You Belong To Me

Chapter Five: Wren

I know she's avoiding me.

She's been avoiding me all week.

I could tell by the look on her face on Saturday afternoon that she wasn't very happy with me. Granted, seeing me with another woman would be enough to piss any woman off, but I didn't think she really had the right to be angry with me, She and I weren't official, in any capacity, anyway.

It didn't change the fact that I needed to talk to her about this engagement and make her understand that I wouldn't be going through with it.

So I had no choice but to show up at her house unannounced.

I was allowed inside by the guard at her gate, and I drove up the neat, well-maintained driveway to the rather modest stucco house.

I parked my car by the garage and got out to knock on her door.

I waited patiently when I didn't immediately hear anyone shuffling around inside, and when a full minute had passed, I knocked again.

Voices now, or just the one really.

She was talking to someone on the phone, I think. Her steps got closer and closer until she opened the door, frowning gently when she realized it's me.

Her pale blue eyes roamed over me warily, but she opened the door a little wider to allow me entrance into her marble entryway.

I leaned down into her arms and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek, which she barely even acknowledges.

She shuts the door behind me, and I follow her out to the terrace in the back, where the sun is shining down on the bright, luscious garden.

I catch the smell of roses, orchids, lilies and a few other flowers I'm not too familiar with.

She gestures towards a dark grey L-shaped seating area with plump cushions and a small, yet wide wicker table.

I take a seat on the comfortable lounge set and watch her as she pushes her red mane over her shoulders and says her goodbyes to whoever is on the other line.

"Hello, Wren. How are you?" she asked when she was done, waving a hand at one of her staff.

"Well, thanks and how are you?"

"Lovely. Could you get me a mimosa, please. Wren, anything for you?"

I wasn't planning on staying long, but to tell her that in front of her employee would be a little rude of me.

"Bourbon, please."

She lifts a trimmed brow at that.

"It's not even six o' clock yet."

I resist the urge to point out that she'd just asked for alcohol as well, and remove the sunglasses from my face.

"It's just past four, so I think we'll be fine," I said instead.

She shrugs casually and crosses one of her long legs over the other.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Like I mentioned last week, I need to speak to you about the engagement. But you've been avoiding me all week," I said, tapping the frame of my shades with my index finger.

"I have an idea of what you're going to say, so forgive me if I'm not thrilled to hear it," she said, leaning back in her chair.

A woman in black uniform arrives with our drinks, and places them gently on the wicker table before darting back inside the house and closing the doors.

"So you know I'm not happy about this."

"That much was obvious during dinner last week. Anyone could see you hated being there," she said, lifting the glass to her red lips.

"Yes, well, given our history, I don't really want to marry you. No offense."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and tapped a manicured finger to her chin.

"Is this about that misunderstanding where you accused me of cheating on you?" she asks with a raised brow.

"No," I said, annoyed with her tone. "I mean the part where you called the police on me and began to make unsubstantiated allegations of my being violent with you to get your way."

She pouts prettily, then shrugs as if her actions were inconsequential.

"It worked for a while, didn't it?"

I frown at the arrogant smirk on her face and regard her seriously.

Since that incident all those years ago, I've been curious about why she would do something so manipulative and evil just to keep dating me.

Granted, being with me had a few perks, but to drag my name through the mud to get her way was a really low blow, even for her.

"Why are you like this? What happened to make you so damn... vindictive?" I asked her, my gaze pinned on her startlingly beautiful features.

"I've always been like this, Wren," she replied bluntly. "I just tried really hard to hide that part of me around you because I knew you wouldn't ever want to stay if I showed my true colours."

She's not wrong.

I didn't want to say I had a type necessarily, but the bitchy manipulation was a major turn off for me.

Honestly, I didn't want to be on guard in my own home, constantly wondering when my wife would lose her s**t and throw a glass or shoe at me, the way Aurora used to when I did something to piss her off.

"So you'd agree to this farce even though you know how I feel about you? It would never work, Aurora. You and I aren't exactly compatible with one another."

