Untamed

C H A P T E R 8

Aurora

There was no way of ignoring the feeling of dread building up inside of me as I watched Cole's retreating form from my place on the porch. I was aware of the fact that Ryder was standing behind me and I could feel his eyes drilling into the back of my head.

Ever since the two of them had returned from his office they had had foul tempers. He had called one of his Pack Members who had been waiting on the border of Ryder’s land to come and fetch him and as he hugged me goodbye, he had given me a sympathetic smile, before turning his back on me.

I was dying to know what had happened or was said in the office, but I was slowly accepting the fact that I would never know. I wouldn't dare ask Ryder, and even if I did, the possibility of him telling me was slim.

I forced an impassive look onto my face and then turned around. I had barely taken a few steps towards the house when I felt Ryder grab my arm roughly and tugged me around to face him. His hold on my arm was dangerously painful and as I looked into his eyes, I felt a sort of fear wrap itself around me.

Fear of my mate, fear for my life.

“And what gave you the right to order my pack members to respect him?”

He spat the words and his grip seemed to tighten as I dropped my eyes to the ground.

“I… I…”

Why on Earth was I stuttering? I was as much of a leader to this Pack as he was. I was their Luna, for crying out loud! I forced myself to swallow my fear and turned to look him square in the eyes. I had become accustomed to ignoring the responses that my body made whenever he touched me.

“You did.”

Even as I said the words, I knew that I had made a mistake. His amused laughed sent a chill down my spine and I clenched my jaw as I forced myself not to look down.

“Me? I don't recall telling you that you could tell my pack members what to do, let around use authority on them.”

I felt my eyes widen as he started dragging me down the porch steps and I started struggling wildly and trying to dig my bare feet into the ground.

“No, no, no! Alpha Ryder… Ryder, I'm sorry!”

A sense of panic wrapped itself around me since I knew what was coming.

“It's a little too late for that.”

His voice was harsh as he spoke and I felt a tear slip down the side of my face as he pushed me to the ground. The feel of the collar around my neck was suffocating and I let out a sob as I listened to his retreating footsteps. I heard the door open and I instinctively stood up and turned to him.

“I hate you.”

His footsteps halted and he turned to me with an amused smile on his face. It felt as if a cold hand was wrapping itself around my heart and slowly squeezing it.

“What made you think that I care?”

~•°•~

Another shiver shook my body as another gust of wind blew against me. My knees were already pulled up to my chest to protect me from the cold, but I hated to admit that it wasn't working. I let out a breath of air and shivered at I saw it. Another tear slipped down my already sticky cheeks and I reached up to wipe it away.

Tonight was my second night. Unlike the times I had been in wolf form, I was feeling the affects of the climate. Ryder seemed to think it would be funny not to bring me food or water today-something that shouldn't have surprised me.

Ciara had gone into the house last night.

And hasn't come out since.

I had been foolish to believe that she was a good person. Just because she had helped me claim my position, didn't mean that she was willing to stop her association with Ryder.

Thoughts of all they could be doing was clouding my mind, driving me to the brink of insanity.

I let my body go limp as I laid down on the ground, the familiar feeling of blood trickling down my neck as I did so. I wrapped my numb fingers around a patch of grass and gave it a vicious tug.

My wolf had been fighting against my barriers for quite some time. I was rapidly loosing strength and I knew it would only be a matter of time before she forcibly made me shift.

I closed my eyes when I heard the door open and I could tell by the sweet perfume that it was Ciara. I felt my heart break slightly as she walked away. I let out a whimper as I rolled onto my side, facing the darkness.

It's only been two days and I was already feeling as if I was going to die. And for some reason, it was a welcoming thought. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the sky.

I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard the door open again and his footsteps echoed through the air, along with his voice.

“You're weak. You know that, right?”

I kept my eye closed as his footsteps became soft wisps once he had stepped into the grass. There was an unfamiliar feeling in my chest as he continued to speak.

“Ciara would have lasted weeks in her human form and yet, you can't even go a day without bawling your eyes out. As if crying is going to make anything better.”

What gave him the right to compare me to her? We weren't the same. I was an individual. I was me. Anger washed over me and I started standing up, uncaring of the protests that my sore muscles were making.

“I'm not her.”

I mentally cursed the stray tears that managed to escape.

“I'll never be and wouldn't want to be her. It's not my fault that you're avoiding our bond, so I have no idea why I’m letting you treat me like this.”

I raised my trembling hand and wiped at the tears.

“I'm sick of competing in a race that I have no chance of winning. You're not even acknowledging the fact that I’m your mate.”

He remained silent as he continued to stand and stare at me. His face was blank, stoic. It only proved the fact that he didn't care.

“I, Aurora Stone, reject-”

His hand clamped over my mouth, effectively cutting off my words. His eyes were glaring into mine with a look that could only be described as deadly. He was growling lowly and I let out a whimper as his hand wrapped around the collar and snapped it with a vicious jerk of his arm. I had to force down the scream that bubbled up my throat when the force of the jerk sent me forward and the silver bit into my skin.

I didn't even try to fight off the darkness that was creeping in around me and the last thing I felt was the tickling feeling of the blood running down my back.

Ryder

She had just tried to reject me. There was a part of me that wanted to shake her senseless and tell her that she was stupid to even try such a thing, but the other part was reminding me that she had every right to do what she had just tried to.

I picked her up and became aware of the metallic smell of blood, along with the burnt smell of flesh. Her clothes had various trails of blood on them, the source of them all being her neck. The skin around her neck had a deadly looking rash that seemed to run all the way up to her jaw and I decided that it would be safer if I took her to the Pack Doctor to have it checked out.

I readjusted the way I was carrying her and despite the fact that I could still hear her heart beating strong and steady in her chest, I rushed my steps.

Dr. Joseph came walking towards me when I stepped through the doors and I noticed the way his jaw clenched as his eyes focused on Aurora. It was rather obvious that he was one of the many pack members who weren’t pleased with her new title.

A lot of my Pack Members were under the impression that Ciara was my mate, and therefore they have their objections to Aurora. I would be the first to admit that it was my fault for lying to them in the first place, but Ciara was equally at fault for not correcting them.

I shook my head slightly to clear it as I laid her down on a bed in the private room he had led me to. I retreated to the chair in the corner of the room, knowing that he wouldn't be happy if I got in his way.

I watched as he started switching on various machines and doing what was necessary to attach them to her.

“I feel it's safe to assume that she submitted again?”

He sounded rather reluctant to ask-as if he believed he was going to hear what he wanted to. It was rather obvious that he was disappointed in the fact that his new Luna was weak. I didn’t blame him, since I didn't feel any different.

“No. She didn't.”

His jaw clenched again and I had the impression that he was trying to keep his comments to himself. Even he respected the rules enough not to disrespect her.

My eyes followed him as he walked out of the room and then my eyes snapped to her still form. I let my eyes wonder across her body and I felt an odd softening in my chest. Almost like a pang of regret.

It was the first time I felt the need to admit to myself that she wasn't the worst looking she-wolf I had ever seen, but she wasn't the best either.

My eyes zeroed in on the markings on her arms and I told myself that my eyes must be playing tricks on me. It almost looked as if they were moving.

I felt myself move towards her more than actually do it and my heart started beating wildly as the markings took on a luminescent glow.

My eyes darted towards the door as I tried figuring out what the hell was going on.