Proving Her Worth To Him.

AQUA

When I finally jerked back into consciousness, the first thought that ran through my brain was the need to find my mate. Again.

Gunnar's head snapped in my direction at the sound of my soft gasp, but he didn't move. “You're finally awake, huh?”

I nodded slowly, shifting my gaze to the bonfire near him. The smell of burning wood and the crackling of the fire drifting into my nose, pulling me closer to its warmth. Trees towered above, their branches swaying gently in the night breeze, casting eerie shadows in the flickering firelight. When I moved, a sharp pain shot up my side, causing me to wince.

“That's good, because we have to talk.” Gunnar threw the last piece of wood in his hands before rising to his feet. His movement allowed me to spot a wolf behind him, resting on its haunches with its front legs straight. “Tell me what you did, Aqua,” he demanded.

My heart skipped a beat at the sharpness in his tone. As a submissive wolf, I had mastered all the signs most dominant wolves used whenever they were displeased. Leon once said it was silly, but it saved me multiple times from Keegan's wrath in the past. The others... weren't so lucky.

Now, that situation felt very similar to this one. The tightness of his jaw, the subtle vein throbbing of his forehead, and the twitch of his left eye all told me that I was in serious trouble.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I denied.

My head immediately told me that was a stupid move. If there was anything I had learned from the past, it was never tell a direct lie to a dominant wolf. But I got so scared because we were the only ones in the forest, and the signs in front of me kept getting worse.

A low rumble erupted from the wolf near the bonfire, causing me to flinch. If even he could smell that weak, pathetic lie, then what about Gunnar?

“You know, I've been thinking about what could have caused my wolf's suppression, and I realized that there was nothing wrong with me until I came to fetch you.” He growled, slowly closing the distance between us. “I'll ask you one more time, Aqua. What did you put into that water jug?”

Cold fear gripped my heart as a sudden oppressive force washed over me. My wolf immediately recoiled into my mind with a whimper, causing my knees to nearly buckle. I confessed, “It was just medicine. Evelyn, our pack healer gave it to me to heal your wounds.”

Gunnar's hand struck out with lightning speed, choking the life out of me as he gripped my neck. He snarled, “If it was just medicine, then why didn't you give it to me like normal people would?”

At this moment, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing. It would have been much simpler to present the medicine to him, but the deed was already done. “Because I was scared you'd behave like this, and I was right.” I wheezed.

A few seconds later, Gunnar released me, causing me to collapse on the ground. My knees had completely lost their strength as I stared at my second-chance mate, who returned to the bonfire.

I faced the bright moon in the sky as several thoughts ran through my mind. Of all the hundreds of thousands of wolves occupying the entire Wythersia continent, why did the moon goddess choose this wolf to be my second-chance mate?

He was a lunatic!

“I'm sorry,” My voice was barely above a whisper when I apologized, but I knew he heard it. If there was anything I did wrong, it was butting into his business like that. I mean, he was the strongest wolf right now, so he probably healed faster than everyone else, but...“I was only trying to help. I didn't know Evelyn's drugs would have some side effects on your wolf.”

Gunnar gave me the coldest look I had ever received in my life, creating goosebumps across my skin. “There's not supposed to be any medicine capable of suppressing someone's inner wolves, Aqua! The law states that those kinds of drugs are only to be used among the hunter wolves to put down rogue animals.”

“Oh my goodness,” I gasped with horror. It was difficult to understand everything he was trying to say, but I could already sense that it was very bad. “Why would Evelyn give me that? She said that it was to help heal your injuries—”

He snapped, “Because she wanted to kill me, and you helped her. What kind of help could I possibly expect from a submissive wolf?”

I sucked in a breath when I heard his harsh words. There it was—that stupid stereotype that submissive wolves weren't good for anything except serving people and their desires. I didn't think much about my second-chance mate, but I never imagined that he would also think about me that way.

And I hated to admit it, but it hurt. Very much.

My vision blurred slightly as I stared into the bonefire in silence. Well, if that's what he really thought about me, then there was no need for me to burden him anymore.

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked when he saw me walking away. I heard the warning tone in his voice as he threw another piece of wood into the fire, making sure it burned brightly. “Those hyenas are not the only dangerous creatures in this forest and I have no plan to go searching for you. So sit your little butt down, Aqua.”

I forced my voice not to crack when I replied, “I, uh...just need to pee. I'll be back in a sec.”

When he didn't say anything, I turned around to see him feeding his wolf. Great, now even the wolf was more important than me, his mate.

More tears spilled down my cheeks at the sight, reinforcing the determination in my heart. Maybe it was time for me to prove my worth to him, once and for all.

And then, I'll leave and never come back.