Rising Moon: The Dark Wolf Chronicles, page 12
A smile teased at my lips. I quickly straightened my face and turned away.
“Again, I’d still rather you were nicer than me.”
I picked up another top, this time a tank top.
“The neckline is too low,” He said, “Wearing that would be inviting men to take advantage of you.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“What I wear doesn't give anyone the right to take advantage of me, Leonidas,” I said sharply.
“If no one except me can touch you then why do they need to look at you? That's like reading the menu but not being able to order.”
I shrugged, “Sounds like a problem for anyone that sees women as a ‘menu’.”
Next Leonidas took me to a lingerie shop on the edge of town. The women who worked there knew him and after we had entered, they turned the 'open' panel on the door to 'closed'.
I grimaced before turning to the racks and racks of risqué and sexy lingerie.
“I prefer a bulk pack of white granny panties,” I said.
He smiled and picked up a black lace thong, “I prefer this kind of thing.”
“Leo-”
“Sssh,” he hushed, forcing it into my hands before beckoning over one of the women who worked here.
She was maybe forty years old, dressed in a tight black pencil skirt and a shirt far too tight over her boobs revealing her lace bra beneath.
“Tina, will you sort my girlfriend with a selection of lingerie? As always, money is no problem,” he said, running his fingers along the padding of a bra, without even looking at the woman.
As always?
She nodded before turning to me, “Size, miss?”
I looked up at Leonidas hesitantly.
He smiled and turned away from us, taking a seat on the couch on the other side of the shop.
“Pretend I'm not here,” he said.
“32 C,” I mumbled to her.
Tina smiled, “The dressing rooms are through there. I'll bring sets to try on.”
“Try on?” I asked, swallowing.
Leonidas laughed as Tina ushered me towards the back of the shop and through an open doorway, down a short hall and through a curtain where I met a reflection of myself on all four of the walls.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Tina said before scurrying back to the shop and leaving me in the dressing room.
Leonidas was a regular here. It was obvious.
What did the other girls he'd brought look like? Were their cup sizes bigger than a C? Were they tall with beautiful long legs and perfect glossy curls?
I sighed and sat back down a few minutes before Tina appeared with a bundle of lingerie.
I forced a smile and she left me to try it on. It was all silky, sheer and lacy. There were no prices on the labels but one set alone looked like it cost more than I could ever afford.
As I looked in my reflection, I didn't hate it. I'd never seen myself in anything other than an old, skanky bra and a pair of the cheapest Walmart panties.
Well, until Tina came in with one more set, that Leonidas had picked out. Then I remember this isn’t for me.
The bra pushed my boobs up and the sheer mesh of the thong stretched all around covering only just enough.
Just as I was adjusting the straps to fit perfectly, heavy footsteps came down the hall, different from the clink of Tina's heels.
My eyes widened and I quickly grabbed my shirt.
But I didn't have time to put it on before the curtain swept open and Leonidas ducked his head to enter.
“Goddesses,” he said, looking at me up and down.
His eyes were already black with lust.
“Get out,” I ordered.
“Why?” he asked, stepping closer to me.
I backed away, trying to shield my body but with mirrors all around, it was impossible.
“You don't need to be shy,” he said, taking the shirt out of my hand and throwing it to the ground, “You're gorgeous.”
He was now super closer to me. I had nowhere to go and no way of drawing his eyes from my body.
Then an idea popped into my head.
A mischievous idea.
I looked up at him, and blinked, a smile growing on my lips as I gently placed my hands on his chest. Without hesitation, he leant in to kiss me but I avoided it, ushering him back to sit on the velvet poof before positioning myself between his legs.
I smiled as I ran my finger along his jaw.
“Are you teasing me, Nelda?” he asked, his eyes on my boobs which were inches from his face.
I then left a lingering kiss on his cheek as I ran my fingers through his hair, ensuring I brought my chest even closer to his face.
“I’m your weakness, Leonidas,” I said.
He didn't reply, too encapsulated by my body.
His hands came forward to my hips but I slapped him off. He groaned and bit his lip.
“Careful,” he warned, “You do not want to provoke me.”
I smiled, “All these empty threats. You aren't going to do shit to me.”
I then left a soft kiss on his jaw before turning away.
With that, he grabbed my hips and pushed me against the mirror.
