Fate Mate

Chapter 6

"Ouch!" I complained loudly as the same doctor, the woman with the gray eyes, wrapped up my stomach and ribcage in a gauze that made me look like a mummy.

"Sorry, sorry," she, whom I learned was named Trudy, muttered as she busily finished treating me back at the pack house in the doctor's wing.

The second we had arrived back at the pack house, Nolan ordered for somebody to take me up to the doctor's wing so that I would be ready to depart for the witch doctor that evening. The accident had not phased Nolan's plans of leaving that night to discover whether or not we should be mates.

Trudy did a few more tests on me before patting my leg and taking off her gloves, "There you go, dear. You are all set. Remember to take some aspirin if you start to hurt anywhere."

I smiled at her gratefully, "Thank you, do you know-"

I was about to ask her where Sophia was being kept, but her eyes glazed over, signaling the mind-link.

After a few moments, she glanced at me warily, "Alpha wants you downstairs in ten minutes. Go pack your bags and meet him there. Don't be late."

I tried not to roll my eyes; if he wanted to communicate with me, he could come talk to me himself, not through other people. I felt incredibly out of the loop when the Black Lupis Pack mind linked with each other, and the thought only reminded me more that I was an outsider among them.

Not only that, but it made me realize that I could no longer hear my pack, the Golden Walkers, in my mind. I had been trying not to think about it, but ever since last night when I looked at Nolan, my link with the Golden Walker's was severed.

Once I reached my room, I found a few extra shirts and pants, each one a dark color, and threw them in small bag. After that, I gathered some toiletries and then made my way back down the stairs that led to my room.

Navigating the maze-like hallways was becoming simpler with practice, and, after a few minutes, I found the living room.
I was grateful that nobody was currently in the room as I placed my bags on the ground in front of the door and looked around the large room.

A voice from behind me made me jump, and I spun around to see Nolan standing across the room, wearing a light gray t-shirt beneath a black leather jacket and fitted black pants.

"I would say to put your bags in my car, but, seeing that my corvette was totaled today, I don't think that is possible. Do you?" His words dripped with sarcasm, and my stomach knotted.

I tried to stifle in a laugh at the thought that I had indeed totaled the Black Lupis Pack's alpha's car. If only my friends back at the Golden Walkers could see me now. When I laughed, a small smirk appeared on his face as he watched me with piercing blue eyes, but it disappeared before I could fully appreciate the wonder of seeing him smile.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked casually, wanting to strike up a conversation between us.

"Some are out, and some are in their rooms," he answered shortly as he bent down to grab my bag for me before opening the front door and leading me outside into the cool, evening air.

"Who all is going with us?" I chewed on my lip as we walked across the driveway and over to an already running BMW.

"No one," he walked over to the driver's seat and opened the door before sliding in, surprisingly swiftly, and leaving me standing outside the car.

No one else was going? An entire night spent alone with the taciturn man who thought of me as a mistake. Great.

I sighed slightly before pulling the passenger door open and sliding in. I attempted to be as graceful as he was, but his presence along with the low ceiling of the BMW made me bump my head against the roof of the car.

"Ow," I muttered while rubbing my head, "That definitely does not help the concussion." It had been a tough day for my skull.

My cheeks heated up in embarrassment and I shamefully glanced up to see him roll his eyes in disgust before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway.

The second we were out of the driveway he stepped on the gas pedal and raced down the smooth, winding road like a maniac.

I found myself gripping the side of my seat in anxiety as he sped up even more. He kept his hooded expression on the road, and only one hand on the steering wheel. The speedometer read seventy miles an hour in a forty mile per hour zone.

"Jeez! Slow down!" I shouted loudly, "What if we get pulled over?"

He erupted in laughter as I stared at him in shock; I was being perfectly serious.

"Honestly Charlotte, how many cops do you think there are out here?"

None. I rolled my eyes, thoroughly annoyed with his snarky reply.

The anxiety made it hard for me to focus on the way his laugh sounded as it bounced off the walls of the car.

He answered me by speeding up a little more and glancing at me challengingly.

His eyes met mine and I tried to pass the resulting shiver off as a shudder at his driving skills.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I instructed, trying my best to sound irritated. I did not even care that I just gave an alpha a command.He laughed some more but never returned his gaze to the road. As I ran a stressed hand through my hair, I looked back at the road. If he was not going to pay attention then I would.

Suddenly, a wolf appeared on the side of the road and déjà vu hit me as I gasped, "Look out!"

He smiled smoothly and slowly returned his eyes to the road, but not before easily deviating out of the way of the wolf.

"What is your problem?" I was incensed that he was messing around so recklessly, "We almost wrecked again!"

