Episode 8

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SASKIA'S POV

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"Let go of me!" I rip my arm from his vice-like grip, then wince at the pain that accompanies the forceful act. I keep forgetting of the strength this man has.

"Behave!" He barks, his rough hand remoulding their grasp on my arm. His eyes flash amber, and his clasp on me tightens, almost entirely cutting off the blood supply in my arm. When they regress back into pale blue orbs, his clutch loosens, restoring blood flow in the limb.

"I am not a child. I am an adult." I ground out, my chest rising up and down while my breath bounds out in leaps. My arm stings and I watch the angry red lines take form in circles. "Do not tell me what to fucking do!" My chest hurts with the rage filling it up, expanding my lungs, pressing against my diaphragm.

"Then act like a bloody adult," I take into record that in his anger, his voice has lost the drowsiness it ordinarily bears. Now, it reeks of pure, unadulterated ire. "You have offended me twice today, Luna. There will be severe consequences."

At his threat, I know I might have messed up. But I force my spine to remain stiff while I try not to entertain any trembling at my imaginations of what could happen to me. Well, it didn't matter what it was. I would not be going down willingly. Not without a fight.

"After we wed, you will do my bidding."

"I will patiently wait for that time to come then. We'll see whose bidding I'll do." I retort, leaning away from him towards the car. My legs respond like cooked noodles, and I grunt, frustrated, as I am unable to return the feeling of normalcy to them.

"I know who you will obey. I do not need to wait." In a swift movement, he picks me up and places me on the hood of the car. I hold onto him firmly, wrapping my arms around his neck to keep from falling off. I blush red at the positioning of his hands: one is underneath my right thigh, and the other is fastened around my waist.

If not for the reality that, as of now, we are not close to being on good terms, I might have been inclined to push my heavy, clouded head into his shoulder. Because that's what I want to do right now. I want something to lean up against. Maybe, something that's not him.

"What are you doing?" Despite being on an elevated platform, I can't avoid the chore of tilting my head back and upwards to meet his gaze.

"Explaining." His left hand unhooks itself from underneath me and shifts upwards so that both hands are resting squarely on my hips.

I grimace but deliberately ignore them. What I can't ignore, though, is their slow strokes up and down. Strokes that are undeviatingly driving me to delirium. "What..." I breathe out, shallow gasping, through my mouth. This whole disregarding the presence of his hands is proving to be substantially more than I can handle. "What...are you...explaining?"

"We were being followed."

"What?" I arch an eyebrow at him. What the hell? What sort of wolves could have been so bold to tail the Alpha of the biggest pack in all of Canada?

"They followed us. Seems like they'd been tailing you and your escort." He bites on the word escort spitefully like it had done something wrong to him. Or rather—the thought comes to me a little too late but eventually reveals itself—the person in reference.

"The fact that the buffoon did not notice from the beginning is even more amazing than the guts these blood-thirsty creatures have. Imagine tracking my Luna like they were hunting a prey." He snarls, his sharp canines becoming more visible when his lips part from each other. "I will make them pay."

"Blood-thirsty creatures? Vampires?" I gasp softly. I had seen them quite a few times. Only from a distance, nevertheless. They usually showed up like lone wolves in the midst of the scarce gatherings that were open to all creatures.

My father hosted one once for my eighteenth birthday. It was then I knew what the smell of blood-lust was. The vileness of it all. I did not want to experience it again. Did not want it permeating my senses like it did that night. One of the several nights I so desperately wanted to forget.

"Yes, vampires."

"Is that why you sped away?"

"Yes and no."

"Huh?" I regard him with a puzzled expression creasing my brow.

"Yes, because I did want to lose them. No, because it's nothing of what you're probably thinking."

"Elaborate." I jut my chin at him, shifting in the lock he's formed below my waist. His hands remain steady, anyway. I have to shove a groan back down my throat. My dagger would really have been the most helpful instrument in this situation. A little slice would have successfully broken the stronghold he's built around me.

"I wanted to lose them, so I could gain the upper hand."

"What's your upper hand?"

"My territory." The corner of his lips sneaks upwards in a smirk. "We were in a no man's land before. They had the advantage, especially since there is one of me and more than three of them."

"Oh." I nod my understanding. "So, did we lose them entirely?"

"No," he reaches for my hair but pauses in the air, an inch from touching me. When I expect him to withdraw his open fist, he presses forward and threads his fingers through my inky mane. "This is only an open ground. One good enough for a battle."

"What? I mean, what the hell? Is this how things always happen? You get waylaid and have to fight more than one vampire alone?"

"It's happened before. It might happen again after today. I have no mirror with which to see the future, love."

"Still, this makes no sense."

"It's no matter. What is of importance is that before they come, you tell me who did it."

"Who did what?" Wow, the number of questions I'd asked today were innumerable. At this point, I should really start an interview with him or play the twenty questions game.

"Tell me," his large hand finds the exact spot on my neck that is still tender from the injury, and his touch sets it on fire. "Who hurt you?"