Lana hissed letting out air from her lungs. Memories of the night before last, every now and again tried to crawl into consciousness, no matter how hard she worked to drive them away. Her whole body was still vibrating from experience. And how could she confuse what she felt like a girl to Ralph, with this ?! Running in the morning twilight from Greg, Lana felt like she torn a piece of her heart off and left it behind. All the way on the road she could not calm down. She had to pull out of the road five times, as tears were blinding her and her chest hurt as if her wolf's claws tore it from the inside. Her beast raved at first, and then just howled breaking Lana's consciousness and heart. But this was for the better, she told herself. She never wanted to survive what happened 13 years ago. This nightmare haunted her year after year. She could still feel the sweaty hands of Ralph's buddies on her face and body as they held her down in that alley, making her look as Ralph in a wolf form was tearing into Greg's body.
She stopped the car just a couple of meters before reaching her house to make a few calming breaths. It was so vivid in her mind as if it only happened yesterday. But the picture calmed the wolf a little. That's right. She must protect her Mate, even at the price of her own happiness. The only important thing is that he was okay. He still will be able to find another woman, that will make his world brighter. That will not cause new pain and suffering. And Lana will have this night, memories of the last flash.
At last, gathered herself, Lana parked at the entrance to the garage and, swallowing the feeling of disgust, headed to the house, praying that Ralph would not be there.
Apparently, someone up there heard her pleas, because the front door was locked and the lights were out. She quietly went inside and looked around. Everything was exactly as she left. The house belonged to one of the late members of the Benne pack before. Ralph did not care much about the interior, for him, the only thing that mattered was a wide and comfortable sofa with a TV and the same wide and comfortable bed upstairs. He did not like any changes, so Lana quickly learned that even the slightest rearrangement of furniture could lead to severe consequences. The overall interior has remained the same as it was for several decades.
Quickly she slipped upstairs and immediately headed to the bathroom. Although she managed to find a motel along the way to rest and wash herself, but the feeling that Greg's smell was still on her did not go away. Her skin seemed to be soaked in it, not wanting to let go.
Quickly showered, she put on her home clothes and threw everything else into the washing machine. When everything was ready, she looked around thoughtfully, trying to find ani more evidence. Some strange feeling did not leave. Animal instincts are always sharper than human ones. But everything seemed to be in check, and nothing showed what she had done.
In her head, the buzzing thought continued to sound, and Lana decided to distract herself by going to the kitchen. Cooking always calmed her down. Werewolves were a big eater in general. Lana grew up in a wealthy family, where cooking was done by the servants. But when she moved to Bennin, she had to learn how to serve herself, and then her own family. Over time, Lana found a special charm in it. Especially when she saw the happy faces of her children, smeared with blueberry cake or covered with a thick layer of chocolate. Lana smiled, remembering how Nicky had recently begun to claim that he did not like sweets. She should bake his favorite puffs with vanilla cream, to see how long would it take him to give up this new quirk.
Outlining a plan of action, Ruslana set to work. During cooking time flew by unnoticed. On the street, it was already getting dark when she finally finished covering the baking goods with sugar powder and bent down to check the roast in the oven. A sharp chime made Lana jump and turn around. Ralph stood in the middle of the kitchen peering into her face. He slowly looked around.
"I thought you ran away again." he finally said, returning his gaze to her face. His eyes were half wolfish as if he had just finished the turn and had not yet completely came around. The homely, cozy smell of sweets was spoiled by the sour smell of alcohol. He drank again. Recently he went into a drinking spree weekly. Shifters were also subject to alcohol, like ordinary people. Only they got drunk much faster due to rapid metabolism and also quickly sobered up. But Ralph, along with his friends could go into drinking for a few days completely losing control. It was ok if they just played at one of the guy's places, but sometimes they started their drunken races through the forest, cutting all the living things that they came across and even made their way to the neighboring village of human, killing the dogs. Daniel has so far ignored this behavior, but his patience was running out.
Lana shook her head, mentally urging herself to calm down and not give out her nervousness. In this state he was capable of anything even under normal circumstances, she should be cautious.
