The Cliff

Bloody Lips

(Unedited)

His fingers ghosted my lips. Another hand came up to feed me a slice of apple. I ate it. I was famished. Again the fingers came back, rubbing along the bloodied lips. He was not allowing my wound to close. I licked them, the metallic smell in air provoking my wolf. His hand froze in front of my face. Eyes narrowing on the tongue that swept away some of the blood.

"Not again, please," I begged.

He didn't blink. His eyes were fixed on the bloodied lips of mine. Those crazy grey eyes of his. He truly was obsessed, I could see that now.

"I am sorry." It was too late but I wanted to apologize.

He fixed me with a stare. "For what?"

Everything, I wanted to say, he was an innocent who got caught in the mess that my life was, but I shrugged instead. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that he was the same person who had overcome mating madness to help me free my brother. And for that I was truly sorry. I ate the piece of apple in his hands and looked away.

It was dark and silent outside. All day this wolf had not let me rest. My limbs were fatigued, my scalp felt raw. He had knotted me every time he was inside of me. Asserting dominance and throwing my accusations in my face. Because at the end of the day, I had begged him yet again. To mark me, to mate me.

"I can't let you go this time, Avery. I will do anything to keep you here," the human promised.

I nodded. I understood some of his madness now. And it scared me. What would he do when he knew of what I had done. Had he been the old Alpha Cade, I would have confidently said hated me. But this wolf sitting beside me was new to me. He took me on a date one moment and the next he talked about punishing me.

"Tell me this. Why did you have Brandon earn the worthy scars?" I suddenly wanted to know. "Did you hate me that much?"

"He chose that path himself. I or my pack had nothing to do with it."

My heart felt heavy. Why would Brandon even do that to himself? He was never self destructive as a child. He was just my stupid brother who hated Broccoli, loved ice creams, loved snow and loved getting me in trouble with our mother all the time. My throat closed up with the thought of the small child that would always run up to mom every time he felt he was going to get a scolding from me. This behaviour of his, earning the worthy scars went against everything I knew of him.

"Shhh," Alpha Cade pulled my head to his chest. I felt tears on my cheeks. I did not realise I was crying. I was being weak.

"Let me go. I need to use the bathroom," I told him.

"A girl Isabella is close to your brother. You can talk to her about him. She might know," he whispered in my ear.

Know what? Why he reduced himself to a pack slave or why he hated me so much. I sniffed again.

-----------------------

A sound woke me up. I looked around to see Alpha Cade cringing as he moved away from the closet, a shirt in his hand.

"I am sorry about the noise. Please go back to sleep."

"It's fine," I said getting up. "I need to use the bathroom." Moving away from him was like an itch within me. He was back to being sweet. A gentleman.

"Avery," his voice called me out before I could close the door behind me. One hand on the knob, I looked at him.

"We will be having lunch with my father. It can't be put off any longer. I have something urgent that needs my attention, so I won't be back till noon."