Chapter 16 A Geography Lesson
October 13th
I woke the morning with the sun brightly shining through the window. I groaned as I drifted out of sleep
and back into reality. Wincing, I put my hand to my neck and to touch the wound. It had covered over
but still stung like hell. I looked over to the man who had done this to me and saw that he was still
asleep.
"Morning," I heard his voice say.
I didn''t reply.
Instead, I justy silently, running my fingers along the soft sheets with that same intense feeling of
despair still running through me.
I then silently sat up and shuffled to the edge of the bed.
"I need to get ready for school," I said after a minute or two of staring out the windows at the tall
swaying trees of the forest.
I then left for the bathroom where I showered, brushed my teeth hair and put my pjs back on because I
wasn''t about to go in front of Leo only in a towel.
"Can you drive me to Kellington please?" I said to Leo who was just getting up.
He looked up at me briefly before standing up and stretching, "You''re not going to school," he stated
bluntly.
He sounded mad. What right did he have to be mad at me?
"I need to see my brother," I said.
He stood up, kissed my cheek and walked into the bathroom.
"I''m not driving you for about 20 obvious reasons and that''s final," He called.
"Fine. I''ll run. There''s plenty of time," I said and he turned around in the doorway of the bathroom to
face me.
"Did you hit your headst night as well?"
"If I am delusional it would probably be because you bit deep into my neck and I lost a lot of blood," I
snapped.
His face straightened.
"You are not going to school. Get that idea out of your head now," he said a little more authoritatively
but like he was still trying to keep his cool.
I sat on the bed whilst he was in the bathroom nning my next move.
If I hid behind the door with the bedsidemp, would I be able to knock him out when he unexpectedly
I decided against it. Not because I was afraid of failure but more because I was certain I would fail and
it wasn''t worth the hassle.
He eventually came out and I didn''t exchange a single word.
"I gave the shirt you were wearing yesterday to my best hunter," he said. "Whoever you visited will
have been tracked down before nightfall if not much sooner."
My face must have gone a pasty white shade.
Logan had brought me so much grief in my life and I loathed him entirely but did I wish death upon
him?
No.
"I just had to sort something out. It''s not a big deal."
"Then why didn''t you tell me? I could have sorted it for you in a way that wouldn''t have ended in you
nearly getting killed by rogues."
He wasn''t wrong only that way it would probably have ended in Logan''s death.
"Because I don''t like your methods of ''sorting things''," I replied, "Plus it was none of your fucking
business."
"Everything concerning you is my business. You are my mate. So next time you''ve got a problem, tell
me."
"I don''t have to tell you shit, Leonardo," I said, "You don''t own my life."
He then stepped forward and crouched down, "But I see it as my duty to protect your life," he said, his
face much softer as he looked at me, "And I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety whether it''s
against your will or not. That''s why I marked you - because I can''t stand the idea of anything happening
to you."
"It didn''t have to be like that," I said, "We should have talked about it and you didn''t have to be so
aggressive and rough."
"If we talked, you would have said no and I still would have done it and I still would have had to use
force. The oue is the same," he replied, standing up again.
"Then you should have waited until you didn''t have to force me," I hissed, "Or actually be nice and I
might have let you do it."
"You mean wait even longer to maximise the number of creeps touching you up in the woods, huh?" he
asked, "What don''t you understand E? I did it for you. We are not enemies."
"Did you?" I questioned, "Or is it just another way for you to own me?"
"The two are linked. That mark shows other wolves that you are mine so messing with you means
messing with me," he replied, "Now let me look at it."
His hand moved forward to touch it but I pped it away, gritted my teeth and red up at him.
He let out a short sigh and looked up at the wall for a short second with a tense jaw. I could tell he was
trying desperately to keep his patience with me and hold his tongue.
"E," he said eventually. "For once can you not fight me?"
"Don''t you dare me me for this. I have every right to be angry," I replied.
"I''m not ming you for being angry. I''m ming you for refusing to let yourself be happy," he said.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "What?"
He sighed.
"You''re doing everything you can to make my life difficult but at what cost? You''re frustrated and hostile
and downright miserable all because you are resisting your wolf''s instinct to be with your mate. Why
N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.
are you fighting me so hard when you know you''d be better off just giving in?"
His eyes had softened as he spoke and his voice had gone from coarse and harsh to frustrated and
despairing and maybe even slightly...caring? His face too had dropped its sternness and he even
stared at me with his blue eyes in a way that wasn''t meant to be intimidating.
I paused for a minute, his words reying in my head before I stepped forward. He smiled and brought
his hands to my neck. I let him tilt my head to the side and brush away my hair before he ran his thumb
along the mark.
"That''s beautiful," He said.
I winced slightly as he touched it but I have to admit, there was something that felt right about it.
He leant down to kiss it but unable to swallow my pride anymore, I turned my head so that he couldn''t
get to it. He pulled my head back with more force than I was expecting considering how gentle he had
just been and instantly I switched back to not tolerating him. He held me firmly as he continued to look
at the mark but I pushed his chest so that he had to look away in order to keep a hold of me.
