"Well,
there go anotha' kitchen.....Any more furniture ya wanna kill this mornin' or
ya done?"
Sam’s
voice cut through the silence that had befallen us. I had stayed seated, with
Carver on the floor in front of me, until we heard movement from upstairs. I
assumed Sam had heard the chaos of the room being destroyed but wisely stayed
away until now. When the soft footsteps had reached the hallway, followed by
padding paws, I'd stood up letting go of Carver's hair and went to try and
rescue the coffee machine.
Carver
growled low at Sam’s comment and followed me, he stood inches away while I
filled the water tank. As the glass pot was somewhere among the detritus, I
found somewhat intact mugs to catch the brewing coffee. Carver moved when I
moved and stopped when I stopped, for such a large man he was remarkably fluid
in motion. I looked at him quizzically but he only stared straight faced, I
assumed his wolf was pushing him to remain close. I'd allow him this small
thing.
"Dun
go growlin' at me Captain, you tha one keep smashin' up importan' stuff.."
Sam peered around the counter, "... Better no' have broken my damn
whiskey."
Sam’s
grumbling continued for a good ten minutes, I left him to it while I stood
catching hot coffee and patting Remy’s large head that he kept shoving into my
hand. I think the soft beast had missed my cot last night too, he'd been
thwarted from his usual night-time antics by a lock on my new bedroom door.
I
handed out mugs and leaned against a broken cabinet. Sam sat in the remaining
chair and the dogs lay behind him on the only available floor space not taken
up by vandalised furniture.
I
felt raw. Like I'd been opened and scrubbed clean and put back together with a
fragility that was easily collapsible. I'd built up my hardened shell over
years, yet it took just one conversation to shatter the illusion of durability.
I was the same girl I'd been last night, just with more obvious defects.
"So,
we gettin' breakfast wit' tha rest of them guards?"
Carver's
voice was a rough version of his normal huskiness, "Yes, they serve in the
main hall at eight. I'll get a call out for the damage and it should be fixed
this week."
He
took my empty mug from my hand and placed it in what remained of the sink. I
kept becoming oddly side-tracked by certain parts of him; the huge hand that
covered mine from view when he'd reached towards me, his black eyes that seemed
to swallow me whole whenever he looked my way, the vast chest that took over my
view whenever I looked straight ahead rather than up at his great height. I
felt small standing beside him, a pixie next to a giant. It was both empowering
having him at my side and somewhat invalidating, like his very aura overwhelmed
and extinguished mine.
"Come
on we'll leave now, it'd be good to show your faces, there are still some who
don't realise who you are yet."
Sam
chuckled,"Yeah, already had a run in wit' new Alpha Alex. He no' too happy
wit' ya girl ova there."
Carver
snarled and fine hair sprouted over the back of his hands, sharp points poked
through his fingertips, claws under the skin as his wolf pushed for possession.
His control over his emotions was seriously lacking after this morning. I found
myself unconsciously reaching out and lightly touching his hand, a movement
Carver stilled and stared in something akin to awe at. I furrowed my brow in
response, someone should tell him there was nothing to admire in me, everything
I am is covered in a layer of filth; all that polishing a beautiful thought in
progress.
My
touch produced marvellous results in calming his temperamental beast, whether
through the actual touch or pure surprise I wasn't sure. I caught a full grin
on Sam’s face and glared in his direction, it did nothing but make that grin
bigger.
I
huffed and started for the door, leaving the two to smirk at each other. The
morning had Autumns crisp and fresh feel, that rebirth after summers end. I
started towards the smell drifting through the air of cooked food and heard
Carver rapidly move to catch up with me. I had a feeling he would not be
letting me out of his sight for a while yet.
The
main hall was located behind the farmhouse, a decent sized plot of land
separating the two buildings. I narrowed my senses to just my hearing and
managed to pick up the sounds of several men talking and laughing together,
cutlery against crockery and the hiss of steam from cooking. I liked these
advancements in sense I had gained, it was like having lived a life underwater
and only now coming up for air. My sight, my sense of smell, even my already
good hearing had improved, I'd missed a lot without my wolf these past years.
