Angel Blackwood (34 page)

“You’re only in
here now because of
who
you are and
our
history. If you were any other wolf, you’d be in the cage
in our basement awaiting your punishment,” he growls, standing up
and stalking towards me; I hold my ground.

I have to bend my neck to look
up at him. Our chests are almost touching and I swallow down the
butterflies in my stomach as I look into his sparkling emerald
eyes.

“So I get special treatment
because I’m your ex-mate?” He winces at the words and I watch as
his jaw ticks and his eyes turn dark.

“If that’s the case, let
me go. I didn’t cause any harm. I just needed to see my Mo… I
needed to see Georgina. I didn’t know where to go and I had
unfinished business with her.” I take a step back. “Just let me go
and you won’t have to see my face again, Jax. I’ll go back to my
territory-” The word isn’t fully out of my mouth before he
roars.

“This…” He gestures
wildly around the room, his eyes turning darker “…This should be
your territory! This is your home!”

He points
towards his bed. “That should be your bed. Y
ou should be with me!” His Alpha tone echoes
throughout the room as he roars. I can’t help the tremble in my
body as I back away from him. I call to my wolf for the strength to
stand up to him, but I can’t hear her. Thinking back, I haven’t
heard her since I landed on Georgina’s doorstep.

He lowers his voice, but
I watch at a distance as his fists clench tightly at his side. “You
shouldn’t have to run from your pack, Lexi. You should never feel
unwanted. Your pack should feel like your home.” He moves closer
and I curse as I bump into his dresser behind me.

He lifts his hands up in
surrender and says with words so soft and gentle, “I won’t hurt
you. I’m sorry I lost my temper, my wolf is calmer now.”He looks
down at me and I force myself to look at his chest.

“I have to go back, Jax,”
I whisper.

“You can’t,” he says just as
softly back, moving a piece of hair out of my face.

“Why?” I look
up at
him frowning.

He looks down at the piece of
hair he’s now twirled in his finger. “I don’t want you to.”

I place my hand over his, the
same one that holds the strand of hair.

His eyes find mine. “I’m
sorry I entered your land, Jax, but I needed to see Georgina. I
should have asked for your permission before I crossed borders, but
my head was all over the place and I just didn’t think. I’ll stay
here until the morning, but then I really need to get back to Fort
Hills. I need to face my problems head on.”

He nods his head in
understanding. “Your mates are there too?”

“They
are.
” I nod, looking down at
my hands now.
My
mates.
Just repeating those
words in my head causes a pain of longing in my chest for them. The
distance between us has caused a physical pain in my
heart.

I jump when he moves the hair
away from my shoulder, pushing against his chest to get distance
between us as his other hand cups the back of my neck holding me in
place. His thumb moves gently along the side of my neck.

“They still haven’t marked
you?” His eyebrows knit together.

I don’t have an answer to that,
so I just shrug.

Just then there’s a knock on
the door, I step away from Jax as he calls to whoever is behind the
door to come in.

Ronny’s head pops in with a
smile beaming on her face as she looks between the two of us.

I look her in
the eye trying to get into her head.
“Get those thoughts out of your head. Nothing is going on
between us.”

“Sure looks
like there is something going on there.”
She lifts a brow looking between Jax and I.

Jax walks past
saying,“Lexi, you can stay here for however long you need. I’ll
tell the pack this was a planned visit, let them know you’re not a
threat.” Then he looks me in the eye and forces himself into my
thoughts. “This conversation isn’t finished, we need to talk.” I
nod my head and he leaves.

“Wow! You two still have
that I’m-gonna-jump-you-when-no one’s-lookin’ chemistry going on.”
She looks at the door Jax just left through and then back to me. I
push her arm walking past her.

“Oh please.” I roll my eyes
blushing. “Where’s Chloe?”

We head out of the room and
down the stairs towards the main living room. It’s crowded with
people, but I don’t feel any animosity coming for the other pack
members. I’m welcomed and greeted with nothing but happy familiar
faces.

