I spend most of my night thinking about the random text I got, meaning I didn't get that much of sleep. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't work well with no sleep. Which is why I continue to wrack my brain for reasons as to why someone is trying to wake me up this early in the fucking morning!
"Maddie, wake up. We need to go eat!" The person shakes my shoulder lightly but I continue to hope that sleep will take me back in its hold.
No such luck considering the person will not go away.
"Madeline come on, you have to wake up." Rather than properly wake up I groan and roll over so that I am on my stomach and bury my face into the pillow.
"What time is it?" My voice sounds husky and rough from just waking up but I ignore it.
"6:45." I groan at how early it is. Who in the hell would purposefully wake up this early then go and think that its ok to wake me up this early? It doesn't make sense!
"I don't exist until after 10." And with that I turn my head the other way and try once again to fall back asleep. But once again I am interrupted with the person once again shaking my body, only this time much rougher.
"What the hell do you want?!" I finally get fed up with it and spring up out of bed. I don't take notice to the fact that its Ashton, rather just continuously pound my fist in his arm for disturbing me to the point that I am extremely annoyed.
"Finally you're up! Great, take a shower, get dressed and all that and meet me down in the kitchen in 20 minutes." He pecks my lips quickly before running out of the room, leaving me to glare at the door he just disappeared behind.
Dickhead.
I listen to his instructions and head into the bathroom and start a shower. After stripping down I set into the shower, letting the warm water relax my tense muscles and clear my jumbled mind.
I take a quick shower, maybe only 9 or 10 minutes before getting out and wrapping a fluffy towel around my body. I wrap another one around my long hair before heading into the closet beside the bathroom to look for something to wear.
After a few moments of looking through my clothes for something to wear I decide to just go wth a casual type of look. I choose a light pair of ripped skinny jeans and a plain t-shirt with a hoodie over it, putting my hair up in a ponytail and adding a light dusting of makeup consisting of mascara and a bit of eyeliner before deciding I look decent enough.
I head down the stairs to where Ashton told me to meet him and see him talking on his phone animatedly, throwing his hand up every once in a while in a frustrated gesture. I walk over to him and slip my arms around his waist, resting my chin on his chest so I am able to look up at him.
He wraps his free arm around me and looks down to smile at me briefly only to go back to being frustrated with the person on the other end of the phone.
After a few more minutes of him talking then listening then talking once again he finally hangs up.
"Who was that?" Its not that I'm necessarily being nosey its just that I am curious as to who was making him so frustrated and why.
"Nobody, just someone who doesn't know how to do their job." I feel somewhat hurt at the fact that he doesn't trust me enough to tell me at least who it was even if I didn't know them, as weird as that may sound...
With a sigh I decide that if he doesn't want to tell me who it was then I can't really force him too, rather I focus on why he woke me up so early in the morning.
"So where are we going?" He takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen where there is a plate of pancakes and eggs with orange juice already set up.
"I'm going to take you out to get a feel of the territory. I know you've been here for a while and don't know where our territory ends and all that so I figured I'd show you just in case." I'm honestly grateful that he is willing to show me as I am kinda scared that I will travel outside of his lands on accident without knowing where his borders are.
I nod before heading over to where the breakfast is set up and digging in. I don't take long to eat, sort of anxious to get out and see where everything is.
When I'm finished Ashton takes my hand and leads me out of the house. Rather than go to the car like I thought he would he leads me out to the woods. We don't shift, we just walk through it. Its honestly really peaceful in the morning when the animals are just starting to wake up.
I listen while the birds chirp to one another and watch as the squirrels and rabbits run from us whenever we get too close to them. Its actually quite relaxing if I do say so myself.
We walk for about 30 minutes before he stops and shows me markers that indicate where the border is. I study the markers so that I will be able to remember them even though I doubt I will be going out this far anytime soon.
The markers range from a simple twig buried in the ground to a huge tree that could easily be noticed from far away. I make sure to go over them all after I learn a new one just so I am positive to remember it.
