Chapter 20 – Unexpected Expectations

()()()

Yu Kanda

When the human awoke, the first thing he did was blearily blink, regaining his bearings and trying to understand why his head throbbed and why his eyelids felt so heavy. He also wanted to know why his body was so weak and tired.

The second thing he did was pale as he recalled the events of the previous day, dread and shame settling in his empty stomach.

Kanda sat up beside the boy, already in human form. He could feel the tender purple bruises on his chest from when Allen had hit him, but he ignored them. They didn't really matter. "We talked with that Klaud-human," he said, hands finding their place by either side of his potential mate's head as he leaned from the right over the human. "Apparently you were upset with the way we were referred to."

With the light streaming in through the large window close by, Kanda was able to see human's cheeks pink with embarrassment as he looked away.

He tried his best to scowl over a red furry head at the wall to his left. "So what?" The warmth of the wolves led him to quickly become aware of the fact that his position was one he'd never been in before. There were many wolf bodies pressed close, and he even felt someone's wet nose in his neck. There was a body under his legs, and another touching his feet. Allen then belatedly realised that he was only wearing boxers. "I can get angry about whatever I want," he muttered, because this was humiliating and there were some things he'd rather have left unsaid.

The Alpha wolf smirked down at the boy, who was doing a poor job of defending his own actions. He saw the flushes of colour stain more of the human's fair skin, creeping up and turning ears red. Though making Allen change colours was interesting, Kanda knew not to be deceived by this show of weakness, for despite the small human's nature and issues, he was a fighter.

Kanda respected that about the kid.

"What?" Allen asked shyly, put off by the staring, and that was all the Alpha could take.

He knew that it wasn't a good idea to do this so soon after what had occurred yesterday, but patience had never been Kanda's strong suit. Without requesting permission or testing the waters a bit to see if Allen was ready, Kanda pulled the human by the chin so that they were facing each other again and closed his eyes as he dropped his head to mash their lips roughly together.

His partner was human, which meant that he had to do this the human way. It also meant that the only information he had regarding human coupling came from the TV, but Allen had said that TV wasn't to be trusted.

Kanda bit down a little too fiercely on the boy's bottom lip as he moved one of his arms to help prop himself up, his free hand finding the back of the human's head to force them together. He grabbed a handful of Allen's hair and tugged, eliciting a choked gasped from his otherwise silent partner.

This was how Kanda were supposed to do it, right?

He tasted some blood as he shoved his tongue into the human's mouth and figured it was probably from the biting.

Kanda clumsily continued to kiss the boy, trying to get Allen to actually kiss him back.

Allen didn't even attempt to move.

Feeling cautious and mildly offended, Kanda drew back, and was barely able to hide his surprise when he was met with two terror-filled grey eyes. "Why aren't you doing it too?" He inquired brusquely to mask his worry. When he received no answer, he gracelessly pressed their lips back together in another effort to get Allen to participate. Maybe the dumb brat was startled or needed more time to wrap head around what was happening.

Allen still didn't move.

Had Kanda done it wrong? Was that why Allen wasn't speaking or doing anything?

He pulled back again and growled, not quite sure what to make of the situation he'd found himself in. Beneath him, Allen was still quiet and was currently undergoing another colour change, only this time the pinks were fading as horror set in.

This latest reaction told Kanda that yes, he had done it wrong. However, even knowing this did not prepare him for when the human boy shoved away his hand and nearly tripped over Miranda as he tore out of the room.

There was a short silence as everyone in the room tried to process what had occurred, the other wolves having been awake long ago and quietly watching to see how their Alpha's conquest would play out.

Lavi, who always knew what to say at exactly the wrong time, sat up and commented with, 'I think Yu-chan got rejected.'

'Idiot!' Lenalee harshly nipped the male beta, who yelped in pain. That served him right for joking in this kind of situation. Their Alpha was serious about this, and… Lenalee looked at the door that lead out, worried about the pack's human. 'Something's wrong.'

"Shit," Kanda growled, irritated and confused because what the fuck. How badly had he screwed up? How badly was Allen screwed up? Why hadn't he waited a little longer before trying this?

Lenalee shifted to her human form and brushed Kanda's shoulder with her fingertips, not letting herself become rattled by that ferocious expression even though her instincts demanded that she drop and submit before her Alpha. "I'll check it out." She was good with Allen. If she was nice enough and applied a little force, she'd be sure to find the problem.

Allen just had to comfortable for this to work.

