Born of Two

A New Room

Chapter 5

Rosie's POV

I wake up back in the forest. It's the same place we just were, but I am naked and in chains. I am chained to a tree when I hear a c***k in the distance. I wait for the rain to start falling, but nothing comes. Suddenly, I see three men appear in the vast space. One is carrying something in his hand. I pull against the tree, trying to break the chain and run. The more I pull on the chain, the more it draws blood from my hands. I feel a hand on the small of my back. I can feel the tears streaming down my face.

"I want you to bleed for me." Whispered in my ear. I felt the whip break my skin. I scream out in agony. The whipping continues periodically as he runs his hands over my body. I can't fight him off as he continues to whip and touch me. He wraps a collar around my neck and pulls it tight on a leash.

"My mutt."

I scream out in fear, and the whip collides against my skin.

"ROSALYN, WAKE UP!"

I wake up after colliding with Lochlyn. I hit him, holy crap, I hit him. I scurry up to the back of the bed, pressing myself against the ornate headboard. I stare at Lochlyn, holding his jaw and groaning in pain from where my fist collided with his bone. I couldn't believe I had hit him. He stares up at me and just starts laughing.

Why is he laughing? Why isn't he furious with me? Why isn't he leaving?

"Are you ok?"

"Better knowing you have a right hook and can defend yourself when you're asleep."

"I am sorry."

"Why?"

"I hit you."

"I know. I am impressed." He just keeps smiling at me. It actually makes me want to laugh, but I want to seem tough and resistant. "Are you ok, Rosalynn? You sounded like you had a terrible dream."

"Yeah… just a bad dream."

"You want to talk about it?"

"I don't know. I can't decide if I can or should trust you."

"Rosie, honey. You can trust me. Please tell me what I can do to get you to trust me."

"Please stop calling me things like that."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel that. I still don't know what I feel about you. At first, I wanted you to ask me out, and now you are my kidnapper."

"I prefer to think of it as a hero." He says with this adorable half-smile.

"I prefer to think of you as a stranger who took me from my home… so kidnapper."

"Rosalynn."

"Lochlyn, I want to go home."

"You are home. You can't go back to your home." Lochlyn gets off the bed and moves around the room with his hands on his head. It's the first time I notice his arms bulging out of the tight t-shirt he has on and how his shirt is just short enough to see the lower part of his abs. "You can't go home because I can't protect you there anymore. I can protect you here on my pack lands."

"This isn't my home."

"I know, but it can be. It can be, and we," He kneels on the floor next to the bed. "you can build something special and amazing here." Lochlyn looked defeated. "I can see you thrive here, but all you have to do is reject me if you don't want this."

"I don't know what I want."

"Then I will just leave and let you sleep. Before I leave, though, just know that I am here, and my heart is yours; whenever you are ready for it, I will give it all to you." Lochlyn walks to the door and reaches for the handle.

I want to chase after him. I want to give him what he wants at that moment. What is happening to me? Why do I long for him and want nothing to do with him at the same time. It's like my heart and brain were at war with each other.

"STAY!" What the hell…. What the actual hell was that?

"What?"

"I don't know. I think my body just spoke for me but stay."

"Like in…" He pointed at the bed.

"No, hell no. I am not there yet. How bout just in the chair." He nods, and in silence, he moves over to the chair in the corner and curls up. I roll over away from him and close my eyes. I can feel him watching me; his scent fills the room. I close my eyes and fight every instinct to have him curl up next to me. I just want to fall asleep again, but I am scared of the dreams that might haunt me.

Lochlyn's POV.

She is just tossing and turning. Why did I agree to sleep in the chair? This is the worst chair in the whole house. She is conflicted about this all. Why else would she ask me to stay put but then immediately regret it? I need to earn her trust. I don't even know this girl, and I need to gain her trust. I know her favorite color is blue, she loves fabric and gardening, and she is fast. What if I build her a room in the house to spend all her quilting time in. All the material in the world that she can get. Then I got the perfect idea and mindlink with Chase.

