"Are you mad at me?" The question sounds pathetic coming from my lips, but I can't help but ask. Ever since we left the daycare center, the mate bond has left a nagging feeling in my chest. I know something is wrong – I can feel it. The noise of cluttering utensils fills the silence. From my spot across the kitchen table, I stare at Benji, willing him to answer. My food has remained untouched since we sat down. It's hard to eat with so much anxious energy floating in my tummy. He finally has the decency to look up, pushing his plate away to focus on me. His features are no longer riddled with anger, but I know he's still irate. "I'm not mad at you." He answers, putting emphasis on the last word. "Well, who are you mad at, then?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. Benji must have thought the answer was obvious as well. He snorts, "I'm mad at that disrespectful pack doctor. If he weren't one of our best doctors, I would have ripped his head off his shoulders for acting l
"I need to talk to you." I spent hours mulling over my words in my room, debating if I should even go through with the conversation. But it had to be done. Dotty's words have been weighing heavy in my head. She thinks that I can make a difference in this pack and I'm going to try."Hm?" Benji peered up from the papers littering his desk. I don't usually like to venture in his office. It was one of the few 'off limits' places in the house, when I first arrived. "What's bothering you?" He asks.A nervous energy nestled in my chest. Goddess, why am I such a coward? It was times like this where I desperately wished I had a stronger backbone. A backbone like Dotty's or Gwen's. A nearly fading memory of dirty blonde hair and determined blue eyes sprung to mind at my thoughts. Nerves were quickly replaced with unwavering guilt. I've been so focused on my own personal life that I've become selfish. I've lost focus on where I came from - what brought me to this pack.Those horrid cells.
Darkness crept up on me fast, but sleep did not. I was hoping I'd be able to get some well-needed rest away from the home. My brain has been so foggy ever since Benji and I's argument a few days ago. It's like my head is at a constant battle with my heart - or, at least the mate bond tugging at my heart. I'm sure if I had a strong enough wolf, she'd be scratching at the surface to break free and give me a piece of her mind! I'm practically going against every wolf's natural instinct when it comes to their mates - ignoring them and putting space between the two of us. It's amazing how long Benji's last. I half-expected him to crumble under the silent treatment and demand me to put an end to this all. Speaking of my confusing mate, he's the main reason I can't get any sleep. He's close to me somewhere in this pack house. Close enough that every time I breath, I catch his define scent in the air. With a loud groan, I let the comforter slip from my bare legs as I pull myself up. I c
The first thing I notice when I wake up is the fact that I'm in a bed. Not only that, but it's a bed I'm not familiar with. I've grown accustom to making my own little bed on the floor of my room. It's one of the few things that has helped ease my guilt, not to mention I'm used to it. Believe it or not, but I find the floor surprisingly comfortable.Instead of carpet covered hardwood floor, I'm met with silky sheets and suffocating heat. The warmth in the bed is unreal. Out of sheer reflex, my body tenses before I suddenly remember where I am and who I am with.I carefully turn in the bed, hoping not to stir the sleeping man next to me. It was so late last night when we finished talking that I barely remember climbing into bed and falling asleep. Warmth rolls off Benji's sleeping form in waves. I swear, if I were to touch his skin now it would probably be burning. I'm not used to waking up next to someone else, let alone a man. I've never shared my bed before. He's sound asleep, loo
"What's this?"I catch a glimpse of the papers littering Benji's desk, easily narrowing in on the freshly printed piece of paper in question. Dotty was still out of town celebrating her friend's mating ceremony and I didn't want to spend my weekend alone, but Benji's been extremely busy. Between whatever secret pack business that has been keeping him up at night, preparing for the Luna ceremony, and working with Jeremiah on the cell reform - very little time has been left for me.It feels weird but I'm genuinely starting to want to spend time with him.I settled on eating my lunch in Benji's office so I wouldn't be alone. He made me promise not to bother him with his work, but I've been patiently eating my sandwich in complete and utter silence for the last fifteen minutes. Benji tore his tired eyes away from the patrol report he was looking over to gaze at the paper in question. Quickly he plucked the corner of the paper, pulling it closer so he could look at it. "Oh, Jeremiah d
♕ Benji's P.O.V ♕ It's been nearly four years since I've inherited the Alpha position from my father. And over those four years, I've never had a problem with my promptness. Alaric tends to think I'm too anal about my schedule, but I beg to differ. When you're overseeing a large pack harboring nearly two hundred prisoners underground, you need to stick to a schedule. But, this morning I'm finding it extremely difficult to get my day started. I have the petite brunette sound asleep next to me to blame for that.I can't really say I'm upset about her late night visit, because that would just be a complete lie. A bit shocked, yes, but pleasantly. I could sense her anxiety rolling off her in waves before she even knocked on my door. Whenever she's near, my body goes into tunnel vison - all I see is her, all I hear is her, all I smell is her.I groan, digging my knuckles into my eyes to rub the sleep away. When my vision finally refocuses, my eyes immediately find their way to her.
