chapter 2

Chapter Two

“Hello, Anne,” he said. 

Personally, I was not a fan of just walking into my room and finding someone there. I’m sure a lot of people would relate. After all, it was pretty unnerving when someone just invited themselves over when you were in the shower!

I clutched my towel- which, though it fell to mid thigh, now felt miles too short with him in my room- to my chest and tried to calm the erratic beating of my heart.

“Louis, what are you doing here? How did you get into my room?”  I asked when I could finally speak through my shock.

What astounded me the most was that he didn’t seem at all perturbed about sneaking into my room uninvited, no. He actually had the guts to look irritated, as if I was the one intruding on his personal space.

“Have you seen to your damn wounds?” He snapped.

I shrunk towards the bathroom door and contemplated jumping in and locking the door but his glare and knowing look stopped me.

“What’s it to you?” I asked, eyes narrowed, feigning  bravado I absolutely did not feel.

“Just answer me” he snapped again.

“Well I don’t think I want to answer someone who sneaks into my bedroom and yells at me”

A little petty, I was aware, but he couldn’t just sneak into my room with no explanation and begin yelling at me. We weren’t that close.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in a move I knew meant he was frustrated. I’d seen him frustrated with me enough times to know.

“Your pain is floating around in my head. It’s irritating. Fix yourself and make it stop”

“Fix myself? How do I do that?”

“For one-“ he reached for my towel, suddenly much closer to me than he was a second ago and I smacked his hand away.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen you naked Anne. I just want to check your wounds”

“It’s different if we’re in the forest and changing. This is my house, get your hand off my towel”

I slapped his hands away again. He stared at me as if I was the one being unreasonable.

“I could order you to drop your towel and you’d take it off in two seconds”

I raised a brow. “I think I can resist. Your command is stronger in wolf form and you know it”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t work in human form”

I shrugged. “I keep my wolf on a tight leash”

He nodded. “That explains it. That’s why you aren’t feeling what I’m feeling. Emerge” he whispered the command but I still felt my wolf fighting to come to the surface. I fought with all my might to regain control but a force much stronger than my hold over my wolf was pulling my wolf in a different direction, the force of an Alpha. And then I felt it. The desperate longing to be near Louis, to be wrapped in his arms. The need to kiss him, to hold on to him and never let go. It was almost overwhelming. 

“You see why I came to see how you were doing now”

“Make it stop” I asked, just resisting the urge to lean into him, to warp my arms around him.

“It’s stronger for you because you don’t let your wolf breathe. Why do you do that?” He frowned in thought.

“I don’t.. just stop it and get out of my room”

“Just let me look at your wounds and then I’ll go. Did you treat them with alcohol?”

He reached for the towel again and I tried my hardest to get my hand to push him away but I couldn’t. He used the towel to pull me even closer and the breath left my body.

He paused and looked at me with his light brown eyes dark with intensity. “I don’t know what I’d do if I took off this towel Anne”

“So don’t take it off” I said, almost wishing for the opposite.

“Recede” he whispered and my wolf retreated to the back of my head where I always shoved her. I took in a deep, cleansing breath, then shoved him away from me in shock. I was going to let him... Oh God.

“You need to get out of my room”

“Treat those wounds or I’ll be back” and then almost faster than my eyes could see, he dashed out of the window, answering the question of how he’d gotten in here in the first place. I knew my parents wouldn’t let him in unless he commanded them and I would be able to feel an Alpha command that close to me.

Finally able to breathe without his thick, mesmerizing cologne, I took deep, unsteady breaths. I’d even forgotten about the pain in my body, I’d forgotten everything once the mate bond took over, such was its strength. I wasn’t ready just yet to go into the fact that Louis was my mate and the implications thereof so I put it out of my mind for the moment, one of my finer qualities if you ask me.

I gingerly took off my towel and then the bandages after shutting and locking my window and getting the alcohol in my medicine cabinet. I carefully cleaned and rewrapped the wounds, wincing all the way. Then I put on some pjs and sat on my bed, waiting.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

“Come in”

“I heard you come in” Lincoln, my thirteen-year-old brother said. From his tone of voice, I knew that wasn’t at all everything he’d heard.

