Mating Games: The Huntress

Episode 16

RESSA POV

This is ridiculous.

I am an assassin of beasts, a hunter, a warrior through and through.

I am not quick to anger, I observe before I react, and I certainly do not get jealous over some guy.. some freaking guy I don’t even know!

And even now, as I stand next to him and watch the surveillance footage prove that he did indeed walk out onto that balcony with his male friend, I’m still seething.

But it’s not so much at him, though I won’t be letting him know that.

No, I’m pissed at myself, and at that crazy b***h!

Because I wanted to rip out her worthless whoring throat and then make her swallow it back down. I wanted her to suffer for trying to entice what’s mine, and for daring to taste any f*****g part of him. And for hurting him.. Jesus.. I thought I was going to rip her claws from her fingers and stab them into her eyes for daring to hurt him.

And this is the other thing that’s bothering me, I’ve never had that kind of rage coursing through me. I’ve never wanted to cause this kind of harm, this kind of Pain, to someone else. And I thought I was really going to kill her there at the end.

We are now getting to the part where I shoved the door forward and tossed that skinny skank across the balcony, and I admit, watching her land on her face again from this angle is very satisfying.

And this is yet another thing that concerns me. It feels like that other part of me, the part that enjoys the blood and the dominance, is getting stronger, more willful.. maybe even trying to take over.

And I can’t let that happen, I can never let that happen. I refuse to become the monster Senna thinks I am.

Anika chuckles as she watches Celia struggle to get to her feet and then snap her nose back into place. And when I risk a glance at Nyx he’s not even trying to hide his amusement.

Ugh! I wanna slap that sexy smirk right off his face. Or maybe kiss it off?

Fuck! No.. no kissing!

Nyx starts to explain everything that happened and when Anika herself appears on the screen she pauses and just stares at the frozen image for awhile.

“That..” she sighs and shakes her head with a small smile on her face “.. was a thing of beauty, I’m gonna show it to Hannah later and we’re going to watch it while eating popcorn, I can promise you that.” She jokes as Nyx starts to laugh, but he coughs and grunts as he leans against the monitor. In pain. Forgetting somehow that he was, how did he put it, skewered?

“You need to see our Pack doctor, Nyx. Stop trying to impress Ressa by being a guy about it.” Anika snipes as she rolls her eyes.

“Ressa, huh? That’s cute..” he trails off as he looks over at me and holds my gaze. And it’s so intense that it sends a wave of shivers across my entire body. Dammit.

“Yeah, yeah Romeo it’s adorable. And your mates a f*****g dime, but she’s also in trouble. Because it kinda looks like she started it.” Anika adds, and I sigh in irritation, because she isn’t wrong.

I still can’t believe I did that, it’s like I had no control over my actions. It’s as if my impulse control was on pause and a “kill the b***h” switch was flipped.

“Yes, and No..” he took in a deep breathe, but I could see he was struggling to do so, it made me wanna throw Him over my shoulder and take him to the damn infirmary myself.

“.. I told you what Celia was doing, she was taunting and flagrantly coming onto me with my Mate right outside the door..” I tried not to shiver at him calling me his mate, but I couldn’t help it. Some part of me was very pleased with him, and also very much wanted to kiss him.

“Celia wasn’t f*****g taking a hint, and both mine and my mates instincts took over, we’re f*****g wolves, Anika. We protect what’s ours and claim what’s ours. Celia disrespected me regardless of how Ressa responded, but I promise you that she had every right to respond the way she did. If that isn’t defense enough just threaten to use this wildly embarrassing tape you have on her as evidence of what happened. She’ll shut up quick and drop it to save face.”

Anika studies him for a beat and then nods slowly as a small smile pulls at her lips.

“Alright, we’ll go at it your way. But if crazy pants doesn’t drop it you may have problems..” she glances at me before she continues “.. but as you so eloquently pointed out, we’re wolves and we protect what’s ours. So I’ll let you handle that s**t storm if it comes.”

“Thanks..” he sighs out in relief and my heart thaws a little, he was really worried about me.

“Now go see Dr. Messner. And definitely change your clothes before you come back to the party..” her eyes shift to me again and she smirks “.. if you come back.”

Anika leaves us in the control room.. alone.. and Nyx turns to me. I can tell he has a million things running through his mind, trying to figure what to say or what to do.

“You should got to the infirmary.” I finally say to break the silence.