Chloe squeals when she
sees me. “You’re awake!” She wraps her arms around me, squeezing me
tight. Her excitement at seeing me makes me giggle.

“We missed you so much!” She
tugs on my hair. “Next time, answer our calls and reply to our
messages! We didn’t know if you were alive or dead!” Guilt engulfs
me; I’ve caused so much worry for my friends because of my constant
need to flee.

“I’m so sorry for the way I
left.”

Ronny folds her arms over her
chest and huffs.

“You tell us you’re half wolf,
perform some heavy witchcraft shit on Chelsea, then you up and
leave. We didn’t know whether you’d survived the shift or not.
Never do that again, Lexi. I swear to God, I will come after you
and I won’t let anyone get in my way.” Ronny’s voice is firm as she
says this, I know she’s deadly serious.

“No more running. I promise.” I
grab both of them and hold them tight.

We move to sit outside away
from the crowd.

“Do these parties happen
often?” I ask, gesturing towards the noise coming from the house
behind us.

The girls look at each
other then back at me. “Straight after you left, Jax was made
Alpha. When our parents left to travel to our ally packs, the
parties began.”

Chloe butts in, “I think it
helps to keep his mind off of you.”

I look back at the house and
see Jax standing on one of the balcony’s with a drink in hand
looking down at us. I turn quickly to look at the girls, I’m pretty
sure he just heard everything we’ve said so I try to change the
topic.

I look to Chloe. “Why
aren’t you a wolf?” Looking at Ronny I ask, “Thought you were gonna
turn her after graduation?”

They’re both silent for a few
seconds, I’m starting to suspect that this is a sore subject
between them.

Chloe blurts out, “She’s
scared she’ll kill me.” She rolls her eyes and when Ronny covers
Chloe’s hand with hers, Chloe pulls her hand away and folds her
arms. I sense the hurt of rejection as Ronny’s eyes find
mine.

“I’m scared she won’t make the
shift.”

I look to Chloe who
refuses to look at either of us. “That’s a reasonable excuse, don’t
you think Chlo?” I don’t get a response from her, but I can feel
the tension building between the two of them and I’m thinking it’s
best I stay out of this one.

“I don’t want to see you
in pain, sweetie. You have so much to think about before you make a
decision. What if you don’t survive the shift? What am I supposed
to do without you?” Ronny’s voice breaks as she says the last
word.

Chloe turns her head,
tears fall from her face. “You said I was meant to be your mate!
You said you would turn me, now you’re afraid I’m not strong enough
to survive! How will we ever know if we don’t try!” Chloe doesn’t
wait for a response; she stands up and walks away. The sound of her
sobs and the sadness and love shining through Ronny’s eyes as she
watches her girl walk away makes me miss my mates.

“Go after her, Ron.” She
squeezes my hand then takes off after Chloe.

I sit there
alone for a few moments before getting up and heading down to the
edge of the woods. Making my way to the fountain, I keep an eye
open for Drake. I haven’t seen him since I arrived here, hopefully
Jax has him locked up somewhere,
preferably in those cages in that basement he mentioned
earlier.

I climb onto the boulder I used
to sit on so often when I lived here and look up to the starry sky.
I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. The sound of the water
trickling down the rocks and into the water is tranquil, but the
sound of footsteps and a branch snapping has me turning to look
behind me.

Chelsea comes out from
the shadows. Her bleached hair is the first thing I notice, the
tears running down her face and smudged makeup has me on high
alert. I’m pretty sure the cause to all her tears is lurking around
here somewhere. I see blood on her yellow top and all over her
hands.

“Please help me, Lexi,”
she sobs, falling to the ground. I jump off the boulder and run
over to her. There’s blood all over her back, my hands are shake as
I try to calm her.

He must have whipped her like
he did me. I don’t have any love for the girl, but that doesn’t
mean I won’t help her get away from that monster.

“He did this to you, didn’t
he?” She continues to sob.

