The Human In The Wolf Pack -
Chapter 9
“That went better than I thought,” I said, looking over at Rider as we drove away from my pack. His large hands were gripping the steering wheel as he turned onto the road leading away from the pack house,
We had packed all of my things into his trailblazer, and now the atmosphere was awkward. The radio hummed quietly, some song I had never heard, and the tension in the car was thick, while neither one of us knew what to say to the other. He gave me a small smile and nodded. Should I say something? I mean, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to accept the mate bond or not, but I’ll be living in his territory.
“So, what’s your pack like?” I asked, nervous.
He looked over at me and hesitantly grabbed my hand. I felt tiny sparks jump out for a moment before it only felt like buzzing against my skin. I looked at it, curiously, wondering if I should pull away. I didn’t trust Rider, but I was starting to have a better understanding of him, and every time our skin touched, it felt amazing, like an itch was being scratched.
“Very different from yours. We are more wolf than human.”
I looked at him funny. What the hell does that mean?
“We live in a very rural area of the state, surrounded by woods. We don’t have to hide our wolves, so most pack members don’t have to block that other side of themselves out,” he explained, his thumb running patterns on the back of my hand before I drew away.
“Wait, why don’t they have to hide them? Aren’t there humans around?” I asked, confused.
Rider stayed silent.
“Rider…” I glared slightly.
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘No'”?
“There are no humans around.”
I was stunned into silence for a moment. Even living with The Lightened Horizon Pack, we lived close enough to humans to have a few at my school, and if we went to the mall, there would be more humans than werewolves. Still, I had always felt a bit isolated from them. Werewolves kept to themselves, and even if they didn’t know what werewolves were, humans were intimidated and stayed out of their way. I ended up being avoided as well.
Now, we’re going so deep out into the boondocks that there are no humans, whatsoever? I wanted to have a fresh start! Make human friends, go to a human college, not take ten steps in the opposite direction! Looking at his expression, I knew he had kept it from me for that reason. He knew that if he had told me that yesterday, I never would have agreed to come.
“What the hell! Rider, you knew I felt isolated in my pack that was around humans, why in the hell would you bring me to one without them! Why didn’t you tell me before now? Jesus, turn around I’m going home-“
“No you’re not. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d react this way. Like I said before, my pack is different. They wouldn’t treat you the way your old pack did,” he declared tensely.
I stared at him for a minute before scoffing and turning away to face the window, crossing my arms stubbornly. He growled slightly but said nothing. The car ride was silent for hours until I finally turned up the music. A familiar song came on and I started humming along with it. When I felt eyes on me, I turned to see Rider’s grey orbs peering at me.
“Don’t stop, it sounds really nice,” Rider complimented.
I blushed and despite what he said, I stopped humming, embarrassed. When the sky started to darken, Rider pulled into a small town and stopped at a motel.
“We’ll stay here for tonight, then get back on the road in the morning,” he declared, opening his door.
I reluctantly followed, walking behind him into the building. I couldn’t help but get lost in thought. Having no humans around sounded awful. It was the exact opposite of what I had planned, but I had already decided to give it a chance. If I didn’t like it, or felt uncomfortable, I would leave. Montana wasn’t so far from California anyway, compared to where my pack was in Wisconsin. And they’re more wolf than human? What the hell does that even mean? They’re more likely to tear me apart than ignore me? I knew that I was only making it worse for myself as my anxiety started to rise.
“Vera,” Rider called.
I snapped my eyes to his, surprised.
“Are you coming?” He asked, his head c*****g to the side as he looked at me, still sitting in the car.
I quickly nodded, hurrying to get out and follow behind him to our room. He slid the card into the lock and after a second, the red light flashed green and the door swung open. The inside wasn’t impressive, but it would due for the night. It didn’t smell, the bedsheets looked clean and the carpet only had one mysterious stain close to the bathroom door.
But the one thing that caught my attention was: only one bed.
“Um… Rider?” I asked, my voice rising in pitch.
“Yes?” He answers calmly.
“What the hell is that?” I demanded pointing to the bed.
“A mattress?”
“Why is there only one of them?”
“Because we’re mates.”
“So?”
“So we will share the same bed.”
Oh hell no.
“No. No no no. I refuse. Last night was a one time deal. We barely know each other! And what we do know, isn’t good. All those fluffy feelings that developed over night? That’s the mate bond. It’s not real,”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re mine,” he stated, unconvinced.
I just glared at him.
“I will sleep on the floor.”
“No you won’t,” he grit his teeth.
“You aren’t the boss of me.”
“I’m your alpha.”
“An alpha. I’m not a werewolf,” I pointed out, stubbornly holding my ground.
Check and mate.
“That doesn’t matter, Vera,” he snapped, turning to face me fully.
I looked at him surprised.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re human, you are my mate, so I guess that means you have Fate’s seal of approval. You are one of us.”
I looked away, unsure how to feel. I had always craved acceptance from the werewolves, and I had hoped that at least having a mate would give me a place in their world, but now I wasn’t so sure if that was what I wanted. Even so, the butterflies in my stomach seemed excited by his words. Instead of answering, I just wordlessly grabbed my bag and retreated to the bathroom to shower.
The hot water helped me clear my mind, but when I came back he was sitting on the bed, resting his head in his hands.
“What did I do now?” He whispered softly to himself.
Seeing him look so dejected was odd. I thought I would feel some satisfaction, I mean, he was the bane of my existence for a decade, but for some reason it didn’t. I sighed, but refused to comfort him. I hadn’t forgiven him just yet. I walked over to the bed and crawled in, bringing the covers up to my chin. I looked over to see him staring at me, baffled.
” ‘Night,” I whispered shortly.
He nodded before I turned away, but not before I saw a little smile show up on his face. He grabs a remote and presses a button, making the lights turn off, then he pulled up the covers and laid with me.
I sighed, replaying his words in my head and I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. At least he was trying to change. The Rider I knew would have never admitted to a human being apart of his world, but I couldn’t feel satisfied. It was just the mate bond, that continued to wiggle it’s way into my being, and grow with every moment I spent with him.
But even so, he said he accepts me like any other pack member, even if I’m not a werewolf.
“Good night,” He whispered softly as I began to drift off to sleep, but before I’m completely submerged in unconsciousness, I feel a pair of strong arms circle me, tiny tingles spread across my body.
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