Skylar
I wake up with bleary eyes. I don't know what time it is. The curtains cover the window, casting a dark shadow across Ryder's room. Not our room. His room.
I cough violently, leaving my throat raw. My stomach is so empty, I actually want to eat some food. I usually don't eat much when I'm sick.
I know much time couldn't have passed if I still have pneumonia. And I'm in the same clothes, which stink now.
I stand up, only for my vision to be obscured by black spots. And the urge to throw up.
I sit back down for a few minutes before standing back up. The spinning in my head and stomach has decreased, but not by much.
I heave a great sigh as I walk to the bathroom. Once I get there, I brush my teeth and then look at my neck. There were two bites, very small. But they were red, so they were noticeable.
I was confused. Why did he bite me? And why did he look triumphant once he did.
Then I think of the impossible. He turned me into a werewolf. Was he so angry that he did that? That he'd turn me into a werewolf, a creature I despise? Well, other than Ethan, Alec, Makayla and Kaiyah, I know of no werewolves who I like. But he would do that. To torture me.
Crestfallen, I step out of his room and walk to my old one. It's quiet today. I didn't see anyone around.
I suppress a sigh and peel off my stinky clothes. When I walk past the mirror on my way to the shower, I don't look. Why would I? It's not like I look healthy.
I turn the water up as high as I can stand, nd than proceed to let it roll over me. All I could think about was the bite.
Why would he bite me!?
What is it for?
Am I going to be a werewolf?
At the last question, I choke back a sob. I don't want to be a werewolf.
So you want to be human? my subconscious asks, her tone soft for once.
I ignore the question. I don't know. I don't know what I want to be.
Yes you do, she answers.
I want to ask her how does she know. Does she know what I want? She is in my head.
But I don't want to know for some strange reason. What if a part of me does want to be a werewolf? The same creature that killed my Father. The same creature that Ryder is.
I mull over that thought as I wash up. I would've stayed in there longer if my stomach wasn't stormimg with bats that wanted to make me throw up.
I don't know what I'd do if I actually wanted to be a werewolf. But at the second time, that may not be the explanation behind the bite.
I walk to the closet where a few of my clothes are, and find a bottle of lotion on a shelf. After I lotion up, I get dressed in some sweatpants and a tank top. That seems to be all I wear.
I was going to walk to Ryder's room. I was going to force him to tell me what this bite meant. But then I passed Ethan's hallway. I had actually never been down Ethan or Alec's hallway. They seemed to own it.
But I learned which hallway was which. Alec's was the right, and Ethan's was the left. I'd seen him come out of the second room multiple times.
I contemplated on whether or not I should go there. Maybe he's calmed down. Maybe he knows about this bite.
I knock on his door, but don't wait for his okay.
"Why are you-" he starts rudely before his eyes zoom in on my neck. He seemed frozen.
Oh my God. I'm turning into a werewolf aren't I?
But then he starts laughing. One of those loud, raucous laughs. Normally, men who were just rejected don't laugh like that. So I wonder what made him laugh that.
"What? What does this bite mean? Ryder just bit me yesterday after we were arguing and than I passed out. But he fed me his blood. That's disgusting!"
Ethan laughs for a minute longer before it does down. Was this some type of werewolf joke? Was it really just a bite? Maybe to scare me?
"I think Ryder should tell you," he says, a faint smirk on his face.
"What's the date?" I ask him. Last time I checked, it was March 7th.
"March 13th," he says nonchalantly, as if his was birthday wasn't in two days. I would be jumping in glee. I start thinking about my my birthday a full month ahead.
I completely ignore the fact that I've been out of it five days. Instead, I worry about his birthday. "Oh my gosh your birthday is in two days! You're turning 22!" I squeal.
Ethan gives me a soft smile. "I care about you Skylar. And I'd like to apologize for my behavior at the party. My wolf was feeling very...emotional." He says, choosing his words carefully.
"Yeah. Well the fact that you're mate rejected you sucks," I say, sighing.
"It sucks? Well, that's definitely one way to put it," he replies. He lays back down on his bed and I take a look around his room. He had a black and white design. A white mattress with a black and white comforter. The carpet was white with a black circle in the middle. He had one door, which guessing was his bathroom. I look around again and notice that he keeps his unfolded clothes in his dresser.
"Yeah," I whisper to nothing in particular. But something needed to be said before we went into a depressed silence. Why would I want that?
"I need to come up with a plan for your birthday," I realize. His birthday was in two days. Now I really needed to figure something out.
