The Rejected Link

Chapter 8: He wants me

I don't know whether it was curiosity that made him ask but I silently prayed that it was a part of him that cared.

When I woke up this morning, I was glad I was still alive. I've never had such an encounter before. I always stayed away from people so someone attacking me for no reason was still a mystery.

I was relieved to know that someone had found me and had even attended to my wounds, to know that it was my mate made me feel even better.

“You could have gotten seriously hurt if I hadn't found you on time!” He stated in a harder tone “You don't just wander into the forest like that. That forest itself is extremely dangerous”.

He goes to sit on the bed, leaving my side almost as if he couldn't bear to be near me anymore. His body is tense, and his legs are shaky; I wish I could feel what he's feeling right now. To know if he feels that blazing heat searing through me as well, the effect of what his presence does to me.

Does my presence affect him as well?

I know he can feel it, if not in himself, from me. Our fragile bond is slowly solidifying, the foundations lying in place heavily. The bond pulls at my heartstrings begging for him.

“Answer me, Ruthni,” He commands, using an alpha’s tone on me. The command runs through my body like molten lava, its heat warming every inkling of my being.

I feel Rudina tremble slightly, the command affecting her but she struggles through it.

I want to drag this on as much as I can. The moment I give him the response he wants, the faster he would want to get rid of me.

So I fight it, it's hard but I do. I take hold of the seat behind me and use it as a wedge to stabilize my aching body. I slowly bring myself down on it and mirror his body.

The atmosphere crackles with tension, the pull of the bond tugging once more. I've read about this before. The moon goddess, in her everlasting wisdom, makes it almost impossible to ignore your mate; only the strong-willed can try and resist.

Even then, it didn't last for long. History has recorded a few individuals who rejected their mates officially, the pain eventually driving them to their deaths.

I didn't want Exol to reject me. Mates don't fall in love on the spot, but there's no denying in your heart once you find them that he or she was made for you.

Exol was made for me and I was made for him.

She designed it so that the pull attracts you to them, strong-willed or not. Even in denial, you always feel the need to be around them, to have their eyes on you, their attention centered on only you and their touch…oh, their touch.

When Exol had rushed to help me earlier and his body came in contact with mine, it was as if I had been lit on fire. My body was electrified by his hands, the sparks flying through me, my heart swelling with joy.

He must have felt that as well.

“You didn't answer” He raised an eyebrow, his face twisting in puzzlement.

“I didn't want to” I was confused as well. I shouldn't be able to do that. No werewolf should be able to resist an alpha's command.

A beta can resist for a while but is still bound to obey. So why was I, an omega, able to resist completely?

“You didn't obey!” He states, standing up.

“I know” My response is short.

“You shouldn't be able to do that” One step.

“I know”

“But you did” Another step.

“I know”

“How did you do that?” He's standing right in from of me, space nonexistent between us. My breath catches in my throat. “I don't know,” My voice is barely above a whisper, but he heard.

He raises his right hand to my face, and I can see it in his eyes, a shrill amount of fascination, minute, but I can see it.

He's fascinated by me! My heart leaps in joy.

He hesitates but eventually places the hand on my cheek, I release a breath I didn't know I held and close my eyes, my body throbbing from his touch.

Heat rushes through me from where his hand is and I lean into it slightly. I open my eyes slowly and see as he watches me intently, and I feel myself shrink under his piercing gaze,

“Who are you?” He whispers.

I don't respond, I physically can't, not with how close he is to me. I'm sure if I opened my mouth to say anything, I'd stammer.

His eyes suddenly drop to my lips, his gaze lingers on my mouth then back to my eyes, a heat spreading through me that has nothing to do with the warmth of his hand.

I can feel my heart pounding against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence. He leans closer, his breath fanning against my face. I'm mesmerized, lost in the intensity of his gaze, his eyes filled with hunger, his scent intoxicating.

Time seems to slow down. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. My eyes flutter closed, and I wait, breathless, for the inevitable.

Just as he's about to close the distance between us, the door opens to reveal Grace.

He jumps away from me like I'm some disease, putting meters and meters between us. His eyes return to their usual stoic expression.

“I am so sorry,” She says, turning her back to us. “Do I come back later or…”

“It's fine, Grace,” He says, clearing his throat.

“I'm here to tend to your wounds Ruthni, Exol had told me to come back when you had taken a shower”

Right, my wounds.

Grace seems nice, but did she have to come in now?

Exol steps aside, heading to the door. “I'll be outside.” He takes one last glance at me, then leaves just the two of us in the room.

Grace smiles at me once he's gone and comes to me with a small box in her hands. I follow her to the bed and sit, taking off the shirt and setting it aside.

“I can hear your heartbeats,” She says, her smile expanding, revealing her teeth.

“I’m sure you can” I respond with a smile of my own.

She took a look at my back. “You had scraped your back pretty badly, but it'll heal in no time.” She applied an ointment to it and then turned to my side.

As she looked at the wound, her eyebrows slowly furrowed together, clear displeasure showing.

“What is it?” I ask, the eerie feeling from earlier coming back.

“Your wound…” She starts, “Can you please bend?” I follow her instructions and bend my body towards the bed slightly.

“I don't understand; you should have healed halfway by now,” She says, sounding confused.

I had noticed this in the bathroom. I had prayed it would heal as time went by but it hadn't.

Suddenly, her voice hardened as she pulled me back by my shoulders and said…

“I think you may have been poisoned”