Unofficially Yours

Chapter 6 

The trouble stirring inside the dining room got Adam power-walking towards the area with haste. He had been alerted by his beta about the hassle, and as alpha, it got him alerted so he immediately left his office to check out the area. He already sensed the great shudder from before, and he was even more shaken when he heard a sudden bang coming from downstairs. He found himself anticipating whether his mate was hurt or not. He surely didn’t make a good impression because this was her first time and first day in the pack-house. He wants her to feel assured that nothing will harm her. Although the constant troubles inside his pack made it obvious this isn’t going to appeal any better, especially now, when her current insights about his motives remain strange and completely peculiar to her nature.

     He entered the dining room and found crowds of people swarming over a certain location. He examined the room and found the door wide open. Cracks ran over the piece of wood while half of it had practically fallen on the floor and the upper, other half remained hanging on its hinges. He irritably found himself growling under the intensity of his pack-members’ chattering over the events. The noise was noticeably disturbing and irksome.

     “Silence!” he bellowed, walking forward. The room instantly fell quiet and showed respect to the presence of their alpha. The crowd hatched and he saw the pack-doctor crouched over a body of a female. The face was blocked by the doctor’s form but those legs got him worrying. His heart lodged to his throat. What if it was his mate? He anticipated the possible injuries and severities she might’ve acquired from fighting a werewolf. But as he got closer, he breathed an inaudible sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Jessica.

     “What happened here?” he asked the crowd in a loud voice.

     Jessica stirred from her position and shakily got up from her fall. She graciously clutched her head and flashed Adam a pouty expression. Her lower lip trembled and Adam sensed a wave of foreboding of what was to happen next.

     “Oh, t-thank goodness you’re here Adam!” she heaved herself up from her evidently weak knees. “It was horrible! I was practically thrown off of that door!” she limped a single step towards Adam and clutched his shirt.

     Adam stifled a grimace. Ann stepped up with an anxious look plated across her face. Her black hair had suddenly looked messy and Adam took notice of the tremble that was slowly passing her slender hands. She pulled on her fingers nervously and looked down on the floor, appearing to have no knowledge of what to say.

     “Forgive me alpha but it wasn’t Akira’s fault!” the teenager exclaimed which had taken Adam aback by surprise. Ann broke down into tears and Jamie immediately stepped forward and pulled the girl by her side. “J-jessica came looking for her and we were on the kitchen.” she started sobbing.

     “It’s okay, deary. I’ll take it from here.” Jamie murmured for her ears alone. “That . . .” Jamie looked pointedly at Jessica, who was still trying to catch Adam’s attention by showing off her disoriented appearance. “b*tch,” she spat so hard Adam cringed from the spitefulness that filled her voice. The suddenly looking confident Italian chef diverted her glance up at Adam’s face. “She just came barging into my kitchen looking for mio Annabelle dolce e bello Akira.” her Italian accent played around her words. She kept Ann close by her side and started testifying.

     “Apparently, Ann had taken Akira into my kitchen to get some ice cream to eat. Instead, I gave them some sample of my newly cooked dish and gave them some banana splits. Then that . . . girl came into the kitchen yelling frantically for Ann’s name and screaming something about her hiding someone. So Ann tried pulling Akira away but she insisted upon facing that evil . . . b*tch.”

     Adam felt his brows lifting in confusion as Jessica secretly gave Jamie sharp glares. “Then that was when the fight started. I believe Akira was only standing up for herself for self-defense. She literally kicked that b*tch’s ass. But disconcertingly enough, Jessica used her werewolf abilities and threw Akira against the wall.”

     Gasps sounded in the room and small murmurs echoed. Adam felt himself getting angry. Jessica threw Akira against the wall? So that tremor he felt must be it. Akira might’ve probably broken a few bones right now. It’s impossible to survive a werewolf’s attack—but then again, Adam reminded himself of that fact that Akira was a hunter’s daughter. Hunters are specifically given extra abilities to defend their own.

     “So in return, Akira gave her one of those . . . kicks of hers and gave her a small message before practically throwing her out of the door.” Jamie finished her explanation.

