Prisoner

EVERETT

I wake up at the crack of dawn the next morning after a goddess-awful night of sleep.

Aurora is still asleep next to me in the bed, a foot of space between us.

Who could have ever guessed that we would spend the night of our mating ceremony in frigid silence?

After we returned from rogue territory last night, I got in the shower, cleaned the blood off of my body, and crawled into bed without a word.

I closed my eyes, but my spiraling thoughts kept me awake for hours.

~How will I ever sleep peacefully again knowing that the very same werewolves who tried to kill my luna are now roaming free?~

The fact that they managed to escape means that there are definitely others on their side...others who harbor a hatred for Aurora and what her presence in the pack represents.

I am certain now that they will come for her again.

And then there is the issue of the rogue that is now lying dead just on the other side of our pack border.

I always try my best to stay out of rogue affairs. And now I’ve gone and killed one of them.

I’m certain that his mangy little friends will try to come for revenge.

I need to get to work on changing the entire security plan for this pack before anyone dares to attack us.

I slip out of the bed, get dressed, and make my way downstairs. I go straight to the dungeon and inspect that massive hole in the wall again.

I can’t believe that this happened on my watch.

I kept Nickolas and Victoria in the packhouse because I trusted myself to keep a watchful eye over them...and now they’ve gotten free.

~If I can’t trust myself, who ~can~ I trust?~

After last night’s little display, it’s going to be hard for me to trust Aurora either, that’s for sure.

I know I was hard on her last night, but I just couldn’t contain my anger.

~She completely disrespected my authority, and look where it got her...~

~Locked in the clutches of those filthy rogues.~

~What if it happens again?~

~And what if I don’t make it there in time to save her?~

She needs to learn her limits before she goes and gets herself killed.

RORY

I wake up to the feeling of my knees hitting the cold tile, just as I did the day before.

Jumping to my feet, I instantly feel dizzy. I have a serious hangover from the cocktail of champagne and adrenaline that coursed through my body last night.

Yesterday was quite possibly the longest day of my life. I experienced some of the highest highs and the lowest lows that I have ever felt.

And now, on our first day as the official alpha and luna, Everett isn’t even speaking to me.

I’m determined to go find him and make up. I just can’t stand the silence anymore.

It’s Sunday, so the packhouse is nearly empty as I make my way down the hall toward the dining room.

When I get there, I find Ophelia sitting by herself eating a bowl of cereal.

She spots me and motions for me to come over and join her. I grab a chocolate croissant off of the buffet table and take the seat next to her.

“Well, my dear,” she says, with a soft smile on her face, “I have seen my fair share of dramatic mating ceremonies in my life. But I gotta say, that one takes the cake!”

I take a small bite out of the croissant, shaking my head in dismay.

I’m in desperate need to talk to someone about everything that happened last night. And Ophelia seems willing to offer a listening ear.

“I don’t know how to move forward from it all,” I tell her.

“What do you mean, dear?” she asks.

“Everett is furious with me,” I tell her. “He thinks that I don’t respect him as alpha. But I do. Of course I do.”

Ophelia nods, a glimmer of understanding in her eyes.

“Ah yes,” she says. “Everett suffers from something I like to call ~the Alpha Complex~.”

“What’s that?” I ask her.

“Alphas always feel that they need to defend their right to their title and demand respect,” she says. “If they show any sign of weakness, then another wolf might very well try to step up and challenge them for their position.”

“But I thought the title of alpha is passed down from generation to generation,” I say.

“It’s not that simple, dear,” she tells me. “There’s a loophole in the system. An alpha can be formally challenged, and if he is defeated, he will lose his title for good.”

~I can’t believe I didn’t know that!~

~This is what I get for going to human school instead of werewolf school…~

“I’m sure Everett is feeling that Nickolas and Victoria’s escape will be perceived as a sign of weakness,” Ophelia adds. “He’s probably feeling very vulnerable and afraid right now.”

~Vulnerable and afraid?~

Those are two words that I would never use to describe Everett.

But she’s probably right…

“I just wish that he would tell me how he feels instead of just shutting me out,” I say.

“Everett has always been more of a man of action rather than a man of words,” she tells me. “So if you want to tell him that you respect and value his position, then ~show~ him that you respect it as much as he does.”

“How do I do that?” I ask.

“I can help you, my dear,” she says, taking my hand. “Come to my room and I will give you every book I have on the history of this pack and the lineage of our family. That will be a good place for you to start.”

She leads me to her room and curates a stack of beautiful, leather-bound books.

“Take care of these, Aurora,” she says. “They are family heirlooms.”

I return to my room, books in hand, and spend the rest of the day there, devouring the information printed on the pages.

I keep hoping that I will hear Everett’s footsteps in the hall and his signature knock on our bedroom door. But he never appears.

When night falls, I crawl into bed and fall asleep without my mate by my side.

***

When I wake up to my alarm on Monday morning, the books are resting on the bedside table and Everett is in bed beside me.

~Thank Goddess.~

I thought he might not come to bed at all. And I’m so grateful that he did.

I sneak out from under the covers and start getting dressed and ready for the school day.

Since I spent all of yesterday reading about the history of the pack, I haven’t done a lick of homework or studying. I’ll have to squeeze it in on the bus ride.

When I’m dressed and ready, I sling my backpack over my shoulder and tiptoe over to the door.

But as I reach out for the handle, I hear Everett’s voice calling out to me.

“Aurora,” he says, “where are you going?”

Those are the first words he’s said to me in twenty-four hours, and I am so happy to hear my name in his voice again.

“Everett. I gotta leave for school now,” I say to him. “I’m going to be late. But can we please talk when I get back?”

“Are you insane?” he asks, suddenly jumping out of bed and rushing toward me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“What?” I ask him, shocked by his harsh, commanding tone.

“Victoria and Nickolas are on the loose. The rogues are after us,” he says. “You are crazy if you think you’re stepping one foot out of this packhouse ever again.”

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