Top Commenters: BecomingApocalypse
And imbatmanxx
Word Count: 1775
~Mara
"You look...Tense, this morning," Alpha Grayson observed from beside me. I clenched my jaw and glared at him.
"I'm not," I mutter.
As a matter of fact, I am very tense. No matter how hard I try, I can't get last night out of my head. For once, Kaden is pushed the back of my consciousness, and I'm left to concentrate on who my mate is.
Whoever he is, I'm mad at him. He left me, on the brink of an orgasm like some sort of game. And now, it's put me in a bit of a bad mood.
"I'm an Alpha, Mara, we can easily read people," he says.
We walk side by side into the forest. Today, he's dressed, which is a relief. His gift of a dagger is clutched tightly in my hand. Today, he is going to teach me how to fight.
I sigh deeply. "My mate visited me last night."
His eyes widen in surprise. Perhaps he could help me find out who this elusive man is.
"And? Who is he?" He questioned. He sounded just as surprised as I felt. My mate is in the Freedom Pack, right now, and I don't even know who he is. It makes me shiver.
"That's the thing...I don't know," I say breathily.
Grayson looks utterly confused by that.
"It was dark...He didn't say a word to me. He just-"
I break off, not wanting to continue. I've grown to like Alpha Grayson, but there are some things that I don't really want to share with him. He glances at me expectantly.
"He what?"
"Just visited, touched me, and then left again," I tell him. I'm not used to lying, but lately I've been having to do it a lot. After last night, I'm mentally reminding myself to pray for my sins. The Moon Goddess can't be happy with me right now.
"We will track him, don't worry," Grayson says warmly. I smile gratefully at him. Good, I can't let this man escape my clutches, especially after what he did to me last night.
We walk awhile longer. The sun is out, and extra hot today, so we stick under the trees. The shade against my skin feels nice, and I try use this sense of freedom as a way to clear my thoughts for a moment.
Until I see it.
One piece of paper, stapled against the base of the tree, makes me freeze.
Grayson sees it too, as he glances at me, before wandering closer. I swallow, knowing exactly what it is before I even have to get close.
A poster. Of me. My face takes up most of the paper, but the picture is not just any picture of me. It is of me last night. I sit upon the bed, my mate just a shadow at the edge of the bed. I stare at him, my eyes wide and bright. The moonlight is the only thing illuminating my face.
Stomach in my throat, I rip the paper from its place of the tree. Underneath the incriminating photo of me, is bold, black text.
Worth The Sin?
Suddenly, I'm filled with an overwhelming sense of fear; like I'm being watched. Spinning around, breathing heavily, and going paler by the second, I gaze around, only to see Grayson staring at me in worry.
"He's here," I say breathlessly, my gaze darting around through the trees to make sure Kaden isn't there.
"Who?" Grayson asks.
I thrust the paper at his chest. As he looks at it, his gaze narrows. While he is doing so, I'm looking around, wiping my sweaty palms against my shirt. All I can think, is one simple thing.
Kaden is here.
"You think this is Kaden's doing? There's no way to tell," Grayson says, in a pathetic way to console me. The thought of Kaden, here, in the one place I've felt safe makes me want to throw up, or maybe to cry.
"Of course it's his doing! He's taunting me," I say, my voice strangled.
Grayson still looks confused.
"Only Alpha Kaden would ever hang something like this! He meant for me to see it," I insist. Grabbing the poster from Grayson's hand, I rip into pieces, and throw them into the air.
It was as I watched them blow away with the breeze, that I noticed something else in the distance. Another tree, further away, with a poster hanging from it. Grabbing Grayson's hand, I drag him toward it.
The same poster, with the same picture, but a different caption at the bottom.
I Wonder Who He Is?
In anger, I toss the paper over my shoulder. He knows who my mate is. And something tells me, he's going to use it against me.
Grayson picks the paper back up to look at it himself.
"He probably doesn't even know," Grayson says into the air. I shake my head furiously.
"He would have had to know. He was there taking pictures," I mutter. My words make my heart sink. I'm sure I'm right.
Grayson grabs my hand again, squeezing it gently. The look on his face suggests he is worried about the Kaden situation as well. Why wouldn't he be? The Alpha of the Vengeance Pack hanging around is like a bad omen.
