Rhysand walked fast. Seriously. I wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose just to piss me off or if he honestly walked this fast on a regular basis. My weak body could barely keep up with him, I might as well have run. Every step I took sent aches and pains echoing through my body.
I was thanking the Moon Goddess for fresh air the minute I set foot outside of the prison. Sun shone above, making me assume that it was mid afternoon. Birds flew overhead and the faint scent of sea salt could be identified with my enhanced sense of smell. It was a welcome change from the stench of the prison.
He led me across the prison lawn, to the entrance where two guards patrolled the tall iron gates. They were stern looking men, frowns on their cold faces, bored looking eyes. Their hair was buzzed close to their head and they wore matching black pants and black shirts. They had guns as well as knives strapped along their bodies. If their intention was to intimidate me, they deserved applause.
Rhysand didn't blink an eye as they nodded at him and opened the tall gates that lead to the gravel path way. I follow a few feet behind Rhysand, self conscious of my attire. Rhysand had failed to provide any suitable clothing, so I was still clad in the bloodied hospital gown. My arms were crossed over my chest in a failed attempt at maintaining some of my self respect. They say that as werewolves you get used to nakedness around others, but that's not true for me. I felt the guards eyes following me and I almost snapped their heads off as they looked me over.
"Nothing to see here, Shit heads!" I snarl as I walks past them. Making a point to look them in the eyes defiantly.
One of the guards didn't seem to like my comment because a moment later I find myself being thrown to the ground.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are but you better shut your mouth before I kill your worthless ass!" One of the guards told me angrily as he kicked me in the ribs for good measure.
I fall in a messy heap into the gravel, it cuts into my skin leaving small gashes. My head looks up to asses my attacker so I can give him a piece of my mind but it seems Rhysand had already gotten the job done. Fury was written across his face in big bold letters. His hands were gripping the man throat, choking the life from him. Rhysand has the guard dangling in the air, desperately clawing at the hands that were around his neck.
"Do not insult her. If I didn't need two guards I'd have you banished right now for speaking like that in your alphas presence." He says angrily and drops the man on the ground. The other guard looks around, bewildered but goes to his partners aid, not bothering to question his alphas decision to protect a rouge wolf.
Inside, my wolf is practically swooning. Outside I'm glaring at Rhysand. He is still simmering with anger and I know that if I don't play this carefully I could end up messing with more then I can handle.
"I could have taken care of myself." I tell him defensively as I slowly pull myself back to my feet shakily. "I'm not some damsel in destress."
Rhysand walks over, leaving the guards behind him, and at my words he smirks at me letting his anger wash away. He infuriates me to no end. He constantly tries to get under my skin with that face of his. The way he struts over like he owns the place which unfortunately he does.
"For some reason I don't think you are in any position to defend yourself from anything other then a bug." Rhysand says, almost laughing at my words.
"Very funny Prince Charming." I say sarcastically and arch an eye brow while dusting the stray pieces of gravel off of me.
Rhysand only chuckles at me and I almost choke. He actually showed some hint of happiness. Wow what an improvement from the terrifying man that I first met.
"Wow. Did you actually just laugh? I might die from the shock." I say in mock horror, clutching my chest.
Immediately Rhysand frowns and becomes his cold alter personality. So much for making progress. He stares at me blankly studying me like I'm this parasite that landed on his food. Annoying him as a bee does when it circles your head.
He soon realizes that we are wasting time and resumes walking again, this time a little slower.
Thank the Moon Goddess.
We walk down the gravel path surrounded by lush green vegetation teaming with life. Bugs land on leaves and birds weave through the trees singing tunes. The forest is dense preventing me from seeing too far in but from what I can see it stretches for quite awhile.
I allow myself to take in all the sights and smells. Savoring the feeling of the sunshine on my skin, warming me up. Enjoying the brush of light wind skimming over my body. For so many days I had convinced myself that I wouldn't ever be able to enjoy the beauties of Mother Nature again. Now I couldn't get enough of the idea that I would get to appreciate the world for at least a few more months, until I got my revenge.
Rhysand hasn't said a word since I made that one comment leading me to believe that he is hiding something. Ok, well since I barely know anything about him he is technically 'hiding' a lot from me, but I have this feeling that something isn't sitting right in his past. Call me a fool, but I'm determined to find out.
"So who exactly will I be staying with?" I ask finally. Allowing myself to consider the absurdity of this whole situation.
Rhysand slows down to walk beside me and glances over. His beautiful face in contorted into a frown and a small crease forms between his eye brows. I have a slight desire to run my finger over it and smooth it out.
"You will meet her soon. She is one of my most loyal pack members and has been kind enough to allow you to stay with her." He says.
Hearing Rhysand admire this woman almost sent my wolf over the edge. Her jealousy consumed me like a wild fire, burning me from the inside out. If I didn't care what Rhysand thought of me I would have stopped him right there and demanded justice for praising another women in front of his goddamn mate. Weather we were a thing or not it was rude and disrespectful, not to mention it pissed my wolf off. My wolf angered was not pretty sight.
