To Be Claimed

✙ Chapter 3 ✙

Hey!

Thanks to everybody giving this story a chance!

~Lissa

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Everything hurt.

Opening my eyes, I felt the wetness on my cheeks as I squinted up at the dark ceiling above me. I groaned, flinching at the pain in my body - the most pain came from my neck, oddly right in the crook. My left cheek was still stinging from Daniel backhanding me, though it was tolerable. The memory of Daniel and his Beta chasing after me appeared in my head; they had managed to find me by scent. Then, the mystery guy, Emerald, appeared and snapped John's neck, killing him. The last thing I remembered was Daniel sprinting away, before passing out in the arms of Emerald. Oh, God. Sucking in a breath, I blinked a few times, before slowly sitting forward with a groan. Panic overwhelmed me when I realized I was laying on a bed in an unfamiliar, large bedroom. The walls were black, along with the majority of the furniture. Though, the bed was a dark red with silky sheets and fluffy, white pillows.

There was a sharp pain in my neck and I brought my hand up, realizing there was a bite wound. I started shaking in fear when I felt the puncture wounds and dried blood. What the hell happened? I thought, confused.

"Oh, you're up," a familiar voice came, breaking the silence. My eyes danced around the room until landing on Emerald who was seated on the black couch, facing towards me. In his hands was a book, one that looked old and withered. I frowned at him, recognizing his dark hair and striking green eyes. Was he the one who bit me? "Don't worry, I'm not going to harm you - I'm Ryker."

"Emma," I croaked, allowing my hand to hover over my wound. "Uh, where am I? And, did you b-bite me?" Despite the worry and fear overwhelming me, I stayed on the bed, pressed against the headboard. A lot of girls would've started screaming or attempted to run out of the room, but a part of me knew he wouldn't harm me. He glanced down at the page of his book and exhaled loudly.

"Yes, I bit you," he answered, calmly. "Trust me, I didn't want to, but it was the full moon of the Chase - all of my urges were amplified." His eyes squinted towards my wound, managing to sneak their way around my hand. "You'll be fine; it'll heal within the next few days." He brushed it off like it was nothing as he turned his attention back to his book. I looked at him with a confused expression, wondering how in the hell he thought this was okay. He bit me, claiming he couldn't control himself.

"But, why did you bite me?" I questioned, shaking my head. "I'm not some chew-toy." At that, he whipped his head up and glared at me. "Uh, I'm sorry. When you've been around a bunch of d*ckhead werewolves for a while, you have several insults ready in your head."

"Understandable," he muttered, licking his lower lip. "Who was the guy that hit you?"

"Daniel, Alpha of the Redwood Pack," I responded, wrapping my arms around my legs as I sat in a ball on the bed. "He was wanting me to participate in the Chase, but I didn't want to - I ran away and well, he found me."

"You're human," he blurted, bluntly. He frowned and eyed me for a moment, making me a little uncomfortable. "What were you doing with werewolves?"

"Daniel took my brother in when he was bitten," I said, shrugging. "I stuck around because he's all I have, but I couldn't take it anymore." Ethan appeared in my head and I pressed my lips together, wondering what he was doing at the moment. Was he worried about me? Was he searching for me? Was he angry? I was hoping Daniel didn't take his anger out on him, possibly take away his position as third-in-command. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I was answering all of Ryker's questions, but he was avoiding my one particular question. "Hey, I've been answering all of your questions - answer mine. Why did you bite me?"