She meets my gaze seriously, her expression entirely blank.

"Compatibility has nothing to do with it, Wren. We both know that alphas never marry for anything as frivolous as love. They marry for advantage and power. The only reason your mother hasn't exiled my family yet is because she's been waiting to spring this arrangement on you. It's sad that you're the only one who didn't know that. I had to make it work because otherwise, we'd be thrown out of the pack. That's the ultimatum I got."

She shakes her head slowly at the shock on my face, her shoulders slumping as if she's already tired of this entire conversation.

"I have my own life back in New York, but my parents mean the world to me and there's nothing I wouldn't do for them." She turns her head away to take in the view of the forest in the distance, her gaze a little far away.

"I know how much the pack means to my father," she says quietly.

I didn't want to believe what she was telling me, but Aurora has absolutely nothing to gain from telling me all of this right now.

It wouldn't help her chances of getting me, and she most certainly wasn't going to succeed at turning me against my family.

Even though I was really pissed off at my mother right now, I wouldn't ever believe Aurora over her.

"To be honest with you, Wren," she begins, tracing a slender finger on the stem of the glass.

"My whole life, I've been told that I was destined to marry you. Almost every day, the subject of 'acquiring' you comes up, so it shouldn't shock you, it shouldn't surprise you the lengths I was willing to go to for you."

"I'm not an object, Aurora. I'm an actual person. And while I understand how important this arrangement is, I don't want either of us to destroy each other the way we did before. It would be even worse this time around," I argued.

"Would it?" she asked softly. "We could come to an understanding at least. You could do or see whoever you wanted, as long as you were discreet, and I could have my life in New York."

I shook my head slowly, my expression sombre.

"I won't want to step out on my marriage. It invites all kinds of negative energies and the enemies we have could use that weakness against us."

She meets my gaze once more, her blue eyes as intense as I've ever seen them.

"I saw you with that other woman, remember? I watched you wipe that sauce off her lips and suck at it like it was the best thing you've ever tasted. You'd last two years, maybe three, before pouncing on her."

Before I could say anything, she lifted a hand.

"Please don't try to insult me by lying. I could feel the tension between you two from across the room."

I let out a breath, tapped my glasses against my knee and looked away from her.

She was right, of course.

Not about me possibly cheating on her, because as much as I hated to admit it, I knew I wouldn't actually be unfaithful to her.

She was right about the heat, the tension that had been simmering between Gene and I.

I hadn't even noticed Aurora until she'd touched me, and even when she had, I'd secretly been wishing it were Gene's hand on me instead.

I'd thought about her nearly every hour since meeting her, wanting to see her again. Actually praying I would run into her in town, or something.

"And how would you cope with that? Knowing I was attracted to someone else in that way? With that much intensity."

"I'd be comforted in the knowledge that you're my husband, and that you come home to me every night."

I shook my head.

That sounded incredibly wrong, and twisted. I didn't like Aurora as a person because of the s**t she's done before, but she deserved better than that.

"Maybe we could find another way to keep you in the pack without us marrying," I suggested. "Is there anything that you want? Anything you'd be willing to do?"

For the first time since I've known her, Aurora's expression turned sad, almost wistful, as if she were heartbroken.

"I just..." she trailed off, looking away. "The only thing I've ever wanted was you, Wren. Everything else, I've worked so hard that I've earned it for myself, but you've always managed to elude me."

I had no idea what to say to that.

"She knows that, your mother. She knows that I wanted you badly enough to file false allegations against you. And she knows-"

"What?"

My heart stopped at her words and I stared at her in shocked disbelief.

She paused, tensed up at the expression on my face. I inhale deeply, exhaling slowly in an effort to calm the rage suddenly swelling in my chest.

"What did you just say?" I asked, my voice low even to my own ears.

"I thought you knew. She s-said that you were..."

My vision darkened around the edges from the overwhelming emotion and I grabbed the edge of the table so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

I heard the snap of wood before Aurora stood up, her eyes wide with fear and surprise.

