451- His Wolf's Obsession
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
He bared his teeth.
"You're very ungrateful, Little Beast. I save you and get stabbed, I bring you food and get despised."
"If you had brought him alive, it wouldn't be a problem."
"You would have killed him yourself?"
"Of course not, Anton. I would... I don't know, keep him."
He lowered his arms, the poor rabbit's limp body swinging as if it were an object in his hand.
"Keep him? What part of 'I hunted it to feed you' didn't you understand?"
I narrowed my eyes, confused.
"And I would eat it... raw?" I wrinkled my nose, nauseated just imagining the scene.
He took another step, stopping just a few inches from me. I lifted my head to face him.
"We're part animal; eating raw meat is part of our nature."
"Not mine, not at all."
He extended his free hand and held my face; his fingers slid across my skin, rough, making me shudder. Induced, as if he were pulling me, I leaned toward him.
"Yes, yours," he whispered, running his tongue over his dry lips. "You've lived so long away from your true origins that you can't recognize your own instincts? Your wolf's desires?"
His scent, intoxicating and overwhelming. Fresh pine and wild jasmine. But there was an extra essence, fresh notes of the forest he had traversed before coming to me. I shuddered, completely struck by him.
"I don't feel any desire to eat raw meat, Anton. Much less to eat this poor rabbit you brought me. I find them quite cute, most of the time."
He laughed, the hoarse and rough laugh making my heart race.
"You don't feel it yet, but at some point, you will. When you get used to your instincts and stop acting as if you were just human, you'll learn to live with both parts that inhabit you."
"I live very well with both."
That wasn't exactly the truth; even though I knew how to live in harmony, spending too much time with humans had shaped me to be like them. I needed to keep my animal side well hidden, so as not to raise suspicions; I needed to act like them, and with that, I ended up suppressing that other side a little.
He took a step back, moving away, and stared at me.
"Don't lie to me; I can read every one of your emotions."
"Impossible."
He laughed and ran a hand through his hair, tossing the strands to the side.
"Not when it comes to you."
I wanted to know more, wanted to better understand what that meant, but I kept quiet. I felt involved by Anton, as if there were a connection between us, more with him than with anyone else.
But I was alone, needy, grieving, and confused. And he was an idiot, most of the time; I didn't need to add another headache to my problems, no matter how much of a tall, nearly two-meter hottie he was.
"You're not keeping your promise," I said, changing the subject, crossing my arms in front of my body.
He arched an eyebrow.
"And what promise would that be?"
"You promised me Mercantes' heads, and so far, nothing."
He raised a finger in defiance.
"I promised Mercantes, not heads, since you're the one who wants to rip them off."
I rolled my eyes.
"You understood very well what I meant."
He leaned against the chair I was sitting on, still with the damned rabbit hanging from his hand. The smell of the animal's blood, dripping to the floor and leaving a trail, turned my stomach. I tried to ignore it, focusing on Anton and the important subject we had to discuss.
"I'm looking for the bastards, just as I said I would."
"And?"
He shot me a sideways glance.
"And it's not that easy to find them; they're a bunch of century-old wolves, sons of bitches. Do you really think they'd leave traces around? I need time."
I blew out my breath through my nose and sat on the railing.
"I won't rest until I get my hands on them. I also won't stay here for the rest of my life, being protected, just existing because they're somewhere out there."
He made a perfect pout with his sculpted mouth.
"What do you want to do?"
I blinked, surprised by his question.
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged.
"You're bored; I'm asking what you want to do? There are many options. You can help at the company, at the school, at one of the local shops." He looked at the book fallen on the floor. "I can bring you books, if you want. Books you actually like."
"And who said I don't like these?" I snapped.
"When I arrived, you were more entertained with your own mind than with the reading. It's my mother's style of book, but not yours."
I took a deep breath.
"I'm trying to find something to do, to discover my place while I don't leave."
He nodded.
"And what will you do when you leave here?"
"I don't know; I think I'll finish college, then try for a teaching position at some school or university, and live in a quiet little town."
I couldn't go back home. The news about the fire and my family's disappearance must have already spread. They should think we were all dead, and it was better that they thought that way.
"Why don't you teach here?" he inquired, seeming sincere. "I can guarantee there's no one as qualified for that as you, and the pups would love it."
The idea was tempting.
"I even thought about it; I think there's a lack of deeper study of our history for the students."
"So?"
I shook my head.
"I can't, Anton. There will come a time when I'll need to leave, and I'll never have peace knowing I left students in the middle of their learning."
My father had always been a great teacher, and I wanted to be as good as him. Abandoning the position, leaving the children in the middle of the process, would go against everything I believed and desired for my career.
"Fine, but can you at least think about it? You don't have to stay forever; just do it for the time you're with us. That way, you can keep yourself distracted, and the pups will have the honor of learning from a Moonclaw."
"Thank you," I thanked, letting out a broken sigh.
I crouched down and picked up Lunara's book, rubbing my hand over the cover to remove the invisible dust. Luckily, it was intact, without the stains from the rabbit's blood that Anton carried everywhere.
"I'm going to leave this inside," he announced, raising the hand that held the animal's paws. "Despite your snub, my wolf won't rest until he sees you fed and satisfied."
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.
"Is there any way to pass a message to him? That I'm being very well fed? He can leave the forest animals alone."
A dry sound escaped his throat.