"Chase, man, wake up."

"Dude, it's four am, and I am lying next to my wife, and we have not slept much tonight."

"Come on, Chase, that is my sister."

"Yeah, sorry. What's up."

"Rosalynn wants to go home, and since we can't take her home, what if we brought home to her?"

"Like we all move to Omaha."

"Remind me to not wake you up this early again… your not the brightest."

"Give me a break. The sun's not even out yet."

"ok, go back to sleep. Let's go out to the field by the old arena in the morning. Say 6:30? I want to make sure she isn't awake when we go."

I lay back in the chair, satisfied with my new idea of home. Jo will know everything she likes, and I can also add my elements. This will be perfect. It has to be perfect. I grab a blanket off the floor and fall fast asleep again in the chair with my mind made up.

***

I catch myself about to fall out of the chair. It's enough of a jolt to completely wake me up and get my heart pumping. I looked over to make sure I didn't startle Rosie awake. She was still sound asleep, so out she was even snoring a little bit…. God, she is so cute. I move out of the room quickly and back to my room. Oh, my bed. I was so looking forward to sleeping in that. I hop into the shower, wash off the remaining bit of forest from last night off of me, and cool my body off from not sleeping. I jump out, dry off, throw on a t-shirt and pair of grey sweatpants and run out the door. Down the street, I can see Chase staring at me in disdain for making me get him up this early. I can tell he is nursing quite the hangover from celebrations after they went home last. He got on black joggers, a fitted tee, and a black hoodie with sunglasses. His blonde hair is tousled and destroyed. I am sure I can see a hickey on his neck, but I choose to ignore that.

"Thanks for meeting me this early."

"You owe me. So just tell me what we are doing here at the butt c***k of dawn, Loch."

"This…. We are here for this." I am so excited I can barely contain it, but Chase looks at me like an i***t.

"A field?"

"Yup… a home."

"Wait, what…. No man, your not."

"YEAH, IT'S PERFECT!!!!"

"Dude, she barely likes you, and yet your going to build her a house."

"That's the thing she does like me."

"Did you eat some shrooms in the forest last night and forget everything you just heard."

"Nope, but this morning she asked me to sleep with her."

"That's quite the development, but I feel like that isn't entirely the truth…."

"Ok, not with her, but in the room on the chair."

"Ok, that sounds more like the Ros I know."

"But seriously… she wants to go back to Omaha. I am not letting that happen, but what if we built her dream home here for us."

"And the home you already have, Loch?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys. I took two keys off and handed them to Chase.

"No s**t, man, no way. You are giving Jo and me your house? You built that yourself. You always wanted it to be where you raised some pups."

"I know, but dreams change, and plans change even faster. Now you and Jo go make me a ton of nieces and nephews. Raise them in the house, and Rosie and I will live here…. In the field."

"Out of all your crazy, hair-brained, moronic ideas, Loch… this one... This might just work. What can I do to help?"

"I need you and Jo to tell me the things she will like in the house. How many rooms, what colors, furniture. Any information you can give me, the more, the better. Keep this on the down-low. I don't want her finding out. I want it to be ready and waiting so the day she feels and chooses me, we can move in." I clap my hands together so loud it startles Chase… He doesn't understand any of my excitement. Even in his reluctant agreement, I will take whatever I can get. We walk away from the field and back to my house for breakfast. Talking and discussing all the plans for the house ahead, he tells me everything. I learn that she loves light colors and wants a yellow kitchen but not sunflower yellow like a light almost white yellow. That she loves light in the house, but very specifically natural lighting. She likes to read books in the sun and feel the breeze move through the room. She wants blooming flowers next to the windows at all times because of how the smell fills up the house. A backyard big enough for chickens and a garden.

"Chickens? Really?"

"Alpha, I told you she is really into the farming homestead life."

"I didn't think that meant chickens."

"Your lucky Josephine talked her out of buying a baby cow."

"A WHAT!!!"