My entire body was trembling with fury, and I had to close my eyes and force myself to take in deep breaths.

In and out.

In and out.

Aurora sits back down carefully, as if she's afraid I might lose my s**t and attack her.

"I thought you knew. I thought you'd told her everything that happened and asked for her help," she said, her voice small.

"I didn't, but I should've guessed that she always knew. What exactly did she say to you?"

Aurora regarded me quietly, trying to get a read on my emotions.

"I'm fine, Aurora," I lied. "Tell me."

And so she did.

By the time she was done, I was fuming, and I barely realised I had left her house and was driving back home until I had to stop at a traffic light.

All I saw was red, and my heart was racing like I'd just run a marathon.

I hated when this happened.

I'd just learned to control my temper a few months ago, but I could already feel that tight leash snapping each time I thought about everything that had happened.

By the time the light turned green, I was gripping the steering wheel so hard that I was actually crushing the polished metal in my hands.

I parked the car and got out in a daze. I didn't greet anyone I passed, or even acknowledged their presence. I may or may not have opened the front door to let myself inside the house.

Maybe I looked for them, or maybe I was lucky enough to find them both sitting in the tea room, going over the newspaper as they snacked on those ridiculously expensive biscuits my mother loved so much.

The fluorescent light shined above them as they read on, unaware of my presence.

As soon as I took a step inside that room, what little control I had of my emotions snapped.

But instead of anger, all I felt was a deep, burning hurt.

"You knew," I said.

Both my parents turned in my direction at the sound of my voice, neither of them speaking.

"You knew what she did and you still wanted me to marry her."

It takes a second, but I see it dawn on them.

"I've always known you didn't really care for me as much as you claim to, since you never wanted me around, but this," I said, my tone defeated and hurt.

This was probably the last thing I'd expected from them, but I should have known. It was so damn obvious.

"Wren-"

I raised a hand to silence my mother, and met her gaze with my own. For once, I let the hurt, heartbroken little boy I still was on the inside out.

I let the disappointment for every game and recital missed, for every visit or parent/teacher conference cancelled show on my face.

"I don't get what I ever to deserve such neglect from either one of you, I really don't. For years you've cast me aside like I didn't matter and I never once complained. But I finally get it now. I really do."

My mother stood up and approached me, her eyes shiny with emotion.

"Wren, listen. It isn't what you think."

A part of me very desperately wanted to let her explain herself, but another, deeply hurt part of me didn't want to hear it.

So I stepped back.

She paused.

"I'll pack my things up and leave tomorrow morning. I think it's time I find somewhere else to live."

I spared a minute to look at each of them, then turned around and left the room.

I had to get the f**k out of there.

I pushed open the doors to the backyard and felt the breeze on my face, aware of the full moon shining faintly in the purple sky above me.

I began to walk towards the forest, needing the freedom it provided.

It wasn't longer before I was running.

Running fast.

With every step taken, my wolf claws at my chest in an effort to get out. The moon called to him, beckoning. It promised a sweet relief from all the pressure, the disappointment, the lies.

I could almost feel the ache from my body shifting the further I went, my bones breaking and growing and shifting, muscles expanding over the sinew until I was running on all fours, my jaw restructuring until my teeth were bared.

My hair lengthened until every bit of skin was covered in a fine, snowy white fur. My paws pounded rhythmically against the ground of the forest, the wind blowing between my ears made me feel free, if only for a little while.

I had no idea where I was going, but I finally came to a stop when I realised I was standing on my favourite rock in the woods.

I inhaled, my breath shallow and quick from the galloping.

I turned to the moon and howled, long and loud, knowing fully well I was too far away to be heard from anyone in my pack.

So I sat down on the rock, and rested my head on my front paws, my eyes still on the moon.

I sat there, unmoving, for hours. I watched the sun set, painting the sky in vast, vivid arrays of red and orange and pink, a beautiful, graceful end to a shitty, shitty day.

