Chapter 8

He looked furious. His eyes burned with a rage that threatened to consume everything in its path. I stared, my heart beating faster and faster as he walked toward me. What was going on? Had I done something wrong? Why was he so mad? Was he mad at me?

Before he could get to me though, Natasha blocked his path. I watched her caress his cheek, then slide her fingers down his chest. I felt the anger rising in me. Even though I knew it was irrational, even though I knew he wasn't mine and I had no right to be upset that another woman was touching him, it still didn't make me any less upset.

I turned away from the scene mumbling an excuse me to Melissa.

I made my way back into the forest to breathe a little. I couldn't think of anything else but her arms all over him. Shit. My wolf was fighting to get out, aching to attack Natasha. But it didn't matter did it? Whether or not I stopped them, it didn't change the fact that he was more likely to choose her than me.

"Wanna tell me what's been going on?" I jumped in shock at Devon's voice.

"Geez you scared me"

"For a wolf you're not very in tune with your area"

"I was lost in thought"

"What's going on, Angie? You know you can talk to me right? You've always known that. What's changed?"

"I don't know Dev. Maybe this simply isn't my secret to tell"

"I understand. But can you at least tell me why you're furious right now?"

I sighed. "You won't judge me?"

He gave me a half smile. "When have I ever?"

"Fair point. I know that he rejected me but seeing Louis with her is her is making my blood boil"

He sighed. "It's understandable Angie. He's your mate, of course seeing him with another woman would hurt you. I feel like punching him for hurting you this way"

I laughed. "If you punched him you'd face trial Dev"

"A price I'm willing to pay"

I laughed again and pulled him into a hug. This was what I had missed, him and me against the world, always, since we were kids.

"It'll be ok sweetie" he whispered into my hair.

"I hope so"

"Nothing will be okay if you don't get your hands off of her immediately"

We sprang apart in shock and stared at Louis. If I thought he was angry before, now he was livid.

"Step away from her" he said.

"Why? She's my best friend" Devon said, squaring up to Louis. Since Louis was about 6'3 and Devon was 5'9, the up part was quite literal.

"Step away from her before I get rough" at the last word his eyes flashed with his wolf.

I quickly stepped forward and grabbed Devon's hand. He couldn't win a fight against an alpha and the moment he laid his hand on Louis, he would have to stand trial for treason.

That turned out to be a mistake when Louis glared at my hand clutching Devon's. I quickly removed it but it was too late, Louis' anger had reached its peak and his wolf was unleashed. His transformation was so quick that I'd only blinked before he was on Devon.

"Stop!" I yelled but they didn't listen. Devon transformed and tried to defend himself against Louis's wolf. But he wouldn't win. And Louis didn't look like he was ready to stop.

"For heaven's sake the both of you please stop!" But they still weren't listening to me. Instead, they were rolling around like actual animals. A particularly vicious slice from Louis had Devon bleeding from a long gash to the chest. Devon retaliated with a slash to Louis' stomach and mine clenched in pain.

"Please, stop!" I yelled. I could feel every swipe of Devon's claws everywhere it touched Louis. How has our bond become so strong?

They seemed to not hear me and continued fighting. Oh God. They'd kill each other at this rate. And at this point, Devon had more to lose than Louis. I needed them to just stop attacking each other but I didn't know how. If I transformed and got in-between them they'd accidentally kill me. Besides, for some reason, Louis' pain felt realer and more painful than any pain that had ever been inflicted on me.

I felt tears sting my eyes when both of them collided so hard that bones shattered. I groaned and staggered.

I caught myself on a tree and paused to catch my breath. Why did this hurt so much? I wasn't even the one taking the blows. In fact, it had actually hurt less when that rogue wolf tore my stomach open compared to feeling the pain that Devon was inflicting on Louis. It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical and I had never heard of it happening so completely for werewolves. Of course you would be in tune with your mate's feelings and you'd even be able to feel what emotion they were feeling at the time and to some extent you'd feel when they were in pain. But to feel the pain so much it was worse than your own pain? I hadn't heard of that until now.

I looked around trying to find something that would make them stop without loosing my head. I briefly considered throwing a stick or rock at them but I quickly dismissed that idea.

I was surprised no one had come to do something. If only there was someone else here, we could take them both, one person to one dumb wolf and we'd be able to separate them. But trying myself would just be a dumb move that would leave me hurt or worse. And Devon would never forgive himself if he hurt me, whether or not it was by accident.

Unfortunately, I ran out of time when a particularly vicious blow landed on Louis' head.

"Please, stop. Louis it hurts" I whispered before I crumpled to the ground in a faint.

