Untamed

C H A P T E R 2

I let out a huff of annoyance as I continued to walk around the pole, uncaring about the fact that I was slowly, but surely, killing the grass beneath my paws.

I could feel my anger start to build up for the millionth time as I sent another glance towards the house, listening for his heartbeat as he moved from place to place. I gave a rather vicious yank on the chain, as I had done countless times before, and growled again before continuing to walk.

I had given up hope that there would be anyone else coming to the house, since there had been no sign of any other life remotely near the house. It gave off this sense of abandonment when I knew for a fact that my loving mate was well and about.

I growled again and yanked on the chain, this time standing up on my hind paws and leaning against the leather of the collar. I whimpered as I felt the silver rip away from my raw skin, tearing out of the dry blood that was stuck to my skin. As much as I hated to admit it, but the pain was slowly getting to me. The constant burning in my neck, the ache in my feet, in my chest, in my head. It was as if everything hurt in one way or another.

He's just an Alpha. Maybe he’s the most feared one from here to as far as you can run, but he's just an Alpha.

I let out a rather defeated huff as I laid down on my side with my back towards the house. My eyes followed a few birds as they made their way from tree to tree. The sky was painted in a mixture of orange, pink and purple and I couldn’t help but sigh and close my eyes for a few seconds.

I let out a whimper as I tried to shift back for the umpteenth time, but failed once again. My wolf was starting to get agitated and annoyed with every minute we remained here. I knew that it would only be a matter of time before she took complete control and I would be the one fighting against her barriers.

I stood up once a relative blanket of darkness had settled around me. The light from the house had fallen on me and illuminated some of the space where I was. I shook my head as I felt my body away slightly, before I forced myself to focus on the dying grass around me.

I couldn't deny that I was tired. I could feel my eyelids burning and I wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but there wasn't much I could do if my wolf was as restless as I was.

I sat down and whimpered slightly as I felt some of my strength leave my body. There was a dull ache in my head and I whimpered again as I watched new grass wrap itself around the dead grass.

I watched as the grass wrapped around the pole and the ache in my head turned into a pounding one, but this was the only way I could think of tiring my wolf. The ground beneath me shook slightly as large roots cut through the ground and I watched as the tree stretched up into the sky.

I took a few moments to wait for the pounding ache to disappear, and then I got up and laid down behind the tree, thankful that there was now a way to block the light from the house.

I forced myself to stay where I was when I heard the door creak open and footsteps padded onto the porch. The sounds seemed to echo through the air and I whimpered slightly as I felt my eyes threaten to close.

I listened as the dull thuds sounded as he climbed down the porch steps and I listened to the almost silent whistle of grass as he crossed over to where I was. Despite the darkness surrounding us, I felt his shadow fall across me and I opened my eyes to see him looking at the tree with a frown on his face.

Once again, it hit me that he was handsome. There was a stubble on his jaw that hadn't been there yesterday and it made him look a lot more… dangerous. I let out a whimper before closing my eyes again, waiting for him to leave. I was aware of the wave of sadness that had surrounded me and there was no doubt in my mind that he could feel it too.

“I take it that you're bored already?”

There it was. The gravelly, clipped and angry voice that I had heard over the phone yesterday when the Beta had answered his phone. I don't know why I had expected it to sound any different.

“The solution to all of this is rather simple, if you think about it.”

I sensed, more than heard, him crouch down and I whimpered once more. Will I or won’t I?

“Submit.”

There was no hint of authority in his voice, leaving it up to me to make the choice. I let out another whimper as I curled into a tighter ball, refusing to look at him, refusing to submit. I did my best to control my racing heartbeat as he waited for a few more moments before he growled and then grabbed a hold of my ear- rather painfully.

I whimpered again as I was forced to stand up with him, before I let out a feral growl and tried yanking my head away from him, all while trying to ignore the stinging as the collar bit into my skin. I gave a threatening snap of my jaws near his hand and he let go, chest heaving, blood boiling.

