Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Spare woke up feeling like she was still dreaming. The bed was so warm and soft, and there was a lingering scent that drove her crazy as she rubbed her face all over the pillow. She had never had a bed so comfortable before.
She woke with a start, not knowing where she was till Artemis lazily informed her that they had spent the night in their mate's bed.
She quickly got out of bed and looked around the room. It was huge, and there weren't a lot of decorations. On one side, there was a couch with a really large TV.
The colors were mostly blue and gray. You could tell it belonged to a man. When she turned to look at the rest of the room, she saw him asleep on a cot. He didn't look very comfortable. He was half hanging off of it.
She silently made her way over to him. The blanket was down around his hips as he was snoring softly. She took him in. No one should look this good, his broad shoulders and dark hair covering his well-muscled chest.
She followed that hair to where it disappeared under the blanket. Artemis was panting so hard that Spare started breathing harder, too. His scent was so strong right here that she couldn't control her hands. She managed to stop herself before she almost touched him.
She turned and found another door. Upon opening it, she found, to her joy, a bathroom. She had to pee so badly that her eyeballs were floating. She wondered what the rest of the place was like.
When she went into the bathroom, Duncan opened his eyes. He pretended to be asleep to see what she would do. He could still smell her arousal in the air.
Running his hand through his hair in frustration, mind linking his wolf: "Apollo, this is going to be the toughest thing we have ever done." Apollo grumpily agreed and went back to sleep.
He got up, put on some casual clothes, and waited for her to finish in the bathroom. He picked up her shoes, but they had holes in the bottom, so she put a piece of duct tape over them.
He took the envelope with her money out of the safe and put it on the side table. He didn't want her to think she couldn't keep it. He went over to the drawer where he had put her clothes the previous night, and there was nothing great about them.
She wasn't going to be happy, but there was no way Luna was going to wear those clothes ever again. He stood up and went to sit on his cot just as she was coming out of the bathroom.
They looked at each other for a little while; Spare blushed and finally looked away. She sat down on the bed, defeated.
Duncan saw this and cringed as he went and sat down on the bed beside her.
" I have ordered breakfast for us both to eat here. I hope that we can talk about everything."
She was grateful for that; she hadn't felt like meeting new pack members just yet. Just then, a knock came at the door. Duncan opened it, and two girls came in giggling as they sat down the two trays loaded with food and drinks.
They left as quickly as they came, which Spare was happy about. She didn't need anyone giving her looks. She hated being in the spotlight; it made her feel vulnerable.
She sat down at the table, looking at all the food; it smelled like heaven.
"Is this all for me?"
He nodded, not knowing how to respond to that.
She wasted no time; grabbing her fork, she dug into the food with gusto.
Duncan watched her eat. At least she had an appetite. It did make him wonder just how bad things were for her at that house. She was going to get all the food and snacks that he could give her.
"So, little wolf, tell me about that weird-looking teddy bear; what is his story?"
" His name is Max. I made him when I was six years old. I wasn't allowed any toys of my own. My sister, though, would throw huge tantrums and destroy her stuffed animals. So one day, I started collecting parts out of the garbage and made Max."
"Did you do anything with your family?"
"No, I had to stay out of sight; I wasn't even allowed to use the front door."
Duncan was getting more and more pissed as this conversation progressed, and taking a deep breath to calm himself and his wolf down.
"How about food? If you were not allowed to be around them, how did you eat?"
"When I was little, I waited for everyone to go to bed, and then I would sneak down and steal some food. If they noticed things were missing, they never said, though I was punished badly when I got caught on one of my runs out of my room."
Ok, he was going to have stopped asking those questions, or he would be punching out the walls.
"I know that I messed up your plans to get out of there and go to college. However, let me say this first: You can go to any college you wish and study whatever you like.
She got up and grabbed the envelope with her money inside, and she handed it to him.
"Here, take this to help pay for my things. It isn't a lot, really, but it's something. I can also work cleaning or cooking to earn the rest of it."
"You are not going to worry about money ever again; that money is yours to spend on whatever thing that catches your fancy. I don't want it, and you will not try to give it to me or anyone in this pack."
"If you do any cleaning or cooking, it is because you want to, not because you feel like you should pay for being here. I am going to spoil you rotten even if you don't like it."
"My little wolf, you are my Mate and no one is going to hurt you ever again, you will want for nothing."
She just stared at him with her mouth open in shock.
"You can't be my mate. Claiming a mate is a bad thing in our pack, well, not every time, but usually more so than not."
"What do you mean by Claiming a Mate is a bad thing?"
"Well, I only hear gossip here and there, but the last two girls that found their mates were rejected and disappeared the next day."
"Everyone said it was because of the pain of the rejection that they would come back in a while, but they never returned, and just last weekend, it happened again to two more girls."
"I also heard rumors that their mates sold them."
Duncan sat there in silence, stunned. What the hell was going on in that pack? Could they all be slimeballs? Were the males rejecting their mates to make money?
"Spare, I want you to know that that is not normal behavior for mates. A mate is your other half, to be cherished and loved forever. It's a gift from the moon goddess."
"One more thing, I want you to choose another name besides Spare; I will not have that insult slapped in your face every time someone speaks your name."
"I don't know a name to choose to be honest."
"It will come to you, don't worry. You have lots of time. My sister Marnie will be here soon. She has new clothes for you and all kinds of things, I'm sure. She loves shopping."
"Perhaps you two can come up with a name. Just for today and tomorrow, too, I want you to relax and pamper yourself. When Marnie gets here, do whatever the girls do when they are together."
"Umm, Duncan. I didn't have any friends. My only friend is my wolf Artemis."
At the mention of her wolf, Apollo perked up and started to tell Duncan what questions to ask them.
"What does your wolf look like? Can you shift?"
"Do you want me to show you?"
Duncan just nodded his head, the fact that she would show him meant that at least she had a little bit of trust in him.
"Ok, but turn around. I have never been naked in front of anyone before."
Duncan turned around. After a little bit, he heard a small woof behind him. He turned back around to see the most beautiful wolf he had ever seen. She was snowy white with little black tips on her paws. She had even darker eyes than Spare did.
Apollo was dancing around excitedly in his head. Artemis just sat and stared at him like she was sizing him up.
Duncan quickly got undressed and changed into Apollo. He was a golden wolf with glowing amber eyes. Apollo goes down into a lying position so as not to intimidate Artemis.
Artemis let out an excited little bark and went to Apollo, rubbing herself all over him. Apollo lay there smugly. Duncan felt his joy and was happy for him. Apollo spoke to Duncan.
"You will have yours soon too, we just have to gain her trust, she has been through too much. She needs time to heal."
Artemis then grabbed Spare's shirt and walked to the bathroom. Spare came out shortly afterward. Apollo was still there waiting for her.
She reached out a hand to scratch him behind his ear. Apollo looked like an idiot with his tongue hanging off to his side.
"You're very handsome Apollo, thank you."
With that Duncan stood before her once again, naked. She quickly turned her head but not before she got a little peek at him and blushed. Duncan was happy almost giddy: "She is our's Apollo. Nothing will take her from us. Not even her."