"Relax," he rolled his eyes, "That was Rafael." Although he was acting carefree, I could sense a hint of annoyance radiating off of him because of my tone.

Somehow, his voice made me feel like a child and want to shrink back, "Oh..."

However, he did slow down to a reasonable speed.

We rode in silence for what seemed like forever, and I longed for him to turn on the radio or something to fill the vacant silence.

The muteness began to slowly eat away at me and I broke, "How old are you?" I asked him the same question he asked me when we first talked because it seemed innocent enough.

"Twenty six," he muttered and kept his icy gaze on the road.

Twenty-six? He was eight years older than me. The thought made me nervous, not because I thought he was too old. But because I thought I was too young. No wonder he wanted to get rid of me. Why would he want me over an older, more mature woman who he could relate to. He probably viewed me as a child.

After I asked the question he turned on the radio, obviously signaling that he did not want to talk anymore. The station that came on was an oldies rock and alternative station, which surprised me. I did not see him as the type that even liked music.

He continued to drive without saying a single thing, and soon the sun was setting behind the horizon.

The car was blowing cold air onto me and I shivered slightly before reaching over to the temperature knob on my side.

At the same moment, he reached over to adjust it as well, and our hands touched, sending an entirely different chill through my body. I quickly retracted my hand and glanced over at him, before quickly looking away once his eyes met mine.

He turned the heat up and I smiled slightly, "Thanks."

Nolan did not respond, instead, he looked back at the road in front of us, a stormy expression on his face. I couldn't help from notice how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel and how every muscle in his body seemed to be tense.

I decided to try and close my eyes in the hopes of falling asleep so that I would not have to attempt to conjure up a conversation again. Although, I never fell asleep, I assumed that Nolan thought that I had, because he said nothing else the rest of the entire drive.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Nolan's voice aroused me from my fake slumber, "We are here."

He spoke as if he knew I was awake the entire time, and the thought made me mentally curse myself.

Through the dark window, I could see a hotel sign and glanced at Nolan, "Why are we at a hotel?"

"Did you think that our abettor would want to meet us at two in the morning?" He condescended, and I shrunk back. The clock read 2:05AM. 

"Come on," he stepped out of the car and grabbed my bag and his from the back of the car before walking to the hotel doors.

I had to walk quickly across the parking lot to keep up with his long strides. The cold wind bit at my skin, so the moment we walked in to the heated hotel I let out a sigh of relief and smiled to myself as I looked around, "This place is nice."

Nolan glanced down at me as I sighed and then completely ignored me. He walked up to the tired hotel clerk, who seemed to brighten up at the sight of him, "Hello. Can I get one room for the night?" One room? I was going to be staying in a room with him? I tried not to let the horror show on my face as I looked up at him with my mouth agape.

"Two beds," he added rapidly and relief flooded me.

The hotel clerk, a pretty blonde smiled sweetly, "Sure thing." I could tell from her face that she was happy that Nolan and I would not be sharing a bed, "Here is your key. Room 227."

"Thank you," he smiled at her in a way that I was sure drove her crazy before turning to me, "Let's go."

"Okay..." I muttered as I walk behind him. I could feel the hotel clerk's hungry gaze still on him as we exited the lobby.

Before I knew it, Nolan was leading me up the stair to the second floor, where we found our room.

The walls were white, and the floor was a dark, burgundy carpet with two white beds and a television on the inside. It was the epitome of a basic hotel room.

Nolan immediately walked over to one of the beds and sat on it, silently claiming it as his own, while I stood in the doorway, completely confused as to what to do.

I became painfully aware of my sweaty palms and pounding heart as I watched him take off his shoes. Why was I nervous? I groaned inwardly, knowing that he could probably hear my heart beating out of my chest.

Thankfully, he did not seem to notice and stood up, "Go get ready for bed. I need to call someone."

I couldn't help from wonder who he had to call this late at night, but decided to let it go. Once he was out of the room with his cellphone in hand, I grabbed my bag and began to rummage through it, gathering a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in and my toothbrush and set them on the bed.

When I walked in to the bathroom, I locked the door and turned on the shower water.

As soon as steam began to fog up the mirror, I stepped in to the hot shower. The water ran through my long, brown hair while I took my time to clean every inch of my body.

After I was done with my shower, I reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out and grabbed a towel. I instantly began to scan the bathroom for my clothes, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I cursed under my breath as I realized that the t-shirt and shorts were both still sitting on my bed in the room.

Wrapping the towel around me tightly, I cracked the door open, "Alpha Nolan?" I said quietly.

This was possibly the most humiliating experience of my life.

When there was no reply, I opened the door completely and quickly ran over to my bed where the clothes sat. As I fumbled with the shorts, the familiar beep of the key opening the hotel door signaled, and Nolan walked in.