Pull My Heartstrings

Chapter 4

Ok I'm gonna try to stick to one POV per chapter now :) Vote & comment <3

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Rowan

Dread settled in my stomach as we approached Finn's parents' house. His uncle had walked past the car as we arrived and I shrunk into myself, the instincts that I had tried so hard to surpress for years coming back in an instant.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. Finn shot me an understanding look, but it did nothing to appease my fears.

The High Alpha was let into the house moments before we arrived, and at the base of the quaint porch, I seriously considered bolting. I could walk home, right? A few hours of walking and millions of blisters sounded better than meeting the bastard that ruined my childhood.

Finn wiped his hands on his jeans nervously before he knocked on the heavy oak door. Why was he nervous? I wondered bitterly. He wasn't the one whose worst nightmare was beyond the door.

"Finn, how are you?" a kind old lady with smile lines criss-crossing her leathery face answered the door. She looked too old to be his mother, though. "You need to visit your lonely aunty more often, I'm withering away here."

He ducked his head adorably, shooting his aunt a sheepish grin. "It's nice to see you again Aunt Mathilde. Is your back doing any better?"

"This ole thing?" Mathilde scoffed, rubbing her bent back. "Of course it is. But that's beside the point -- is this lovely lady your mate?"

I smiled. "I'm Rowan," I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you."

For once, I actually was glad to meet somebody. Everyone new in my life came to find their mate and didn't stick around long afterwards. I preferred it that way, to be honest. I came with a history that many wouldn't want to be involved with.

"Aw, Finn, she's such a darling, so lovely. Come in, come in!" Mathilde beckoned us inside the warm home. I looked around in wonder. My apartment was much more modern than this house, but it didn't feel nearly as homey. A warm fireplace surrounded by couches and a shaggy rug were in the room to my right. We stood in a tiled foyer, with small wooden staircases before us. Another hallway turned away to my left, but I couldn't see where it led.

"Finn and Rowan, it's nice to see you two," a middle-aged woman entered the foyer from the left. "I'm Agatha, Finn's mother."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled. 

"Agatha, is that Finn and his mate?" a voice drifted from the hallway. "Bring them in!"

"Well, come on," Agatha gestured for us to follow her. Butterflies grew to apocalyptic proportions and flapped heavily in my stomach, sweat grew on my palms, and my brows turned up in an expression of worry. Finn, seeing my discomfort, grabbed my hand ressuredly. I tried to pull away gently, but he wouldn't let go. Eventually I decided to save face and gave up, even though within, I was enjoying the contact with my mate.

Besides, I might as well enjoy it while it lasts, right?

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I woke up with a groan. My head felt like it was splitting apart. Experimentally, I opened my eyes a crack, and quickly shut them again when the light pierced my eyes painfully and made my migrained worse. I groaned, but that hurt too.

What happened? I thought I was meeting Finn's parents and uncle, but the last thing I remember is holding Finn's hand and walking down the hallway. 

"Rowan!" A hand grabbed mine frantically. "You're awake!"

"Finn?" I tried opening my eyes again, but failed. "My head hurts like a bitch..."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" he scrambled to fetch something, creating a lot of loud noises that made me cringe.

"Sorry," he whispered apologetically. "Here, take these."

He put a pill to my lips, an oddly simple, yet intimate gesture. My lips parted to take the pill into my mouth and as the pill touched my tongue, his fingers brushed my lips. I resisted the urge to gasp but my heart still sped up. Did he feel this too?

After he fed me another pill and gave me some water, I relaxed and closed my eyes, waiting for the pills to work their magic. We sat in silence for about twenty minutes. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Finn massaged my hand in his gently, playing with my fingers and running a large thumb down my palm.

"So what happened? All I remember is walking down the hall from the foyer," I sat up once my migraine had sufficiently subsided. "It wasn't that scarring was it?"

"Oh no, not at all," Finn chuckled to himself. "You fainted and hit your head on a chair on the way down. Luckily the chair had a cushion on it so all you got out of it was a migraine."

I would've face-palmed if I hadn't had such a big headache. How embarrassing. "What were we talking about before then?" I asked, hoping nothing drastic happened.

"Well... my uncle confessed to what he did," Finn said angrily. "That was when you fainted. And then I... I got into an argument with my uncle and my parents. After that, I left."

"I'm sorry to get between you and your family, I didn't even accept you as my mate," I squeezed his hand apologetically. 

"But will you?" Finn's eyes stared at me pleadingly. His other hand came to grip mine on the bedsheet.

"Will I what?" I asked innocently.

"Be my mate," he half whispered. I really wanted to say yes, to give in. But that would only cause pain later.

"I can't." 

Finn scowled, letting go abruptly. My hand suddenly felt cold without Finn's warmth cocooning it. "Gods damnit, yes you can! All you have to do is give into your wolf, is that so hard? Why do you want to resist the pull?"

"You know why I don't," I sat up suddenly, enraged. It hurt my head like nothing else, but the rage coursing through my veins wouldn't let me feel the pain properly. "Don't be an insensitive jerk, you only know  half of what I've been through."

"No, I know everything," he growled, pacing around the small, clinical room. In the back of my mind, I offhandedly realized that we must be in a hospital or a clinic of some sort. "He fucking told me detail, everything. I know all of the things he did to you: your meals, your schedule, the sick classes he made you take, all of it. I'm trying to help you, what more do you want? All I want is for you to be happy, and apparently, you just want to stay in your fucking safe world and try to ignore everything!"

"I --" Stammering, I tried to respond, but I couldn't. "I need to go home."

Finn stopped pacing and looked at my coldly. The lack of warmth in his eyes made me cringe inwardly, but maybe it was for the best. No, it was for the best. "Let me drive you," he sighed. I figured it was best not to argue this time, especially since I didn't know where we were.

The drive home was awkward to say the least. But on the bright side, I found out we were at his pack house, in the clinic. One less problem in my book, although finding out where I was wasn't even a blip on the screen compared to the other problems which loved to chase me around...

I got out of Finn's sensible red car as soon as he pulled in front of my apartment building. I looked up at the Parisian themed facade -- I couldn't wait until I got home and I could murder a certain roommate named Kari. No, I was going to murder both of them. I wasn't even kidding.

"Bye," I lamely waved at Finn, who looked like he wanted to say something. But instead, he just looked straight at the road and pulled away from the curb. Great.

I trudged up the stairs to my apartment. By the tenth flight, my quads and calves were burning but I needed something to distract me from the dull pain in my chest. I felt really bad for hurting my mate, but I wasn't sure if I felt sorry because I was actually sorry or if it was the mate bond screwing with my emotions.

I sighed heavily and slowly rounded another corner before going up another flight of cold, concrete stairs.