My whimpered on behalf of my wolf, since her whining becoming to much. She was going mad. No male was ever supposed to hurt his mate. Werewolves in general didn't hurt their mates. Period.

I listened as he walked away with somewhat of a growl and I silently prayed that he wouldn't come back. Especially if he planned on hurting me every time he saw me.

I felt my body tense as I watched the door open, still alert from what had just occurred and I resisted the urge to growl. He was carrying to dog bowls, one balanced in each hand.

He put the bowls down and I felt my heart sink as I noticed there were some rather deadly looking vegetables mixed into it. I silently cursed my allergies before standing up and walking over to the water on unsteady feet and started lapping it up with my tongue.

I finished more than half of the bowl and I whimpered once more before I trudged back to the place I had laid down previously. I hadn't missed the way he had been frowning down at the bowl of food before I curled into a ball and I let out a huff as I closed my eyes and tried to relax my body.

“Are you going to eat or do you plan on starving yourself?”

I didn't move. The silence seemed to stretch for hours, when it actual fact it was just a few seconds.

“Well, suit yourself then.”

I heard the clink as he picked up the bowls and started walking away. I let out another whimper as I felt a slight breeze blow past and dance through my fur.

Somewhere in the wide expanse of the forest, I could hear a Nightingale singing and it seemed to echo through the air. A lot of things echoed at night. As well as my whimpers until I fell asleep.

~•°•~

I've lost track of how many times the sun’s come up. I've lost track of how many days it’s been since I've been able to go for a run, how many days it’s been since I've had a decent meal.

I knew that the fur around my neck was gone by now-the proof was that the skin was raw already. Anything I did hurt. It hurt to eat, it hurt to drink, it hurt to breathe.

I blamed myself for it. I was the one who refused to submit. I was the one who refused to accept that this was slowly killing me.

But my will was breaking.

I could tell by the way I didn't really want to watch Alpha Ryder leave, by the way my head was leaning more and more to the side with each passing day.

My wolf refused to have contact with me. She blames me for what’s happening to us, and as much as I want to disagree, I know that she’s right. But somehow, it was as if she wasn't even there. It felt like there was this hollowness in my head.

I heard the door slam shut-something that had been happening more frequently lately-and footsteps hurried down the steps. I kept my eyes closed, mainly because I didn't really have the strength to open them. I made sure that my breathing was shallow enough to make him think I was asleep.

And then I realized that I had been doing that a lot lately. I either slept or pretended to. It helped me block out the thirst, the hunger and the pain. He stopped a few feet away from me, like he usually did, in the same place he always stood. I didn't hear the clink of the bowls, and he also didn't try and wake me. He just stood there.

I was vaguely aware of the sound of leaves crunching and coming closer. Footsteps. Someone was coming from the treeline. It took most of my willpower to stop me from quirking my ears to hear better.

I recognized the scent of the Beta and as it mixed in with Alpha Ryder's scent. Together it made a strange combination that was all too familiar. The scent from the auction.

“She hasn't been eating. Or drinking, for the matter. And she always drinks…”

The Alphas voice broke through the silence and even I noticed the odd timbre in his voice.

“You can't blame her, Ryder. She's barely even been here for two weeks and she looks nothing like she did when I saw her the first time.”

I let out a whimper as I realized tried to push myself off of the ground, but my legs gave out under me, causing the collar to dig into my skin and I let out a loud whimper. How do I submit when I don’t even have enough strength to stand up?

I used what little strength I have to move me to right in front of him. Right now, I didn't care about my dignity-or lack thereof. Even I knew that two weeks was a long time to be chained. I tilted my head, exposing my neck, whimpering loudly as the action caused the collar to bite into my neck.

I heard an angry growl rip through the air. It wasn't Ryder’s. I had grown accustomed to hearing it in the past weeks. So it was safe to assume that it came from the Beta.

