Pull My Heartstrings

Chapter 2

Dedicated to Riffitique for making my beautiful cover!

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Rowan

"Look," I said, at war with myself. "I don't think we're compatible, Finn."

I glanced down at my chest once more. For the first time in my life, a delicate red string was suspended in the air between Finn and me, one end disappearing into my heart. It was a great feeling. For the first time since I was separated from my mother, I was connected to someone.

But that someone was Evans' lackey, his nephew. When I was imprisoned, my only contact with the outside world had been through that bastard High Alpha. He told me about his darling nephew, who was then a faceless, nameless piece of evidence that I was, in fact, miserable. When his nephew was old enough, the bastard said, he would take over the High Alpha position and I would have to listen to him.

"What? Why?" Finn's adorable baby blue eyes widened in disbelief.

Because I can't face any more reminder of my past. "Because your fucking uncle tool me away from my mother, tortured me for years, then made me swear upon the goddess that I would serve him for eternity! Do you know how long werewolves live, Finn? A long fucking time!" I burst out suddenly. I knew all I was doing was taking out my anger on a blameless person -- even worse, I was taking it out on my mate -- but he was a bitter blast from the past.

"What? My uncle did that?" Finn looked so adorably confused... Pull it together, Rowan, this is for the best, I scolded myself. 

"You want to see the proof?" I lifted the sleeve of my t-shirt to reveal my shoulder, which had a simple emblem design branded into the once smooth skin. A slave's mark. "That's never going away, Finn."

He gasped and reached out with his arm, probably to touch the burnt skin softly. I gave him my best glare and continued. "He saw one day that I wasn't completely loyal to him and as punishment, he did this."

The brand wasn't simply a scar, it was a binding contract. Evans got an elder to do the ancient ritual that essentially made me his... to put it nicely, female dog. It hurt like hell.

"I- I don't know what to say," he mumbled, worried. I closed the distance between us, watching his pupils dilate and his eyes roam my body. 

"Well, there is one thing," I raised an eyebrow, know where his thoughts were headed. I wasn't too mad about it, to be honest, it's an instinctual response to your mate being up close and personal. I was feeling the effects too, but I was better at hiding it. "You can get out."

I shoved him quickly out the door, slamming it behind him. "Whew," I sighed, resting on the door. Then I looked up and saw Finn's friend. His name was... Josh? "Woah, um, get out?"

"You're the one that closed the door, leaving just the two of us here," Josh waggled his eyebrows.

"Don't you have a mate?" I crossed my arms and cocked my hips. "You shouldn't be flirting with me."

"Alas, 'tis true," he walked towards me and the door, forlorn expression wrinkling his face as his hand gripped his chests in a show of sadness. "See ya later, sweetcheeks."

I stepped to the side as he opened the door. "Oh, and my advice?" he looked at me, silly expression replaced with a serious one. "No matter what Finn's uncle did to you, you guys are mates. You're meant to be together. He's a good guy, you know, and a good alpha."

He gave me one last loaded look and stepped out, closing the door quietly behind him. I sighed heavily and turned to head back to my comfort zone, the balcony. I stopped short when I saw Kari, Andrei's mate. She raised her perfect eyebrows as she twirled her golden hair around one finger.