The Mute Wolf

Chapter 7

I didn't get a wink of sleep. All night, Zak prodded me with his erection, trying to persuade me to have sex with him, to give in to him and let myself enjoy his touch. But I didn't. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He got pretty fed up by the time dawn came and I prized myself away from his embrace and jumped out of bed to use the bathroom. I was up way too early for my liking and decided I may as well get a shower and get dressed to be ready to leave on time. I couldn't take another second in that bed with him. I'd rather be ready too early than have him continuously rubbing his hands all over me, trying to kiss me and place himself inside me.
When I came out of the bathroom, he was already fully dressed laying on the bed with his arms behind his head. He looked deep in thought until he realised I was back in the room and he sat up, spinning his legs round to the side of the bed.
"Last chance Ember." He said quietly in a calm tone, unlike he had been all night. "Last chance to change your mind about me. To avoid the ceremony and get taken away by some stranger." His fists clenched when he spat the last part and I knew he was picturing me being with another man and getting intimate.
"Nope." I said almost gleefully without even hesitating. He sighed and dropped his head down to stare into his lap. A knock on the door told us Sky and Clay were up and getting ready to leave. We both put on our shoes and met them in the hallway. They didn't look like they got much sleep either. But I bet their night had been a lot better than mine.

The drive home was mostly silent. Sky had fallen asleep and began to snore, Clay mimed along to the songs on the radio and I kept my glance trained on the scenery outside of the window, not looking across so I have to see Zak. I've seen quite enough of him in the last 24 hours.
"Nervous?" Clay asked looking at me in his rear view mirror.
"I don't really know how I feel." I finally spoke up and he nodded. Zak stared at me, watching me as though I were about to grow two heads. I placed my chin in my hand and leaned against the door and closed my eyes. Sky has the right idea, maybe now would be a good time to get a nap in. And at the same time, avoid answering any more uncomfortable questions about love, the ceremony or sex with Zak.

Sky and Clay didn't stay very long once we arrived back home. They stopped just long enough to catch my parents up on the details of yesterday and to see me change into my white dress with a pair of nude high heeled shoes. My mother applied a natural makeup look followed by light pink lipgloss and sprayed my hair with dry shampoo to give it more bounce. I didn't recognise myself.
"I've never seen you look more beautiful." My mother purred delighted with how I looked. My father raised his eyebrows as he too took in my feminine and well dressed shape.
"I guess we better get this over with them." He grumbled, grabbing his keys from his pocket. He looked pretty handsome himself in his white long sleeved shirt tucked into black jeans. My mother played with his collar and brushed him down giving him a reassuring smile.
"Good luck sweetheart. I'll see you when you get back." She kissed the top of my forehead and held me tight for a few moments.
"The sooner you let me go, the sooner I will be back and can see you again." I told her struggling for air. She laughed and let me go, seeing us both out of the door as we headed towards the car.
Across from the house, Zak stood watching as we came out and he began to walk towards me slowly with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He stopped in front of me with a faint solemn smile, before he pulled me in gently for a hug. He squeezed me tight and then pressed both of his hands against my face and kissed me hard and long. I expected my father to tell him off or hurry him along, but he remained silent, clearing his throat awkwardly. When Zak pried his lips off of my mouth, he took a step back and removed his hands from me one last time and let them fall by his sides.
"I'm coming back later, god." I said as everyone was treating me as though they were never going to see me again.
"Yeah, but if he kisses you like that when you come back with your mate, he'll get a good punch in the face." My father chuckled looking awkward.
"It'll be worth it." Zak told him smiling proudly. I opened the passenger side door of my fathers white Audi convertible and grabbed a CD to stick on. My father does all his work online for a finance company and gets paid fairly well. Most wolf shifters prefer to work online and stay within the pack as it made being an alpha that much easier. He got into the drivers seat beside me and revved the engine. Today was a fairly warm day, so he took down the roof of the car and a faint breeze whipped around us as he pulled out of his parking spot. I stuck in a mixed CD from the 90's and helped myself to the soft mints stashed down by the side of the door that my mother always leaves.
"Why do you look like you're in pain?" I asked chuckling as I caught his troubled gaze.
"You've grown up far too quick. I can't believe you're going to this thing already. Where did my baby girl go?" He asked almost sad. I laughed and he started to grin.
"Hey, can I borrow your phone for a moment?" I asked him sweetly and he looked at me confused for a moment, but then nodded and pulled it out of his top pocket.
"There aren't any games on it if that's what you're hoping." He declared and I shook my head in reply. I told him I just wanted to google something, which wasn't a lie. What I wanted was to check my emails and see if little wolf had left me a message. Sure enough, once I signed in, a message from him sat in my inbox from yesterday.