I sighed. “So you know?”

“What exactly? That you joined the hunt even though you promised me you wouldn’t or that you got hurt?” He gestured to the bloody bandages in the trash beside my table. I sighed and patted the bed beside me. He got the message and came to sit beside me.

“I had to do the Hunt Linc, I had to try to restore our family’s name”

“And did you succeed?” He asked, brow raised.

Sometimes it was unnerving how smart my little brother was.

“No I didn’t”

“And you only got hurt for your troubles. It’s not worth it Angie, please tell me you won’t try next year? Please” the desperation in his voice cut through me like a hot knife through butter; I just wanted to appease him, to make that voice go away and a smile appear on his face.

I sighed. I didn’t like to lie to my brother. I loved him and I wanted what was best for him. But that meant that sometimes I had to deceive him. Not that it did me any good, he always knew when I was lying. But I’d try anyway, if only to assuage his worries and put a smile on his face.  

“Sweetie I have to do everything it takes to restore our family name”

“No you don’t! Did it ever occur to you that I’m ok being alone? That I might even like it?”

I sighed. “It’s ok to like being alone but what pisses me off is the way they treat you. I can’t let that continue, I just can’t”

“And I can’t watch you hurt yourself for something we don’t even need”

“I know they bully you Linc” I had the rare honour of seeing my brother shocked. He usually knew anything and everything. But this time I didn’t relish the pinking of his cheeks, not over something like this.

“How did you?-“

“You’re not the only smart one in the family. But I cannot let that continue or I will kill all of them” I felt my eyes flash with the anger of my wolf and watched Lincoln’s widen.

“It’s not your job to take care of me Angie”

“Well since dad is too wrapped up in his anger with Alpha Roman and mom is trying to retreat into her mind and pretend none of this is happening, it is my job now”

Just then, a knock sounded on my door and before I could answer it was opened. Melissa came in hot with Devon on her tail.

“What happened? They said you left the woods all bloody! No one knew the full story and we were both so worried!” Melissa yelled almost hysterically.

Lincoln waved me goodbye with a look that said we’d continue the conversation later and then he slipped out. He was always considerate that way; giving us space to talk because he could tell that Melissa and Devon really needed it. 

“Are you okay?” Dev asked.

He walked to me and carefully traced the bandage that covered my neck.

“What happened?!” Melissa yelled again.

“It’s a long story really. Not worth getting into” I said, remembering Louis’s threat.

“Just tell us Angie!” She insisted, taking Lincoln’s vacated spot beside me on my bed. Devon was perched on the edge of the other side of my bed.

“Who let you guys in? My mom or my dad?” I asked, trying to draw away their attention from the situation at hand. I don’t know why I tried, it wouldn’t work, not in such a serious situation.

“Your mom. See, that’s how people answer questions. Now you try” Melissa sassed.

I sighed. I wanted to tell them what happened, I did. But I didn’t know how I’d explain the wounds without mentioning how I escaped from the fight which would bring Louis into it which was the last thing I wanted. Though he didn’t use his Alpha command when he told me that I couldn’t tell anyone, disobedience of a direct order from the Alpha or his family could result in severe punishment and they wouldn’t hesitate to apply the punishment if I was the offender.

“Um...”

I looked away guiltily and prepared to lie.

“And why on earth do you smell like Louis? I swear if that bastard hurt you” Devon said, already getting up. I grabbed his fisted hand and pulled him back down. I slowly caressed it until he unfolded it to reveal the crescent marks made by his fingers. They would heal fast but I still didn’t like him doing it.

“Calm down Dev. Louis didn’t hurt me. He’s um, he’s my mate”

And there was complete silence.

To say my friends were shocked at my news was putting it lightly. They both sat trying to comprehend what I’d said. I got tired of waiting for them to talk and even began painting my nails. I had finished all three coats of my toe nails and was about to start on my fingers when Melissa finally spoke.

“You’re mates with Louis Knights? How is that even possible shouldn’t you have known since you’re like 16?”

“Yes but you know I keep my wolf suppressed. I think I may have released her by accident and she called out to him”

“Why did you release her? What happened? Does it have anything to do with why you were bloody and beaten?” Melissa asked. Devon had still not spoken. He seemed to still be processing the news. He had a dumbfounded look on his face and his eyes seemed to stare without seeing.