He shows me the borders for over an hour before deciding that we should head into town to show me the main attractions.
He grabs my hand and leads me back through the trees. I interlace our fingers and swing our hands back and forth as we walk. He chuckles at my childishness but plays along with it either way.
It takes about 30 minutes to get back to where we started and from there we head into town. There are people walking around on the sidewalks and cars going up and down the streets, most people are window shopping but others are simply just enjoying the nice weather - I can't really blame them though I feel as though I would love to just sit here and enjoy it.
I smile at people as we pass by and I watch as shock overtakes their features before they quickly smile back at me, a few wave at me as well.
He shows me multiple tourist attractions such as a monument that sits in the middle of the town and a huge building that was built in memory to an Alpha from many generations ago. Its honestly really cool to learn about the history of this place.
We decide its time to eat something since we haven't eaten in over 3 hours and with all the walking we've been doing its made us hungry apparently. He leads us to a diner that sits off to the edge of the town.
When we walk in I immediately feel all warm and cozy inside, it just gives someone that kind of feel.
Its decorated with old fashioned pictures of random things going from a plant to the Eiffel Tower. There was one of a couple dancing around in the rain with the biggest smiles on their faces as though they didn't have a care in the world. They probably didn't. I couldn't help but feel envious of them, with having no worries it must feel so refreshing.
We sit down in a seat in the corner so that we can see everyone but not be obvious. I thought that Ashton would sit across from me in the booth we chose but he just sat himself right beside me.
I couldn't help the smile that graced my face when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side.
I watch the waitresses going back and forth between tables, smiling occasionally whenever someone catches my eye.
Soon enough our waitress comes up to us.
"Hi, My name is Patricia and I'll be your waitress tonight. What can I get you to drink?" I order a pink lemonade and Ashton orders a Dr. Pepper.
Gross... I hate Dr. Pepper I don't know how he likes it but whatever..
"So, do you like what you see yet?" I look up to see Ashton already looking down at me.
"Mmm, not yet I think I need a little bit more convincing." I put a bit of playfulness in my tone so he knows I'm not serious.
He lets out a deep chuckle making me giggle in return.
"I think I can manage that." Before I can respond the waitress comes back over and hands us our drinks.
"Alright, are you guys ready to order or do you need more time?" She smiles warmly at us, giving us an approving look when she sees Ashton's arm around my shoulder. Almost like a proud mother.
"Yeah, were going to have two of the burger specials." I watch as she writes it down on her notepad, asking questions after every other word of what we want or don't want on the burgers.
I don't really mind Ashton ordering for me since I've never been here so I don't really know what is good and what isn't good here. At least with him ordering I'll have somewhere to start.
After taking our order the waitress gives one last smile before walking off to the kitchen I'm guessing.
"So what else do you have planned for our day?" I smile up at him but quickly turn away to hide my blush when he smirks at me. His smirk makes me think things I'd rather him not know about...
"Well I was thinking after this we could go out and look around for a bit before maybe going on a run? Or go back to the pack house I guess, I wouldn't mind if thats what you wanted to do I just tho-"
I lean up and lightly press my lips to his to stop his rambling. I had meant for it to be a small sweet kiss but he quickly puts his and on the back of my neck, preventing me from escaping.
He turns the kiss from sweet and passionate to rough and hungry, I know I probably should have pulled away a while ago but me being the dumbass I am I let him keep kissing me, even going as far as kissing him back in the same way.
Which is probably how we ended up making out until we hear a throat clear beside our table.
We break away and I immediately start blushing when I see a girl standing there looking down at us. My blush is quickly replaced with a frown when I notice the glare she is sending me.
"Hey hun." She goes to ignoring me completely and places her hand against Ashton's arm. I watch as he does absolutely nothing to stop it from happening. He stays there and looks up, offering her a small smile.
Maybe I am reading too much into it? Yeah that has to be it. I try to reassure my wolf and if I'm completely honest myself as well.
