Chosen Page 8

  From the moment our eyes met, I felt like when he looked at me, he saw the real me. Now only saw, but accepted me for who I am. For the “me” he knows so far anyways.

  My guarded heart wanted to believe he was wearing some mask to fool me, but I knew deep down that he couldn’t possibly be the monster everyone portrayed him to be. I was afraid of being tricked. Even now, I don’t want to let my guard down with him, but my wolf trusts him, and I can’t deny that he intrigues me. He’s not like most male wolves, let alone any male Alpha I have ever met or heard of.

  Sounds of a road nearby makes me slow my pace. After a few miles of running I’ve come to the edge of the property. If I cross over, I may never come back. Is this what I want?

  A single day isn’t enough time to get to know someone, but in that short time, he has given me a glimpse of the man he is.

  First, he flew all the way to Alaska for me and went above and beyond to find me when I was taken.

  Second, he has been nothing but kind and respectful to me, even with both of us having our emotions amped up by the attraction to each other.

  Third, watching him with his men and seeing the affection they hold for him says just how good of an Alpha he is. Just like how my uncles interact with my father.

  Last but not least, he took it upon himself to destroy evil men in order to help his and other packs suffering from the same problems. And what does he get in return? A stubborn, selfish brat that runs away at the first sign of trouble. Darien deserves better than me.

  If I leave, perhaps I may find the freedom I have always dreamed of. If I stay, I could have a home I never knew was within my grasp.

  I hadn’t even realized that I had started running back until I could see the house in the distance. Slowing down again, I contemplate what I need to do. If I run away, I may always wonder what could have been. I could actually fall in love with Darien. Something I thought would never be a possibility for me.

  My insecurities flood my thoughts.

  What if he doesn’t want me anymore? After all, he didn’t come after me when I ran. What if my accusation sealed my fate? He may never forgive me for what I said. I’m not sure I can leave with that guilt. Whether he wants me anymore or not, I have to at least apologize. He deserves that, and more.

  I’ve made up my mind, but I’m too afraid to go back inside. I’m not ready to face him and have him tell me to leave and never return. I know remaining here is hopeless. If he wanted me to stay, he would have run after me.

  I hate that he is making me feel this way. I hate that I’m letting myself be so stupid and weak.

  Instead of going in, I sit on the porch swing and rock slowly back and forth in order to help calm my nerves. The last thing we need is another heated fight before inevitably parting ways for good.

  Darien

  She actually ran. All this time she has seen me as nothing more than a murderer. Part of me wanted to stop her, but if she wanted out, who was I to stand in her way?

  I thought she was different. How could I have read her so wrong? I promised myself I would keep the past in the past and keep moving forward, but now it has all come crashing back. All thanks to her. I should have known she was too good to be true.

  Lying back on my bed, I try to clear my mind of the painful memories.

  What do I do now? Call her father and tell him it didn’t work out? Would he hunt her down and kill her for betraying him? What will I do about the pack?

  I could accept another pack’s offer, but I think it’s safe to say that I’m just not cut out for the relationship life. Though things didn’t work out, I don’t think anyone could measure up to Ari.

  With her sweet, intoxicating scent heavily lingering, my thoughts can’t help but drift back to her. My mind replays the instant we met. Seeing her first smile that I glimpsed in the reflection on the car window. Waking to her soft touch. And, wait.

  I abruptly sit back up before concentrating on my thoughts, trying to remember everything she said and did.

  She was obviously very wary of me, and for what I now know why.

  However, she also touched me gently, and I know for a fact that she was attracted to me, just as I am to her. Would she really be attracted to me if she truly believed I was the monster she accused me of being?

  I then consider everything I know about her.

  One, she is a formidable fighter. She even got a couple shots on me minutes ago, which is not an easy feat.

  Two, she wears a tough front, in part, because she actually is tough, but also to hide her vulnerable side. I mean, she chooses hot cocoa over a cup of coffee. Plus, it’s obvious that she is uncomfortable showing her skin.

  Remembering her shyness last night and this morning brings a smile to face, extinguishing some of my anger.

  Three, it’s obvious her father and those other two male wolves I met adore her. Behind her ferocity I can see that there is a sweet, caring woman in there. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.

  Though it’s a small list, I keep coming back to how advanced a fighter she is, and not only that, but how quick she is to take matters into her own hands. Maybe my assumption was wrong. She doesn’t seem the type to just stand by idly by if someone needed help. No one trains themselves to be as strong as she is for no reason.

  Why else would she run though? Did my reaction scare her?

  Putting myself in her shoes, I try to imagine if I had to be sent to a foreign place with strangers, and expected to mate with someone I just met. On top of that, ending up kidnapped and fighting for my life. Against an Alpha, no less. I would probably bolt at the first chance I was given too.

  Granted, I too am expected to mate with a stranger, but I don’t have to leave everything I know behind. Plus, the moment I saw her, she was no stranger to me. She was everything I never knew I wanted or needed.