“Try teasing me once more and I will make you want to mate me right here right now so hard this entire store knows that you are mine to do whatever I please with,” he said deeply, “And you will fucking love it.”
I swallowed. His hand lay on my boob and his manhood pressed into my thigh. By the way the hair on my arms pricked and my stomached fluttered, I could believe him.
I nodded and looked down before he slowly withdrew.
“So unless you want to do that,” he began, “Get dressed and don't show me this lingerie again until you want me to take you.”
I nodded and he turned to leave the fitting room.
I stepped out of the dressing room with the sets that fitted best in my hand and without making eye contact I handed them to Leonidas and stood with my arms folded by the door whilst he paid. Tina eyed us both but said nothing and soon enough we were leaving still in silence.
As we walked back through the street, I glanced over at a cop patrolling the mall. I then spun around back to Leonidas.
“Order your men to stop hunting down Blaise,” I said.
He laughed, “Since when could you hand out orders?”
“Since we entered a busy human town with cops around.”
His lips cracked into a smile, “You think humans are going to save you from me?”
His hand seized my wrist as his eyes darkened.
“If I scream, that cop will come running over,” I said, “So will half a dozen other people.”
He shrugged, “And I will kill them. Do you want that blood on your hands?”
I dared to look into his eyes. He wasn’t joking.
I swallowed and bit my lip.
“That’s what I thought.”
I let him drag me down the street by my wrist. As I tried to prize his fingers off me, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight.
“Don’t fight with me,” he said gruffly, “You’ve already worn my patience thin.”
He hauled me back toward the car. The diner I worked at was on our way and as we past, it caught Leonidas’s eye.
“We never had that milkshake you promised me,” he said.
“We’re not allowed to sit with customers,” I replied, “Shame…”
“Well, it’s a good job you don’t work there anymore then.”
He took my hand and dragged me into the diner. As we came through the door, my eyes fell on the large clock on the wall.
4 o’clock.
“Leonidas, we have to go-“ I began.
“Two milkshakes please,” he said as a new waitress came over.
She smiled and turned back to the kitchens.
“Why? What’s the rush?”
“It’s just-“
Right on cue, the door opened again and a tall man stepped in.
“Nelda,” Blaise said with a beaming smile, “It was only be so long before you came crawling back here. Begging for your old job back?”
Leonidas raised an eyebrow as he looked from me to Blaise.
“You need to go-“ I began but Leonidas was already on his feet.
I grabbed his arm he shook me off and marched straight in Blaise’s direction.
“Leonidas!” I exclaimed as he seized Blaise and slammed into the counter.
“You’re a hard man to get hold of Blaise Sycamore,” Leonidas growled.
Blaise tried to free himself by shoving Leonidas’s chest but Leonidas only pushed him harder against the car.
The waitress has frozen in her spot and every customer had fallen silent.
“Leonidas, put him down,” I said, “This is a diner.”
“Leonidas? Who are you?” Blaise said, his heart skipping a beat.
Leonidas brought his face only inches from Blaise’s.
“Leonidas Thorn.”
Blaise turned pasty, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“What business do you have with my girl?” Leo growled.
Blaise glanced at me as I dug my nails into my palms.
“I told you, Leonidas,” I said quietly, “We were friends, we had a small argument and he wanted to kick me off territory. We chatted the other day and he decided to let us stay.”
Leonidas glared into Blaise’s eyes.
“Is that true?”
Blaise swallowed and nodded, but Leonidas didn’t release him.
“When I first met Nelda she was covered in your scent. Why?”
“Which night?”
“At Stephanie’s party,” I said.
“The night we broke up?”
I closed my eyes.
He just signed his own death warrant. I wish I was exaggerating.
When I opened my eyes, Leonidas’s face was still frozen in place but his eyes swirled with darkness.
Blaise’s face had sunk and his skin turned green. Meanwhile, my heart pounded in my ears as a sickness grew in my stomach.
All Blaise and I could do was stand and wait for Leonidas to move.
But before he did, the door to the kitchen slammed open and Andy strode out, a gun in his hand and his forehead creased.
“Get out of my restaurant or I will shoot,” Andy said, pointing the gun at Leonidas.
My lips parted as I brought a hand to my mouth.
Leonidas’s eyes slowly swept from Blaise to Andy before he gradually loosened his grip on Blaise and stepped back.
