Blood Night Prisoner

Ladders

          My hair was clinging to my face as a few drops of perspiration dripped down my forehead. The midday sun was beating down on me as I continued washing the outsides of the windows of the pack house. I hated being up on the ladder, not because I was afraid of heights, but because I felt like I was on display for anyone outside. Today, with all the wolves from around the territory still in residence with us, there were so many male heads that swiveled around to watch as I stood there in my shorts, reaching for the glass.

         It was the middle of Spring and the weather had really begun warming up. I wiped my head with one of the paper towels and surveyed my work. They had to be crystal clear otherwise Alpha Dean would scream at me and make me do them all over again. After last night's display in the hall with Tristan, I knew I was Public Enemy number 1 on his list today. I was surprised that I wasn't taken to the cells last night after it all happened but I never saw anyone after I celebrated my birthday with my brothers and friends.

         A smile tugged at my lips at the thought. My brothers. They were here and weren't going anywhere. My heart is so full that I have my family back in my life and that I'm not alone anymore. To top it all off, one of my best friends is going to be my sister too! I cannot believe that Chase and Kelly are mates! Kelly is a couple months younger than me. She grew up here in our pack and had confided to me that she always secretly had a crush on my brother Chase. He was gone by the time she came of age and they had no idea they were mates. 

         My thoughts began drifting back to my mate. To be fair, my thoughts haven't really left him since yesterday. Even through my birthday cake and spending hours catching up with my brothers in the kitchen, I kept hoping that Tristan would pop in. Maybe looking for a midnight snack or possibly exploring his new building. Anything to be able to see him again. But he didn't come back to look for me. I made my way to my room after we all decided to go to bed and I lay awake most of the night tossing and turning thinking of him. 

         When I did manage to sleep, my dreams were filled with his turquoise gaze and full lips covering my mouth. His expert hands exploring my body and finding their way under my blouse. Remembering my dream, I could feel the heat of his body pressed against me as his hands massaged my back. Slowly, they made their way around to my belly and caressed the smooth skin just above the waist of my skirt. My head rolled to the side as a low moan escaped. His mouth moved to my neck and began to kiss and lick the sensitive spot where his mark would eventually go. As I moaned louder, I felt his fingers inching upwards until they found the soft mounds and began kneading them. He began circling his fingertips over my n*****s and pinching them softly until they were hard little peaks. 

          A low, deep growl interrupted my lovely daydream. I looked up to see Tristan standing at the opposite side of the circular driveway, watching me on the ladder, looking like he was ready to kill someone. He had come from the training fields again and looked like a Greek God standing there in his gear. I smiled at him as we stared at each other but his eyes never softened at me. My heart sunk a little and I felt my stomach lurch. It's the same look I get when Alpha Dean would give me when he would be getting ready to berate me or punish me for something.

          In a few long, quick strides, Tristan reached me and with a murderous glare, grabbed my wrist and ripped me down off the ladder. As I flew downward, he didn't put his arms out to catch me and I fell hard onto the ground with a thud.

          "What the hell is the matter with you?" he said disgusted.

           I stared at him, speechless. I don't understand what he was mad at and I lay in front of his feet with my mouth open, searching for something to say. My knee was bleeding from a gash and my left wrist was throbbing painfully where I had landed on it. It began swelling immediately.

           "That's it? You're just going to sit there? I didn't expect this from you! You didn't strike me as the type to flaunt your ass all over the place, trying to get every wolf in the pack to want to f**k you"

          My jaw dropped even further! I couldn't believe what he thought! "I'm doing nothing of the sort! Don't you dare try to insinuate that I was doing anything at all. I'm not that kind of girl!" I shouted at him. I had NEVER come back at an Alpha. Not even my father. I was taught proper respect by my parents and knew the repercussions of what could happen. The guards and warriors that were returning for lunch all stopped in their tracks when they heard me come back at Tristan.

         He looked down at me with disgust and I could feel his fury as he leaned down close to me. He paused before he said anything and his nostrils flared as he took in my scent.

