Madeline's POV
Another week went by since Demetrius met with his pack, he was spending less and less time inside the house now.
Each morning I would wake up alone, make myself something to eat and help myself to his many bookshelves adorning the different rooms of his home. Then when the sun came down, Demetrius would come home and make us dinner, sit with me while we ate and wander off into his office for the remainder of the night. I was going to sleep alone.
Whenever Demetrius left his home, he would make sure the door was locked now, not wanting anyone to enter on their own accord. Which meant that each day I remained locked inside this house.
The only time I spent outside was when I would wander out into one of the balconies, look out over variety of buildings and trees that made up Demetrius' territory.
I'd ask him each night, any updates? But he would simply shake his head and go back to whatever he was doing. But I struggled to believe that he had received no updates from either my mother, or Calla, while I have been here for the last fourteen days. Something felt suspicious deep down in my gut.
So tonight, I was not going to take a simple shake of the head as a definitive answer from my mate, tonight he was actually going to talk to me.
When Demetrius came home in the evening, I was already seated in the kitchen waiting for him to start dinner, up on the stool with my legs swinging back and forth eagerly.
"How was work?" I chirped, as he came over to place a quick kiss atop my head, rounding the kitchen island to the sink and began washing his hands.
"I think I might need to leave for a few days, give Calla a hand." Was the response I got.
My breath hitched in my throat as I waited for him to look at me, but he didn't. Why does he need to leave? Was I going with him?
No I don't think I was, he hadn't specified that I would be tagging along for this trip.
"So you got an update? Is everything okay?" I pushed. There was this ache in the pit of my stomach that told me Demetrius was hiding something from me, that maybe he'd been lying to me this whole time about his work, for two weeks now he'd kept himself busy with paperwork and meetings, but each time I asked he would tell me there's isn't much to talk about.
I still remember the note he received the day we returned to his territory, it said his brother had returned, but wasn't his brother with the humans?
Demetrius grunted and turned to face me, drying his wet hands with a towelette, he met my gaze. "Everything will be fine, princess." He reassured me, a softer tone in his voice than I was expecting. He was withholding from me, I knew this.
"Did they find my sister?" I blurted. At this point the mission had extended out further than just rescuing the missing women, it now included the safe return of my sister, and the reappearance of Demetrius' brother as well. Which he was yet to talk to me about.
Demetrius turned away from me as he began pulling out the equipment necessary for the dinner he was making. "They know that your sister is no longer with the Serpents. Calla and the others have moved past their territory and into the Ogre's land, still following the missing women's trail." He finally revealed.
Mika wasn't within the Serpent Kingdom? Were they even the ones that took her?
My head began to feel heavy as I slumped down in my seat. My sister and I did not have the most positive relationship, but I wanted to know if she was safe, I wanted my family back. My family was torn right now, my father gone, my sister gone, I was so far away from my mother, nothing felt right about this situation.
"I'm coming with you." I declared.
"No."
I look back up at my mate, only to find him standing stiff on the other side of the counter, staring directly at me with an intent gleam in his eye, he didn't seem excited about my offer.
"So you'd rather leave me here alone than take me with you where you know you can keep me safe?" I teased. I playing into the mate bond, I didn't have to be joined to him at the hip, but I wanted the chance to be there when my sister is found, I wanted to know with my own eyes that she's okay. "I can help." I added.
Demetrius shook his head as he looked down at the cutting board, beginning to slice the vegetables in front of him. "You'll be safe here, from everything. I can't risk bringing you with me." He muttered.
"And why not?" I argued back. This was starting to bother me, I had every right to be involved with this mission, more of a right than my own mate. None of his people were taken by the fairies, they tried to take both me and my sister, they might have my sister right now for all I knew.
Demetrius slammed the knife down against the cutting board causing me to flinch, leaning his body up using the strength of his arms against the counter top, he stared me right in the eyes, his own eyes flickering between their usual bright blue and the dark swirling waves of his inner animal.
I'd come to learn a lot about werewolves since I've been here, there were so many book within this house that I read to pass the time. I understood now that the closer their animal urges were to reaching the surface, the darker their eyes would become.
