As much as I hated explaining my experience at the party, Seth wasn't going to let this go so easily no matter how considerate he wanted to be. He's already on the verge of shifting when I'm done with the story. That was minus the explanation I gave Soren about Nathan. I practically glossed over that part. "I swear the next time I see that guy-" I quickly cut him off. His face is scrunched in disdain, his teeth bared, and his posture rigid. This wasn't Nathan's fault and I had to make Seth see that before things go to a certain point.
"You'll tell him, thank you for taking care of me. I forced myself upon him, not the other way around." It was a hard pill to swallow but it was true. While I'm not glad about the outcome, the situation could've easily been much worse. He talks through gritted teeth. "You want me to thank that fucker for molesting you? That asshole knew what he was doing and could've easily overpowered you to stop you. What makes you so sure he wasn't the one who drugged you, to begin with? It seems suspicious that he was conveniently there the moment you fell into the pool. And at the same time, a group of guys blocks Kate and Cat from helping you. Had he been the nice guy you claim him to be, he would've had Kate and Cat take care of you."
I haven't known Nathan for long but he doesn't peg me as a rapist. A bully, sure, but I can't imagine him doing something that cruel. Not to mention he did seem concerned about me. But the problem was I didn't know him and what I could or couldn't imagine didn't matter. What Seth didn't know was that I could overpower Nathan. The drug didn't weaken me, it only made me super disoriented and horny. Even if the drug did weaken me somehow, I would still be stronger. What I don't understand is how a drug could be that strong to affect a Maga-Wolf. Whatever it is, is dangerous. I could only imagine the effect it would have on a regular wolf. The thought sends chills down my spine. Seth mistakes this as fear or discomfort and quickly pulls me in for a hug.
"Seth, you can speculate about Nathan all you want but the fact of the matter is that he helped me. If he had alternate intentions, I don't know." We look each other in the eye and he grips me tighter. "Where did he touch you?" I push away from him. Was he going to ignore everything I said? "Where he touched me isn't important. What's done is done,"
"It's not done!" Seth shouts. If the people downstairs weren't awake, they are now. I've never seen him look so mad. His veins were popping out of his neck and his hands were fisted white. I get closer to him and put my hand on his cheek. I lean in and kiss him on the lips, he wasn't completely relaxed but his new tone was definitely better than the one five seconds ago. I give him a few more pecks and he puts his head on my neck and inhales deeply. I wait for a moment then put his head up to meet mine. "It's over because I'm saying it's over. You don't have to thank him or even like him but you won't blame or accuse him either." I say sternly.
He takes in a deep breath before he responds. "I'll leave him alone. What confuses me is why you're defending him so eagerly. He's a rat." This makes me snicker despite Seth's serious tone. "I can't blame him for being there," I say softly. Seth sits up so he towers over me once again. He kisses me once more. Before pulling back he says, "You're fucking amazing," he retracts and gives me a stern expression. "But you know I can't let this go. The fact stands that someone brought drugs to a teenage party. Everyone is going to need to be interrogated, including the people downstairs."
I nod my head, "That's understandable, and I understand Nathan is part of those people, but please don't make it personal," he kisses my forehead. "I'm not making any promises," he gives me a forced smile before standing up and reaching his hand out to me. He was making an effort and I appreciate that. "Let's get the hell out of here. I can't sit in this bed one fucking minute longer," I blush at the implication. This is the bed Nathan and I…"I couldn't have said it better," I grab his hand and we leave the house.
~~~
Upon entering the clearing to the pack house, a lot of stares are thrown our way. "Nobody else knows about the Nathan thing, right?" I attempt to get confirmation from Seth. He shakes his head. "Only us and Soren. Now, I may be wrong but I don't think she's much of a talker," I roll my eyes, but a smirk tugs at my lips. The whispers get louder, and I overhear a brunette girl saying, "I never took him to be that kind of guy. Maybe he was in a bad mood," were they talking about Nathan? Did someone overhear us and find out? I start to panic until I feel a light squeeze on my hand. I look a Seth but he isn't looking at me. I face his direction and see him looking at Ranor with Soren close at his side. That was unusual.