I
made it to the solid oak, wooden doors of the main hall slightly in front of
Carver and waited for Sam and the dogs to catch up. He picked up a strand of my
hair and twisted it around his finger. "You'll not move away from me in there
right cherry? I don't think my wolf will like it right now and I don't want to
kill my guards, I like most of them."
I
sighed...more nicknames, was it really that hard to just call me Arya?
"I'll go where I want and you'll just have to follow me, right
Captain?"
His
little scowl was worth the tug on my hair.
We
entered the hall together, Carver leading and hiding me from view behind his
solid frame. I peeked out around his arm as we came to several tables and the
low rumble of voices quietened to almost silent.
I
was interested in meeting these men. Men that could have been Alphas in their
own right, and yet pledged allegiance to the Crown and followed this man.
Still
followed this man, even after half a century of abolishing the monarchy
through death and abdication.
These
men had fought for kings. Their brothers in arms had died for sovereignty, and
now they're ruled by governors of narrow mindedness. They fight less for
freedom and free reign and more for political and powers gain. These men
conquer their own species, overthrow Alphas, vanquish opposition. I had
wondered why they follow, maybe I would finally have my answer.
As
Carver moved to the side to introduce me I looked at three similarly built men.
Tall, broad and hardened, a true example of battle seasoned veterans. Dressed
entirely in black, a uniform it seems for these men, they portrayed an image of
exactly what they were; formidable, menacing warriors.
The
first had a mop of auburn hair, rough weathered skin and an expression of
cheekiness that fit oddly with the rest of his appearance. He was ever the
Scottish highlander in werewolf form.
Carver
nodded at him as he waved a hand in his direction, "Arya, this is
Duncan."
The
red head smiled at me and waved cheerily,"Nice ta meet ya, Lass."
It
seemed his appearance was correctly judged, he had a lingering Scottish accent,
a small lilt on his words like he'd been gone from home too many years to keep
that broad dialect.
The
second was blonde, a much darker complexion than Duncan, though that wasn't
difficult with how pale the Scotsman was. A nice summer tan that was only more
obvious with the light blonde hair. He was more reserved, a nod in
acknowledgement to Carvers introduction of, "Lane."
The
third I remembered seeing before. The second in command was almost as broad as
Carver, though shorter by a good few inches. His light brown hair was a messy,
dishevelled mass that stuck up in chucks of uncontrollable waves. His eyes, a
deep brown that were as close to chocolate as I'd ever seen, were in constant
movement, not once settling on any one thing in the room. Despite his harried
countenance he was remarkably soft spoken with a calm energy that ebbed and
flowed around the room. He introduced himself as "Charlie," in an
entrancing tone that had me staring long after he'd flicked his gaze to several
other points in the hall.
I
felt Sam at my side and turned to see him grinning at the three men.
"Lane,
good ta see ya boy, still as cheerful as eva' I see."
The
blonde grunted at Sam and he chuckled back at him, "yeah, missed you too
blondie."
I
quirked a brow at Sam as he sat down opposite the guards. I was starting to
think he left out important information on purpose, like the fact that he was
obviously well acquainted with them already.
Sam
caught my look and the worst attempt I'd ever seen at feigning innocence fell
over his face. I rolled my eyes and took a seat next to him, pulling Remy over
to put between myself and reaching distance of the men in front of me. The
capacity for violence they exuded was intriguing to my wolf, I felt her peek
out in interest, those gold glinted eyes searching and weighing their worth.
She was once again overestimating herself, the crazed beast had no chance
against these three.
A
girl around my age glided over, arms full of plates piled high with food. She
gracefully emptied her load onto the table to grateful noises by all the men.