" What are you talking about? I was delayed because of a blizzard. I had to rent a car and get on the highway. Haven't you noticed the car by the garage? Sit down. You're just in time for dinner. - she said in the most casual way she could manage, turning back to the stove.
But he did not budge from the spot, watching through squinting eyes her every movement.
"You have not been there for more than three days."
" Well, of course. I spent almost a whole day on a flight there, then transferred the parcel from Daniel and boarded the evening flight. Then I had to spend the night at the airport. And in the morning I found a car and went back. But there are more than a thousand kilometers. I had to stay at the motel for the night, too.
She spoke as she set the dishes on the table. His silence made her nervous. She tried to surpass a shiver in her voice. Wolves could feet a lie. But while he does not understand exactly where she was lying, he has nothing to catch on. Not that he ever needed a reason to lose his temper.
" So what? Are you not even going to come over and kiss me after such a separation?" - His tone was full of poison. He grinned superciliously and stretched out his arms in anticipation. A shiver of disgust passed over Lana's body. She would rather spit in his face than allow him to touch her. But he waited, and if she starts to resist him, he might suspect something. Lana approached, mentally moving away from reality, as she had done for many years. Raising on tiptoes, she touched her lips to his cheek, praying that this would be enough. But apparently today was not her day. Ralph grabbed her with one arm around the waist and the second clamped a chunk of her hair, drawing her head closer and sucking her lips into his mouth. This kiss was cold and utterly disgusting. His stale breath filled the lungs of Lana and she barely held back her vomit. But this was not enough for him. He jerked her head to the side, baring her neck.
"It's time to update the mark," he whispered in her ear.
Lana was waiting for the usual prick of pain. But Ralph leaned in closer and suddenly froze. His fingers dug her hair harder, hurting.
"You whore!" he howled, flinging the girl away from him.
Lana crashed her back onto the table, and the dishes flew to the floor, breaking at her feet.
" You beach, thought to deceive me?" - Ralph growled. His eyes lit up red, and his features twisted to reveal the nature of the wolf.
"Ralph, what are you ..." Lana did not have time to finish speaking as the man was already on her again. Ralph grabbed her by the hair. The hand was already partially transformed, the claws were leaving deep scratches on her forehead and nape. She wriggled and tried to escape, but he was stronger and angrier. He dragged her from the kitchen, slamming her in one wall or another on the way. In the hall, he finally stopped and lifting her by the hair turned to the big mirror. Lana clutched at his hand trying to loosen the grip. Her feet were already dangling a few centimeters above the ground.
"Do you want to explain to me what is this?" - He growled in her ear, bending her head to the side so that the vertebrae began to crackle harshly. Lana looked through the shroud of tears in the mirror and froze in horror. On the neck, almost at the very base, there was a small bruise with distinct outlines of teeth. She saw it last morning, but Greg did not even bite through the skin, it could not be considered a full-fledged mark. It should have disappeared by now as quickly as other bruises and abrasions on the body of the shifter. But apparently her body and her beast had a completely different opinion on this issue. It's been two days now, and the bruise has only lightened.
"Ralph, please let me explain," she begged. But the man no longer listened. He threw her against the wall without releasing the hair from his hand. Lana cried out from the pain, the blow was so sharp that her shoulder and hand cracked. Bouncing off the wall, she began to fall, but Ralph did not let her, pulling her up by the hair and again jerking her to another wall. He has entertained himself like this until couldn't struggle anymore and hanged as a broken doll, held only by his hand, entangled in a lump of hair, smeared with blood. Lana no longer resisted, and Ralph did not like it, he was not ready to end the fun so soon. He pulled her into the living room and threw her over the back of the couch, intending to tear off her trousers. With the last forces, Lana turned around and freeing the she-wolf claws dug it into his face trying to get to the eyes, scratching and biting like it was her the last time. Ralph roared in rage, overwhelmed with pain and hatred, tossed her aside and began to tear in her with his claws, alternating it with the blows of his massive butts. Fortunately, one of the kicks hit the head, and Lana's consciousness faded, releasing her from the pain.