*Craig*I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt because it did. It had been three days since I had my talk with Dawn, and my heart was still trying to play catch up with my brain. She didn't want to think about us as mates at the moment, and I had to respect that. I had to keep my distance and give her the space she needed to breathe. But all the while, my heart was in shambles over the prospect of possibly losing her. Her birthday was two months away, and the competition was due to finish in 35 days. I was running out of time. Last night, we were given our new assignments. We were meant to present a piece that depicted harmonious conflict but to do it through a different medium from our chosen one, which we entered the competition in. Surprisingly, we both came to an agreement that we should do oil painting. It was something we didn't at all do, but we're quite skilled at. The first session was nothing but pure torture for me. I found myself staring at her more
*Dawn*For two weeks, we worked on the art piece. Oil painting was not my strong suit, but I did my best. I was worried that I would be the weak link in this one. I had practiced and practiced before I finally worked up the nerve to start the real thing. Craig was amazingly rough the whole process. He had helped me to sketch out everything and make sure that it all melded together. But I won't lie; having him so close was hard for me. Keeping things strictly platonic took a lot of effort on my part.I was completely enamoured with him. Everything he did was entrancing. His smile, his laugh and his gaze. I was merciful to the pull between us. There were many times I questioned if I had made the right decision in telling him I couldn't give him what he wanted. Because the truth was…I wanted what he wanted. I wanted him—us. What did that say about me, though? The man had massacred my people in cold blood, but yet, I still looked at him like he had put the sun in the sky and r
“You really didn’t have to do all of this,” I noted. The wind from the jet engine blew my hair all over the place. Craig and I stood on the tarmac while the jet waited for me to board. “Nonsense. If I have the money, I should spend it. Besides, you’re my mate and if I don’t spend on you, then who would I spend on?” He laughed it my sideways stare at the word ‘mate’. “It’s fine, Dawn. And I would feel better anyway having some of my men looking out for you. It’s just a shame they can’t take you all the way to your aunt’s house but they will get you as far as they can.”I nodded. “Thank you Craig, for everything.”A boyish grin took over his face. “Come now, why are you acting like this is goodbye? You will be back in a few days.”I nodded but I didn’t know why I was getting so worked up over this. It wasn’t like I was leaving for a long time or maybe it was the fact that I would be seeing my aunt after I had basically told her to get out of my life forever.I bit down o
I stared at him like I had seen a ghost. I had only ever seen the man once in my life, but his image was branded in my mind for life. I knew what he was capable of. He was dangerous and demanding. Even though I sat all the way across the room from him, I could still feel the power rolling off of him in waves.He kicked off the wall and stepped into the room. My aunt stood ot her feet and bowed her head. “Alpha.”Jason didn’t take his eyes off of me when he spoke. “Leave us.” My aunt obeyed and left me alone with the man who was condemning me to a life imprisonment. He stood on the other side of the loveseat I was sitting on. He tilted his head to the side analysing me for a moment. “What are you doing here, Jason? Last I checked, you lived in a cabin in the mountains.” I pushed my back further into the couch. I knew that if I tried to run he would only catch me. Running activated the primal instinct in him to hunt. My best bet was to stay still and feign confidence even
I laid on my bed completely lost in my thoughts. I didn’t know what to fully make of my visit to see my aunt. I wanted to believe that she had my best interests at heart, but I knew that she was blinded. “Are you seriously just going to mope all day?” Candice asked as she walked out of the bathroom filled with steam.“I’m not moping.”“Your face shows that you’re moping.” “It’s just my face.” I turned to look at her stripping right before my eyes. “We are way too comfortable with each other. I don’t need to be seeing your tits, please.”“You have what I have.” She shook them at me. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s really going on or no?”How did I even begin to explain anything? “There is nothing going on, I swear.”Cadence was like a bullshit reader. She could smell my lies from a mile away but this time, she didn’t press me on it. I was thankful because I had no idea how I was even going to respond to her if she did call me out. Candice got dressed and l
As the words left my lips, I knew that I had made a mistake. His nostrils flared and his eyes raged with an anger I had never seen before. His fists were balled on the table as he held onto his metal knife for dear life. The man looked like he was ready to murder me, or at the very least, maim me. Shit.I had messed up dismally and now, I was about to pay the price for what I had done. “I have been nothing but patient with you, Dawn. I have taken your disrespect and I have even allowed you time to frolic here without a single care in the world. But you have taken it too far. Do you not understand how many sacrificed their lives just so you could be breathing right now?”The ice in his words hit right in the centre of my chest. “You think that this man will love you? That he will treat you any better than a common whore?” He slammed his fist only the table sending the food in my plate flying. “You are far more stupid than I had initially realized! How can you not see his tr
I was about to murder the last family I had. The rage that poured into me was unhealthy and it heated my body in every vein, cell and nerve. All I could see is red at the moment. I don’t fully remember getting up but one moment, I was on the ground and the next, I was lunging at my aunt. She was lucky that Jason got in between us because I was ready to take her down. The anger building inside of me was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The tears that had pricked my eyes seconds ago were completely gone now. Now my gaze was laser focused on my aunt who hid behind Jason like the coward she was. She had crossed the line. I mean she had crossed it far before this, but now, it was too much. She had cried tears of pure agony and regret and yet, here she stood, next to the man who was trying to capture me and make me his prisoner. “I trusted you! I forgave you!” I shouted.“I'm sorry,” she cried. “But I had to. This is for the good of the pack and all those involved.”“Not
*Craig*The only thing that was left in this fucking rooftop was the dinner table that he had set up for her. I had felt her and I had heard her voice call to me. She was in danger and she needed me. I had wasted no time getting here, but it was too late. They were long gone and I was left to think of a way to track her. I was trying to keep a level head but the fact that he had her had my entire body in knots. The man was psycho and I knew that he was plotting and planning something. I should have never allowed her to go. I should have just gone with my instincts at locked her away and hid her from him. So, what if she was angry with me? At least she would have been in my care and by my side. “You need to calm down,” Jared tried to reason with me over the phone, but it was no use. When I came to rooftop, she wasn’t there. “You being this angsty will not help her.”“And neither will me standing here and doing nothing!” My anger was not toward him and he knew that. But I