Untamed

C H A P T E R 3

I sat on the high chair beside the island counter and pushed the food on my plate from side to side. I had lost what little appetite I had the moment it was out down in front of me.

I felt an involuntary shiver run down my spine as I thought of all the grease and oil that had gone into the preparation of the food. My stomach grumbled in protest and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second before opening them again.

There was a little voice in the back of my head that reminded me of the fact that I hadn't eaten properly in two days. I took a deep breath and shoveled a forkful of food into my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut as it hurt when I swallowed. My neck was still raw and I knew it would be a harsh red color by now.

Alpha Ryder hasn't said another word to me. He was sitting rather moodily on the other side of the counter, making less of an effort to eat than I was.

“As soon as you've finished eating, we're going to go to the training grounds. It's about time to see whether or not I got what my money was worth.”

I put my fork down with a loud clash and clenched my jaw before pushing the food away. I had learnt that training on a full stomach never worked well with me.

“I'm finished, Alpha.”

My voice barely even sounded like my own. It had a croaky timbre to it and I momentarily wondered whether or not the collar had somehow managed to damage my voice box. There was a part of me that wanted to scream at him, tell him that I didn’t have to strength to do what he wanted me to. Or just plainly tell him that I didn’t want to.

My head snapped towards the doorway as the front door slammed loudly, indicating that someone had allowed themselves inside. Laughter traveled through the air, along with two sets of footsteps. I took a breath and felt myself frown when I recognized the Betas scent along with an unfamiliar one that made me want to sneeze.

I watched as a girl ran into the kitchen, her footsteps sounding thunderous on the hardwood floors. As my eyes ran over her, I couldn't help but think that she was impossibly pretty, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. A blinding smile stretched over her face as she caught sight of Alpha Ryder and I felt my heart sink as she engulfed him in what looked like a bone crushing hug. But what hurt the most, was that he returned the embrace.

I looked down at my abandoned plate of food and I felt the nausea wash over me as I wondered how close Alpha Ryder was with this mystery woman. I felt my shoulders tense as her assessing gaze settled on me and I became painfully aware of the change these last few weeks had made on my appearance, but her smile didn’t falter as she let go of the Alpha and turned her attention to me.

“Hello. My name is Ciara. I’m the Luna of this Pack, but please don't address me with the title. I hope my Mate has been treating you as he should.”

I watched as she sent a playful smack straight into his chest. I also didn't miss the way the corners of his lips twitched upwards, before he shot me a threatening look. I felt my heart sink further as I forced myself to smile and formulate an acceptable answer.

“He's been treating me well, Luna Ciara.”

“Didn't I just ask you not to address me as Luna? But I suppose your previous Pack had different values than we do.”

We certainly didn't lie about who our mates were...

“I suppose they did.”

I pushed my chair back and stood up, only to sway on my still weak legs and I felt the Beta behind me. He put his hands on my waist and I couldn't have been more grateful for the stability he gave. I let out a sigh of relief as I felt the strength slowly return to my legs. I glanced up and saw the Alphas eyes narrowed on the place where the Beta was holding me.

“Let's go.”

I nodded as I registered the Betas words and he started leading the way out of the house I had barely spent a few hours in. I could hear the girl-the so-called Luna-talking, but I blocked out her voice as we left the house. The threat of another woman had dragged my wolf out of her silence and I could feel her fighting for control.

I let out a growl as I pushed past the Beta, stumbling from the house and falling on all fours. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and I immediately set off running, looking for a way to distract myself.

Instinct told me to run. To get as far away from here as possible. But my wolf was in control and I knew that she wouldn't dare leave Alpha Ryder behind. It just wasn't in her nature to leave behind the things that she loved.

“Aurora!”

I heard the Beta call out my name with a panic stricken voice and I let out a vicious growl as I sped up and ran straight into a nearby tree with as much force as I could. I let out a growl and started pacing, ignoring the ache in my muscles, ignoring the sound if the tree falling to the ground.

