And Then She Was Gone

The Guest Of Honor

After their second round of a spat resulted in him being the winner again, he decided to leave her alone locked in the bedroom in order to create some distance between them and give them both room to decompress. He didn't want to continue fighting with her, and make even more of a mess, as he was literally unable to back down from a challenge, the mere thought of that going against his nature.

The entire room was bathed in his scent, from his clothes to his bed. Even in his absence, the lingering smell would continue to work on her, he was hoping that it would begin to wear her down and make her less scared and less likely to be openly hostile. However, she had other plans in his absence, which he listened to in light amusement in his study across the hall.

Loud bangs, and shifted movement of furniture crashing around. She undoubtedly was trying to break the sliding glass door. Becoming more reckless and unconcerned with the sounds she was making as time moved on. She had first started with gentle prodding and then worked herself into a frenzy, lifting one of the heavy chairs over and over again and chucking it into the glass repeatedly where it would bounce off and skid on the floor each time.

Shelby had took to crouching beside the bed and keeping her distance as Elizabeth tore up the room, trying to find anything that would rupture the apparently unbreakable glass.

After about two hours, her adrenaline was spent and the cleansing effects of her previous shower had been a wasted effort as she was drenched in sweat with rosey cheeks and huffing wildly. She sat on the floor exhausted, with her knees pulled to her chest and head dipped in between them, trying to draw more energy out to resume her plan of action.

The keys rattling at the door caused no change in her position, as he re-entered the room after waiting for about ten minutes of pure silence. His eyes rolling over the room which had just about every liftable piece of furniture she could manage, upturned and scattered. The bed had been ripped of its bedding, the dresser drawers were completely emptied and his casual clothes were scattered throughout the room. The clothing and the bedding were no doubt a direct result of a tempertamptrum in a fit of rage she must have experienced after exhausting her previous efforts.

He sighed, and turned to lock the door behind him. Speaking before turning back to face her. "You owe Claire a real apology." his voice was low, but no true emotion showing, not even anger.

"I want to go home." she said dejectedly into her knees, not lifting it to even acknowledge him.

"Elizabeth..." he looked at her with a bit of pity as he slowly made his way over to her huddled form on the floor, bending at the knees and holding his body weight with his toes and the top pads of his feet as he crouched down in front of her. A hand going on her shoulder and his voice soft, obviously benefitting from his time away from her. "You're home... This is where you live now... You belong to-...you belong with me." he said gently, catching himself and making sure he worded things as carefully as possible.

"This is not my home.. And you don't even know me!" she sniffled more into her knees, refusing to look up to him. Trying to ignore the warming sensation of his gentle touch, and how soothing his voice actually was when he wasn't being demeaning or rude, the overpowering smell of eucalyptus and mint filling her nostrils the closer he got.

"I know you don't understand it now... but you will soon. Your Uncle will be here shortly, within the hour, and I'm hoping he can give you some clarity and help you understand why.." his other arm reaching up, his hand pressing against her cheek since it was now available, her head having perked up at the indication her Uncle was coming.

"Uncle Dominick is coming?" she questioned, her eyes searching into his, seeming to be locked in place.

"Yes, we've been in contact since I met you." he was now the one stretching the truth. He hadn't directly spoke with the Master Beta, instead leaving the politics to those better suited to handle it less passionately. However, it was very apparent to him that there was a lot she did not know about him and herUncle.

He hadn't fully realized just how in the dark she was until he saw confusion flutter in her eyes at Claire addressing him by his title earlier and had time away to dwell on it, along with the other odd moments he picked up as they spent time together. If she was unaware of his title, there was a lot more she would be oblivious to.

Werewolves lived a completely different lifestyle from the regs. She wouldn't know about the chain of command, the laws of their society, or even the ways of the complicated mating process with all it's little intricacies.

Her being completely lost in this new world, combined with her current disposition garnered a generous amount of sympathy from him as well as a deep seeded anger he was currently pushing down for her benefit, not wanting to scare her anymore than he already had. The anger formed from her being denied her right to know truly what she was. Also, for him being denied an opportunity to meet her sooner as she was so very clearly sheltered from all of what came with their way of life.

"He knows I'm here?!" her eyes still very clearly marked with confusion, mixed with a sparkle of hope, even though his words never displayed any notion of a chance of her leaving. She knew her Uncle and she knew he wouldn't just let her be taken from her life and her family, to be plopped in a strange man's home and forgotten about. "When do I get to see him?" she said, her voice rapidly picking up its pace.

"I have to clear some things up with him and Mr. Cantorrie, but after that-" Jason said and was cut off by her even quicker interruption.

"Alex will be here too?" even more hope brimming in her eyes.

"Alex?" a noticeable twitch of his eyebrow showing as he said his name in laced annoyance.

"Alex Cantorrie?" she questioned, trying to verify if the two men in her life were indeed coming to somehow sort this situation out.

"His father is Ryan?" Jason said, beginning to stand from his crouched position, removing his hands from her quickly and removing all the comfort as well that he had just given her with his touch. An audible knuckle crack sounding as his fists clenched in a self soothing manner as he tried to stop his anger from resurging.

"Y-yes." she said, watching the clenched fists, and feeling the change in his demeanor engulf the room. The polarity of his persona very striking.

"Then I guess Alex will be here also." he said shortly, turning on his heel and walking towards the door to the hallway. "Go shower, and make it quick. I need one as well. I have something to attend to, when I get back you should be done." Not daring to look back at her as the familiar sound of the keys filled the room empty of other noise, and he left.