Alpha Male| ✓

25.0

TENDER

Daria felt Emerson pick her body from the ground, walking towards what she assumed was either her room or if he felt pity then the clinic.

She was placed on the bed, her back exposed to the cool air and her belly resting on a soft, silky material. Fingers lightly ran over her shoulders, coming to a stop at the side of her forearm, giving a squeeze of support before they reached her back.

'Does that hurt?' A whimper escaped Daria's lips. The strokes had been hard, fast and relentless as they had rained down on her bare back. After an hour, or maybe two, Daria got back some of her strength, she opened her mouth to talk to her mate.

'You lied.' She whispered. 'You said that if I said the truth my punishment would be reduced.'

'I made an error in judgement.' He whispered back.

'So did I.' She replied as she thought of her friendship with Roman and her adolescent ideas about mates. A door opened and closed, a "clink" sound was heard when the pack member that Alpha Emerson had summoned placed the bowl of water and medicines next to where the couple sat.

Emerson dipped a cloth in a bucket of water and gently wiped away the dirt and grime from her body. He was careful as to not rub the wounds with a lot of force, stopping everytime he felt her flinch. He could have let her stay untreated, or handed her over to the pack doctors and forgotten that she existed, but the guilt eating him up was too much.

It was his responsibility, she was his responsibility and he had run away from it too much.

He wringed the cloth to remove the excess antiseptic, and put it on her back again, she groaned in pain, the tears continuously streaming from her eyes were an obvious indication of what she was going through.

'I will punish Roman.' He promised, but it felt faker than plastic gems to Daria.

'Oh, so now you think that he is lying?'

'No, now I think that you are not lying, I just wish that I had seen that before.' Daria scoffed into the pillow that smelled like her mate.

'Why do you do things that you will r-regret?' She asked. 'If I've already been punished for what I didn't do, then I'd rather have Roman not punished. Even though I took the fall unwillingly, I wouldn't drag someone I once cared for, and probably still do with me.' The strength in her amazed Emerson, he had told her that she wasn't strong, when she had proven that he was completely wrong.

'Daria, I didn't inflict the punishment on you because I wanted to see you hurt, I need to be just.' He tried to explain to her. Why? He didn't know, he just knew that he didn't want her hating him even more than she already did.

'It sure seems like that.' She mumbled.

'I've told you multiple times that I don't care for you and that I don't want you, but that doesn't mean I want to purposely hurt you.' The contact between their skin was making Daria uncomfortable, it almost felt as if some invisible twines were conjoining their bodies together and making it into one. There was heat and electricity, a deadly combination crackling on the surface of their bodies.

'It's funny how you're trying to give me explanations now, when it really doesn't matter to me what you do anymore.' She said, moving to the left and out of his reach.

'Don't move, you'll hurt yourself even more.' He ordered her, holding her firmly in place.

'I think I should pretty much be immune to pain by now shouldn't I?' Emerson kept quite, unable to answer the rhetorical question. 'Cat got your tongue?'

'Rest for now, you seem tired.' He picked up the bowl and headed to the bathroom to throw the dirty water down the sink.

'The only peaceful rest I will get is when I see you dead. A pathetic, weak man who has absolutely no backbone. I'm sure that someone can trample over you with an infants shoe.' He had disappeared behind the wall, but hearing those words come out from the she-wolfs mouth made him clench his jaw and walk out with a shaking body.

'I don't have a right to be furious because-' he hesitated with the next few words as it was against his nature. He took a deep breath and continued with his head held high. There was nothing to be ashamed of in apologising, humans and animals made mistakes. 'I know that I'm wrong. I know that I can't change anything back and I still don't want a mate, but I'm sorry.'

'Sorry is a word that holds no value to me. Especially when it comes from people like you, selfish, arrogant and the "all knowing" type-' she bitterly reported.

'I am selfish and arrogant, I've become like that without realising, but I'm not all-knowing. I wish I was so that I could have prevented today's misfortune.' Emerson made a move to sit beside her, but decided otherwise when Daria purposely moved around the cover up more space on the bed. She obviously didn't want him there, and although he wasn't one who usually listened to her wishes, he respected her need for space from him.

'I don't understand how you're suddenly convinced that I'm innocent when some time ago you "knew" that I attacked Eliza.' She huffed, sitting up and making sure that her exposed back didn't touch anything.

'Your eyes.' He confessed. 'I looked into your eyes and saw your wolf.'

'My wolf hasn't been active for a long time now.' She frowned, wonderingly whether he was lying to make it sound more mystical.

'She was, an hour ago, I'm sure of that because my wolf let go of his pride and begged me to ask you for forgiveness.' Emerson bent his head lower, a barely noticeable movement that Daria would have missed in the blink of an eye.

'I can't forgive you.' She looked out of the window beside the bed.

'I know that, but I still hope that maybe someday you will.'

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Finally! I never thought that Emerson would ever apologise to Daria :o

I had a chapter ready yesterday, but for some reason my WiFi decided to stop working and I couldn't post it :/

Thank you guys for being so active on this story by commenting and voting, it really makes me happy :)

P.s. #11 on the werewolf what's hot list? Yayyyyyy!

Chapter dedication to XxCallMeFaithxX for being the first voter!