air. I can't breathe.
"Calm down, you're fine," He tells me spitefully, turning his back.
"I can't breathe," My voice comes out strained and breathless.
"For the love of GodâGrant!" He calls to Grant, who is at the front of the line for food.
"Yes Alpha?" He asks, approaching us.
"Take Isabelle away from this crowd for a couple of minutes, she's not feeling well," He commands.
I can hear Grant's burning, unspoken questionâWhy don't you just take her?
"I have business here. Someone has to maintain crowd control," Jaxon snorts, turning away from us to talk to a group of young women.
"C'mon," Grant motions for me to follow him, and I doâslowly, nonetheless. He takes me around fifty paces into the woods until the trees are thinly arranged around us. I go over to one, placing my hand on it and allowing it's energy to flow into me.
"What're you doing?" He asks, staring at me as if I'm insane.
"Channeling the tree's energy," I say, closing my eyes in concentration.
"How do you do that?" He questions, curious, all of a sudden.
My eyes snap open, meeting his. "You haven't learned?"
"No, Jaxon thinks all of that nature channeling stuff is shit," He answers simply.
"At my pack, it was almost a rite of passage to learn to do so. Here, let me show you," I motion for him to come over. He willingly does so, and I instruct him, "Put your hand on the trunk like this," He does so. "Then, you close your eyes and concentrate. See the energy from the tree flowing into your veins. Imagine the picture. What color is the tree's life source? What's yours? You have to be very specific in order to complete the process," I say, my eyes closed and my voice level.
I can tell he's attempting the process, and I feel the energy coming to me falter slightly, then dim down.
"You got it," I say, impressed. "Took me a month to learn."
"A month?" He asks, breaking the flow.
"Considering I was like six and didn't know what any of the big words they were using meant," I remain in the same position.
He laughs, then questions, "Do you really love Jaxon?"
"Not at all."
"Why not?" He asks. "He's pretty cool once you get to know him."
"Yes, he was 'pretty cool' when he was forcing his teeth into my unwilling neck," I say calmly, feeding off the tree.
"You can't tell anyone in the pack that," He states. "It'll ruin him."
"My very existence seems to ruin him, so why don't I just leave? I don't exactly understand my purpose," I voice my thoughts.
"Well, he needs you to be Luna and his mateâ"
I cut him off, "No he doesn't. Just yesterday he told me he'd find a new Luna and mate but make me stay here and be miserable. Of course I argued with him. How do you think I got these bruises? And don't act like you don't see them. You knew as soon as I walked out the front door."
I open my eyes and he hangs his head in guilt. "His pack thinks he's so perfect and wonderful, but if they knew his true nature, they'd put him down like Henry the Sixteenth."
I'm about to say more, when he speaks, "We should be getting back."
"I suppose," I shrug, walking ahead of him and back to the barbecue. Everyone is seated and eating by now, and Iâ not being very hungryâ just scan the crowd for Jaxon.
I finally spot him at an all-girls table, one woman seated too-close for my likingâcorrection, my wolf's liking. She's playing with his hair and whispering in his ear every now and then.
He smiles playfully at her and I roll my eyes. I start back towards the house, and Grant calls after me, "Aren't you coming?"
"I suddenly feel as if I'm going to throw up, excuse me," I retort, my eyes flashing to Jaxon's toy.
I spin on my heel, and speed walk back to the pack house. As soon as I'm in, I use the landline to call Jon. "Hello?" His voice comes through as groggy on the other end.
"Did I wake you?"
"Isabelle? Nah, it's whatever. How are you? Did you get your clothes?" He bombards me with questions.
I smile, "Yeah, it's me. I'm fine and I did get my clothes. Thanks for that."
"Well, I knew you couldn't live without your clothes, so I sent 'em on over. How's the mated life? A lot of face-sucking?" In this moment, I can just see him lounged across his bed, smirking playfully with his messy bedhead.
God, I miss him. I lower my voice, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it babe?" He asks, not hearing the evident seriousness of my tone.
"J-Jon, he forced me," I stutter.
"To do what, exactly?" His volume rises as he becomes earnest.
"He marked me by force, an-and I ran away, but they caught me and forced me back. He said if I ever tried to escape again, he'd punish me, then told me flat-out that he's going to find a new mate and Luna," I explain to him.
"Give him the phone. Let me talk to him," He insists.
"He doesn't know I'm talking to you. He'd kill me if he knew I was," I say, feeling weak and defeated. What happened to the feisty Isabelle who fought her Alpha-Mate?
Oh, yeah, she was marked into submission. Now, she's running around with her tail between her legs, if you'll forgive a pun. "Isabelle, you have to get off the phone now. Ryan said they can sense whatever you're doing even when you have a wall up, which I suppose you do. Don't call me again, ok? I'll work this out. I love you, Izzy," He whispers, like someone is going to hear him.
"I love you too Jon," I whisper back, then quickly hang up. Sure as the world, I hear his footsteps outside.
I place the phone down silently then lie on the couch. "Isabelle!" His voice roars and echoes off the walls.
"Yes?" I whimper.
"Why in god's name would you leave? You need to socialize!" He chastises me.
"Sorry if seeing you let another woman fall all over you made me feel sick to my stomach," I can't keep these words from rushing out. I don't regret them, but I know that I soon will.
"She is a part of your pack," Is all he says in his defense.
"Your pack, not mine. It will never be mine," I correct him, and his eyes completely cloud over with rage.
"Shut your mouth right now!" He screams, making me wince immensely. "I am sick and tired of your constant childlike behavior. From now on, until I say so, you will be isolated until you can get your attitude right, understand? You won't see anyone except Grant or myself. You won't go outside, you won't call your little boyfriend, and you won't disrespect me anymore."
He yanks me up by my arm, dragging me through the house and out the back opening. He throws me into the jeep parked out there, then starts it up and speeds off through the woods. We drive on curvy paths and odd roads until we finally reach a small cottage. He takes hold of the back of my neck and steers me to the door, where he unlocks it and shoves me into a dark and musty room.
I fall, landing unceremoniously on my butt. "This is where you'll stay. There are lights somewhere, find them," He says carelessly, about to close the door. "Oh, and Isabelle," He pops his head back in, "that phone call signed your boyfriend's death sentence."
I open my mouth to reject, but he slams the door and locks it behind him- leaving me in the dark. I curl up in a ball, repeating my nightly process of crying my eyes out. I've only been here three days, and I'm not exactly off to a "good" start.
But all I can think about is Jon and how I'm the reason he's going to be executed. I remove my boots, setting them beside me carefully, before balling up on the floor and attempting to sleep.
It's early, but I'm tired and I don't feel like turning on the lights to observe my new home.
I'll save that one for tomorrow...
Like? Yes/No?
1. How long do you think she'll stay in isolation?
2. Will it affect her/his feelings for him/her?
Thanks, love you guys!
~I.C. Judah