Don't touch her!

Rae’s POV

The days were going by and I was having a very nice time. I mean, Erik was teaching me and, as much as his presence was kind of oppressive sometimes, yet I wanted to be with him more and more. I would count the minutes my chores would be over and the clock on the hall would chime six in the afternoon, so I could go to his office and be with him for, at least, one hour.

“Where do you think you’re going, little shit?” Patricia’s voice echoed in my ears when I was just turning on the hallway to Erik’s office. I stopped walking.

Normally, one could say that the best option was to just ignore that mean she-wolf and keep walking. Wrong choice. Terrible advice. She would chase me away and, if for any reason she could not harm me, physically or psychologically at that moment, she would just find another opportunity and make me regret not having been bullied before.

“I am talking to you!” She poked me in the ribs, but I didn’t wince, like she was probably expecting me to. “Damn it, what’s your problem, freak?”

Her voice was not high, of course. Even though many others accepted she being mean to me, if Aaron, or Cassandra or even Erik saw her or anybody else doing it, things could get ugle, especially if it was Erik.

Patricia hated me for some unknown reason, at least to me. She called me a freak because of my eye color. I knew it was different, but I didn’t consider myself a freak. Actually, that was just such a very offensive word!

“I am going to my class.” Yeah, I would speak, here and there, now. Erik asked me to do it, in order to ‘improve my relationship with my colleagues’, or something like that. I didn’t think it really helped, but he asked me and I have to admit I was more inclined to do whatever he asked me, or even said he liked or expected from me. Or from anyone. I mean… if he said he was into some chocolate, I would make sure he would get chocolate, in any way.

“Class?’ She chuckled. “Ah, sure. You are just a sneaky little whore! Going into Alpha Erik’s office and offering yourself to him. Aren't you ashamed of that?”

“That is not true!” I couldn’t stop myself. I was not offering myself. I wasn’t… I won’t deny I wanted him, but I never did anything on purpose to draw his attention toward me.

“As if!” Her tone of disbelief was terrible. I felt as if I was doing something dirty and wrong by just accepting his private classes. Then, out of nowhere, she just threw herself on the floor and when she looked up, she had a pitiful expression. “Ouch, Rae!”

I was completely dumbfounded. What was she doing? I reached out to her, instinctively, to try to help her get up. Then, I sensed another scent. A male.

“What are you doing?” The Gamma of the pack asked. I didn’t have to turn around to know it was him.
“I…” He grabbed me by the collar and shoved me into the wall. I don’t know what was going on, I think I just panicked, because I couldn’t move at all. All I could do was look into his golden eyes, full of hate and stutter, tremble.

“Let go of her, Carl, unless you want to lose your head.” Erik’s voice was not loud. The first thing I felt was relief. He was rescuing me! But I made a mistake: I looked into his direction. He was with a terrible menacing look in his eyes, and he started to approach. Carl was still holding me, but he was starting to reek of fear. “Now.”

I didn’t see when Carl let go of me, I just felt when my body started to slide down the wall.

“I’m sorry, Alpha.” Carl said. I don’t know what he was doing, because my eyes were on Erik. “She was threatening Patricia.”

Erik had a serious expression and when he was close enough, he just offered his hand to me, still looking at his Gamma.

“I doubt. Rae never threatens anyone.” He was still with that weird voice. After I heard him saying that, I really didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing. I felt as if I was some kind of cute little thing, incapable of harming anyone, because I was too weak.

“But I saw Alpha.” Carl insiste.

“What did you see, after all?” Erik moved his hand, as if hurrying me to grab it. Just then I realized I didn’t move until that moment. So, I reached out for his hand and when our skins touched, that electricity jolt, the warmth… I was getting addicted to that. He pulled me from the floor and the next second, I was in his embrace.

“I-I saw Patricia on the floor.”

“Did you see Rae pushing her? Or harming her in any way?”

“Ah…” Of course he didn’t! How could he? I never pushed her on the floor. Now I knew what she was doig. And then, she called me snake!

The lights of the hallway were not too strong, and it was casting shadows over Erik. He looked like a beast, powerful, dangerous and handsome. Ok, I admit, I was head over heels for him. And that was another mistake. Huge mistake.

“Next time you decide to punish someone, remember I am the one deciding it. And if you touch Rae ever again, to harm her, to threaten her, it will be your last action in this world, before you die. Do you get me, Carl?”

Erik was speaking through gritted teeth. His green eyes were gleaming and I could swear his wolf was there, with him, because I saw a glimpse of golden in there. I had never seen his wolf, but I knew that when the wolf was coming out, the eyes would change. That was how we knew the wolf was in charge.

I finally looked at Carl, who was with his head bowed, looking down. But he did glance at me without moving his head and now, Erik took one step ahead.

“Don’t look at her!” He growled and even I trembled. “Fuck off!” Carl said nothing, he just nodded and left.

I heard a noise behind us. Patricia. Erik turned around and he had a murderous look, but he pronounced no words. Maybe mind-link? I don’t know. All I know is that she got up and left, without turning her back to us.

“Are you ok?” He asked and just when he turned me to him, I knew he was talking to me. I looked up and he had a concerned gaze. Was he worried about me? About my well-being?

“Yes.” I was so nervous that I had to look somewhere else.

“Look at me, Rae.” His voice was low, and he held my face in his hands, cupping it, making me look up, at him. “You look so…”

He didn’t finish it and I saw pain passing through his face. He took a deep breath and took one step back, letting go of my face.

“I… “ I didn’t know what to say. The moment was very strange. ‘I was so what?’, I asked myself.

“Let’s go to the office.” Was what he said and I was disappointed. I wanted him to finish what he was saying, but I didn’t have the right to ask anything. I nodded and followed him down the hallway.