Weeks passed by since the night in the meadows. Things were going downhill quickly. Tristan couldn't make up his mind about claiming me. He told me it was a mistake to lead me on after the night in the meadow. He said to just forget about it.
The look in his eyes told me he was lying, but I didn't push him any further. If he wanted time then that's what I was going to give him. It hurt my heart but I would do whatever it took to make him happy.
The night classes he picked up were becoming harder, mentally and physically. He picked my partner every time since the accident with Freddie. He mostly made me partner with girls. He couldn't stand to see me horse around with the other guys.
He continued to date Astrid. Hannah had to hold me back the other day. I almost shifted and kicked her sister's ass when she threw her relationship with Tristan in my face. Astrid didn't know we were mates but she knew it riled me up.
I almost stooped to his level. Freddie kept inviting me out to dinner but I couldn't go through with it. Instead Hannah suggested a girl's night. We would get dressed up for ourselves and go to a fancy restaurant.
My short, mid-thigh, little black dress clung to my body and accentuated every curve. It showed just enough cleavage to be sexy but stayed tasteful. It was payback at Tristan. I couldn't even imagine how furious he was going to be. But I didn't care how mad he got.
His denial was becoming more real every day. My heart was getting used to the stabbing pains I felt every day and night.
"Are you ready?" Hannah asked. She had been holed up in the bathroom for almost an hour as she put on her make-up.
I was excited to finally get out of the house. I was ready to get my mind off of all the craziness that had been going on. I pushed Tristan out of my mind as we walked outside. Hannah's red Mercedes SUV was parked in my driveway.
The Hollows wolves liked to drive expensive SUV's. They were known to go off-roading on the weekend. The Shadowlands wolves were known for their fast motorcycles. I loved feeling the wind rushing through my hair while on the back of a speeding bike.
"So where are we going this lovely evening?" I asked while she drove us to the village.
"Our favorite Italian place we love so much. Afterwards I thought we could meet up with the gang and walk around."
"Of course."
The gang included Logan, Jerry, and Freddie.
"Did you finish you War essay?"
"Ari, I'm not going to do your homework for you," she laughed, shaking her head at me.
"It was worth a shot," I mumbled under my breath.
After ten minutes we pulled into the parking lot. We walked into the restaurant and took our usual seats in the back. It was more private.
"I saved you the best wine tonight, Ari," one of the young male waiters winked at me. The waiters loved when we visited. They constantly hit on us and we flirted a little back.
"And then he just lay down in front of me looking extremely embarrassed that he had been caught by his Alpha."
His smooth baritone voice that I loved spoke from the booth across from us. The rest of his table roared with laughter. A high-pitched giggle caught my attention.
My eyes narrowed. I leaned away from the table to see Astrid, Tristan, and a few other of his pack members eating dinner.
"What are you looking at?" Hannah asked curiously. Her eyes followed my gaze to her sister and the Alpha's dinner table.
"Nothing," I mumbled under my breath. I tried to cover up that I was just staring at her Alpha, my mate. She knew everything that was going on between us. But that didn't stop her from what she said next. She had to out of respect.
"It's my Alpha, I have to."
"I know. Go ahead and say hello," I cut her off before she suggest I go with her.
"We should both go. Theo is over there. I'm sure he would love to see you. Not to mention I would love to see the look on Astrid's face when she sees Tristan ogling you in that dress."
Theo was Tristan's Beta and Freddie's brother.
"Is this why you brought me here?"
"No. I honestly had no idea they were going to be here."
"Okay," I agreed, a little irritated. I really didn't want to go but I had to admit I was curious to see Tristan's reaction. Astrid was just a bonus.
"Great," she grinned. She grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the one table I wanted to avoid all night.
She put her hand on my elbow to reassure me. She pulled me with her and we approached the group. Tristan had his back to us. He didn't see us coming but Theo's face was priceless when his eyes landed on me.
"Holy hell, Arianna. Did you get dressed up for me?" Theo winked when we stopped in front of the table. At the sound of my name, Tristan turned his head to get a good look at us.
"You know I always dress to impress you Theo," I purred before giving him a wink back.
"Hannah, Arianna," Astrid sneered. She placed her hand on Tristan's arm and drew my attention to their close proximity.
"Hello Alpha Tristan, Astrid," I greeted. I was trying really hard not to let my jealousy show.
"Good evening ladies," Tristan responded. His tone was strained.
His stare fixated all the way up my body from my bare legs to the revealing cleavage from the halter. I could feel the lust building up inside him.
Astrid gripped his arm tighter when she saw the direction of his attention.