"No.""But, I think it would be better if I -"Benji's sharp tone cuts me off. "I said no. It's final."It's times like this that I question if Benji and I have even made any progress in our relationship. The finality in his words are set in stone. He's firm in his opinion that he doesn't want me to come, but I don't care. I know better. Gwen will care if I'm there or not. I shift my weight in my seat, silently moving food around my plate as I contemplate my next step. Gwen is being temporary released from the cells in a holding room tonight, similar to where I stayed when I first got out. She'll get assigned her own personal Belinda to look after her before decisions are made on where she'll stay. Decisions that Benji doesn't want me involved with."I know you don't want me there," I start, catching the warning stare from his narrowing eyes. "but I know Gwen. She won't react well not knowing what's going on. It'll be good to have a familiar face.""A familiar face?" He ar
Jeremiah swings the door open abruptly at my confirmation, taking the lead in front of Benji and I. Compared to their staggering frames, I am practically invisible behind them, concealing Gwen and I from automatically seeing each other.At first, all that greets us is dead silence, until a familiar voice speaks up."Did you come back to untie me, asshole?"Her voice feels foreign on my ears. I haven't heard her direct, confident tone in what feels like forever. Jeremiah and Benji stand tall in the doorframe, unmoving, making it impossible for me to get around and see her. As a reflex, one of my hands shoots out to fist the back fabric of Benji's shirt, pre-emptively holding him back. His temper mixed with Gwen's brashness could lead to a potential disaster."Depends," Jeremiah begins to answer, his voice strained coming out through clenched teeth. "Are you going to behave or are you going to be a brat and try to attack me again?"Gwen's quick on her toes, answering almost right a
Benji flanked my side the entire way to the pack house. He slowed his strides, trailing closely next to me as we abandoned the silent sanctuary we inhabited to enter the main portion of the pack. I had gotten used to the heated stares, quick but curious, whenever I walked in the pack with one of their superiors. The stares were always worse with Benji, but he paid no mind. All he had to do was send one lazy sideway glance to a peeping pack member, and they would all scatter in fear. He was quick to leave me, mumbling something about having to get this conversation over with. His hands skimmed along the length of my arm for a fleeting moment as a goodbye, before turning on his heel to leave me with two wolves following my shadow. I stood in front of the familiar door he had left me at, knowing I was in good company, even if it wasn't him. I didn't bother to knock, retching the door open. Gwen didn't seem that surprised, not having many people to expect as a visitor. Her lips curled
I stare at him for a moment, gulping. Was he being serious? He wants me to attack him? I had asked for basic self defense skills, not to become a sparring warrior. Even if Dotty had trained me well, which she hadn't, I still wouldn't pose an ounce of a threat to Benji, of all people. "I, uh, um – I think Dotty may have exaggerated just a bit, about my..."His sudden laugh interrupts me, catching me off guard. Benji's nonchalant expression morphs to one of mildamusement, eyeing me. He interjects, "Stop, relax. I'm just joking." I furrow my eyebrows, clearly not getting his sense of humor. He continues, "Dotty told me your training sessions haven't been that fruitful. I was just joking.""Joking, huh...that's a new one." I take a deep breath to laugh off my previous indication, taking advantage of his good mood to tease him. "Yeah? Want to hear another joke?" Benji scoffs, gesturing to the floor. "Fifty push-ups. Now." "Oh, stop being such a grouch.""Now." Something is telli
I'm not sure exactly what I'm expecting when I open the door. But, one thing I definitely wasn't expecting, was a shirtless Benji to be greeting me. Standing in the middle of the entryway leaning against the back of the couch is Benji, shirtless in all his glory. He's clad in only black athletic shorts hanging almost dangerously too low on his hips and a pair of running sneakers. His head is downturned, distracted by whatever message he's furiously responding to on his phone. Always busy with pack business. He types away for a few moments before carelessly tossing his phone to the couch, looking up to finally acknowledge my presence. "Is that what you're wearing?"The heat that spreads quickly throughout my cheeks is humiliating at his simple comment. I shift the weight on my feet, glancing down at the simple outfit I had worn to the daycare. It was almost identical to every outfit I wore, yet he never complained before."You want me to change for dinner?" I ask incredulously,
♕ Aria ♕ "Well, well...look who we have here. I was starting to think one of the pups scared you away." Elise smiles from her spot in the center of the daycare. The echoing noise of the door gave my arrival away, announcing to not only Elise, but Noah, that I was back. With Dotty's 'training', it had pulled me away from the daycare center. While I had missed Elise's warm energy and the constant changing day with the pups, I welcomed the break. Ever since my unsettling encounter with Noah, I had been finding it harder to shake my unresolved nerves. I thought Dotty teaching me how to defend myself would help, but that didn't work out as well as I had planned. "And let them win? Never." I smile. Elise was quickly distracted by the arrival of the pups, deserting me with a simple wave. Noah stood rooted in his spot, leaning against the wall with a box full of crafts in his hands. He was dressed more professionally today, wearing slacks and a button down. From the corner of my eye,
