Ella slammed the door of the dorm room shut.
“Hey!” Her snotty roommate protested from where she sat at her perfect little pressed-board desk in the corner. “Do you mind?”
Ella sniffed, her body was frozen, her hair a matted wet mess and her bare feet, well, she couldn't feel those anymore.
Janelle stared at her the longer Ella said nothing. “You look like a homeless person.”
“I got caught in the rain storm.” Ella shivered, tripping toward her bed and blankets. “It's freezing in here.”
“I'd ask why were out in a rain storm in bare feet and a tank top, but, I really don't care.” Her roommate swung around in her seat and returned her studies.
“I was at a party last night.”
Janelle grunted, “Looks like you had lots of fun.”
Ella sighed, pulling the covers around herself. Fun was only a word she wished she could use to describe her evening adventures.
“By the way,” Janelle snapped, “your stupid cell phone keeps going off. If you're going to just leave it in here, maybe consider putting it on silent?”
“Oh!” Ella shot up. “Where is it?”
Janelle rolled her eyes. “I don't know, or else I would have thrown it out the window.”
Ella wrinkled her nose as the girl turned back away, finding the cell under a pile of books and papers. She scrolled through the text messages, catching the last three from Cheri.
Cheri
Tell me now, how was last night!
Hello?
Ella?
Where are you?
Oh my god, where are you, Braxton just called me! He said you ran away again?
She sat to her bed, mulling over if she should reply and what she even could reply. It was obvious her new friend knew Braxton was her mate, and it was obvious, he wasn't hiding the fact, and it had become more obvious, she would not be able to avoid him forever. But it wasn't stopping her now.
Suddenly, she buckled over into a loud sneeze, that left her eyes watering and her head pounding.
Janelle glanced over her shoulder. “You so better not be getting sick. I can't miss any school!”
Ella shook her head, sniffing and rubbing her nose. “I-I'm...” She sneezed, again.
“No, no!” Janelle panicked, grabbing everything around her. “I'm leaving. I can't believe you came in here and you're infesting me!”
“No!” Ella threw her hands out, stopping her roommate, not wanting to be alone. “I'm not sick, I swear.”
“Really? Janelle stared at her. “Cause' you're face is all blotchy.”
“I was out in a rain storm!”
“Yeah, exactly.” Janelle agreed, “and I'm not getting sick. See you later.”
“Ugh.” Ella watched as Janelle went about packing up things in a fury.
“Wait.” Janelle spun toward her. “Why am I leaving?”
“Huh?” Ella sniffed.
“You're the one that's diseased. You should leave.”
“Where am I going to go! And I'm not even sick!” Ella burst, “I'm just cold..”
Janelle narrowed her eyes. “You better go.”
“I don't have any place to go, Janelle.” She was almost crying.
After a loud protest of annoyance, Janelle planted her butt back in her desk chair. “Stay on that side of the room.”
“Fine,” Ella agreed, lying down in her bed and folding in on herself.
“And I don't touch anything of mine either.”
“Don't worry,” Ella growled, grabbing her pillow and crushing it around her head.
#
The ringing of Janelle's alarm clock made Ella groan, with every higher tone of a bell, her head pounded more and more.
“Turn that off!” Ella stumbled out of the bed, slamming her hand to the alarm as Janelle sat up in bed, staring at her.
Ella rubbed her puffy, watering eyes of sleep and made her way back to her bed. Sniffling, she ran her sleeve under her nose and feel back into the blankets.
“You touched my alarm clock!” Janelle screamed.
Ella responded with nothing more than a groan of annoyance.
“And you're totally sick!”
“Guess I am. Sorry.”
“You're sorry?” Janelle boiled. “I told you this would happen! I told you to leave yesterday!”
Ella sat up, groggy and looking more like a zombie than a living being. “You are way too crazy. I mean, has anyone even told you.. how crazy you are!”
Janelle blinked.
“I hope you get sick.” Ella hissed, falling back into her bed and tucking herself in with a huff and puff.
“Whatever!” Janelle started to get ready for her classes and was out of the dorm room in a record three minutes.
Ella opened one eye once the door was slammed shut, she wouldn't make through her classes, she really was sick. So began, her first class skipping and only a few weeks into her freshmen year at University.
She fell asleep, snoring and woke into a fit of coughs, holding her throat she gagged on the flew built up in her throat.
