Alpha Rhys

Chapter 17

"I suddenly don't feel too well." I blurt out. Rhys reaches my spot on the bed and frowns. I can't make myself sound too suspicious, but I can't allow him to do whatever he wants when he is hiding things from me. I need to see Damon for information. If Rhys actually did put him in the prison here instead of making up, I can't trust him.

He sits next to me and puts a hand on my side to pull us closer, "You look fine to me." He kisses my cheek and continues it down to my shoulder. I have to think of a reason to leave the room and get to Damon. "I think I'm going to throw up."

I get up and try to run out of the room, into the bathroom adjacent to us. He runs to the door, just in time to be in here with me. I double over the toilet, pretending that I'm about to vomit. Rhys watches me and I turn my head to give him a look that tells him I need my privacy. He slowly leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I can tell that he is waiting for me to do something. With every second he waits, I can feel suspicion rising in him. There is a little bit of anger bubbling up inside of him, suspecting that Damon talked to me.

I can only do what I think is right in this situation. I have to induce vomiting to throw him off of my trail. I've read up on anorexia and bulimia, so I know some throwing up methods I can try right now. Using my finger and putting it as far as I can to the back of my throat, I start gaging. Rhys is listening intently to my suffering in the bathroom until I can finally expel what I have left of food. Once is enough for me. This was an awful feeling and I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I can feel my throat burning already.

Rhys comes in the bathroom and sees my disgusted face looking at the ground and flushes the toilet for me. He helps me stand up and I wash my mouth out in the sink. He brings me to the bed and forces me to lay down. I shake my head while trying to get off of the bed, "I'm not sick enough to sleep more. I just have an upset stomach."

"Food poisoning? Allergic reaction?" He starts naming off ridiculous things as if someone in the pack house is out to get me. I shake my head, "No! I think I just ate too much."

He thinks about it for a moment before looking away from me. "I'll get you some water." He gets up and starts walking away. I stay in bed before I think he is out of sight and then quickly hop out. I look out the door and make sure he is gone, and then run to the direction of the stairs to the basement. I keep running down halls and stairs until I reach the basement part where some people are still staying at. I slow to a walk and then speed back up when I get to the area where it leads to the prison.

My heart is pounding from the excess adrenaline pumping through me. I pass by various cells until I meet Damon's. He's sitting down in a chair, facing a wall. I go up to him and hold the cell bars. "Damon!"

He looks at me and stands up, rushing up to me, "Airi!" He holds the bars just below my hands and looks at me, "Rhys had put me in here because he thinks I'm going to take you away from him. I don't know how long we have to talk, but I think your curse is real. Why else would he act so crazy?"

"No, it can't be real. My curse was supposed to prevent me from finding my mate, so since I have one, I couldn't have it." I explain to him. He nods and then gives me his second answer, "The other option is that he had officially lost his mind. You know how he had spent years trying to find you?" I nod at him, "Well, now that he has you, he probably is going crazy trying to keep you. You have a track record of disappearing when he needs you."

Is this situation my fault? If I stay with him, he will get better, but if I keep leaving him he will get more insane? Is this some kind of sick trick by the Moon Goddess? Damon looks around like he is hearing someone and grabs my attention,
"It's just a ton of hormones from his wolf. It's not something to worry about, Airi. Just do something to get him to calm down again and he will come back to his senses. Maybe talk to his mother about it? I don't know, just do something so I can get out of here!"

"What are you doing down here?" Rhys says from behind me. He grabs my waist and pulls me from the cell's bars, glaring at Damon, "Did you tell her to come see you? How dare you undermine my authority and take up her time that she should be spending with me!" Rhys walks up to Damon's cell, "Just because you don't have a mate, doesn't mean you can take mine!"

"Rhys!" I yell at him and hit his arm, "Are you even thinking straight? This is your best friend and he is in jail! You should be getting him out, not yelling at him!"

"But he has wronged both you and me! He deserves it!" Rhys yells back at me.

I put my hands on my head in frustration, "He only deserves to find his mate like you did. Let him out and send him to find her if you are worried about him taking me. This way you have a more permanent solution." I offer reason to him since he isn't thinking for himself. He looks at me for a while before letting Damon out of his cell.

Damon runs out of it and looks at the both of us, "Thanks."

Rhys stands in front of me, "You will leave and find your girl. Don't come back until you do."

Damon nods and backs away from us. When he gets to a safe distance, he turns and runs away. Rhys waits until he is out of sight and then turns to me. "You left me."

He isn't wrong. I did trick him into leaving me alone and running here, but I had a good reason! Rhys grabs my hand and starts to briskly walk back up to our room. "I've spend so much time trying to keep you happy and safe by my side, but you keep wandering off." He reaches the room and he pulls me into the room, "So, I'm going to keep you here until you stop escaping from me." He shuts the door and locks it. I try to open the door to feel it staying in place by a lock. I decide to not lose energy on escaping, since there is nothing I can do when I get out.

I need to talk to his mother about this, as odd as it sounds. Maybe if she sees this change in him, she can talk some sense into him. If she can't, all I can do is just comply to anything he wants. This does sound very similar to my curse... I shouldn't assume anything, though! I know there is a solid answer to this, it just takes time.