Untamed

C H A P T E R 5

Aurora

I groaned slightly as I turned away from the light that was falling into my eyes. I raised my hand to rub at my eyes, only to find my hand yanked back. I was aware of the faint clash of metal against metal as I tried moving and I felt my heart sink as I opened my eyes, blinking them rapidly to adjust to the light. The first thing I saw was the starch white ceiling. The scent in the air smelled of cleaning detergents and the rhythmic beeping sound that echoed through the air was a dead give away that I was in the hospital.

I tried tugging at my hands once more, but they still seemed to be restrained. I raised my head slightly and saw the culprits. Two shiny sets of cuffs gleamed at me and I let out a full in groan as I let my head fall back into the pillowcase. It took me a few seconds before I smelt something other than detergents and my eyes snapped to the side, seeing Alpha Ryder glaring at me from a chair in the corner.

I closed my eyes, silently praying that he would give me a few more moments of what had been blissful silence, since I didn't have the need or want to talk to him.

I was slowly becoming aware of the various aches around my body and I let out a sigh as I tried readjusting my position as best as I could. My face was itchy, along with my arms, my legs and my stomach. So, basically everything. And the worst part was that I couldn't even scratch anything. Because of these damn cuffs.

I clenched my fists, digging my nails into the palms of my hands and tried thinking about something other than the pinching feeling that covered my body.

“So, you tried to escape?”

His voice was cool. Controlled. Seemingly uninterested. But I had encountered my fair share of Alphas to know that it was a cover up for something worse. Anger.

“I beg to disagree, Alpha.”

I made sure to use his title, knowing that it would help me get out of this misery.

“Well then, would you like to explain why you weren't on the chain. Explain to me why you were with the Rogues.”

And there it was. His voice dripped with venom and controlled anger. I decided that it would be best if I started talking, knowing that an angry Alpha Ryder wasn't going to get me anywhere.

“There's not much to do when you're chained. You find ways to entertain yourself. Like guessing what birds are making the calls you hear. But that’s besides the point, because I was getting ready to go to sleep when I heard it. The vague sound of crunching twigs. Then there was the smell of rot. I knew that it was trouble, even before I saw the wolf run past.”

I cleared my throat slightly and readjusted my position again. I refused to give in to the urge to look at him, to see if he believed me.

“I would have had to have been stupid not to smell the others in the distance. Instinct took over and I needed to get rid of them. Even I know that having more than one Rogue on your territory is no coincidence.”

I licked at my dry lips and again readjusted my position. It was as close to fidgeting as I could get. I kept my eyes closed, reliving the moments in my head.

“I was surprised that the chain broke that fast. I heard you coming and I started running, knowing that you'd just ignore my warnings. I followed the scent to some kind of clearing and my heart sank when they came out of their hiding places. It was rather obvious that it was a planned attack. They attacked me first. I thought there were about five of them, but they just seemed to keep coming. I think I killed one… I killed someone.”

I felt my body go cold as I realized what I had done. Our old Pack had never had a multiple Rogue threat. There was always one. And we could always handle that one.

“And then what?”

It came as no surprise that he ignored my trauma. It was because I wasn't Ciara. The facts were that simple.

“I heard footsteps. I don’t even know where they came from. But through everything, I heard footsteps. They were soft. And I could hear the rough breathing of a child. I panicked. I can't even remember what happened after that… But as soon as your wolves gave up and someone had the boy, I just gave up. There was no point in fighting anymore.”

I wasn't going to tell him that there was a part of me that was hoping to die as I closed my eyes.

“Why did you do it? Risk your life for someone in my Pack when you aren’t even in it?”

I took a deep breath and ignored the burning feeling in my chest. There was no point in denying that his words had hurt. That I was no better than the Rogues who had attacked his Pack.

“Just because they're not my Pack, doesn't mean that I'm not going to protect them.”

I snapped at him and then mentally cursed myself as I realizes that I had just disrespected him. I was fully expecting him to drag me out of the bed and chain me to the pole again.

“Oh, really?”

It was impossible to miss the mocking tone in his voice and I felt dread build up inside of me. I got the feeling that he was about to say something that I wasn't going to like.

“Right now, you’re a Rogue. Just like the ones who had trespassed onto my land. And if I put you in a ring, my Pack won’t go easy on you. We all have a mutual dislike of your kind.”

I let out a rather loud whimper when he grabbed a hold of my wrists, having crossed the distance between the bed and the chair in a nanosecond. I clenched my jaw and groaned angrily as I felt the cuffs dig into my skin as gave a vicious yank. I looked up into his eyes as I felt the cuffs give out and my blood ran cold at the emotion swirling in my eyes.

He stood back with a rather satisfied smirk on his face.

“We're having your acceptance ceremony later today. I already arranged with Xander that you get suitable clothes to wear.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before yanking my wrists from his hold. I looked down and saw that the skin where the cuffs had cut in were red and tender. I sighed before leaning back and closing my eyes again.

My eyes hadn’t missed the light, faded claw marks that had seemed to cut through my markings. My eyes snapped open when I heard the door open. I had expected to find the room empty, but instead, I saw an old man with a white coat standing in front of the bed. I didn't miss the curious glint in his eyes.