“You’re right.. will you come with me?” He asks and my eyes widen, I for some reason didn’t consider that he’d ask me to do that. I had actually hoped for some space from him.

“I think you should just go, focus on healing.” I try again.

“I won’t go without you, we need to talk and the longer we wait to do it the more danger your in.”

“I can take care of myself.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he smiles back at me. Asshole, he’s not supposed to smile at me when I’m mad at him.

“Yeah, I think you’ve established that. But we all need help at some point. Look at me, I’m a f*****g Alpha and I still needed help tonight. And I’m not ashamed to admit that, I know we were both affected by our bond, and I know it’s a scary thing to navigate.. I am, however, ashamed to admit that something Celia said tonight isn’t too far off base. I don’t trust my father, Ressa. And we need to tak about what you and I being mates, means. I would think you of all people would understand that having all the information in a new and dangerous situation is important to surviving.” He chides and I narrow my eyes even harder, because he’s right, and because he’s being far too smug about it.

“Fine.” I concede through clenched teeth.

A lot of walking and a lot of awkward silence later I’m leaning against a cold sterile wall in a room that smells strongly of bleach. Watching another woman touch my very shirtless mate and trying my best not to get pissed about it, because I know she’s only doing her job.

But she could be a little less happy about it, I swear she’s sighed and caressed his stomach way more than she needs to. His wound isn’t even around his abdomen, it’s on his damn side under his ribs.

“You sure there’s no pain here, Alpha?” She asks huskily as she once again pressers her fingertips to his washboard abs. And I have to bite my tongue to swallow down the growl that almost escapes.

“Nah, just that side hit is what’s killing me. Just sow it up, please.” He says easily, completely disregarding her flirtatiousness.

As he damn well better, I think to myself.

“Of course.” She pulls the sterile tray closer and cleans the wound, then she smears some kind of ointment around it, maybe some kind of antibacterial gel?

“What is that?” I ask after she’s spent far too much time rubbing it in. Oh Christ, this shtick is ridiculous, this jealousy crap is out of control. And it’s making me feel out of control!

“It’s a numbing gel.” She says easily, not even bothering to look up at me.

“Right.” I say tightly, and I don’t miss the small smirk that plays on Nyx’s lips. Is he enjoying her touch? Or my blatant display of jealousy? Who’s to know, I’m sure as hell not gonna ask. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

She finally gets to the sewing part of the show and it doesn’t take long. She bandages him up and informs him that the sutures will fall out within four to five hours as he heals. Lucky bastard, if that had been my wound it would’ve taken me a day or two to recoup.

She cleans up and finally leaves us alone, Nyx asks her to close the door as she leaves. And I don’t miss the smile or the blush on her face as she exits. What the hell? Does this guy have pheromones that mess with every woman he comes into contact with?

“Now that we’re alone, you feel like a cuddle?” He jokes as he opens up his arms. I just roll my eyes and flip him off, which only makes him smile wider.

“You really are perfect, you know that?” He says softly as he lays his head back and gazes up at me.

“No one’s perfect.” I grumble back as I cross my arms over my chest and push myself even farther into the wall. I feel like I need to get away from him, I’m afraid of what will change in me when we finally touch. I’m not ready for whatever it is.

“Maybe not, but you come pretty damn close..” he sighs out, and the he sits up until his back rests against the wall, then he pats the bed beside him“.. come sit and let’s chat.”

“We can chat like this.” I say firmly and he regards me curiously before speaking.

“What are you afraid of? Why are you so hard up on keeping your distance from me? Wasn’t it my distance that pissed you off in the first place?” He asks outright and my eyes widen in response, how does he keep doing that? Keep seeing everything that’s going on inside me. It’s so unnerving.

“What am I afraid of? Why am I keeping my distance? Those are personal questions, ones that give insight into me, and into my weaknesses. I have no idea who you are or if I can trust you, so why would I answer you?” I ask back instead.

He looks over at me for a long time, just seeing and pondering what I said.

“That’s fair..” he finally sighs out as he closes his eyes and rests his head back “.. I can’t imagine what these games look like to you, or how scary it is to be away from everything you know. Just like you have no idea the responsibility that weighs heavily on me, or how important it is that I not fail. A lot of lives depend on the choices I make. I guess we have no idea who the other really is.”

He looks back at me and smiles sadly, and it makes my heart flip flop in my chest. I want to take that smile away and put a brighter one in its place. He does seem heavily burdened.