The hours continued to pass until I was certain it was almost midnight, yet still I didn't move. I thumped my tail on the ground, listening avidly to the sound of different creatures running around the forest, people camping in the far, far distance.

I heard other wolves running around in reserved parts of the woods, playing and nibbling at each other lovingly.

The sound of a racing heartbeat, and the accompanied fear and adrenaline rushing through the wolf's body.

It howled, a low, almost pathetic sound that I could barely pick up from here. I dismissed it at first for a new, frightened wolf on its own.

When it came again, I raised my head and focused my hearing on the sound, trying to figure out where it had come from.

I responded with a howl of my own, so powerful that it sent the few birds perched on the branches around me off in numerous directions.

I waited, listened.

When it came again, I realised that I recognised this wolf. I leapt off my rock, temporarily suspended in the air as I fell, fell, fell.

I hit the ground running, using every bit of speed I could to get to the weakened wolf before it was hurt any further.

I heard him cry out for me again, only this time, he was a hell of a lot closer to me than before.

I stopped, sniffed the air and changed course, my large body smacking into the trees I passed on my way to him.

I got there just in time to see him catch a shiny bullet to the head the sent him crashing into a tree. He whimpered pathetically, then fall to the ground.

Dead.

Almost instantly.

I turned in the direction that the bullet had come from, and began to growl in warning at whatever was out there.

Now that the sense of urgency was gone, I became a bit more aware of my surroundings.

The sudden, strange drop in temperature, the dark, almost oppressive air that suddenly filled the forest.

And the silence.

It felt like every living thing in this part of the forest was hiding, waiting with bated breath for what was coming.

I heard a horse snort, neigh.

And there they were.

There were three of them, mounted on top of massive, black horses. Their heads were covered in wide-brimmed hats, their dirty, straggly hair wet beneath them.

They didn't have any faces, just smoky shadows that turned in my direction when I began to growl low in my throat.

Their gleaming red eyes seemed to warn me to stay out of it, to let them take what they had come for, but I backed up until I was standing over the dead wolf, shielding it from them.

I let out a low, gravelly breath, my ears standing on end.

I watched them get closer, and my loud breathing turned to warning growls that caused the few animals that were still around to hide even deeper in their holes.

When the one in the middle raised a gun at me, his dark coat covering up most of his skeletal frame, I let out a vicious roar that caused the trees closest to me to tremble.

A thick, misty cloud of my warm breath fogged in the air as the ground beneath me vibrated.

They came to a stop about a yard away from me, and I readied my body for attack, baring my ten inch canines at each of them.

I clawed the ground with my paws, waiting.

When he pulled the trigger, I effortlessly dodged the bullet and pounced on him, immediately latching my teeth into his chest and pinning him to the ground before ripping him in half.

I dived out of the way as the others fired at me, using the trees as cover until I circled back around. I leapt out at the closest one, dismounting him from his horse before reaching out a paw at the other one and smacking him off his seat.

The horses neigh furiously, pawing at the air with their front hooves, their dead eyes looking down at me menacingly.

They charged, with one managing to bump into me, sending me a bit of balance.

I attack it first, clamping down with every bit of force on its neck, beheading it in a second.

The blood sprays against my fur, and I turn my attention to the horse, killing it just as quickly.

By the time I'd killed ththe last one, blood dripped from my mouth, dirtying my paws and running down the front of my exquisite coat.

I readied myself for another attack, still snarling and growling viciously.

Behind me, I heard the hunter I attacked first stand up, I turned in shock, frozen to the spot as he reattached his lower half with the top.

What the hell?

I hesitated then, uncertain on how to proceed now that the other one had rejoined the fight after I'd ripped it apart.

That brief pause costs me dearly.

I heard one of the other two pull the trigger. The bullet catches me in the right thigh.

I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out, backing away just a bit so I had all three in my line of sight.

They surrounded me, and I turned this way and that, trying to figure out which of them would fire first.