“You better handle this, Ryder.”

I heard the Betas footsteps disappear and I let out a huff of air. I remained limp as I felt his hands fumble with the clasp on the collar and I heard his sharp intake of breath as his hand brushed against the silver.

Serves him right.

I didn’t move once he had the collar off and had thrown it to the side. I felt all the tension leave my body and I let out a loud whimper as I rolled onto my side and felt my muscles relax.

"Shift."

His voice was softer than usual and making the decision that I didn't want to be chained again, I started shifting. My body felt as if it was on fire, burning inch by inch. I let out a loud and dragged out whimper before I felt my body go limp. I groaned slightly when I felt the twigs dig into my bare skin and I wanted nothing more than to lay there and sleep.

I heard him sigh before I felt his hand wrap around my upper arm and I felt my body sway dangerously to the side as he pulled me upright. I was slightly grateful that he waited for my bones to adjust to carrying my weight before letting go of my arm.

I kept my eyes downcast as he started walking away and I looked down at my trembling hands, noticing how bony my fingers looked. I couldn't help curling my mouth in disgust as I looked down and realized how much weight I had lost. My hip bones were protruding dangerously and as I took a step forward, my legs gave out underneath me.

I felt my body tense as he threw a blanket around me and picked me up in the same movement. He started walking and I clutched the blanket around my bare body, silently wishing to be anywhere else but here.

I didn’t look at him as he asked me to pull open the door and I didn't look up when it banged shut behind us. I ignored the warmth that was spreading through my body from being this close to him. He wasn't my mate. He was an Alpha. He had made that very clear.

I felt a tear slip down the corner of my eye as he started mounting a set of stairs, and I hurriedly wiped it away with the blanket, before returning my gaze to the wooden flooring. I would have been stupid not to realize that the room we entered was his. His scent was stronger here than it was around the rest of the house.

My body went limp as he put me down on the bed and I stretched myself out, being careful to keep the blanket wrapped around me. I felt myself relax as I heard him opening drawers and doors, but then I just slightly when his arms wrapped around me and picked me up again.

I opened my eyes and watched as we walked into a bathroom. I felt myself grow cold as he put me in the empty bathtub and pulled the blanket from my body, all the while opening the faucet.

I sat completely still, watching the water slowly start to fill the bathtub. I could see him placing things on the edge of the bathtub through my peripheral vision and I heard him let out a sigh before he closed off the water and took a step back.

The tub was filled to the brim and I closed my eyes as I slid down into the water and let it cover my body. A sense of numbness wrapped itself around me as I felt my muscles relaxed and I let out a breath of air as I closed my eyes.

“Please clean yourself up, Aurora. I'm asking nicely.”

I nodded and used my arms to push myself upright. I did my best to ignore the way my fingers trembled when I reached for the bar of soap.

I was vaguely aware of the fact that he sat down against the shower door. I scrubbed at the layer of dirt that covered my skin with a disgusted pull to my mouth. To think that I had gone for more than a week without taking a bath…

I washed my hair too, doing my best not to winch whenever my fingers tugged at a knot. I conditioned, knowing that they would help with the knots. I looked at the razor he had put on the edge of the bathtub with a look of uncertainty and I jumped slightly when his voice rang through the air, breaking through the sound of the water lapping at my skin.

“It's a disposable. I haven’t used it.”

I lost track of how long I spent in the bathtub. I could feel that the water was starting to turn cold, but I would be damned before I asked if I could add more water. I turned to him as he stood up, but as soon as he turned towards me, I averted my gaze to the ground.

I looked back up when he turned his back on me and watched as he got a towel from the rack beside the shower. He turned and came back to the bath and held the towel open for me. I clenched my jaw as I stood up and stepped out.

I took the towel from his hands, completely ignoring the fact that he was clearly going to help me. I didn't want him touching me.

Not now.

Not ever.