Finn's Point of View.
Pulling into the driveway, a uneasy feeling settled into my stomach. The chilly air felt lifeless, dull. Shutting off the engine and swinging open the car's door, the air smelled of her. My mate. It was faint, the scent lingering closely to the ground. With my chest feeling hallow and yearning, I followed the smell to the side of the house. Looking up to the window that my room held, a curse fell from my lips upon seeing the screen was split down the middle. She was supposed to be in that room, I left her there after I took her home. She had hit her head hard yesterday on that damned tree after she ran from me. Why would she leave? She could be passed out in the middle of the forest, completely oblivious of the dangers that lurked around.
Anger and worry coursed through me, making my hands ball into a fist. She was putting herself in unnecessary danger. Glancing to the ground, small imprints of bare feet were left in the soft soil. Following her strawberry scent and the footprints, I ran into the forest that surrounded the house. My Wolf clawed at the surface, concern for his mate evident. As the urge to shift became stronger, I jogged while trying to follow the scent. And when I looked forward, a flash of blonde hair bobbed between the trees. Unconsciously, a breath of relief escaped me.
“Hey!” I yelled, mentally kicking myself when she ran. I shouldn't have said anything.
She ran; she was always running away from me. All though she was human, we were mates. I couldn't dream of hurting her. The thought of her hurting hurt me.
Easily catching up with her, my arms wrapped around her petite waist. She didn't struggle, but sliced my arm with the small knife she carried. I cursed loudly, wondering where she got the knife from and why I didn't see it yesterday when I carried her home. Accidentally dropping my mate, the slit on my arm oozed warm blood but the tingling sensation of healing overtook the wound. Quickly recovering from the minor setback, I pounced at her. I underestimated my strength and momentarily forgot of her fragile human body as I tackled her to the ground. Twisting my body to absorb the collision to the ground, she landed on me. She flipped her body—breathing heavily—and attempted to crawl.
“Please stop struggling,” I begged, not wanting to force to take her home against her wishes.
“Fuck off,” she grounded out, her nails digging into the soil. Despite her choice of words, I swooned at her words.
Picking myself up from the ground, I said, “I'm really sorry about this, keep that in mind.” Grinding my teeth together in frustration with myself, I grabbed her waist and hauled her over my shoulder. As if she was stunned, she paused for a beat then started struggling. I hated forcing her to do anything, but once she knew hopefully she would understand.
“Let me go, asshole!” she yelled, her small voice echoing through the air. Her tiny fists banged against my back and her legs started kicking. I held her knees together to lessen her struggle, biting my lip and reminding myself that this was for the best.
I sighed, making my way back to the house. Ironically when I expected to find my mate, I thought it would have been better than this. “I'm sorry, I can't.”
“What? Yes you can!” she argued. “You could literally drop me and forget that I was here!”
“You don't understand. Trust me, it'll all make sense soon.”
“Just don't take me back, I can't go back.”
My heart lurched in my chest. I tried to reason with her. “Look, the house has hot water and great food. You can sleep in my bed and watch all the TV you want. But...I can't let you go.”
Her struggling slightly lessened. “Wait, you're not taking me back?” She sounded confused.
My eyebrows knitted together. “I'm taking you back to my home. I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean.”
“Nothing,” she said curtly, guarded. “Just let me go.”
I sighed, not bothering to reply. Continuing to walk through the woods, I my mate move against me, her breast pressing against my back. Guilty basking in the feeling, she braced an arm on my back as her weight shifted, briefly making me wonder what she was trying to accomplish. But when her hand weaved through my hair, my steps faltered and a sharp jolt of electricity awakened my senses. My body stiffened, becoming exited from her mere touch. Then her fist balled in my hair, yanking my head back. My roots erupted with a dull throb as my body fell backward. “Shit!” I yelled, my face scrunching in uncomfortable pain. As I fell, my mind went to my mate. But when I landed, my eyes shut tightly together as her foot dug dug into my side to force me onto my stomach. She was oblivious in how much time I took this morning to look good for her when she awoke.
She straddled my back, her hand grabbing my hair to push my face into the dirt. Her knees were firmly planted on my hand, restraining them. If it were different circumstance, I would think her taking the dominate role was hot as hell, but she was trying to manhandle me. I was the Alpha. My Wolf would've taken defense if it were a normal ranked member, but it was his mate. Foolishly, she didn't realize that I was stronger than she was compared to her human capabilities.
She leaned in close to me. “Was it you who kidnapped me?” Her voice gave me shivers.