I moved just as the tallest among them raised his gun, his bullet narrowly missing me as I pounced on him, digging my claws into his chest.

He barely acknowledged the attack, and except for his hat falling to the ground, revealing a non-existent face, it seemed I hadn't even touched him.

Another bullet found its way into my body, this one burying itself in my right shoulder. My fur and skin burned, and I roared from the pain. I stumbled just a bit but reached out to swipe a large claw at one of them.

Another gunshot.

This one got me in the side, and I fell to the ground, my body writhing in agony.

Normal bullets wouldn't have hurt this much I thought.

These were either tipped with silver or laced with wolfsbane because I could literally feel them burning muscle and bone.

I howled, then snarled as I got up to face them.

But I was weak, and my shoulder was already tensed up in excruciating pain. I could barely stand, never mind fight.

A continued attack would only result in my death.

The smartest thing to do was run.

I didn't have a choice.

Nobody knew I was even out here and whoever may be watching this right now was undoubtedly hiding to save their own asses.

I started to back away toward the trees, keeping both eyes on all three of them.

Then I caught a familiar scent.

It was so faint that I think I imagined it.

But no, there it was again. I heard movement then, followed by a powerful growl.

I watched, transfixed, as a woman with raven dark hair and glowing purple eyes leapt from behind them.

She did a forward somersault through the air, her strange, glowing sword shining in the darkness as it sliced one of the hunters down the middle.

She landed on both feet, then whipped her head back to remove the hair from her face, her weapon raised in front of her.

There's a moment of absolute silence before the one she'd attacked disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke.

She moved the weapon in practised, expert movements, then advanced to the one to her left.

I watched in awe as she fought the hunter, ducking and dodging effortlessly while her blade sang through the air.

It was only when the remaining hunter raised his gun at her back and aimed, that I summoned the last of my strength and sprung into action.

I bite down on his arm, dismembering him instantly. He loses his gun and I take the opportunity to attack again.

My rage boils my blood to molten lava, and I rip him apart with my bared claws, growling the entire time.

I am fueled by the fury of being shot at, and I kept going until he also disappeared into a cloud of smoke beneath me.

I turned back to her just as she sheathed her sword in the scabbard, my breathing heavy, and she met my gaze for a second before taking in the blood from my wounds.

Her eyes flashed with concern and the adrenaline rushing through me faded in an instance, leaving me weak and in pain.

She approached me with both hands raised, moving slowly.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. I just want to check to check your wounds, okay?" she said, reaching for me.

I was easily ten times her size, and towered over her like a giant, but there was no fear in her eyes as she gently began to part my fur in search of the bullets.

When she digs a finger into the hole in my shoulder, I lash out and narrowly miss her hand before she pulls it away.

"Look, if I don't get that s**t out of you as soon as possible, you won't make it back to the trail. There's wolfsbane coursing through your body right now, a very lethal kind. I need you to stop being a baby," she snapped.

I glared at her in anger, but lay down slowly so she could get the one buried in my side first.

She knelt down beside me, and glanced at me warily before pulling out an army blade.

I whimpered with dread as the sharp tip flashed in the moonlight, and I looked away quickly.

This would be a hell of a lot easier if I could shift back, but I had a feeling that would probably kill me. So I let her do what she had to.

I cried out when she started digging out the bullet with her knife, and squirmed in agony as the poison from the bullet pumped through my body.

I must pass out at some point because when I come to, the burning has stopped. My head is spinning from the toxins in my blood and my heart is pounding loudly in my chest.

She helps me up, then gently begins to lead me back the way she had come.

I don't protest when she moves beneath me and settles me on her back, carrying most of my weight on.

Which is no easy feat because I must weigh well over eight hundred pounds.

But somehow, she managed to carry me up an incline with her slight, almost fragile body. I let out a long breath, somewhat lulled by the slow, rhythmic motion.

"I got you. You're going to be okay," she said.

Upon realising that I was safe now, I allowed myself to drift into unconsciousness.