WILD

twenty nine

Lorena stepped outside behind Orion, feeling grateful for the cold, crisp air that hit her skin. Orion made her bring one of his jackets along, just in case, but she didn't think she would be needing it any time soon. It felt so nice.

She watched from a short distance as Orion spoke to one of the guards, letting them know where they would be heading in case they were gone too long and something happened to them.

Taking in a deep breath and looking at the darkening night sky made her happy. It had been a while since she had just gone outside just because she could. Orion came back up to her and took her hand in his. "Let's go."

They walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the point where the woods started. "You said you had a bad feeling about something?"

She looked up at him, surprised. She assumed that since nobody had said anything so far, they were going to just walk in silence. "Um, yeah. It's just like something bad will happen. It's sort of distracting so I didn't want us to...you know."

He nodded. "I see." He didn't believe that was the reason and he had his suspicions, but he didn't want to push the issue. He looked back up at the sky, staring at the full moon. "Do you feel better? I know you were feeling hot back there."

"Yes, actually. Thank you." She looked down at the ground, the leaves flattening under her tennis shoes but not giving her that satisfying crunch that she always loved to hear. "And again, I'm sorry if I've made things weird."

He shook his head, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "You didn't. If you need to wait, then we wait."

She smiled up at him and he felt his heart melt. She was perfect. "Thank you, Orion. Was there a reason you brought me out here?"

He cleared his throat and nodded. "Just to talk. It's not exactly something we get to do often."

"Oh, okay? About what?"

"Tell me about home. Your home. Your parents, too."

She looked down at the ground and smiled. "Well, my pack wasn't as sophisticated as this one. We lived in the country, and as much land as we lived on, we were a very closely knit pack. I didn't have any siblings, but I did have some friends, most of who I met from our small training classes. There were a lot of us, I guess." She sighed. "And my parents...I was closest to my father. My mother and I don't get along."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She shrugged. "It's whatever. It doesn't matter anymore." Orion looked at her and felt a pang of guilt. He needed to find a way for Lorena to have a reunion with her parents before they never got to see each other again.

"What about you and your pack? Where are all the female wolves?"

He nodded. "Good question. Well, in a bigger, more modern pack like this one, the females don't want to do things traditionally. They want to find love on their own and not be told who to be with by some chemical reaction in the brain. If I'm honest, I prefer the more modern way, but since I'm of a royal bloodline I really have no choice. Besides, my wolf is stronger if I do it this way."

She nodded in understanding, wrapping her arms around herself as they walked side by side. She was enjoying this. She hardly got to talk to Orion without a screaming match happening, and this was nice to be able to actually hear him.

"And I owe you an apology, Lorena. For taking you from your home. It isn't right, but-"

She shook her head. "It's okay. It isn't your fault. You didn't really have much of a choice in the matter either. But thank you, for that."

She understood now that Orion wasn't a monster. He tried to make her comfortable from the moment he met her. It was obvious he felt bad about the situation, but what could he do?

Orion planned to walk in silence for the rest of their stroll, but Lorena had other plans.

"Did you love her?"

Orion knew exactly who she was talking about. He looked down and shrugged. "Gen? I don't know. Maybe. I've never experienced what I had with her with anyone else, but I don't think I can say that it's love."

That made her feel slightly better about the whole situation, but still slightly uneasy. If she wasn't marked by Orion, she probably wouldn't give a shit, but he was hers. She wasn't sharing any part of him with that bitch.

She kept quiet as they walked on. She noticed that Orion switched directions so that he could walk the perimeter of the land while still keeping the buildings in sight.

Orion sighed deeply. "I was so wild before I met you. What you see now is not the alpha that I was days before I met you. You forced me to change for the better, Lorena, and for that I'm grateful."

Lorena giggled, nodding. "I didn't do anything but show up, but you're welcome. I guess it does take a special kind of alpha to be able to reign me in. I've heard that almost my entire life."

"Because you're crazy. A good crazy, but sometimes it gets out of hand."

"Aren't you honored to have to deal with me?" She laughed, sarcasm seeping through her voice.

He gave her a cute little half smile and a curt nod. "Yes. Yes, I am." Lorena stopped laughing as soon as she realized he was serious and she blushed.

She heard a rustle in the trees and froze. Before she could even react, Orion grabbed her and firmly pulled her towards him and away from the noise. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head at her, signaling for her to keep her mouth shut.

Her heart was pounding. If Orion was on edge like this, were they in danger?

The rustling got louder and she heard a thud as someone or something hit the ground hard. She squinted in an attempt to see through the trees and the darkness, but couldn't make out anything.

Footsteps quickly advanced towards them and she began to back away. "Orion..."

Once the figure came into view, they saw that it was just a girl walking towards them almost frantically. Lorena stepped forward, nudging Orion to the side.

"Wait...Vera?"