I growled out again and watched as the tree slowly started to rot from the inside out, and I shook my head viciously as I tried to control my harsh breathing. I started off running again and then skidding to a sudden halt as I remembered that for the sake of my old Pack and for the sake of my life, I couldn't leave. But as a few shifted wolves suddenly appeared from what seemed like nowhere, I knew that I had already gone too far. I still smelt like a Rogue.

I let out a low growl as they started to circle me, like lions trying to catch their prey. I knew that I didn't stand a chance against any of them. I knew the Alpha well enough to know that he would skin me alive if I so much as scratched one of his precious Pack Members.

I let out a rather loud yelp as one of them pounced towards me. I had barely shifted far enough to dodge him. It had all been luck. They continued circling me, snapping their jaws and growling at me as if I was in the wrong.

My eyes darted between all of them, waiting for the next attack. It came as no surprise when they all yelped as large black roots reach out of the ground and wrapped around them. There was nothing stopping me from killing them. Nothing physical. But my morals were higher than most, so I took a deep breath and watched as the roots just… disappeared.

My head snapped sideways as a black wolf stepped into the clearing. I would have had to be stupid not to realize that it was him. Alpha Ryder. My theory was proved when the wind blew his scent in my direction and the other wolves started walking away, growling rather loudly.

He started shifting and I averted my gaze to the ground, waiting until I heard the dry leaves and twigs snap beneath his approaching footsteps. My eyes snapped up, and he stopped where he was, looking as mad as ever.

“Shift.”

The tone of his voice was cold and I didn't miss the underlying threat in it. I growled lowly, more to myself, more in frustration for my situation, than at anyone in particular. I shifted-much more painlessly than the first time-and pulled my knees up to my chest to cover my nakedness.

“What the hell did you just do?"

He snapped and I closed my eyes for a moment to try and think of an appropriate way to ask what he was referring to, since I had absolutely no idea.

“I didn't do anything…”

I muttered the words rather carelessly as I continued to keep my eyes closed. I didn't have the strength to look at him. I didn't miss the slight increase in his breathing and for some reason, I wanted him mad. I wanted a fight. An even one without the collar.

“You didn't do anything?!”

I felt my own anger as I pushed myself up off the ground, uncaring of my nudity, uncaring of anything other than my anger. I walked over to him and got into his face, despite the large difference in height and I crossed my arms over my breasts.

“You want to know why I didn't do anything? Because I knee you would punish me for hurting one of your Pack Members. I took my anger out on a tree, which I doubt had much meaning to you.”

I snapped angrily and I watched as his eyes dilated at my blatant disrespect. I braced myself for his reply, knowing that there was no way he would let me go unpunished.

“Shift.”

His voice was strict and demanding and I could feel his power wrapping itself around me and I let out a growl as I reached up and grabbed a hold of my head, feeling my body forcibly shift. I didn't fight it, knowing that it just made the process more painful.

I had barely completed my shift when he rammed into me and I let out a howl of pain when his hands dug into my shoulder blades. I whimpered when I heard the jangle of a chain and I growled rather dangerously as I arched my back in an attempt to throw him off of me. And then I just went limp.

It was as if time stopped, for just a few seconds. I asked myself, what was the point? What was the point of fighting the inevitable? My mate was ruthless, cruel and hardhearted enough to chain me to a pole. He already had another Luna. I never stood a chance.

This feeling of emptiness seemed to wrap itself around me and I realized that I had never been so alone in my life. I had always had someone, anyone… And now there was no one. It felt like a vital part of me had died. The feeling wasn't pleasant.

I barely noticed as he clipped the chain around my neck and I just laid there once he got off of me. I didn’t even resist as he grabbed a hold of the leather part of the chain-roughly, if I might add-and started dragging me back to the house. I kept my eyes closed, doing my best not to think about the silver biting into my already tender skin.

I saw Ciara and the Beta both standing on the porch of the house and I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me, before I realized that my behavior would have been acceptable in any other Pack.

Once I felt the chain attached to the collar I let out a loud growl and jumped away from Alpha Ryder with an angry growl. I didn't even bother looking at any of them as I curled into a ball in the shady part of the tree and closed my eyes, praying for sleep to wrap around me.