"Run along now little girls. This dinner is for mature adults," Astrid smirked. She was proud of her insult as she waved us away from the table.
"We are all adults here Astrid. As for maturity, I think you're the one lacking in that department," I fired back.
"Is that how you speak to your elders?"
"Are you finally admitting you're old and decrepit? If that's the case then you just insulted all the fine males at this table."
"You little bitch."
Hannah gripped my hand hard. She noticed me beginning to lunge and kept me from jumping across the table to strangle her sister. Tristan and Theo stood up to block the table.
Theo gripped my other arm back. He placed his cheek against my face as he put his lips up to my ear.
"She's not worth it babe," he whispered, "Go back and enjoy your dinner with Hannah. Call me later."
He tried to speak quietly but with a room full of wolves everyone heard. My eyes flickered to Tristan for a moment. His knuckles were going white as he clenched the tabletop in order to restrain himself.
"Okay," I smiled in agreement.
Hannah and I went back to our small table and ordered our usual dinner.
"Well that was fun," she grinned.
"Your sister is a bitch."
"Seriously. Why couldn't I have been lucky enough to be your sister instead?'
"I wish! Did you see her face?"
"Best part of our night so far."
I laughed in response as the waiter brought over our dinner. The conversation stopped for a while. That wasn't unusual. We loved the food here.
"I'll be right back," I excused myself to the bathroom. It was on the other side of the restaurant.
My hand pressed against the door to push it open. I was abruptly shoved to the side of the wall. Both my arms were pinned down against my sides. I didn't have time to struggle before his lips crashed down onto mine.
"What are you doing here dressed like that?" he growled when he broke the kiss.
"What does it matter to you?"
"You are mine. I can feel the lust on every male in the damn restaurant staring at you," he snarled. Jealousy overtook all his emotions.
Tristan didn't give me a chance to respond that I wasn't his. He roughly placed his lips back on mine. My lips felt like they were on fire. He moved in perfect sync with me. His tongue lightly tickled my bottom lip asking for entrance.
I quickly complied. His hands roamed down my waist, past my hips onto my thighs where my dress ended. He gripped my thighs and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed me hard against the wall.
My arms locked around his neck. I pressed him tighter into my body. His lips left mine and trailed kisses from my jaw down my neck. I felt his teeth graze against the base of neck; the spot where he would mark me.
Intense pleasure rippled down my spine as I felt his canines elongate. I hastily shoved him away from me when I realized what was happening.
The shock of the sudden movement caused him to drop me to the floor.
"What do you think you are playing at?" I asked him angrily.
I rubbed the side of my neck. It was tingling where his mouth had just been hovering. I couldn't tell if I was angry at him leading me on or for allowing myself to let it happen.
"Don't be mad at me please. I can't handle that."
"Shut up! You can't keep doing this to me Tristan. It's too confusing for me."
"I couldn't help myself. I needed to feel you against my body. You can't just go out dressed like that and expect me to keep my hands off of you."
"Are you insane or just really stupid? You denied me. That means hands off."
"I don't want you going out like this again."
"Well too bad. I'm going to dress like this and you can't stop me. You know why? Because I am not yours."
The words felt like venom in my mouth but I was furious with him. He was hurting me and I had to hurt him back.
"I forbid you from going out dressed like this. I will not have my mate gallivanting around the village dressed like you are in front of my male pack members."
"Oh but I can have my mate going on dates?"
"Arianna," he spoke in a warning tone.
"No! Either you claim me or stay the hell away. And for your sake you better not take too long. Before you know it, it's going to be too late," I threatened before escaping into the ladies room.
I just didn't understand him anymore. What was he trying to do? He didn't want to really claim me but didn't want other guys around me. How selfish was he? I wasn't going to be his doormat anymore.
I returned to Hannah once the anger inside me subsided. She didn't pry into why I took so long and I was grateful.
I was determined to enjoy the rest of the night. I ignored Astrid's overly loud shrieks of laughter at Tristan's jokes. But as the night got later it was harder to drown them out. Hannah tried her hardest to keep my attention away from them but I couldn't focus.
We decided to leave early and meet up with the guys. Tristan growled at Theo to keep his eyes at the table when we walked by them.
We walked around the village after getting some ice cream. I welcomed the boys as a distraction. Logan and Freddie pretended to hit on me with the worst pick-up lines they could come up with.
Logan took me home at the end of the night. We wanted to give Hannah and Jerry some alone time. I fell asleep to Logan running his fingers through my long, wild hair while I cried. I couldn't help but wish my father was here to talk to.