“I’m not done with you yet,” he said in a low gravelly tone before turning to me, “Nelda, with me.”
I glanced at Blaise and then back to Leonidas. Leonidas stepped forward to take my hand but Andy only prodded the gun closer.
“Don’t touch her and get out of my diner,” he ordered.
Leonidas had no choice but to back out of the diner.
“I’ll send a car to pick you up,” he said, “You better not fucking run.”
When Leonidas was gone, I grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him into the back where I shoved his chest and he stumbled back into the lockers.
“Why the hell did you tell him we were together?”
“I didn’t think it would matter. It was before you met him.”
“He knows you touched me against my will the other day. He was already hunting you down for that and now you are a dead man, Blaise.”
Blaise’s eyebrows sloped.
“I barely touched you. And how was I to know you were going to be his mate when we dated and I wrote the letter?”
I scoffed, “You can try to reason with him when he catches you. But he hasn’t even read the letter and you saw the fury in his eye. He is not a reasonable man.”
Blaise bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair.
“You have to go,” I said, “To another state. Country! Fucking planet!”
“I'm Alpha. I can't just leave my pack,” he said.
“Leonidas will kill you if you stay. Did you see the way he glared at you? Did you see the darkness?”
Blaise tightened his jaw nervously, “Oh shit.”
“Go out the back, go straight into the forest and run. Never come back. And don't go to the Cerridwen village either. He’ll be looking for you.”
“So I just abandon my pack? What if he sends his men there? I’ve heard what he does to packs, Nelda.”
“I'll go to warn them,” I said, “Leonidas is already furious with me anyway.”
“Thank you, Nelda.”
I nodded and he marched out.
Chapter 19
October 13th
When I was sure the coast, I sprinted out of the diner and through the forest toward Cerridwen pack village. Despite the chill of fall in the air, my skin soon grew clammy and my heart pumped hot blood through my body.
When I got to the village, there was utter carnage. Children screamed, fires burnt and people fled in every which direction.
I grounded to a halt, my eyes wide as I recognised the uniform of the men causing it.
Stella soldiers.
I was too late.
A hand grabbed me and pulled me behind a wall.
“You don’t want to be here right now, Nelda. It’s not safe,” Brynn Sycamore, Blaise’s father and the ex-Alpha of Cerridwen said.
I couldn’t take my eyes off a screaming child in his mother’s arms as she raced across the village
“These men are looking for Blaise. I have no idea why or who they are but I need you to get out of here. We’ve already lost two of our people.”
My stomached churned as I looked at the fear stricken across Brynn’s face.
“They’re Alpha Leonidas Thorn’s men,” I said.
His face drained of colour.
“What?”
“Alpha Thorn is my mate and he just found out Blaise was my boyfriend. When I met with Blaise the other day, he grabbed me and Leonidas detected his scent on my body. He was livid and clearly still is.”
Brynn ran his hand through his hair, biting down on his lip.
“Alpha Thorn is your mate?... and he wants my son dead? And does he know you're here?”
I shook my head, “He doesn’t know I’m here. But I promised Blaise I’d explain to you why he’s had to flee.”
Brynn cursed beneath his breath.
“My people are being killed because Blaise touched you?”
I nodded, “It’s an extreme response and Leonidas is a ruthless man. But I’ll find him and do everything I can to stop him.”
Brynn nodded, “Thank you, Nelda. But be careful. Don’t put yourself in danger.”
I stepped around the wall where the soldiers were. There were only five of them but they were armed with knives and the havoc they had reeked was catastrophic.
“Blaise Sycamore!” one of them bellow. “Come out or we will keep cutting the throats of your pack until there is nothing left of it. We know you’re here.”
“Hey!” I shouted, waving my arms.
Their stony eyes all turned to me.
“Blaise Sycamore isn’t here,” I said, “Stop terrorising innocent people.”
“Call the Alpha,” one of them said to another, glancing at my mark, “Tell him we’ve found her.”
“Get off Cerridwen territory,” I ordered.
“We are carrying out Alpha Thorn's orders,” another said, marching toward me and grabbing my arm, “And you shouldn't be here. Julius, get her out the way.”
“Blaise Sycamore isn't here,” I growled, pulling my arm out of his grasp, “And don't you dare touch me.”
The soldier sighed, “Luna, we have been told to thoroughly search this territory.”
