Chapter 12

Lauren

I woke up with a splitting headache. The room was completely unfamiliar, and for a moment, I started to panic—that is, before the scent hit me.

Every square inch of the room smelled like Sebastian. As I paid more attention to the room, I noticed the décor screamed his personality: dark colors. I wasn't a fan of dark colors, preferring vibrant ones, but I liked the palette of shades used.

I stand up and everything tips on its axis. I pause for a while to get my equilibrium first. Once the dizziness passes, I head towards the door that I assumed was the bathroom. It was already daytime, with streams of sunlight penetrating through the curtains, so I assumed everything happened the previous day.

“Blue?” I call her.

I check the bathroom, and it was every woman's dream. I was used to luxury, given that Darren was an Alpha, but this level of luxury was beyond anything I could imagine. I could honestly get used to this. I can see myself relaxing in the luxurious bath with a glass of wine and a good book.

"Yes, Ren,” she asks, shaking the fogginess from her mind.

"What happened yesterday? Why did we lose control like that?"

The thought of not being in control of my actions scares the crap out of me. I should have been able to remain cool despite Miranda baiting me. I was always level-headed, but I don't know what happened yesterday.

“You know what's happening, Ren. We're losing control easily because we're falling deeper into the darkness. We need to get Sebastian to mark us before it's too late to do anything. We're too close to snapping,” she says in a somber voice.

She was right. I had a feeling, but I didn’t want to admit it. The way the slightest provocation made me want to shred someone into pieces; every thought when someone wrongs me turns into the need to bathe in their blood, as in the case of the reporters.

I wash my face and brush my teeth with an extra toothbrush I found. My mind turned and twisted, thinking of how I was going to approach Sebastian about this. Thinking of him makes me wonder how he was doing after the events of yesterday. With how cold the bed felt, and how his scent was a day old, it meant he hadn't been to this room for some time.

It isn't easy knowing that someone drugged and took advantage of you. For a man, that would be a hundred times worse. I didn't know if he would allow me to offer him comfort, but I was going to try. With that thought firmly in place, I walk out of the bathroom, intending to go and find Sebastian. I get out just as the door to the room opens. I'm frozen, staring at Sebastian. He is not only covered in blood, but he’s also completely naked.

“Sebastian?” I ask, unsure of what to tell him.

I keep my eyes trained on his, fighting my response to lower them. Even with all the gore covering him, he was still a beautiful specimen to look at. The urge to touch him was completely out of place. "Are you okay?" I add when he doesn't answer. He just stares at me in that unnerving way he does, making me shift from foot to foot, utterly uncomfortable.

He nods. “Yes, I'm just from hunting.”

"Okay then, we need to talk, but can you please cover up?” I say, motioning to his body with my hands.

I see a spark—the spark that I thought he had lost yesterday when that bitch announced what she had done.

"Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?” he asks with a hint of a smirk.

We are werewolves and we are used to nudity, but for some reason, his was making me squirm in an uncomfortable way. Not even with Darren or any other man have I ever been this uncomfortable.

I whisper, looking anywhere else but at him: "Yes."

I feel rather than see him move. I was relieved that he was finally getting some clothes on, but the relief quickly turns to panic when he comes and stands inches from me. I look up at him, seeing something swim in their depths, but I can’t quite figure out what it is.

"And why is that, Red? Why do I make you uncomfortable when you've probably seen hundreds of naked men, especially during pack hunts?”

I don't answer. This close to him, I can feel his scorching body heat. I want to push him back, but I also didn’t want to put my hands on his bare chest. I don't know what I would do once I feel his skin underneath my palms.

I inhale sharply. The scent of animal blood hits me, and I'm grateful that he was hunting animals and not people.

He pushes me back till I hit the door behind me. Then he proceeds to cage me with his hands on either side of me. He bends his head towards me, his face dangerously close to mine. His lips are just inches away. If I tipped my head up, it would bring our mouths together. For a moment, I had the absurd idea that I wouldn't mind him kissing me—or taking me.

“Sebastian?” I say slowly. My voice is huskier than I want it to be.

Maybe it was time for me to invest in some of the sex toys humans seem to be excited about. There was no way I was going to cheat on Sebastian, and there was also no way I was going to sleep with him. He made it perfectly clear that this mating was in name only. I needed to scratch that particular itch, and the sex toys were the only available solution.

“I can smell your arousal, Red, and I don't fucking like it. This mating is in name only, so you better remember that. No intimacy, no love, no sex. Nothing but mutual understanding and goals. Don't fucking forget that, because doing so will force my hand, and you don't fucking want that,” he tells me, his voice cold and hard, making me feel like I've just been drenched with a bucket of cold water. He moves me to the side, opens the door to the bathroom, and enters, banging it behind him. The bang brings me out of my daze. I was fucking embarrassed that he had caught me and also pissed off that he assumed that just because I was horny, I was falling for him. What an arrogant jerk. How is it that he has the ability to turn me on without even a touch and then piss me off all in the span of minutes?

I rush outside the room, needing to be completely far from him. I also needed to find Claire and check on the children—anything to keep me distracted from my sexual needs.

In my rush, I bump into someone. “I'm so sorry, I didn't see you.”

I look up to find the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm not even exaggerating. She has the type of beauty that would befit a goddess—the type that songwriters sing and write about.

She sneers at me. "Watch where you're going, you slut.”

And then the image I had of her crashes down in burning flames. Why is it that most beautiful and hot people are attractive until they open their fucking mouths? Then nothing except poison comes out.

"What the hell did you say?” I snarl. I hated disrespect, and this woman was dishing it out in loads. “You heard me, dumb bitch,” she rolls her eyes as if she finds me stupid or something.

“Show her who's boss... tear into her. Bathe in her blood,” I hear the words whispered into my mind. I feel them urging me to give in to the images they were creating.

I fist my hands, my claws digging into my palms. The pain grounds me, bringing me back from the edge of insanity.

“What the hell is your fucking problem?”

“My problem is idiot bitches like you who come here thinking that they can take what's mine. Axel is mine, and nothing you do will change that,” she says before smirking triumphantly at me. “By the end of this day, he'll be seeking me out and it'll be my name on his lips, just like every other day since he severed his bond from the bitch rotting in the dungeon.”

I was shocked that Miranda was in the dungeon, but I would deal with that later. Right now, I needed to put this slut in her place.

I get into her personal space before landing a blow to her midriff. I wasn't thinking, just acting. She wasn't expecting it, because she bends, clutching her stomach.

“You fucking bitch!” she screams.

By now she was on her knees. I grab her jaw tightly and allow Blue to shine through me. She chokes back at my aura.

“Listen to me and listen to me good: the next time you decide to open your mouth, think it through, because if you ever spout such bullshit to me, I'll skin you alive before killing you in the most painful way my sick mind can come up with. Then I'll take your skin and hang it up in the hallway as a fucking trophy. I don't take disrespect very well, especially from someone as insignificant as you. So let this be the first and last fucking warning.”

I don't give her time to recover before I release her and then knee her in the face. I hear the crunch of her nose breaking. Her howl of pain echoes through the room, making me feel the thrum of triumph coursing in my veins.

“Red, in my office.”

I stiffen before turning to see Sebastian standing in the entryway with an unreadable look on his face. He turns around for me to follow and I do, only then noticing that we had attracted attention to ourselves. I hold my head up high, though I was trembling inside, showing them that I wasn't anyone to walk over.

It's only when we reach his office and he closes the door that it hits me, making me groan.

Shit! I haven't even been Luna for a full day and I was already causing trouble. Sebastian was going to skin me alive.