Chapter 7
Blood soaked cotton stuck to her ankle as well as purple bruising on her thighs. Arya pulled down her dress, her gaze still glued to Ace.
"What happened?" He barked.
"I fell."
"Do you always fall without reason?" His words came out more forceful than he intended.
The thought of someone touching what was his made him want to rip someone's head off.
Arya closed the door behind him the scurried to the side of her bed.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."
"You know why I'm here." He said through clenched teeth.
Arya stared at the herbs boiling, "Go, I'll be in trouble if you're found here."
Ace took a strip forward, cutting the distance between them in half. His eyes roamed her fragile and battered body, why did it have to be this way? She was seen as the dirt of the pack. She would surely be dead if they found out the truth.
"You know what happened Arya," Ace balled his hand into a fist, the veins in his neck bulged though his voice was low.
Arya flinched, the gesturing bring back horrible memories.
"There must be a mistake… I can't… you can't be…"
"My mate? There's no mistake Arya."
Arya lowered herself on the bed, this was the last thing she needed.
"Then we end it. You can't be my mate and I sure as hell can't be yours."
"No," Ace crossed his arms.
Arya's eyes turned to saucers. "What do you mean no?"
"Listen, I don't need a mate right now—"
"Which is exactly why we have to end what we have now."
"No, no, we can't plus it's not that simple." Ace ran a hand through his hair and turned to the door.
Arya stood ready to beg him. She didn't need him tying her to the pack. She cursed her luck for this happening now when she was so close to the breath of freedom.
"I can't deal with this right now Arya. There's more important things right now. We have to keep this a secret. No one can find out you're my mate."
"What about the Luna and the Alpha? They're bound to find out what then? It won't be good for me."
If their secret was exposed it would be worse for Arya. She was the lowest rank in the pack. He hated her treatment and his involvement in her pain. Now that she was his, he didn't want anyone else to ever touch her. Which made it all the more difficult to live in the dark.
"I'll handle my mother. Just be careful, don't screw this up."
Ace left there with his wolf threatening to explode if he didn't throw her on the bed and bind them together. His face was red with frustration. His groin ached like hell a dip in the river was what his body needed.
Arya watched the door slam shut. She flopped in front of her herbs. They were a little burnt.
"Just my luck," she sighed.
After plastering her cuts with the dry and ill scented herbs she pulled out a box from under the bed. Setting the picture box aside she took a moment to look at the calendar. The days had been going by smoothly until she hit a road block today.
"Two months left," she traced the worn paper with her finger tips.
The bond they shared wouldn't allow them to live distances apart. Her body would cry out for Ace. Leaving felt like an even further operation. A ring made of silver with a crescent moon engraved on the inside and a blazing sun craved on the out lay on the bottom of the box.
Arya picked it out and sighed. Her mother's ring, the only thing she had to remember of her parents. There home no longer stood in this town. Only grass and debris remained in its place. Arya crawled into bed, hoping for a plan to pop up in her head so she could escape this prison. The only thing that made sense was to get Ace to reject her.
Ace graduated from high school eight months ago, but Dash was in his senior year. Dash asked Ace to meet him at the mall, but he knew they had training and their father would be pissed at Ace if they didn't show up. Ace shrugged and thought to hell with it, he'll be pissed no matter what Ace does.
"Why did you want to come here anyway?" Ace asked.
They sat in the only mall in the entire town. It had less than twenty stores, half of which were hardware stores and clothes stores. They sat outside a little fast food joint that only sold hotdogs and corn dogs.
"It's a Friday, Ace do you really want to be training?" Dash dried the sweat off his forehead with a sweaty hoodie.
"Sitting outside 'Dog or nothing' doesn't sound fun either."
Dash laughed, "Relax, your party sucked. No doubt since Mom's the one who planned it."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, so a friend of mine's coming and we're going to drive out to the next town. The pack there really knows how to live."
Ace ran a hand down his face, yet the prospect of a couple hours away from the shitty little town excited him. His mind went to Arya, he didn't want to leave her unprotected even for a night.
"That has to be one of your rare good ideas Dash," Ace chuckled, running a hand through his hair.
"What can I say?" Dash grinned. "Anyway, you know I have your back, right?"
Ace shrugged as a group of five people approached their table.
"Yeah, sometimes."
Dash shook his head, "Close enough."
"Dash, why would you invite her?" Ace groaned.
Cora was among the group with two guys and two other girls. Cora dawned a familiar set of black and gold glasses. The fire in Ace's belly boiled. That's why Arya hadn't worn them. A part of him believed she wouldn't have worn them regardless.
Cora chose the seat next to Ace. Ace shot his brother a disgruntled look. Dash shrugged and scooted his chair away.
"I'm just waiting on my cousin's van. It's much bigger than my car then we can leave." Dash's tall muscular friend said.
"Great. It's going to be awesome."
"We should stop by the dining hall, Cora said she could hook us up with a few drinks for the road."