     “Jessica,” Adam swiftly turned to the quivering girl beside him and glared at her form. “Is it true that you threw my mate against the wall?”

     “I—I,” she stammered. Unable to answer, she tried finding an excuse. “But she didn’t even get herself a single bone broken!” she blurted. The desperate plea on her voice made the situation even worse. “No ordinary human would’ve survived that hit.”

     Even if she deny it or not, Adam smelled her blood. Definitely Akira’s blood.

     "No, stupid!" someone yelled from the crowd. "No ordinary human could've been mates with a wolf if she doesn't have a blood of a werewolf!"

     Murmurs of agreement resonated in the room and Adam started pondering his sense of logic. Once again, what they say might be possible, or, he'll have some trouble confessing to them about Akira's ancestry. There are a lot of complications regarding this situation, but Adam promised himself that he won't give up. There has to be a way through all of this.

     “SHUT UP!” Jessica shrieked, then stomped her way out of the room with embarrassment and frustration.

     Adam rubbed his temples in aggravation. "Where is she, Ann?"

     "What?" Ann sniffed and looked up at Adam with her teary eyes.

     “Where’s Akira?” he repeated.

     Ann shook her head. "I don't know. She ran out of the dining room a while ago. I thought you met her halfway."

     "Hey," someone from the crowd said. "Now that you're mentioning it, a hot girl barged into the sitting room just a minute ago. Yelled something about trouble in the dining room so we all went here." he explained.

     Adam made a restless response of jerking as a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Damn you! She must've escaped! Form a search party! She mustn’t get far!"

     He hastily walked out of the pack-house as the pack's beta began managing the alpha's orders. He began tracing Akira's scent. It eventually led out of the front door and straight into the layer of trees.

     He knows the power of the mating bond. And he will never underestimate it. It isn't as strong as the point where they complete the mating process, but he knows he can sense her presence and hopefully read her mind and mentally communicate with her wherever she is.

     "Akira," he whispered through his mind, sending her waves of his thought. "Tell me where you are."

-*-

Akira swept aside a bunch of pointy branches of bushes and stepped over a dead log. She was already hurrying, but nature seemed to be slowing her down. She swatted a fly buzzing around her ear and froze when he heard his voice.

     “Akira,” his hypnotic voice echoed inside her mind. “Tell me where you are.” It sounded really enticing it almost made her blurt her location. But because of one thought—she doesn’t even know where she is, in the middle of somewhere maybe—she snapped out of her trance and moved forward.

     Damn you, asshole. She cursed violently and mentally. Mind-reading freak. She added. You and your werewolf madness should stay behind!

     “I’m giving you one chance to back down from your attempt.” This mind-talking stuff is getting freakier by the second.

     She snorted. “Why would I?”

     “Because I said so.” The voice hauntingly answered.

     “I wouldn’t. Because even if you say so, I do things my own way. So shut up and deal with it.” She thought back.

     “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll find you anyway.”

     She felt the own beat of her heart and stopped at her tracks. Her intuitions said she should stay put. Something inside her was twisting and making her hesitate. She frowned. She never hesitates. But that feeling . . . she couldn’t place a finger on it. It was like half of her soul was way back to the pack-house and it isn’t with her. She shook her head and encouraged herself to move on, but her feet seemed to be planted firmly into the ground.

     Her mind whispered . . .

     Her heart whispered . . .

     But no. She urged her feet and began moving forward. The forest became more spacious and less crowded than the last layer of trees she had gotten through. She needn’t fit herself through narrow spaces just to get to the other side or sweep aside itchy leaves of plants, but she can walk freely and can now run.

     She started running, keeping her mind focused on her dad and only her dad.  He was the only thing that kept her moving. The thought of going back home away from all this madness gave her a fuel of determination. Although, what scared her the most was the reaction of her father when she gets home. What would she say to him?

     “Akira,” the same voice said. “You have to stop now.”

     “I’m not listening to you.”

     “Stop! You’re going to get yourself hurt!”

     “How can you be certain? You don’t even know where I am.”

     “If you get too far you’ll be in danger!” she didn’t get the what he was saying. She didn’t even have a single clue of what he was talking about.