My wolf isn't even sad that our mate is letting another she-wolf touch him, right now she is solely focused on the fact that if this bitch doesn't remove her arm from touching our mate in 5 seconds there isn't going to be an arm to touch him with.
I try to hold back my growl as she openly flirts with him.
"How have you been, you haven't been up to see me in a while." I don't miss the seductive look she gives him as her eyes roam down his body and back up to his eyes.
"Yeah, I've been busy." He looks away from her and rubs the back of his neck, all the while not taking HER FUCKING HAND OFF OF HIS ARM!!!!
"Oh, thats a shame. Well don't hesitate to stop by, I'm sure I'd be available to.. Fulfill your needs." I can't stop the loud growl that escapes my mouth as my wolf starts pushing herself towards the surface.
They both turn their heads towards me, startled at the growl that I just let out so unexpectedly of course. Que the eye roll...
By this point my wolf has full control as the human side of me mostly feels hurt that he didn't even think about the fact that I was hearing all of the hidden meanings behind her words.
I feel myself start to shake as my wolf tries to shift but I manage to keep at least a slice of control so that I prevent her from shifting in the middle of a diner that humans share with us.
I close my eyes, trying to calm myself but it doesn't work - my wolf is already too far gone.
I push against Ashton until he manages to stand up before I stand as well and make a run out of the diner. I would prefer to stay but I know if I spent another minute in that diner with that slut I'd shift and let my wolf tear her to shreds.
As much as I wanted that to happen I know it wouldn't go well for Ashton.
I run behind the diner, knowing I won't be able to make it that far to the woods before my wolf takes control and shifts. I go between the alleys so that I am mostly hidden before letting the shift take over my body.
I hear Ashton calling my name from the front of the diner but I don't do anything to indicate where I am.
I fall down so that I now stand on all fours in my wolf form. I peek my head around the corner, my eyes widening in surprise when I see Ashton making his way down the alley.
I know I'm cornered here as the only way out is past Ashton and if I were to try and run past him I know he would catch me before I would be able to.
He sees me and slowly makes his way towards me. For every step forward he takes I mirror it, taking a step backwards until I feel my tail hit the wall before I am fully pressed against it. He continues to advance on me, making my wolf whimper and press her ears back against her scull.
I see his eyes soften at the scared way my wolf is acting but I have no control over her. Her primal instinct is to get away from whatever is hurting her, which makes her scared when she sees that the one thing she wants to get away from is getting closer to her.
I feel the same way as her though honestly.
He puts his hands up in surrender as he gets closer to us. When he is finally right in front of us he gets down on his knees so that his head is just slightly below mine with how tall my wolf is. I lean my head down so that it is level with his.
I purr slightly - unwillingly might I add - when he raises his hand and lightly runs his fingers through my thick fur. He repeats the pattern until my wolf has calmed down enough. I on the other hand am still furious at the fact that he didn't pay any mind whatsoever to the fact that that girl was blatantly flirting with him right in front of me and didn't do shit about it.
"I'm sorry for whatever I did-" I snort through my nose as he still has no idea what he did wrong. "-I know, I know but ho-" I cut him off with a loud, menacing snarl when I see the girl appear into the alleyway from behind him.
I stand up from my sitting position so I am in a threatening stance. I am easily as tall as her 5'7 frame, maybe even a little taller and I can't help but smirk in my head when I see her take a small step back as her eyes widen considerably.
I watch as Ashton looks over his shoulder to the girl, releasing another loud snarl when she smiles at him. She is suicidal obviously.
I feel my wolfs anger rise again and after a small struggle I give in to her when she pushes for control.
She wastes no time in lunging over Ashton's kneeling body towards the girl that screams when she sees me charging towards her. I crouch down on my haunches and spring forward, lunging towards her as she turns and tries running away.
I'm just about to sink my teeth into her shoulder blade when something rams into me from the right side, causing all the air in my lungs to be let out forcefully. Me and the person tumble a few feet before finally stopping where I waste no time in getting up and standing over the person with my teeth showing.
