Bloodshed (Rewritten)

Chapter 13

Anneliese P. O. V.

"The resistance?" I asked at the same time River screamed, "Absolutely not!"

I rounded on him, my cheeks flushed and my ears red. I was scowling but when I saw his face my anger drained and my jaw dropped.

"You-you?" I said stepping back. "Why are you here? " I screamed a little too sharply and River winced.

"Oh. . . Uh . . . I am a part of what he's trying to recruit you for-which he can't!" River screamed.

"Why not? It's my jurisdiction to pick who gets recruited." Ray's brow furrowed.

"You can't!" River said.

"And why not?" Ray said coolly.

"Because-because . . . because she is just a fledgling!" River said.

I had to admit, that hurt.

"You have let other fledglings join."

"But I don't want an idiot that control her bloodlust!"

My face fell. He must think I'm too weak. He must hate me for what I did to him.

I coughed. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about what happened." I said averting my eyes, my eyes tearing up at what I had almost done to him.

River looked at me surprised before he looked guilty.

In a second, River was at my side, softly wiping away my tears with his fingers. His arms wrapped around me and for a second with him I felt safe. Like I was normal.

"Don't cry." He said as he smoothed my hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Please, please, don't cry, Anneliese."

My breath hitched and I pulled away slowly.

I'm not normal.

My blue eyes met his hazel eyes and I quickly looked away. Once I had fully dislodged myself from his grasp, I stepped back a little.

I needed space from him.

Ray coughed and looked at us with a knowing smile. "Do you know each other?" he asked.

"Um . . ." I said nervously; lowering my eyes to the floor and chewed my lips slightly. I really didn't want to tell him. "I-I-"

"Yeah, we saw each other at a restaurant before. I had accidentally dropped some cherry soda on her and she hit me." River said saving me from having to explain my little bloodlust adventure.

I sent him a grateful smile and he beamed proudly at me.

"Wait-You hit the Alpha's son and lived. That's crazy, even if you're his m-" River clapped his hand over Ray's mouth so whatever he said was garbled.

I was River's what? I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. He knew something I didn't and I was going to find out.

"Finished that sentence!" I said.

River whispered something into Ray's ear and Ray's eyes widened.

"I meant partner . . . yeah, yeah, that's what I meant!" Ray went pink a little and sent a hopeless look at River.

So River is the leader of the operation.

"You said something starting with a M. I'm not stupid. Tell me what you said Ray!" I said glaring at River daring him to say something.

"I meant meatball!" Ray said at the same time River said, "My friend."

I glared at both of them. "You really think I'm that stupid, don't you? Neither of those explanation make sense!"

River glared at Ray. "Really, 'meatball'?"

Ray met his glare with one of his own.

"You act like yours made any more sense. Really, 'my friend'?" Ray shot back.

"Well-"

"Shut up!" I screamed "Stop arguing and someone tell me what he was going to say!"

They both looked at each other.

I pouted, stomping on the ground but I heard a crushing sound as River screamed "No!"

I looked down to see what I had stomped on.

It was a little box of apple juice. River's ashen face at the loss of his apple juice.

I removed my foot from his box of apple juice.

I looked on the floor, finally noticing all the papers on the floor. "Oh, did you drop these while falling?"

I scooped the papers from the floor not noticing River's pale face.

I turned them over and tried aligning them perfectly with each other. When I caught my name on the papers I stopped and scanned them.

My face burned and I dropped the papers. They went flying everywhere.

River's cheeks flushed. "That was . . . you see. . ."

Ray caught a paper and read it, "Is your birthday July 15?"

"Why do you have my information on me?" I screamed embarrassed.

"You see what happened was-" River said scratching the back of his neck.

"You look like a stalker," Ray said laughing.

River rounded on Ray, his face red and flushed. "Do not insult me. Remember who controls most of the resistance members, peasant."

Ray quickly scrambled to his knee, his head bent so he was looking at the ground. "Forgive me. I did not mean to insult you, Prince!"

Prince!

I put my knee down and bowed my head matching Ray's position right next to him.

River's brown eyes flared wildly.

His muscles tensed up as he yelled, "Don't you dare kneel for me! And right next to someone else!"

I whipped my head up and gasped a little when he grabbed me under the arm and wretched me up to my feet.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, "Mine! She's mine! She's my mate!"

Mate?