( THIRD P.O.V ) Benji didn't like her spending so much time with his sister. It irked him more then he would care to admit. Was he jealous of her? It was a foreign concept to him, to be envious of his childish sister. But, a nasty territorial side of him surely was. He would rather it be him with her. Training her. Teaching her. But he couldn't. He didn't trust himself around her like that, in his wolf form. It had been getting harder to reason with his wolf as the promise of a threat grew by each day. They were both desperate to protect her, but had different ideas on how to. Where as Benji would prefer to keep her locked away in a guarded home, his wolf was needy to claim her. To warn people in his path that she was his, and anyone that hurt her would face the consequences. He was fighting an uphill battle with himself, and the growing threat wasn't helping. Devin Berkshire was just the beginning of a rebellion Benji was interested in humoring. There had been talk of escaped r
The gravel path turned to worn down grass as we got further and further away from Benji's property. The first thing I noticed was the noise - grunts, growls, and a chorus of commands. My strides stalled for a moment as Dotty continued to tug us towards the commotion. "Dotty..." I warned, eyeing her carefully. "I'm not sure I like whatever you have in mind for inspiration. Maybe we should just go back to you beating me up in Benji's backyard." "I do not beat you up!" She looked mildly offended, rolling her eyes. "And besides, we're already almost here. It'll be fun." A thunderous growl followed her words, echoing off the forest walls. Where I saw it as a warning sign, it only fueled Dotty's eagerness to stride forward. Dotty immediately noticed my hesitation, my heels digging into the earth, kicking up dirt in our path. "Don't worry. It's just the warriors." Dotty quickly explained, pulling on our arms again. "They're training today. I thought you might like to watch." This c
══════════════════ The morning air was sharp against my cheeks as I pushed open the back door. Like I expected, Dotty sat perched in the backyard, sitting criss-cross on the grass floor. She perked up as I got closer, turning to smile at me, waving enthusiastically. "Aria! Nine a.m sharp, wow. I would say I'm impressed by how prompt you are, but that seems pretty fitting for you." Her gaze flickered to the now shut back door before bouncing back to my approaching figure. "Is Alpha Dumbass coming out to say hello?" I cringed at her comment, knowing fully-well that she was still in ear shoot of Benji who had only left a few minutes before me. "I thought you said you weren't mad at him anymore." I shook my head slightly, offering her hand to help her up. A few days had passed since the breakfast incident, yet Dotty's anger still lingered. She promised me she would let it go, but it didn't seem that likely with her constant need to jab at him for it any chance she got. It was situati
♛ THIRD PERSON P.O.V ♛ The night before... The mildew scent clings to the cell walls, making the air thick and hard to swallow. There are so many different scents lingering underground: unfamiliar wolves, sweat, piss, and blood. So much blood. The iron aroma is so potent - so raw - that it makes the pack guards choke on their own saliva. They can taste it when they gulp, as if it's their own blood their smelling. But it's not their blood. It's Devin Berkshire's. A twenty-four year old wolf from the Sapphire pack. He's a prisoner who's always had a smart mouth on him, but never tested his luck. A sharp gaze that tracked your every move as he lurked in the back of his cell. He never went out of his way to make the new people feel welcomed. If anything, he was the first person to shove them to the front of the crowd when it came down to selecting for Cleaning Day. His philosophy was survival of the fittest. He wasn't down here to make friends. He had plenty of friends on the outside
The room was painfully silent as my question festered in the air. For a moment, all I could hear was Benji's labored breathing as he tried, and failed, to control his reaction. A snarl ripped through his chest, breaking the noise. "That's enough." He snapped, standing up from his seat so suddenly it screeched against the floor. "We're leaving." I hesitated, frozen in my seat. I had expected him to get mad, sure, but I didn't expect this level. When I didn't get up right away, he pulled on the back of my chair, startling me. "I said, we're leaving." He repeated through clenched teeth.Dotty got up before I did, thrusting herself between us. "Aria may be too nice, but I won't hesitate to rip your throat out if you keep this attitude with her." "Attitude?" He scoffed, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. "Go back to playing dress-up or whatever you do with your free time. I don't need you to lecture me on how to talk to my mate.""Are you in heat or something? Your