Chapter 17
The date wasn't awful at all. Which meant something because she really didn't enjoy dating most of the time. It was difficult to really get to know someone because it was a psychological fact that in the beginning, people exaggerated the good parts of themselves while never showing their true colors when it came to their flaws.
And the funniest part was: they actually believed in this image that they portrayed.
So it really wasn't her thing. But this date wasn't all too bad.
It helped that he was feral too, so they instantly had a major thing in common. His name was Edgar and he was 32. Which was way closer to her age than Victor.
Because of the argument she had had with Victor before she left, she felt the need to point out the completely unimportant but positive sides to this guy. Like his age. And he was nice.
And that's where it ended. And those were two complete random and shallow facts. But whatever, it was all she got right now.
And besides, she was having a nice time. They had drinks and some food and now she was walking him home because he actually lived pretty close to the restaurant, so it was a short walk back to her car from his home.
"I really enjoyed our date Rae" he said as they walked up to his front door "Can I persuade you to come in for some after dinner coffee? I can make iced coffees if you like".
"Ooooh iced coffees, that is so tempting. I love those" she replies as she looks at her watch.
"You have somewhere to go?".
She sighs "Yeah, well, I sorta promised my... employer to be back around 8".
"Well, then you still have a full hour".
"You know what?" she smiles "You're right. I do. Besides, he won't mind if I run a little late. He's very understanding of things like this".
"He sounds very easy going. I wish my employer was like that".
"Hmmm, you have no idea, he's great" she answers with sarcasm dripping off her voice. But the joke is lost on him as they enter his building and go up to his apartment.
A few minutes later she puts down the empty glass on his coffee table "That was really good, thanks".
"You're welcome".
She looks at her watch again. Victor probably put Zoe to bed about half an hour ago. She wonders what he's doing right now. It's also about 30 minutes to get home so she really can't stay that much longer. Also; she doesn't want to.
As she looks around his apartment for the millionth time, she realizes that she's bored. Well she already knew that. But now she actually verbalizes the thought in her head: she. is. bored.
She's bored because she feels zero connection to this guy, even though he's nice. A thought that she's repeated in her head about twenty times: he's nice, he's nice, he's nice...
Like that means anything. Most people are 'nice'. Its actually a word she often uses to describe people without any sort of personality.
She misses Zoe and she wishes she could'be been there with Victor to put her to bed. She can't believe she missed that for this. Even though it was her own stubborn choice.
She misses the conversation, the tension and even the arguments with Victor. This morning when they woke up she was curled up against him. They started talking and somehow he told her things about his life, which was crazy interesting since he has been on this planet for over 200 years. And he had a great way of telling stories. He brought them to life even though he was very to the point which made her ask loads of questions.
And she liked the sort of questions that he asked her. Not bullshit shallow questions, but questions that made her think about herself and her choices. He wanted to know about her life and her mind.
She wished they were still in that bed, just talking. Or doing other stuff which apparently had to wait. Which frustrated her greatly.
"You still here?" his voice brings her back to this world. In this stranger's apartment.
"Yeah, sorry. But I should go really. It's still a 30 minute drive".
"I'd really like to see you again" he says as he moves closer to her on the couch. His hand moves up as he removes her hair from her neck.
She cringes. She doesn't like to be touched by him.
He notices the mark and frowns.
"Listen, Edgar, I won't lie to you" she answers in a steady voice "We're not gonna see each other again".
He moves even closer and unexpectedly tries to kiss her.
Instinctively she is repulsed as she moves back quickly "Dude, what the fuck? Did I stutter or something?".
He scoffs "Why is there a mark on your neck?".
This doesn't feel right. The setting has changed. The mood has changed and so has he.
"I'm gonna go now" she replies as she gets up from the couch.
But before she can reach the door she hears a loud growl. She's pulled backwards by her hair and slammed against the wall. For a few seconds the room around her gets dark as she rubs her head.
Her inner feral reacts immediately as her claws and canines extract.
"You silly little girl" Edger murmurs "You should've let him claim you".
In a flash she launches forward, but so does he. They ram into each other and as his body hits hers with full force she realizes that she's not at full strength yet. She's no match for him.
She tries her shield barriers.
It's not working. Why isn't it working?!
The fucking feral cycle. It's weakened her. The 48 hours haven't passed yet.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
She's brought down onto the floor, but brings her leg up and manages to nudge it into his stomach. She kicks him with everything he has. He flies backwards, landing into the kitchen cupboards.