“Roll over let me see how
bad it is.” I move her carefully, trying not to cause her anymore
pain. The back of her shirt is full of blood, a rusty smell fills
my senses, but something about the smell is off. I slowly peel away
the shirt that covers her back.

“What
the,” I whisper out loud. There’s
nothing. No lacerations, no bruises, nothing. I look at the blood
that covers my hands, then watch Chelsea’s shoulders
shake.

She’s laughing. I back away and
stand up fully. My back pushes against something hard; I don’t need
to turn around to know who’s there.

“You’re such a stupid fucking
bitch,” Chelsea says, sitting up straight and wiping away the
mascara that has run down her cheeks. I let out a low growl as I
realise my mistake.

This was a set up.

When Drake’s hands snake around
my right shoulder, I move away and come face to face with his black
eyes.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” I snarl,
moving away. Chelsea quickly grabs my wrist.

“I’d say it’s
you who
is
the stupid one, Chelsea. Have you
forgotten what I did to you the last time I saw you two together?”
I say, ripping my hand away from hers.

She’s at a loss for words
as she stutters and looks to Drake. “Y…you c…can’t hurt me now.
Drake will protect me.” He doesn’t say a word and this causes
evident unease in her features.

“Drake?”
S
he says a little
quieter.

“Just help me get her back to
the cottage,” he spits out.

“I’m not going anywhere with
either of you!” I turn around but Drake’s strong arms wrap around
my waist, knocking the wind outta me as I collide with his chest.
Chelsea walks in front of us in a hurried pace and far enough that
I can’t kick her from my position.

I scream, “Get off me!” I start
scratching at his hands, but it only earns me a deadly growl and a
tighter squeeze before one hand covers my mouth silencing my calls
for help. The more I fight it the harder and harsher he is.

I stop struggling and turn
slack in his arms, his hold loosens and he drops me until my feet
touch the ground. I feel him moving his head closer and then his
lips are at my neck and ear lobe.

“You can’t run from me, Lexi.”
His hoarse voice has me trembling. I try to call out to my wolf,
but it’s no use; it’s as if she’s left me for good. When calling
for her doesn’t work, I allow my anger to call upon the magic I
know I have. My eyes start tingling and when that tingling takes
hold of my entire body, Drake loosens his hold on me. I’m on the
brink of losing my shit and giving both these idiots a taste of
what I can do, but I’m just not fast enough.

“You need to stop her! She’ll
hurt you like she did me!” I hear Chelsea’s scream over the wind
that is now blowing through the trees.

I’m so focused on building up
the strength that I’m unaware of Drake and what he’s doing.

Something hard hits the back of
my head and I fall, it lands with a thud a few centimetres from my
face. I blink away the blur and I find a small boulder. I feel the
magic retreat and I don’t have the strength to summon it back
anymore.

Black sneakers fill my vision
as the rock is kicked away. The hair in my face is removed and a
callused thumb brushes against my cheek.

“Stop looking at her like
that, Drake. We’re running outta time here. Alpha is going to come
looking for her when he notices her missing.” Chelsea’s whine
doesn’t help the headache that’s forming. My body feels dense and I
can’t move it. My eyelids are heavy and keeping them open is a
losing battle.

****

“I don’t know why you’re going
through all the trouble of getting her cosy in a bed and making
food for her, when she’s dead none of that will matter.” Chelsea’s
high pitched voice wakes me from my sleep.

When I’m dead?

They’re gonna kill me. I need
to get out of here.

I open my eyes slowly. I have a
throbbing headache and I seem to be in a small little cottage; it
smells of mildew and dust. The bed doesn’t look as if it belongs
here though, it’s hard and modern looking compared to the antique
furniture that surrounds us. The sheets are scratchy, but they
smell new and unused. Looking down I find pink bedding and bright
fluffy pillows surround me, I instantly know this is Chelsea’s
doing. I hear Drake and Chelsea yelling at each other in the other
room, so I take the opportunity to find out whether the window in
the room will open.