Chapter 21: Cooper
925 Words
I face this massive wooden door that I dare not open.
From the room just behind me come hysterical cries and the sound of china breaking. Damn, she has character, this wolf from nowhere. The thought alone brings a smile to my lips. I chase it away immediately, to compose myself. I must not be moved by the behaviour of this foreigner. Even though… now that I’ve imprinted on her, can I still treat her as something outside of my pack? Am I even capable of it?
These questions, too, I repress. I am an Alpha. The leader of this pack. So many things escape me right now. The disappearances, the likely involvement of vampires, the rumours, my own brother’s betrayal… And now these wolves… I know that there are no coincidences. Never. Everything is linked, even if nothing seems clear to me yet. For the sake of my pack, my family, for our survival, I must remain on my guard. Don’t get distracted.
Jaws clenched, I open the door. To catch a vase in flight, before it crashes into my skull. Around me is chaos. Elinor rocked it and trashed her room. The sheets have been ripped from the bed, the furniture is overturned, and the decoration… well, there is no decoration left, to be honest.
While my hands are still holding the prize vase that I have just saved from a certain end, Elinor freezes in front of me.
"What do you want?" she says, icy. "Have you decided to let me see my friends?"
I stare at her for a long moment. My gaze travels over her long, pale, tangled hair, her smooth, tear-streaked cheeks, her clear eyes and quivering lips, then catches her determined expression. In my chest, my heart races. I have only one desire, that of crossing the few metres that separate us to take her away in my arms, imprison her in my flesh. Mark her and make her mine, finally. However, she’s annoying to provoke me like this! So for the answer, I growl a warning.
"Great, it’s constructive to discuss with you," she can’t help but be sarcastic.
With a flexible gesture, she grabs a clipboard and throws it in my face. By reflex, I let go of the vase which crashes at my feet. Damn it!
In a few steps, I am on Elinor. Fangs out, I lean over her. But the smell of her skin takes hold of my guts, turns me around and, without knowing how or why, I lay my forehead on hers. Against me, she remains motionless.
"I can not..." I breathed.
She still doesn’t move. She waits, motionless, waiting for what I have to say to her. Or maybe her own heart is ravaging her chest too?
Finally, after long seconds of silence, she ends up asking:
"You can’t what?"
Her voice is soft. She pulls her face away from mine and stares at me. The storm within her seems to have passed.
"I can’t…"
What? I don’t know, I don’t know anymore. I can’t free Sixine without losing face, I can’t allow her to roam around with Neeve, I can’t give in to my desire for her, and I don’t even know if I’m capable of protecting the pack in the face of the threats I guess lurking in the shadows. The Alpha of the Bretton pack. On the brink of losing everything, on the edge of the precipice...
As my breathing quickens, Elinor’s sweet scent hits me with even more force. My hands, without my being able to control them, go up to her face and imprison it. Imprinting is supposed to be mutual, so why am I shaking at the thought of her pushing me away? That she doesn’t want me.
No, she still isn’t moving. But I need her to react. Whether she glares at me, pushes me around, or throws all the objects in this damned room at me, I don’t care, as long as she doesn’t behave like a lifeless doll.
Driven by urgency, I seize her lips. Suddenly, with all the fury that is mine, as if everything in my upset existence depended on this kiss. To my surprise, Elinor lets herself go. And I feel the tensions of her body melt against me as if all the barriers erected between us were dissolving in the silence of our exchange.
As if by magic, all my fears fly away. I feel strong, and ready for anything. Yes, Elinor is my fortress, the one that will shelter me from doubts and help me overcome all difficulties, I know it, I am sure of it. Carried away by passion, my hands descend slowly along her neck, brushing her breasts, and I feel her moan between my lips. Finally, my fingers cling to her hips, groping for the hem of her white T-shirt, to pass under it.
And yet, the moment breaks. In a heart-rending cry, Elinor hits me with a monumental slap. The stinging pain on my cheek is nothing compared to the pain that invades my heart and my mind. How could she...
I manage to meet her gaze. I read a strange mixture of fear, regret and courage. Desire too. The same desire that devastates me, but then why...
"Go away," she says.
How could I tell her how beautiful she is right now? How majestic she is in her determination, how much I need her, now and forever?
Miserable, almost ashamed, I flee this room and this she-wolf that drives me mad.
- Writer