“Then search it but why do you need to kill, ransack and burn?”
The first beckoned to Julius who came towards me as he pulled out his phone and dialled a number.
He then nodded to the others. They raised their knives again and spread out across the square. I needed a better distraction than this.
So I bolted. I knew these woods better than they did and I wound through the trees hoping they wouldn't want to risk being responsible for losing me and follow, leaving Cerridwen alone.
The forest was dense here so being small and nimble for once worked to my advantage against these burly men.
After fifteen minutes, I reached the road and the men were nowhere in sight. But they'd be searching for me and not fulfilling Leonidas's heartless orders so I walked along the road in a relative amount of peace.
But I couldn't help cry. How could Leonidas be so cruel? If this was his response to such a minor thing, I couldn’t bear to think what else he was capable of.
About five minutes of striding along the forest-lined road with tears streaming down my cheeks later, a black car slowly rolled up beside me.
“Get in,” Mateo ordered, rolling down the window.
“No,” I spat unable to look at the Beta of a pack that would do such a horrible thing to another innocent and peaceful pack. “I am done with Leonidas. I will not be his mate and I do not want to ever see him again.”
“Nelda,” he said deeply.
I only walked faster.
He sighed, stopped the car and got out before frustratedly slamming the door.
He marched towards me and I began to run. Of course, he broke into a run too and it was only a matter of seconds before his long legs caught up to me and seized me around the waist.
Although I didn't appreciate the unwanted manhandling, I did observe that he was far gentler than Leonidas would have been. If we are going to look at the bright side of things.
“Let go of me,” I growled as he tried to get control of my flailing arms and legs.
“I am not your enemy,” he said in a deep voice after finally catching my wrists and holding me completely still. “I am just doing my job to protect you.”
“Protect me from what? As far as I can see, the only person who I need protecting from is your Alpha. He really does live up to his reputation, doesn't he? Misery and despair really do follow him like a dark shadow.”
“I need you to get into the car, Nelda,” he replied calmly. “I'd prefer not to force you but I will if you do not cooperate.”
“Why do you work for him?”
“Because he is my brother,” Mateo replied, urging me towards the car as I continued to resist him.
“Then you are in a position to tell him that this is out of order!”
“Again, I’d still rather you were nicer than me.”
I picked up another top, this time a tank top.
“The neckline is too low,” He said, “Wearing that would be inviting men to take advantage of you.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“What I wear doesn't give anyone the right to take advantage of me, Leonidas,” I said sharply.
“If no one except me can touch you then why do they need to look at you? That's like reading the menu but not being able to order.”
I shrugged, “Sounds like a problem for anyone that sees women as a ‘menu’.”
Next Leonidas took me to a lingerie shop on the edge of town. The women who worked there knew him and after we had entered, they turned the 'open' panel on the door to 'closed'.
I grimaced before turning to the racks and racks of risqué and sexy lingerie.
“I prefer a bulk pack of white granny panties,” I said.
He smiled and picked up a black lace thong, “I prefer this kind of thing.”
“Leo-”
“Sssh,” he hushed, forcing it into my hands before beckoning over one of the women who worked here.
She was maybe forty years old, dressed in a tight black pencil skirt and a shirt far too tight over her boobs revealing her lace bra beneath.
“Tina, will you sort my girlfriend with a selection of lingerie? As always, money is no problem,” he said, running his fingers along the padding of a bra, without even looking at the woman.
As always?
She nodded before turning to me, “Size, miss?”
I looked up at Leonidas hesitantly.
He smiled and turned away from us, taking a seat on the couch on the other side of the shop.
“Pretend I'm not here,” he said.
“32 C,” I mumbled to her.
Tina smiled, “The dressing rooms are through there. I'll bring sets to try on.”
“Try on?” I asked, swallowing.
Leonidas laughed as Tina ushered me towards the back of the shop and through an open doorway, down a short hall and through a curtain where I met a reflection of myself on all four of the walls.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Tina said before scurrying back to the shop and leaving me in the dressing room.
Leonidas was a regular here. It was obvious.
What did the other girls he'd brought look like? Were their cup sizes bigger than a C? Were they tall with beautiful long legs and perfect glossy curls?
I sighed and sat back down a few minutes before Tina appeared with a bundle of lingerie.
