Ronan
She's too stubborn. He hates this kind of attitude, especially when it comes from a woman. Especially when it comes from his mate. He's the alpha. She won't make him look weak with all of this disobedience. Not in front of his pack. He will beat her into submission before she manages to ruin his reputation.
But at the same time...
He loves it. He loves the way she pouts her lips in disapproval, the way she always tries to look bigger, dangerous. She always stares straight into his eyes, lowering her gaze just in time to not get punished for disrespect. He loves that she is strong, she intrigues him, and she stirs something deep in him, making him question everything he does. Her dirty little mouth irritates him, though. He's not used to people talking back to him, defying him. And he won't tolerate it, especially from her.
His wolf inside him is restless, wanting to claim her, to mark her as his in every possible way. He was satisfied when he bit her, but the look on her face, the feeling marking her gave him... He wanted to throw her in his bed right there, but she looked so very tired, too emotional. And he didn't want her to pass out or break down in tears in the middle of the fun.
She needed to get used to the idea that she is owned now. And he, being kind, let her have this one night to herself to put her thoughts in order. So he left her in the bedroom alone, telling her to sleep and giving her a direct order to stay in that room. Not trusting her, he locked the door, shifted, and went for a long run to clear his head.
Now he's dragging her down to the kitchen where some females are gathered to make breakfast for the pack. Eira is definitely not the morning person. When he came into the room, she was already up, but she was moody and didn't want to go with him, pouting those lips of hers and telling him she was not hungry. So he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the corridor, with Eira screaming and kicking. One look was enough for her to shut up.
As they come to the kitchen area, all the females lower their heads, baring their necks in respect. Eira should learn this behavior too. ''You'' He turns to his mate, finding her eyeing the people around her suspiciously. ''Stay here, don't even think of running off, you understand?'' he tugs her arm, making sure her attention is on him. ''Yes,'' she almost hisses through her clenched teeth, reminding him of a feral cat. His mind starts to wonder if she'll be as feral in bed too, imagining her squirming underneath him, those plump lips parted in pleasure...
He shakes his head, making the image in his head disappear. He doesn't need to get a boner before his usual training... ''Behave,'' he adds and goes to the training rooms outside.
*****
Eira
All the females are looking at me now, their eyes going straight to the freshly torn skin on my neck. I flinch, turning my body away from them. Damn, this whole place makes me so uncomfortable. One of them walks straight to me, her midnight hair braided in a nice French braid, her heart-shaped face open and friendly. ''Hey, new one!'' She smiles at me and put her cheek to mine, greeting me, taking my smell in. Others come to me too, wanting to meet the new member of the pack. They shouldn't bother as I'm not staying here for long...
I cautiously let them do this welcoming shit, but the fact that they all take in my smell is not very beneficial for my escape plan. They could easily pick my scent and try to hunt me down when I'm getting my ass out of this place. Every single one of them is an enemy to me.
''Why don't you sit down? You look starving, the food is almost ready,'' after all the introductions, the midnight hair girl, Hanna, says, turning to the table behind us. Should I just tell them all to fuck themselves and bolt straight to the door? But my ears catch voices, quickly getting nearer, so I nod and head to the big table, sitting down at its farthest corner. A second later, the door opens and the males start to fill the room. A few of them go straight to the girls, definitely their mates, kissing them passionately, hugging tightly. Oh for god's sake, please keep your pants in place.
Ronan comes, too. He locates me amongst the others, ordering with his finger for me to come. How dare he push me around like that? I don't want to sit with him, this little corner is just fine! But the memory of last night comes to the surface and my body subconsciously clenches. My wolf, however, is instantly up and jumping around, eager to get closer to her mate. Calm down, goddammit.
Narrowing my eyes, I slowly, reluctantly go to him, sitting on his left. It's intimidating, to say the least. He reeks of power and ease, his tall frame towering over my small one, making me desperately want to go and find some place to hide. This man scares the crap out of me. But my wolf is happy to have such a powerful man as her mate, making her feel safe and content, making me feel confused and unsure about everything.
Finally, everyone sits down too, waiting for Ronan to take his first bite, chatter filling the room.
I look around the table, trying to decide what to eat. I'm hungry but the thought of eating with so many enemies around makes my stomach turn. So I pick some fruits and start slowly eating, thoroughly chewing every bite, suspiciously eying every single person around this table.