"I heard you have pneumonia. I don't think you should worry about my birthday. I'm going to Hawaii to visit my parents," he says. I feel crestfallen. I really wanted to be with him on his birthday. But I knew that he wanted to talk to his parents about his mate and maybe that would help him feel better.
"Okay," I reply. We sit together and watch the TV even though nothing interesting was on. And soon, I start to grow very tired.
*
"I find it interesting how she is always in the arms of another," Ryder chuckles.
I wake up as soon as I hear his voice. By the sparks and tingles, I could tell I was in his arms.
"Yeah. She fell asleep after three minutes of watching TV," Ethan says, laughing softly. Maybe Ryder couldn't detect it, but I could hear how forced the laugh was.
Ryder laughs too, and I couldn't help but relax at the sound. It was so soothing and...normal sounding? His laugh made me feel like everything was going to be okay.
Yeah, sure. Until he bites you again. Maybe he might kill you on accident, I think to myself.
I stiffened. What am I doing relaxed I'm his arms?
"I want to walk myself," I say, in a slightly snobby tone. I was surprised when Ryder obliged and set me down gently on my feet. I end up fisting his shirt in my hand though until the black spots disappear.
"What time is it," I ask Ethan. I was purposely not looking at Ryder. I wonder if he could sense it, or if he was just ignorant.
I'd like to think the latter, my subconcious says. This was typically the first time she had ever spoken against Ryder. She actually never spoke against him at all. With all the horrible things he's done, but boy does she love messing with me. And she's inside my head!
"It's around four now," he says. "Did you know you drool in your sleep?"
I blush lightly and swat at his arm. "I don't care." Well, I did care. I just wouldn't tell him. I mean, how embarrassing was that? I got drool all over his bed!
"I'm actually gonna go to sleep now so I can have enough rest. I'm leaving for Hawaii tomorrow."
"You are?" Ryder asks, surpirsed.
"Yeah. Thought I'd give my parents a surprise visit."
"Well tell them I say hello," he says with a faint smile. Then I could feel his eyes on the side of my face. I could feel Ethan's eyes on me to. I suddenly felt self-concious. Did I have dried drool on my face? Or possibly crust on the corner of my eyes?
At that thought, I laugh a little bit on the inside. I didn't understand how that was funny though.
"Is there something you would like to tell me, Ryder?" I ask. I finally meet his blue eyes. He seemed to have a sense of power...and amusement?
"I think I'm gonna let you two talk this out. Though I doubt you'll be doing much talking," Ethan says. Ryder glares at his back as he walks away. At this moment, I almost wish I was Ethan. That way I would be able to walk away from this. But then I remeber that I don't want to be a werewolf, therefore I don't want to be Ethan. As awesome as he is.
I walk past Ryder to his room. He seems to get the memo that he's supposed to follow me, as I hear his footsteps behind me.
As soon as the door is shut, I potenti a finger accusingly at him. "What did you do?"
"Controlul Muscatura," he tells me. I give him a confused expression. What on earth does that mean? All I know is that can't be good, because I have sharks swimming around in my stomach. Aka, I was scared.
"What does that mean, Ryder," I ask angrily. It mostly came out that way because of the sharks. They were affecting my tone.
"Control Bite," he answers. I hated the indifferent tone he was using. As if this was boring almost. No, not boring, almsot as if it as easy. Like he was finally satisfied.
Control Bite. Control Bite. I throw it around in my head for a while. All I knew was that it had something to do with control. I had never heard the term before. Or maybe I did, and I was just refusing to admit it.
"What exactly does that mean?" I ask. Please don't let it be what I think it is.
"Skylar, I can control you now. That bite has you connected to me. Maybe not by mind and heart, but by body," he says smirking. And it was exactly what I desperately hoped it wouldn't be.
I let my jaw drop. He would go as low as to take control over me? What type of mate is he?
I feel sad for you, my stupid inner-mean me says. I don't respond. How can I respond to her if I can't respond to Ryder?
I look up at Ryder with watery eyes. I could wrap my mind around it, but not my heart. It was the deepest sense of betrayal I had ever felt. To go as far as to control me? That's where we were already?
Ryder's indifferent look morphs into a look of sorrow. I might've actually forgiven him if this wasn't the first time we argued. But we argued more than any couple I've ever heard of.
"I'm sorry, Skylar-"
"Sorry?" I screech, my voice on the high end. "You can control me now! Control me! W-how could you do that, Ryder? God, I am supposed to be your mate!" With every word, I had unconciously moved closer to Ryder.
