Shadow Light

Hidden Shadows and Stonewalling

Catching the whiff of another female on my mate as he walked in caused a wave of anger to erupt in the pit of my stomach rising to the back of my throat. Phoenix didn't sense my anger and instead approached me, as he got closer and the scent became more prominent the anger increased. I chucked the remote at him once he was a few feet away. He looked at me startled, not expecting an outburst of violence from me, "If you're going to sleep around, then allow me the same privilege or at least shower and burn your clothes before coming back home." I said through gritted teeth as I stood up to get into his face.

The nerve of this idiot! First he kidnaps me, forces me to stay locked up in his apartment, and expects me to be okay with him cheating on me. Never have I ever felt so disrespected and dirty in my whole entire life. Phoenix growled at me. I poked my finger into his chest, "Don't you growl at me" I said hissed, "This is not the first time you've come here with another's scent all over you. What do you take me for?" I was disgusted by his behavior. "Day in and day out, I stay locked in here like some sort of princess in a tower and when you finally come home after I've waited for hours you reek of another female. How can you tell me you want us to be together when you go out and do things like that?"

What annoyed me the most about being in captivity was the fact that I had no room to be free, I was trapped. My wolf was trapped. I hated these feelings, it stressed me out and tore me apart. It would only be a matter time before I snapped. In my pack, we live mostly outdoors. Our houses were open, and we spent every waking moment out in the woods to be in tune with nature.

"I'm sorry Astrid, I just have to keep appearances." Phoenix tried to explain to me, "And I don't have sex with them anymore." Oh, yeah because that makes everything so much better.

Betrayal shot through me. "You mean to tell me, that you have always slept around with other girls? Even when you were supposedly pining over me?" I choked out. Don't cry Astrid, don't cry. I told myself firmly. "And what kind of excuse is that? 'I have to keep appearances' what kind of future Alpha are you? Sleeping around with unmated she wolfs! She wolves who should be saving themselves for their mate! And that's so fucking great, you don't have sex with them anymore, con-fucking-gratulations!" I ranted, my chest heaving in rage. My body was shaking in rage, my hair was standing on edge. "I applaud you for the self-control you display." I spat out sarcastically.

Phoenix stared at me, in shock, then in rage, "Says the girl who was marked by another male." He ground out, here we go again.

A haughty laugh escaped my lips, "You do not know the tradition of my pack. They're probably out looking for me, as well as my parents and the mate I left back home." I said snidely. I wanted them to find me, but I was scared about what they would to Phoenix. I was being nasty to disguise the hurt that shot through me as Phoenix mentioned Nathaniel. I blinked back tears at the sadness that swept over me at the thought of my mate being disgusted by something I had no control over.

Phoenix sneered at me, "It's been a month Astrid. Your pack gave up, except for your 'mate'." He spat the word mate out, "Coincidentally, he met his true mate while trying to look for you. Astrid baby, you're all mine now." Phoenix purred, a sinister smile on his perfect lips.

My jaw dropped and tears pooled in my eyes. Nathaniel found his mate? They stopped looking for me? Their future Alpha Female? Was I to be forgotten? Would Astrid Shadows be just a forgotten memory? Dejected, I walked away not saying a word to Phoenix. If that's the reaction he wanted, he got it. I couldn't believe that they would stop searching for me. Maybe I just over estimated my worth. I sat down on the couch, my hands laying limply on my lap. After everything I did to make sure I would be worthy to be his mate.