Hanna is sitting next to me and beside her - her mate, assuming from the way they were kissing five minutes ago. He is shooting glances, smiling at her once in a while, being all romancy and shit. I'm trying to eat, dammit. There is this other girl, mean-faced, looking at me with a clear look of disgust. What's your problem, bitch? I stare at her too until she finally breaks the gaze away. What a damn bitch.
Ronan is talking to a man on his right, most likely his beta. The seat near him is empty, probably left for his mate. I silently thank god that Ronan has more important things to do than slamming me to the wall, not paying much attention to me at all.
''So, have you already seen the grounds?'' Hanna asks, her eyes bright, leaning toward me. Dude, I don't give a crap about this land, I have no plan of staying here another day or two. ''Uh, no, I haven't'' I say instead, not wanting to draw Ronan's attention with my silence, keeping my true thoughts to myself. Hanna's face lits up. ''Cool, I can show you around if you want''. Now when I'm thinking about it, it seems like a good idea to check this place, see what weapons can be used, find a nice route to quietly escape...
''No, she's coming with me'' Ronan interrupts. Hanna instantly lowers her eyes down. Yep, I'm sure as hell I don't want to check the territory. I feel his hand landing on my thigh, slowly caressing it. I stare at it for a second, my disgust and hate growing. Do I really want to say something to him? Do I really want to unleash his wrath on me? Do I... I stop in the middle of a bite, lift my head, straighten my back and slowly turn to him. ''Don't. Touch. Me''.
The whole room gets quiet. Hanna's eyes shoot at me, disbelief and fear clearly visible. Well shit. I will definitely regret this.
Ronan stands up. I suck my breath. He grabs my neck. I, on the other hand, think I will pee myself. He then flings me to the door with such force my whole body rattles. I push myself up, trying to collect myself. But Ronan shoves the door open and kicks me outside, coming to me again.
Am I going to regret this even more? Yes. Am I going to get killed? Also yes. But I still stand up, call the storm inside me, my wolf, raging from such humiliation, is ready to fight, and I shift. I'm done being his punching bag! I am so angry I see red. With my teeth bared, my hackles raised, vicious snarl escaping my throat, I attack.
The stupid fucker didn't expect it this time and my teeth sink deep into his arm. He yells, smashes my head with his other arm, and as soon as I release, he shifts too. But I am not scared, I am no coward. I attack him again, biting his shoulder, ripping the skin, tearing the muscles. The taste of blood fills my mouth and somehow it feels wrong. Is it because he's my mate? I see others shifting too, but the brown wolf growls, commanding them to stay put. Good, I won't have to deal with others, too.
To no surprise, Ronan doesn't hold back. He latches on my neck, shaking my whole body with his grip. But I am no pup. I raise my claws and slash them through his belly, tearing vulnerable skin open. Blood floods down both from me and him, making the grass slick. It's a fight till death.
Even with his belly cut open, Ronan doesn't let go. He shakes me violently again, my bones rattling. I fight for my life and manage to kick his front leg. He stumbles, releases his grip a little, and in the instant, I'm free. I don't wait, I jump on him again, this time targeting his throat. But I'm too slow. He avoids me, jumps on me, pushes my body to the ground, and grabs me by my throat.
And just like that, I'm ready to die. I stop struggling. I feel... Calm. Waiting for a killing blow, peace consuming me, I'm ready to meet my father.
It never comes. The bites, on the other hand, do come. The brown wolf bites me again and again, not enough to kill, but enough for me to finally learn from my mistakes. I try to defend myself, but damn, he's too strong, too big, too fast. He will always win. As soon as he stops, I try to rise, only to be met by widely open full of sharp and bloody teeth mouth. Slowly, my courage is changed by fear.
Finally, I hear everyone leaving. The beast releases me, still growling, making sure I won't jump on him again. He then stands about two meters away from me, head lowered, ears pinned, teeth bared. I try to stand from the mud I'm laying in, but again, the brown one attacks, making me stay still.
We stay like this for what feels like hours. He's pacing around me, daring me to move. But I don't. Everything hurts. My inner wolf is whining by this time, guilty of what she tried to do to her mate. She wants to crawl to him, to lick his wounds, to lay at his feet, baring her belly and neck. I only cry inside.