  What if that’s not the reason she took off though? Of course, there’s only one possible way to find out, and I let her get away. I basically kicked her out into a whole new world with nowhere and no one to turn to. I’m the biggest idiot in the world, either for making her run, or for wanting to drag her back here. I may have lost her forever, but I need to try to fix this.

  Before I can talk myself around in more circles, I sprint out of the house, nearly taking the door off its hinges with me.

  Ari

  After a couple minutes of gathering the strength to confront Darien and apologize, I’m finally ready. Before I can even stand up, a large blur of motion smashes passed the front door, straight passed me, and hurdles towards the woods.

  Feet away from the tree line, he suddenly stops in his tracks before turning back towards the house. My eyesight is pretty good but I can’t read the expression on his face from the distance between us.

  He starts to walk back towards me. Taking his time now. I decide to just stay put, letting him ponder what made me return. Just the same, I ponder the fact that he was actually about to come after me. I just am not sure if it’s a good sign or a bad one.

  His eyes are averted as he steps up on the porch, but doesn’t come any closer. I try to read his features now that he’s closer, but he gives nothing away.

  “Just tell me one thing,” he finally meets my eyes. “Did you know about what my father had been doing? Did you know why I killed him before today?”

  If I hadn’t paid close attention, I might not have heard it, but there is a faint hint of raw, vulnerable, emotion behind his hard gaze. He is honestly concerned about my answer.

  “I had no idea,” I tell him truthfully, and I can tell that he’s paying close attention to my tone, and listening to my heartbeat to make sure that I’m not lying.

  He sighs, the weight on his shoulders seeming to lighten slightly.

  “I’m sorry for judging you without knowing the whole truth. That information never made it to me. To my knowledge, no one else in my pack knew that either.”

  Relaxing more and more by the second, he comes to sit beside me on the swing.<
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  “I’m sorry for my intensity earlier. A lot has happened in a short amount of time, and have us both pretty riled up, but that’s no excuse for me to snap at you.”

  His apology floors me. We’re both silent for a while as the electricity between us becomes apparent again. Maybe he hasn’t noticed, or just doesn’t care anymore.

  Standing up, I move to lean against the pillar to put some space between us. His scent is too intoxicating and I can’t let myself feel anything for him again.

  I’d already known that I had messed things up when I insulted him then ran, but I hate that the next words out of his mouth actually sting.

  “I can try to arrange another place for you, whether somewhere else in the territory I control or in one of the free zones if you wish.”

  It takes everything I have not to react to his words. When I don’t respond right away, I hear him stand and move behind me.

  He catches me off guard when he gently turns me to face him, forcing me to meet his gaze.

  “I don’t want you to go, though,” the huskiness in his voice is my undoing, and it’s my turn to catch him off guard when I rise onto the tip of my toes to press my lips against his.

  I can feel his initial shock before I’m lifted into the air with my back pressed against the pillar that I was leaned against moments ago. His mouth roughly melds to mine, feeding hungrily from me. It is the most intense feeling I’ve ever experienced in my 22 years on this Earth.

  My wolf writhes against the surface, and I can feel her excitement at finding her mate. Our mate.

  Darien’s muscled form pressed against me has me completely at his mercy. Our mouths move together in perfect unison as if we were made for this moment. The heat between us rages like a wildfire and I can feel my body telling me to kick things up a notch.

  This girl has zero experience with boys though, and I hardly know this man kissing my lips as if he needs them to breathe.

  Reluctantly, I put my hand on his chest to push him away and he backs off immediately. How could I have been so wrong about him? I wave him off when he tries to apologize. I probably want it just as much as he does.

  “I’m sorry,” I begin breathlessly, “I just don’t know you that well, Darien.”

  He smiles kindly before taking my hand and leads me back inside the house and into the living room. He deposits us on the couch. I’m not one to be led around like a dog on a leash but I hold back my annoyance. I can’t help but want to follow after him anyways. No longer seeing him as a monster, I can fully appreciate his perfect body without feeling guilty.

  After sitting me down on one end of the couch, he sits himself as far as he can from me before asking, “What would you like to know?”

  With the heat dying down, my shyness rears its ugly head. Aside from my parents and uncles, I didn’t spend much time talking, playing, or doing anything close to flirting with anyone. Fighting and running is all I know. His close proximity, and his arousing scent is not helping my nerves.

  “I guess start with your family, but you don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to.” He sighs in exasperation, but I need to know who my soon-to-be mate is.

  “There’s not much to tell, Ari. I’ll leave out the gory details, but just like I said, my father and some other Alpha’s had been taking advantage of women. Since there’s a shortage of female wolves, they were secretly meeting in undisclosed locations, bringing a new woman from their pack each time, and taking turns,” his voice falters on those last words.

  “It took me a long time to find proof, but when I did, I killed him. I hadn’t planned on taking the position as Alpha, but if I hadn’t, they were going to kill my mom too,” his voice chokes up on the last bit, but his features harden a moment later.

  “That’s awful. Why would they do that?”

  “I don’t want to talk about her,” he says sharply, and his expression tells me not to push the matter.