When my wolf sees its Ashton rather than back down like I thought she would she snarls even louder at him. I see the look of shock and hurt go over his features and try to get my wolf to back down but she won't have any of it.
She finally backs down when she hears the girl scrambling to her feet to the right of us. I look over to see her using the wall for support, she must have tripped before I hit her or something..
Clumsy.
I snarl loudly at her and start stalking towards her, as though she is my prey. She must notices my wolfs blood lust in my eyes as she screams yet again and starts running away. I chase her out of the alleyway and into the street where I hear more screams from the humans who start running as well, but gasps from the other wolves that look torn from wether to step in or stay on the sidelines.
"Madeline!!" My ears perk up at my name but my wolf doesn't allow me to stop and turn towards him.
She would have caught the girl by now if she hadn't been taking so many turns and zigzagging in and out of the streets. She's smarter than I gave her credit for truthfully.
I hear thumps coming from behind me but once-a-fucking-gain my wolf pays no mind to it and continues chasing the girl. I try my hardest to get control over my wolf and just as I am about to get control enough to stop her from chasing her Ashton just has to open his dumbass mouth and ruin the progress I had made.
"Nora keep running till you get to Warnell I'll stop her!" Nora? Thats who this bitch is?! I growl loudly, now on my wolfs side of thinking as I know exactly who Nora is.
We push ourselves to the max speed, ignoring the fire in our legs and the stinging in our paws from pushing ourselves so far.
With another growl we speed up just the slightest bit to where if we were to jump we could reach the girl - Nora.
I hear tearing behind me and immediately know that Ashton shifted into his wolf. I try to stop my wolf, as much as I want to give in and let her do what she wishes with Nora I know that if Ashton catches us - when Ashton catches us - it will have been pointless.
After another moment of arguing back and forth with my wolf about control she finally gives in and goes to the back of my mind - where she belongs.
I don't waste anytime in slowing my pace until I'm trotting, then walking, and finally stopped.
Ashton comes up behind me, both of us breathing heavily and I close my eyes, waiting for him to do something.
Nothing happens.
Rather than stay to find out what he is going to do, I turn to the left and bolt off, not checking to see if he is following me or not. I feel him pushing against the mind link, trying to get in. I finally let him but rather than let him talk I immediately say what I wanted to say.
"Fuck you." Without giving him a chance to respond I close the link and continue running through the woods. Luckily even through my haze of frustration and hurt I notice where the markers are that Ashton pointed out earlier in the day.
Its crazy to think that earlier I was doing everything in my power to be near him and ow I am doing everything in my power to stay away from him.
I know he is following me far behind, enough room to give me space but still close enough to keep an eye on me. I know I should be annoyed that he won't leave me alone technically but even if my wolf disagrees I am still grateful that he is willing to stay with me.
I run around for hours, not knowing where to go just running around, stopping here and there to get a drink or just look at my surroundings.
Its probably past midnight when I finally decide its time to go home. With that in mind I change directions and follow the many scents that would lead me back to the pack house. Around 10 minutes into my run home I am stopped by growls coming to my right.
I keep running but turn my head to see, and I see three shapes running beside me in the trees. I immediately stop in my tracks, watching as the forms stop running as well and walk out of the trees to stand in front of me.
I growl threateningly at them, using my wolfs anger towards the rogues to fuel my own. I know they are rogues by the many scars visible underneath their fur.
They growl back at me. We stay that way for over 5 minutes just growling at one another and walking in a circle so that neither of us allow the other to get the upper hand.
I'm not stupid, I know that if for some reason they attack me that I am strongly outnumbered. I think about Ashton and where he could of gone as I know that even if we were mad at each other we would still look out for the other.
I come back from my thoughts just in time to see the biggest of the rogues lunging at me. I try to duck but am too late and whimper in pain when he bites my shoulder and with the force of his jump he tears a huge chunk out.
