Half of You

Your Choice - Sixteen

The bond cuts through me with burning fire, completely different from the one I felt only moments ago. I can't hide my wince at the sharp pain - Payne's eyes slide over to me, then back to our visitor. The scent of smoke is overwhelming, like a fire is burning right underneath my nose.

There is no denying what the sight of us says, my skirt bunched up around my thighs, Payne hovering over me, the smell of arousal clinging to us. I feel guilty even when I have done no wrong. Each moment he looks between us gives the sensation that there are icepicks digging into my skin, like an incredible cold has settled across me.

"Get the fuck away from her." His voice is somewhere between human and wolf. He looks like he hasn't known sleep in days, blonde scruff casting a shadow on his face, dark circles sharply contrasting the blue of his eyes. And his words remind me of the Luna of Deadpaw, a threat of violence if he isn't obeyed. Except these words are not aimed towards my mother.

Payne doesn't move.

I make it a concious effort to breathe through my mouth. I don't want to smell him. Not mixing with Payne, not together. It hurts too much, the smell that reminds me of pain mixed with a smell that brings me nothing but desire and comfort.

Having two bonds is my blessing from the Moon, another chance at the future I've always wanted - but it will not be without it's complications. Nothing is ever that simple.

"Get. Away. From. Her." Matias' fangs begin to extend in his mouth, his orbs of ice turning black like ink dropped into a pool. There's something unhinged about him, like he's been fighting a long battle with his wolf and is losing the fight.

The wolf has her hackles raised, her feeling of safety shattered by the sight of her other mate. She's on alert as if anticipating his violence; she still remembers each moment of his fangs in the back of her neck. Him descending upon her like his intent was to kill.

The knife. The wolf says in my head. I shift, reaching in the basket to take it out, sliding it into my palm. I don't want to use it, but it would be wrong of him to force me back to Deadpaw. He wouldn't even let me speak that day, didn't bother with an explanation.

Either our fear can be scented, or Payne just understands this somehow, because he moves in between Matias and I, rising to his full height.

"You're in no place to be making demands, Matias." They're the opposite face of each other; Matias looks feral and crazed, Payne is a scary calm. The only sign of aggression is his muscles barely rippling under the surface of his skin, like the wolf may spring out of him at any moment.

"She's my mate. I'm taking her back to Deadpaw with me." His words are a statement, not a question. He believes what he says, but remembering what Payne said.. he will have to kill him to take me anywhere. A growl rumbles from Payne in a tone deeper than anything I've heard before.

The threat of war doesn't seem so.. impossible now.

Can Matias kill Payne? Looking between them, I don't think so.

Matias takes a step forward, Payne matches it. "She's not going anywhere with you." I hear the wolf in these words, a deep rumble in his throat. This is more than just posturing. This is violence before it happens.

I stand up, lingering behind Payne.

"So what? Your mate decides to fuck Larson so you decide to steal the first unmarked female that steps in your path?" Matias mocks him, a sick kind of laughter filling the area. Except nothing is funny. I can see it in the tremor of Payne's jaw that Matias's insult landed exactly where he wanted it to.

"He didn't steal anything. He's my mate too." I feel the need to defend Payne against this jab. I can see the gears shifting in Matias's head as he turns to look at me, all the possibilities and questions written plain as day, but he doesn't ask for an explanation.