Rightfully Hers

XXII

JADA WARREN

I spit the blood that began to fill my mouth onto the cement flooring beside me, clenching my jaw to keep from groaning in pain. For my own amusement purposes, I grunted, "That would be a lot easier to clean if you had hardwood."

"You just keep going and going!" Thing 1 gasped in exclamation. I knew I shouldn't have expected much from his very limited post secondary education, but other than his physique, the man was not made to be a criminal. From our entire hour spent together, I knew about his entire family, including his great uncle twice removed with the name Toad, and about his beloved turtle, Abba, whom he named after the dancing queen herself. Apparently Abba liked to shift from side to side, and, Thing 1 thought it looked a lot like a dance.

"Your punches are weak," I excused myself, earning an offended frown from the man who now sat, cross legged, in front of me. "It's called a hook for a reason, you have to hook your fist. Aim for the nose or the chin, never the jaw, are you stupid? Do you want to break your knuckles? I know you're the human reincarnation of Bowser but you are not indestructible, especially not your hands."

He processed my words for a few seconds and then grinned sheepishly at me. "I think you look like Daisy."

At this, I was offended. "You think I look like Daisy? From Mario Kart? I thought we were getting along. I don't look like that prissy, good-for-nothing princess!"

Thing 1, who I will now refer to as Bowser, looked upset at my remark. "I think Daisy is pretty."

I paused. This man was surely not good at the entire criminal thing. I was beginning to hope he survived the fight tonight so I could be friends with him. The poor guy was too innocent at heart. He followed the rules of his Alpha, but he was a grown man with a pet turtle named Abba and he just, in the middle of the cement room in which he threw me in hours before, related me to a Mario Kart character and inadvertently called me pretty.

"Why'd you join Jared pack of rogues?" I asked suddenly, not quite sure if I had stepped too far past a boundary. Apparently, I didn't, because instead of looking angry, Bowser looked undeniably sad.

"It's a sad story, are you sure you want to hear it?" He looked at me questioningly, and when I nodded, he nodded too. "My mate was the Alpha's daughter." His eyes glazed over in the most lovingly fashion as he thought about her. "She was the prettiest girl ever. I liked her ever since we were little, but I never talked to her. Finally, when I was sixteen, I decided to go up to her. I'd waited a long time, but I was nervous.

"She noticed the mate connection and she laughed in my face and told me no one could ever love me. Then she rejected me. I still lived within the pack, I didn't want to leave my mom behind because you know, my dad had died in a pack fight the year before, and my two little sisters couldn't take care of her, they were only nine. Allie, that's my mate's name, always drew butterflies. She would post them on the fridge and around the pack house. My mom died when I was eighteen, and my two little sisters, Jordan and Julia, were taken in by my aunt and uncle. I decided to leave the pack, it became too hard to live so close to her, and she'd started dating the Beta's son."

He sent me a heart stricken expression before continuing, pointing to the large butterfly tattoo on his neck. "When I left, I got this tattoo, for Allie. It's the same colour as her eyes, I'll never forget her eyes. I was gonna get it on my shoulder or something, but neck tattoos hurt, and I was hoping it'd distract me from my hurting. It did, but only for a few hours. I met Jared the next year, that was two years ago."

"Oh." My mouth was dry. I'd been making fun of Bowser, I still was with the nickname, when he'd always been a soft hearted man who still loved his mate, despite her rejection.