The Bitten.

Nosey Neighbors.

I was short on groceries, having abandoned my last haul at the hotel room. I had to idea what to fix, but I was determined to find something. After all, there was a hungry wolf man eyeing me expectantly. I wasn't going to end up being the main course. He sat hunkered in the tiny chair as he watched me dash from fridge to cabinet in a frenzy. I finally found enough chicken breasts to hopefully make a decent meal. I dug out some rice to make it a bit more filling, and I randomly grabbed anything else I felt could pad it out.

He was extra attentive when I used the knife. I can't lie, I had almost thought about trying something stupid, then I remembered he wasn't an average man. He handled me effortlessly earlier, and he was basically just holding me off himself. He wasn't really trying to engage, just scare me. I could just imagine what he'd do to ke if I tried to rush him with a knife. I shook my head of the thought, and continued my counting game. I counted to thirty in my head, then counted backwards to one. I kept repeating that to keep my bird brain from concocting scenes I knew would fail.

He sniffed the air as the smell of grilled chicken, peppers and seasonings wafted about the kitchen. Poured us each a drink. I fixed us plates, giving him three quarters of the food and keeping just enough on my plate to say I had something. Despite my earlier hunger, my nerves had snuffed my appetite. I gathered utensils and brought everything before him at my mismatch table setup.

I'll never forget how he lowered his head to the plate and inhaled his food like a dog. Amber eyes darting me to near him. His tongue wrapped up mouthfuls and raked then into his snapping jowls. He was messy. Feral. And he all but snarled the entire time. I was scared to eat, or even sit yet, so I stood watching my battered feet while he ate his fill. Which was his and majority of mine. He raised his head and cleaned his face with his tongue. He shoved my plate back towards me and I cautiously sat across from him. His utensils sat beside his plate, untouched.

"Very good. Alpha eats first. You learn fast. Now, you eat." But I couldnt eat that. I coukd still see his drool dribbled into the table, and the teeth marks on the piece of chicken. His saliva made me queasy.

"Eat."

"My stomach hurts. I've felt terrible since I became a wolf earlier." I explained.

"Food will help you. Eat." I opened my mouth to protest, but he stood and came to my side.

He leaned over my back and before I could comprehend, he had shoved his fingers into my mouth and pulled my jaw down. He pushed in and cramed my head. He had full control of my head with one hand on my jaw. I whimpered, but he didn't release me. He instead splatted a spoon into a sloppy remnant of rice and dumped it into my mouth. I swallowed quickly, trying not to taste anything as I heaved and gagged. He continued this painstaking pattern until what little food I had was gone. I was grateful he had eaten half my plate too.

"Now we sleep."

He pulled me to my feet and we marched to the bedroom. My mouth felt icky. I wanted to rinse it with more water from my glass. Aamon didn't give me even a second to drink though, so I would just have to deal with the taste of slobbery food. I crawled up the bed to the farthest side and tucked myself beneath the covers. I could feel the bed dip under Aamon's weight as he mimicked my actions.

Needless to say, I did not sleep. My body cramped and ached, my mind raced. My heart threatened to give out on me eery time he moved. I had put my feet onto the floor, but as soon as I had, he rose up to question me. I needed to get away, but the idea seemed like a fantasy instead of a reality. A pipe dream. I was never going to get away. I know that now. I was relieved, and peeved that today was my day off. Not that he'd have released me to go in anyways.

His breathing was soft, almost inaudible. He had curled onto his side at one point, and tossed a heavy arm across my body. It wasn't romantic though, it was possessive. No doubt, he was still suspicious of my trying to get up earlier. He woke at any movement or noise I made, but he was going to amp up his security by pining me under his arm. Now he would feel if I tried anything too.