Arielle’s POV:Why had he done that? Why had he done that to me?I made sure to lock my office door, and I barely made it to my chair behind my desk before I slumped down on it, and wrapped my hands around my body. He had scared me.Richard had truly gone and scared me, the same way that Leon had acted when he wouldn’t get his way in the Rogue hideout. Except that, I had expected this from Leon, in a way. But not from Richard, who had protected me and comforted me. Not from Richard, Alpha Richard who I liked very much - who I just realized only the previous day that I liked a lot more than I thought I did.The very same Alpha had comforted me and listened without any judgements attitude about my history with Leon.And now, he had done almost the same thing.I closed my eyes only briefly, feeling the memory replay in my head, of both experiences. I could not rid myself of that feeling of fear in my body as I replayed the moment when Richard pushed me against the wall the same way that
Richard’s POV:I have to say that I had never felt this restless before in my entire life. It felt almost as if he is missing a limb.Now I was back at home, with the need to shower and eat that brought me to return to my home. As I left my room, I found Darren in my study.I felt myself angry at him as I noticed he was whistling and looking around the study while oblivious to my burning rage.I was angry at everything, and at everyone at that moment.I had not only managed to push Arielle away even more and make her scared of me, I had also managed to fuck things up by hurting her in such a horrible way. Why would I not be angry at myself?I slammed the door of my study loudly to gain my Beta’s attention and be whipped his head to gaze at me, before he then said carefully, as he took in the expression on my face, “Hey Richard. Is everything okay?”I waved his question away, trying to hold myself back from snapping at him as I really wanted to. I moved towards my desk and was about to
Arielle’s POV:I was like a ship without a rudder after Lilian left. All my emotions seemed to be out of wack, and it was all because of that Alpha. Richard, I thought his name in my head, a little afraid to say it out loud.If I said his name out loud, he might end up appearing after all.Why was this happening to me?I had only come here over a month ago, and already, my life had been upended by a series of events. At first it was Leon, and the way he had held me captive in the Rogue hideout. Then it was my healing abilities I just discovered all of a sudden. And now I find out that I have a mate bond with Alpha Richard, the very Alpha of the pack I had grown to once, and might soon have to leave because it would surely end in tears for me.At this point, I thought somewhat morosely, was I even worth moving?I did not hear any knock on my door, before it slammed open.I whipped my bead up, stunned to find that it was Beta Darren walking into the office.I gaped at his appearance; he
Deflecting and FlusteredArielle’s POV: I could not speak; it was practically on the top of my tongue to say something, anything at this point. But at Richard’s words I was speechless. Angel.He had called me angel. My breaths quickened uncontrollably; I was unable to calm down. I could only reply his words in my head, especially the part when he called me... that.No one had ever called me angel before. My blue eyes met Richard’s enticing dark ones, and I found myself wondering how I had gotten here in the first place. How had I, who had decided to take the time to prepare myself for his inevitable rejection of me, gotten to this place?Why was I standing here in the hallway, with him pinning me ever so gently to the wall, and with nothing separating us but mere centimeters? Was his his intention? To confuse me?To destroy every inch of my sanity? If it was, then he was definitely successful at this. “So,” Richard he said, his voice still thatbrbling low baritone that sent tingl
In the BedroomRichard’s POV: It had to be Arielle’s goal to solely and slowly drive me crazy. There was no other explanation for it in my mind. She had to know what she was doing to me. Currently I was sitting on the edge of my bed, and trying my best to not move too much. Her fingers made quick work of cleaning my wounds. Though it stung a little I did not even flinch. I was too busy trying to stop my desires from manifesting as the raging boner that it slowly but surely was. After I had stopped her from leaving, and she had successfully managed to deflect his questioning - to my obvious annoyance - the beautiful doctor that I had just discovered a day ago to be my mate, followed me back to my bedroom. And now, she was doing what Esme had offered to, which was to clean my wounds. “How do you feel?” Arielle broke the silence with her soft voice sounding in my room. She seemed to be unsure for some reason, and it made me feel even more protective over her. “Alright,” inreplied, b
Arielle’s POV:I was fleeing, away from Richard, away from any more questions he had to ask of me, and away from the pull of this damned mate bond.By the time I left the intense and distracting Alpha’s home, I was breathing heavily, my steps taking me towards the park where I had only brushed past whenever I was on a morning run.Now, instead of watching the beautiful meadows and people playing from the outside in, I entered the park through the small metal fence, and walked right to where o could sit. I had a lot to think about, and I had no idea where to start.Trying my best to breathe in and out as slowly as possible, I considered everything that I had both said and heard from Richard himself today.First and foremost, I couldn’t help how utterly relieved I felt seeing him safe and sound. By how Darren has come on beaten and bruised, I feared that Richard was in a worse shape than he actually had been in. I had at least managed to accomplish that.But everything else... had simpl
Arielle’s POV:I was still thinking on how to respond to this woman - Esme, I reminded myself of her name - when she spoke again.“It’s alright, dear. I know it is quite an uncomfortable topic for you in the first place,” she said softly to me, making me turn to look at her through the corner of my eyes. “But I know that you have experienced such trauma, because you close yourself off from the prospects of finding something good.”I stiffened. Of course she meant Richard.“I don’t know what you mean,” I told her, feigning innocence. I’m not sure it worked out well, by the look on her face. I continued, “Besides, he doesn’t love me. This entire bond thing is a mistake... somehow. I know it.”The elderly, sagelike woman sighed, and I saw her shaking her head at me.“It seems that I can not convince you today to open your heart to Richard. But perhaps... I could tell you to not distrust whatever he says. I don’t know if he has told you how much he cares for you, but I am certain that he
Richard’s POV:Right after Arielle left, I went in my bathroom to take a small shower and then dressed up quickly.I managed to leave my bedroom clothed in jeans and a t-shirt, entering straight into the study. I had work to do, and I had been far too distracted to do so since. Perhaps Arielle was truly making a difference in me, by her distracting me and pulling me away from the confines of my study ever so often.Sighing deeply, I sat on the chair behind the desk and began looking through the files. I had no idea how much time passed, as I sat in silence, doing my work with the mate bond thudding in my chest.It brought a strange sort of comfort that I didn’t even know was possible with a mate.Was this what Darren felt with his own mate as well? Was this why he was so insistent on me finding that same happiness? I didn’t know, truly. But what I did know was that now I had Arielle, I didn’t want to ever let her go. Not even if she wanted- no, begged me to.I continued to work, with