"Yeah, baby cows are all the rage." Chase just laughed as hard he could. I missed hanging out with my friend. No people to protect, save or destroy. We continued the walk back to the house when we began to see Helena sitting on the porch swing. She looked tired and worried. It made me come back to reality and remember why we were here. I walked a little bit faster, walked up to Helena, and she nodded, which told me that my mate was still sleeping. We discussed when she could see Rosie and when she thought it would be good to have Rosie hear her story so she could understand everything going on around her. I thought two weeks would suffice and get her enough time to adjust to her situation. We continued inside; it was about 8 a.m. now. I could smell the aroma of hazelnut coffee hang in the air. I sprinted to the kitchen, hoping to find Rosie making herself at home but alas, it was just my stupid sister.

I could tell she was tired and sad and that all she wanted was to go wake Rosie up and see her friend. I don't think Jo slept at all and probably just played yesterday over and over in her head. We lock eyes for just a second before she curls back up with a mug of coffee and stares out the window for the corner booth I have set up around my kitchen table. She lays her head on the back of it and lets out a long sigh. I felt Chase come up next to me and stop. I knew he hated seeing Josephine like this more than anything. It made him feel so helpless.

We could see out the window the people walking by. They would slow down and see if they could see anything or anyone new walking around. There was talk around town that the new Luna was deranged or rabid. I need to have that talk desist. I walk over and stare at people looking in the window, and they scurry off before I close all the blinds. Chase poured himself a cup of coffee and sat in front of Jo. She reached for his hand. They sat there in silence, just staring at each other holding each other's hands. They didn't need to speak words; they knew what each other felt. I was so jealous and angry that I was missing out on this part of being mated.

"Stare much, bro?"

Jo's voice broke my inner monologue. "Sorry guys," I go to pour myself a cup, "I just want this so much. What you have, what you worked for."

"It will come, and it will come with Rosie. I stand by what I said in the car ride, Loch. She loves you just doesn't know it yet."

"Love… you think she loves me."

"I think it's buried by fear, but I think it's in there."

Rosie's POV

The light pours into my room. I can smell this sweet lingering scent. I can hear Josephine and Chase outside the room. My head was pounding, and I could not remember what happened last night. I had some crazy dreams about everyone. I assume that we had been drinking, and I got wasted, and they took me back to their apartment, but nothing looked the same. For starters, this room was the size of their apartment, the bed was a king, and I know Jojo doesn't have that. She had painted, and there was exposed wood everywhere. I admired the beautiful vaulted ceiling with the most gorgeous light fixture I had ever seen. Where was I? The room was this warm orange with dark wood features and beams everywhere. The coloring of the walls isn't what you would expect if someone told you, but it makes me long for a fuzzier blanket, tea, and a romance book to dive into. The woodwork everywhere has this beautiful grain work to it. I trace it along with the ceiling with my eyes, wondering if the design was intentional or a happy coincidence. My bed has the softest sheets; I could just melt into them. The comforter is not thick, but it's an amazingly cozy and heavier quilt. I trace my fingers along with the stitch work as it fascinates me. I noticed a few mistakes in the stitching, and to my joy, I realized this was hand done. I continued to trace the design of the blanket. This was breathtaking, but so was the rest of the room. I look over and see the rest of the room and a massive mirror standing beautiful and ornate. For the first time in a week, I get a good look at myself as I walk over to the mirror. I can see my skin that used to have this glow, but now it is dull and ghostly. My hair is knotted and frayed with what looks like debris from some woods in it. I can feel the mud that is caked onto my skin. My once bright blue eyes now seem aimless and dull. My nose was stuffed up, and my body ached. I see my arm is wrapped in this nice white gauze, but a speck of blood has penetrated the white. I stretch my body out one last time. As I move around the room, I want to be as quiet as possible. I know Jo and Chase are here, but I don't know anything else. I am getting this sinking feeling that my dreams weren't dreams; they were real. I move back towards the bed, trying to not make any noise. I reach for my clothes, but they aren't where I would have put them. I am in a baggy t-shirt and some guys' gym shorts. I quietly look around the room for my clothing. A sense of panic comes over me when I think about what is happening. I step forward, and the floorboard makes the loudest sound ever.