Soren's face is disturbed. As we approach them, I can see the disdain and disappointment on Ranor's face. Why was everybody whispering and why did Ranor look upset? "Come with me right now," Ranor tells Seth. "What is this about?" Seth asks, but Ranor doesn't respond. Instead, Soren speaks up. "Someone caught the end of our little dispute in the woods. It doesn't look good," Seth's face pales and he clenches my hand. He looks down at me in worry. "I'll explain it to Sakura, don't worry," Soren attempts to reassure him. "Tell me what?" I was starting to get worried.
"Nobody is telling anybody anything until I know exactly what happened," Ranor leaves no room for exceptions. Ranor turns into the pack house, expecting them to follow. "Stay here, we'll be right back," Seth tells me before walking in with Soren. Left standing confused, I wander around. I see Catalina walking around with a distressed look. "Cat!" I wave to get her attention. She lifts her head in surprise as she sees me. She's about to smile but she stops midway. This makes me frown. "Hey, what's wrong?" Before I get a response, she grabs me in a smashing hug. "I'm so sorry that we left you. We were supposed to look after you. Fuck, we brought you there." They did leave me, didn't they? "Yeah, that was shitty of you. You could of at least come to my rescue, but I'd probably end up fucking you, so there's that."
Catalina's face is stuck in surprise until she finally bursts into laughter. "That's so fucked up," I smile, grateful the previous tension is gone. "Hey, you know something about the fight that's going around?" Catalina stops her laughter and takes a moment to compose herself. Her face lights up in recognition until it goes dim. "Oh, you saw that. Are you and Seth okay? I know it must suck to be in between your lover and your sister, especially after that kiss. The fight was brutal though, I didn't think either of them had it in them. Seth may not be Soren's biggest fan but I've never seen him like that. The conversation looked pretty heated too."
I'm too stunned to speak. Fighting, arguing,…kissing. What the fuck happened? "Show me the damn video," my wolf's temper is up in flames. Soren seemed fine when I saw her, or maybe the wound already healed. I didn't know if I should be worried or mad at her. 'She wouldn't do that to us,' my wolf, Lunis, says for the first time in a while. 'I haven't heard from you in a while, I've only been feeling your emotions.'
'Sorry about that. I didn't want to pressure you or butt in. If I did, I would've come on strong. But I know our sister and we've gotten to know Seth. Something is amiss here.' I feel my anxiety lessen at the sound of my wolf and her words. "Wait, you haven't seen it yet? Shit, it's better if they explain, you know to clear up any misunderstandings." I roll my eyes and give her a stern glare. Ain't no way in hell I'm waiting until Ranor is done with his hissy fit.
"Show me the goddamn video, now." She tenses at my command. I didn't mean to use my rank against her but now that Lunis is in the front of my mind, I'm being more aggressive than usual. "Uh, right," she shakes her unease off and pulls out her phone. The video is brutal. I can see Soren holding Saiya back and Seth's wolf viciously attacking her. He looked feral. Almost…like a rogue. I cringe at the way he claws her back and the snap of the trees. Seth has her pinned down until…she kisses him. My anger spikes like never before and I nearly crack Cat's phone. My anger is suppressed by my growing confusion. After the…thing, Seth seemed to calm down. A jealous sensation crept up my spine. Did Soren have that much of a calming effect on him or was there really something else lurking in the shadows?
Soren's P.O.V
Seth and I walk together to Ranor's office. Once seated, Ranor wastes no time demanding an explanation. I wait to hear what Seth says first. "I don't know what came over me. I was mad at Soren for preventing me from seeing Sakura until I cooled down. The next thing I knew, I was going for her neck. I couldn't control my wolf and he didn't seem in much control either. We've never acted like this before." Seth puts his head down in shame. I give him a blank look and then go back to staring at the wall behind Ranor.
