The Mating Game

Chapter 6 - BOYS; they just don't learn.

Sitting on the small wooden bench Addie released a sigh. She hadn't really known where she'd end up upon leaving the room, but out of everywhere, ending up lost in the middle of a giant maze of hedges was the last place she had expected to end up. A large gust of wind blew through the narrow evergreen walls and Addie shivered pulling her legs closer to her chest; she had been so caught up with emotion that she had forgotten to grab a jacket of some description.

Closing her eyes another shiver rippled through her as yet another gust of wind decided to grace her with its icy presence. Well at least there was one plus side of being lost - she had finally gotten away from Jet Snow - although he couldn't be too far away since the tranquilliser in one of her 'bracelets' hadn't activated yet.

Addie opened her eyes again, only to scream and jump back and she would have landed in the hedge if it hadn't been for a large muscular hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her back into a secure position on the bench.

"Er... hi?" she breathed, sheepishly greeting Jet whose golden eye burned into hers with such ferocity that she was surprised she could still see at all.

"Hi?!" he growled incredulously "I wake up to find you gone, and then have no choice but to spend the rest of my morning scouring the maze for you - and all you can say is hi?!"

"Hey! That's not very fair I could have said a lot worse things than hi."

"Yes, I'm very much aware of your colourful vocabulary, and just be glad that you chose not to use it as you've put me in a bad enough mood as it is!" he thundered.

She snapped.

"Now listen here mister!" Addie hissed prodding his well-built chest with her finger "I'm not just some inanimate object you can leave in one place and then return to find it unmoved later. I am as much a person as you or anyone else for that matter. And never mind what the rules say - I'm definitely not a prize to be fought over and won!"

Jet regarded her with wide eyes before he released an exasperated groan of defeat and sank to the ground, his body trembling slightly before she heard the tell-tale sound of laughter.

"You think this is funny?!" Addie snarled.

He sat up visibly trying and failing to control himself "No." another chuckle escaped his well sculpted lips, and Addie scowled disapprovingly.

"Ok yes," he admitted and she opened her mouth to retaliate, but he cut her off "but not for the reason you're thinking, your nagging is reminding me of my mum, she think I don't treat girls very well either."

"I agree with them there." Addie retorted the anger dissolving from her voice slightly. "You didn't mention you had a mum out there somewhere, what is her name?"

As if he had just caught himself making a mistake his eye widened, his expression suddenly becoming guarded, and he stood up pulling her with him.

"Come on we better go or we're going to be late for today's game." And with that he hoisted Addie up and slung her over his shoulder and as is customary all hell broke loose; it wasn't until a lot later that Addie realised just how skilfully he had avoided her question.

***

It was late afternoon when the games were to start but apparently a few changes were going to be made and the prince wanted to make another speech and in true fashion what the prince wanted the prince got. Which is why, somehow, Addie now found herself in the middle of a crowd of people, still slung over Jet's shoulder like some sort of heavy parcel.

Addie huffed, exhausted; she had once again painstakingly tried digging her nails into the flesh off his back only for the marks to heal as soon as she removed them from the wounds. They had had to travel for miles to get to where they were and even after she had tried kicking, biting, screaming, scratching, and clawing he still hadn't even flinched. There was only one thing she had left to do, but she knew for a fact that neither of them would enjoy it very much, and she would most likely end up injured somehow. But c'est la vie, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Resigning herself to her fate Addie slithered her body further down the taught muscles of his back, and scrunching her eyes she did one of the few things you must never do to an unmated male wolf during mating season when their flesh becomes more sensitive to a females touch - she pinched his arse.