Duncan threw a wink her way and her porcelain skin blushed bright red as she
walked away as quickly as possible without it quite being a run. Carver pulled
a plate of sausages and eggs from the centre of the table and placed it in
front of me, before grabbing his own and passing cutlery into my hand. It felt
awfully like he was feeding me, yet I said nothing and ate when he prompted.
Just one more piece I was giving him.
We
ate quietly for a moment until Duncan broke the silence, "When you want to
start Ceann?"
I
looked over my shoulder for a moment before I realised Duncan was talking to
Carver. Sam whispered in my ear, "Means boss, girlie."
My
cheeks tinged slightly pink and I nodded at him, hoping no one else had caught
my ignorance. I returned to the conversation Carver was having which sounded
suspiciously like it involved me.
"This
afternoon? I have nothing pressing today, I'd like to start as soon as
possible."
Duncan
grinned a little,"Sure thing, we'll make sure the young lass enjoy
herself."
I
stared at Carver until he deigned to include me in the conversation. He touched
the back of my hand lightly and that rough voice contributed to the tiny
shivers on my skin. "Thought it might be a good idea to get you in
training. Maybe see if we can't get you a little more control over your wolf.
These three are my most trusted."
I
clenched my jaw and raised an eyebrow at Carver then leaned in towards him so I
could whisper in his ear,"I don't understand how I'm going to do that. If
she comes out when they touch me I'll kill them."
Carvers
fists turned white but his voice was calm in response, "they've learned
well enough how to take a beating and stay alive cherry, I trust them with you
and I trust you with their lives."
Personally
I thought he was insane.
I
don't trust me. I sighed and looked at
Duncan’s weirdly cheerful grin. Charlie nodded frantically at me while scoping
the room out again. It was Lane however that forced my hand. His evil little
smirk and the savage glint in his eye instantly challenged my wolf. It brought
a corresponding reaction from me, a truly devilish smile that was half human,
half animal. My wolf rumbled within, thumping her heavy tail on my spine,
compelling my agreement.
I
met Lane's stare and cocked my head at his challenge. "Alright then, let's
start with you."
The training room was rather disappointing.
The one I had seen at twelve years old had been five star compared to this one.
It was old and worn, used and lived in. The bags hanging from thick beams in
the ceiling were monstrous exaggerations of normal boxing bags. Split and
pouring stuffing from its seams, they were suspended in their last moments of
life. The mats that covered the floor were stained in dark blotches of brown,
the padding absorbing what a guard had spilt. Rips in the blue foam, claw
shaped in their evenly spaced marks, showed a map of man to wolf.
There were four other guards in the room as
we walked in, quiet in their concentration, focused in their own little corner
of the world. I felt an urge to whisper as if I were intruding in their
territory. Sam had followed me in while Carver waited outside for my three new
trainers. We'd left the dogs in the house, I wasn't sure if they'd feel the
need to protect, and I didn't want them hurt by accident.
I sat on a bench that ran the perimeter of
the centre mats. I closed my eyes and tried focusing on that dark force inside
me, poking the beast, judging her reactions. She remained still, lazy and
relaxed in a half sleep. I let out a breath and left her alone for the moment,
I felt idiotic trying to predict her reactions, I already knew this situation
was not going to end well for everyone involved.
"Dun look so glum girlie, if nuthin'
else it'll be amusin'."
I rolled my eyes, "Seriously Sam?
That's the only thing you have to say right now?"
He grinned his carefree grin and sat down
beside me, "They big boys, you think they can' handle one tiny girl?"
I huffed at him being purposely dense,
"Yes well I'm sure that's what the Alpha thought too."
Sam bellowed out laughter and I winced at
the startled guards broken from their fierce concentration and dropping weights
to the floor."Yeah sure he did. But then again he was an ass..."
