The rogue Alpha

Chapter 8: ...before the nightmares begin

(Hunter's POV)

After dinner, everyone calmly went to bed and fell asleep rather quickly. I had had a little trouble sleeping, knowing that my mate was in a room other than my own, but I needed to sleep. Now that I think about it, I hadn't been sleeping well ever since I saw her at that creek. I guess I never realized the effect she had on me. I smiled to myself thinking that hopefully, in a few days, she would be sleeping in my bed beside me. I knew I had some work ahead of me but I was willing to do anything for Siren. Finally, around 10:30, I fell asleep.

It was around 1 or 2 in the morning when I bolted up right in a panic, breathing heavily. I wondered what caused me to wake up, my brain not processing everything clearly, before a loud piercing scream echoed through the walls of my room. I quickly bolted out of bed and rushed out the door. Other wolves were up and walking outside their rooms, their heads turned to Siren's room. I felt my stomach sink when another scream came from her room. I ran to her door, ordering the others to back up or to go back to their rooms. Some did decide to head back to bed, but most just stayed, concern covering their faces. I pounded on the door.

"SIREN!!!" I yelled. "OPEN UP!!!" She mustn't have heard me because a little while later, she screamed again. That was the last straw. I tried to open the door but it was locked. I kicked the handle until it finally opened. The door had cracked around the handle. But none of that mattered now. My eyes widened in horror as I stared at my mate, who was now engulfed in flames, crying and screaming bloody murder, her body in a tight ball. I rushed to her side, but the heat of the flames stopped me. She seemed to be unaffected by the flames and it didn't seem to be burning anything around her, but I still wanted her awake. I wanted her to be okay. For her to be in my arms with no fear of anything.

I was about to ignore all sense of caution with the fire when a tall, masculine figure appeared in the flames. It didn't seem to be there but used the dancing flames as a body for itself as it looked down on my screaming mate. I growled protectively and it seemed to turn its head towards me. The fiery face didn't focus on one facial feature of long before the flames danced into another. It pointed a finger at me and somehow, I heard a male voice but there was something different about it. I couldn't figure out what, tho.

"Be careful with her. She needs you as much as you need her. Trust me. You'll need her later on. Don't push her into situations she isn't comfortable with or she will run. Trust me when I say, this woman will change your live forever." the voice said. The figure relaxed it's arm then looked back down at Siren before kneeling down, stroking her ears and back. Slowly, she calmed and her body relaxed. The flames died out as she relaxed and before the figure disappeared with the flames, it formed a smile. When the fire was completely out, nothing showed that anything happened. No scorch marks were on the walls where the flames had been closest.

I turned to the wolves, who were staring at Siren's sleeping form in shock and fear. I growled slightly as I turned to them, shooing them back to their rooms. They groaned slightly but soon enough, all the doors in the hallway were closed. I sighed and looked at Siren's open door. I considered bringing her to my room before I sighed, deciding that she would probably kill me but I preferred her safer than me dead. As I picked her up, she thankfully didn't stir. I walked to my room with her in my arms before gently putting her on my bed, tucking her in. I smiled down at her.

'She looks so peaceful.' I thought as my eyes studied her beautiful face. Before long, I yawned and crawled into the space beside her. I watched her the entire time, thinking she would wake up and kill me. By the time my head was on my pillow, her eyes remained closed. I smiled and couldn't help myself as I gently wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. When her body was close enough, I felt her head nuzzle slightly under my chin. I'll admit, my tail did wag when she did that and I swear I felt butterflies in my stomach. It didn't take long before my eyes slowly closed but before I fell asleep, I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. After that, everything was black.

(A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to clarify something. While Siren is having her 'episode' with the flames around her, I thought you would be confused as to why the heat hurt Hunter when he approached but did nothing to the walls. That happened because it's a defense mechanism. It only hurts anyone/anything she considers a threat and considering that she finds everyone a threat, it hurts them if they get close but it doesn't hurt the wall because it wouldn't do anything to harm her. So unless the wall was about to fall and crash her, it wouldn't be scorched by the flames. If you have any questions, let me know in the comment. If not, I hope this helped clear things up. Until the next chapter!)