A/N: WATA turned one a few days ago, but we are continuing the birthday party and starting a Q&A! Write a comment and ask me anything you want about the Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series and if my reply wouldn't be a big spoiler, I'll answer :)
You have a question about my stories in general? Or maybe about writing a story?
Well, now is your chance - ask about that too!
There's no limit to questions - I'll answer them all - so leave as many comments as you like :)
Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway in Ch. 37. The deadline is Monday evening, September 12.
Did you take the character quiz? Who did you get?
What did you think of Alec's sneak peek?
You can read more about him on Sept. 15! There will be trivia, he'll be answering the questions you left him a few weeks ago and there's also a picture quote from his book.
Enjoy the new chapter!
*****
Riley's jaw went slack, his eyes wide in confusion.
At least he isn't screaming, I thought, the reason behind his lack of panic becoming evident when he gave me the oddest of smiles.
He didn't believe me.
"Come on, Rhys, don't... Don't joke like that." His laugh was high-pitched and unnatural.
Perhaps he was beginning to believe me.
"This is a joke, right? Is there some sort of hidden camera or something?"
His head swirled around in frantic search of any suspicious devices. After a thorough examination of our surroundings - one that disproved his theory of hidden cameras and pranks - he returned his gaze to me.
He wiped his hands - probably as sweaty as mine - on his jeans and swallowed hard before he spoke again:
"So what?" He tried to keep his inflection joking, but fear was sliding out of his mouth along with his words. "You are a descendant of the Great King?"
"No." I shook my head, the accusation of being a kin of that horrid man finally allowing me to find my voice. "I'm a descendant of the first shifters, of those who joined their soul with that of a wolf."
I cursed the house's faulty wiring that prevented me from turning the lamps on. In my human form and with only the moonlight flowing in the room, I couldn't see Riley properly. I couldn't see whether he'd turned pale with fear and was about to faint or sickly yellow with nerves and about to throw up.
But even so, I could feel that my mate wasn't alright.
My muscles clenched as I readied myself to catch him when he swayed in his chair, first forwards and then intentionally backwards to straighten himself. Once Riley regained his balance, his eyes - larger than I'd ever seen them - darted towards the door.
"No." My heart clenched as I uttered the word. I felt guilty for diminishing his hopes of an escape, for forcing him he was to stay when he didn't want to, but he had to remain in the house.
He had to, at least until I've proven this was real and not a prank or the ravings of a madman.
"Not yet."
I got up and moved as far away from him as I could, providing him with some distance so he could relax... As much as an any boy could relax when his world was suddenly reshaping around him, taking forms he'd never thought possible.
I stopped in the corner and began stripping, starting with my top.
"What are you doing?" His nervous whisper didn't make me halt.
He had to see.
"You don't believe me." I threw my shirt on the floor. "So I'll show you."
"Rhys, just..."
Riley didn't say anything more, his chest rising and falling in an unnatural rhythm, his body trembling.
I took a deep breath and blinked away the unusually large amount of water that had gathered in my eyes.
Riley has to see, he has to believe or we could never be together, I kept repeating in my head and unzipped my jeans. There's no turning back now.
I let the jeans slide down my legs and kicked them aside.
"Rhys..."
I pulled my boxers down and stood before him completely naked.
My back was straight and rigid and my eyes never left my mate. I could feel my wolf twisting inside me with anticipation, wanting to get out.
"Don't be frightened, Riley."
He startled and jumped in his seat when I repositioned myself, standing on all fours, my palms firmly pressed against the wooden floor.
Small subdermal tremors overtook my body. The tiny hairs over my skin grew and new ones appeared. Bones crushed and took new shape. My ears moved atop of my head and I heard Riley's quickened breaths, my new, improved eyesight taking in all of his terrified features.
Riley stood up abruptly, pushing his chair to the floor in his haste and ran to the opposite corner, tripping on his way there. In a hurry to get away from me, he didn't get up and crawled backwards until his back hit the wall.
Both my human and my wolf wanted to howl out in pain at what we saw.
My heart was clenched tight and aching to the point that it was a miracle it didn't give out on me, that I didn't die.
I wished I had died.
Riley pressed his knees against his chest, hugging them and rocketed back and forth, his lips moving in silent raving. Every thud his back produced when it hit the wall was like a punch to my chest.
He was losing it.
I had driven him mad.
And I was going mad in turn.
My mind took me to dark places, places where Riley had gone insane.
Riley in a straightjacket, rocketing the way he did now, but in a padded room.
Riley in a wheelchair, his jaw slack and covered in drool, his eyes dimmed by the haze of medication.
I had to make it better, I had to help him somehow...
But I was powerless to do so.
"No." His voice was weak, his head shook from left to right. "No, no. This can't be real, you are not real..."
Sobs overpowered his speech and I whimpered, unconsciously taking a step towards him, driven by the need to comfort my mate.
"No!" He shouted, panicked. "Don't come near me!"
I whimpered again and lowered my head, but looked up at Riley.
My mate fears me... My mate is terrified by me...
That was all that was going through my mind.
I opened my mouth to tell Riley he had nothing to fear, that I'd rather die than harm him, but wolves can't speak; no words came out.
"Please don't kill me," he begged and the room swam around me, my grief so powerful, so palpable, that it almost knocked me into unconsciousness. "Please don't..."
He closed his eyes and he cried loud and undignified, tears and snot smearing over his face.
I howled in mourning; I had failed.
I'd wanted my mate by my side, I wanted him happy, healthy and safe.
He was terrified. He had mentally broken down. He felt anything but safe with me.
I had lost him.
Breaking the eye contact, I looked at the floor.
I had lost the one most precious to me, the reason for my existence.
Both of my souls realized that the longer I stayed an animal, the worse it was for the one we loved. The wolf hid away in his despair and I began to shift again, this time to a human form.
I got up, dressing silently.
I was the oddest mix of boundless emptiness and sorrow. I felt surreal as if I no longer existed... As if I'd never be anything but of an echo of the man I once was.
Not looking at Riley - I couldn't bear the terror in his once kind and loving eyes - I walked to the door, stopping underneath the frame, one hand reaching for the wooden surface for support.
"I'll call you a cab." I said quietly, my voice sounding foreign to my ears. "With a human driver, to take you home. We won't stop you." My eyes burned and I sniffed. "And you never have to see me again."
That promise was the only comfort I could offer him now.
*****
A/N: How do you think Riley would react to Rhys' parting words?
Will he be relieved or run after Rhys?
What do you think of the chapter as a whole?
Please support it with a VOTE and don't forget to stop by my blog on Thursday to read more about Alec!
The comments are officially opened for a Q&A so ask away!