"Stay still for a little longer, please," he said. "Then I will let you go."
I let out a short breath to show my disapproval before I rxed and let him have a few more seconds to
examine the mark. He then brought his gaze to my lips and kissed me. I refused to kiss him back.
He sighed and took his hands off me.
"Never ever run away from me again. Do you understand?"
I didn''t answer.
"I said, do you understand?" he said in his Alpha tone.
"Treat me well and I won''t keep trying," I said staring into his eyes.
He stared right back and held the eye contact, "Get dressed," he ordered, "Today I''m showing you the
pack."
I hesitated, staying glued to my spot.
He nodded his head towards my closet before I scowled and broke our eye contact to go and dress.
Fucking asshole.
What a massive fucking asshole.
There was no way he was going to let me go to school today. Trying to persuade him would just be a
colossal waste of energy so instead, I starting getting ready for him to drag me around his pack whilst
trying to think of another way to speak to Connor.
I grabbed a t-shirt and some ck skinny jeans. I also found some fresh panties before I felt Leo draw
up behind me and put his hands on my hips.
"Can you just leave me alone, please?" I asked. "I need to change."
"I''ve seen it all more than once now. You fell asleep in your clothesst night," Leo whispered into my
ear as he lifted the ck pj shirt over my head.
How could I have not even noticed that I passed out inpletely different clothes than I woke up in?
But more importantly, he changed my clothes?
"Leonardo!" I eximed. "How dare you vite me like that?"
"Please," he said rolling his eyes as he continued to lift my shirt off and discard it on the floor.
"Everybody knows how shit it is to fall asleep in a pair of jeans. I did you a favour."
He had a point.
I felt his handsy on my bare stomach and my internal organs seemed to jump and twirl. His warm
touch sent me into fits of flutters.
His bare chest pressed against my bareback and one of his hands slipped from my waist down to the
hip.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in as I felt the light tickles of his fingertips. His lips were soon
on my neck as he gently kissed the fresh mark,forting the painful sting his fangs had left.
His hand had soon slipped down onto the waistband of my panties before his fingers brushed thece
fabric between my legs.
My back arched at the sensation and I quickly grabbed his hand, breathing heavily, "Don''t...don''t do
that, Leo."
"This?" he asked as his fingers slipped further.
I gasped and squeezed his hands tighter, "Stop."
He pulled his hand away before kissing my cheek and taking the clean shirt out of my hands and lifting
it over my head.
He looked in our reflections in the mirror as he reached around me and did up the buttons.
"Your boobs are sexy but I don''t need anyone else to know that," he said as he buttoned up every
single one except the very top one.
"Alpha!" Someone called after a m of the front door. It was Luca and he was quickly running up the
stairs and down the hall.
"Luca do note in!" Leo demanded but it was toote. The bedroom door had flung open. Leo
shoved me and myck of pants behind his massive frame and red at Luca.
"Woah!" Luca said. "All that money and you can''t afford clothes?!"
"Just get the fuck out!"
"I''ll wait downstairs..."
Leo turned back around and rolled his eyes before leaving me to finish changing whilst he went to
change himself.
I let myselfugh a little. Luca was good at making things better
I found my eyes gazing at Leo''s stomach as he stretched up to put a shirt on.
God o mighty.
No. Stop.
"Do you know how much trouble you causedst night?" he asked, "I had 100 Ste wolves out there
looking for you."
"I was only gone for half an hour," I replied.
"I thought I''d made it clear how dangerous it is out there for you? I was worried that you had been
kidnapped or murdered," he replied. "And you nearly were."
"I know. And I''m sorry, okay?" I replied.
"By the scent of your clothes, I would guess you were with a male wolf maybe in histe teens and my
bet is on that kid you were talking to outside your school. Is he your boyfriend?"
"God no!" I eximed disgustedly. "I don''t have a boyfriend."
"Good," he said. "But it was that boy, wasn''t it? Who is he to you?"
"Luca is waiting for us downstairs," I said dodging having to respond to the next 50 or so questions.
"Uh, uh," he said, "Look at me."
I looked back and shrugged, "What do you want me to say?"
"What is he to you?" he questioned, "Have you dated him?"
"No," I said.
"If I find out that he is more than just a ''friend'' I will lose my shit," he said, "Understand?"
I nodded, "Yeh whatever."
And then left him to fume alone as I went downstairs to find Luca.
Luca smiled as he saw me, "Sorry about earlier. Wasn''t expecting to interrupt a romantic moment,"
"It wasn''t a romantic moment-" I started as Leo came downstairs too.
"You walked into a bedroom with two mates at 7:00 am. Were you expecting us to be fully dressed?"
"Well anyway, I''m here to tell you there''s a party at my house on the 15th at 8:00 pm," Luca said before
walking out the front door waving.
"Ever heard of a text?!'' Leo called after him.
"Talking of texts, can I use your phone Leo?" I asked.
"Why?"
