Pathways

I sat in Darren’s office exactly week later. We had moved into a small cabin which housed an ‘alpha office’, a small bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a microscopic living room. However I felt more at home in this tiny place then I had anywhere else I had lived. It was perfect just because it was just Darren and I. The office that I sat in was small, but cozy. The walls were a dark brown wood paneling, and the large window that the wall supported granted a perfect view of the town’s park. As I looked out of it I could see a few children sledding down the large hill and I could examine the gossiping ladies that occasionally looked back at me. Darren sat at the large mahogany desk that had quickly filled up with papers. He argued lightly on the phone in a hushed tone as he tried to keep whatever conversation he was having from me. At one point I had asked him to just let me leave so he could take care of his business, but ever since the fire he had been glued to my side. My arm had almost completely healed, except from stiffness and my now immobile pointer and middle finger. The tips were permentally stuck at an odd angle, one pushed to the side a little and the other pointing completely forward. Thankfully that would not affect my wolf in anyway, after I could move my arm properly again that is.

“You will find them!” Darren snapped angrily, making me jump as I body turned towards him again. He held his head in his heads as he growled into his cell phone, tapping his foot against the wooden floor as he grew inpatient. For the past week he had been trying to figure out who had set our house on fire, and he surprisingly was not mad at Ryder when I had let the news of the knocking man slip from my lips. Ryder had only gained a scolding for not telling anyone about it sooner, thankfully.

My stomach growled loudly. Ever since I had left the hospital I found it hard to eat. Not because I didn’t want to, or that I wasn’t hungry. They had placed me on Vicadon, an extreme human pain killer they had told me. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t keep any food down when I was on it, and when I tried to get myself off of the pain killer the pain was just to much to bare. The doctor said I would be on the pain killer for a few more days, something about the intensive repair that my body was doing to itself. The only good thing about the pain killer so far was that it kept my fever down, as well as maintained the pain. It hurt Darren to watch me get sick though, so when I did eat I tried my best to do it in privet. The one thing that did suck about this small homey cottage was that I couldn’t really find the privacy to do so. Lately I had discovered that I could keep down liquid foods such as pudding or soup, but it didn’t exactly fill my wolf sized appetite. Believe me when I say that my wolf was also getting annoyed by this, solid food is like a blessing in my mind.

Groaning a little I used my good arm to tighten the throw blanket that Darren had tucked around me when we first arrived in his office this morning. Thankfully this office sported a small love seat couch that I could steal naps from, that was the only thing that really got me through these long days so far. His beautiful eyes met mine when I made that sound, mistaking it as a groan of pain most likely. He knew he couldn’t do anything about it though, he just helplessly watched as the medication starved me to death, it wouldn’t be much longer though.

A small knock landed on the office door, making Darren’s head snap to it automatically. Stopping his phone conversation to sniff at the air and detect who this person was who was at his door. It wasn’t hard to guess, his pack always delivered some type of meal to us no matter where we were, it was like a tradition for them now. Ever since the mansion had burned down and our cook had died with it, they seemed to feel like we couldn’t fend for ourselves. Yesterday a lady named Mora had brought us Chili, and the day before that a man named Norman had delivered pot roast. Each day we both ate the food with thanks, even if I couldn’t keep it down the food still appealed to my taste buds.

“One moment.” Darren hummed into his cell, setting his hand over the speaker so the next conversation was muffled. “Come in.”

The mahogany door creeped open to show us a short and skinny girl. She was about 5’2 in height and she sported waist length blond curly hair. Light brown freckled littered her pale face and danced a crossed her sharp thin nose. A thick lathering of pale pink lipstick covered her plump lips which then pulled open into a wide smile as she laid her dull gray eyes on me. In her hands she held a box of steaming pizza and a small bundle of freshly made bread sticks.

“Good afternoon, Alpha.” She addressed to Darren as she slowly made her way over to his desk to place today’s goodies on it. “My name is Fawn, your aunt and uncle asked me to bring you this meal.” Her back was now turned to me, but I could still see her bowing type posture. Something about her didn’t seem right to me, she seemed to polite but she also seemed threatening. Her scent was to heavy, almost like someone had placed to much perfume on her. Now that I think about it, she seemed to be studying this room, looking for anything that was out of place. Almost like she seemed to know this cabin inside and out.

Darren leaned back in his chair and looked at her square in the face. I could tell he was sensing the same difference in her that I was, but he didn’t seemed as alarmed about it. “I have never seen you in my pack before, Fawn.”

She seemed to freeze, but only slightly. Just long enough to brush it off as a small unnoticeable demeanor. “Oh, I’m afraid I have not yet introduced myself. I am Zane’s mate, I arrived here last week the day of the fire. You had signed my acceptance letters for this pack, but I’m afraid I have not yet been able to introduce myself because of this weeks events.” That did make sense, but for some reason it did not make me feel any better. Although Darren seemed to be at ease because of it.

