Chapter 17
He had moved so fast and with such anger that it caught me completely off guard. He had grabbed me with my hands above my head and he was lying on top of me crushing me with his weight. His face was crimson red and he was shaking profusely. “YOU ARE MY MATE. HE WILL NEVER TOUCH YOU SEXUALLY AGAIN. DO YOU HEAR ME!! DO YOU?!” He was screaming in my face. It was terrifying because he was so close to me. I just stared at him because he was already so angry I was afraid he might hurt me. He took some deep breaths but never moving an inch. “Tiffany, I cannot be expected to hear about another man touching you when you were always meant to be mine. It kills me inside to know that he has had his hands all over you. I don’t know if I will be able to let him live if you continue to defy me and fate. I know you let him take your V card. It was meant for me and you can never give that to me now. It will be difficult to move past all of this. But the love of a mate…scratch that…the love of a true mate is enough to overcome anything.” What was he saying? If I don’t agree to be with him he will have Rodney killed.
“I c-can’t breathe Dylan.”He raised himself where I could no longer feel his weight but he stayed on top of me. His strong hand was leaving bruises on my wrists. “If you promise not to hurt Rodney in any way I will agree to do whatever you want. But don’t expect me to like it or you.” By the time I finished sealing my fate the tears were pouring out of my eyes like a waterfall. Now I hated Dylan. I hated him for forcing me to be with him. But he can’t force love! Love is intrinsic. It just is. Rodney will always have my love no matter where life takes us.
“I know you don’t like the way things are at the moment but some day you will love me as much as I love you. That’s a promise. I will prove to you that Rodney isn’t who he has been pretending to be with you. I may not be as great as he has been pretending he is. But I am real and I love you more than any man ever could.” Pfft. Him loves me. Yeah right that’s why I found him in another woman’s arms after he almost took my V card, as he put it.
“Really, I must not be very lovable then. Because as I remember it the first night we made out and you almost took my virginity I came out of your room to find you in another woman’s arms quite cozy as I remember it! I may have to be with you but don’t expect it to be happily ever after because I hate your ass. And that my dear “mate” will not ever change!” As I was chewing him a new one there was a knock on the door.
“Go away!” Dylan shouted at the door.
“It’s Rodney he is awake. Just thought you would want to know he has been asking for her.” The voice on the other side said. That’s all it took for me to be on my feet and at the door. I swung the door open to a surprised young man. His eyes traveled down my body in appreciation. Dang! I forgot I am still in these little pjs.
“Check your eyes Daniel before I black them for you!” Dylan said as I pushed the hormonal teenager out of my way.
I ran down the hall to where Rodney was waiting for me. There he was sitting up and awake. Thank heavens for this guy he is my reason for living. “Tiff, oh my God it is so good to see your face!” he exclaimed.
I went to his bedside and hugged him easily so as not to hurt him further. “Rodney, I was so scared that you had left me for good.” He heard the double meaning behind my statement.
“Tiffany Ann, I would never leave you by choice. The only way I will leave you is when they drag my cold dead body away from your side.” He said all of this with so much conviction it made my face pale. I had made a deal with Dylan. Rodney was going to be devastated by my decision. I won’t tell him until he is better.
“I love you,” I whispered into his ear. My breath made him shiver a little but I noticed.
“I love you too but you know that don’t you?” Rodney asked.
“When can you get out of this bed? I mean when will the doc release you back to normal?” I wondered.
“Actually he said in the past several hours I have improved drastically. They were going to keep me bedridden for a week. But now I am free when I wish thanks to you. The doctor, Phillip, said that as soon as you came to my bedside I began healing much faster because of my mark being on you and you being close to me. It sped up my healing in a way that a mate only can.” He smiled at me when he said this. It ripped my heart out to hear his love for me knowing I had sealed both of our fates. But he would live and we would secretly love each other always.
“Great why don’t we go on a picnic or something that won’t be strenuous?” I suggested. Dylan was standing at the door listening to everything. He looked at me and raised an eye brow.
“Actually, Tiffany I think it would be a good idea for me to have a talk with Rodney. He has been out of commission for some time now. There are important things we should discuss.” He said in a harsh tone. Like hell was I going to let him tell Rodney? I made the deal with Dylan and I would stick to it but he was going to let me tell Rodney everything.
“Dylan, could I talk to you for just a minute please?” I made my voice as sweet as syrup. This took him off guard. His whole face seemed to soften a tiny bit. Then back to Mr. Bad ass in a second flat. If I hadn’t been staring at him I would’ve missed it.