"I need to call my brother. I know his number and everything-"
"Why?" he asked, still showing no sign of handing me his mobile.
"Do I need a reason?" I asked.
He narrowed his eyes, "When you have that suspicious look on your face, yes."
"It''s about our house," I said, "The bills are due this week and now there are only his wages to pay for
it. He might have to move out of Kellington if he can''t find the money."
Wasn''t the main issue Connor faced right now but hardly a lie either.
Leo nodded and reached for his phone, "Okay," he said holding it out for me.
I smiled and took it.
"And E," he said just as I turned, "If he''s struggling, I can offer financial support."
I nodded, "I''ll pass the message along...thank you."
Connor picked up almost immediately.
"It''s E," I said, speaking quietly as I paced the bedroom with Leo still downstairs.
"Hey, Ells. It''s so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?" he asked.
"Surviving," I muttered, "But I called about you."
"Well, I''m just in the middle of packing up everything. Logan told me about his proposal and I''m getting
out of Kellington."
I sighed, "I''m so sorry, Connor. I tried to fix it."
"I know. But there''s nothing you can do. I''ve found an apartment in the next town, just off Cerridwen
territory. It''s skanky but it''s all I can afford."
"My mate is offering to help with finances," I said.
Connor scoffed, "Tell him I don''t want his money. I''d rather have you."
I smiled, "Are you sure? I''m going to transfer the little money I have in my bank to you and there''s
some cash under my bed but if that''s not enough, the offer is still open."
"I''ll be fine, E," he said, "Listen I''ve got to go and get out of here by tonight. But we''ll talk soon,
okay?"
"Love you."
"Love you too."
He then hung up and I sighed.
Fuck Logan to the depths of hell.
"He''s moving?" Leo asked, clearly having heard.
"The rent on the house is too high," I said.
Also not strictly a lie.
"But there are plenty of cheap apartments in Kellington," Leo said, "And again, I can pay his rent."
"Well maybe he wants a fresh start. He''s on his own now and that house has a lot of memories," I said,
"But I don''t want to talk about my depressing life," I added quickly changing the subject, "Take me on
this tour."
"Come on then," I said, "I''ll show you the Northern section. The viges, thekes, the base. It''s
beautiful weather and I get the feeling you''re dying to get out the house?"
"What about the Southern section?"
He paused, "There''s a few training areas for my soldiers but the remnants of old packs mainly."
I looked up at him, "You mean the packs you have destroyed?" I asked.
He nced at me before putting his jacket on, "Yes."
"And the training areas? That''s where you train the kids you stole from those packs?" I asked.
"No. That is at the base in the centre of the Northern territory. Where they can be cared for and trained
under close supervision until they are old enough to be warriors," he told me.
"The base...nearby?" I asked.
He looked over to me, "What so you can break into the junior training centre?" he asked.
I smiled innocently, "Why would I do that, huh Leonardo? Is there a reason?"
He red at me with sly narrows eyes.
"It''s a couple of miles away from here and where almost everything surrounding the running of this
pack happens. The hospitals, most of the training centres, the pack houses, the courts, my
offices...ect," he replied. "We''ll goter."
Two hourster, we were still touring the pack. There''d been a lot of sitting in the car and watching the
trees whiz by outside. It was beautiful and all the viges and factions he showed me seemed peaceful
and the people happy enough.
They all practically dropped to Leo''s feet, bowing their heads deep into submission and not speaking
unless he spoke to them but everybody seemed to know where they stood with him and there were no
problems.
I was formally introduced to the faction leaders and their families. They all greeted me respectfully but
beyond a ''Hello, nice to meet you,'' they only addressed Leo and with only the absolute respect.
"Everybody''s fucking terrified of you," I said as we walked out one of the viges and towards ake
that Leo insisted I had to see.
"They respect me as their Alpha," he replied, "There''s a difference."
I nodded and bit my tongue for a moment.
"I agree there is a difference," I said as calmly as possible.
It''d been a peaceful day and I knew I was about to ruin it but when I think something I just have to say
it.
"The difference between respect and fear is how you acquire it. You acquire respect by doing things
worthy of respect. You acquire fear by doing things worthy of fear. Which have you done, Leonardo?" I
asked.
"Hmm," he said, staring straight ahead as he gripped my hand, which was already firmly entwined in
his, tighter. "Maybe there''s not such a difference. The oue is the same right? They submit, they
obey, the pack runs smoothy."
"Well, the holocaust ran pretty fucking smoothly too," I muttered.
"And by that, you are suggesting... what?" he asked.
"Just because a system works, doesn''t mean it''s right. And ruling with fear isn''t right," I answered.
"Whatever," he grumbled, "This pack is thriving because of my leadership. These people have jobs,
food, shelter and a ce to live in peace. If the cost of that is a little bit of fear, I''ll cope. At least I know
you''re the only one I have to worry about stepping out of line."
I opened my mouth to speak.
"There''s nothing more to stay about this," he interrupted, "Everything is fine around here. I don''t need
you to tell me what to do.