“Oh, I see. Well thank you for the food, Fawn. I hope you have a pleasant day.” He smiled sweetly at her, which did spark a hint of jealously in my heart. I hid it quite well though. Fawn turned on her heels then, locking her eyes with mine once more. My wolf stirred inside of me, feeling just about as uncomfortable as I was. I wonder if Darren still sensed it.

“I wish you well, Luna. I know we will be very close.” She hummed, making it seem like there were more behind her words then what met the eye. Although before I could question it she was already gone, slipping through the door and shutting it before I could get a word in edge wise. Darren didn’t seem to notice anything though, he was perfectly content with digging into the food, for lack of a better term. He slipped the gooey cheese and meat filled slice of pizza into his mouth. It brought a smile to my face to see him shoving food into his mouth. Ever since the accident he seemed to be eating less, mostly because he was to busy trying to figure out who burnt out house down.

He chewed about half of his slice in one bite, looking up at me with his goofy lopsided grin. When he looked at me now I could see more love then I ever had before. He was beautiful, and it hurt me to know that I almost left him because of that fire. What would he have done without me? Normally when a wolf looses his or her mate they get so depressed that they soon follow. Whether it is from a broken heart or suicide.

“Mmm.” He purred, purposely rolling his eyes back to show how good the pizza was. My stomach growled loudly and I pursed my lips at him. Almost glairing in a way. I would love to be able to hold down food. “Man Rose, this is good pizza.”

“You are so mean!” I growled, crossing my arms over y chest which only had me jerking it back into a straight position when hot pain seared up it. Darren just smiled at me and stood up from his desk. Stretching his long lean legs out and beginning to walk over to me. My heart pounded in my chest, god his was beautiful. Everything he did made my heart sing. The way he watched me as he glided gracefully a crossed the room was enough to make me swoon. Having a mate was such an odd thing

To my surprise he pushed my legs apart when he reached me. Laying his warm body between them and putting his face right in front of mine. I could see the dark bags from sleep depravation that hung underneath his eyes. The paleness of his skin from being cooped up inside since the fire. He looked like he had crawled out from a dungeon. Without hesitation I leaned forward and pecked his cheesy lips, a silent thank you for being there for me. He smiled against my lips, but regretfully pulled away. Bringing his half eaten piece of pizza to my lips.

“Take a bite, it wont make you sick.” He purred. So I did. The taste of cheesy goodness filled my mouth. It was the best pizza I had ever had. The pepperoni was emanate against my taste buds, and I could hardly tell where one flavor ended and another began. God it was delicious. Whoever made this pizza deserved to be a multimillionaire. If they weren’t famous then no one deserved to be. It was like heaven baked into a pizza. “Good right?” I nodded, attempting to steal another bite but he had already shoved it into his mouth. “Mine.” He chuckled.

After about twenty second of eating that bite I felt a little weird. Like my hormones were going into over drive. When I looked at him it seemed to have no other effect but the urge to have sex with him. Everything about him suddenly got so much more attractive. His face seemed to glow and his eyes seemed to lure me in. My wolf stirred inside of me, kicking to get out and take control. By the looks on his face I could see the same reaction was happening to him. His eyes flashed from black to hazel rapidly as his wolf and him fought over control. Darren half way pushed off from me, balancing at my hips as his hands gripped them tightly.

“We’ve…” He whispered through gritted teeth, still looking down at me. Almost checking me out.

I couldn’t allow him to figure out what he was going to say though, my wolf was to strong. Even without her taking over I still felt such a strong pull to him that I couldn’t help myself. My weak body sat up and pulled closer to him, pressing my lips to his. They were warm and inviting. In all honestly it turned me on more. My body was literally itching to get closer to him. I felt like if I didn’t get closer I was going to go insane. The pain in my body didn’t even matter anymore, I still wrapped my arms around him tightly and held him there. His arms wound around me as well, one on my back and the other on the back of my head. Holding me in the kiss and eagerly keeping me there.

Before I knew what was happening he was back over top of me and I was pressed firmly into the couch. Pinned almost, like he didn’t want me to move. Yet I felt his fingers at the bottom edge of my shirt, pushing in upward as well as leaving goose bumps in its wake. My body shivered against his, begging for more. I didn’t know how to stop it even though I knew this was a bad idea. I was high on pain killers and something else that was making me feel the need for sex. Although it couldn’t be the pain killers because Darren was so into this as well. My shit got caught when I couldn’t lift my arm high enough for him to get it off, the annoyance in his eyes clear as the flashed from black to hazel, black to hazel. I wondered if mine where doing that as well. The sound of shredding echoed through the office and I realized that he had torn the shirt off me. To impatient to figure out another way. My eyes locked with his once more, seeing the flat black giving off that his wolf was now in control. I figured it out then. We were poisoned, most likely from the pizza. Someone wanted us sleeping together. I could only imagine why later though, because my wolf quickly took over. Finishing the act that we would soon come to regret.