Chapter 7 Meeting Justin Again

• Justin POV
• Cool air blew over my body and I wondered where the breeze was coming from because there was no window in my room.
• I was kept away from all possible means of escape. My father, The Alpha King, knew better than to give me a way out; my beast craved freedom almost as much as he craved sex with the virgin offerings sent to him with every full moon.
• I opened my eyes to see something completely new to me: the outside world.
• Since I was old enough to shift, I had not been allowed out of my chains or out of the mansion which served as my cage. My father didn't want to risk losing me to either instinct or pure power since my beast was stronger than any wolfen form.
• My body was clothed only in a pair of shorts I wore for the sake of modesty in my rooms. I didn't remember putting them on so someone else must have dressed me, moved me, freed me.
• [Mate!] the beast inside me roared.
• Yes, I had been freed by my mate.
• I could recall the moment my chains broke with complete clarity -better than I could remember any other moment in my life, in fact- and I knew I could thank my little wolf for taking me out of my father's reach.
• No scent of the Alpha King or his guards lingered on me or in the air around me. My beast flared up inside and I grabbed for my arm, piercing my flesh with long claws which drew blood immediately.
• Growling at the injury, I released my hold on myself only to watch my flesh knit itself back together before my eyes.
• [We are stronger!] the beast insisted.
• I watched myself heal then deliberately clawed open a line of deep gashes in my forearm to watch it happen again.
• My blood tainted the ground -copper stench making my beast sneer- but dried up on my arm in seconds with the wounds closing completely in the matter of a few beats of my heart.
• Was I stronger because I'd found my mate? Had my little wolf done this for me? Had my father been all wrong this whole time and the virgin she-wolf he wanted me to mate so badly gave me power rather than stripped it away?
• So many questions rushed through my mind, but neither I nor the beast in me could answer them. I wouldn't even know who to reach out to for help with my nature. I was the last of my kind; wolfen preferred to keep it that way as Lycans had once ruled over them before they'd been wiped out.
• I didn't know where to get answers to my questions, but I did know where my beast wanted to lead me---to my little wolf whose scent lingered in the air even more strongly than my blood.
• Sniffing out her trail, I readied myself to run and then I went racing after her: the hunt was on!
• ________________
• Helen POV
• My family had not gathered in the home after the full moon. I was able to slip inside, shower off the smell of my Lycan mate, and dress in modest clothes which hid my mating bite.
• I was so focused on my mating bite I didn't notice my necklace was missing until I was fixing the collar on my maid uniform. Where was my necklace!? My rings?!
• A quick search of my memory reminded me Justin had torn it free during our mating. He'd seemed displeased I was wearing jewelry though I wasn't sure if the necklace had upset him or if it had been the rings and what they'd symbolized.
• Wolves didn't like the idea of sharing their mates. Were Lycan more fiercely protective?
• I thought it felt likely a Lycan mate would be more possessive. Justin had been kept captive for so long, chained for so long, how could he not lust for someone to be his? Or was his beast only capable of lusting for flesh?
• During our mating, I thought Justin had wanted me for myself and myself alone. His eyes had searched mine as his body had pounded deep inside me; we had kissed each other's mouths all the while we mated with our bodies.
• I could still feel his hot breath entering my lungs if I breathed deeply enough.
• My body pulsed with awareness in my core as I recalled his scent. The primal power of my Lycan mate was enough to make me want to strip down to present myself to him all over again.
• "Who left the door unlocked? Helen! Helen, are you in here?"
• My mother's voice came as a shrill reminder I wasn't with my mate any longer. I would probably never seen the Lycan again. Justin would find his own way in the world hopefully---I truly wanted him to be free any way he could be.
• What had I done to him? Could I have stopped our mating if I had been a little stronger? If I'd just convinced him to stay inside the bathroom...
• "---That girl is useless! Helen! Get down here and start breakfast."
• Tossing my maid's apron on over my uniform, I hurried down the stairs from my attic bedroom, saying, "Yes, Mother. Yes. I'm going to get started right now."
• "I take it you've come to accept Scott rejected you? Naturally. Why would he want a Tiger Lily when he's got the option of a real Snow White?"
• My heart hurt at the reminder of my mixed coat, but I shoved the pain down as I started working to care for my family. I was frying bacon when my sister Diana came inside---with my former mate at her side.
• "Scott!"
• I was so surprised to see him, I blurted his name out before thinking. My surprise might have earned me leniency in another family; in mine, I was slapped across the face by my older sister who hissed a reprimand at me.
• "Don't say my mate's name! Know your place or find somewhere else to sleep, you worthless bitch!"
• Clutching my cheek, I nodded rapidly, blinking away my tears, "Of course, Diana. I'm very sorry. It won't happen again. Would you and your mate like breakfast served to you as well?"
• "Why wouldn't we want to eat? What wolfen doesn't want to eat after an eventful full moon? Not that you'd know anything about it. You're barely a wolf."
• Scott, my former mate, rolled his eyes as he scorned me all over again. I didn't bother looking at him as I began making more food to ensure enough would hit the table to feed both couples -my father and mother as well as Diana and Scott- all the while knowing I was to cook nothing for myself.
• I was to eat scraps or what was laid aside for me specifically -usually bread I had to remove mold from, milk on the verge of curdling, and worse- without complaint or I was to eat nothing at all.
• Starving was painful for a human; for a wolfen, starvation was an agony hard to describe in words as our bodies were constantly changing due to our enhanced metabolism.
• I was able to keep myself busy feeding my family then doing the chores which had been left undone in the wake of my aborted wedding.
• My hands kept going to my throat to search for the pair of rings I'd worn for all my life. They had been the only legacy given to me by my grandmother. I was desperate to get them back even though I couldn't recall what had happened to them after Justin had taken them off my neck.
• Mother ordered me to get out of her sight after I got in the way dusting one too many times; I ran out to go into town.
• I could go to the library where I would be allowed to read for free in peace. No one cared to bother me in that quiet space.
• Unfortunately, I met up with a gang of females who knew of my shame, they circled me as a pack of their own. I tried to dodge the rocks and sticks they threw at me, but they had great aim.
• Covering my face, I crouched low to the ground to make a smaller target, "Wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
• I didn't even know what I was apologizing for only I knew it had worked to get them to leave me alone in the past.
• "You should be! Trash!"
• "Mixed mutt!"
• "Ugly bitch!"
• Their names got more and more angry, rude and cruel. I ducked down until I heard a roar from behind me.
• A familiar roar.
• "Leave my mate or know my rage!"