Wynter's Bane (On Hiatus)

Chapter 6

Edited with Grammarly: 4/30/2020

Rubbing at his chest, the tall male glares at me.

"You know, for one so small, you sure hit like you're normal-sized. What the hell? Trying to help and you start attacking me."

My mouth fairly drops before I start sputtering again in indignation.

"If you hadn't come up on me the way you did I wouldn't have needed help in the first place! Why do you have the need to keep sneaking up on people? It's your own fault."

Our glaring match ends in him smiling at me, an easy forming grin as he relaxes his stance. Crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow, he starts chuckling. He may have relaxed, but I don't, so hiking my burden back onto my shoulder, I turn to leave.

"Where you going?"

"I'm sorry I was in your spot, I'll leave."

When he moves to stand in front of me, my annoyance is peaked, even as a shot of fear goes through me. Reaching out, he touches my arm.

"You don't have to. Look, I'm sorry for what happened today, what was brought up just caught us all by surprise."

Raising my eyes, I'm not fooled.

"Please excuse me, Alpha Markus, you don't want to be seen with me, it will just hurt your standing."

He winces when named by his title, but he still doesn't move.

"I may be in training, but I'm no different than you or anyone else..."

"That's where you're wrong."

He scowls at me, those honey-brown eyes of his darkening.

"You are different, because you're an Alpha. I'm different, because by most laws of nature, I shouldn't even be here."

Over six feet of Werewolf starts crowding me as he glares down from inches away, or, above rather. I can feel the heat coming off his body he's so close to me. His short hair falls forward, stopping just shy of covering his eyes and his intent gaze.

"We're both Wolves under the laws of the Moon. It is by her grace that we are here. Just because you were born small makes you no less of a wolf than any other. Last night when I first met you, you'd shown your heart of life, joy of living, and will to live. At no point did I ever see anything that made you seem less than a wolf than anyone else I know."

Tears burn behind my eyes and I have to look away. Knuckles caress over my cheek lightly as he turns me back to him.

"Many wolves can be small-minded, and I apologize for that. If it's all the same to you though, I'd like to go back to when neither of us had a station and we were both just relatively normal teenage wolves."

Looking into his face, I read it, judging his words and expressions. He seems sincere, but it seems too good to be true, especially coming from an Alpha-to-be.

"Why aren't you like everyone else?"

He shrugs, pulling his hand away. I feel the loss of the touch instantly, the warmth of it moving away leaving my skin cold.

"Maybe it's because I got to know you before I knew what you were, or it could just be because I was brought up looking at things differently. My father also does things differently and is much loved by his Pack. More than one have called him savvy in the boardroom, call it a talent, maybe mine is I'm more open-minded."

I give him a weird look and he chuckles. I'm used to the way my Pack does things, and it sounds like his does things totally differently. Motioning me to take a seat further back than where I'd been before, he lowers and sits before flopping over and laying on his side, unconcerned about getting his jeans and T-shirt dirty. Nice.

Sitting down myself, I toss my bag off to the side, getting tired of hanging on to it.

"Did you know you're bleeding?"

Raising a hand to my cheek, I shrug. It'll be healed in a few seconds.

"Happened a little bit ago. So, how'd it go with my sister?"

His brows draw together for a moment, looking confused as he looks back through his memory banks.

"Your sister? Mythine is your sister?"

Nodding, he grimaces and I can't help but chuckle.

"And Adolphos is my brother. I'd watch out for Myth though, if she has you in her sights, she won't let go easily, if at all."

He swallows with a bit of difficulty, his face looking a little dismayed. Poor guy, he has no idea what he's in for.

"Shouldn't you be used to females propositioning themselves? I mean, isn't being with an Alpha in training supposed to be a thing or something?"

He groans, rolling onto his back and throwing an arm over his eyes.

"It is, and that's what makes it so tiresome. Females either want the status, fame, or money. Doesn't matter if they're human or wolf."

Looking out over the rocks, I try to imagine what it would be like to be in a position where instead of no one wanting anything to do with you, everyone wants something from you. I can't picture it.

"I'd think being wanted for something would be better than not being wanted at all."

Lifting his arm, he looks over at me, those honey-colored eyes once again darkened.

"No, Wynter, there is such a thing as being wanted for the wrong reasons. When that happens, you end up being more miserable than you'd been beforehand. Not all attention is good attention. Picture it like at school, when getting talked to by some versus being talked at by someone."

He stops for a moment, seeing my confused look, then backtracks.

"Alright, we'll put it this way. Getting attention from a friend or teacher versus someone who is teasing or making fun of you. Today for example; Kalista's attention, as opposed to everyone else, after your sister made her appearance."

He sits up at this point, long legs folding into an Indian position, face intent, and bordering on sad. 

"Kalista missed you in class, by the way. She'd tried to get to you but you bolted before she could get close. If you think she's of the same mindset as everyone else, you're wrong. If anything, she knows what you're going through, or similar. She's our Omega's daughter."

My eyes widen and my heart thumps, hope blossoming at the thought and possibilities. My voice is stuck in my throat for a second, but I finally manage to get it pushed out.

"I thought for sure she didn't want anything to do with me. She was so nice, and with what Myth had done... It felt awful."

He nods, not looking very happy, but right at this moment, I couldn't be happier, knowing that not one, but two people are willing to talk and name me their friend. It's really more than I could ever hope for.

Markus moves to stand, brushing off his pants before reaching out a hand to help me up as well. I'm hesitant at first, but he's patient with me.

"I gotta get going, I'm already late, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. You are okay now, right?"

Smiling, I nod. I even put my hand over my chest to show my sincerity. His returned smile has butterflies winging in my belly before he turns and jogs off. I watch for a minute or two then pick up my bag and walk home.

I have friends. Imagine that.