“Oh my god..” She reached for a water bottle under her bed and found it, drinking the stale water. “I'm totally sick!”
On her back, she was able to breathe normally but her cell phone, mangled in her bed sheets began to buzz. Reefing around, she found it. All that showed up was test message alerts from a number she didn't notice, but she knewwho it was.
Unknown Contact
Daniella, I'd like to come see you.
“Oh god.” She groaned into her pillow, just as her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Contact
And why haven't you answered Cheri's text messages? She says you're not in one of your classes together today.
And why aren't you picking up your phone?
Again, would like to come see you...
The messages buzzed in one after the other, making him come off needy, obsessive and a tad like a concerned boyfriend.
She didn't know what to say back to him, so like Cheri, she didn't reply but she did dial a phone number.
“Ella!” Her aunt's sweet voice was a welcomed relief to all the new strangers in her life.
“Hi, Abi.”
“How are you, hun? We were going to call, but we didn't want to bother you too much.”
Ella smiled. “I'm okay.. well, actually I'm sick.”
“Oh no!” Abigail exclaimed as her voice became muted, explaining the outburst to what Ella guessed was her uncle.
“But I'm okay. I was taking a walk and got caught in a storm.”
“Oh, that's horrible. Did you get really wet? Do you have a fever? Were you not wearing a coat?”
Ella sighed. “I'm fine, I just can't go to class today but I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow.”
“Let's hope. How's everything else? School? Did you meet some new friends?”
“Everything else here is..” Ella paused. “Great.”
Abigail's voice lowered with her next question. “Are you sure you're okay there?”
Ella couldn't tell her, not about Braxton, at least not yet. “Yeah, it's awesome, don't worry! How's the baby?”
“Oh,” Abigail became distracted by the question, “I think good. You should see, I started making one of the spare rooms into the nursery, you know the one across from our room. It's going to be so cute! I found the cutest crib, it was a bit expensive, but it only took me three days to convince Colten.”
Ella giggled and for a moment, she thought of herself back in Texas, with her aunt and uncle. Truth was, hearing her aunt go on and on about baby things, not only transported her back home, but made her miss home.
“Anyway,” Abigail finished, “I could go on and on. You need to get better, so try to get some warm soup.”
“I will,” Ella croaked, her sickness catching up to her again.
“We miss you, so much.”
“I doubt Colten does.” Ella tried to make light of the new topic.
“Oh, you know he does.”
Ella's smiled faded as the seconds passed. “I miss--”
There was an abrupt knocking at her dorm room.
“Ella?” Abigail's voice all of a sudden was distant on her ears, but that wasn't the phone line connection, it was because of who stood on the other side of the door and deep down in her gut, her wolf knew who it was.
Ella wretched herself from the blanket. “Can I.. call you back, Abi?”
“Is something wrong?”
“Daniella?” His voice wasn't distant like her aunts, it rang loud and clear.
“N-no, I'm fine. I just need to go to the washroom.” Ella leaned against the door. “Talk to you later.”
“Love you, hun. Colten says; get better.”
“Uh-huh.” Ella grabbed the knob, her heart rapid fire in her chest. “Love you both.” She ended the call and opened the door just a slit.
As soon as she did, it was pushed against her weight and Braxton stared in at her.
“How'd you find me?”
As his focused eyes studied her, his bangs swept across his brow in a perfect way. “Oh, you do have your phone.” He snatched it from her and in her midst of a protest, he walked into the room and shut the door.
Ella huffed, “What are you--”
He opened the phone. “And you did get the messages and the three calls--”
“Hey!” Ella grabbed her phone back. “What's your deal! This is my phone!”
He went to argue, lifting his finger to point at her but he didn't get that far. “Are you okay?”
“I'm--” She began to hack a choking cough that she'd been victim to all day.
“You're sick?”
She looked up to him, still hacking. “Can you please leave?”
“No.” He said, taking her in again. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks.” She droned, giving up and walking back to her bed before she got anymore dizzy. Sitting to the edge, she pulled her quilts around her shoulders, the room's chill getting to her.
“You were fine yesterday.”
“That was--” She sneezed.
“You walked home in that storm,” he snorted. “I told you, I would drive you home, Daniella but then you just disappeared.”
