Instinct

Chapter #7

I woke up and immediately tensed up at the unfamiliar room and the room's large balcony doors that were left wide open for a cold breeze to sift through the curtains; I was about to get out of the plush white blankets and shut them until my foot touched something soft and warm. I almost jumped out of my own skin, thinking it was some animal or something, but the moment I looked over and squinted my eyes a little, I could see the figure of a man.

A man sleeping in a deep slumber with the blankets pooled at his waist.

His breath was slow and calm, and the more I looked at him, the better my eyes adjusted to the dark. I felt an undeniable yearn to be in his arms...

Alpha Raiden... I thought to myself, and then kind of snorted at the absurdity. I became more relaxed, but that didn't stop me from having to slowly creep out of the bed. I quietly and carefully padded on the carpeted floor, thankful for my heightened senses, as I could still smell the food that... Raiden had arranged for me.

It was a plain cheese sandwich with a salad leaf nestled between the two slices of bread. I picked the sandwich up and brought it to my mouth when suddenly I heard fast breathing. My eyes searched the room warily as I looked for the source of the sound, thinking it might be an intruder, but my heart came to a stop when I noticed it was coming from the bed. I rushed to a lamp and scrambled my hands over the table, looking for the switch.

I heard a grunt, and then a whimper, and then my name coming out as a strained whisper.

"What the h—" The light switched on and my sentence cut short, the room was now dimly lit but just enough for me to see.

It was Raiden.

His hands were hugged against his chest his arms were crumpled against his figure while his fingers looked uncomfortably twisted. I watched his deranged state and got startled when I heard a loud grunt as his back twisted like he was about to shift, except he didn't. He looked stuck in some weird state between awake and asleep. I frowned as my heart rate picked up its pace, as I felt a crippling panic at the sight of him still twisted over.

He groaned and then winced. As much as I wanted to leap to his rescue, all I did was stand rooted to the spot not knowing what to do to help him. I sprung into action the moment he groaned loud enough for the people staying down the hallways to hear.

I rushed over to his side of the bed and kneeled. He was sweating feverishly, his wincing becoming more frequent by the minute.

"Raiden?" I asked in a scared tone, as I frowned in confusion.

He groaned, turning over, as I watched in horror at every fiber in his muscles spasm, drenching my whole body in a cold sweat.

"Ta—" His spine arched suddenly, "-nia."

I took a few steps back and watched I watched his body contort itself. His jaw was tight, and his eyes were glazed over. They were hollow, empty, and black. I immediately hopped on the bed and bent over him.

"What do I do?" I asked with worry laced in my voice, but he couldn't answer. He just kept wincing as his jaw tightened every time he tried to speak.

"Raiden?" I asked again.

"Ta—" He winced.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm right here. What's wrong?" I tried comforting him, placing a hand on the side of his face, trying to stroke it gently until he managed to get the final words out.

"Don't le—" he winced, his muscles spasm again and he whimpers, "me shift."

"Wha—"

His eyes snapped open once more, "DON'T LET ME SHIFT!" He roared, looking up at the ceiling, sweat dripping from his forehead as his whole body shook, almost like he was fighting himself.

"Raiden y—"

"Don't let me! Don't let me, Tania!" He chanted.

I frowned, "Raiden, what are you talking about?"

"I can't shift. I can't shift, it hurts but y—" His back arched once more, and this tie I heard something crack, "Hold me, Tania!" He yelled.

I jumped at his tone; his arms were still twisted and uncomfortably curled next to his chest. But I still hadn't moved.

"TANIA!" He yelled and looked at me with hollow eyes, and the dark purple veins bulging out his neck and slithering over his skin. I snapped out of my trance and threw my leg over his waist, where most of the blanket was.

Now wha—"Hold me, Tania, please. Hold me close. Don't let me shift." He cried into my neck.

I bent over and pulled him up into a sitting position, then one of my arms draped itself over his smooth broad shoulders, holding him as close to me as I could, and pushing his front against mine. My other hand held the back of his head in such a way that his face was buried in the crook of my neck.

His breathing slowed down, and I started swaying us back and forth very slowly – it's something that came to me without me having to think about it. He shook in my arms, and I wrapped myself around him even tighter.

"Ta—" He winced.

"Sssh..." I cooed close to his ear, letting our cheeks rub against his in an affectionate manner, "I'm here."

His muscles slowly relaxed completely and his breathing slowed down until it stopped altogether and I froze.

Is he dead? I panicked, and just when I was about to pull him away from myself to check, but the air was knocked out of my lungs the moment a large pair of arms were snaked around my arms and squeezed me in a vice grip.

I grunted, "Raiden, I can't b—" but immediately cut myself short as I felt something wet on my shirt.

"Thank you." He cried into my shoulder.

His hold around me loosened and I felt tears welled in my eyes. I pressed my nose into the crook of his neck this time and we cried into each other's arms. My lips quivered, and I didn't know what had just happened, but a feeling of reassurance washed over me and took its toll on my composure. My instinct made me involuntarily give him more access to my neck as I lightly held him closer to me.

With trembling lips, I brought them close to his ear and spoke quietly, "You're welcome."

We held each other like this for a bit and I began lulling myself into asleep, until he tensed up.

"Tania you're cold." He said as his hands lay on my bare thighs.

I nodded slowly, not trying to look at him as I got off him.

"I was scared," I spoke softly and immediately felt my heart squeeze when I was no longer in his embrace.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

I looked up at him finally, and the moment I did it looked like his heart squeezed the same way mine did because I saw how he flinched lightly.

"It's fine..." I smiled sadly, then scooted over to my side of the bed, and went back under the warm sheets. "Sleep well," I said, my back facing him, completely dismissing the reason I'd actually woken up.

"You too..." He said.

What he did next surprised me.

He pulled the blankets off of him, got out of bed, and stormed off to the door.

"Raiden where are you goin—"

"I'll be back when you wake up." He grumbled.

Then, the door slammed shut and I was left alone in a room I probably wouldn't be able to afford. All at once, I felt unwanted by him.

I help him, and all of a sudden he switches up and leaves?

I felt my muscles tense up again, as I pulled the blanket tighter to my chest and sobbed into it until it hurt too much to cry and the exhaustion of it pulled my back into the dark abyss.