Tamer Of Wolves

~Thorns Everywhere~

I wake up on the bed I've woken up on for the past 12 years. It's the same old elegant king-sized bed, same old red silk curtains across the windows which are huge and open, same old dark wood floors with a soft rabbit fur rug laid meticulously in the center of the room.
Same old feeling of captivity.

I sit up and stretch. The sunlight coming through the windows feels amazing on my back and makes my golden hair shine. Tearing myself away from the light, I stand up and walk towards my vanity.

It's made of smooth quartz and feels like ice to my touch. I look in the mirror at the captive girl I see before me. Her eyes that were once green and full of life now look a dull grey, tired from struggle. Or maybe it's just the morning, I thought.

I shrug and go into the en suite bathroom. The tile feels cold underneath my feet but it feels good. I turn the faucet on and wait for the water to heat up. I love hot showers, especially in the morning. I strip my clothes off and gingerly slide into the cascading water. I tilt my head back and just let the water fall on me. It's so peaceful, I think to myself.

Suddenly, from the bedroom, I hear the door open and close. I know immediately who it is. His scent is one I've known since I was 12, since his father first kidnapped me. It's Ian Smith, Alpha of the Blood Rose Pack.

Shit, I think. And the morning was going so well. I hear a gentle knock on the bathroom door. When I don't answer, I hear a huff and Ian starts to pound on the door. I get so fed up I decide to mind-link him.

"What?!" I yell through the link.

"Open this damn door." Ian commands. Even through the link, I can feel the authority in his voice, the Alpha in him surfacing. But I've known him for too long to be scared by his Alpha voice.

"Why? I'm in the shower," I tell him innocently.

"That's exactly why. Now open this door. Your scent is killing me," I can hear the strain and urgency in his voice.

I scoff at how deliberately needy he sounds. "I'm not opening the door or my legs just so you can relieve yourself of your urges." I hear him grumble through the door. I chuckle to myself, imagining his face distorted from anger and need.

"Does Raven even know you're here?" I ask suspiciously.

"Marina, let's not talk about my father right now, okay?" Ian asks sarcastically.

I gasp in feigned surprise. "He doesn't know! I wonder how he'll take it when he finds out his 'oh-so-perfect son' is trying to rush the mating." I never thought I'd hear myself say it. No, admit it.

I was kidnapped by Raven, the Alpha of the Blood Rose Pack at the time, for the first time when I was 12. After that, I was used as a trophy for Alphas all over the continent. I was stolen to and from so many packs I've lost count. And all for what? No one will tell me. Not one person. And every time I try to find out, whatever I'm using for info will get confiscated from me. Raven and his pack were always the ones to steal me back. The most recent time I was stolen back, which was 8 months ago on my 24th birthday, Raven announced to the pack that Ian, his only son, would take over as Alpha. When the cheering had subsided, he then announced that yours truly would be his Luna.

No one was surprised at Raven's actions. It was uncommon for there to be arranged matings, but it was frowned upon in most packs. Ian was over the moon, literally. He changed that night and ran around the pack house God knows how many times out of pure excitement. The other males were outraged however.

For some reason, every male wolf looks at me with the same lust in their eyes that they would show their mates. Even mated males would look at me this way. It made me uncomfortable and afraid to leave the house, let alone my bedroom. Ian saw how the males were looking at me, and nearly killed his Beta when the man looked at me from behind. Now Ian has two guards follow me wherever I go, and just to be safe, they're both females.

Ian is single-handedly one of the most paranoid wolves I've ever met. He barely lets me out of his sight, when in reality, that's all I want. I want my freedom. I want to escape Ian's lustful gaze and leave this pack behind. I want-

"Marina! Open this damn door right now!!!" Ian shouts through the door. He bangs and kicks the poor door with all his might.

"Hey hey hey. What'd the door ever do to you?" I ask, turning off the shower.

"It's keeping me from my beautiful mate," Ian says with a low growl.

My head immediately snaps up. And so does my patience. "How dare you even call yourself my mate?! You will never be my mate! My mate is out there somewhere waiting for me! Never fucking forget this Ian: we're arranged mates. Nothing more."

And with that, I close the link. I wrap a towel around myself and open the door. I find Ian on the other side, rigid with restraint. His body was still, but his eyes were not. His green gaze slithers up and down my body, sending shivers down my spine. And not the good kind. I squeeze past him and walk into my closet.

I keep waiting for him to leave, but he doesn't. I watch through the crack of space between the door and the threshold as he sits on my bed. Make yourself comfy why don't you, I think to myself.

Dressed in a maroon v-neck and a pair of pale blue skinny jeans and my pair of combat boots, I walk out of the closet and twirl in front of the floor length mirror on my closet door, earning me a wolf-whistle from Ian. (Cliché, I know.)

I head towards the door. "I'm going out for a run. And don't worry; I'll take Lucy and Meredith with me," I tell him before he can scold me for forgetting my guards. Before he can respond I'm out of the room and down the four flights of spiral stairs, with Lucy and Meredith on my heels.

I'm not very well liked in the Blood Rose Pack. Most if not all the females despise me for the males' behaviors towards me. They all give me death glares as I pass. I can hear their whispers about me. They hate me because they feel threatened by me, and apparently I've put their mates and themselves in danger when they've gone on raids to steal me back from other packs.

I practically run out of the big French front doors and into the morning sunlight. I head behind a tree to change clothes. Lucy and Meredith hide behind different trees and do the same. Once I'm naked, I fold my clothes into a neat pile. I shift, cream fur jutting through my skin. I hear the familiar crack of my bones as my wolf emerges. I pick up my clothes in my mouth and place them on the front porch. My guards do the same.

Once they nod to me that they're ready, I nod myself and sprint into the woods, my wolf fully taking over.