I looked at him and frowned while he
finished his laughter."... Look girlie, he weren' a smart man. Thought he
didn' need ta be careful wit' ya, thought he was tha be all n' end all of
werewolves." Sam snorted at the thought, "You showed him he was
wrong. These men, they smarter then tha', they ain't goin' ta take an eye off
ya for a second. B'sides everyone already know ya crazy; ya killed an Alpha,
watcha worryin' 'bout?"
I narrowed my eyes at him and gave up.
Maybe he had a small point though, Duncan and Charlie certainly seemed smart
enough. Lane slightly less so, regardless they were all guards for a reason,
surely they could keep themselves alive long enough to calm my wolf down if she
appeared.
Carver entered followed by all three
guards. They looked particularly intimidating this afternoon, as if they'd gone
away and added more muscle just to return like a walking judgement. As soon as
my stomach quivered at the sight of them I felt my wolf take notice. A small
stretch of my skin, a sliding under the surface of my arms as she poured her
claws to my fingertips, a little rumble in my chest to announce her arrival.
I put my chains on as tight as I could,
locking her down, tying her up. Those laughable steel links that could have
been made from daisy's for all the good they did.
Carver's dark eyes flicked to mine as he
stood in front of me, checking on my welfare, glimmering over my body as if
analysing if I was still in the same condition that he'd left me in. I felt
oddly warmed by his obsessive compulsions over my well being, it was nice for a
change to have someone else do it for me.
Duncan, Charlie and Lane had stayed in the
middle of the mats, leaving their shoes at the edge. Carver held out a hand and
I stared at it for a long time before placing my palm on his. A light tug and I
was on my feet, with remarkably no resistance from my wolf, she was too focused
on the men waiting for her to worry about where I put my hand.
I turned to Sam and found him still
grinning, settling back against the bench and getting comfortable as if
anticipating a show. I glared, not that it did much, and walked away with
Carver.
"You're going to be watching?"
His voice was back to husky, a truly
thrilling sound for my evolved sense. "Yes, I'll be sitting with
Sam."
I looked at him out of the corner of my
eye,"What about your wolf?"
Carver brought us to a halt and turned to
me, "We had a little chat, he understands this is to help you. Not to say
he won't get pissed but he'll stay inside for now."
That was surprising,"Your wolf talks
to you?"
He smiled at me, that sultry smile that
made him so much more. "More emotions and mutual understanding then
talking but Yeah, he does. Yours doesn't?"
I snorted, "More like ignores
me."
He tugged me along and started towards the
guards again,"well hopefully this will give you two some cohesion."
Maybe, maybe not. I'd be happy if everyone
got out alive.
I had tried to avoid Lane's eyes while he'd
been in the training room seeing as he antagonised my wolf so much, but the
closer I got to him the more that beast inside forced my eyes to his. By the
time I stood in front of the little line they'd made of themselves I was
glaring at the blonde wolf. Duncan’s laugh was loud and gruff as he clapped Lane
on the back.
"At least we know what angers her
beastie, that would be you
brathair.
"
Lane grunted and met my gaze. His eyes were
a stark grey that pierced through my nerves and reached the gold glinting off
my wolf's vision. He was either incredibly confident in his abilities or
incredibly stupid.
Carver squeezed my hand lightly before
letting go and brushing a tiny kiss to the side of my head. He was gone so
quickly and I was so focused on Lane I had no time to react and ended up
staring after him in confusion. Duncan’s little laugh caught my attention and I
turned back to his amusement. "Happens ta the best of us."
His words just made me frown more. Charlie
moved forward a step and entranced me in that voice of his,"We're going to
start with Lane as he's already caught your wolf's attention. I'll stay on the
mat with you and hold back your wolf if you lose control."
I rolled my eyes, "We should just go
with
when
I lose control."
He smiled a little and again I became
enchanted. God help the mate he gets.
His eyes moved quickly to Carver and back
again before signalling Duncan to move off the mat. I saw him flick his eyes to
doors, the windows on the far wall and the guards still training in one corner.
He was a complete contradiction of movement and mood. That wave of serene still
exuding from a package of frenzy.
