I want to thank you guys for letting me live my real-world life a little. I guess I'm back to writing. Summer vacation is supposed to end in a matter of weeks, and I'll try my best to upload as often as I can! I hope you like the chapter! =) Oh, and sorry for not uploading!

Chapter 14

The scene whereby Adam fell on top of her played constantly in Akira’s mind. She couldn’t seem to get it out of her head no matter how much she tried to forget. Her face burned. She didn’t notice, much to her ignorance, she found herself awestruck by the way he looked—as always. No matter her constant denials. Shaking her head, she focused on their way and crossed her arms over her chest.

      “Are we there yet?” she inquired.

      Adam impatiently turned his neck and shot her a look before readdressing his gaze back towards the direction he was previously heading in. “No, we’re not.” he told her.

      “I don’t get it. Why don’t you just let me go?” she insisted. “I don’t belong here anyway, what’s the use of me going back?” she paused on her path and tapped her foot edgily. She felt the urge to go and leave, but a part of her is telling her that she needed to stay. Besides, even if she tries to escape again, she’s got a sense of foreboding that that thing that previously happened to her will occur again.

      “Are you going to start again? You’re really not gonna give up, are you?” Adam faced her, crossing his muscular arms. “Why don’t you just get the fact that you are going to stay here with me for the rest of your life.” he emphasized the last part, causing Akira’s mouth to drop open.

      “That will only happen in your fantasies, sucker!” Akira bit back, talk about that memory she had with him just a while ago. It faded all of a sudden, but not totally. It will certainly flash back later.

      A look of incredulity passed Adam’s face. “Did you just call me a sucker?”

      Oh, my. He looks pissed. Akira thought. “Well, ‘cause that’s what you really are!” she defended.

      “For the moon goddess’s sake! I am not a sucker. It’s in my nature’s way to claim what is mine.”

      “Will you stop calling me yours?” Akira spat, advancing towards him like a predator. The look on her purple eyes was deadly. Adam mirrored her looks, but his looked even more intimidating. A rush of fear coursed through her body. Of course, she was new to this and she doesn’t know how to handle an angry werewolf. “I am not something that will be found somewhere in the middle of the forest and claimed as property! I own myself! How many times do I have to tell you that?” she screamed.

      “As long as you resist, I will not stop.”

      “Whatever, loser. You’re still sucker!”

      “I am not a sucker or a loser.”

      “Then what are you? A womanizer?”

      Adam gave out a growl, getting Akira a bit frightened. Refusing to give in to her fears, she clenched her fists as Adam spoke his next line. She won’t be the type of girl who would flinch with a single . . . animalistic sound coming from the back of a man’s throat. She’s faced something worse than this—probably.

       “I am not a womanizer. Yes, many girls have been after me. But I didn’t pay attention to them because I’m too busy with my own responsibilities!” and then he gave her a knowing smile. “Jealous, are we?”

      “As if I’d ever be jealous. How long are you going to deny all this? It’s obvious.”

      Adam’s smile dropped. “I am not denying anything. I am merely telling the truth. How about you accept it? Trust me, it will be a lot easier.”

      Akira rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure.” she answered, unconvinced.

      “You know what? If you’re only going to pursue a single, endless argument that we’ve had yesterday, save it. I still have better things to do.”

      “Says you! I have things to do on my own life as well!”

      “Then you have no choice but to start renewing your plans. Because as long as you can’t accept it, you’re stuck in here with me.”

      “Why you jerk! If you don’t let me get out of here, then tell me how and I’ll do it myself.”

      “In your dreams.”

      “Then maybe you should knock me out! At least in my dreams, I’m free!”

      Adam gave her a brief, sharp glare. “I’m not holding you back in anything except leaving, Akira. You are pleased to do anything as you like.”

      “But that’s the problem! I can’t do what I like, why can’t you get that? I want to be with my father because that’s where I belong! I may be free to do anything I like. What I just want is to leave this place and to never return. I want to forget that anything of this happened at all! I want to go back to school that I hate so much and resume my boring life!”

      Adam stared straight into Akira’s eyes and noticed the sincerity in both her face and voice. She was looking back at him with the same gravity, except she saw the remorse in his face. She saw him trying to remain strong, but a wave of emotions flowed through her—obviously weren’t clearly hers. She felt the pain and regret, the sudden intensity of it shocking her. The hope that glimmered in it tightened her chest.

      ‘I wish I can bring back the past,’

      That thought caught her off-guard. She started to get confused from which emotions were really hers. She felt scared—being unfamiliar of things happening to her rouses her fears. She wished she knew what was going on. But even she couldn’t explain what was happening.