“Luna.”

As the words left his mouth in greeting, I felt my eyes widen as I looked up at him in obvious surprise.

“W-what?”

I couldn't help the question that slipped over my lips and I watched as a slow but welcoming smile stretched over his features.

“Your Luna aura is rather prominent. You might not officially have the title, but your wolf knows her place.”

I kept quite as he moved forward and started checking various things on the machines that I was attached to. My eyes snapped towards the door as the Beta entered with a smallish looking duffel bag. I made the mental connection that his name must be Xander.

He sent me a polite smile and I felt myself frown at the way his eyes seemed to linger on my face for a longer than necessary. I unconsciously reached up and I felt my body tense up as I felt the bumps on my face.

I started ripping out the wires and needles connecting me to the machines and I growled as the doctor tried restraining me. I slipped underneath his eyes and darted into the small bathroom off of my hospital room. I watched as the color drained from my face as I saw the angry looking claw mark that ran down one side of my face.

The skin was still puffy and red and I took an unconscious step backwards.

I closed my eyes for a second before I took a deep breath and walked back into the hospital room. The doctor seemed to be avoiding my gaze, whereas Alpha Ryder was staring at me with a frown and Beta Xander was looking at me with sympathy in his eyes. I walked over to Beta Xander, uncaring of anything and took the duffel bag before going back into the bathroom without saying anything.

I couldn't help but frown as I pulled the pink and black yoga pants from the bag. I put on the sports bra and the singlet before sitting down on the toilet lid and buried my head into my hands. I wasn't going to lie and say that I wasn't worried. I knew that I needed to get accepted into the Pack. And I knew I would do anything. I jumped slightly when there was a loud bang on the door before I heard Alpha Ryder's voice

“You know we don't have all day.”

I pushed myself off of the toilet and then opened the door with the duffle bag in one hand and the hospital gown in the other. I wasn't sure what to do with either of them. I watched as Xander let his eyes travel down the length of my body before his eyebrows shot upwards.

“If I weren't gay, I would totally do you.”

My mouth dropped open in shock and I had no doubt in my mind that my face had gone red. I watched as he walked out of the room.

It wasn't everyday that you heard of a gay werewolf. Most of our mates were people from opposite genders, but more often than not, second chance mates were the same gender.

I jumped slightly when the doctor reached out and took the gown from me before Alpha Ryder gestured towards the door rather impatiently. I dropped the duffel bag, since it was empty, and dashed out of the room in search of Xander. Turns out he was waiting for me outside the room.

I followed him as he led the way outside and I couldn't have been more relieved when he started making conversation once we were in the car. I listened as he told me about his life and everything that had happened that had led up to this point. He had two children-who were twins. They were from his previous mate who had died during childbirth. His second chance mate-as I expected-was Adam. Hence the reason he as now gay.

My body went numb as we pulled up to a building that had the same structure as a stadium. I took a deep breath of air to build up some courage, and then I got out of the truck and started following Beta Xander.

“If there's any advice I can give you, don't show that you're intimidated. You’re only as strong as your weakest moment.”

I nodded as I followed Beta Xander through the doors he had gone through. I forgot how many times we turned corners and walked through doors until we stopped a few feet away from a large looking door.

“Since I'm a sucker for annoying Ryder whenever I have the chance, I'll be cheering you on before you know it. But I have faith in you. You'll do well without my support.”

I nodded and watched as he started walking back down the hallways, rather obviously going back the way we had come. I stared at the door for a few moments, before taking a deep breath and pushing it open.

I raised my hands to cover my eyes as the sunlight hit me. I could already feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing in edge as everyone’s eyes drilled into me.

Alpha Ryder was sitting at a podium on the other side of the arena and I let my eyes wonder across the Elders sitting on either side of him. I started walking towards them, doing my best to keep my head high.

I bowed down before Ryder and showed my neck as I submitted, accepting him as my Alpha. The Elders were all looking at me with rather serious glances and we’re making me more self-conscious than the other Pack Members.

“State your name, rank and previous Pack.”

His voice seemed to echo through the silence that had settled around us and I had to resist the urge to flinch at it's harshness.

“Aurora Stone, Pack Warrior of the Blue Blood Pack.”

I was surprised that my voice had come out as confident as it had. I didn't miss the way that all of the Elders seemed to lean forward, clearly trying to get a better look at my markings.

“What qualified you to have such a high rank?”

What qualified me? I couldn't help but frown in rather obvious confusion as I tried to think of a suitable way to answer their question.

“Because I protected the Pack.”

“You sound unsure of yourself.”

The comment was thrown from one of the Elders and I bit the inside of my cheek as I realized where Ryder had gotten his mean streak.

“Those markings on your arm… They're not markings of a Pack Warrior.”

My eyes snapped to the woman who spoke. She sat right beside Ryder and said Alpha was watching her with a expression that was similar to my own.

“Those… The markings that you have… They're a way of identifying underage Royals.”

I felt my head tilt to the side as I tried to understand what the woman was trying to say. She must have sensed my confusion, for she sent me a rather pleased looking smile before sat backwards, relaxing in a way.

“You have the markings of a Royal, my dear.”

What?