"Well I can't 'wait' to meet her." Say with as much genuine kindness as possible. I couldn't become that jealous mate. I wouldn't give Rhysand the satisfaction of seeing me become possessive over him, because Goddess knows that I would.
"I expect you to behave while you stay with her otherwise I'll have you moved to the pack house and given shared quarters with around 16 other kids in the orphanage section." He says with a sneer.
I almost punch him right there.
"Do not assume things you know nothing about Rhysand. I am not a child, I am not an orphan, I am a sister, a daughter, and a effing warrior." I spit out angrily, "I won't stand by as you insult my past. You have no idea what I have gone through. No idea of what I have seen."
I notice his face become closed off. His eyes harden and he looks away into the forest.
"Please excuse my comments. I haven't ever had to deal with a shit head such as yourself." He says cooly.
'That's it' my wolf growls and I give in to her as she claws to the surface, begging for air. She is starving for the freedom. The feeling of our paws on the ground, our fur shifting in the wind. My wolf is angry at our mate. She is furious that Rhysand would dare insult us when we were already on edge. So I let her.
My bones begin to crack and twist, skin stretches in unnatural ways, and hair sprouts out in thick brown locks with the occasional white streak. My senses become heightened and the sound of every critter moving in the forest around us was noticeable. The feeling to run became almost an order, programmed into my system. However I knew that this was not something I could run from. For some reason Rhysand needed me as much as I needed him. So instead of darting into the forest I turned m body to face the awestruck male towering above me. His face was for once open and expressive. He watched me pad over to him like I was some sort of goddess. I knew that I was bigger then the average female werewolf, and my coat was unique with the strange silver streaks, but seeing Rhysand look at me like that made me want to howl.
I felt proud to have his gaze praising me like that. The look of list that crossed his face before quickly vanishing, replaced with a dark look.
I snarl at him as I remember what he has done to anger me. My wolf is still under most of my control so I'm able to prevent her from running to Rhysand and giving him slobbery kisses.
"Onalee, this is neither the time or the place to shift!" He yells and that only angers me more.
I stalk for ward and release a low growl, feeling the hair on my hunches stand up in warning. I'm walking a tightrope between stability and uncertainty. Any second I could snap. My wolf has been through a lot and so have I. There have been moments in my past where I completely forgets my sense of right from wrong. I feel so violated and furious that I am a danger to anyone around. I'm not proud of it but it's part of who I am.
"Ok, don't shift back. At least follow me you mutt." He mutters and begins to walk again leavings behind.
I snarl and race up to him. He has angered me too long and needs to know when to stop. This deal won't work unless he learns to shut his mouth. If I leave he will slowly become a shell of a person. Lost of all life. Being away from your mate can do that, especially an alpha.
'Mate needs to learn lesson.' My wolf shouts into our head.
'I agree.' I say quickly before pouncing into the air, aiming to land on Rhysands back.
I'm so close so close to making contact when he swings around and does a round house kick landing a straight blow to my right side.
My breath of knocked out of me as I yell and fly to the ground a few feet away. My side is on fire as I lay there panting, a sad attempt at regrouping. I let my eyes find Rhysand towering over me. I can't focus on him clearly because of my blurred vision, a result of his blow.
He looks almost regretful and steps forward to come to my aid but then his face becomes his usual mask and he walks away. The only sign of his frustration is the hand that he rakes through his black curls.
I slowly find my footing and hoist my body up, wincing at the sharp pain. I probably broke a rib or two but they would heal soon enough leaving only the physical pain behind. Even though I was going to attack Rhysand my wolf and I found it hard to believe that after all our progress he would find it in himself to cause me pain again. With Rhysand his words were his shield and violence was his sword. He was a warrior constantly in battle, never letting even his allies see him with his guard down.
I knew that I probably should have given up. Let Rhysand order me around, shut up when he told me too but what was the fun in that. Mates were equals and despite what Rhysand thought of me we needed each other. Both of us had walls that were thick with stone. Both of us were holding our past in the darkest depths.
"If you try that again I won't hesitate to kill you." He threatens but his words have no effect on me. I know that Rhysand feels guilty every time he harms me, I know he looks at me with lust in his eyes, and I know for sure he would die without me.
I was his Kryptonite. I was his weakness. He was my savior but also my captor. Everything that said we were meant to be together made us want to stay apart. But I knew that if I played this right I could gain his trust. I could help him because I was the only one that could anger him, piss him off. I was able to reach below the surface and pull at the emotions locked inside of him. If I had one purpose besides killing Ren, helping Rhysand was a worthy goal.
So I shut my muzzle and followed him deeper into the forest. Time to meet this lady that Rhysand was so fond of.
My wolf snarled inside my head and I laugh at her. The fun was about to begin.
~~~~~~~~~~~
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