      “I never wished to restrain you from going back to your father, Akira. Even the thought pains me—the fact that I cannot let you go. If only I could turn back the hands of time, then maybe we could’ve met each other in another way. But even a bird must be caged to heal its broken wings. What’s done is done. I cannot undo anything that has happened. I marked you, and as an honorable alpha werewolf, I have to take responsibility of my actions.”

      He paused while his shoulders sagged, taking a few seconds to suck a breath of fresh air. “You are my mate, fate reassured that. Your conscious mind may have denied me, but your body and soul recognizes me as its life-mate. You are mine, and in turn, I am yours. As long as you continue to reject the truth that you belong with me, you are only fighting your own chance of leaving. “

      Even a bird must be caged to heal its broken wings. What the heck was that supposed to mean? You are mine, and in turn, I am yours. His words echoed inside her head. But she began giving a deep thought of his words. He’s hers?! And even though she accept the so-called fact that she belongs with him, whatsoever, it will only end up with the same thing—with her staying with him. Knowing her personality, Akira won’t choose either of those options. She’ll need to improvise.

      “You’ll have to remember that you have no right to tell fate where it’s supposed to go. Like a river, no matter how much you block its path, the water will flow and find another way.” he advised.

       “Will you stop reading my mind?” she growled at him. “And quit those lines. You’re freaking me out.” she turned his back at him and looked into the opposite direction. “You’re starting to sound like that Bradley-guy.” she muttered to herself.

      “I am not reading your mind, it’s written all over your face. Don’t think so low of me, Akira. I won’t stoop to such level just to win you over. I’m an honorable man and I know how to respectfully leave the woman her personal space. I won’t do anything that will displease you.” he argued.

      “The thing that displeases me is being kept in this place.” she muttered, blowing the hair out of her face. “Either way, I won’t give up without a fight.”

      “Does that mean you’re going at this the hard way?”

      She craned her head over her neck and stared at Adam’s face. “I always choose a good challenge. And let me reassure you that victory is always mine.” she allowed her hands to drop and she clenched her fists.

      Adam gave her a smug smirk. “Well, I guess, you’ll have to lose in this. This time, I’m sure, is where the motto comes in, ‘Love will prevail'.”

      “As if I’d ever fall for you, loser.”

      “What’s the harm to try?”

      “I’ll kick you in the guts—that’s for sure.”

      “Well, then what’s holding you back?” he asked, seeming confident.

      Akira plastered a smug expression across her face as she lifted her foot from the ground and swung it around. Swiftly, in a matter of blinding second, her foot landed painfully on Adam’s abdomen, making him bend over and grunt. As painful look plated his face, Adam regretted the words he last spoke.

      Akira’s teeth sank on her bottom lip as she hauled back her feet and kicked him on the same spot again. The moment she placed her feet back on the ground, Adam was knelt over the ground in apparent agony.

       “You actually did it.” he said with a groan. “I never met a woman who ever hit that hard before. Not even a werewolf.”

      Akira let out a huff. “I’m not your ordinary girl.” she told him. When she saw the fact that he was in pain, she felt a wave of guilt splash over her face. So did I really hurt him that bad? “Quit acting like you’re in pain,” she told him, on the verge of giving in. She thought of reaching out a hand to help him back up on his feet, but she remembered something that brushed away those thoughts. “You’re a werewolf—alpha even. I think you should be able to handle the strike more than the others.”

      “You aren’t going to apologize?”

      Akira gave him a questioning look. Is this one of his guilt-trips? “Of course, not. You asked for it.” she smiled at him with poise.

      “Aren’t you at least going to help me up, then?”

      She dismissively flicked her wrist at him while looking high up into the sky. “Oh, puh-lease. Man-up and stand on your own feet by yourself.”

      “Come on, just help me up already.” he pleaded.

      Her purple eyes turned to his direction. She’s sensing something fishy about this. Cocking a perfect brow, she began speaking once more. “What are you planning?” Suspicion filled her tone.

      “So are you telling me you saw right through that?” A smile lifted the corners of his lips, making Akira’s stomach flip numerous times. She swallowed a lump on her throat as his knowing smile turned into a grin. “Are you nervous?”