She gets up and stumbles towards the door. He's much faster, this time coming from the side. He flies into her, bringing her down again.
He pulls her up. She stumbles. He catches her.
She tries to scratch at him, lunge her talons into his abdomen like that one time she did with Victor. But Victor just flinched. Like it was nothing.
Victor.
She never should've come here. She should've just stayed with him. He offered her the perfect fucking life with a feral mate for the rest of her life. With him. And Zoe.
And now it would all be ruined.
Oh God, Zoe. Her little girl would be destroyed if she didn't come back.
Edgar violently jerks her hair again, his wrist gripping around her throat as he slams her down on the floor. He nudges his leg between her knees.
She tries her shield barriers once more. Nothing.
She takes a deep breath as he feels up on her. She relaxes for a mere second as she gathers her strength, making him believe that she's worn out already.
She pushes her head backwards, as far as possible ad suddenly with all the power she has she slams forward, headbutting him as hard as she possibly can. It hurts like hell.
It's not much, but he's distracted long enough to let go of her arms.
In one swift move she slams both her hands forward as she screams loudly, her sharp talons piercing through the flesh of his chest.
His overwhelming roar and her screams surely must attract some neighborhood attention she prays.
Then, suddenly, a massive blast coming from the other side of the apartment. The front door flies to the other side of the room and crashes through the window.
Revealing the dark and massive male feral standing in the doorway.
Victor.
Before anyone can register what happens, Victor gets down on all fours, launches forward and rips into the other feral.
Rae rolls over to get away from them, but every little movement she makes hurts like hell. From her bloodied spot on the floor she witnesses Victor taking his time. Slamming Edgar from one wall into the other, gripping his throat, piercing his chest and then launching him to the other side of the room again. He repeats this about three times. The class 2 feral is no match for Victor.
Rae crawls backwards to the wall and tries to get up. She flinches painfully when she tries to use her left arm to get up.
For a mere second Victor is distracted by his mate in pain. His grip on Edgar loosens and the weaker feral leaps into the only window of opportunity he'll probably get with Victor.
He manages to struggle loose and instantly crashes himself through the broken window. Knowing that he'll have a bigger chance of surviving the fall and scattered glass, than trying to fight Sabretooth.
For a mere second Victor wants to follow his prey, but his instinct to be with his mate who's is dire need, is much stronger.
The moment he takes in the state that she's in, he feels a mind numbing fear.
She's bruised and there's blood. It's her blood.
In less than a second he's standing in front of her. His hands reaching for her face, inspecting her head, her eyes, her lips and checking her stomach where that motherfucker bruised her. There's a small flesh wound.
He's worried out of his mind but he quickly realizes that her healing factor is working fast enough. Not as fast as it will soon, but fast enough for this.
She notices Victor's crazed eyes and heavy breathing as he carefully but quickly inspects her.
"Are you okay?" he growls darkly, but in a worried tone. He's angry, worried and going out of his fucking head at the same time.
"So... I take it back" she carefully tries to joke "I really should not have done this".
He looks her in the eyes. His grey eyes are almost piercing through her skull.
She tries to lighten the mood with her stupid jokes, but he won't have it this time.
He's torn between pulling her against him and ripping out her throat.
He wraps his arms around her as he presses her tightly against him. Victor closes his eyes and exhales slowly. He tries not to think of what could've happened.
Then he briskly lets lose again as he violently grabs her upper arm "Let's go".
Before they enter the car, she halts.
"Wait" she says, slightly confused "If you're here, then where is Zoe? Who's watching Zoe?".
"Settle down" he growls "Seriously think I'd leave her alone? Anna is with her".
She's surprised that he knows the name of his housekeeper.
The fact that Rae thinks about Zoe so quickly after her own assault, stirrs something inside him thoough. He can't quite verbalize what it is, but it soothes him.
The care ride home is long and uncomfortable. She wants to talk to him, but she doesn't know what to say.
She just looks down at her hands, too guilty to look at Victor.
"Thank you" she quietly says after about 5 minutes.
He doesn't reply. She can feel his anger filling the entire car.
Eventually she leans back into the car seat and drifts off. Once they're home, he lifts her up and carries her inside. When he enters the house, he walks straight to his bedroom where he places her on the bed.