“Uh, sure,” He said.
We left the room with Rodney staring at us confused. We went all the way outside the house so he wouldn’t hear. “Look I agreed to be with you but you will give me the courtesy of telling him everything. I love him. He loves me. This is going to tear him up inside. I want to ease that as much as possible. And you running your alpha mouth isn’t the easiest way to break this to him. He will take me on a picnic you can follow far enough behind that you can see us but not close enough for him to hear you. That should be a compromise to your requirement of us not being alone. Deal? If not then our DEAL is off. Understood!” He nodded his head but I knew he didn’t like it.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea but if that is your condition then I have no choice but to grant it. Remember I will be close. He better keep his hands to himself. Understood! And no one other than a true mate dares talk to an alpha in the manner you just have.” How original he used my own wording against me. But I didn’t want to fight with him I wanted to spend my last time I was going to get with Rodney. So I graciously nodded and ran for the house to get Rodney and our picnic gathered.
It was a gorgeous day in Georgia. The heat was up there but it wouldn’t be so hot that we couldn’t enjoy being outdoors.
I made a batch of fried chicken, potato salad, and for desert chocolate covered strawberries. I got everything together and Rodney met me outside. We walked to a spot beside the 45 acre lake which is about a 1/2 mile walk into the forest. He laid the blanket on the ground and I set up the food. He handed me a bottle of wine and smiled.
“I snuck this out of the cupboard when no one was looking. I thought it would be a nice addition to our picnic. And I thought we could celebrate the completion of our mating. You know I thought Dylan was gonna flip out and order me to stay away from you. He was saving you for himself ya know. I don’t know what has brought on this generosity of his but I won’t waste time for him to change it.” While he was saying all of this I couldn’t say anything. He leaned over to kiss me. I knew Dylan would be watching. But I couldn’t deny Rodney.
His hands cupped my face ever so gently like feathers. He touched his lips to mine and I was lost. It wasn’t a passion filled kiss like Dylan’s it was sweet and gentle. He laughed on my lips.
“What?” I asked. Wondering why he would laugh while kissing me.
“You are just so beautiful. I feel like I am on top of the world. You are mine and I know I am the luckiest man on earth.” After saying that he got up to his knees and grabbed me up. Now that I was standing he was below me. He pulled out a little black box from his pocket. “Tiffany Ann Warrenson will you marry me?” I looked down at this beautiful man and the huge diamond he held in his hand. And I just started sobbing. He had me in his arms at once. How could I break his heart?
“It’s okay honey I know it’s been a rollercoaster ride that past few days. You must feel completely overwhelmed by all of this. I am sorry I didn’t mean to upset you. We will talk about this later, ok? We have better things to do anyway.” He wriggled his eyebrows at me.
“Rodney we need to talk. I can’t marry you. And before you say anything please, please let me tell you everything, ok?” I waited for his permission to continue he said, “Sure, go ahead honey. But we will be married. Tell me what you need to though,” he said. But instead of listening to me his lips were traveling down my jaw line to his mark. When his mouth went over his mark I moaned in pure satisfaction. But we both jumped when we heard a tree crack and fall to the forest floor.
“That ‘s just an old tree falling honey. Nothing to worry yourself about.” He told me. But I knew what it was. Dylan was telling me to keep Rodney’s hands away from me before he did it for me.
“Rodney please sit down and listen to me. This is serious and it affects our relationship. Dylan is not ok with us. We cannot fully mate because I have agreed to become his mate. He also told me that you know what I am, or what I am going to become. You will always be my mate in my heart but he has promised not to hurt you if I mate fully with him.” I couldn’t believe he sat there quietly through my whole speech. But before I knew it he had his hand on my throat and had thrown me roughly against a tree. His hand was digging into my throat. It felt like it might be bleeding. The drastic change in him was more than unnerving it was ghastly. His face seemed contorted in a mask of pure hatred and it was aimed straight at me.
“I don’t think so little girl. I have been your perfect little boyfriend for awhile now. I will not let all my hard work go to waste. You are the spirit gonja and I am the next alpha thanks to you. You have been a pain in my ass ever since you came because I was the only one to know who you really were. I kissed your ass and put up with your bull for months. We will mate n-“ before he could finish his sentence Dylan had him pinned to the ground.
Dylan was growling fiercely in Rodney’s face. I did the thing I knew best I ran. I ran all the way back to the house. As I entered I flew up the steps and into “our”, mine and Dylan’s room. I flopped onto the bed in agony. My mate had never loved me at all he was using me to gain the Alpha position in the pack. A cold hand was stroking my hair. I looked up to see Sarah. I jumped up and hugged her.
