The Alpha and the Kitten

6

Melody

She was hurting. It still felt like she was on fire. Fire helped. Fire cleansed. She kept her eyes closed and pretended to sleep, trying to ignore the feeling of Denys’ eyes upon her. She knew he was waiting for her to wake up. She had opened her eyes late last night and had seen him asleep on a chair beside her bed. A notebook and pen had been placed on the side. He wanted her to talk. She tried not to think about the fact that he had seen her naked.

“I know you are awake Melody.” Denys said. His voice sounded even, and tired. She frowned slightly, then remembered and smoothed her expression out, without opening her eyes. Denys chuckled, and she heard him move then… wait… did he just kiss her forehead!? She opened her eyes and her gaze met his.

Denys

Fuck. f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k. He had kissed her without thinking. He didn’t even realise until her blue eyes opened wide and he was caught in that innocent almost bambi like gaze. All his breath left him in one big whoosh. Her innocence and venerability caught him and he quickly pulled away from her. He never meant to touch her but now it had happened. It was like being caught in the lights of a car, rushing towards him. This wasn’t how he wanted this conversation to go. He wanted to ask her questions, to have her answers to what had actually brought her here. But now, he couldn’t stop staring at her startled expression. He felt the need to wrap her up in his arms and crush her mouth beneath his.

He wanted to mark her as his. He realised. f**k.

Without saying a word he stood abruptly and left.

Melody

She heard the front door slam. The Alpha was gone. She was alone in the house and suddenly felt it. Her feelings were mixed. He had kissed her, and she didn’t hate it. This was getting too… She swung her legs out of bed and dressed quickly in her old clothes. The bags were in the corner of the room, what they had bought only yesterday still neatly folded an the tags still on them. She spared a glance for them, her heart strangely heavy for a moment as she allowed herself to feel. She didn’t want to leave. But she had to. This was getting too personal.

She stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a few things before heading out. She had never been out in the village alone before. As soon as she did she almost felt all eyes turn to her, she was out of place. A silent cat in the middle of the village of the wolves. She saw Saera notice her and she fled, running to the gates.

Denys

Saera’s mind filtered through. ‘Melody is fleeing’ She said.

It was his fault. He had kissed her. After what had happened to her, no wonder she wanted to flee. She didn’t feel safe with him. He growled and ran back towards the village, searching for her scent. It wasn’t hard to find. She hadn’t changed either. She was still in her human form. If she had then he would never have found her. A cat could outrun a wolf, it was one of the reasons that the wolves rarely had any contact with them. He found her as she was climbing carefully down one of the steep slopes. She looked up as he reached her and her look was so increadably guilty that he momentarily felt his heart melt. She was scared. Of him. He had promised to look after her and she was running from him.

She let go of the branch that she had been using for a guide, and slid the rest of the way down the slope. He growled and barrelled down himself. She was going to get herself killed.

Denys planted himself in front of her and watched as her face contorted into… what? It was pain mostly, pain and guilt. There was no way she would be able to get past him. In his wolf form he took up most of the trail. He growled at her softly, trying not to frighten her. He just couldn’t let her leave.

Melody

She hissed softly, under her breath. Why was he being so stubborn! She was the cat, not him. She tried to push past him, and managed for a moment, or so she had thought. The Alpha sunk his teeth into her top, stopping her. She whipped round and glared at him. The stupid, stupid wolf looked pleased with himself. They both knew that he could just change back into a man and force her to go back. She was nowhere near as strong as him. The wolf watched her. She had to say, he was a beautiful being. She couldn’t remember seeing many wolves but even in this form he had an air of authority. She was drawn to him, but she couldn’t explain how or why. This wasn’t what she wanted. She was not supposed to actually like him.

With a huff, she turned her back on him and sat cross legged on the ground. And the wolf, and the damned man within, gave a strange noise that sounded like a wolfish chuckle. Melody crossed her arms over her chest.