Oh Hell No

Chapter 6

"So is there anything you want to see first? I could show you around the pack house or we could take a walk around the land. Or I could introduce you to some of the pack members," Ryder rattles off the options with enough dexterity to come off as excited.

In reality he was both excited and nervous. So far his mate had allowed him to hold her hand and barely tolerated him picking her up, it was clear he'd have to be a bit...slower with her than he'd like. Actually, he had no problem with going slow, but his wolf wanted nothing more than to mark her there and then so no one else would even think about pursuing her.

"I wouldn't mind a tour of the lands," She admits, failing to mention exactly why she wouldn't mind, "Especially since the pack members I've met so far have been so...charming."

He laughs, "Sarcasm duly noted. If Brax keeps giving you problems just let me know, he has no right to disrespect his future luna," Bad experiences or not, he added silently. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel bad about herself, assuming she had been just as rude to Braxton as he thought.

"Got it," She told him, allowing the conversation to taper off.

He led the way outside, even though it was unnecessary for him to do so, and started walking towards the nearest family-exclusive house. Shifting wouldn't be very helpful since they wouldn't be able to mind-link yet, and switching back and forth got tiring quick. Besides, if they didn't shift then the tour would last longer, giving him more time with her.

Ryder wasn't an idiot. He heard her say "oh hell no" when they first touched, so he knows that she may not want this. For the moment she seemed to be giving him a chance though and he'd be damned if he didn't take it. He was determined to make some progress with her by the end of this tour, even if that meant making her slightly uncomfortable in the short-term.

"I'm guessing you've already seen the lake, so I'll probably just skip over that area. Over this way are some of the more private houses for individual families with young children, and anyone that doesn't want to live in the pack house," He explains as a few sparse houses become visible through the trees, "Miss Briggs lives there," He points towards a small blue house, "She's a little...much."

It didn't escape her notice that he led her away from that house. He didn't have a problem with the sweet old lady, he just didn't want her to come storming out with her curlers, facemask, and robe on for fear that she'd scare Jamie off. The last thing he wants her to think that everyone in his pack is scary or an insensitive jerk, even though most of them are. But she doesn't need to know how weird most of them are right now; that could wait until later.

"Would you mind telling me about yourself?" He asks, genuinely interested as to what kind of person she is, "Or if you're not comfortable you could ask me some questions."

She thought about that for a minute. On one hand, it would be a lot easier to let him talk about himself than to answer any questions he could come up with. On the other hand, she didn't like either option. If he got to know her he'd get attached, and she ran the risk of the same thing happening to her if the roles were reversed.

Eh, better him getting attached than her. She didn't want Artemis to be complaining even more once she left, so it seemed like the best option, "Uh I like to listen to music?" Damn she was bad at this, "My favorite color is gold in case you planned on asking that. I also hate card games."

Ryder stopped walking once she said that, "Who doesn't like card games?" He asks incredulously.

"Those things are freaking rigged and I refuse to play them!" She responds harshly, not processing what she said until a second later. Not that she didn't believe what she said, but she didn't want to say it. The plan was to talk as little as possible, keep him from getting attached, and yet the stupid mate bond got her to do more than that.

"Even Uno?" His jaw drops, unable to imagine a world without what was probably the most entertaining game ever. It wasn't the game itself that was so fun, but the rage-induced comments and insults were enough to have him in tears of joy almost every time. Of course, he could end up being the one yelling which wasn't as fun.

"Especially Uno," She says decisively. It was best to stop the conversation there, lest she get into the topic of board games. If that happened, she might not stop talking for a while, especially if one of them brought up Monopoly.

"That might be a deal breaker," He warns her jokingly, and she couldn't help but wish he was telling the truth, "Over here we have the training grounds, where we mostly fight for fun because it's a big open space. Also, my favorite color navy blue in case you were gonna ask," He smiles and winks before continuing on while Jamie fights the smirk that makes its way onto her face.

They walked past the training field, looping around the houses. There weren't any more major landmarks that he pointed out, but she still made note of her surroundings. He didn't mind the quiet since, as far as he knew, there'd be plenty of time for them to get to know each other. Plus, she let him take her hand again and he didn't want to risk ruining the moment. He reveled in the sparks the contact brought, his mood dampening slightly as she showed no reaction to it. But, that wasn't possible, so she must be hiding it. That brings up another question though; why?

He frowned determinedly, vowing to find out the answer to that very question. 

A/N: Who's ready for Jamie to give in already? Or do you think her reasons are valid?