     “You’re wrong. I’ll be inside my father’s arms . . . away from you.”

     He didn’t answer for a moment and it gave Akira a wave of guilt. She instantly regretted what she said. She took a deep breath and found a clearing, but as she took another long stride. She felt her wound begin burning. Her breath hitched on her throat and she sensed a wave of foreboding. She slowed her pace, walking in slow and uncertain beat. Clutching her burning shoulder, she urged herself forward and the burning sensation increased. Then it intensified, she began breathing heavily. She fell to the ground and gritted her teeth, pressing her hand harder into her shoulder. Her hope of easing the burning pain was futile. Lying down flat on her back on the forest floor, she looked at the sky and encaged the scream threatening to escape her chest. She writhed in agony and curled into a ball. The pain seemed to fuel and she let out a small groan. Hissing, she began wishing this was all over. She closed her eyes and moaned, rolling around restlessly while clutching her shoulder tightly. Her vision wavered, causing her to close her eyes to shut out the dizziness that gave her nuisance.

     What the hell is going on? With the pain intolerable, she did one thing she has never done in a long time. She screamed. In agony and because of failure. Somehow, that seemed to have allowed some pain out. The sound from her throat echoed throughout the whole forest and sent birds flying from the trees.

     “She’s here!” a masculine voice echoed from afar.

     Rustles resonated in her ears and she was brought into a pair of warm, comfortable arms. The burning eased a bit, but not enough to make it seem sufficient.

     “It hurts,” she felt a single, hot tear escape the corner of her eye.

     “It’s okay, I’m here.” the voice belonged to the man in her head—no doubt Mister Werewolf.

     Then all of a sudden, something soft and lush landed on top of her lips. She found the excruciating pain melting away from this gesture and slowly, very slowly, her will and strength began returning. Lifting her lids, she found the familiar face of the man from the office.

     He pulled away and looked down at her violet eyes. His mate was simply strong-willed and hard-headed. Her personality was the thing leading to her downfall. She was prideful and once she had her mind set on something, she isn’t going to turn back no matter what. She was easily predictable.

     The mating bond was advantageous but filled with consequences. One of these things were having to experience such terrible pain when one is away from his or her mate when the bond isn’t complete. Akira must learn more about his kind or she would suffer such drastic dealings. She was brilliantly reckless, daring, and disadvantageously prideful. How could he even handle such wild female?

     She tried moving but her limbs felt heavy. Her strength had been drained, unfortunately. “You.” she managed to exert a small amount of force and glared at Adam. “Tell me. What the hell is going on?”

     She didn’t mind the kiss—much. It surprisingly saved her life.

     Her dilemma was getting weirder each second. She felt as if her head would spin from all of the events that happened in a single day. She was frozen on her position, Adam's arm supporting her neck. She felt ashamed of admitting her fear of feeling it once more. It was something that she wasn't willing to experience again.

     Her body felt suddenly weak and exhausted, like all the energy she had has been drained completely. It left her no chance to move.

     "That pain . . ." she murmured weakly.

     "Ssh, it's okay, love."

     "Don't ever touch me again." Despite her weakness, Adam was surprised how she managed to put a sharp edge to her voice.

     "You ran away. Look where it got you."

     "I told you I'll find a way. And I'll take all the chances I can get."

     Adam placed one arm around her shoulder, the other under her knees. She then lifted her up from the ground and began walking back to the pack-house. This position somehow reminded him of the night that he marked Akira. Except now she was awake, staring at him while they moved through the trees.

     "You should follow what I say to prevent yourself from getting hurt." Adam tried delivering his speech as calm as possible, but he can't ignore his anger about the fact that she didn't heed his advice.

     "I told you, I will take all the chances I can get. No matter what the consequences are." she told him. Akira felt herself slowly recovering, her strength was starting to come back. "Why did you kiss me?"

     Adam stopped at his tracks, allowing some of the pack-members he met halfway while searching for his matemove ahead of them. As soon as she asked that question, he suddenly found himself unable to answer.

     "I'll explain later. You need rest." he resumed at his tracks.

     "I need answers." she insisted.

     Yes, just her stubborn self.