Permission to love - The Rogue Pack

Chapter 3 - Tayanita

The girl's eyes suddenly glowed red and I felt myself retreating back into myself. I had slowly been moving towards the front of the cage, but now I scuttled back to the shadows. Alphas, especially blood-born Alphas, had been the worst inflictors of pain throughout my life. They hated rogues with a vengeance. And it didn't help that I was a bitten werewolf and not a born werewolf. 

The girl's fists tensed as her claws extended, and I shuddered in the corner. Her red eyes shifted to the side and then returned to fixate on me, yet I couldn't bear to tear my eyes away. Almost as suddenly as they had turned red, honeyed liquid pooled back into the girl's eyes and they softened slightly. The tension she had been holding in the muscles of her face eased, yet still she continued gazing at me. The intensity of her stare was slightly disconcerting and I found myself lowering my eyes away. Her piercing gaze seemed to peer into my soul, and that, paired with the knowledge that she was an Alpha wolf made me shift in my seat as I wilted under her scrutiny. 

It didn't necessarily feel like she was scrutinising me in a negative way. Rather it felt like she was trying to read me, trying to understand me. And neither did it make me feel scared of her. It was just that getting to know me was something which so few people had done it made me feel exposed, in both a disconcerting but also comforting way. It was definitely a feeling that I could get used to.

As I adjusted my gaze, I found myself looking back at the man at the front of the room. I couldn't work out why he intrigued me so much, or why I felt such a strange pull towards him, but I knew that he was definitely important to me in some way. He was still standing at the front of the room, so I couldn't quite see him, but he seemed very imposing. His scent was overwhelming despite the distance between us, and I was curious to see what he looked like.

I turned my head down, peering back towards the girl out of the corner of my eye, hoping that she'd relaxed her piercing stare. To my surprise, she too was staring at the man. Her eyes were slightly hidden from me, but I could tell that there had been a shift in her stance. When she'd been looking at me, her shoulders had been tense and squared and her stance strong, exuding an air of authority, but without the pride and expectation of respect that accompanied other Alphas. Now though, her shoulders had relaxed, her face seemed calm and unclouded, and although she hadn't lost the sense of power that accompanied her presence, she seemed more at ease as she stared at the man. Almost as if he grounded her. 

To my surprise, I felt a possessive growl rise in my throat. 

'She's MINE!!' I howled silently. I felt surprised at my outburst. I was not usually a jealous person, having shared my parent's affections with four other siblings, so I couldn't believe that I felt jealous over someone that I had met literally three minutes prior. Well, at least not jealous in a romantic way.

'It must be a protective instinct,' I decided. I knew my personality hadn't changed, and the thought that they were friends, or intimate made me feel lonely, and maybe jealous that they had someone significant in their lives, when I had never had anyone. But I didn't feel jealous of the fact that they might be romantic. I didn't think. And if they weren't friends, which I honestly doubted considering her emotional reaction, then it was definitely a protective instinct that I had felt. An innate fear for my mate's life as I considered that she might be under threat.

Suddenly, the man came into sight. His appearance matched his exotic scent, and his tanned skin perfectly contrasted his sparkling green eyes. He seemed immaculately kept, and despite his heavy build, held himself with lightness and grace. The stubble coating his jawline, his slightly windswept hair and his impressive muscular bulk, contrasting with the sharp crispness of the rest of his appearance, gave him an appealing bad boy look. The look of someone who was simply irresistible without even trying.

However, his demeanour suggested a nervousness. Unlike the girl, he didn't stand with authority or power. He obviously had some level of confidence, but he didn't exude the same assumption of superiority, which made me think that he wasn't aware of how much power he actually had over others with his looks alone.

But what most surprised me about his appearance was the undeniable happiness radiating from him. His smile stretched across his face, and it wasn't only his mouth that was smiling. Instead of a wide toothy smile, his lips raised slightly at the sides in a cocky smirk that crinkled the corners of his eyes, emphasising their brilliance. His cheeks were pushed out by his smile, framing his eyes. 

As he approached the girl, he broke into a grin, emitting a half laugh of joy and incredulity. His eyes were a similar mixture of astonishment and overwhelming joy. But I thought I also detected a nervousness even there, that matched that shyness of his stance, almost as if he was holding himself back, trying to control his emotions in a way that was unnatural to him. 

Finally, he reached where she was standing. She hadn't moved any closer this whole time, merely fixating him as he made his approach. There seemed to be a tension in the air as they met, both of them holding themselves like animals about to pounce. 

"Sam," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. His lips continued moving, but I couldn't make out the words he spoke. The air was still thick with tension, but at his words, it dissipated, and they embraced. A tight hug. The hug of friends who have finally met after years apart. The hug of someone who is finally understood. The hug of lovers who can finally be together. 

As they separated, the nervousness had disappeared from the man's stance. He stood taller, emphasising the petiteness of the girl. Yet she held her own next to him. Her shoulders strong, her head held proud. I stared at them in awe. How could I be expected to ever stand next to them?