12.
1783 Words
CHAPTER 12
RINI POV
This was getting out of hand. I had never ever seen any of the guys talk to the Luna like this and she usually kept her outright hatred for me hidden from them, choosing to physically punish me when no one was around to bear witness and always in places not easily seen.
“Don’t force this,” Lyall said quietly. “You won’t like the outcome.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, maybe that he and the twins were already surpassing the strength of Alpha Randolph so really, she stood no chance in a power play.
Taking advantage of their distraction, I shuffled enough that Rafe placed me on the ground, his focus entirely on his mom.
Feigning fear, I took a shaky step back, holding Rafe’s shirt in front of me.
Let him think I am using him as a shield. Let him believe I am ad defenceless and pathetic as the Luna believed.
I tuned the rest of what they were growling out and began to formulate a plan, I would give anything to have Suzie’s gifts right now and scurry away as a little mouse, hell I would even take the ability to shift into a cockroach.
“What is going on here?” boomed Alpha Randolph and then Ralph was in front me too, effectively blocking me from everyone’s sight.
“Mom has lost her mind,” Ralph ranted. “Rini is harmed, possibly with a head injury and mom doesn’t want us to call Doc because she feels it’s wasting resources.”
Very slowly Randolph turned to look at his wife.
Yeah this is definitely my cue to go. I hoped all my years of making myself as small and silent as possible would benefit me now.
I let go of Rafe’s shirt slowly, one finger at a time and then bit down on the pain as I backed away from them. Bizarrely I could hear a sweet females voice in my head chanting the same thing over and over again.
Swift as the wind, silent as a grave. Swift as the wind, silent as a grave.
I began to repeat it to myself as I stepped away, over and over again like a mantra. The soothing females voice in harmony with mine. I don’t even know why I closed my eyes when I should be watching where I was walking but I so desperately wanted to see who she was, felt closer to her with my eyes closer, needed the peace and…love I felt when I heard her.
Who was she? I didn’t particularly care. I just didn’t want her to go away, would do whatever she said if it meant she stayed with me.
You’re safe she said, her voice getting faint. Be at ease sweet girl.
No. No!
Don’t leave me. I begged.
I will never leave you.
I swear I felt phantom hands on my chest, pressing with gentle warmth.
Be strong.
Then she was gone.
I snapped my eyes open and found I had somehow made it to the back door, completely unnoticed and in seemingly impossible timing.
I shook my head and sighed. Maybe I did have some sort of brain injury after all. Not that it would matter if I did, no one here would care if I died except maybe Suzie and what was I really living for anyway?
The voices started to rise again and I really didn’t want to get dragged back into the Alpha off that was taking place. I was actually in desperate need of a hot shower and a nap, today had been a total s**t show and I was ready to put it - and myself - to bed.
Someone else could handle dinner tonight, they could eat a frozen meal for all I cared, for the moment I had nothing left to give.
*
Obviously when you wake up on gravel, covered and sweat and blood you know in some level that you’ve been hurt. The fuss the guys had made over me when usually they pretended I didn’t exist or I was merely there for their amusement should have clued me in that perhaps it was more serious than I thought, but I’ll admit, it wasn’t until the hot water started running over my body and I watched the water run red, and then keeping running red that I began to wonder if I should have stayed and have them fight for the right for the doctor to look me over.
A minute in the water was still red and I was back to feeling beyond dizzy with the delightful added bonus of my body aching and my head feeling like it was going to explode any time the water hit it directly.
Open wound up there for sure but I didn’t have the energy to get out of the shower to check it and the hot water felt way too good on my body.
I would go back to the nurses station tomorrow and have them check my head then, surely I could last a few more hours unchecked.
Time ticked on as the water kept caressing my aching skin and I couldn’t remember the last time I had been allowed a shower for longer than 3 minutes. Luna had been known to set a timer before my showers to ensure I didn’t go over, it was why I was always dishevelled looking - I literally had no time, no opportunity and no resources to invest in myself. I should probably count myself lucky that she drew the line at using the guys old underwear and bought me my own. Most of my clothes came from them or donation bins.
I don’t know what I had done to cause such disdain from them. I literally came to them when I was 4 years old, well not even came to them, they found me. I often wondered why the hell they took me in if I was such a burden, they could easily have left me wandering the woods, also could have kicked me out at any point too.
But no, they kept me in their perfect little home watching their perfect little family whilst making it clear I would never be part of it. That my place was as a servant, that I was somehow dirty, insignificant, less than.
The weird thing was that sometimes Alpha Randolph looked at me with fear in his eyes, fear I had done nothing to earn, fear I didn’t understand.
“You’re going to look like an old prune if you stay in much longer.”
A shriek left my mouth before I could stop it. I backed into the shower wall and attempted to cover myself, wildly searching for the source of the voice.
“It’s just me, Ralph,” he said coolly, his back to me.
Except this wasn’t Ralph, this was Rafe and they may look interchangeable, but I could always discern the two.
“Get out Rafe.”
I watched him stiffen, but he kept his back turned. “I told you, I’m Ralph.”
“And I know you’re Rafe, so get out!”
“How do you know?”
“What?” I snapped.
“How do you know who I am?”
“I always know,” I replied impatiently. “Now get out!”
“You’ve been in here for 45 minutes,” he said casually. “I thought you were dead.”
“Well sorry to disappoint you! Now can you please leave?”
“I’m not disappointed,” he said quietly. “But it would devastate me if you had been.”
Wait… what?
“Since you’re obviously not leaving, what do you want?” I asked instead, sliding to the ground and curling into a ball to preserve some modesty… also it felt so nice lying down like this.
“You didn’t being a towel with you,” he replied. “Figured if you didn’t die in the shower, you would die of embarrassment having to walk through the house naked.”
He was not wrong.
“Oh. Well thank you.”
He laughed quietly. “I don’t think you’ve ever thanked me for anything and actually meant it.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever earned my thanks in a way I could,” I returned.
He paused for a moment and then turned around, his eyes closed as he slung the towel over the shower so I could reach it.
“I’m sorry about that.”
Ok, what was going on? Had I actually died after all and I was in some kind of purgatory? Because today was just too much.
I moved to my feet, shut the water off and quickly wrapped the towel around myself before opening the shower door.
He stood facing me but his eyes were still closed. He looked softer like this, more approachable.
In fact, without the perpetual smirk he wore, he looked younger too.
I didn’t mean to do it but impulsively I traced his left cheek with my uninjured hand, his stubble prickly against my skin.
Rafe inhaled a deep breath and if possible, got even more still.
“Why did you really come in here,” I whispered.
“I needed to see you were ok,” he whispered back.
“I’m fine,” I told him. “So why are you still here?”
Rafe’s throat bobbed as he worked actively to swallow.
Tense seconds passed between us, my hand frozen on his cheek, Rafe frozen in place.
“Go to your room,” he said in a quiet command.
“What?”
His eyes snapped open and they were a glowing luminous green, a shifters animal eyes.
“Get away from me while you still can.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, a little hurt that our moment had somehow upset him.
He took one step forward and I felt a long hardness pressing against my stomach.
Oh. Oh.
“Get. Out.” He growled again and this time I ran from him, rushing into my room and locking the door before moving my small drawers against it.
It would do nothing to keep him out if he really wanted to get in, but I needed to feel some distance, that I had at least tried to lock myself away from him.
My heart pounded forcefully in my chest and my head began to follow suit.
“How delightfully dramatic.”
I froze at the deep voice behind me. A voice I had just locked myself in a room with.
Well s**t.
- Writer