      She inattentively took a step back as Adam rose on his feet as if nothing even happened. Her eyes met his as he towered over her in inches. His sterling-grey eyes showed confidence and Akira suddenly caught up with the thought that he was just putting up a mere charade. It couldn’t have hurt that much to make him drop on the floor like he’s been hit by an iron fist. After all, Akira is all but a weak human girl. No matter her efforts and skills in the arts of fighting, she’s absolutely no match for this guy. But he must admit that it did hurt. What he said a while ago was real. Not even a female werewolf can match that kick of Akira’s.

      That’s something he didn’t expect from the daughter of a hunter.

      “Oh, god. Is it always a habit of yours to freak me out?” Akira inquired. He took a step closer, making Akira to instantaneously react by taking another step back. “Don’t come any closer, you creep! Even if it takes me the whole year, I’m going to punch you so many times so that you can feel pain!”

      “If it would take you that long, why don’t you start now?”

      “Get off my back! Do you really expect me to hurt you?” she spat. They both paused, shocked by the words that came right out of her mouth. “Wait, that didn’t come out right. What I meant was, how could you even expect me to hurt you when one off my best kicks won’t even graze you!”

      Adam sighed. And here he thought that she actually cared! But, oh well . . . she already kicked him in the guts. There’s no use. “Look just do it if you’re—“

      “Shut up! I don’t want to go around and hitting anybody anymore, okay? It gets a bit tiring.” she confessed. She looked back at the layer of trees they went through a while ago. It then occurred to her that they were still standing on the same spot since. They weren’t even near the pack-house, not even close.

      Everything went quiet after that. She knew her expression was weary. All the ‘just-let-me-go’ argument was getting on her nerves, and she only spent a single night here in the pack-house. How was she supposed to cope for more, unknown number of days that was to come until she figured out a way to escape? She already knew of the fact that she cannot be too far.

      When Adam told her of the strange bond that existed between Adam and her, it all started to make sense. The mark on her shoulder that shifted onto an image was probably the thing that binds her to him. After all, he said that that thing on her shoulder was the one that channels their ‘bond’ and is probably the main cause why they can connect to each other telepathically. So, if Adam can make that pain go away with a kiss . . . he’s the reason why she can’t leave! She didn’t notice it before, but having Adam by her side while traveling farther than the last time she tried to escape, it didn’t even hurt a bit.

      Neither of them spoke in a matter of seconds until Akira decided to drag her gaze back at him. She now knew—she finally figured it out! Now the only thing that has to do is find a way to undo the mark. But she remembered what he said a while ago, ‘What’s done is done. I cannot undo anything that has happened’.

      The moment her eyes landed on him, he saw him stretching out his hand towards her. She flinched back from him just before he grabbed her waist and held her still. She was shocked by his sudden actions. She’d been too preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t notice any of his movements. She tried bringing up her hands to fulfill her will of punching him, or even drag her knees up to hit jackpot. But Adam’s hold was tight and it made it absolutely impossible to move.

      A minute later, his hold loosened. But it wasn’t enough to allow her to escape. She let her hands idly rest on his muscled chest, allowing her to feel the beat of his own heart. It was running on an erratic pace, matching her own.

      “Stay still,” he told her.

      “Why should I?” she shifted her feet from the ground in attempt to kick him on the groin, but a sudden threat stopped her.

      “Don’t even think about it, princess. No matter how many times you do that, I swear I won’t let you go. If I fall on the ground, I’ll be bringing you with me. Now you don’t want me landing on top of you again, do you?”

      At this point, Akira recognized the sincerity in his voice and made no further attempt to move. Her cheeks started to burn from the simple image that happened just before. Adam landing on top of her is not a good thing—again. She merely intensified her sharp gaze that made Adam feel like she can see right to his soul, or even bore holes on his face. Her hands were completely trapped. Getting out of this position is hopeless!

      His broad fingers slipped into the strands of her hair and raked down until the very end. A leaf was pinned between his fingers, making his motives obvious. Although Akira sensed an ulterior purpose. She knows that he’s only taking advantage of the leaf between her hairs to be able to fulfill his true reason.

      “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, eyes locked straight to his. She felt herself weakening inside his arms. Her knees were starting to feel like jelly, she doesn’t know when they would buckle and fail her any second now.

      “What do you think?”

      “Quit answering my question with another question.” she demanded. “Why?”

      “You really want to know why?” he inquired nonchalantly. His hold of her tightened. “Maybe because I just wanted to hold you close.”

      “Let go.” she softly ordered. Although, the truth was she was perfectly comfortable with them in this position. “Let go of me before I make you.”