"You are a stupid werewolf King who just wants to be in control of everything. And you couldn't handle me, so you performed some...Controlu Lascura," I rant. I knew I probably got it wrong, and I could care less. Honestly, I think that the Moon Goddess didn't give a crap about women. Could women even do that bite thing? Yeah, I doubt it. If mates love each other.one shouldn't have complete control.
I raise my hand to slap him, but he catches my hand by the wrist.
"Stop," he commands with a strong voice. I instantly drop my hand. When I try to raise my hand again...it was like I physically couldn't.
"I can't believe this," I mumble sadly. I walk across the room to leave, but Ryder stops that with a couple of words.
"Sit down and don't get up until I tell you to," he says, his voice surprisingly soft. That meant nothing to me though. He meant nothing to me. I don't understand why I can't get past this. He can control me now. It's not that hard to wrap your brain around. But it's the betrayal I feel. Betrayal. Betrayal. That's all I could think.
He betrayed me by taking away my freedom. And he did it so quickly and easily. Like it wasn't that hard of a decision to make. Shouldn't it be hard to decide whether or not you're going to take away someone's freedom? It was really just that that got me. That had me feeling an impossible amount of anger towards me. I had never had much freedom. And once I got a little taste of it just for three short three months, I couldn't get enough of it. But now it was gone. With a bite in my neck and some of his blood, I was no longer a free person.
I sigh loudly as my body walks towards the bed and walks. It's like my body had a mind of it's own once Ryder commanded me to do something. I couldn't control it.
"Thank you," he sighs in relief.
I give him my best "I didn't have much of a choice" glare.
"The bite only lasts for one week, and I can no longer do it. Once a mate has done it once, it cannot be done again. During that time, I can command you to do anything. Well, nothing...intimate."
"What happens if you do try that?"
"I would feel an immense amount of pain. The Moon Goddess made so that the couple could get closer. Trying that ould also immediatly break Controlus Muscatura. But I've never heard anything like that happening."
"How on Earth is being able to control someone bringing them closer."
"At the end of it, they will realize that the person only wants what's best for them. It gets a little bit hard to show affection when the mate is stubborn and doesn't want it." I knew he was talking about me when he said this. And I don't care. He's not going to stop me from being stubborn. I am stubborn.
"What language is it?"
"Romanian," he tells me. I don't ask why. I don't want to know. I don't even want to know anymore about this stupid bite. I don't think there will ever be a time in the future where I hate the Moon Goddess more than I do right now.
"Can I leave now?" I ask emotionlessly. I didn't want to show him how upset and angry and murderous I felt right now. His hand was now resting on my knee and I was so blinded by anger I could barely feel the mate sparks.
"Skylar you have to know that I wish I didn't have to do that. I-"
"But you did it," I say, and I let my eyes bore into his. I didn't want to tell him how I felt. I wanted him to see it. I wanted him to look so deep in my eyes that he would start to feel the emotions himselft. But he doesn't look long enough. He quickly averts his eyes so that he's looking up higher. So that he can't focus on my eyes.
"I am stressed, Skylar. I rule the entire world. And having to deal with you just adds more stress."
I grimace when he says "deal with you." You deal with business. You deal with problems. You don't "deal with" your mate.
"So is that what you think I am? A problem that you have to deal with?" I ask with a monotone voice. But I bet that the question showed just how I was feeling.
Ryder groans and pulls at the top of his hair. I ignore the way his muscles flex. ''I'm not saying that, Skylar. You're just not the easiest person to talk to you. Have you ever stopped and wondered about me? About how I feel? It's the hardest thing fighting with you. Me not being officially yours, or you not being officialy mine," he growls at that. "And what I wanted to do when I first saw you, was mark you. I wanted to sink my canines into your neck and claim you. But I didn't."
"Can we...can we at least make a deal?"
It was Ryder's turn to look confused. "A deal on what?"
"This stupid mark. I promise that I willbe nicer to you. I'll cuddle and do all that mate dovey stuff if you just don't command me to anything. Ryder, please," I beg. I give him my best puppy dog eyes. "I'm willing to put aside the betrayal I feel if you do this for me, Ryder. I'm begging you."
Ryder huffs, and a small smile stretches across his face.
"Okay. Come on," he says, gesturing towards him with his arms open. I leap into his arms. He surprises me by leaning down and pressing his plump lips against mine. I surprise myself by moving my lips against his.
I know. I'm crazy. I went from not feeling the mate bond at all to feeling it in a rush and making out with him. I think it's just the way of the mate bond. It's drawing us together.