When I came to I could hear indistinct voices talking over one another. I groaned at the pain in my head. It felt like my head had been slammed hard into a tree. What happened? I pried open my eye lids and blinked until I could see clearly. The first thing I saw was Louis leaning over me.

"What... What happened?" I asked in a dry voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know the mate bond had gotten so strong" he said while running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I.. what?" I asked, confused. And then it hit me. All the memories of the night came rushing back.

"Where's Devon?" I asked, shooting up quickly and immediately regretting it when my head began to pound and spin at the same time.

Louis frowned. "He's the first person you ask for?"

"Where is he? Did you hurt him?"

He rolled his eyes. "He's fine. He's at home. He wanted to stay the night here with you but I locked him out. Told him he could come back later this morning to see you"

"Oh thank God. Wait. This morning? It's morning?" I asked, shocked. I passed out for the whole night? That was embarrassing for a grown wolf.

"Yes. It seems like somehow you felt an amplified version of the pain that your dumb friend was inflicting on me through the mate bond"

"He's not dumb. And how is that even possible? I've never heard of a mate bond being that powerful. Plus, you rejected me so why does it keep growing?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index fingers . "I don't know. I don't understand it either. But we need to get to the bottom of this. I can't have you passing out whenever I'm having warrior training"

Was he worried about me? For reasons I decline to explore, it made me feel warm.

"But how? We don't even know why it's happening"

He sighed.

"Are you hungry?" He asked after a moment of silence. I nodded. I was starving; I hadn't eaten all day.

He nodded and rose. When he walked out the door I finally took a look at my surroundings. I immediately recognized his room with its bare furnishings and black everywhere. His bed though was surprisingly very comfortable. You could just sink into it and even if you weren't sleepy, you'd be gone in seconds.

When he returned I'd forced myself to sit up and lean on the headboard.

He came in with a breakfast-in-bed tray and put it over my legs. The plate was heaped with pancakes, sausages, bacon and eggs. There was a glass of orange juice beside the plate. When I took one bite of the food I was melting.

"Oh my God your cook is amazing"

"Actually I made these" he said and I could see a little blush staining his cheeks.

"You're kidding" I said, eyes widened. That's something I never would've imagined. The big bad future alpha cooking breakfast.

"I'm not. My mother taught me to cook. It was one of the things she loved doing with me"

"Wow. That's so cool. The food is delicious"

"What about you? Are you still as terrible a chef as you were when you were five?"

My eyes widened in shock. I didn't know that he actually remembered the time we used to be friends.

"It was unreasonable to expect a five year old to wait for a light bulb to cook a brownie. Besides, they were always nicer when they were a little doughy"

"You also once used baking soda because you ran out of sugar"

"Well they should put the uses of these things on the containers!"

He laughed. "They do. You just never read them"

I laughed along with him, enjoying this rare moment of us getting along so easily like we did when we were kids, like mates were supposed to.

Suddenly, the smile vanished from his face.

"My father is here" he said.

My heartbeat sped up when I remembered our last encounter, the cruel way he raised his son, and Louis' theory that he had something to do with his mother's death.

"Excuse me" he said and walked out of the room.

I tried to eat a little more but I had lost my appetite. My wolf hearing, when I tuned into it, could hear their conversation loud and clear.

"What are you doing? Why did you leave the bonfire last night? Are you that bitter that you didn't win?"

"I left because I had an emergency to deal with, father"

"What emergency could possibly be more important than honouring our pack's traditions? And keep in mind that the only correct answer to this is none"

"I'm busy father. Was there something you wanted?"

"You will not disrespect me in my own house boy" Alpha Roman thundered.

"Actually, father, this is my house. It became my house once I turned eighteen and it you disrespect me in it I will order you to leave"

My breath caught in my throat as I waited for his father's reply. I was terrified that they'd begin fighting. I didn't think the house would survive two alphas fighting in it. It would be a disaster.

"If you disrespect me one more time boy I will remind who raised you"

"You did not raise me!" Louis yelled. "My mother raised me. You were just a figure whose job was to disapprove of my very action and decisions and beat me for what you considered to be bad behaviour. You did not raise me!"

His voice shook as he yelled and I felt compelled to go to him, to comfort him. But I couldn't. I didn't want his father to know who I was. It would be a disaster of epic proportions.

They began talking again but in more reduced tones. They were so low that I couldn't hear anything they were saying. I made to rise from the bed and move closer to the door to hear but the tray ended up crashing to the floor and making such a loud noise that I was sure that they both heard me. Regardless, I held my breath and prayed that they didn't hear me, that Alpha Roman didn't hear me.

"Who is here boy?" Alpha Roman asked calmly.

Shit.