Frustration

ADARA

I lay in bed in the morning, not wanting to get up. I had been up most of the night tossing and turning and thinking about my current situation.

I wiped a few tears from my cheek as I thought about my newfound mate.

~Let’s go see him!~ my wolf sang, ignoring my frustration and pain.

~I don’t want to see him. He’s a jerk, I don’t want him as a mate,~ I replied, wiping another tear away.

~We are strong, and his wolf is strong~—~even in his weakened state. Get up and go see him!

~

I groaned as I rolled out of bed. I got dressed for the day, pulling on my purple scrubs and throwing my hair up in a messy bun.

I put on my grandmother’s necklace and dabbed on a bit of makeup to hide the fact I had cried this morning. I looked in the mirror with a frown.

~Are you sure we can’t just stay in bed?~ I asked my wolf, receiving a grumble in reply.

“I didn’t think so . . .” I muttered as I walked out of the room and down the stairs.

“Hey, Adara,” the night guard, Liam, greeted me with a smile.

“Hey, Liam, open the cell for me?” I asked with a smile.

He opened the door and I frowned when I saw a full plate of food sitting on the end of the bed, untouched and cold. I looked to J who was lying in the bed, his back facing me.

“On a hunger strike now?” I asked sarcastically. He didn’t roll over.

“And apparently ignoring me . . .” I muttered

He let out a long breath before sitting up and turning around. I gasped when I saw his face. He had blistering burns around his mouth and neck.

I rushed forward, placing his face in my hands as I looked at his mouth. “What happened?”

He didn’t answer, as usual.

“J, I’m not asking again—what happened?” I asked, firmly this time.

“A little wolfsbane found its way into my water,” he mumbled, wincing in pain as I lightly touched the burns.

I shook my head as I reached down in my bag to find my light and some ointment for around his mouth. I let out a sigh as I tried my best to help his wounds. “Who did this?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he replied coldly.

“It does to me,” I said softly. “Was it my father? Did he do this?”

J shook his head. “No, it wasn’t him.”

I racked my brain for a moment. “Well, the only other one who has access is . . .” My eyes widened as I met his bright blue eyes. “Johnny?”

J shrugged. “I goaded him. Let it be.”

I scowled. “I don’t care what you did, nobody deserves this.”

J smirked. “You almost sound concerned.”

I glared at him. “Don’t test me, J. I still hate you. Maybe even more now.”

He looked at me curiously. “Why more?”

“You’re a jerk . . .” I replied.

“That’s not the reason,” he said, as I stood from the bed.

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. “Now, please stop getting yourself hurt. This is getting ridiculous.”

He smirked. “Let me out of here and you won’t have to worry about it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah . . . I’ll get right on that.”

I left the cell and walked upstairs, determined to find Johnny.

“Johnny!” I hollered at him from the kitchen. He looked across the dining room with a smile before it disappeared.

“What’s up, Adara?” he asked coyly.

“So you think that as a guard you have the right to serve up punishment to prisoners?” I huffed.

Johnny frowned. “He deserved it.”

“No,” I replied. “Nobody deserves that. He can’t eat because of what you did. What were you thinking?!”

Johnny scowled and took my arm, pulling me through the house to an empty hallway.

“I was thinking that he was being a jerk and making comments about you and I’d had enough of it. I got angry.”

I closed my eyes and let out a long exhale. “Johnny . . . We aren’t mates. You can’t be doing that.”

Johnny took my hand, rubbing circles on it. “You don’t know that. We could be.”

“We would know by now if we were. Besides, I—”

I was interrupted when Johnny’s lips crashed onto mine. I pushed him away.

“Johnny, stop. I need you to hear me. We are NOT mates, and do not ever think you can do something like that again.” I walked away, angry at the entire situation.

I knew the guard shift was ending and there was usually about five or ten minutes before the new watch showed up.

I walked down to the holding cells, making sure they were empty as I approached. J had his back to me but he knew I was there.

“What do you need, Adara?” he grumbled.

“What is your problem?” I growled.

“My problem?” He glared, rising from the bed and getting close to the bars of the cell. “My problem is I’ve been stuck in here for three months, tortured and beaten.”

“Did you tell Johnny we are mates?” I asked accusingly.

He smirked. “No.”

“Then why the hell did he pour wolfsbane down your throat and just try to kiss me?” I asked, my voice getting louder as my anger grew.

Suddenly I saw a darkness form in his eyes. He lowered his head and let out a growl. “He—what?”

I stepped back. “He—He kissed me,” I repeated quietly, hesitating at his reaction. I watched as he fell to the floor, his body shaking as he fought to control his wolf.

I looked around, hoping the guard wouldn’t come in. I heard tearing and I stared as he shifted smoothly into a giant gray wolf. My eyes widened in shock as I realized what he was.

“You’re—You’re an Alpha,” I whispered.

The large wolf growled, visibly angry about what I had told him had happened with Johnny.

~At least one of them isn’t a complete fool. I can feel his wolf~—~he is angry another wolf tried to touch us . . . ~my wolf whispered as I stared at the giant, angry wolf pacing in the cell before me.

I looked around before stepping closer to the cell. “You need to shift back . . . before someone sees you.”

The wolf whined before shifting back. I looked away quickly as he pulled on a pair of shorts. “Adara . . . I . . . “

I turned to face him.

“I won’t tell anyone. I know what will happen if they find out what you are. But don’t take this as me forgiving you for being such a jerk. We are not mates, we are not friends.”

With that I walked back upstairs, frustrated and amazed at what I had just seen.