"I think I see another," he murmurs.
From that point on, they just keep coming. Picture after picture of me, with cruel, sadistic captions underneath, written to taunt me.
I was holding a poster that said:
Watch Your Back, Cause' I'm Watching It Too.
"I have to go," I say. If I stay here, then Kaden is going to drag me back to the Vengeance Pack, and I'll be back to where I started.
"No, stay here. My estate is not too far from here, and I promise, it's safe," Grayson insists. Would Kaden dare step into another Alphas home to retrieve me? I can imagine he would have the audacity...
I sigh, dropping the poster.
"I just feel like so much of a burden. And I'm not sure what Kaden would think about me staying with another Alpha," I say pointedly.
I don't doubt for a second that Alpha Grayson could look after himself, but how long would it be until Kaden took action? Do I even matter enough to him to bother? Maybe it I'm out of his reach, he might give up on trying to pursue me.
"I have Guards, and the place is pretty enclosed. You'll be safe there."
I nod. "Okay, I'll do it."
He grins, but the delightful expression soon falls from his face, and he goes pale. I turn around, to see what he is staring at, and it's another photo. It's plastered on a few tree behind us.
It's the writing, scrawled, handwritten.
I win.
💙••💙
~Kaden
I smile to myself.
How could I not be pleased, when I'm winning? I knew I would win anyway...Mara is my mate, and there is no possible way anyone could keep her from me.
Except Grayson.
Young, stupid Alpha. I heard what he said to Mara in the woods today. He thinks that he can keep her from me? When my family is the reason he is cursed.
I will get her. Like I did last night.
The thought makes me shiver. Last night, I had acted on impulse, and it was stupid. I had never intended on going into her room to make love to her with my mouth, like I had done. But yet, I don't regret it.
I can still taste her sweetness against my lips, and it makes me crave more. Leaving her hanging was my way of ensuring I have a lead over her. She will want more...She's desperate.
Now, I sit, in Grayson's home, waiting. The moment I had heard him say he would protect Mara, I have come here to prove him wrong. He can't keep her from me.
She's not in my arms right now, because I'm having too much fun. That's what I keep telling myself.
It takes only a few minutes, before he wanders into the room. I hate how men here think it's okay to be naked. There is no way I want to see that.
"Kaden," he mutters in distain, as he sees me casually lounging in his seat. His silver eyes are glowing bright, and I know, as the sun sets around us, that I have limited time to make my claim.
"Grayson. Grown up, I see," I say, giving him a half smile. He sets down a bunch of papers, which I assume our the posters I hung in the forest. Warnings.
"What do you want?"
I stand. He knows. And I bet he wishes he didn't. I see it in the way he seems to tremor nervously. He has every right to be afraid of me, and I like it that way.
"I want many things. But right now, I want Mara," I say smoothly.
His jaw clenches. "You're her mate, aren't you."
"Ah, I see you're getting smarter also. Yes, and I would like her back," I tell him. He sighs audibly, and I see him try to gather up some courage right before my eyes.
"She doesn't want to go back to that Pack. If she knew it was you that visited her last night, she would be disgusted," he told me roughly.
His words sent a jab to my heart. It makes me mad that he is right, which is what I am afraid of.
"That's not the point-"
I'm suddenly cut off, as I watch Grayson's eyes begin to turn red. He's changing into a monster, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
"Why should I give you your mate, when you still have mine?"
Lexia, of course. His mate I kidnapped from the Discipline Pack. She still doesn't know why I took her, and placed her within my Pack as a way to have something against the Alpha of the Freedom Pack. She doesn't even know they are mates.
"Lexia will not be yours, until Mara is mine," I say wickedly.
I can see him on the verge of shifting, and the look in his eyes spells out a warning...I need to get out of here.
"Tomorrow, Grayson...Sleep on the fact that I will kill for Mara."
❤️••❤️
So there's a little bit of an insight into what the third book in this series will be about!
Lexia and Grayson!
I'm having a first world problem right now...I just finished reading a really good book (Rebel of the Sands) And my next book hasn't arrived in the mail yet...*cries dramatically* Damn you Book Depository!!
Guess I have more time to write then.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Vote and comment for more (:
Snapchat : midikacrane
Radish: Midika
YouTube: Midika Crane
~Midika 💜🐼