I can’t believe how beautiful he is, it almost hurts to look at him too long. I wonder if his problems are about his father, his sister mentioned that he wasn’t a good man.

“If you take anything away from tonight; no matter what you hear about the Nightshade Pack, please know this.. I am nothing like my father, and I deeply respect the mate bond. I respect our Goddess, and I am so thankful to her.. she chose someone beautiful and strong to be by my side.” He speaks softly and his words wrap around me like a warm blanket. I want to look away from him, but I can’t. But then maybe I don’t really want to, because I can’t keep lying to myself about this connection I feel with him.

And maybe it was this realization, or perhaps his sweet vulnerable words, that had me walking over to him. But no matter the reason it felt right. I sit beside him on the bed and I get a little light headed from his earthy scent. He smells like fresh rain, pine trees, and leather. It’s so calming, and it makes my insides feel all warm and tingly.

“What is the responsibility that weighs on you?” I ask hesitantly.

He smiles at me and keeps his arm at his side, but he opens his hand in invitation and waits to see what I’ll do. I just stare at it like it’ll bite me or trap me somehow. But in truth, everything inside me wants to accept his touch. To see what happens.

So I do.

I slowly place my hand in his, at first just with the tips of my fingers. As if to test his touch out, like dipping your toe in water to test the temperature. But the warmth was instantly intoxicating, and this buzzing sensation mixed with liquid heat spread across my flesh and demanded more. I gasped at how good it felt, I’d never felt anything like it, it was amazing.

“That’s incredible ..” he sighs out as his head falls back again. It’s good to know I’m not the only one affected.

“Yes..” is all I can say, and when his eyes lock back onto mine I have to pinch my thighs together to calm another kind of tingling.

“What was the question?” He asked and I couldn’t help myself, a small chuckle escaped my lips.

Instantly his eyes lit up and a low rumble vibrated in his chest. The effect it had on my body was maddening. My thighs quaked from how tense my muscles were and I felt my n*****s pucker beneath my dress. I even had to wiggle a little in the place I was sitting to relieve the ache that was building up between my legs.

His nostrils flared in response, his eyes closed as his head fell back once more, and his hold on my hand tightened a little.

“Shit..” he grumbled “.. you’re killing me, Ressa. My wolf is practically clawing at the surface to get to you.”

My eyes widen at his admission, and unfortunately it doesn’t scare me as I would think it should. If anything it only arouses me more.

And I’m starting to think sitting down on this bed was a bad idea.

“Let’s..” I take a deep and steady breath to try and calm myself down, then I say “.. try and focus.”

I squeeze his hand to try and reassure him, or maybe to reassure myself, either way we both need it.

“Good idea..” he finally says as he shakes his head, almost like he’s trying to shake away all the thoughts and desires that are consuming him “.. we have a lot to talk about. Do you by chance wanna do it somewhere else? Benji and I are sharing a cabin, wanna sit and talk?”

“I have a better idea, do you wanna get out of here.. I mean off the pack lands for a bit? Cause I kinda do, and I know we’ll have to sneak off, but I really need it. And I’d also like for Mia to come with. She’s my only family and I don’t wanna leave her behind.”

“We won’t have to sneak..” he smiles warmly down at me and squeezes my hand back “.. Anika will help us out. Where do you wanna go?”

“Honestly..” I smirk back at him “.. I’d kill for some mini-churros from Jack in the Box right now.”

He chuckles at my admission and tilts his head to the side as he looks back at me. Studying or trying to understand something I suppose. It really isn’t some mathematical equation though, it’s been an intense night and I’m craving some comfort food. Something that reminds me of Mia and I on the road. Alone and hunting things that go bump in the night.

“Is this Jack in the Box a restaurant or a*****e?” He asks and my eyes widen even further.

“You’ve never been to the Box?! Oh my God, we really have to go now. Do you not have fast food where you’re from?” I ask.

“I have heard of a few places, yes, but I have never been to any. The Nightshade Pack operates mostly in the old ways. We make what need or trade anything with other Packs for items that we can’t make for ourselves. In the old ways it was thought to make a Pack stronger to stay away from humans, to stay where we could shift and be accepted at all times. It was also meant to protect us. But these days most Packs that operate like that use it as a way to isolate their Pack and to keep them scared and ignorant of the human world.”

“I see.. well I think you’ll enjoy yourself. And I promise to protect you from those terrifying humans.” I tease and he smiles wide back at me.

Yeah, that’s a killer. A freaking panty killer.

I need some mini-churros like yesterday!