Taming the Wolf Prince (Re-uploading Edited Chapters)

Chapter 18 Seeing Red

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Red's sleep grew disturbed. It wasn't any surprise considering he was less asleep and more comatose, back bent uncomfortably like a piece of fabric hanging over the back of the tree branch, but the alcohol had worked so effectively that it wasn't that pain that disturbed him - it was the feeling of hunger gnawing away like a parasite that left sweat forming on his brow.

The flashbacks that tormented his dreams, and even sometimes when he was awake, began as crisp as usual. A whirlpool of a nightmare that sucked him in that, once initiated, warped even reality itself.

"Red," his father called. There was a playful drawn-out note in his voice as he placed his hands on the back of the sofa behind him. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Red froze. He had a strange fluttering sensation in his stomach that, for some reason, left him fidgeting uncomfortably.

"A-ah," he stuttered. He smashed his hand over his face that was overheating, realising that he'd shown far too much emotion in front of him. Panicking, he bounded over the couch and made for the door only finding, to his absolute horror, that it was locked.

"You locked the door?!" he screeched, still rattling on it as if somehow that was going to help.

His father gave an evil grin and ushered him back to his seat. "So it's true then?"

"She's just a friend!" Red snapped, somehow finding himself seated back within the danger-zone; quickly, he scuttled away to the other side of the sofa.

"Even so...The fact you've been able to form an emotional connection with someone that isn't me..." He could hear the warmth filter through his father's voice. Even if he refused to look at him, it seeped pleasantly through the air. "That's a big step. I'm proud of you."

Red jerked his face away with a pout.

"So a she-wolf?" his Father asked. Red said nothing. "A male?" he added, noting the tension in Red's body.

Red's fingers dug into his jeans. He knew he was going to have to tell him eventually. Knowing his Father, he'd find out anyway - he might as well do it now while he was in a good mood.

He took a deep breath. "Actually, she's human," he mumbled.

His eyes snapped to his father. He couldn't see much from the corner of his eye, but there was a note of panic, as well as anger, rumbling through his voice. "What do mean she's human?"

He attempted to toss and turn on the tree-branch and came crashing down instead. The earth bellowed in protest as he collided with it, breaking several bones in the process.

Pain delayed, Red sat in silence for a few seconds, face flat on the ground.

"Fucking tree," he half-slurred half-groaned, getting to his feet to immediately punch the tree. His fist seared as all his bones twisted gruesomely back into place.

Somehow, he managed to stagger to his feet despite the earth going topsy-turvy beneath him; quite a feat, now that he thought about it. Surroundings slowly loading in, his head rung with pain and he was welcomed by a void like a hole had been blown out his stomach.

Shit. His eyes grew wide like a panicked dog. How long have I been out?

It took several moments for him to piece together the situation. He'd been out so long, hungover into oblivion, that a blanket of darkness had befallen his surroundings; who could say how long he'd been unconscious for exactly, but he'd allowed himself to get hungry.