Sense of Sound

Cold water from the outside hose rushed into Cole’s eyes and mouth, the force of the water feeling like it was stripping his skin. Alex turned up the intensity. He growled and raged forward, but Alex pushed him back once again.

“You need to calm the fuck down Alpha before you hurt her…”

Alex turned up the pressure until Cole was close to screaming. His wolf howled and raged inside his head, desperate to get to his mate and mark her. It was so similar to the day he shifted and caught her scent. His wolf wouldn’t be swayed, no matter how hard he tried to explain why they couldn’t have her.

Even then, he’d needed Alex to help him because he couldn’t control his wolf. And now they were at it again, Alex desperately trying to break the heat that was clawing his insides. His mate was fertile, and she smelled… like he should rip her clothes into pieces and press himself as deeply as he could. Alex sprayed his face again, “Get your mind out of the gutter!”

But even that stinging hadn’t been enough to squelch the white-hot hunger in his veins. Lita was sending him over the edge. The subtle pull of the mate bond and her human scent smelling like heaven were bad. He could keep his wolf calm through that, though.

But her new intensified scent that sent his body straight to hell? He wasn’t handling that well at all. He knew he needed to pull away from her in the hallway, but the way her ovulation’s scent worked its way down into his baser self left him wanting to sink his teeth into every part of her.

He was shaking from head to toe with need. His wolf was tearing to get out and bite down on Lita. Especially where he’d already tenderized the area. This desperate desire to claim her forced him into a half-shifted state, just like seeing her unconscious at the apartment building. He was so close to the edge he could taste it. Cole thought about the way his fingertips just barely grazed the soft flesh between her legs. He growled once more.

“You’re still thinking about it, Alpha!” Alex yelled, spraying him again in the face, “That’s the opposite of calming the fuck down!” Soaking down to his bones and shivering, Cole’s heat finally dissipated. Cole dropped to his knees as the sensation of ravaging her passed out of him.

“Are you finally good?” Alex turned off the hose and knelt beside Cole, eyeing his body for more signs that he was in between a shift.

Cole panted, still unable to speak, but he nodded as he caught his breath. He placed his palms on the ground and breathed deeply, hunching himself over on all fours. Then he suddenly jumped up and raced to the side of the building, Alex hot on his heels, thinking he was running back to Lita. But instead, Cole upturned the entire contents of his stomach into the grass.

“Jesus, Alpha,” Alex patted his back as he wretched up his breakfast, “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle having her here? It’s just… I’m worried about what this is doing to you. Having a mate here who you haven’t rejected and won’t accept. It just seems like it’s tearing you up from the inside…”

Cole coughed and steadied himself against the wall, leaning his head onto the cool concrete, “I’m going to reject her… just not right now. Not until she’s healed. I hear rejection causes pain… and I don’t want to cause her pain…”

Alex nodded, though he didn’t agree. Keeping them bonded, in this constant state of ebb and flow, would cause her more pain in the end. Cole was only thinking of himself and what he could withstand. Not about Lita and what it would do to her heart if she were to become attached to him first… Getting rejected when there’s no time to form a bond hurts. Getting rejected when you’re in love with the person destroys. He’d seen it firsthand in his birth pack. Alex shuddered, he never wanted to see that again.

But there was nothing he could do to dissuade his Alpha when his mind was made up. And he hoped Lita wouldn’t become attached. He’d just have to be extra vigilant over the man whenever he was near her. Perhaps they shouldn’t ever be alone until the rejection was complete. And poor Lita had to be as confused as they came, wrapped up in Cole’s wild emotions, not knowing why her body was suddenly boiling and unsettled.

*Is she good?* He linked to Stace but got no reply. *Hello?! Is she okay?* he linked again.

*She’s physically fine, Alex. It’s a lot easier to calm a human down than I’m sure it was to get Cole back from the edge… But we have a problem… Send one of the others to watch Alpha, I need you up here… Hurry.*
________________________________

Her mother’s voice grated on Lita’s already frayed nerves. Answering the phone had to be top tier on the list of stupidest things she’d done that week. Right behind, biting Brian’s lip. That was definitely number one. Shit, making out with Cole was up there too because now, she couldn’t get him out of her head. And in the hallway, he’d been so close to grazing her core. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath. Lita needed to rein it in.

“Hel-lo?! Can you hear me, little girl?!” Diane screeched. Her mother could be such a harpy when she wasn’t getting her way. Anytime Lita didn’t say or do something she’d asked, her eyes would turn dark and hard. And then Lita would do exactly as she had been told, not really understanding why.

“Y-yes I’m here, I hear you, mom…” Lita sighed, sinking into the edge of the bed. Her body felt flushed and full of static. She pressed two fingers to her temple and felt her pulse throbbing against her head. There was something about her mother’s voice right now that was giving her a migraine. She could feel it blocking all the cogs in her mind from turning.

