Audrey didn't fall asleep right away like she had thought she would after a day of driving by herself and getting wrapped up with conflicting emotions over the actions of Nathan Moore. Instead, she went to bed angry and spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. Her dreams were filled with images of Nathan Moore, ranging between killing him, making him beg for mercy and feeling his lips all over her. She woke up in the morning irritable and the sight of Nathan sleeping next to her infuriated her.
Thoughts of waking him up abruptly or taking the opportunity to draw on his face came to mind. She considers for a moment the idea of kicking him off the bed and feigning innocence but that quickly vanished when she remembers how tall and muscular his frame is compared to her short and thin frame. There's no possibility of getting away with it cleanly.
She sits up and looks back at him. He's taken up most of the bed, giving her about one third of it, simply because of his massive size. He isn't fat and there isn't a soft spot on him. He's all muscle, big and muscular. It's almost teasing the way he's sprawled out like some big, warm pillow that she can rest against.
She ignores the urge to lay closer to him and climb out of bed bitterly. The cold air rushes over her skin and she shivers, fighting the need to climb back into bed. She walks softly over the carpet into the closet to grab some clothes before entering the bathroom. She turns on the shower and strips, but not before she locks the door. She can't be too easy for Nathan lest she wants to be played with again.
Not that she imagined he would. He did pretty much say that he wasn't attracted to her simply because her boobs are smaller than other girl's are. So if that's the way he wants to play at it, then she won't be attracted to him either. Nobody wants a big, massive person to squeeze next to anyway.
She finishes showering and gets out, running her fingers through her wet hair. She brushes her teeth as she slips into a bra and matching underwear before gathering her pajamas in her arm. Opening the door and walking into the room, she finds that Nathan had just finished getting dressed. He looks up and she captures his eyes, watching as they glance over her body and inwardly smirking.
He can pretend all he wants but she knew he's just as attracted to her as she is to him.
She calmly walks pass him into the closet and throws her dirty clothes into the empty suitcase lying next to the wall. She has just enough clean clothes to last the week and since she isn't staying longer than that, there is no point in washing them here with the Moore's clothes. She pulls on some jean shorts and then a blue tank top before slipping into her converse. When she walks out of the closet, Nathan is sitting on the bed with an irritated expression on his face.
Again, she can hear his wolf pressuring him.
"What?" She greets, snapping him out of his thoughts. He stands and walks out of the room, leaving the door opened for her. She rolls her eyes and follows him despite that his long legs went far too quickly for her. She forgot about that.
It's hard for to imagine that if Melissa and John didn't show up when they did that night, her own mate would have pounced on her and killed her with his own teeth for trying to escape her prison. She had been kept hostage and used as a punching bag to torment other Sullivan wolves into telling them information simply because they're a family oriented pack and she is an omega. One of the wolves, Connor Jackson, had devised a plan to distract the guards long enough so she could escape. At first, she didn't want to do this but he argued that it was the only way she'd survive. She couldn't argue with him much then. She barely had the energy to do anything but sleep. After all, he and the rest could phase and handle anything the Moore's gave them. She, on the other hand, was on the verge of dying.
She escaped that night but only barely. Nathan and his beta hadn't been expected to be coming to the prison camp for an inspection. It was a surprise to run into him when she finally escaped. He had chased her for what seemed like seconds before John stepped in and Melissa urged her to continue home. John had been fatally wounded that night and didn't make it. Melissa was left to take over the pack.
Audrey will never forgive herself.
The fact that Nathan who almost killed her is her mate is just something she'll have to work around. But until she is officially rejected, she will make his life hell.
"How's your neck?" His voice makes her jump as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. Her hand instinctively shoots up to the large bruise he gave her and winces. Her body shivers from remembering the way he held her and the way his teeth grazed across her skin just moments before inflicting pain on her.
"How's your testicles?" She retorts and she can practically feel his eyes narrow in frustration.
"You missed them." He turns and faces her completely. "I'll be happy to let you see how they are if you want to though, sweetheart. Even the unwanted needs attention sometimes."
She internally winces. The string that connects them jerks and makes her feel like she's choking.
That hurt.
"No thanks. I rather my first time not be with someone who may have issues. I rather actually feel it when I'm getting some." She hears the faint growl that erupts from his chest as he leads her through the living room where Moore wolves sat around, looking tired and bored.
"I'm not surprised that you're still a virgin." He hold her. "No right man would fuck a child." She gaps at him as some of his wolves laugh.
Choosing not to argue here, she lets the conversation drop. Around her, Moore wolves are glaring, looking over her quickly or watching her cautiously as she follows Nathan through the large living room that seems to take up most of the first floor. There's an opened bar counter that went into the kitchen in the next room where one omega wolf stands, looking helplessly afraid. Audrey's heart goes out to her immediately.
"Watch over Audrey." Nathan tells the wolf before walking away and disappearing. Almost as soon as he leaves, Audrey can feel the tension coming from the other wolves who look over her greedily with secretive smirks. She knows that she's about to be treated as if she were officially part of the pack and quickly thinks about what to do. She turns back to the omega girl who stares at her helplessly and smiles as an idea comes to mind.
"Hi," She greets. "I'm Audrey, Nathan's newly marked mate."
Audrey shows her neck, pulling her hair over her shoulder. Immediately, whispers went around the living room and as she looks, she sees the wolves act like they didn't notice her presence. She inwardly smirks.
"K-Karmen Locke," The girl introduces with a stutter, bowing her head in immediate submission. Audrey can hear Karmen's wolf lowly whimper. She mutters something under the fog that separates her from Audrey but Audrey can vaguely understand. Karmen would make a good friend to have in the Moore pack.