"s**t… shit." I stand perfectly still, trying not to move a muscle, but I hear the voices coming from the kitchen have stopped. I begin looking for the nearest exit, windows, vents, anything that can get me out. Nothing, it seems like at some point, someone removed all the window handles to be able to even open a window to get out. Crap, that was my plan. I reach over and grab what looks like a pretty sturdy lamp. I move slowly and position myself to throw it at the door, at the first person who walks in. I hear a knock, and then his smooth voice comes through the door.

"Rosalynn, are you dressed?"

"Yes, but…" Lochlyn opens the door slowly, pops his head in, and then immediately retreats.

"Rosie, can you put them lamp down. We have been over this. I am not going to hurt you." This morning comes rushing back to me. I asked him to stay in the room. I had fought the urge to sleep with him. I was angry but wanted to laugh at him. "I come in peace and want to show you the amazing chin shiner you gave me this morning. You know as a peace offering."

"I think I am owed more than one chin shiner but ok."

Lochlyn comes into the room slowly with his hands up in surrender. I can see the side where I clocked him, it was a lovely purple, but it looked like it was done weeks ago, not just 6 hours ago. "You ok?" his deep and soft voice sends a chill down my spine.

"Where am I?" I ask Lochlyn as I sit back on the bed. He comes and sits next to me. His scent is overwhelming, and I have the urge to curl up in his lap like a damn cat. I am staring at his beautiful face for a second too long when he smiles and reaches for my hand, and I immediately pull away.

"You are at my house. Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

"Bits and pieces. Why?"

"I brought you here because I need to protect you from Demetri."

"They guy that held me down with his boot?" I can see that part made him unbridled and angry as I remembered the worst part.

"The guy you and Chase saved me from.." I tried to correct that fast.

"Yes." Anger and spite flowed from that one little word more than I anticipated.

"Ok…. Um, I don't want to talk about that anymore." I was just getting ready to admit that I was starving but do it in a subtle way when my stomach let out the loudest growl I have ever heard in my life. Lochlyn just looked at me wide-eyed and just started laughing as loud as he could. I immediately turned a deep shade of pink, retreated under the covers, and laid down on my pillow to hide my embarrassment. I felt his arms come to my side; even with the blankets in between us, his near touch was electric. I wanted him to pull the covers off me and kiss me hard, but I still didn't know him… this is so foreign. I think he is only inches from me by the way his scent is overpowering any common sense I have. He pulls the top of the covers down to just be able to see my face…. He is gorgeous.

"Are you hungry?" He whispers to me.

"mm… hmm," I said as I shook my head yes. I am trying to hold my breath so I don't just lose all control.

"Jo made some muffins and eggs. His eyes are so kind and concerning, I could get lost in the gold of them. Would you like to come downstairs and eat with us? I also understand if you just want to stay up here where you feel safe."

"Can I stay here?"

"Absolutely," He said with a smile, "Can I try something with you before I go get food? I promise it won't lead to anything. I just want to see if you feel something."

"Depends on what that is," I whispered back.

"Can I kiss your forehead? I feel my mate bond, and I just want to see if you feel anything from your wolf yet."

"Ok." He smiled a ten million dollar smile, "Just nothing else, mister."

I heard him take a deep breath and slow down his breathing; I could see the muscle in his body tense and tighten up. He was restraining himself. I could see the pain it was putting him in.

"Wait," I say. I could see the immediate defeat in him.

"What's wrong? We don't have to…. I don't need to know…. I just wanted to…."

"I know. I am just concerned that it will bring you more pain that I don't feel this, and you do. I can see you in pain around me. It is obvious, and you don't hide it well."

"I am in pain around you but not the kind of pain you think. It is like a pain that is drawing me closer to you. Like the good kind of hurt."

