The Arrangement

Chapter 2

Aspen

Crap, my whole body hurts.

Sighing, I laid back on the bed and stared around the room. It's a big lofty room, a nice queen-sized bed and a large window, even a fireplace. Waking to this after a night...a day like yesterday feels almost rewarding and overdue. I let the light warmth of the fire radiate its way over, warming me up like a plastic chair on a summer's day.

This place is nice.

"Let me see her!" The voice, familiar and demanding, echoed through the halls outside the door.

Sophe.

Pushing out of bed, I ran to the door faster than my feet wanted to move, but I knew she was dying to see me okay. Pulling it open, I ran, "Sophie!" I shouted as I heard shoving-grunts and her saying "f**k off!" to probably some guys trying to man handle her.

She went up the stairs, her eyes meeting mine with relief, then she was lifted off her feet and slammed into a door. Her face was shoved into the door hard while the guy held her hands down behind her back. This felt like some kind of demand from the police authorities. Who the hell do they think they are?

The bedroom door opened and I watched as Sophie fell forward and the guy crushed her with his weight. Ouch! He does not look light at all.

A girl around her age was scowling down at the guy, "Get off her before you squash her into a damn paste you hound." She said, shoving the guy off. I realized the big guy had very similar features to her. They must be siblings.

"She was running." He said, standing up and letting Sophie get up on her own.

Of course, Sophie couldn't bite her tongue back, "I'm surprised, you should be used to women running from you by now." She scoffed as she walked over to me. I gotta say, her feisty mannerism has always been so inspirational.

I hugged her and pulled back, searching for Bauw, but she shook her head. Holding back my tears, I stared at the young guy in the corner who was smiling like an i***t at me. What the f**k does he want?

How dare he smile like he's done nothing wrong?! He almost killed me! Almost killed Sophina and might as well have killed Bauw.

Marching over to him, I gave him a hard shove, ignoring the fireworks and warmth from him. I hated him. I hated him so much! I don't even feel happy to have found my mate, not when he wounds up being this-this monster!

"Damn you! Damn you and your stupid pack!" I cried, slamming my palms into his chest.

He took each hit like he should, the prick.

I stepped back and wiped my tears before turning to Sophie as she wrapped her arms around me. "Bauw." I cried, holding her tightly as she lowered us to our knees and I sobbed. I'd lost my little brother and it was too painful to grasp. First my family, my friends, my home, now my brother. It's all my fault. I know she had to protect me, she could've protected him. She should've protected him.

My heart feels like it's been torn from my chest and lit on fire. I've lost everything but Sophie. I cant lose her. Ever.

"Don't leave me again." I cried, gripping onto the oversized T-shirt she wore. It smelt like someone else, but it didn't matter because that was her.

Eventually, everyone left us alone in the room. I laid in bed beside Sophie while she played with my hair and tried to explain to me what mates were. We never worried about that in our pack. It had nothing to do with us because we were all raised to marry someone else in the pack.

But I guess I'd been unlucky enough to find mine in the pack of murderous fiends.

A knock came at the door and Sophe tensed up, moving my head closer to her chest and growling low at the door.

"Food." A girl's voice came from the other side. I recognized her, she's the sister of that big woman, a smashing moron. "Come in." I called while ignoring Sophe's protective scold.

The door opened and the girl walked in, shutting the door behind her and carrying a tray of two plates and two cans of soda. "Tonight is deer with rice and grilled vegetables. It's only seared. We like the rare inside but Smokey outside. I hope you don't mind." She was a bashful and pretty blonde with big black pitted eyes.

Sophe softly thanked her and I watched as the girl looked from us to the tray. She carefully placed it on the side table by the accent chair.

"I'm Nyla." She stated, looking at Sophie with a bit of cheerfulness. Poor girl, she doesn't know how much Sophie hates others.

I smiled at Nyla, "Thank you, Nyla." I replied to Sophie.

Sophie didn't always hate others, not until after our pack was killed. That's when she started hating everyone. I think it's just that she doesn't trust anyone anymore. I can't blame her, but I often have more faith in people than she does. I'm also more emotional and irrational in my actions.

Nyla gave a little nod and hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

As Sophe got up, she grabbed the tray and walked it over to the bed, sitting with me and grabbing the meat off her plate, placing it on my plate.

I'm sixteen, I'm old enough to know that she doesn't have to be so protective of me and yet she is. "You need to eat too. You haven't eaten in over a week." I replied, placing the meat back on her plate.

She gave me a warning glare, "I'm stronger. You eat." She muttered, moving it back to my plate.

If I move it again she'll forcefully shove it down my throat.

She ate her plate of rice and vegetables while watching the storm that began outside. She was sad.

I was sad.

This wasn't what we ever expected when winter began. I was supposed to be sneaking around with a human boy, Toby, still. And Sophe was going to teach Lita about how to hunt for the first time. (Sophe was a pro.)

In our tribe, boys hunt first at sixteen, but girls are twenty-one. It's stupid sexist crap, as per usual in the lifestyle of the wolves.

We had a big pack of males, mostly, not as many females, which is why the females were meant to hunt later, to keep us safer or something. I can't believe we're all that's left of our pack, our people.

It seems so surreal.

We ate in silence and I took a shower first while Sophe took one next, commenting on how amazing running water felt.

Bauw would've liked it here.

I towel dried my hair as I watched Sophe softly breathe in sleepful patterns. She's exhausted. I mean she rarely slept when she was on the run with us. Maybe an hour here or there, but that's it.

Shutting the curtains, I made sure that when the sun comes up tomorrow it won't be able to shine in here. That way she'll really get some sleep.

Oh, I bet they have Lilac, that scent always helps her sleep.

Pulling open the door carefully, I shut it behind me and noticed a man in a chair outside but he was heavily asleep and snoring.

Wow, someone should fire him.

I shut the door softly and headed down the stairs following my nose until I pushed the door open and found myself in the kitchen. It smelt of iron and rosemary, a meaty scent that hung in the air most deliciously.

Pulling the pantry doors open, I eyed the many jars stopping at one: dried chamomile. Oh, that could work too.

Taking a few from the jar, I shut it and placed it back before turning and leaping from my spot in horror.

A girl sat on the counter with a sucker in her mouth, her ginger hair all wild and messy but up and held by two chopsticks. "Hi, you're Aspen." She said, moving the sucker to one side of her cheek as she held a hand out to me.

I shifted a bit uncomfortable but nodded and shook her hand, "I'm Effie. Qore's twin sister." She said, smiling and then stretching and jumping off the counter.

Her eyes ran over my top and bottoms while she smirked, "Hurry back to your room before the hunters come in." She said before humming a song.

The Hunters, Elite Wolves, are raised from childhood on how to protect and defend their pack. Usually they're led by the Alpha, not to be mistaken for the Chief. The Chief is in charge of making sure everyone follows the rules, is taken care of and is healthy. The Alpha is the strongest of the pack, he's the main protector of all the pack.

But he's not always a hunter. The Hunters loath outsiders. They're remarkable fighters, but very protective and territorial too. I did as she advised and hurried upstairs.

The entirety of our kind of peace sort of depends on my life, so I would be risking more than just my own life by idiotically running into them.

Placing the cloves gently on Sophe's pillow, I laid beside her and fell asleep to the sound of hail pouring.

Damn you winter.