The two men stand around me as I sit stiffly between them on the couch. At least twenty minutes have passed and my mind cannot stop conjuring up horrible things that might have happened to her. Kendra must be so scared, probably thinking I was murdered. My heart aches just thinking about how I left her. What if those wolves did something to her? It would all be my fault. I have to go look for her, not sit here like some princess. My pack is being invaded while I am busy day dreaming about my mate, who, to make it worse, is the Alpha of the packing attacking us. How could this situation get any worse? I glance up at the men. "You're part of the Tate pack yes? And your Alpha, he is Alpha Tate?"
The men nod.
Taking a deep breath I stand up. "I should go look for my sister."
"We can't let you leave," one of them say.
"What? Why?"
"We told the Alpha that nothing would happen to you. I am not one for taking risks on his orders."
Looking to the door, I raise an eyebrow. "So if I walk out the door..."
"We will stop you," he says.
I run my bottom lip through my teeth gently. "Am I a hostage? Because it's beginning to sound like it. I don't want to be here anymore, I-I want to see my mate, the Alpha."
The men shake their heads slowly, "I can't let you outside."
"You have to," I say on a limb, hoping my idea will work.
"And why is that?"
"Because I'm your Luna, and I... I am ordering you to let me leave. Before you say no again, just remember that I will... I will tell your Alpha that you... that you hurt me!" I say dramatically and stare them down. "I would let me go."
"Either way we're getting our asses kicked. We let you go, and you get hurt, or you try your little fib, and we might get consequences." He stays firm. "I'll take the chance."
I internally groan. I have to find Kendra somehow. "I-I'll scream."
The man raises his eyebrows.
"I'll do it, I swear," I threaten and swallow as they don't seem to care. I suck in a deep breath of air and immediately let it all out in a terribly loud, obnoxious cry, over and over. Quickly the men come over and grab a hold of me, one slapping his hand over my mouth. I continue to let out muffled screams, and the more I scream the more worried I feel. Soon my screams are no longer to get my way, but because I want to get away from these men. I will do anything for Kendra— scream until my lungs burn and shrivel, but my acts are pushing my luck. Sadly, I seemed to forget that these people are not on my side. Could they possibly still kill me?
Their arms hold down my flailing limbs only to set me back on the couch. When his hand releases my lips I mutter, "I know you're supposed to keep me safe but this is ridiculous! My sister is out there!"
"You're making it really hard to follow orders. People are out looking for her, so try and calm down?" Slowly he lets go of me and I cross my arms.
"Can we just forget about this whole mate thing? Let's go back to me being a nobody."
"Just wait until Alpha Tate comes back with your sister."
I find my mate half an hour ago and suddenly I have signed a contract. What have I gotten myself into? Maybe I can leave with Kendra when she gets here, because she will, and I am sure Alpha Tate has more important things to do than deal with me. We have only spoken a few sentences to each other. It is not like we have started anything.
I hear the front door open and I immediately jump up. "Kendra!" Turning to the door I see Landon, alone. "Where is she?"
"We can't find her, she must not be in the north forest."
If Kendra followed my orders she would have run into the safe house. Could she possibly be there? If I could get out I would go search the safe house, but I cannot lead these men to other people who might be in there. "Where's your Alpha?"
"I don't keep tabs on him, he's somewhere." Landon leans against the wall. "I'm sure you're not new to this but we do what the Alpha says, and that's it."
"Well someone has to take me to him, or let me go find him."
The three look at each other. "Why are you so impatient?"
"It's my sister!" I shout out of frustration. "I need to make sure she's okay while your group of killers rampage my pack! So you either take me to him or I will make sure you pay for this!"
One of the two men peer down and sigh. "If we take you, will you stop going crazy?"
I nod and stand up before the three guys take me outside. Wrapping my arms around my chest, I try to keep the warmth. "How far is he?"
"Not too far."
The closer we get, the faster my heart beats. I'm going to see him again and it is making my hands sweat. I can't get the image of his face out of my head. I wish I didn't feel this way, I wish I had control.
"He should be up here," Landon says and after a few more steps I spot him talking with a couple other men. His scent creeps up my nose and I scrunch my toes as he turns. He says one more thing to the men before coming over.
"What is she doing out here?"
"She told us to take her to you."
I stand behind and let a short breath escape my lips. "I want to find her, I want to search."
Before I can say anything else he simply says, "No."
I swallow. "Well, you don't own me so I'm just going to go, right now. I can do what I want." As I turn in the opposite direction and take two steps, I am stopped by his hand wrapping around my upper arm. If I look at his face I'll melt, so I keep my gaze on the patchy forest floor.
"I'm not letting you wander off," he says firmly.
I tug my arm harshly from his grasp. "It's like you're not even hearing what I'm saying. What would you do if it were your sibling? I have to make sure she's safe and with my mother. Those wolves could have hurt her and if they did I could never forgive myself. Please, I'm not trying to cause problems and get into trouble with your pack. I just need to find my sister."
"You're so difficult," he states while looking right into my eyes. "She wasn't in the north or east halves of the forest, so it is safe to assume she's with your mother."
"Assume?" I gape. "He made me leave her with three wolves!" My finger points to Landon and he rolls his eyes. "Why can't I just go and see if she is?"
He crosses his arms over his chest, displaying his muscles for my roaming eyes. "Just tell me where your mother and sister would be and I'll send people over."
My gaze drifts away in disappointment. Exactly what I did not want to happen has happened.