In the moment my concentration was taken
over by Charlie, a flash of black swept across my vision. I felt weightless for
several seconds before crashing to the ground, an 'oomph' escaping with my breath.
I lay still for a minute before my senses returned. I looked up at the blonde
man smirking above me, a rumble filled the room from the benches at the far
wall. I heard Charlie's voice to the side of me but his words didn't register
and his tone no longer drew my attention.
A thrashing became distracting under my
skin, teeth gnawing at my ribs and eyes flickering from human to golden hues.
Lane's smirk became wider and his voice was quiet and stilted as if he didn't
use it very often, "don't think you can beat...me do you girl? You trying
to keep her...in right now? Don't. Let her out, I could do with a
little...workout before I'm finished with you."
I could not understand what he thought he
was doing. My wolf disliked the slight against her strength, she truly believed
she was indestructible. I may not completely agree with her but this man was
pushing my control until I was hovering on a line between angry and unhinged.
"you not getting up little
girl?...Giving up already?"
That line disintegrated to dust, along with
any semblance of containing my wolf. She burst through my flesh amid a roar of
fury, shouts in soothing tones failed to affect the animal in my place and
rough, husky growls fell on deaf ears. She wasted no time in leaping at the
blonde man, her claws extended to knives and her jaw open in an intention of
murder.
For once I was not behind a glass wall,
seeing and hearing yet unable to contribute. I shared a space with an animal,
both of us with only the objective of killing the man who taunted us. My claws
raked down his side, his wolf had come to the fore while I'd shifted, his torso
larger and thicker skinned but still not able to withstand the sharpness of
those diamond hard talons.
Blood dripped down his leathery skin, his
shirt destroyed in his shift. Four long ragged stripes ran down his side, my
wolf leaving her mark, playing with her prey.
I heard a scramble behind me but I couldn't
remove my gaze from the redness leaking from him, my beast wanted more and she
refocused on another part of him, a part that she became obsessed with sinking
her teeth into.
She roared again and leapt for his neck,
ignoring the large hands he lifted to stop her, the claws that dug into her
side as she pierced his shoulder with inches long teeth. He'd yanked his head
to the right and her aim was disturbed, she found consolation however in the
blood that poured into her mouth.
I felt arms wind around my furred body,
steel encased in skin, a locking embrace that was near impossible to remove. My
wolf removed her teeth from Lanes shoulder and swung her head around to bite at
the man attached to her back. A shock of brown hair obscured his face as he
twisted out of her reach and threw his legs around her bottom half, legs as
strong as iron bars grappled with her own until she was writhing in restraints
of limbs.
A red haired brute fell on top of the
other, both pinning me down to the floor as Lane was removed from the room, his
blood leaving a trail to follow. Carver appeared in front of my subdued wolf,
his face tense and sharply defined, a growl loosing itself every now and then
at the men on top of me.
"Shift."
His voice was forceful and commanding,
centuries of power and authority contained within, and yet my wolf only stilled
and met his black eyes.
"Shift cherry please, you won't be
released until you do." This was softer and more pleading and allowed my
consciousness to regain full control over the animal. I started to regress to
human and stared at Carver until he understood the need for clothes.
A long shirt was thrown over me as my size
fell from monstrous to girl once again. I used shaky hands to fumble with
buttons and breathed deeply until I could stand to look up at Carver's face. I
imagined disappointment and accusation, I had completely destroyed that trust
he'd so easily but foolishly given.
Carvers rumble of displeasure only made me
tense more in mortification. "Look at me Arya."
I raised my eyes slowly, procrastinating
over that reproof I was sure to find. Instead I found a sultry smile that instantly
changed my guilt to bemusement."We knew that would happen cherry, he was
trying to get you to change. We just needed to know how little it took to set
you off."
I narrowed my eyes at him, I really
disliked surprises.
He raised his eyebrows at me, "What? I
thought you showed great control."
I was less than amused.