“Yeah, for good reason,” she shot, their eyes meeting in a heated glare.
“Excuse me, if I'm offending you,” his voice deepened, “But where I come from, mates generally want to be together.”
“Oh.” Ella smiled at him. “That's cute.”
His breathing increased with her need to degrade his moral. “Let's talk about this.”
“Can I get a rain-check?” She flopped into her pillow and closed her eyes, hoping he would disappeared into thin air.
“No. No rain-checks.” He sat next to her on the bed. It made her bolt upright, making her head spin, she gripped her temple, moaning.
He leaned over her, his arm coming around her.
That's when she felt her body spark and tingle. “What are you doing?”
“Why don't you come back to my place? I'll get you some soup and tea. You'll start to feel better. This room is really cold, it can't be good for you in this condition.”
“No.” She dropped her hands, their faces so close it surprised her.
He sighed, “Come on, Daniella.”
“No.” She stayed firm.
“Don't make me drag you out of here.” He threatened.
“I'm not going to your place. It's weird.”
“What's weird?” His jaw tensed, “We're mates.”
She whined, shimming down into her quilts, “Leave me alone.”
“We need to talk about this.” He held firm on his mission from before, “We need to figure something out. If you don't want to mate me right away, fine, but can we at least see each other?”
“No!” She covered her face in the blankets and turned on her side away from.
“Daniella.” His hand cascaded her shoulder through the blankets and it made her burn and explode, almost, all over him.
She crunched in on herself, tensing and not letting her wolf have an ounce of pleasure. “Stop.”
“You are so difficult.” He stood from the bed. “I can't let you stay here this sick.”
“Why not?” She mumbled beneath the covers. “Aren't you suppose to be in class or something?”
“Yeah but I needed to know you were at least alive.”
“Alive.” She began to cough, moaning.
“Oh god,” he came back to the bed, his arms on each side of her. “You're making me crazy.”
“I'm not doing anything!” She snapped out of her blankets, face to face with him, their noses millimetres from touching.
He looked down at her, his head tilting, his lips parting and just when her body moved toward him, toward his need to kiss her – he pulled back.
Ella's heart slammed in her chest as he moved off the mattress.
“I'll go get you some soup.” He said gruffly, leaving the dorm room.
She panted, her heart rate lessening as the minutes passed. She wanted to think clearly about Braxton Hall but she couldn't.
She clutched the blankets in her palms the longer she talked herself down, her wolf down. Begging that side of herself wouldn't work though, the animal liked his animal.
Shivering from her thoughts, she sunk back into her bed and tucked herself soundly into the covers. Until she began to sweat and burn up. The room wasn't chilly, she didn't know what he was talking about, it was like a sauna. She got out of the bed in a hurry and opened the window, the sound of the rain pouring outside greeted her with it's moist air. Leaning into it, she bathed in the cool air before it hit her like ice and she began to shake, fighting with the window to close it.
She abandoned it's stuck issue and made it to the bed, shivering violently.
Sick? No, she was worse than that.
She moaned, covering every inch of herself in blankets and that's when the door opened.
“Daniella, it's freezing in here!”
She moaned, “Close the window, I'm so cold..” She heard him fight it a moment before it slammed shut to the frame.
“Daniella.” He was over top her a moment, pulling the covers back to reveal his shaking, quivering mate.
Ella looked up at him through the slits of her eyes as his hands came to her sweating face.
“You have a fever.” He continued to feel and rub her forehead. “Okay, get up, we're going to my place.”
She moaned and groaned as he pulled her out of her bed. “I want my blankets.”
He huffed, holding on to her. “I have lots of blankets.”
“I want mine,” she whined.
He grumbled, letting her go and rolling her blankets up into one big mess in his arms. “Get a coat on.”
She tired to look for one and found a zip up hoodie.
“That's not even a proper coat.”
“I'm so dizzy,” she breathed, catching herself on her bed.
Braxton gulped between his frenzy of picking up the take-out bag of food he'd brought with him and leading her out into the hall of the building.
“This way.” He was back to gruff as she followed at his side. Mushing the side of her cheek into his bicep and then gripping onto him, she might have fallen otherwise.
He walked her out into the rain and she kept close to him, till he stopped in front of a small, classic era vehicle.
“This is your car?” Ella stared at the black mint condition automobile, parked along the curb.