"There's already too much wrong with your statement. Why the hell wasn't Sakura being guarded? Why were you trying to prevent Seth from seeing her?" I don't meet his gaze in an attempt to avoid answering. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you." He commands. I keep my eyes trained on a spot on the wall. "Soren!" He yells my name. "Ranor," I reply in a calm tone as I slowly turn my head toward him. He looks like he's on the brink of shifting. I knew I was quite the handful, but to get attacked once and nearly again in one day is a little much.
I take a deep breath before recollecting how I got here. "I can't answer your question because I don't know. That's a question you should be asking your guards. Seems like the cause of this is a lack of training. Get your dogs on a leash before you try and drag me into it." I didn't mean that but a part of me couldn't help fucking with him. Of course, this isn't a training problem, although the guards do a lousy job of watching us, how they got their reputation as a feared pack, I'll never know, but this reeked of magic. Seth was definitely under influence of something.
A snarl so loud rips through the air, that my hair whips in front of my face. Seth is looking at me as if I was a mad woman, his wolf submitting to their alpha's display of power. "To answer your other question, Sakura was with Kate and Cat, she didn't come home, we went looking for her and Seth got a little too worried for my liking. I told him to calm down, and as you know, that never works. He got mad and went out of control. But in his defense, I think he was under the influence of something that progressed his aggression and made his wolf go out of control,"
I've now piqued their interest. "You do know what you're insinuating, right? I nod my head. "I'm well aware as to what this means, but I can't have you accuse Seth either. I'm 100% sure that wasn't him in there. I kissed him because I knew that. Do you think that if he was actually going out of control, he'd stop because of a measly kiss from a woman he doesn't even like? If anything, he'd ravage my lips and not in a good way."
Seth looks surprised as if he didn't expect me to vouch for him. I may not be his biggest fan, but even I wouldn't stoop so low. Pointing a finger at him, I say, "Listen up beta boy, I may not like you but you're going to be my brother-in-law which means you're family. No matter how much I detest you, I will never turn my back on family. I especially wouldn't hurt Sakura, and unfortunately, you mean a lot to her. Not to mention, brother-in-law or not, I genuinely think something is wrong here. The mass amounts of rouges, their frequent and strategic attacks, and suddenly you go hulk on me. Clearly, your entire pack needs to tighten up and not just the guards. Everyone," I say the last part toward Ranor.
Seth's stunned look turns into one of appreciation. "Thank you, Soren. That means a lot to me." I roll my eyes at his gentle action. "Don't go getting a big head now. This changes nothing between us,"
"it does for me," he says. I'm shocked by his words. What did he mean by that? "It changes the way I see you," he clarifies. A blush creeps up my cheeks from his unexpected declaration. "Cute, I've never seen you have any other face than mad, sad, and blank." He smiles. "Shut the hell up. And what do you mean by this changes the way you see me? How could you look at me as anything but great?" I flick my hair over my shoulder and give a fake frown.
Seth rolls his eyes. "Are you both done? Soren, your theory is plausible but suggesting something like that to the pack will send a wave of panic and distrust. Not to mention there's no evidence to prove it. What the people of this pack have seen is their trusted beta and friend going rogue on a newcomer. This is bad for both of you. I can't leave this unpunished. Seth, your title and rank as beta are going to be stripped. You're both on probation for any activities. You two are to stick to each other like glue and keep up appearances to discourage further rumors."
Seth's heart looks like it broke into a million pieces. I know we both saw this coming. On the other hand, "Stick together like glue? You're fucking joking," Sakura, Ella, and I have to figure this shit out. I can't be stuck to this dweeb the entire time! "You two seemed to be getting along just fine two seconds ago. Keep it up and build your reputation. Maybe then can we salvage Seth's position as beta. You two, don't speak of this to anyone. I mean nobody and I want to know every detail of what happened to Sakura."
Seth's eyes shine with hope at the mention of his ranking's salvation but quickly dim at the mention of today's events with Sakura. I groan and fall back in my chair. I really do hate this place.