“Brian came to visit his family this weekend and color me surprised to find out someone trashed his apartment and cleaned out yours?”

“Really?” Lita shook her head, trying to brush off the sensation.

“So you know nothing about it? Did something happen between you?”

“You KNOW something happened… mom… you’ve KNOWN things happen with Brian and it’s never seemed to phase you. What do you want me to say now?”

Lita wanted to yell, but the words fell flat as she said them, her mind swirling and making her dizzy. Stace watched her from the corner of the room, confusion written on her face. Everything seemed to slow down around her to the point that she could hear her own heart beating, isolating out all the sounds but her heart and her mother’s tense breathing. She felt powerless. The sound of her mother’s voice was slowing down her brain.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? Listen to me and listen well, daughter. I just spoke with Brian and I don’t know what you’re playing at by finding another Alpha. Hell, I don’t even know how you knew what a fucking Alpha was but little girl… YOU WILL COME HOME RIGHT THIS INSTANT AND SMOOTH THINGS OVER WITH BRIAN! Your break is officially over!”

Lita’s whole body seized up. Her mother’s voice sounded foreign, thick and heavy all of a sudden. The sound filled her to the brim. The sound was all she could hear. It wrapped her body like a vice grip and all she could do was obey. Those words had to be obeyed. No matter what. She didn’t even understand what an Alpha was or why her mother had said it, but the need to do as she was told suddenly swallowed the confusion her felt up. She nodded her head yes as the shiver roped down her spine like ice crawling over her skin. She couldn’t do anything, she wasn’t in control.

“Lita, I need to hear you say it, SAY IT!”

“I will come home right this instant and smooth things over with Brian,” Lita droned. She couldn’t even recognize her own voice as she spoke. It was like all of her brain functions were dimming. The entire room seemed to vanish around her until only the door was really visible. Lita didn’t know what was happening to her, but she knew it was familiar. It had happened before, this absolute loss of control.

“Good girl, there’s a flight that leaves for New York in an hour. Be on it. I’ll see you when you get here,” her mother clipped, hanging up the phone.

Those words seemed to do something involuntary to her body. She could only think of doing as her mother had asked. Lita stood, making her way to the bedroom door.

“Whoa, whoa, what the hell, Lita? Where are you going?!” Stace jumped up, grabbing her arm as soon as Lita reached the door. But the girl shrugged her off like nothing. Lita tried to continue forward anyway, moving as if she didn’t even notice Stace. She was burning to the touch, and that wasn’t good. Stace could hear Alex trying to link her, but she was still trying to figure out what was wrong with Lita. She linked for him to come help with Lita’s situation. She wasn’t really sure what to call it.

Aside from that woman being a terrible mother, she couldn’t think of any reason Lita would have to listen to her command. From the corner of the room, Stace struggled not to react to the conversation, but it had been hard to listen to. How could she be so callous with her own child? As far as Stace could tell, going back to those people seemed like the last thing Lita would want to do. It wasn’t making sense. Stace had overheard their conversation but nothing was amiss, unless it was something she couldn’t hear… something only Lita could… But that was impossible, Stace shook her head, the odds were too slim.

Sure, her mother was foaming at the mouth, mad with her, but it had seemed like Lita just said whatever was necessary to smooth things over for the moment. Stace hadn’t considered for a moment that she would actually obey. But then here she was, actually trying to leave. Stace couldn’t make it make sense. Alex needed to hurry. Something was definitely off.

“Lita! Tell me what’s wrong?!” Stace jerked her hard, trying to snap Lita out of her daze.

“I-I will come home right this instant and smooth things over with Brian,” Lita repeated in a hollow sound, her feet carrying her forward into the hallway.

“Oh my god… there’s just no way… it’s not possible… Alex hurry…!”

Lita was on autopilot, moving from the bedroom to the hallway, then from the hallway to the stairs. She could hear something distant in the background. Something that sounded like yelling, maybe a woman? But her mind couldn’t receive the information. She desperately wanted to stop, to make sense of what was happening to her, but she couldn’t. One step at a time, she found herself at the bottom of the staircase, every inch of the floor blurred out around the front door.

Her body moved on its own, though it seemed to push through extreme resistance. Something had hold of her arm and was tugging hard in the opposite direction. Again, sounds seemed to well up behind her, but she couldn’t make it out. Her head was underwater, swimming in the murky depths of her orders. *Go home. Make up with Brian. Go home. Make up with Brian.* She reached the door finally, pushing it open against the resistance.