"There's a few reasons why, Madeline. First reason, you're a distraction. I don't know if you've read about this yet from one of my books, but each day that we don't consummate this bond, it gets harder for me to restrain myself around you. It's hard enough right now, I can't have those kinds of thoughts cross my mind during a battle." He argued back, the tone in his voice made me realise that he was being completely serious with his words, he'd used my full name to formalise the matter at hand, and I suppressed a smile as I looked away. I wasn't stupid, I knew werewolves complete their mating process pretty much as soon as they meet, I knew I might have been dragging it out too long at this point, but I could only hope he understood my stance on the matter, I didn't feel ready to make a decision like that, regardless of how we were both feeling.
If we completed the process, my life would change forever. That's only if I survived being marked by him. Despite all the books that were accumulated on every shelf, the ones I had managed to read through never mentioned what would happen to me if I let him mark me, because no where in any of the books I've read thus far have mentioned interspecies soulmates, it was completely unheard of.
"Another reason, the fairies tried to take you once already. Bringing you on the trip with me, I'd just be painting a larger target on your back, you don't need yours to be any bigger than it is already." He added, this time he looked away from me and continued chopping the vegetables. "Last reason, my brother is out there somewhere looking for the fairies too. My brother is not like me, he was raised by my father which means that if he sees an unmarked woman away from her people." He stopped, seeming to take in a deep breath as if to calm himself. "He'd do whatever he wanted, and no one would be able to stop him."
"Not even you?" I murmured, hugging my arms around my own torso for comfort. Demetrius' brother seemed to reiterated all the nasty comments I'd heard about Werewolves. It reminded me that their way of life differed from mine, in more ways than one.
Their own history books referenced a time when werewolf men pursued women from other species, for a long time their people believed it was only okay to have sex outside a mate bond if it was also outside the species.
"Princess, you have no idea what I would do just for you."
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I had just gotten changed into some fresh clothes for bed, dinner was tense and I exited the first opportunity I had presented to me.
Demetrius avoided me, he avoided talking to me, he refused to look at me. At some points it felt as thought I was trying to talk to a wall.
I had a feeling deep down that I knew why he was acting this way, why he'd been spending less time at his own home everyday, not being here in the mornings or joining me in bed at night, why he kept himself distanced when he was with me. He was losing control, or at-least he felt like he was. There was so much happening in our worlds all at once that we had to worry about, I'd needed some time to myself after my father died, I never really felt like I got to be alone to grieve at any point of this. Strangely, I just wanted to be back home in my own bed where it felt safe to cry.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I barely recognised myself. Two weeks ago I was just a high school student, daughter of Alpha Darren Falkov, barely eighteen. Now, I stood in this dark empty home of Alpha Demetrius Renwick, soulmate to the werewolf king, a girl pretending to be a woman.
"I thought you'd be asleep already." Came a low voice, from the reflection of the mirror I could see Demetrius standing in the doorway, I spun around quickly to face him, slightly startled wondering how long he'd been standing there before he chose to speak.
"I was just getting ready for bed." I murmured back, twiddling my fingers together at my front. I'd noticed Demetrius was leaving a pile of dirty washing on the bathroom floor each morning, it was a little colder tonight so I'd decided to pick up one of his shirts to wear for bed, not expecting him to come back this early.
Demetrius gave a curt nod as he remained silent for a second, looking away from me to continue entering the bedroom with a couple steps.
"Why are you acting weird?" I blurted, tracing my eyes over his body language. He was tense, rigid like he was daring himself not to move.
Demetrius met my gaze once more and I noticed the flickers within his iris, more erratic this time around.
He sucked in a deep breath and relaxed his composure in the slightest. "The longer we wait, the harder it becomes whenever I'm near you." He sighed.
I felt guilty for making him wait so long, for causing such an unnatural discomfort in him, I felt selfish. My father had always told me to wait for the right one, the right one is here and I'm still waiting.
I knew what my responsibilities were as Demetrius' mate, the things I was expected to do for him when the time rolled around. I would have to give myself completely to him, let him bite down on the soft spot of my collarbone, wait for my first cycle and give myself completely to him all over again so he can plant a seed within my womb. If it wasn't for everything that's happened thus far, I probably would have already fulfilled these responsibilities.