I lay in this mud, cold spring ground freezing my body. But I'm too frightened to move a muscle. I can hear people coming and going but no one says anything. No one will help. I was ready to die. Just like that. The thought scares me so much I don't know what to do with myself, with this realization.
Finally, the brown wolf comes to me. He's sniffing me, poking me, even stepping over me to see my reaction. I simply lay. Satisfied, he nips me, telling me to get up. I obey. My legs a wobbly and my neck hurts like hell. The wounds are most likely healed already, but I will definitely be sore for a while.
Ronan goes to the forest, not even looking if I follow. He knows I will. My stupid wolf wants to take over so badly it's hard to keep her at bay. I fight her for a while, but I am so tired, so sore, and so broken that I finally give up. I simply watch what she will do, emotionless.
She starts whining. The brown wolf looks at her. He knows it's my wolf in charge - my eyes are emerald green now. My wolf crouches, tail between her legs, eyes down. She crawls to him, inch by inch, whining like a little pup.
The beast lets her reach him and she starts nuzzling him, licking his bloody fur, rubbing all of her body to his, begging for forgiveness. He doesn't react. My wolf whines again, running around him with her legs bent, looking small, then she lays beneath him, baring her neck to him, begging, always begging. It's hard to watch her beg like that.
Finally, he moves. He nips her neck again, not enough to hurt, and licks her bloody face too. My wolf, who couldn't be happier, dances around him rubbing against him, wanting to please her mate. My wolf needed that, it is completely against her instincts to fight with her mate, especially the way I did - with the intention to kill.
Finally, he stands up and starts running. My wolf follows, dancing around him, trying to gain his attention. We reach the river and after the beast quenches his thirst, I drink too. We run to the south now, checking animal trails, my wolf happily exploring new lands.
After a while, we go back to the packhouse. I regain my control now. I see a pile of neatly folded clothes o a bench, waiting to be picked. Ronan shifts back, pulling his pants on. He nods to me, letting me shift too. I grab the clothes, quickly dress and wait for him to say something, too embarrassed to look at him. He simply grabs my hand and pushes me through the door.
As we enter the house, I see people gathered around. Ronan loudly says ''Let this be a lesson to all of you. I did not kill her only because she's my mate. Anyone who dares to do shit like this will get even worse.'' He doesn't wait for their reaction and pushes me up the stairs and then to the bedroom, which, I realize with dread, I'll have to share with him.
As soon as the door closes, I'm shitting my pants. He's angry, so very angry. I can almost taste his rage. My wolf whimpers again. This will not end well. Ronan takes a deep breath. Then, very quietly, he speaks. ''Just this once, I'll let you slip. Just this once, you can get away with your wolf begging for forgiveness. I won't be merciful again. You dishonor me again, you get beaten into submission. I will make your life so miserable you wish you were dead. Am I clear this time?''
I don't let him know I have already wished for my end.
The authority in his voice is enough for me to nod my head though, my eyes fixed on my feet.
''Go to the damn shower. You're all bloody''. I do what I was told with no question, rushing to escape his wrath.
As my hand grips the handle, he very clearly, almost casually, says "I'll give you ten minutes alone".
My heart sinks to my stomach. I know what he means. My eyes start to water as I press the handle down.
Almost robotically, I peel all of my clothes, too tired to care about the absence of the door lock.
As I stand in the shower, warm water does almost nothing to calm the misery in my heart. I know I screwed big time today. All I had to do was to let him keep his damn arm on my leg and this would have never happened. I know what he will do to me tonight. I knew it as soon as I failed to rip his throat out. I know he wants me to break me, to show what power he holds over me. My wolf's effort wasn't enough.
Maybe if I wouldn't be so fucking stupid, he would have given me a few days. Maybe I even would have time to escape. But I failed myself. And now I must deal with the consequences.
I wait for my panic to rise, to consume me, but it never comes. Pink water below me does nothing to me too. I feel empty.
As I stand under the already cooling water, my ten minutes passing by, I hear the door slamming open. I close my eyes. Leaning my forehead to the shower glass, I brace myself for what's about to come.
I feel his hands snaking around me, ready to crush my soul.
A/N
Well well well. I just have written the longest chapter in the book so far! It took me a while to write it down, to make it right. I know I still have a looong way to go to write somewhat decently, but I am truly proud of this one!
Please let me know what you think. I know it doesn't look like it, but your feedback means the world to me, especially as this is my first book ever!
I love you all <3
xoxoxoxo