I forced a smile and she left me to try it on. It was all silky, sheer and lacy. There were no prices on the labels but one set alone looked like it cost more than I could ever afford.
As I looked in my reflection, I didn't hate it. I'd never seen myself in anything other than an old, skanky bra and a pair of the cheapest Walmart panties.
Well, until Tina came in with one more set, that Leonidas had picked out. Then I remember this isn’t for me.
The bra pushed my boobs up and the sheer mesh of the thong stretched all around covering only just enough.
Just as I was adjusting the straps to fit perfectly, heavy footsteps came down the hall, different from the clink of Tina's heels.
My eyes widened and I quickly grabbed my shirt.
But I didn't have time to put it on before the curtain swept open and Leonidas ducked his head to enter.
“Goddesses,” he said, looking at me up and down.
His eyes were already black with lust.
“Get out,” I ordered.
“Why?” he asked, stepping closer to me.
I backed away, trying to shield my body but with mirrors all around, it was impossible.
“You don't need to be shy,” he said, taking the shirt out of my hand and throwing it to the ground, “You're gorgeous.”
He was now super closer to me. I had nowhere to go and no way of drawing his eyes from my body.
Then an idea popped into my head.
A mischievous idea.
I looked up at him, and blinked, a smile growing on my lips as I gently placed my hands on his chest. Without hesitation, he leant in to kiss me but I avoided it, ushering him back to sit on the velvet poof before positioning myself between his legs.
I smiled as I ran my finger along his jaw.
“Are you teasing me, Nelda?” he asked, his eyes on my boobs which were inches from his face.
I then left a lingering kiss on his cheek as I ran my fingers through his hair, ensuring I brought my chest even closer to his face.
“I’m your weakness, Leonidas,” I said.
He didn't reply, too encapsulated by my body.
His hands came forward to my hips but I slapped him off. He groaned and bit his lip.
“Careful,” he warned, “You do not want to provoke me.”
I smiled, “All these empty threats. You aren't going to do shit to me.”
I then left a soft kiss on his jaw before turning away.
With that, he grabbed my hips and pushed me against the mirror.
“Try teasing me once more and I will make you want to mate me right here right now so hard this entire store knows that you are mine to do whatever I please with,” he said deeply, “And you will fucking love it.”
I swallowed. His hand lay on my boob and his manhood pressed into my thigh. By the way the hair on my arms pricked and my stomached fluttered, I could believe him.
I nodded and looked down before he slowly withdrew.
“So unless you want to do that,” he began, “Get dressed and don't show me this lingerie again until you want me to take you.”
I nodded and he turned to leave the fitting room.
I stepped out of the dressing room with the sets that fitted best in my hand and without making eye contact I handed them to Leonidas and stood with my arms folded by the door whilst he paid. Tina eyed us both but said nothing and soon enough we were leaving still in silence.
As we walked back through the street, I glanced over at a cop patrolling the mall. I then spun around back to Leonidas.
“Order your men to stop hunting down Blaise,” I said.
He laughed, “Since when could you hand out orders?”
“Since we entered a busy human town with cops around.”
His lips cracked into a smile, “You think humans are going to save you from me?”
His hand seized my wrist as his eyes darkened.
“If I scream, that cop will come running over,” I said, “So will half a dozen other people.”
He shrugged, “And I will kill them. Do you want that blood on your hands?”
I dared to look into his eyes. He wasn’t joking.
I swallowed and bit my lip.
“That’s what I thought.”
I let him drag me down the street by my wrist. As I tried to prize his fingers off me, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight.
“Don’t fight with me,” he said gruffly, “You’ve already worn my patience thin.”
He hauled me back toward the car. The diner I worked at was on our way and as we past, it caught Leonidas’s eye.
“We never had that milkshake you promised me,” he said.
“We’re not allowed to sit with customers,” I replied, “Shame…”
“Well, it’s a good job you don’t work there anymore then.”
He took my hand and dragged me into the diner. As we came through the door, my eyes fell on the large clock on the wall.
4 o’clock.
“Leonidas, we have to go-“ I began.
“Two milkshakes please,” he said as a new waitress came over.
She smiled and turned back to the kitchens.
“Why? What’s the rush?”
“It’s just-“
Right on cue, the door opened again and a tall man stepped in.
“Nelda,” Blaise said with a beaming smile, “It was only be so long before you came crawling back here. Begging for your old job back?”
