Page 7 of Alpha's Bullied Mate
His jaw tightened, and his arm snapped out, as if to grab me, and I flinched. He chuckled darkly and pulled his arm back. I noticed his tattoos curling up the inside of his forearm, thorn-speckled vines going from his wrist, right up to the inside of his elbow.
I swallowed my anger, grinding my teeth together.
“The good girl finally found her tongue?”
“What of it?” I snapped. “I’m not that same girl.”
His eyes turned dark as he looked at me and gave me a slow smile. “But still agoodgirl, right?”
“Untie me, and you’ll find out.”
“Don’t tempt me with a fun time.”
God, I didn’t want to think about how good cocky looked on his face. How disgustingly annoyingly good he looked. How he’d grown up since high school, grown out his hair, and worked out even more than he used to. I bared my teeth at him and rolled my eyes.
“Keep that anger, Dakota,” Aidan said quietly, surprising me suddenly. “Even if it’s at me.”
“Why?”
“It’ll keep your head above the water. I’ll be back for you soon.”
Chapter 5 - Aidan
I left her after that, reeling from seeing the girl I had terrorized down the hallways of Oak Hill High. I had known as soon as Jason had pushed her into my car, but I had been excited for the moment that recognition had sunk into her. Andoh, it had. It had been delicious, watching that lost look shut down and the anger washing over every feature. Her eyes narrowing, her jaw tightening, and the long-nailed claws she had dug into the chair as if she’d just beenitchingto throw herself at me.
I’d laughed at her as I walked out of the room and to my bedroom. It half crossed my mind to be agentlemanand offer her some water and a granola bar or something, but after her stint at getting smart with me, I had mentally taken the offer off the table.
But that smart tongue had left a mark on me, ruffled my usual steel composure, and left me unable to shake Dakota off my mind.
It’s because she’s your captive, idiot, I told myself as I shut myself back in my room.Your wrong captive.
It was two in the morning, and I had called a pack meeting at nine o’clock, so I knew I needed to sleep but as soon as I lay down and shucked my jeans and cap off, Dakota didn’t leave my thoughts.
She was right: I’d been a cruel asshole to her back in high school. I had made those choices to be. Dakota had been quiet and kind, and I had not known how to accept that sort of thing in my life. My anger had rooted and festered in me by then, and I knew I couldn’t taint that, so I had pushed her away as awfully as I could. I had tormented her through classes, lunch hours,school clubs, even memorizing her class schedule so I could add further annoyance to her day.
My cruelty had been a safety blanket after life had left me shivering in the cold, with only that to draw comfort from…
“Don’t forget, class, the essay about Homer’sThe Odysseyand Calypso’s influence on Odysseus’s journey is due next Friday,” my teacher called, but I was already out of my desk, rushing out of the class, before the bell rang.
I sprinted down the empty hall, skidding around corners, to wait outside the history class that Dakota Shields was in. Her class schedule was imprinted on my memory after studying it. I’d taken her backpack one day after class, taking it home to dump it on my desk, finding nothing of worth except a ratty beaded bracelet. I had slipped that into my desk drawer and returned her things to her bag, but not after reading her schedule to see what her days were like. She’d drawn devil horns over drama class, but circled sun rays around gym and history.Nerd. I’d returned her bag the following day, satisfied with my findings. I had said nothing, just dropped the bag at her feet while she was switching out her class books.
Now, I waited outside her history class, arms crossed over my chest, and smiling at the passing students who filtered out before her.
Finally, Dakota came out, her hair braided into those twin plaits that made her way too dorky for her own good.
“Nice skirt, Wolfie,” I said, pushing off the wall to follow her. Her shoulders curled inwards at me, looming next to her. At sixteen years old, I had a few inches on her. Female shifters didn’t hit their growth spurts until around nineteen or twenty, but males experienced theirs anywhere from sixteen to eighteen. I was going through mine, almost at six feet, and I wasn’tshowing signs of stopping yet. “Tell me, what was the inspiration for the skirt? Anime orHeathers? Because honestly, you’re nerdy enough for the anime girl look, but… Actually, fuck that, you’re not cute enough forHeathers.”
“Aidan, are you stalking me?” she whispered it—actually whispered it, like she was scared—as she glanced around. Her books were hugged to her chest.
I grinned at her. “Stalking? Nah. I’m making sure you’re not harassed on your way to class. That hair of yours is quite a beacon. You’re practically asking to be called all sorts of shit.”
“The only one who calls me names is you,” she mumbled.
“Oh, come on, Wolfie—”
“Please don’t call me that,” she whimpered, leaning away. “Excuse me, Aidan, I have to go.”
“Is this about the bag thing? I didn’tstealit. I gave it back, didn’t I?”