“Yeah.” He nodded, taking her arm and leading toward it.
“What's it suppose to be?” She knew it was old, but how old wasn't something she could come to a conclusion on.
“It's a nineteen-sixty-seven Mustang Fastback.” He helped her inside.
She slipped into the original red and cream leather seats. The longer she sat in the mind car, the more she realized it might very well have been his pride and joy, but he wasn't too into the details on the car at that moment in time.
He covered her lap in her wanted blankets and slammed the door, walking around the car. He was agitated, she knew it, her wolf knew it but was it over her being sick, she didn't want to wager.
Braxton got in the vehicle and started it, the engine purred and rumbled beneath the hood. The windshield wipers sprung to life as he flipped the heat on.
“Maybe you should go to the hospital.”
Ella shook her head, “I'll be fine. You dragged me all the way out here, you might as well just let me infest your room with my sickness and call it a day.”
He gave her a weary smile before pulling a quick u-turn and driving her to his place.
#
She woke in his room, his bed, surrounded by the smell of him, the feel of his near body and, she was feeling better.
Reaching out for the box of tissues, she'd spent the night cradling, she pulled one of the few left free and wiped her red little nose.
She wasn't one hundred precent better but she could almost see-straight again.
“Daniella?”
She turned to her other side and was face to face with him in the bed.
He squinted his eyes open as her gaze travelled his stubbled cheeks to his bare chest. He'd slept again next to her, and she figured him pretty luck for it too.
“How are you feeling?”
Her eyes snapped back to his face, “Better.”
He smiled, his eyes twinkling as his hand cupped her cheek, “You don't feel as hot.”
“I said, I feel better.” She removed his touch from her, even if it made her throb in places she didn't know existed.
He wet his lips, staying silent, his eyes watching and focusing only on her.
“How old are you?” She blurted out of no where.
He tucked his chin in and smirked. “Twenty.”
She grumbled, closing her eyes.
He chuckled quietly. “What?”
“I'm only seventeen.” She admitted, peaking one eye open at him.
He didn't seem that bothered and he was still smiling. “Ah.”
“I turn eighteen in December.”
“Does that mean, I get to plan a birthday party?”
“You'd be jumping the gun with that one.” She said, thinking it about time to leave the bed she was in with Braxton Hall. She began to shimmy herself away when he took her shoulder under the covers.
“Don't go.”
She huffed, “I'm missing school.”
“It's the afternoon, Daniella.”
“Oh, so I missed another day of school?” She grumbled, “My uncle's not going to like that.”
“You're sick, I'm sure he'll understand.”
But the truth was, whatever Colten would have thought about her missing school, wouldn't compare to what he'd think of her mate and that spooked her.
She shot up, letting her feet hit the hard-wood floors.
Braxton was quick and caught her waist, coming up behind her, “Babe...”
“Why do you insist on calling me that?” She huffed, trying not to think about his increasing grip along her lap or his bare chest, pressed against her back.
“Will you stay for supper?”
She swallowed, her eyes falling to his bare arm, firmly muscled and angular; her wolf purred from the deep desire pooling in her abdomen. Never in her life, had she felt so craved and it wasn't just from him, she also craved.
The vibrations in his chest resonated with his returned growl of affection. It made her scoot up and away, slipping to the floor on her knees.
She interrupted his low laugh, eyes meeting his bright orbs, “That wasn't funny.”
“I didn't do anything.” He continued to chuckle.
“It's not fair.” She pointed at him, getting off the ground as she was hit hard with her tapering dizziness.
“You okay?” He was up out of bed before she knew it, pressed against her in just his boxers.
The wolf in her cowered and ducked herself into his side, letting his hands take her small frame and hold her close.
With her nose firmly against his chest, she became overrun with his hormones, his skin burned with testosterone and she could almost taste it, almost... She bit into his flesh and her tongue scraped along, actually tasting.
He tensed, his hand finding the back of her head and he pulled her back, excitement plastered across his face.
She swallowed, his savour trailed her throat and heightened her experience, making her feel drugged, incoherent, even merciful. Her mate was pleasing to not only look at but he also satisfied her other senses.
That was when her wolf smelt him, musky, coarse, a warm aroma of his deep pungent alpha undertone. It was gravity.
