Oh Hell No

Chapter 13

There were few things in the world that Jamie would say she hated. Actually, that may not be entirely true seeing as she hates more than the average person. Still, near the top of the list, at least top ten, there were emotional confrontations. Physical? She enjoyed those quite a bit, but the differences between fighting physically and talking about your feelings made her opinions on the two complete opposites.

Alas, she wouldn't be getting what she wanted today.

The pack house was fairly quiet when they got back aside from some shouting coming from the basement. She assumed they kept their prisoners down there, but Chelsie muttered something about how "those stupid sore losers better not break anything," which debunked that theory. She considered putting her bags in Ryder's room, but she had no idea if he'd be there or not.

"Hey, is there an empty room that I can put this stuff in?" It couldn't hurt to ask, or at least she didn't see how it could. Ryder had probably told them all about how she obviously wanted nothing to do with him, because it seemed unlikely that Sadie would have been able to figure that out on her own.

They glance at each other, eyes glazing over at the same time as they mind-link. The way they deliberately kept her out of the conversation reminded her of those huddle-things humans did when discussing plans right in front of someone they were debating whether or not to share those plans with. It did have the advantage of looking less juvenile, but managed to feel the exact same.

After a while Astral snapped out of it, leaving the other three to continue arguing via mind-link, "Why don't you leave them in Ryder's for the time being?" She suggests.

Her first thought was to immediately ask if she was kidding, but decided that she wasn't, "I don't know if that's a good idea. I really don't think he wants to see me right now," Artemis growled lowly, wordlessly pinning the blame on Jamie, which was fair.

"Well, you won't know for sure until you talk to him," Astral points out, leaving her own bags by the door in favor of taking Jamie's, "Let's go!" Jamie protested the entire way, but the cheery girl wasn't deterred. She refused to let go until she had thrown open the door and pushed Jamie inside, "Hey Ryder I don't really know what happened between you two but you should really talk it out. I'll make sure no one interrupts. Okay, bye!" She closes the door, leaving them alone inside.

Ryder paused, looking briefly at her before closing the closet door. It appeared that he had just gotten dressed after a shower, if his wet hair and different clothes were any indication, "I'm guessing the shopping trip went well?" He asked calmly.

"Yep," She replied awkwardly, not having the luxury of silent communication via nodding. They tended to be much less effective when the person you were talking to wasn't facing you.

Silence blanketed the room afterwards, neither really knowing what to say. Enzo and Artemis tried to get their respective humans to give in and have an actual conversation, or if that was too much to ask for then at least kiss. He caught her attention again when a suitcase landed at her feet with a dull thud. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You obviously want to leave, so you might as well have something to carry your new clothes in," He responds, his eyes dark with pain he was determined not to show.

She stared down at the bag for a minute, at a loss for words. That was far from the reaction she was expecting, especially from someone of his status. Those of alpha blood typically fight the hardest to keep their mates around, whether it's willingly or not. It was enough to make Artemis whimper, knowing that they must have really hurt him if he was just letting her go.

Apparently she had been quiet for too long, "Well? What are you waiting for? It didn't take you long to leave the first time," He muttered, needlessly straightening some papers on his desk as an excuse to avoid looking at her.

"Maybe I'm not so sure that's what I want," She mumbled, not entirely aware of what she was doing.

Ryder risked glancing at her, resisting the urge to beg her to stay. He was going to be an alpha, and alphas did not beg. But a little wounded pride would certainly be worth keeping his mate, so he'd consider it if he was confident she could be convinced. For now though, he kept up his walls.

"Since when? You never gave me a chance before, even though I've done nothing wrong. As soon as you had the chance you ran for it. Which I'd like to remind you resulted with me saving you from a rogue. If you're suddenly not so sure then why did you run in the first place?" He asked, his frustration seeping through.

She frowns, "I don't know, okay? I don't know why I wanted to run so bad. I don't know why I'm even thinking about staying," She swipes her hands roughly down her face, "You're right, you have done nothing wrong, and yet I was so willing to hurt you just because I'm a coward," Her voice had lost most of its punch, allowing a vulnerability to shine through. She hated sounding vulnerable.

"Well-" He pauses, clearly not expecting her to give a genuine answer. He didn't know how to respond, or if he should try to comfort her considering their precarious relationship, "I've spent my entire life hoping to find my mate, and you didn't seem to be the slightest bit bothered about leaving me. How is that fair?" This was dangerous territory they were entering, but much like lost hikers, they didn't know how to get back to where they once were.

"It's not, I know that. But I don't understand why you care so much, because if it weren't for this," She takes his hand in hers and holds them up, "You would never have given me the time of day. You may have waited for me, but why? Because some stupid, pre-determined bond told you I'd be perfect, that I would magically fall in love with you? If a relationship is based on something as, I dunno, flimsy as that, then how do you even know it's real?" 

Jamie froze. She hadn't meant to say that. 

A/N: Let me know if you think Jamie's turn around is too unnatural! I tried to mix it in well, but my opinion on how it turned out is more than a little biased