"But what if I don't have this wolf you speak of… what if I am not who you, Jo, and Chase think I am? What if you do this and I break you?"

"You can't break me, Rosalynn."

"Not you physically but your heart."

"I don't understand…."

"My parents taught me that above all else, it was a spouse's one duty and honor to protect the other spouse. Not just the other person physically but mentally and emotionally. My dad always would say, 'Above all else, he guards my mom's heart.' What if I let you do this, then I end up rejecting you, and I break your heart?"

"Do you plan on rejecting me?" His eyes grew wide with concern, and fear filled them. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want to give him hope that I would wake up and be magically connected to him like he was to me one day.

"Not right now. I feel drawn to you, but I also don't know you from anyone else I have met on the street. You scare me sometimes; this all scares me. What if I am broken and damaged?"

He smiles again. "Rosalynn, you above all else are not broken. You are stronger than you realize. But I think it's time you saw someone… special to you. I wasn't going to do this for a while, but I think you need to see her," He gets up and takes my hand. He slowly sets it back down. "Brace yourself; she has been missing you this last week."

"Jo?"

"Nope."

"I need to apologize to Jo."

"No need. She is coming to." Suddenly, Lochlyn moves to the chair he slept in last night, and I see a figure in the doorway. Ms. Krasuer?

"Rosie!!" I feel the embrace of the women I have known to take care of me for three years. I am overwhelmed with emotion and just start sobbing into her. I missed my mom, and this woman was the closest thing I had. She made me meals when I was sick. She even got my mail on vacations. After my boyfriend of 3 years dumped me for a UPS driving w***e. She came over, watched episode after episode of New Girl with me, and finally convinced me to take a shower. She walked with me once a week and always ensured I was fed. I didn't realize how much my heart ached for this woman. I wrapped my arms around her and didn't let go. I felt the loving presence of her hand on the back of my head, soothing me just like my mom did. "Oh, honey, I am so sorry. I promise the worst is over."

"I missed you so much, Ms. Krasuer!"

"Dear….. first things first, please call me Helena. Second, I have missed you too. I have been on that front porch for the last day waiting for you." I see Jo and Chase appear in the doorway. Jo had tears in her eyes. I reached out for her, and it was seconds before she was on the bed and involved in the circle of crying that was happening. "Ok now. Dry those tears. You need to know who you are. Boys find a seat."

"Should we call my dad?" Lochlyn chimed in.

"Oh, Philemon can wait. He already knows this story as he was a part of it."

"Rosie, what do you know so far?"

"Not much except the other people want to kill me, and Lochlyn is mated to me and that apparently, I am supposed to be a wolf." Helena looked at the three of them.

"I managed to drive you here in record time, and that's all you tell her." I looked at her, confused and slightly scared. I don't know what to expect from this woman. Has she known me her whole life? I think my face was starting to expose my panic, and I forgot to breathe because I saw spots. I felt Jo grab one side, and Lochlyn grabbed the other to keep me from falling. Helena cupped my face. "Look at me dear, and breath. You have a lot of things happening in your body right now. But this information will help with it all and make it less scary, confusing, and painful."

"There will be pain?"

"So clearly you don't remember the car ride up here.. do ya, Ros?" Chase chimed in between bites of muffins.

"No. I remember fainting at work, something about a forest and you injecting me with something, but that is all. Next thing I know, I woke at your parents."

"Ok, Yes, there will be some more pain as your body changes over the next 5 days. You will forget things and sometimes be a little off your rocker to put it nicely." She turns to the three. "Watch her at all times." She added sternly.

"Helena, what are you saying?"

"I know your past. I know who you are and what destiny and fate you are meant for. Lochlyn is part of the destiny that your parents began." She must have picked up on my confusion. "Yes, child, I knew your parents. Right from when they were newly mated and fleeing. Do you want to hear your story?"

All eyes were on me and waiting for my response. "Yes. I want to know my history and my future."

Lochlyn glowed and grinned from ear to ear.