CHAPTER TWELVE

I hear the slight rustling of leaves and faint sounds of footsteps, but I pay no attention to them. I'm in no mood for disturbance and I pity the dumb person if it turns out to be an attack, for I will slay them in the most cruel way imaginable and get my atonement.

A tit for tat.

"Please get down." His voice beckons to me.

To my amazement, I look downward to find Hendrix right below the tree where I'm taking refuge. For one, he's no wolf like us, so how was he able to trace me to this point? Was I so pissed that I didn't even smell his scent? That's indeed enough vile energy.

But that is the least of my worries. I would revisit that if need be.

"Lady... Natalie," he corrects. "Please get down." His voice is thickly laced with concern.

"Hendrix, last I checked, we all have the liberty to dictate what we want for ourselves."

"And as of now, no one is infringing on that right." He defends.

"Then could you let me be and stop demanding I get down?" I scoff.

On second thought, maybe I've indulged him so much that he feels it's only natural to command me as he wills.

"And I said please. It's not an order."

Right now I feel dumb. Of course, it's not an order, but somehow I made it seem like one. I've woven him into the core of my being that I take his words as a commandment.

"Fine, Natalie, I would love for you to come down, can you please come down?"

"Not like you care." I switch.

"Of course I do..."

"And you rejected me like it meant nothing to you?" I scoff. "Against my will, you went ahead and..."

"I was trying to save you..."

"From what!" I thunder.

"From yourself... from your mess. You seemed adamant about taking the right path, and one needs to fix it."

"I never asked for saving, worst still yours." I growl.

Shameful of him for thinking me less or defending his nonsense.

"You don't need to ask for it before I act. We are in this together and one of us needed to make the move. I had to."

"Right, just stick with your decision then." I bluff.

'Natalie, can you just forgive him and let this slide?' My wolf beckons.

'You're not the one that went through this much humiliation, for all it's worth, you were shielded in this body.' I murmur.

'What if he changes his mind, walks away, and never...'

'Gosh, let me think!' I sigh.

"Natalie, I'm sorry." He says.

I scoff. If I can remember, this is the first time he's apologizing. He would rather command me like a child than own up to his wrong, not like I'm any better.

"Say what now? Could you repeat?" I'm only being petty.

He smiles, knowing the string I'm pulling. "I didn't want you to regret that I never pushed you to make the right choice. You would only live with hidden hatred for me the rest of your life."

There he goes again. Deliberately ignoring the 'sorry' part.

"How did you know I'm here?" I voice my initial thoughts, sweeping all that beneath the rug.

"Not after all that happened, I had to be sure you were safe. And when it felt as though you boycotted the route to the pack house, I had to trail you your every step."

"Well, you don't have to bother. I'm safe, as you can see." I lie. My voice is shaky and I know it's obvious, even though to a little extent.

Truly, I wish he were by my side and not just me in the wild. If only he can take back all of the bullshit he said in anger. It's certain I'm being too entangled to let something so forbidden and insensitive go, even when he helped me see the gravity of my decision.

"It's not true, and you know I know it." He counters me. "Natalie, you're not fine, let me take care of you." He beckons softly.

"No, you don't know anything, and I don't need some chicken-hearted human to babysit me." This is me crossing the line, but I care less because he started it.

He ought to have a taste of his dose.

"Ouch." He clutches his chest playfully while grimacing. "That hurts."

"Fair enough." I bluff.

"Well if you say you're fine, at least look at me while lying. You know I sincerely care about you, before this whole mate saga."

"The only thing that sickens you is that you care about them! Their cheap validation and peace! You clearly chose that over me and you will in the future, so let me be." My anger is above check.

I'm too pissed off to be cool-headed. For someone that just lost the only person he knew all his life because of some damn desire, I'm being unnecessarily harsh and irrational.

But no, I won't cut him some slack, not when his words still hurt like a fresh sting. I gave up everything for him, why can't he do the same for me? Anger like hot coal keeps coursing through my veins.

'Would you have given your papa for this?' My wolf begins to query. Its voice is a low growl and then it goes off. Surely, it would do anything to vindicate its mate and lover.

To be honest, I never really thought about this. Maybe truly, I have nothing to lose other than some god-forsaken position.

"Nat darling, you know I was just being emotional. I never intended to hurt you with my words or anything and I still don't."

I keep mute. That I know for a fact. And the plus is that my knees are wobbling from the sweet names calling.

"Come on, you can't totally blame me, you're just like them..."

"I'm not like them!" my eyes are changing to amber. "Are you trying to pin this whole mess on me, or genuinely apologizing?"

He senses me shifting out of anger. "Pardon me." He responds.

"Cut the crap, Hendrix, you're intentionally pissing me off."

I won't hurt him, will I? No, I can't hurt him, no matter how pissed off I am.

"... Chill, dear." He tries to pacify me. "When I said you're like them, I never meant in personality, I only meant the strength and all. I can't defend myself against them, unlike you. I'm weak!" He's screaming.

Still, I don't respond.

"Nat, you can't deny that. You may do worse if you were in my shoes."

"That I don't know. And for the records, I'm glad we have different sizes."

He scoffs. "Petty, huh?"

I keep a face.

"I'm sorry I was being insensitive. Okay? You have to forgive me at this point." He continues to plead.

"I have, but this can't go on. You need to be safe yourself."

'Natalie, common.' My wolf urges.

"I thought you said I have nothing to lose?"

"You still have your life, that was at the spur of the moment when words needed to be said to soothe ourselves." I defend. "Truly you should safeguard your life."

He giggles. "I will, with your arms around it."

"I'm not joking." I try not to sound flushed.

The mere thought of me wrapping his huge frame makes it all the more alluring. Heat washes over my features.

"Nor am I." He causes. "If you don't want to get down, maybe I will get up and stay with you. So you know, we're stuck together." He dares.

"I will watch you try. I'm certain you can't climb past the stem." I double dare.

He laughs out loud and hard.

"Don't be so sure, I didn't stay in the woods all my life for nothing."

He gets closer to the tree and attempts to climb it.

The urge to watch him try fights against the others to save him from the stress. What if he gets injured? Surely, I wouldn't want that no matter how nuts he drives me.

"Stay off the tree." I scream, agitated.

"No, not until you come down."

"Hendrix, damnit. You will hurt yourself."

"It will be on your account." He smiles like I'm a comic character.

"Fine, I'm on my way." I sigh. "You can get down now."

Hendrix is a punishment meted to my soul, stubborn and sexy. I know so.

Reluctantly, I jump down. My paws cling to the soil, not wanting to tumble over, and as loving as he is, he grabs me and pulls me to himself, not risking me falling.

I smile and regardless, push him away.

"Come on, don't tell me you're still mad at me."

I start walking towards the direction of his house, and by all means avoiding his touch and gaze, aware of how gullible I am to them.

He follows me and after a little, while I notice his steps get closer, which is normal considering that he's bigger than me, hence his one step is twice mine. I hasten my face, petty as ever.

"Naughty lady." He laments.

I smile, my cheeks visibly red. Just as I take the next step, I feel a coarse palm pulls me to himself and firmly presses against his bosom.

Now this, I don't want to get away from, and when he tilts his head downward to envelop my pouty lips with his sumptuous ones, I let him indulge me, hungry as ever.