“Where have you been?” I asked her.
“I have been waiting until you needed me. The change will take place soon. Very soon from the vibe that is coming off of your skin. We need to get you home so you can be comfortable while the change takes place.” She told me but it was too late. I felt an awful pain in my head that dropped me to the floor.
“Oh, no it has started. I am here with you. Everything will be fine.” She said trying to sooth me. She picked me up off the floor and laid me on Dylan’s bed. My head hurt so bad I screamed out in pain. That was the last thing I remember when everything disappeared into darkness.
Dylan’s POV:
As I was walking back to the house I heard her scream out. Whoever was hurting her would die a painful death just as Rodney had. My feet padded the ground as fast as I could make them until I was at our room. She was lying on our bed writhing in pain. As I was running over to the bed the air in the room became freezing but I ignored it because she needed me. Before I could reach her, her entire body lifted off the bed and light was streaming from every inch of her body. Her head was lying limply as were her arms and legs and the middle of her body was arched in the air. She stayed levitated that way for a while. I couldn’t force my feet to budge an inch. I was shocked at the impossible sight in front of me. Standing in awe with my mouth all agape at the pure impossibility of this happening.
Her body slowly lowered back onto the bed and she was still and quite. I was worried she might be dead. I ran to her side and grabbed her into my arms. She was freezing like she had been in a winter storm with no protection from it. Her lips were even a blue color. If she was dead what would I do? Suddenly something freezing was touching my shoulder. I turned to look but there was nothing there. I felt for Tiffany’s pulse. It was there but it was faint.
“Sidney! Call Doc Phillip. Something is wrong with Tiffany!” I shouted.
“On it!” she yelled back.
I held her until the doc got there. Her lips were turning pink again but I was going to make doc check her out anyways. It took him about ten minutes to get here. When the doc arrived I informed him of her sort-of mate's death and the crazy levitation and light show she presented.
After he checked her out he said, “She is weak from her transformation. This is not something I am familiar with in experience. Only the folklore that has been passed to me is what I know. She needs to be kept warm and when she wakes us she may be confused and even angry. Let here have some space when she wakes and be very patient with her.”
"What caused this to happen now, doc?" I asked.
"Well the assumption would be the immense fear and danger she was in with the added jolt of the death of her mate which she would've felt subconsciously most likely is what set the events into motion," he said.
“Okay Doc thanks,” I told him.
Tiffany’s POV:
When I woke up everything was very clear but cloudy at the same time. I looked around the room and Sarah was waiting in the corner. She smiled at me. “How is everything for you? Everything is most likely confusing for you right now but it will get better. I promise.” She said.
“Yeah, everything feels clearer. But cloudy you know what I mean?” I asked. She nodded. “I can hear and smell and see clearer than before but it’s too much.” I told her.
"Yes, you have received the enhanced abilities of your pack, your werewolf pack," she told me.
“I need you to meet Sebastian he can help.” She said. Then suddenly there was a tall, slender man at my side but it didn’t make me jump like before.
“Hello, I am Sebastian. I will be your guide until you no longer need me. The first thing we need to do is get your mate and initiate him. He will be your partner. He, after initiation will be able to see everyone you see but he will not be able to communicate with them. Only you are able to fully communicate with them.” He told me.
“That might be a problem because my mate situation isn’t confirmed.” That was the best way I could describe the mess I was in.
“Haven’t you met your mate? It is quite unusual for a 19 year old gonja to be looking for her mate.” He said.
“Well I sort of have two mates. One I chose and one by force.” I hadn’t forgotten the deal I made with Dylan. Even though Rodney hurt me I still loved him and would never want to see him hurt. Sebastian just stared at me. Weird seeing a ghost in shock.
“That’s not possible. A gonja is only allowed one true mate. How have you managed to be away from the one you chose without…consequences?” He asked.
“It was Sarah she saved me from doing something bad.” I stated. This for some reason angered Sebastian. “What?” I asked him.
“Sarah shouldn’t have interfered in your decision. I am sorry about that but she will be reprimanded. She will not interfere again you have my word.” He said this like it would be a good thing.
“Please don’t do anything I need her.” I begged.
“As you wish; I will not interfere with your decision about her.” He said flatly like he was disappointed. “We must get to our business now. You have many responsibilities to your people now. The mate situation does prove to be a problem. I will contact the elders and get their decision. Be here at 4 p.m. and we will take care of this.” Then he was gone.
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Well she's official now...
Chapter 18