I stand on my feet, allowing my wolf to take control as I know that she will have a better chance at this than I ever will with her animal instincts and all.
I watch, almost as though I were to be watching a movie as she lunges and bites the rogues leg, hearing the satisfying crack that comes along with it.
She doesn't waste time on the rogue, rather moving on to the next by crouching low and swishing her tail back and forth against the ground as she waits for him to make the first move. He does by bounding towards her but rather than moving, she waits as he gets closer and closer to her.
I watch in horror as he is face to face with her, just about to bite her neck before she rears her head back and goes low to the ground so that he misses her neck. With her new position she easily moves her head up and bites the rogues neck, biting harder and harder until the rogue falls to the ground lifeless.
1 down 2 to go.
She turns just in time for a rogue to barrel into her, making them go tumbling down the hill. They both twist and turn trying to get the upper hand but neither come out on top until they land. With the unlucky day we seem to be having, the rogue lands so that he has the upper hand.
They go back and forth for a solid 5 minutes, both trying their hardest to get to the others neck. I watch in horror as the rogue stomps down on my wolfs stomach, making the ribs that hold together crack under the pressure.
We both whimper loudly as the pain just seems to keep increasing the longer he holds his paw there.
He uses the pain to his advantage and pushes down harder so my wolf is basically thrashing around underneath him, trying to get free.
At some point she must of unknowingly shown her neck as the wolf lunges forward and bites down on it. I whimper loudly as my wolf backs away quickly, allowing me to have control. I whimper even more as he slowly increases the pressure, drawing out the pain that comes with it.
He continues slowly bringing me to my death for over 3 minutes by which point I am slowly starting to lose consciousness. I weakly try to push against his underbelly with my back legs but with him being twice my weight its useless.
I feel myself slipping in and out of the darkness as the blood loss starts effecting my body.
I hear shouting and footsteps start getting closer but I am too far gone to be able to stand on my own as the rogue releases me to look at the oncoming people.
He growls and backs up slowly just as the shouting and the sound of tearing clothes fills the air around me. The rogues I know don't stand against an entire pack but they for some reason rather than run, stand and prepare themselves.
Growls fill the air as a fight begins but just as it starts I feel myself slowly falling out of consciousness.
Just as I'm about to give in, I hear something fall beside me. I try to open my eyes but its useless. They feel as though bricks are holding them down.
"Madeline? Madeline come on sweetheart you have to wake up.." I feel someones hand touch me and immediately recognize it as Ashton's from the sparks that erupt wherever he touches.
"Come on, don't give up on my I'm so sorry for leaving I thought you would be heading home by then, I didn't expect you to stay out so late much less run into rogues please baby I need you to wake up." I know by the way that his voice chokes every now and then that he is crying, or close to it.
I am proven right when a small sob escapes his mouth as he leans down and presses his head against mine.
Just as I am giving in to the darkness that threatens to consume me I hear him whisper two words into my ear that will forever haunt my mind.
"Forgive Me."
~~~~~~~~~~
OH MY GOD!!! Ahhhhh! I'm so happy but sad at the same time. Forgive Me has finally come to and end ): Thank you all so much for the support you've given to my book and the supportive comments and messages that I have gotten while in the process of writing this book it means more than I will ever be able to express! I hope you guys enjoyed this finally chapter as it took so fucking long to write!! I had to keep deleting and rewriting what I wrote because I didn't think it went well. I know that for the most part it wasn't the best chapter that I could have done but that was mainly because I was in a hurry for most of this chapter as I chose the worst times to start writing (4,000 words by the way..) If you enjoyed please let me know and if you didn't don't hesitate to tell me what I should go back and change to make better! Last thing before I go is I will be making a sequel to this book, maybe not right away as I think I am going to write another book soon then work on my sequel but I'm not sure. Thank you all so much!!!!!!! I love you all!!!
I hope you guys are having an amazing Tuesday if you are maybe you could spread the love and vote and comment? Maybe even follow me? <3
-Skittles 💋
Do what is right, not what is easy.