Intransigent

Intransigent | 9

Chapter 9

Emma's POV

He was our mate, but I couldn't help but recoil when he tried to mark me. Any man other than Rick touching me caused an irrational fear to coil through me and make me freeze. I looked over Rick's shoulder at the man that was my mate and I saw the anger in his eyes when he noticed my legs and face.

"What happened to you?" he growled. Even though I knew he wasn't growling at me, but at the thought of someone hurting me, I still flinched back from him, slightly. Hurt flashed through his eyes before he covered it.

He growled again when Rick reached down and took my hand. Rick ignored him. "Why don't we take this conversation somewhere else, maybe even somewhere private. It's not going to be easy for Emma to talk about."

My mate turned and slammed his fist into the concrete wall with a growl and the Beta just continued to stare at me. His eyes held compassion for me and I gave him a small smile. He tried to return it, but it didn't reach his eyes. My eyes slid back to my mate and I gasped when I saw blood running down his hand.

I wanted to go to him and make it better. I held myself back, though. He'd tried to mark me before I could tell him it was okay and I was scared he would do it again if I went to him.

Turning around slowly, he met my eyes and said, "Why don't we go up to my office?"

I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind Rick, eager to get out of this cell. "That would be great," I told him, giving him a small smile.

He smiled back, larger and full of hope. I knew what he wanted, he wanted me to accept him as a mate and I would, eventually, but I needed some time to heal. I also wanted to see my family again. So, I would tell him some of my story in exchange for a phone call.

My mate's Beta lead the way upstairs while my mate followed behind Rick and I. I really need to learn his name. I can't just call him my mate forever. I would ask him when we reached his office.

We were lead back through the living room we passed through to get to the basement and then up another set of stairs and through the first door on the right. The office was furnished in blocky, masculine furniture. A solid oak desk with an office chair behind it and two wooden chairs in front was straight back from the door. Along the wall to the right was a love seat and two sofa chairs.

My mate gestured to them. "Have a seat."

I sat on the love seat and Rick sat beside me. My mate's jaw tightened when Rick took the spot next to me, but he didn't say anything, just sat in one chair while his Beta sat in the other.

"So what's your name?" I asked him.

He smiled slightly. "I'm Ashton," he told me. Ashton, that's such a strong name. Although, he's an alpha, he should have a strong name. "And you two are?" I knew that he'd probably heard my name when Rick was talking to me but was being polite.

"Emma," I told him. "And this is my friend, Rick."

He smiled at me and glanced at Rick. I think he was still angry that Rick had pulled him away from me when he tried to mark me. Not that I cared, I was grateful that he had pulled him away.

"And I'm Dane," his Beta told us, smiling at us politely.

"It's nice to meet you, Dane," I told him with a kind smile.

He nodded. "Likewise."

"So, how did you end up on my territory?" Ashton asked.

I froze, thinking about how to word this. He'd freaked out when he saw the scars, I wasn't sure how he'd react to knowing how I got them. I also wasn't sure I could tell the story yet. I tried to avoid it. "Well, we were lost and looking for a town or city so that we could find our way home, we weren't paying attention like we should've been and accidentally stumbled onto your territory," I told him.