Leonidas raised an eyebrow as he looked from me to Blaise.
“You need to go-“ I began but Leonidas was already on his feet.
I grabbed his arm he shook me off and marched straight in Blaise’s direction.
“Leonidas!” I exclaimed as he seized Blaise and slammed into the counter.
“You’re a hard man to get hold of Blaise Sycamore,” Leonidas growled.
Blaise tried to free himself by shoving Leonidas’s chest but Leonidas only pushed him harder against the car.
The waitress has frozen in her spot and every customer had fallen silent.
“Leonidas, put him down,” I said, “This is a diner.”
“Leonidas? Who are you?” Blaise said, his heart skipping a beat.
Leonidas brought his face only inches from Blaise’s.
“Leonidas Thorn.”
Blaise turned pasty, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“What business do you have with my girl?” Leo growled.
Blaise glanced at me as I dug my nails into my palms.
“I told you, Leonidas,” I said quietly, “We were friends, we had a small argument and he wanted to kick me off territory. We chatted the other day and he decided to let us stay.”
Leonidas glared into Blaise’s eyes.
“Is that true?”
Blaise swallowed and nodded, but Leonidas didn’t release him.
“When I first met Nelda she was covered in your scent. Why?”
“Which night?”
“At Stephanie’s party,” I said.
“The night we broke up?”
I closed my eyes.
He just signed his own death warrant. I wish I was exaggerating.
When I opened my eyes, Leonidas’s face was still frozen in place but his eyes swirled with darkness.
Blaise’s face had sunk and his skin turned green. Meanwhile, my heart pounded in my ears as a sickness grew in my stomach.
All Blaise and I could do was stand and wait for Leonidas to move.
But before he did, the door to the kitchen slammed open and Andy strode out, a gun in his hand and his forehead creased.
“Get out of my restaurant or I will shoot,” Andy said, pointing the gun at Leonidas.
My lips parted as I brought a hand to my mouth.
Leonidas’s eyes slowly swept from Blaise to Andy before he gradually loosened his grip on Blaise and stepped back.
“I’m not done with you yet,” he said in a low gravelly tone before turning to me, “Nelda, with me.”
I glanced at Blaise and then back to Leonidas. Leonidas stepped forward to take my hand but Andy only prodded the gun closer.
“Don’t touch her and get out of my diner,” he ordered.
Leonidas had no choice but to back out of the diner.
“I’ll send a car to pick you up,” he said, “You better not fucking run.”
When Leonidas was gone, I grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him into the back where I shoved his chest and he stumbled back into the lockers.
“Why the hell did you tell him we were together?”
“I didn’t think it would matter. It was before you met him.”
“He knows you touched me against my will the other day. He was already hunting you down for that and now you are a dead man, Blaise.”
Blaise’s eyebrows sloped.
“I barely touched you. And how was I to know you were going to be his mate when we dated and I wrote the letter?”
I scoffed, “You can try to reason with him when he catches you. But he hasn’t even read the letter and you saw the fury in his eye. He is not a reasonable man.”
Blaise bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair.
“You have to go,” I said, “To another state. Country! Fucking planet!”
“I'm Alpha. I can't just leave my pack,” he said.
“Leonidas will kill you if you stay. Did you see the way he glared at you? Did you see the darkness?”
Blaise tightened his jaw nervously, “Oh shit.”
“Go out the back, go straight into the forest and run. Never come back. And don't go to the Cerridwen village either. He’ll be looking for you.”
“So I just abandon my pack? What if he sends his men there? I’ve heard what he does to packs, Nelda.”
“I'll go to warn them,” I said, “Leonidas is already furious with me anyway.”
“Thank you, Nelda.”
I nodded and he marched out.
Chapter 19
October 13th
When I was sure the coast, I sprinted out of the diner and through the forest toward Cerridwen pack village. Despite the chill of fall in the air, my skin soon grew clammy and my heart pumped hot blood through my body.
When I got to the village, there was utter carnage. Children screamed, fires burnt and people fled in every which direction.
I grounded to a halt, my eyes wide as I recognised the uniform of the men causing it.
Stella soldiers.
I was too late.
A hand grabbed me and pulled me behind a wall.
“You don’t want to be here right now, Nelda. It’s not safe,” Brynn Sycamore, Blaise’s father and the ex-Alpha of Cerridwen said.
