Stay For Me

Chapter 2

DECLAN

Declan was bored. The party had been in full swing for a few hours and all he had managed to do was drink and chit-chat with the locals. His mate was nowhere to be seen. He sighed.

Rising from his chair, he deposited the empty champagne glass on one of the servant's trays. A scent hit him like wildfire. Blackberries and vanilla, he realized. She was here. He tried to slip past the servant girl, but as he did, his hand brushed her arm. Sparks shot up his arm and he looked down, bewildered. He heard a crash and looked up just in time to see glass spray across the floor and the girl run towards the stairs.

He took off, running like mad after her, chuckling when he noticed she had ducked into his room. He opened the door, and his heart hurt as he saw just the ends of red hair disappear over the balcony. He ran to the edge, she was disappearing into the woods.

Declan leaped off the balcony of the palace building, following the sweet scent of blackberries and vanilla, his legs driving him forward as he followed her. He caught a glimpse of reddish-blonde hair out of the corner of his eye as he slowed, his heart beating wildly. Declan reached out and grabbed her hand, leaving stunning violet eyes staring in fear at him. He growled deep in his chest, and she pulled away slightly. "Mate," he whispered.

The words out of her mouth next chilled him to the bone.

"Are - are you going to reject me?"

"What?" His tone was shocked. The girl took a step back.

"I know you probably don't want an Omega as a mate, so I, Ranielle Masters rej-"

Declan growled fiercely and shoved her against a tree, clapping his hand against her mouth so her sentence died. "Don't ever say that again, do you understand?!"

He noticed her cowering away from him. He lifted his hand and gently removed the mask. The girl threw her hands in front of her face. Declan softly pulled her hands away from her face and gasped in shock. A bruise marred her face from her chin to her right eye, staining her skin vibrant blue and purple. She turned her face away, tears in her eyes.

"Who did this to you?!" Declan was angry. His eyes turned black with rage and the girl in front of him squeaked and dropped into a fetal position on the ground.

RANIELLE

The man above her was shaking in fury. It was what her pack did when they realized she had done something wrong and beat her for it. Silent tears streaked down her face. She protected the most delicate parts of her, and waited for the first blow to hit.

But it never did.

She looked up. The man knelt beside her with a soft , hurt look in his eyes. He whispered, "I will never hurt you, beautiful. NEVER." His emphasis gave her the courage to look up and whisper, "My name is Ranielle. You don't have to call me beautiful because it isn't true."

His eyes turned wounded. "Ranielle, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on."

Her heart fluttered at his kind words. She asked, "What's your name?"

"Declan," his eyes sparkled. It was such a sweet sight to see him smiling at her. She'd only ever gotten frowns from her pack members.

"Who hurt you, Rani?" He'd already given her a nickname. His tone was gentle yet pressing.

Ranielle shook her head, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill out over her lashes. Declan caught her face in his hands and kissed them away.

"Don't cry, Rani. It doesn't suit you." He smiled at her. Ranielle glanced down at her hands and rose suddenly, shrieking. "I'm supposed to be serving dinner!" She turned on her heel and tore out of the woods, closely followed by Declan.

"Where are you going?" He called, trying to keep up with her fast frame.

Ranielle didn't respond. She just kept running, her hair flying.

Blaze stood in front of the palace, his eyes flaming with pure rage. "You're late, Omega."  

She looked down at her feet, terrified. "I-i'm sorry, sir."

"Look at me when I am talking to you, you worthless slut!" Blaze roared. Ranielle flinched. Blaze grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her inside. He pulled her down to the basement.

The blows came quickly after. The party was still going,  so no one had heard her screams.

Two hours later, Blaze walked out, not a single scratch on him. Not the same could be said for Ranielle. Her nose was broken and bleeding profusely. Her arms, legs, and abdomen were swollen and bruised. Her eyes were puffed and blackened. Her lip was busted. She stood, only to fall back as a sharp pain shot up her leg. Her ankle was sprained, probably from when he had yanked her down the stairs. Ranielle curled up on the cold cement floor and cried, though it hurt. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard a soft voice whisper, "Rest."

DECLAN

Declan lost Ranielle in the woods. She obviously knew this territory well.

He eventually made it back to the pack house, trying to ignore the ache in his chest.

Blaze stood in front of it, grinning happily. "Have you seen Ranielle?"

Blaze's expression took on one of confusion. "The pack's Omega? Why? What do you want with her?"

"I wanted to talk to her." Declan's response was plain and simple. He really did want to talk to her.

"She went to serve dinner to the pack. She'll be back soon." Blaze shrugged. His defiant stance and annoyed face told Declan he wasn't too fond of her.

"Why is she the Omega?" Declan asked causally.

"A couple reasons. One, she's only half wolf. Two, the girl's family mysteriously died when she was six. We all know what happened. She poisoned them. She is a psychopath. If I were you, I would stay away from her. She's a chronic liar." With that, Blaze walked into the house, and Declan followed.

Blood. The scent washed over him like a tidal wave. It was coming from the kitchen. Declan broke away from Blaze and quietly tiptoed in, following the scent that was becoming stronger, mixing itself with something sweet. He opened a black door to find a set of stairs leading down. He flipped the switch, and lights flickered on.

Declan walked cautiously down the steps, until his feet hit solid ground. He looked around, infuriated by what he saw.

It was a torture room. Ropes, whips, knives, you name it, it was in that room. The scent was stronger here. He tracked the scent further into the room, and immediately noticed the little ball on the floor.

He dreaded looking over at it. He had a gut feeling as to what it was. But his feet seemed to move of their own accord and propelled him over to the person crumpled on the floor.

He howled, angry. That person was beaten to beyond recognition. But as soon as he touched them, the sparks that flew through his fingertips told him all he needed to know.

That unconscious girl on the floor was Ranielle.