  “Fine, then tell me about yourself. Any siblings or weird hobbies I should know about?” I try to lighten the mood back up. He gives a small smile and I wait patiently, praying he doesn’t actually have any weird hobbies.

  “Since I became the Alpha at such a young age, I unfortunately don’t have many hobbies or fun, happy stories to tell,” I continue to wait, and he rolls his eyes before he finally gives in. “I like movies, especially old westerns, but the horses in the barn probably gave that away already. Let’s see, my favorite food is a toss-up between steak and chicken wings.”

  “Well yeah, depends on the quality of steak, and what type of sauce is used on the wings,” I chime in, happy to hear that we already have a couple things in common; movies and food.

  “Exactly. See, you get it,” he laughs. “That’s enough about me. Tell me about yourself.”

  At that moment, my stomach growls after talking about food, and my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

  Chapter 9

  Darien

  Shit. I’m not doing a very good job at taking care of my woman.

  I leap up from the couch, and without thinking, start removing my clothes.

  “Hey, whoa! What the hell are you doing?” Ari yells and covers her face with her hands. I laugh at her modesty and quickly shift into my wolf form, letting out a yip to get her to do the same.

  She stares at me with arms crossed before twirling her finger at me, telling me to turn around. I do as I’m told, and I can hear as she rapidly undresses before shifting.

  When I turn back to her, I am completely mesmerized by her wolf form.

  She has a beautiful brown coat, with cute black tipped ears and a black tipped tail. There are also highlights of gold throughout her fur that lightens her stunning color.

  Most female wolves are half the male’s size, and while Ari’s wolf is still considerably smaller than mine, she is taller and stronger looking than most I have seen. She is also more beautiful than any other wolf I have seen, and there are no ugly wolves. She stands above the rest in more ways than I thought possible. And she is mine.

  Maybe she is right about adding some art and pictures to my bedroom. Little does she know is that she will end up being the object of my inspiration. Side by side pictures of both of her beautiful forms. Now that would be a great addition to my walls.

  After I realize that I am probably staring at her like an idiot, I quickly snap myself out of it and turn to head towards the kitchen. I hear her follow behind me. In the wall next to the door that leads out to the back porch lies a secret wolf-sized doggie door. I push through it and wait for Ari on the other side where we will hunt.

  Ari steps out cautiously and takes a whiff of all the scents that are new, but will soon come to be normal to her. Already, the sun has begun to set, but we still have a little bit of daylight. Not that we will need it. In fact, complete darkness would be better in order to avoid being spotted by a human. The property has lots of tree coverage, but we still don’t want to risk anyone calling animal control. Hopefully it’s dark enough that anyone around would just think they saw a large dog.

  Early spring here is really just an extension of winter. It’s April, and the snow is mostly gone, but the air is still frigid, especially at night. Hell, it’s probably nothing to Ari after living in Alaska. She doesn’t even flinch at the bitter chill.

  I check our surroundings, suddenly feeling very cautious in my own town, and I realize that it is because of Ari.

  My wolf’s protectiveness is kicking into overdrive now that we have a mate to watch out for. Even if we haven’t mated quite yet, my wolf recognizes her as so. I know that she is tough enough to take care of herself, but she is mine now, and it is my job to protect her.

  She brushes up next to me, reassuring my wolf and I. Her confidence in her wolf form surprises me. At her request, I try to relax. I take the lead and quietly creep towards the woods surrounding the Ranch. I don’t usually hunt so close to home, but I didn’t exactly have any time to grocery shop before leaving for Alaska, and my mate is hung
ry now. We could have ordered a pizza, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to see her stunning other half.

  Before Ari came around, all we cared about was taking out the bastards bringing shame to our race. Like me, he didn’t really care to find a mate, but now that she is here, he wants to claim her just as much as I do. He knows we must wait though. For now, he is satisfied with the chance to interact with Ari’s wolf. He licks her nose to prove it.

  Technically the wolf and I are the same. Our thoughts and actions are the same, but sometimes my wolf feels and reacts more strongly than a human. My wolf senses things that I might not, and he can try to take over and control me like the hulk, but as an Alpha, I can hold on to my control better than most.

  There are people out there who have completely abandoned their wolf side because they didn’t want a life controlled by the wolf. They had other dreams and goals. Strangely enough, they are technically considered strong to have the ability to control their wolf, but I can’t understand wanting to abandon your own kind. I could never do that to my wolf. He is as much a part of me as I am a part of him.

  Of course, there are those who either can’t control the wolf or choose to let it take over. Those wolves are dangerous and have to be hunted and killed or placed in the wild, away from civilization to remain as wolves.

  As for the last group, there are the lone wolves. They use their wolf and human form just like me, but have chosen not to live in a pack, or they found a human mate. Humans aren’t allowed to know about us, but we don’t tear apart mates. Instead, they are banished to only live in the free territories, with only their mate being allowed to know what they are.

  Before, I didn’t, but I can understand that one a little better now. If Ari were human, I may have given up Alpha for her, or tried to change the rules to be with her. She is definitely a wolf though. A strong, beautiful wolf who has the potential to be a great asset to our pack.