Chapter 4: What's a Mate?

She wakes to an unfamiliar ceiling. Something soft and warm cuddles her, cocooning her like she’s never felt before. It’s as relaxing as it is uncomfortable.

She’s in her human form, her arms wrapped in some kind of white bandages, hiding her wounds. She remembers the events in a rush and scrambles to her feet. The blanket falls away from her body, her bare feet meeting the cold wood. All that comfy warmth is lost as her body is bare without the blanket.

She meets electric blue eyes.

Tingles run up and down her spine the longer they stare at one another.

She growls, or attempts it, still used to her canine form and not this human one. Her vocal cords make a similar noise, like a dying cat trying to be threatening.

“There are clothes at the end of the bed,” Alpha says, not taking his eyes off her bare form.

She keeps one eye on him at all times, body tense as she prepares for him to attack her at any moment. He doesn’t, just watches her leaning back in his chair without a single care in the world.

She fishes for the clothing and pulls the dress over her head. It’s simple and white but covers her important parts and that’s all she needs. Once she’s dressed, they stare at one another in silence for a moment, the air charged with something she can’t name.

“Rain.”

Her name falls off his tongue like velvet caressing her skin.

He tilts his head, eyes crinkling at the corners like he’s amused. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”

And she hates how composed he is when she feels like time is flowing backward.

“Yes,” She croaks through the silence.

He hums, a deep sound from his chest. The Alpha lowers his eyes from her and really, him looking away first shouldn’t feel like such a victory but it does.

He stands up. She couldn't appreciate it before but now she realizes how tall he is. How imposing his figure is as he towers over her.

She can’t help but take a step back, ready for a fight but he pays her no mind like he never even considered her a threat. He takes a single step forward, enough to cross the distance between them and Rain nearly jumps out of her skin.

“Sit,” He rumbles out, calm as can be.

She sends him a scathing look, crossing her arms.

“Make me,” She spits back.

He raises an eyebrow like he finds her petulance more amusing than he should. A smirk plays at the edges of his finely pink lips. He bends down, his face inches from her own. They’re so close she can see little dots around the bridge of his nose, so light they’re barely noticeable.

For a moment, she wonders if she can connect them like constellations. If she could, Would they spell out her name?

Then he speaks and oh, his voice is a rumble, a purr as he whispers to her ear, bright eyes locked onto her own.

“Okay,” He murmurs, his hot breath warming her skin.

She freezes, unsure of where to go from here. In her hesitance, his hands sneak around to her shoulders and she plops onto the bed with no resistance. Her mouth is still open in shock, blinking as her brain tries to catch up to the scene.

Then the Alpha grabs her wrapped arm and she snaps back to reality. She tugs her arm free from his grip, hissing as she cradles it. It feels hot, burning almost from where his grip held her, even though the fabric.

He kneels in front of her, eyes meeting hers once she tore her wrist from his. His eyebrows furrow again and she feels that inexplicable urge to smooth it out but her anger is too sharp.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She snaps.

He raises an eyebrow and holds something up with his other hand. It’s a roll of the fabric of some sort, white and neat.

“Treating you,” He says. “may I?” He gestures to her arms and Rain swallows, unhappy with the thought of him touching her more, but he waits for her decision, eyes so pretty and so blue.

She finds herself nodding before she realizes it.

Slowly, like trying not to spook a wild animal, he grabs hold of her wrist and pulls it gently towards him. The feeling is unfamiliar but warm. He unravels the fabric, working in silence. Her wounds look only slightly healed under the unknown fabric but better than before. He discards the wraps covered with her dried blood and unravels new ones, circling them around her arm tightly.

“There,” He speaks, once her arms are perfectly wrapped. She flexed her fingers, testing the feel of them.

“My name is Orion.” He says this with an intensity she can’t understand. Orion, the Alpha. Like water is dumped over her head, the moment between them is gone. She nods, looking at her arms as she clenches her fist.

She let him touch her. Let him call her name. She’s so stupid.

Without another word, He heads towards the door, the leftover supplies clutched in his hand.

Wanting him both to leave and not wanting to be alone, the words burst out before his hands could even touch the knob.

“Are you going to kill me?”

The words hung in the air like rain clouds in the sky. After a long silence, he finally turns around.

“No.” He answers firmly.

“Are you going to let me go?”

He stiffens, eyes tinting with gold as his composure breaks for the first time.

“No!” He barks, startling Rain with the unexpected shout.

Her lips tilt into a frown.

Most wolves would rejoice at finding their mate. But that streak of stubbornness inside of her had reeled its ugly head. It wouldn’t stop now. It wanted to see rage fill his eyes until it matched the storm inside of her.

“Why not? I’m just a rogue-born, right?” She bites out, bitterly.

His eyes flash unhappily, though it's not like she had said anything wrong. He doesn't say anything, that composure back and the fact that he was still so composed egged her on.

She stands up, ready for a fight no matter how pretty his eyes are.

“I’m worthless to you, right? It’d be so easy just to kill me. So do it!” She's almost shouting now, hostile as she ignores the tingles under her skin.

“I’m not going to kill you!” He snaps back. She's gotten under his skin, she thinks triumphantly.

“Why not? Your pack already got a headstart!” She argues, throwing her bandaged arms in his face. The mention of his pack lights his eyes with rage.

That’s what she wanted, she thinks victoriously.

“You trespassed on our territory!” He takes a menacing step forward, anger bleeding through his expression.

“Because you were trying to kill me!” She points out, showing her human teeth as if they were fangs.

“We were defending ourselves from a threat!”

Ouch. That one hurt.

“What threat? For chasing a rabbit into your territory? I didn’t do anything until you attacked me!”

“You’re a rogue-born!” He shouted, “You’re not supposed to be here! You shouldn’t have even been born!”

Rain reels back, a wounded look coming over her face for a brief half a second but it fades away.

Silence falls over them like a blanket. Orion’s eyes widen as he realizes what he said. Guilt crosses his countenance like he never expected himself to say such a thing. He's surprised.

Rain isn't.

She lifts her head higher, meeting his gaze straight-on. “Then why’d you stop them?”

Orion looks uncomfortable now, hesitant to look her in the eye.

Rain isn't hurt though. It was just the truth.

She feels better, sort of relieved in a twisted way to know that he was just like all the others.

But that stubborn streak had yet to let go of Rain. It needs an answer.

Tightening his jaw, he meets her eyes with a dark look. And she knows what he's about to do before he does it.

Before she could stop him, the door slams shut as the lock clicks into place.

He's gone and she's trapped inside.