        "I can smell your arousal" he gritted through clenched teeth. "Who was it that you were displaying yourself for and getting wet over?"

        I was now mortified!  This was going sideways on so many levels. How could I admit that I was standing on that ladder, reliving my steamy dreams about HIM from the night before? We have barely had a couple conversations and although we kissed a couple times, that was just primal instincts that took over over finding our mate. Most wolves actually mate immediately that first day, solidifying their bond. I knew that would never be me but a few kisses couldn't hurt. But this man before me was virtually a stranger and I wasn't ready to start divulging all my inner thoughts and secrets to him yet. My wolf was pacing back and forth. She didn't like where this was going either. She was extremely upset about me being handled that way by our mate and I could feel her agitation.

           "I wasn't displaying my self for anyone." I whispered. The pain in my wrist was starting to really get intense now and it was turning colorful shades of purple and blue. I gulped as I tenderly held it with my other hand. Tristan looked down at my arm, finally noticing my injury and nodded towards one of the warriors. I looked up and Brayden was standing over us. 

            "Yes Alpha?"

            "Take her to the clinic and have the pack Dr. look at her arm."

            With that, Tristan stood up and promptly walked away towards the front doors. As he disappeared inside, I watched him go through a blur of tears. I'll be damned if I would cry in front of him again. My heart felt so heavy as I looked around at myself still sitting where I had fallen. I felt a large hand gently lift my good arm to pick me up off the ground.

            "Are you alright Luna?" Brayden asked as I dusted the loose dirt and grass off of my legs.

            "I'm ok Brayden, thank you" I muttered. "I think I really do need the clinic though. And please, call me Jenna. With how things are going, I'm not so sure 'Luna' is the correct title anyway."

            Brayden looked at my wrist and gently probed along the bone. I let out a hiss as he made contact. "Yeah, I'm not a Dr. but this bone shouldn't move this way" he smirked. He walked me over to the 4x4 that was parked in the driveway and opened the passenger door for me. I grabbed the handle with my good arm and hoisted myself onto the seat as he walked around to the driver's side. As he turned the key, the engine roared to life and we pulled out of the driveway. The clinic was only ten minutes away. It was state of the art and had everything we could need there. My father had it built when I was a young pup. There were a handful of them throughout the territory for all the families as well as a pack hospital that was staffed with some of the best werewolf doctors in the world. We couldn't exactly walk into a regular hospital without giving our entire species away.

           I sat in uncomfortable silence while the car cruised down the main road and I decided to try and break the ice. "How long have you been in our pack Brayden? I don't remember meeting you when I was younger. I only remember you after Alpha Dean took over" .

           "I didn't grow up here. I'm from the midwest originally. I came out here to the East coast about five years ago" he kept his eyes on the road while he spoke.

           "What made you move out here?"

            "I had some.....issues that I needed to sort out." Brayden said shortly. 

             "But you never went back home." I stated rather than asked.

             "I'm needed here more".

              "Wow, you seem to be a really loyal wolf. Not like a lot of the other guards and warriors that follow Alpha Dean." I breathe. With each bump of the road, my wrist feels like it's going to explode.

             "I wouldn't say I'm loyal so much to Alpha Dean" he finally pulled into the clinic parking lot and parked the car in the spot closest to the door. He turned to me and hesitated.

             " I want to be honest with you Jenna. When I first got here, it wasn't taken kindly that I was....trespassing. I had left my pack. So when I was traveling around, I was pretty much a rogue." My breathe caught in my throat at the word 'rogue'. 

              "Your father's guards were patrolling the perimeters and found me. It got pretty ugly when they tried to detain me and I wound up killing two of them. By the time that fight ended with them dead, six more had shown up and overcame me. I never meant for that to happen. I was just trying to pass through and mind my own business." He stopped and took a deep breathe before he dove in again." They brought me to your father and he had me sent down and put into the cells. I had been there about a week or so and I was waiting on my execution when you were brought in yourself."

            The world around me stopped as I looked into Brayden's face. His eyes were staring right into my soul and my heart began to hammer in my chest. 

            He knew.

            He knew exactly what happened to me.