He looks down on her small frame. He knows that she's not asleep, but he's still angry with her so he doesn't feel like talking either.
When he turns around to walk away, her unsteady hand catches his wrist "Please don't go" she whispers, almost inaudable.
He turns around to look at her. She hates herself for the look in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry Victor. Please stay".
Without saying a word he takes off his coat and shoes. He's not quite sure what he'll do next. He wants to stay with his mate, but he also wants to strangle her for what almost happened tonight. She almost ruined their entire future. It shows that she has no clue what it would do to a mate when another mate dies or gets badly injured.
Or she doesn't give a shit.
He exhales as he sits next to her on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall instead of looking at her.
It's not that he hates her guts or despises her. But right now when he looks at her, he sees his feral mate who obviously doesn't give a fuck about their special bond. Right now he wonders if she even feels the same strong connection that he does, or that she is right and it's all bullshit that he got into his head because he wants it to be true.
"Thank you for what you did tonight Vic-"
"You don't give a rats ass about this mate thing do ya?" he angrily interrupts her "And you just jump at every fucking chance to let me know it".
She's shocked by his words. Her stomach turns and it's the first time that she actually feels afraid of him.
Afraid that he will leave. That she's pushed him too far.
"I won't make excuses for what I did. It was stupid beyond believe" she tries to open up the dialogue.
She slowly reaches for his big hand and is relieved when he doesn't pull away.
"But will you give me the chance to explain my motives? I assure you, that they have nothing to do with not caring about our feral bond".
His head snaps up at her last words. She basically just admitted to the feral bond "Go on" he replies.
She slowly gets up from the bed to stand in front of him. As she stands in between his legs, she carefully places her hands on each side of his face. She likes the feel of his facial hair between her fingers.
His inner feral purrs at her gentle touch.
"You're over 200 years old Victor, but I'm only 25. I'm kinda looking for my way in life. I am sometimes careless and I know that. I never saw it as a big issue, because like I said; I'm only 25. A few months ago, you entered my life and turned it upside down. I adjusted pretty quickly when I saw you as my employer, but a lot has changed since then in just a couple of days. My entire future is different. Well actually, I don't know what exactly the future holds now. We never spoke about it. You made a claim that I was your mate, and that was that. You've had some time to adjust to the idea, because you knew for a long time. But not me. I've only known for a few days and still I have a million questions".
"So ask them" he snaps "Instead of going out, getting your ass raped and killed!" .
She smiles at him, it soothes him "I will. Don't you worry about that, but that's not my point right now. I've had a pretty normal life so far and I don't like surprises or unexpected turns. I'm pretty inflexible like that. And this is possibly the biggest life event I will ever experience. I feel all the same things that you feel Victor, and I won't deny it, but I have a rational mind also and that rational mind needs time to adjust. You say that we are mates and I feel that we are, but you dropped it on me like a fucking bombshell. Suddenly one day we are mates, you want to claim me and then apparently I stay with you forever. That is not nothing. That is huge. And also; I'm a feminist".
"The fuck does that gotta do with it?" he asks.
"Well when you say that I am not allowed to do something, I want to do it even more!".
"That's not being a feminist Kitten. That's called being a brat".
She laughs softly as she rests her forehead against his "You're actually right, it has nothing to do with the meaning of feminism" she admits "Anyway, the point is: what I did was stupid and the only reason I did it was to let you know that you can't boss me around and that I am my own person. But I put myself in danger and hurt you in the proces and I am really sorry about that".
"Hmmm" he murmurs "Like I don't know you're your own person. You're a fucking handful ya know that?".
She giggles softly as her arms snake around his neck and her lips find his in a slow and heart warming kiss.
"Just so you know" he murmurs through the kiss as he pulls her closer "Feminist or not, I am claiming you tomorrow".
"Why not tonight?" she asks in a hushed voice as she kisses him hungrily.
"Feral cycle aftermath Kitten. 48 fucking hours remember" he replies as he pulls her into his lap "So don't tempt me".
AN: This is not about her needing a man to 'save' her (up yours Disney), because she possibly could've gotten out of this situation on her own. But it's about him overcoming his pride and just being there even though he said he wouldn't.
Question: sometimes when I'm writing a so called "filler" chapter where they just hang out or talk, I always wonder: we all watch movies, go to the theater and read books. But what kind would Victor spend his time with? Any ideas? :-D