      He didn’t oblige to her wishes. He simply kept quiet for a while before speaking again. Akira was amazed by how unwavering his will is. She does like boys who aren’t going to give up just because she hit them once . . . or twice, flashed them a very unapproachable glare and denied them unrelentingly. Adam was clearly the type who won’t give up that easily.

      “Why, Akira? Why do you keep pushing me away?” he delicately questioned. “A lot of female werewolves desires me to become their life-mate, mere humans want to be with me, yet you . . . you continue to deny me. Having yourself blessed with a mate is considered a big gift from the moon goddess. Most werewolves do not find their other halves.”

      “Some gifts just needed to be turned down.” she gruffly stated. She was trying to break their ‘staring contest’ but it seemed to be taking more of her willpower than the usual. “Don’t compare me to anybody. I’m not like most girls you met.

      “I know. And that is what makes you stand out. You’re one-of-a-kind.”

      “Shut up and let me go.” she told him. “Or else,”

      “Or else what?” he taunted. “Why can’t you just shove it in your thick, stubborn skull that we are mates? We are two parts of a whole. When we’re apart, both of us will feel like something’s missing. Together, we are complete.”

      “You just don’t get it, do you? I just want to live alone.”

      “That isn’t one of the best choices of the history. Even if I let you go, you’ll come running back anyway.”

      “What makes you think so, arrogant fool?”

      “Maybe,” he smiled. “Maybe I am a fool.” he declared. “But it’s only because of you.”

      Akira opened her mouth to respond, but she found herself at a total loss of words. She didn’t know what to say to what he previously stated. She didn’t know what to answer.

      He gave out a husky chuckle at her expression. “You have a smart mouth yet you don’t know what to say now.” His sterling-grey eyes flickered, searching hers for something. She didn’t know what, but she’s certain he finally found it. “You’re so beautiful.” he murmured. “You’re like a fire. Your heat shields me from the cold. You continue to lively beat around and spread light in the room. But like a fire, you continuously burn me. I’m like a moth drawn to your glow.”

      “Now you’re really starting to sound like Bradley,” she told him. “Except he’s worse.”

      “Who’s Bradley?” she could sense an obvious tone to his voice. Could it be jealousy?

      “He’s a guy.”

      “What’s your relationship to him?” he seethed.

      “Would you even care if I say he’s my boyfriend?”

      “I do. A lot.”

      “You don’t have to go growling, you know. He’s just a lousy, lazy bodyguard.”

      “Bodyguard?” Adam cocked a brow in confusion. “I saw you go around kicking ass and you need a bodyguard?”

      Akira pushed him away and tried putting as much distance between them as possible. Being caged in his arms like that felt like being protected, but it also occurred to her that she was starting to let her guards down. “It’s my father’s idea. He doesn’t trust me going with him on his hunting trips without getting into a lot of trouble. He said I won’t be able to use my black belt against animals, and that Bradley is a professional hunter. He advised me to never stick away from him because he’ll protect me, but I didn’t listen. Turns out he’s very, very right.”

      “You’re just as stubborn as a mule. Do you even comply with what others suggest?”

       “No obviously. I do things the way I want. Although when necessary, I do obey.”

       “So you know of your father hunting?”

      “He’s brought guns and other camping materials with him a few times when he tells me he’s going into business trips. He never really told me from the start, but come on, it’s way obvious. I’m not the same old kid he can fool.” she sighed. “He’s been at it ever since I was a kid. Besides, my aunt told me.”

      Adam was clearly relieved. Akira didn’t know why, but she sensed something going on. “Why?”

      “Nothing. Let’s go back.” he said.

      “Good idea.” Akira went ahead of him and strutted towards the direction he was heading in a while ago. “I’m starved. Those bears ate my supposed snack.” she grumbled.

      “Pack lunch is getting started in a matter of minutes anyway. Food should be about to be ready the by the time we get there.”

      “Whatever. What I want is to fill my empty stomach. All the berry-picking this morning got me tired.”

      Adam laughed behind her. She certainly does want to forget anything has ever happened. Akira is sure to be a strong girl. What he wonders about is her vulnerability, and her ancestry. Her scent definitely reeks of a hunter, and a werewolf’s. The other scent must be because she’s been in the pack-house for more than two days. It’s only normal to achieve that kind of scent. Still, is Akira really oblivious to her father’s activities and the other side of her life she was never able to look into.

     But what he likes most is how his scent emanated out of her. That is the mark's doing. Although it wouldn't be long before the pack-members find out about Akira being a hunter's daughter. He'll need to find a way to conceal her 'other' side before anyone else tells her who she is. It'll be a disaster if she finds out about it in another person's mouth.