Ace rubbed his forehead, this trip got a whole lot less interesting.
"Dash, I need a new helmet or whatever. Cora why don't you help me find a store?"
Cora smirked at the other girls as she slipped from the table. Ace stuffed his fists into his pockets walking faster than Cora until they go to a part of the mall that only had empty stores.
"I knew you didn't want a helmet," Cora licked her pink lips.
She threw herself onto Ace's chest, stood on her toes and aimed for his lips. Ace grabbed her wrists and pushed himself back.
"What Ace?" She pulled off the glasses and tilted her head at him.
Ace stared at the glasses in her hand that sparkled with rings.
"Where did you get the glasses?"
Cora flipped her frizzy black hair over her shoulder and stared at the designer frames.
"Oh, these? Do you like them? You'll never believe where I got them?"
"Exactly, so why don't you tell me?" Ace said through clenched teeth.
"Oh, the little loser than lives in my basement. Had some guys take them off her. But I guess you knew that." Cora circled Ace like a vulture. With each step she traced her hands over his shoulders.
She came to rest in front of him, pressing her body to his chest.
"I don't see why you'd be giving her gifts, Ace? You feel bad for her? You wanted her to hide her ugliness?"
Ace shoved her away this time. "She isn't ugly."
Cora blinked back. "What?"
Ace snatched the glasses. Cora gasped. He tossed them in a bin and started back to the table, but Cora's claw brought him back.
"You need to stop being stubborn and this fascination with the slave girl won't take you far. You know we're meant to be together."
Ace brushed her hand off his shoulder.
"We will never be together Cora. And that slave girl as you call her has a much better heart than you do."
Ace shoved his hands in his pockets. His heart beat fast hoping he wouldn't regret his words later.
The ride to the dining hall was filled with loud music and good conversation. Everyone was excited to get out of the pack for a while. Cora hadn't spoken to Ace or even tried to. If things went like this then the trip wouldn't be as unbearable as Ace thought.
"I need someone to help me carry the drinks," Cora called.
Ace decided to hop out after his brother and his friend Ryan. His wolf urged him out so he could steal a glance at Arya.
Just as he thought Arya swept up in the dining hall. Cora bumped her shoulder on her way to the kitchen. Arya looked at the door and saw Ace, she quickly turned back to the dirt of the floor as if it were the most important thing. Ace smirked. He knew any chance he had of talking to her were gone.
Cora returned with three bottled of alcohol wedged between her fingers.
"Wait, Leslie said she needed those for this evening." Arya spoke.
Her voice spurred desire in Ace that caught him off guard. Cora handed the drinks to Ryan and Dash.
A deep frown formed on her face.
"She'll punish you anyway, why should I care?"
Arya's brows knitted together, "But Leslie—"
Before the words are out of her mouth, Cora's fist collided with Arya's face. The broom clattered on the cold floor. Arya stood her ground and didn't fall. Her hand went to her cheek to ease the stinging that turned to burning.
"Enough," Dash hammered the bottle of gin on a nearby table.
Ace shut his eyes and exhaled. His heart and wolf told him to fight. He knew if his hands landed on Cora they wouldn't release. He walked out the door not before watching his brother come to the aid of his mate.
"We came here to get drinks, this isn't necessary."
Cora scrawled, "Oh please it's just Arya! How is she suddenly so important?"
Arya held in her scrawl. Two months, she reminded herself. She removed her hand from her cheek. Blood soaked her palm.
"I'm sorry. Is there a first aid kit somewhere?" Dash asked.
Cora rolled her eyes, "I'll be in the car."
Dash went to the kitchen to rummage for a first aid kit. Arya found him. Her heart swelled, he didn't have to help her, but he was. She'd never interacted much with Dash. When she did it was dull and short.
"I can do it myself," she held the kit.
Dash chuckled, "You can't see the cut. I don't mind. I'll do a better job anyway."
Arya feared Leslie would walk in and bust them, but Dash patched her up without a hiccup. Arya locked up and returned to her room.
The only person he had to worry about catching him was Leslie and she was at a bar thirty minutes away from the restaurant. The house above was quiet. Ace slipped in through the kitchen, they still hadn't fixed the door.
Arya was already curled up into ball under her covers when he slipped into her room. Her red her stuck to her face. The white band aid plastered on her cheek pealed off.
Dash wasn't the best nurse, he thought to himself. He slipped onto the bed and placed the cotton back into place. She didn't stir. He stroked her hair as he watched her petite body rise and fall.
"I'm sorry things have to be this way between us."
Their reality was forbidden. The chances of survival were minimal, he saw it again when Cora hurt her. How would he keep himself in check? Brushing the hair out of her eyes Ace wished they could open so he could get a glimpse at her balls of emerald.
He lowered his lips to her forehead and kissed her. Ace stared at her one last time before he disappeared. It was like leaving a part of him behind.