Her hands reached and took his cheeks and pulled his mouth down to her, licking her lips. He returned the intimate gesture, pulling her hips against his, letting her feel the indecent hardness beneath his clothed pelvis.
He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, pulling her harder, deep against his wanton need. His mouth opened and lapped along her hot, searing flesh.
Her knee popped between his legs and she moaned, “Alpha.” The word was not her own, it wasn't her thinking, speaking, wanting, it was her wolf blindly and incoherently breaking to it's mate, it's alpha.
His teeth etched her skin and then, she tensed, her mind returning to her as he bit down into her tanned skin.
“N-no!” She screamed, grabbing the back of his head and balking against his tall, muscled frame.
His bite didn't let up, he grabbed her around the waist and put her to the bed beneath him, and just as his canines unhooked, her palm met the side of his face.
“You douche bag!” She screamed.
He blinked, still caged over her as he took the moment to realize what he'd done, staring wide-eyed at the sore, red bite burning into her.
“Get off me!” She shoved him with all her strength.
Once it seemed to click she wanted him off, Braxton stood and walked across the room. Watching him rub his face and groan only made her angry and she ran at him, throwing her fists into his back, one after the other.
“You marked me!” She hollered as she slammed her palm to his damp skin, “You marked me!”
He only took her physical beating for a few moments before he caught her wrists, “Calm down.”
She fought against his grip. “You sick pig! I knew it! I knew you'd try something like this!”
“Daniella!” He shouted. “I didn't mean to!”
“You didn't mean to?” She freed herself, twisting and falling to her side.
Braxton stared at her as she whimpered on the wood floors, “I got caught up.” He took her arm but she whipped it back, getting back to her feet.
“You're all the same!” She shouted at him, “You just want your title!”
“Daniella!” Braxton tried to argue. “I'm sorry.”
“You marked me, you didn't even ask!” She was almost in tears and in no condition to be getting so upset.
“It'll be okay.” He raised his hands to try to calm her, but she swatted him away.
“How dare you do this to me!” She slapped her hand to the fresh mark and screamed.
“Oh, Daniella.” He came into her, catching her before she fell to the ground.
She started to cry, quiet literally, her life had just fallen apart on so many unexpected levels.
He tried to calm her, swaying her and maybe he didn't realize he was doing it, but his comfort was calming on her.
She let out a few sobs, her heart rate subsiding as the minutes passed. The only thought sticking out to her at that moment in time was, it was reversible, she was marked his forever.
Braxton put a teensy bit of space between them and cupped her cheeks, “I'm so sorry, Daniella. I just didn't expect to be drawn to it like that.”
“It's an instinct.” She shot, ripping out of his touch and walking to the bed to sit, her neck was killing her and she knew why, she just didn't want to go there.
“I know, what it is.” He exasperated through a tight jaw as he turned toward her, “My wolf got to me.”
“I guess, you have no self control.”
“What male has self control around his mate?” Braxton said it like he deserved to be understood and that bothered Ella greatly.
“I know plenty.” She quipped with narrowing eyes.
“I would love to meet them.” His tone was demeaning, he didn't believe her.
She studied him across the room, it would figure she'd have a mate so arrogant and hasty that this would happen to her.
“Does it hurt?”
“Duh.” She snapped.
He sighed, “Look...”
“I want to go back to my dorm.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don't start this, Daniella.”
“Start what?”
“You can't just run off!” He exploded into challenging anger. “I marked you!”
“Just because you marked me, doesn’t make me yours!”
He groaned, rubbing his hands through his hair and gripping it, “I don't know how else to break this to you, babe,” His arms fell to his sides with a slap, “but you are mine.”
She stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears, the words were bitter, because he was right. It meant her wolf had submitted to her mate, let him take control, claimed her.
Braxton shifted his weight, “I don't think, I can deal with you leaving me.”
She shook her head, “You're going to have to. I can't stay here.”
“Why not?” He looked totally innocent with it too as he waited for an explanation.
“Because..” Ella's breathing staggered. “If I stay here, Braxton, you're going to want to mate me.”
He gulped away his anxiousness. “Daniella...”
“No.” She shook her head. “I know how it works as well as you do, your wolf's going to go insane.”
“I can get it together.”
Ella didn't believe him. “Please, take me back.”
He took in a deep, long breath that made her pray he really did have some control. “Fine.”