Lita saw bodies moving in front of her now, just outside the open front door, but she couldn’t make them out. Were they men? Were they women? The strange sounds seemed to grow around her like a crescendo. Were they talking to her? Were they yelling at her? Did it matter what they were saying? Her body stopped moving, the resistance proving to be too great to move. Her body thrashed wildly, trying to loosen the binding that held her back. She wiggled her wrist and tugged hard, but it was bound not by fabric or metal, but by more skin.

She puzzled at why there was someone else’s skin touching her skin. Then the sparks began winding up her wrist and over her arm. It was electricity, wild and exhilarating as it climbed up her shoulders. She wanted to turn and embrace the pull that was a sweet torture. Swelling across her chest, the sensation made her suck in air. Then there was a sound. A clear voice cutting through the crescendo of noise around her.

“Lita, STOP!” And her body stilled, sinking forward against a body. An incredibly warm body. That rough depth of sound seemed to wind its way into her mind. *Stop. Stop. Stop.* It lulled her like a tide, pushing her back to shore. It wasn’t like the grating sound of her mother’s voice. It was smooth and languid, caressing her like a kiss.

“Lita, come out of it!” She slowly felt sensations return to her head. The sounds grew louder and cleared into voices, though they were still indiscriminate. Her vision defogged, leaving her finally able to see the bodies and faces around her. Cole. His dark eyes pierced through hers like he was searching inside of her. Her whole body felt hot and sticky as she slumped harder into him. He supported her body as she slid down to the ground.

“What the fuck was that?” Lita whispered, her voice finally coming back to her.

“I like to know that too,” he growled, “What happened on the phone? Tell me every detail…”

“I upset my mother, you know? She was yelling and asking me what happened with Brian. But it wasn’t what she said that was weird, it was her voice…”

“Her voice?” Cole asked, sharing a strained look with the others. Now clear in her mind again, Lita realized everyone surrounded her: Stace, Alex, Andres, Brody and Mark. She could even see Jaz standing off to the side, looking over in concern.

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like the second I heard her voice, I got a headache. A terrible one. And the more she talked, the more it felt like my mind was shutting down. I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I didn’t have any control.”

Cole’s jaw snapped shut, clearly upset at what she was saying, “And then she said I needed to come home right away and make up with Brian. She told me there was a flight leaving soon, and I needed to be on it. I-I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t do anything but listen… what the hell is going on?”

“Who’s Brian?” Cole asked, avoiding her question with another question.

“He’s my ex,” Lita turned her eyes down, “The one who’s apartment you trashed… the one who…” She didn’t continue, running her hand up and down her arm. It was still too embarrassing for so many people to know. It had been her deepest secret for the longest time and now, in a handful of days, it was out in the open with all of them. She was wearing the proof all over her body. She wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out.

Cole grabbed her chin and turned her back to him, “The one who hurt you?” His eyes were red. Clearly red. This was not an illusion or a trick of the light. His eyes had been dark brown, almost black a moment ago, but now, they were red. Blood red. She stiffened.

“Lita… I’m going to ask you an important question and you really need to answer it honestly, okay?”

She nodded.

“Have you ever heard of an Alpha tone?”

Lita shook her head, “But my mom said something about an Alpha… hold on… let me think. She said… ‘I don’t know what you’re playing at by finding another Alpha. Hell, I don’t even know how you knew what a fucking Alpha was’… what does that mean?”

“She’s right, I overheard it as well,” Stace insisted.

“Another Alpha? That means that piece of shit is an Alpha as well… but how could she know that I was one? What would give that information away? You think they had cameras inside?”

“Must’ve had cameras,” Andres pondered, “And they ran facial recognition. That means they know exactly who you are. Guess it’s a good thing you bought this land anonymously…”

“Hell, that means they’re elite tier… probably had security systems in place for a breach…” Cole grumbled, “And he’s from the east coast?” That question he directed to Lita.

She nodded, “We both are. Our families are close. My brother hated him though… I hate him now, too.”

“And your parents want you to mate with him?”

“Mate?” she snorted, “They want me to marry him. Insisting on it, even though they know what his extracurricular activities are… The only saving grace I had was the contract.”

“Contract?” he eyed her, but no matter how intense the gaze, she wouldn’t speak on it further.

“Fine, we’ll talk about that later.”

“I’m sorry… but am I missing something?” Lita searched everyone’s faces, “Brian’s an Alpha? You’re an Alpha?” She pointed to Cole, “But what’s an Alpha? A bodybuilder? A fighter?” She pretended not to be thinking about wolves or packs.

He sighed, “I’m going to explain everything, I promise, but first, I have to ask you one more question and I need you to tell me the truth, okay? Nothing bad will happen… Do you believe me? Do you believe I would never let anything or anyone hurt you?”

He studied her face until he was sure she believed him, “Lita, I need you to tell me… what’s your family name?”