Crowned Wolf (Original)(Completed)

Twelve

He closes the door behind him and points towards the bed. "Now."

She doesn't hesitate to listen and falls against the unmade bed angrily, letting out an angry puff of air. He sits down next to her and pulls the edge of her shirt up to reveal her stomach. She gasps at the feeling of his fingers brushing against her skin and he watches as her eyes dilate with a smirk. Quickly, he lets the cold ice pack fall onto her skin and she gasps again.

"What the hell?" She glares, trying to push it off. "I don't need this. I'm fine!"

"Stay still." He demands again, giving her a sharp, stern look before replacing the ice pack. She obeys, no longer fighting against him as he holds the pack in place. His wolf relaxes slowly inside of him but he can still feel his tension filling up his own mind. The mere fact that he was able to feel her pain means so much and he isn't ready to admit it. He doesn't want to admit it but the beast inside is snickering at his stubbornness like a fool while whimpering to be closer to Audrey. Secretly, he knows, the beast is somehow communicating with Audrey's wolf - wherever she is - and he wonders if that had anything to do with this.

"Why the hell did you act like you could handle Millis if you were going to get hurt?" He asks as soon as he's calm down. She doesn't hesitate to argue back.

"I won, didn't I?" He ignores her angry eyes and narrows his own. Honestly, she'll be the death of him. "Besides, a sore stomach and a few bruises aren't so bad."

His eyes instantly go over the small scars placed across her stomach. He knows this pain isn't nearly as much as what she went through during the war; what he put her through. His wolf whimpers at the idea that he hurt her and Nathan is suddenly crushed with the heavy weight of guilt and regret.

"Getting hurt isn't something to brag about." He scolds with a harsher voice than he meant while adjusting the pack to avoid it melting so easily.

"Hurting someone isn't something to brag about either but everyone here does it, don't they?" She counters. He looks at her. Her blue eyes are light but clearly defiant as she stares back, waiting for him to say something. He can see that no matter what he might say, she isn't going to regret getting hurt today. After spending a few moments, lost in each other's eyes while thinking of something to say, she sighs and finally closes her blue eyes. He lets his fingers brush over her skin, tracing each scar while watching goose bumps rise in reaction. Her skin is soft and smooth but warm and comfortable against his calloused hand. Every bump, every curve was easy to touch or to grab and he finds it soothing to be able to simply rub his thumb over her waist and over one of her biggest scars like this - even if he's the one that caused that scar.

"Fighting Millis is the only way I could get any of you to take me seriously around here. You all think that simply because we have a little bit of a past that you guys know me and my limits already. It's frustrating." She admits softly, avoiding him by looking across the room. He traces her scar a few times, letting her words sink in.

"No one will underestimate you here so easily again." He adjusts his position and leans back against the headboard next to her. Arm brushing arm, silence falls over them as they sit in peace, staring out into the opened room. Nathan can hear his pack downstairs checking on Millis while Luke rages on to Leon about getting a new Camaro. He lets out a low growl at the thought of it. His favorite car is now lost through a stupid bet to one of his biggest enemies because he underestimated his own mate. He ignores the little celebration Luke is having and focuses on the room around him. Audrey's scent is soothing to him, relaxing him more quickly than anything has before. She breathes lightly next to him, adjusting the ice pack every now and then but he can still sense her tension of being next to him. His own tension is suffocating.

"What's Luke doing here anyway?" Audrey mutters, almost as if she was sleepy. He found it comforting.

"His pack is merging with mine. He's just here to make it official." She sits up quickly, making all of his nerves run on high alert. She turns and looks at him with surprise and he has to remind himself that there isn't a threat.

"He's giving up the pack? Why? He worked so hard to keep it! He can't just give it away! What would Rachel think?!" She exclaims all at once, leaving no room for him to answer and catching him completely off guard. How close is she and Luke to know how much worked he'd put into his own pack? How long did they know each other for? What kind of history do they have? And who the hell is Rachel?

"He plans on finding and bringing the monarchy back." Nathan explains calmly, watching as she pales instantly. Her mouth closes and she looks away as she thinks hard to herself. A wave of conflicting emotions brushes over his features as her blue eyes cloud, drifting away from him completely. "He thinks he knows where the bloodline's at. He's searching for support groups now."

"Support groups?" She bites her lip and falls back next to him, ignoring the ice pack that slipped from her grip. Nathan can feel his forehead twitching now as he wonders frustratingly what she is thinking. "He didn't tell me."

"Should he have a reason to tell you?" She winces under his influence and shakes her head, mumbling a quiet no but his anger still swells. Are they that close that Luke has to report to her his plans?

She's hiding something from him. They both are. It's beginning to break down the barriers he's put up between beast and humanity.