I rubbed my arms at my sides, unsure of what to say. This was why he waited until I went to sleep each night to join me in bed, this was more than likely the reason why he spent so much time away from the house. It wasn't fair.
"I want to, I just-"
"You've been through a lot." Demetrius finished for me. "You're not ready." He added.
In this moment I took the opportunity to move away from the dresser and over to the armchair, sitting down softly as I watched him. "There aren't really any books that can prepare you for this kind of thing." I tried to joke, placing the cushion on top of my lap as if it further secured me down in my seat. He didn't laugh, not that I was entirely expecting him to. "I just want to wait until the fairies are dealt with." I added, dropping my head down to look at my lap.
I wanted to do anything I could for Demetrius, but I needed the security of knowing my family was okay. As upsetting as it felt, I was the only one my pride had left until Mika is found, that won't count for anything once I give myself to Demetrius.
"That's why I should leave tomorrow to help Calla. Force myself away from you and kill a bunch of those bugs to let some anger out." He spoke up, this caught my attention in a frantic way, he can't be leaving me.
I shot up from my seat and started walking over to him. "If you're leaving, I'm going with you." I declared, noticing how he took a step away from me when I stopped in front of him, staring up at him accusingly.
Demetrius shook his head. "I can't do that." He disagreed.
I grabbed ahold of his hand as it hung at his side, both hands gripping onto his as I pleaded with him, he tried to pull away gently but I wouldn't let him, I wanted to feel the warmth of his hand in mine. "I've only been safe when you're around, I need to be with you in this." I pleaded. Coming up closer to him as he stood completely still, I didn't miss when his head twitched and he drew in a breath, taking in the smell of my hair as I stood below him. "If I don't go and you find my sister, do you really think she'll come back with you?"
I had a good point, Mika would never go with Demetrius, not if she knew that our father was dead. What if she didn't know? What if she wasn't there when it happened?
"I'm just trying to keep you safe, princess." Demetrius murmured, his free hand coming up and pressing heavily against my waist.
"I can take care of myself, and I can take care of you too." I offered, pulling back one of my hands from his I let it fall towards the direction of his pants, grazing its waistband as I neared the position of his hidden member.
Maybe if I could alleviate some of his stress, he'd be able to understand, I couldn't be separated from him, not after all that has happened.
My fingers had just begun to dance along the hardening shaft within his pants when his own hand released my waist and clamped itself down onto my wrist, pulling my hand back completely I heard him release a grunt. "If I let you come with me, you are not to leave my sight. You are not to show yourself to others, you do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you." He gritted out, releasing my hand now he brought his up to the bottom of my chin, using a bit of force to lift my head and look him in the eye. "Do you understand?" He asked me, his voice low and grizzly while he stared deep into my own eyes.
I could only nod my head, unsure of what to say or do, standing stiff in my place with a quick paced heart beat. Should I go back to my seat? Should I go to bed?
I caught myself reaching back down to his pants, the thickened rod behind the fabric was even more noticeable now than it had been a few seconds ago.
"I want to make you feel better." I whispered, leaning to rest my head on his chest, realising his heart was racing just as much as mine, he just did a better job at hiding it.
"Not tonight, you need to sleep." Came his slow response, slowly pushing me back to create some distance between us.
I took the hint and crossed my arms over my torso once more, feeling a little rejected deep down. "Are you going to join me?" I wondered out loud.
I wasn't surprised when Demetrius shook his head at me. "No, I'll start organising the trip. Get some sleep." He reassured me, leaning over to plant a soft kiss atop my head. "Before I lay you on that bed and show you what you were playing with." He added, a playful growl slipping from his lips as he pulled away from me and start walking towards the exit.
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They're finally going to back to Calla, I wonder what could happen!!
I hope you all liked this quick chapter
I'll see you all in next week with the next chapter
(unfortunately my new job is tiring me out, I'm spending all my alone time writing though which has proved to be quite therapeutic for me lol)
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BYEEEE