I couldn’t take my eyes off a screaming child in his mother’s arms as she raced across the village
“These men are looking for Blaise. I have no idea why or who they are but I need you to get out of here. We’ve already lost two of our people.”
My stomached churned as I looked at the fear stricken across Brynn’s face.
“They’re Alpha Leonidas Thorn’s men,” I said.
His face drained of colour.
“What?”
“Alpha Thorn is my mate and he just found out Blaise was my boyfriend. When I met with Blaise the other day, he grabbed me and Leonidas detected his scent on my body. He was livid and clearly still is.”
Brynn ran his hand through his hair, biting down on his lip.
“Alpha Thorn is your mate?... and he wants my son dead? And does he know you're here?”
I shook my head, “He doesn’t know I’m here. But I promised Blaise I’d explain to you why he’s had to flee.”
Brynn cursed beneath his breath.
“My people are being killed because Blaise touched you?”
I nodded, “It’s an extreme response and Leonidas is a ruthless man. But I’ll find him and do everything I can to stop him.”
Brynn nodded, “Thank you, Nelda. But be careful. Don’t put yourself in danger.”
I stepped around the wall where the soldiers were. There were only five of them but they were armed with knives and the havoc they had reeked was catastrophic.
“Blaise Sycamore!” one of them bellow. “Come out or we will keep cutting the throats of your pack until there is nothing left of it. We know you’re here.”
“Hey!” I shouted, waving my arms.
Their stony eyes all turned to me.
“Blaise Sycamore isn’t here,” I said, “Stop terrorising innocent people.”
“Call the Alpha,” one of them said to another, glancing at my mark, “Tell him we’ve found her.”
“Get off Cerridwen territory,” I ordered.
“We are carrying out Alpha Thorn's orders,” another said, marching toward me and grabbing my arm, “And you shouldn't be here. Julius, get her out the way.”
“Blaise Sycamore isn't here,” I growled, pulling my arm out of his grasp, “And don't you dare touch me.”
The soldier sighed, “Luna, we have been told to thoroughly search this territory.”
“Then search it but why do you need to kill, ransack and burn?”
The first beckoned to Julius who came towards me as he pulled out his phone and dialled a number.
He then nodded to the others. They raised their knives again and spread out across the square. I needed a better distraction than this.
So I bolted. I knew these woods better than they did and I wound through the trees hoping they wouldn't want to risk being responsible for losing me and follow, leaving Cerridwen alone.
The forest was dense here so being small and nimble for once worked to my advantage against these burly men.
After fifteen minutes, I reached the road and the men were nowhere in sight. But they'd be searching for me and not fulfilling Leonidas's heartless orders so I walked along the road in a relative amount of peace.
But I couldn't help cry. How could Leonidas be so cruel? If this was his response to such a minor thing, I couldn’t bear to think what else he was capable of.
About five minutes of striding along the forest-lined road with tears streaming down my cheeks later, a black car slowly rolled up beside me.
“Get in,” Mateo ordered, rolling down the window.
“No,” I spat unable to look at the Beta of a pack that would do such a horrible thing to another innocent and peaceful pack. “I am done with Leonidas. I will not be his mate and I do not want to ever see him again.”
“Nelda,” he said deeply.
I only walked faster.
He sighed, stopped the car and got out before frustratedly slamming the door.
He marched towards me and I began to run. Of course, he broke into a run too and it was only a matter of seconds before his long legs caught up to me and seized me around the waist.
Although I didn't appreciate the unwanted manhandling, I did observe that he was far gentler than Leonidas would have been. If we are going to look at the bright side of things.
“Let go of me,” I growled as he tried to get control of my flailing arms and legs.
“I am not your enemy,” he said in a deep voice after finally catching my wrists and holding me completely still. “I am just doing my job to protect you.”
“Protect me from what? As far as I can see, the only person who I need protecting from is your Alpha. He really does live up to his reputation, doesn't he? Misery and despair really do follow him like a dark shadow.”
“I need you to get into the car, Nelda,” he replied calmly. “I'd prefer not to force you but I will if you do not cooperate.”
“Why do you work for him?”
“Because he is my brother,” Mateo replied, urging me towards the car as I continued to resist him.
“Then you are in a position to tell him that this is out of order!”
