And Then She Was Gone

Little Wolf

With each step, his mind found another fault with their words. With each breath, his logic found a counter. With each blink, his thoughts garnered more clarity. He did not deny that she seemed to exhibit traits indicative of the unfortunate affliction scattered throughout her lineage. However, Jason was a smart man and he knew Dominick's beliefs were wrong, he could feel it in his bones. His child would not be the lycan antichrist they had built up in their heads over years of poorly collected and derived information spouted from a long dead woman's mouth who was in the golden years of senility.

They knew nothing in essence, except the data recorded of the signs and symptoms of those who were marked with the curse. That was it. They had no clue what was alluded to in this prophecy, if there was even a prophecy made in the first place.  History sometimes had to be taken with a grain of salt, it was written by winners, it was written with a one-sided perspective, it was written by those who wanted their story to be told. This prophecy could have been someone small trying to seem important by interjecting themselves in the sands of time, seeking an immortality in scribed words.

Nothing was clear. Nothing was firm. Nothing was tangible. They only knew that the long dead Alpha was a lycan man who became bitter with his mate and led a rampage causing complete destruction to her bloodline. They knew nothing about Alpha Mathias, or even what his intent was and why he did what he did. How could anyone logically derive such dark thoughts and theories on such little information? What was obvious to Jason, as well as every other pack who had heard of Mathias, was that the Alpha himself was the one with the mental illness. What kind of monster kills his own mate? It was unthinkable, it happened so rarely, and was a clear sign of being mentally unsound. Who would want to kill part of themselves?

Jason could never even fathom taking Elizabeth's life. The momentary grim thought of it that popped into his head as he thought about Mathias actions, caused his heart to ache. Did he have a rough start with her? Yes, undoubtedly. He felt incredible guilt for the way he had responded to her upset and fear of the unknown, he himself had not been a perfect mate. He being so swept up in the excitement of finally finding her, and then lashing out in anger and helplessness when she rebuked him, made him a poor mate at times.

He manipulated. He bullied.  He intimidated. He threatened. He demeaned. He matched her fear and sorrow with his own rage and anger, adopting the emotions which were more natural and comfortable for him. He knew that he had behaved like a complete dick, and each day he still found himself unable to forgive himself for his own actions, self-reflection was not a known characteristic of his personality and the fact that it popped up, jarred him even more.  However, with everything he put her through, not once did he want to physically harm her. In his own fucked up way, he thought if he could get her to submit she would fall in place, but he had underestimated her mental willpower and overestimated his emotional control.

Now, things were slowly becoming as they should be, he relinquished most of his control and she in turn used her freedom to seek him out. Had he not acted like a spoiled toddler so early on, they may have never even seen she had abnormalities. They only seemed to pop up at her immense upset, something he swore he  would never put her through again. Gentle words met gentle hands, gentle hands met adoring glances, adoring glances met with two bodies becoming one, bodies combined met with souls bound to one another. She was his, he was hers, and she was finally beginning to see that. She was beginning to understand and want it, and he wouldn't do anything to risk what he had so recently gained...  No. Jason would never hurt Elizabeth again, in essence he would ultimately be hurting himself.

His long contemplative walk led him back to the door he left her behind, an incredible warmth filled him as he unlocked the door and saw the tufts of her multi-toned blonde hair still nestled warmly underneath his blankets. How could someone so sweet, so innocent, so beautiful... be cursed with something so devastating? To be cursed with something she so clearly did not deserve to own. He would protect her. He would care for her. He would make sure until the end of time that she never saw a dark day again. That was his job. Not Master Beta Dominick's, not Alpha Ryan's, but his.