She forced my head to the side, giving me room to talk. I breathed heavily, anger bubbling under the surface of my skin. “It's not kidnapping when something belongs to you.” She was mine, whether she knew of it or not.
Forcing my face deeper into the ground, I grimaced. She growled through clenched teeth, “I'm not an item. I don't belong to anyone.”
Deep in my chest, my Wolf growled lowly—too lowly for human ears. He didn't like the answer she supplied. Using my supernatural speed, I flipped us over and straddled her stomach. Grabbing her tiny wrists and holding them down, I glared down at my idiotic mate. “I tried being nice, but you. Are. Mine. Don't forget it.” Scanning over her scolding features, I lessened my grip and removed myself from her to stand. I watched her as she slowly stood, calculating her actions. My hands still tingled from touching her soft skin, but I wasn't letting my instincts win.
Her body held curves, her legs toned through her dirty and torn jeans. Her slim waist led to wide hips; hips perfect to carry our pups. Her golden locks were tasseled as she pushed them behind her ear. Her hazel eyes carefully watched me. “Now what?” she asked, narrowing her gaze at me.
“Uh,” I blanked, “My name's Finn.”
She scoffed. “To be honest, I really don't care what your name is. Let me go.”
Masking the hurt that ached in my chest, I shook my head.
“Because I'm yours right? That you can't and I'll know why once you clear things up? This is bullshit.”
I sighed, my hand running through my hair. I cursed my fate, bitterly thinking why did I have to get a human mate. It wasn't unheard off, but was uncommon. I knew Mom and Dad wouldn't mind, they've been wanting me to hurry and find my mate since I turned eighteen. The werewolf gene was dominate, I wasn't worried that our pups wouldn't be like their father. But having a human mate was difficult; more frustrating.
“You look frustrated, I'm making you frustrated,” she pointed out. “I should probably go then, being frustrated isn't healthy.”
She started walking backwards and I quickly grabbed her arm. “No.”
She struggled and blurted, “If I go with you, can you please stop touching me!”
I turned to look over her angelic face, narrowing my eyes. Hesitantly, I dropped her arm, to which she hugged to her chest and took a large step away from me. Inside my mind, my Wolf whined to show his pain. Swallowing, I started walking back to the house and glanced over my shoulder to her. I turned back and cleared my throat. “If you try anything, remember that I can easily catch you.”
She didn't reply. And when we arrived at the house, I held the door open for her. Luckily for me, the house was empty of the pack for it was the weekday and they had things to attend to. I led my mate upstairs and into my room. She plopped herself down on the bed, the blanket thrown hastily to the ground from when she made her escape. I looked to the window and the cut screen and asked, “How did you even manage to make it outside without using the front door?”
“I used the knife to cut the screen, grabbed onto the tree, and climbed down. I used to climb a lot of trees when I was younger.”
“Oh,” I muttered, wanting her to elaborate more on her youth. I turned to look at her after closing the window. She sat on my bed and my Wolf hummed with contentment at the sight. Something was bothering her, I could see it swimming in her irises. I wanted to sit down and let her tell me, but I knew she wouldn't. She was guarded.
“Um,” I started. “Are you hungry? Someone needs to go grocery shopping but I can cook you something.”
My mate glanced from the ground, her eyes momentarily connecting with my own. Hesitantly, she nodded. Trying to contain the smile that threatened to spill over, I led us to the kitchen. I pointed to a seat at the table. “Sit.”
“I'm not a dog,” she replied but slowly sat in the seat.
I bite my lip from commenting and looked inside the bare fridge. I made a metal note to tell one of the pack members to go shopping. Grabbing the only that seemed satisfying—an half-empty pack of bacon—I walked to the stove and produced a pan. Laying down the raw strips and hearing the sizzling of the grease, I awaited to flip them over. After the meat was finished cooking, the bacon strips relocated to a plate. I set the food in front of my mate, gauging her reaction.
A moment passed before she began eating, almost looking to be in a rush. “I haven't had bacon in so long.” Her eyes slipped closed, a look of pleasure sweeping her face. I sat across from her and swallowed roughly, hoping to make her feel that good one day. The urge to mark her was faint in my brain, my guns slightly aching. I smiled at her and was surprised when she smiled back. My heart leapt in my throat.
As she continued to eat, I asked, “So, uh, what's your name?”
“Rebel.”
I nodded, testing the name out on my tongue. Rebel. What a perfect way to describe my mate.