“Because I was fighting a rogue and I was hurt”

“A rogue? Where did a rogue come from? Did you wander outside the border?” Devon asked, finally snapping out of his shock.

“No. I was still in our territory. It came up behind me out of nowhere and attacked. It was like twice my size. I fought but I was losing because I was holding my wolf back. When I got really hurt she broke out completely and attacked but I regained control quickly. Before I did though, my pain called out to my mate and Louis came running”

“Wow. Oh my God, does this mean you’re going to be our Luna?” Melissa asked excitedly.

My heart clenched in pain at the reminder of how untrue her statement was. Louis would never in a million years accept me as his Luna. Once more my father’s fight with the Alpha had taken from me.

“Not exactly. He rejected me”

Both Melissa and Devon stared at me in utter shock again. I decided to continue my nails since I thought this would take long too but Melissa swiped the nail polish out of my hand.

“This is no time for doing your nails. What do you mean he rejected you? That’s impossible. Right?”

“Wrong. Or at least it seems that way to me. He told me he can’t be mated with me and left”

I tried my best to sound nonchalant as I spoke but I could hear the pain in my voice and if I could, my friends certainly could.

“Oh sweetie. I’ll kick his ass!” Melissa said.

“I don’t think you’d be very successful,” I said and laughed a sad, slightly humourless laugh.

“It’s worth a shot. He doesn’t deserve you anyway!”

“I’m sorry this happened to you Angie” Devon said stiffly.

Melissa pulled me into a hug and I tried to hold back my tears. I couldn’t let anyone see me cry, not for something I never even wanted in the first place. I had one goal in life, to fix what my father had broken and give my brother the childhood he deserves. After that, I would figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Hold on. If I wanted to get our name restored, what better way to do it than become Luna? Why didn’t I think of this? It was forbidden by pack law to hurt, endanger or even mock the Luna. It was punishable by death. Her family was also included in the law. That meant that if I could manage to get Louis to accept me as his mate, all of my problems would be over. But that was easier said than done. Louis wanted nothing to do with me. He had made that very clear. But I would do anything for my brother, even give myself to a man I didn’t want.

*******************

The next morning I was up early and at the pack training grounds. Well, near it anyway. I couldn’t train with them because no one liked me but I needed to keep training. If the plan to get Louis failed, which I was almost positive it would, I had to rely on the Hunt, my plan A. I didn’t want to train with Devon today though because I felt like for some reason, he needed more time to process what I had told them. So, I went alone, before everyone had come to train and I took off my clothes, stored them in a tree and transformed.

When I was in my wolf form, I grinned. I felt freer, happier. Even though I still felt the pain of rejection, it paled in comparison to the training course in front of me. Wolves may not be cannibals but they were still animals, they still liked action.

I cracked my neck and broke into a sprint. And that was when I slammed hard into someone and flew back.

‘Watch where you’re going!’ the voice snapped in my head. Shit. I knew that voice. Of all the wolves I could run into!

‘Sorry’ I said and turned to leave but he was in front of me before I could blink.

‘Little Anne, what are you doing here?’ he asked. He seemed different today, angrier, more feral. I decided I wanted to stay the hell away from Louis in a bad mood. Louis in a good mood wasn’t a piece of cake, imagine what a bad mood Louis would be like! I tried to sidestep him but he began circling me like an animal going in for the kill. 

‘You didn’t answer me. Transform’

He didn’t use his Alpha power, something I had found out the hard way that I could not resist even though I kept my wolf tightly bound.

‘No. I don’t want to transform in front of you’

‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Afraid of what we’d do if we both didn’t have the protection of clothing?’ If I was still in my human form, I’d be blushing a bright red. An image of us in my bedroom with me almost screaming for him to take off my towel flashed in my mind. Shit, I couldn’t let that happen again.

‘No. I just don’t want to’ he stopped circling me and began to advance.

‘Transform before I make you, Mate’

I stared at his almost crazed eyes and calculated my options. I made my decision in seconds before he was almost on me. I sprinted for the woods.