Paralyzed

🇯 🇦 🇲 🇪 🇸 🇵 🇦 🇷 🇹 🇮

   For users online or on computers and not on the app, here is the title:

James

Part I

Adjusting: 6

I have never, in all of my many years of living, felt my wolf as strongly as I do now. Just merely looking into her eyes sets him off. I can't pull him back, as much as I want to, I can't. He's strong and I've never had to really deal with him much before. He has never fought me or so strongly opinionated over certain things. But, the second we sensed Victoria on our territory, that all changed very quickly and drastically.

He's bent on marking her, protecting her, and keeping her no farther than a foot away from us. His feelings are so strong, it's overwhelmed me. I want to mark her, show everyone that's she's mine and only mine. To state if anyone even looks at her in a way, I or my wolf don't like, we'll rip them to shreds. It's a weird feeling. Maybe I finally am starting to experience my man period; it's apparently an actual thing.

Normally when you find or have a mate you are protective of them and can get pretty overprotective or possessive by instinct. It gets stronger for males if their mate has been in danger, is in danger, had her heat or carrying his pups. She's not in heat or won't be as far I'm concerned. My wolf would never let danger engulf her for as long he can help.

Although, he has been slightly on edge ever since we felt her enter our territory. He's always got his guard up, hackles slightly raised, eyes and ears flickering to the source of any strange noise, his muscles tense as he stands in a preparing fighting stance almost constantly.

He's already driving me nuts. The only thing that keeps him calm is being close to Victoria. With her only an inch away from us. Any further makes the feeling come back again, a pit of emptiness in my core yet full of an unknown dread. It's like that weird feeling in your stomach you get when you're about to or when your body is getting ready to vomit.

But, right now that heaviness has subsided as I let my wolf come closer to analyze his mate. A beautiful mystery sitting next to us eating a banana split that she insisted we share and talked with the guys as if she's been living with us for years. I did notice scars when she first showed up at our house covered in blood and dirt completely exhausted. Drake and Riley had to help keep my wolf calm while Harrison hurriedly attended to her wounds. My beast was livid and confused, what the hell did she go through? What is she running from?

Thousands of the worst possibilities came to mind of what her past had offered. It fed my wolf's anger and confusion. After Drake finally convinced me to go out for a run with him, other questions come into my head as it started to clear up. How'd she find me? How far did she come? The whole situation pissed both my beast and I off. Not even a good five minutes into the run that feeling start to fill inside me. The urge to go to our mate fueling my frustration and anger. Drake wasn't satisfied that I'd cooperate fully yet so he took down to a valley for a hunt. This made my wolf giddy cause all he wanted to do was to tear into something and go to his mate.

It still bothers me. Especially with the fact that she won't tell me what she is. She's not a wolf, I can smell that much. She's a Therianthrope like some of us in the group, but there's something else there that can't quite scratch. She could be an Alpha female by the hum and smell of her blood there's obvious signs of high power and strength. I sigh and scoot a little closer to her while taking a bite of the banana split.

"Hey, that's my side!" I raise a brow and look at the ice cream then back up to her.

"Did you pay for it?"

"No, but we agreed that since I love strawberry and you love chocolate, you stay on the chocolate side and I the strawberry."

"What if I want to try new things?"

"There's no negotiating."

"Alright, fruit cake." She gives me a weird look.

"Fruit cake, what am I—a factory?"

"Well, technically, you are a factory. Just don't make cakes."

Victoria gives Carson a hard look, biting back a growl as my wolf flickers his ears forward and watches him closely. The thought of her with my children is already putting him into frenzy but, he doesn't really mind at all.

"Bite me, Carson." He smirks and licks a fang.

"Sounds tempting, but that's not my job. I usually prefer the things that go inside the factory normally," Carson smirks as he licks his last spoonful of ice cream.

"It's the ingredient to the pleasure filled end result."

I roll my eyes and take another bite of our banana split, sliding my arm around her waist. In which, she idly slides out of, causing me to growl lowly. She ignores me and brings her attention to Harrison.

"How are things at the hospital, Harrison?" He looks up at Victoria from his book and contemplates for a moment.

"Things are doing okay. Blood isn't much of an issue as much now. It's getting to the point that people are becoming suspicious about me. I've been meaning to talk to our attorney, Drake. We might need to change some things up a bit."

Victoria leaned into me a little more. My heart swells a little at her closeness but, I can feel a sense of discomfort. I lightly run my hand up and down her arm. Softly kissing her on the forehead, I run my fingers through her hair. She sighs and looks up at me, her eyes soft with a far away look.

"Hey, I think I'm done. You guys ready to go?"

Carsonstops twirling Harrison's hair and nods. July offers to take everyone's trashwhile Drake starts up the van. I scoot out of the seat and stand. Victoriagrabs my hand as she stands and hugs my arm to her. I smile to myself and leadher to the car. The whole way back, Victoria is silent. Drake pulls into thelong, round gravel driveway.