"I-I can't," I mutter and bite my lip. How can I lead a bunch of killers towards innocent people? What if they actually hurt my family, all I have left. Surely I cannot trust any of these men. "I can't tell you, but if you just let me go...""I can't let you go alone."My fingers tug at the bottom of my shirt. "Then come with me. Nothing bad would happen, and I'm not going with him." Glancing back at Landon, he groans, tired of my finger pointing.He takes a moment before answering. "Is it far?""No.""Do you shift?"I peer down at my twiddling fingers. "Yes."My mate gives me time
It all happened so fast: packing clothes, saying goodbye, waiting to watch my pack shrink in the distance as I leave them in distress. Luckily my mate agreed to leave the land alone, for now. I thought we would have a journey ahead of us to make our way back to Tate Pack lands, but there were three large, nice cars waiting for us. I knew everyone would not fit inside, then I figured it was only for important people, and weirdly I happened to be one of them. Now I sit alone in the backseat, waiting until it is time to go.I stare out the car window at the forest scenery as the sun pours through the leaves. Birds sing and I close my eyes as if their songs are slowly rocking me to sleep. It was a long night with no time for rest. Between the attack, finding my mate, finding my family, and preparing to leave, I have exhausted myself.My fam
"These doors are all empty bedrooms, guest rooms, and the last one down here was mine, but now it's ours."Our bedroom. I swallow and make my way towards the double doors hesitantly with Eric behind me. Grabbing onto the handle, I turn it and push the door open. I glance back at Eric before slipping inside.Light floods the room through two large windows on either side of the bed, and I wonder further in. Everything, every piece of furniture is delicately detailed, giving the room a charming aroma. These pieces must be passed down through generations. The bedding is gold and white with looks of being from a fairytale, and I carefully run my fingers along it. "This room is beautiful," I say back to him, though the bed is quite intimidating."I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad we finally
Caroline shouts and I panic. With no time I wrap my arms around the base of the trunk as the branch falls and hangs on by a thread. With my heart slamming against my chest, I frantically try to reach for another branch but I begin to slip down the trunk. "Oh my god, Isabella just hold on!"The bark scratches against my hands and arms while my eyes stare harshly at the hard ground. Below me, I spot another branch and I know I have to descend down to it. Caroline tries to hurry up but I continue to slide, not being able to grip on.Finally, my feet barely touch the branch and I stop myself, letting go of the trunk. My hands and arms sting and I look to see scratches, dirt, and blood. "I'm bleeding!" I shout to Caroline and she curses."Does it hurt bad?"
Getting out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my dripping body. My hair sticks to my back as I grab the clothes I set to the side to change into. A hot shower after a long day is always refreshing. At first, it was weird using a different shower, but I quickly let it go and decided to keep an open mind.I dry off and slip on my clean clothes before taking the towel and drying my hair to the best of my abilities. It still lays damp on my shoulders but I know that is as dry as it will get. Surprisingly I found my clothes unpacked already as if some invisible fairy did it all magically while I was gone.When I finish up in the bathroom I open the door but immediately close it when I notice Eric in the bedroom. Thankfully he doesn't notice as I peek through the thin crack of space left. Suddenly he takes off his shirt and I look away, cl
I lay in bed and stare up at the ceiling, still feeling the trace of his kiss on my skin. After our short moment in the kitchen we headed upstairs and I convinced him to let me sleep in one of the guest rooms, knowing that if I was in a bed smothered in his scent I would not be able to sleep. Though I am cozy under the covers my eyes will not shut. It is simple; I cannot fall asleep. Over the hours I have sifted through different causes: I'm still hungry, I don't feel good, I miss Kendra, I'm worried about my pack, I'm nervous about meeting Eric's Dad, and even that Olivia's acts have me worried.I have tried it all: pacing my breaths, counting sheep, taking deep breaths, progressive muscle relaxation, visualizing a peaceful place, yet no matter what I do one factor stays glued in my mind; the fact that my mate is sleeping in the bedroom beside me and I cannot get to him. Obviously, I ca
Slowly, I lift up my face from the pillow beneath it. I blink, close my eyes, and blink again. Rays of sunlight shine through the windows and blind me. I reluctantly sit up and rub my knuckles onto my eyes. Looking around the bedroom, I find myself alone, so I instantly wonder where Eric is.I slide out of bed and peek into the bathroom, but it too is empty. Raising an eyebrow, I check the guest room I was supposed to sleep in— then all the others. After that my feet carry me downstairs and random noises grab my attention, sounds that are coming from the kitchen. "Eric?" I call out as I make my way towards them, wanting to unmask the creator. "Eric is that you?"Instead of seeing Eric, an older woman turns around and smiles. "Hello, good morning, I'm Marina, the housekeeper. You must be Isabella; it is so wonderful to meet you."
Sitting in the center of the living room, I look around the walls at the family pictures and smile. I especially enjoy the picture of Eric when he was a toddler. There are no pictures of him as a child at the pack house. "They're in here," I hear Evangeline's voice from further in the house.I glance to Eric, who is standing off to the side, seeming rather uncomfortable. His gaze is glued to a random spot on the wall."Sebastian, this is Isabella." Turning to the hallway, I see Evangeline standing beside the man from the pictures. He looks like an older, different version of Eric.Immediately I stand up and reach my hand out. He shakes it. "Hello, it's nice to meet you finally."He smiles in a fatherly way. "Yes, of course, I was wond