Audrey shakes her head. "Don't worry about respect or anything. We're both omegas - equals."
Karmen looks surprised for a moment but then she lifts up part of the bar to let Audrey in. Audrey slides inside and leans against the counter with a sigh as Karmen places it back together. Karmen is taller than Audrey and seems to be a little more muscular too but she looked absolutely tired with dark circles under her eyes and pale skin. She seems nervous or frightened but that is to be expected. She belonged to a warrior pack where fighting is a way of life, an art and not just something that must be done when the time calls for it.
"Are they always like this?" Audrey whispers, leaning towards her with a smile. Karmen nods without a second thought.
"The strong conquer over the weak." She shrugs. "That's what everyone learns here."
Despite her nervous appearance, Karmen seems to be more relaxed than Audrey thought she'd be. She didn't seem to mind being treated like a weakling or like trash for being an omega. She seems to have accepted it. Audrey couldn't understand why. She's much stronger than she acts.
"Well, you're stronger than me." Audrey tells her but Karmen just shrugs.
"You're the Luna though. You'll always have more power than me."
Audrey wanted to tell her that it isn't official and that it wouldn't be. She knows Nathan's mark would disappear by the end of the day. It isn't the true mark to connect them. For the time being though, she's going to use it to protect herself from the domineering wolves of the Moore pack surrounding her. She doubts Nathan would protect her and she doesn't want it. If anything, she wants to be as far away from him as possible.
"What do you guys do here for fun?"
"Mostly train and fight with each other," Karmen smiles. "You heard that we're a warrior pack, right? It's true. If we're not fighting, we're partying."
"Now, don't tell her everything omega!"
Audrey turns to see a bodacious redhead who leans over the bar with a smirk. She's wearing a black and white tank top over green shorts and downs the last of a soda before sliding it over the counter. Audrey instantly remembers her. She's one of the wolves who caught her during the war.
"We wouldn't want our little Luna to be frightened of us, would we? At least, not like before." She says, glancing at Karmen with amusement.
"I think I'll be alright." Audrey argues. "I was different back then."
"So because you're Luna, you aren't afraid anymore. Do you think Alpha Nathan is going to protect you?" She sneers, standing straight while Karmen hands her a new can of cold coke.
"Millis," says a male redhead who appears next to her. He shared similar features with Millis but unlike her brown eyes, he has green and is built much bigger, standing at least a foot taller than her. "Don't disrespect the Luna. She might bite."
Millis laughed with him and Audrey stands straight, crossing her arms over her chest. She looks around the room and can see that most of the pack thought the idea of her being their Luna ridiculous. She is being looked down and at that realization, her eyes narrow. They are all just like Nathan, without power and without the attraction she has for him.
"I can't guarantee that I won't." She argues. "Just because you can shift and I can't doesn't mean I don't know how to defend myself."
Audrey remembers how she felt when wolves were attacking her home and she could do nothing but stand there and watch. She felt useless, pathetic even. She felt weaker than she could remember, begging for someone to sweep in and save her. She was easily captured by Millis and another and sent to Nathan's prison where she spent the next three months being tortured.
It's because of that feeling and those long months that John died and she went to Jasper and Blaze. And it's because of them that she knows better now. She's different, stronger and filled with more confidence than before. She knows what she can do and she will never let anyone think differently ever again.
The redheads raise their eyebrows at her before smirking at each other.
"Then why don't you prove it tomorrow on the field?" The man asked. Audrey feels Karmen's touch on her elbow, warning her but she shrugged her off.
"What time?"
"Don't worry. Alpha Nathan will pick you up as soon as he hears." Millis tells her before they walk off. Karmen waits until they are across the room before scolding Audrey.
"Are you crazy?! They'll kill you!" Audrey rolls her eyes.
"Not much different to what they were going to do to me before." She explains with a reassuring smile but Karmen scoffs. Before she can say something, another voice interrupts her.
"You should be." An older lady comes through the door in the kitchen staring at them. She has dark gray hair that falls onto her shoulders in waves and wore a long sleeve cardigan. A big emerald ring rests on her left hand and Audrey feels her wolf's power in less than a second. Her caramelized eyes glances over Audrey and pauses on her neck before giving her a smirk. "Even if you are Nathan's mate, you won't be able to beat Millis and her cousin, Frankie. Even with your wolf, it would be an impossible feat."
"I don't need to beat them." Audrey argues. "I just need to make sure they know that I can take care of myself."
The old lady laughed lightly. "Even Karmen couldn't stand her ground against them. My grandson won't do much for you either. You'll be beaten and bedridden for weeks and you'll never be taken seriously again."
"Grandson?" Audrey stares at the woman in surprise while Karmen leads close to her.
"She's Alpha Nathan's grandmother, Jenna." She explains in a whisper. Audrey looks carefully at the woman in front of her. She didn't know that Nathan had relatives still living with him.
"I don't expect Nathan to do much for me." Audrey shrugs, giving a small bow of respect to her elder. "He isn't the most chivalrous guy around."
"No, he is very selfish and demanding." Jenna smiles. "Just like his father and his grandfather. If anything, he would find your attempts at defeating those cousins amusing."
"Well then, he'll be surprised."
Jenna stares at her quietly for a long moment and Audrey and Karmen didn't have the strength to look away from her. Audrey, especially, felt Jenna's wolf scrutinizing her from every corner, her inner mind working at every angle possible. Audrey's far away, nonexistent wolf stands tall with amusement, allowing her.
"Your eyes," Jenna comments, staring at her with suspicion. "They're quite beautiful."
Audrey takes a moment to process this and in that moment, panic rises deep within her. "Thank you."