Episode 7

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SASKIA'S POV

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"Where are we going?" I look him over as we narrowly slide past a yellow light. His side view is even more impressive than I thought; strong jawline, a bold nose and set cheekbones that must have been harshly contoured in by a deity.

It goes without saying that he is a painfully attractive man who calmly exudes control and confidence without even trying. Watching him manoeuvre past slower cars with such sensuous coolheadedness makes me fill up with a desire to see him naked, lying next to me or inside—

Shit.

Get your head back in the game Saskia. I scold internally. It's only been a day since you were with Sage, and now you're letting yourself drip over a man you just met. What the hell?

"Don't worry yourself," he replies at last, and I realise that he'd been quiet for quite a while. I shiver slightly, and a prickle bumps over my skin. It's as if the atmosphere in the car has shifted into one completely devoid of a sliver of warmth. I'm not sure why, but I know whose fault it is. Though he's still the same: hot, smouldering, sexy, his attitude directed at me is clearly different, and the cause of the unwelcome drafts. "We're just goin' get ourselves married."

"I see," I clear my throat, an act that does little to clear the fog of lust from my head. Then I shift my thighs farther away from him as a precautionary measure as the entirety of my being seems to be attracted to him like a magnet to iron filings.

After finding my voice that had been lost since my body became overladen with the wettest of desires, I speak: "Why're we marrying today? I thought our joining would be tomorrow after I've been ceremoniously added to the pack. Was I mistaken?"

He sounds so far away when he replies. "No." His tone is undoubtedly cold and less informal than before. I don't know what I've done to deserve this treatment, so it's kind of annoying that he's doing this. But despite my desire to understand what it is, I refuse to ask him why.

"Then why?"

"Couldn't wait. I needed you be mine sooner than later." It sounds like he's lying. Or rather... holding something back. My intuition tells me that it's something he doesn't want me to know. Of course, this adds an extra layer to my already layered cake of curiosity.

"Why?" My tone is disbelieving as well as questioning.

"I think there should stay some secrets between us until we become one, no?" He asks, and I shrug in answer, realising I was sort of nosy. In any event, I'm not close enough to be called his friend. We're barely acquaintances. Why would I expect him to easily reveal what it is he is hiding? There's nothing between us. No trust or even the tiniest bit of regard has festered yet. We are virtually strangers.

"That's true." My answer must have been surprising considering I was the one doing the whole investigation in the first place, as he side-glances at me.

That mere look of his that should be insignificant somehow unnerves me wholly. Putting up my left hand, I press my fingers against my neck, which feels so extremely vulnerable for no good reason; there's a frantic urge impelling me to shield myself from his gaze.

Against the smooth surface of the pads of my index and middle finger, the thin but long streaks from my battle yesterday feel coarse compared to the rest of my skin. I move them in circles, calculating how long it will probably take to completely heal.

"What's wrong?" His voice cuts through my thoughts like a sharp blade through a soft block of cheese.

"N-n-nothing." I stammer like an idiot, very much thrown off by his unexpected question. I hadn't noticed he still had his attention fixed on me, watching and marking the movements of my hand.

"Nothing?" He bellows at me, and my eyes widen in shock. His own flick away from me to his mirror, and I feel the abrupt force from the sudden acceleration. The car's new momentum throws me against my seat as it speeds up. The seatbelt digs into my chest, and I groan out in pain as Mikael drives like a man who's lost his senses.

"What's going on!" I yell as he weaves in between and past all manner of cars, mainly trucks, which take up more space than they should on the road. There's no doubt that he's forgotten I'm fucking human, and he's not. I could die in a car crash that he'd survive.

"Stop speeding! Oh my goodness! Mother of Grace!" I shriek when he nearly crashes into a car. It was almost a straight-on collision. The car honks loudly at him, but he ignores the noise and strings of swear words that follow him.

Although we are in an urban area, we are not on the highway. He cannot be driving this fast. Should not be going as fast as he is. "Mikael! Stop! Please! Stop!" An angry sob catches in my throat as my life flashes before my eyes once more. This time, it's an incoming trailer we nearly crash into. "Stop the fucking car!"

A moment later, he pulls by a seemingly empty gas station, and I can finally, only scarcely, breathe. Pulling open the door, I stumble to the ground, dizzy, and begin to heave for the second time since today. Nothing, however, proceeds out of my empty stomach this time, a fact I am most thankful for.

Puking before the positively handsome and most incredibly annoying Alpha whom I currently hate on the first day we met was most definitely not part of my life's plan. I'd already scarred Wade with my previous act. That was one too many people for me. Though, on a second thought, it would be nice if I threw up all over Mikael's shirt. That ought to communicate my anger effectively.

"You'll be alright, piscín." He reaches for me, and I glare up at him, my vials of anger bursting open.

"Don't call me that!" I slap his open hand away. "Don't call me any of your pet names! I don't need them. You almost killed me. You really almost fucking killed me! Did you forget I'm human, or did you just not care and resolved to drive at an insane speed that could get us—me—killed in an accident?" My voice quavers and elevates higher in octaves with each word I spit out. "Selfish bastard!"

"Watch your tongue, woman! Even Lunas can be punished when they cross the line." He thunders, a pulse-pounding, hair-raising sound that would cause any child to cry and human adults to quake in their boots with fear and trembling. But I stand my ground. Or, to be accurate, kneel my ground. I'm still bent over on the sidewalk, and I dislike that I'm so. It's a disadvantageous position as I am below him, almost in a submissive manner.

"My tongue does not need to be watched! And I don't give a damn about punishments. Is that supposed to be a threat!" I snap, shooting to my feet. The repercussions of my action hit me like a hammer right smack against the skull of my head. I lose my balance as I sway backwards, my head spinning once again.

With my right arm outstretched, I twist myself to the side, attempting to break my fall. But Mikael is already pulling me up by the other arm, pretending to be the knight that he isn't. It saves me from dropping flat on my side, but it does not change the fact that I'm completely pissed off at him.

What the fuck was that all about? Why did he have to do that? What the hell am I missing?