That was why she went to the chests of draws lining the wall with the bedroom's door and sifted through her small piles until she found a pair of shorts and a plain black singlet.

Allen Walker

I slammed the door to my bedroom and make sure to lock it, reinforcing the barrier that would protect me from the rest of the world.

Panting from what I knew was not just physical exertion, I stumbled to my bed, desperate to hide away and wrap myself in the protective cocoon I could make of my blankets. Only vaguely did I notice that the room did not stink, far too busy tugging up the sheets to cover my quivering frame and fighting back the bile that rose up in the back of my throat, which still burned from last night's upheaval.

My body subconsciously curled in on itself, fingers digging into my upper arms and nails biting into the skin.

Why did he do that? What was he trying to do to me?

I shuddered, chills running up and down my body as my eyes went unnaturally wide.

A certain fear I'd been sure would never have a proper reason to resurface ate away at me like insects feasting upon my flesh, my skin crawled at the very thought of someone once more touching me in that way.

Don't think about it.

My heart thrashed loud and painful against my chest like a jackhammer as I breathed in quick short breaths that gave me nowhere near enough air. Tears slid their way down my cheeks, leaving a stinging trail in their wake.

Stop it!

I whined and gripped myself harder, nails drawing blood.

This was bad. I was scared and didn't really know what was happening and was Kanda going to come in here? Was he going to touch me?

Don't think about it.

I gagged, throat horribly tight as my body seized up. Both it and I wanted to vomit, but there was nothing left. My stomach had nothing more to give.

The door's locked. He can't get in.

He could. I knew he was strong. If he wanted to, he could break that door down.

No he can't. This is an old house. The doors and frames are solid wood.

I was startled by the sudden sound of knocking against my bedroom door.

The panic came back full force.

It was Kanda. It was definitely Kanda.

I went to crawl out of bed but the sheet I'd wrapped around myself bound my legs together and caused me to tumble to the floor. While struggling against the sheet holding me captive, my only thought was to get away.

There was another rap of a fist against the door, though it was lighter this time. "Allen," Lenalee called, her voice muffled by the thick slab of wood that protected me. "Are you alright? Can we talk?"

I relaxed slightly.

It wasn't Kanda. I was safe for now.

My mind then chose to replay her words.

No. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to hide.

I wanted to die because I was scared and I hated how scared I was and that only made me feel worse and I didn't want to be touched.

"Allen, I want to help."

Lenalee basically served Kanda, so I didn't know if I could trust her, but she was a nice girl. I liked her.

I wanted to trust her.

"Is h-he out there?" My voice was rougher and more broken than what I was used to; I could thank my current state for that. Still, my voice did its job. As long as she could hear me, how I sounded didn't matter.

"He isn't."

I hadn't specified who, but she'd known. Of course she had.

Deciding to give trust a go, I breathed in and grasped the cold handle. Before I could open the door, I noticed that I was still only in my boxers. My face flushed red and I quickly pulled on a t-shirt.

I rubbed my eyes to hide the obvious traces of tears and opened the door to find Lenalee in a simple black singlet and shorts. To be sure that she was alone, I poked my head out and glanced down hallway. All that was out of place was the purple head poking out from the wolves' room. The colour told me straight away that our audience was Komui, Lenalee's overprotective brother.

Once certain that I was safe for now, I returned my attention back to Lena and her clothes.

She really was kind. Lenalee knew I hated nudity, so she must've thrown the garments on to make this less stressful for me.

That… wasn't what I was supposed to be thinking about right now. There was something I had to know

I kept a hand on the frame of the doorway to keep me steady and let my eyes dart back down the hall. "Why did he do that?"

"He told us that he plans to make you his mate," Lenalee said, and I could tell that she was watching and waiting to see how I would respond to that.

Wait. Mate?

Was that like lover? Did that mean Kanda wanted to touch me?

No no no no. Just… no. I couldn't allow that.

"He won't do anything you don't want him to," she assured me, and smiled. It wasn't happy, and there was a lot of sadness hidden behind it, but it was still a smile.She extended her arms, holding them open long enough for me to understand that she was letting me choose. She wouldn't force contact. If I wanted to, I could, and if I didn't, that was fine too. "He wasn't trying to frighten you."

After a slight pause to consider, I launched forward into her chest, allowing the she-wolf to wrap her strong thin arms around me.

It was her voice, so gentle and kind, that pulled me out of my thoughts and made me want to cry all over again.

"Please tell me what's really going on."

()()()

There's your kiss.

()()()

Previous Chapter – Comfort

Next Chapter – Solutions