Running with Wolves Ch. 16

"I know you might not be ready to come out, but we need to talk and I can't come under the bed with you." Ben wouldn't release Augustine's arm even as she struggled to get free. Even in the low lighting, there was a chance Ben could notice her wounds and discover her secret. They both knew she was the stronger of the two, but to get free may require hurting him and she was not willing to do that. So she gave in and curled up to him instead. Ben seemed surprised by her pressing her face into his chest, but hesitantly wrapped his arm around her anyway. His fingers gently stroked through the fur on her back as they lay together. It was so soothing she almost didn't realize the reason he was doing it was to get her to stop crying. "You're fine, don't cry. Just, um... be calm."

Ben was clearly feeling awkward while having a female cry against him. Augustine shuddered, imagining what he must think of her. 'He must think we are pathetic,' Augustine thought to her inner animal. Her wolf agreed.

She did her best to speak, but it was difficult being partly shifted. "I -ooowy." The words were like those of a dog, but enough for Ben to understand.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything." Ben continued to groom her, smoothing the fur on her back and shoulders. It was a lovely feeling; one she didn't believe she deserve.

"Weeeeak. Toooo weeak. Couul-n't -iiite hmmm."

Ben paused in his petting. "Who? Lark?" She nodded into his chest. "Fuck that asshole. I've seen him in that fucked up form he attacked you in. Don't you dare be upset you couldn't fight off that monster. No one could. This is not your fault."

Augustine shook her head, her tears coming harder. "Cooo-erred... Cooverrred in sceee..."

"You're covered in what?" Ben pulled back, tucking a finger under her chin so she had to look at him. "Come on, I can barely understand you. What did he cover you in?"

The sobs only increased as she pulled her eyes away from the piercing green of her mate's. Unable to speak and keep it from him any longer, Augustine tried to show him how her wounds still reeked of Lark. The slashes on her arms were still bright red and seeping puss. She was a disgusting mess and she knew her mate would hate her for it.

"What the HELL!" Ben exploded. Augustine had known he would. The blanket was ripped from above them as he pulled her arms into the harsh light of the room. A cry of anguish ripped its way from her throat as she finally pulled herself from his grasp, unable to handle the man she loved seeing her shame. As she tried to turn over and get back under the bed, Ben used the twisted blanket to wrap her up and keep her pinned. She fought, but she knew that as long as it was Ben who held her she would never escape. Her body, as much as she wanted away from him, could not help but crave his touch.

Ben continued to hold her wriggling body, the scabs on her chest and back breaking open and staining the blanket between them. "Garrett! Get in here now!" Ben's words reached only the surface of Augustine's rational mind. To her, it was the male behind her calling in his pack to kill her for her disgrace. She cried even harder, the betrayal almost killing her in that very moment.

Soon, more hands grasped her body and moved her to the center of the room. Augustine really struggled then, her wolf waking enough to give her the energy to fight. She was too late though. The days without food or water and lack of determination left her with nothing in her to keep up the fight. She gave in quickly, going limp while baring her throat. She could hear Ben snarling at her. Hopefully he felt enough care for her that he would end her quickly.

When the fatal bite did not come, her wolf howled mournfully. Why was he continuing to let her suffer? Why was he not ending her as he so obviously wanted? If he did not know how, the other female in the room with them could do it for him. She was probably his new mate, one that he had chosen for her strength and ability. Augustine prayed they would be happy as her mind shut down and blackness enveloped her.

*

Wherever she was, it was warm. She could hear the lapping of waves in the distance, and the scent of sweetness and baking bread enveloped her entire being. Was she dead? Had Luna brought her to rest in a place that smelt of Ben? She had never seen the ocean before. It would be a wonderful place for her to rest.

Slowly, the warmth surrounding her took on a wet quality, and she could feel the ghost of arms surrounding her. Below her ear, the sound of a heartbeat reverberated through a surface that rose and fell in steady intervals. What brought the whole picture together was the slight soreness from the wounds on Augustine's body. They weren't as bad as before, but the reminder convinced her she was in fact still living.

Opening her eyes slowly, Augustine's eyes adjusted so she could see she was lying face down on a chest, one of her hands curled up in front of her chest and resting over the thrumming of Ben's heart. She knew it was him by the scent, yet she was still confused. He hadn't killed her? He was holding her?

Taking in more of her position, she glanced down to see they were both lying nude in the large bathtub located in his pack's rooms. The warmth and lapping sounds she had heard was the bath water surrounding their lower bodies. She also took note that her body was back to it's human form; there was no more sandy colored fur sprouted all over her body.

"Finally. You've been asleep forever." Looking back up, Augustine came face to face with her mate, who looked both annoyed and relieved at the same time. Seeing him again, after her meltdown in his bedroom, left her feeling a massive amount of guilt.

Had she truly believed he would kill her, his Destined? Even if he was human, he had never struck her as the type who would do such a thing. But in her state of depression and self-loathing, on top of all the other feelings and neither her rational or instinctual mind in control, her imagination had taken a very dark turn and become reality. She blushed brightly in shame. He must think she was a complete mess.

"I'm so sorry, Ben-"

He cut her off. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

Confused, Augustine's brow scrunched up. "About what?"

Ben unwrapped one of his arms from around Augustine's back and used it to pull out the arm she had curled in front of her. Looking at the slightly bronzed skin, it was marred with multiple pale lines of healing skin. Even the deeper ones she had made worse by rubbing at them were only lightly scabbed over and well on their way to becoming clean skin once more. Looking inside of herself, Augustine found her wolf fully awake, if not subdued. She had come forward and begun the healing process.

"You've been keeping yourself from healing properly and making it worse by using my shirts to rub off the scabs. What the fuck were you thinking?!" Ben seemed truly distraught by what she had done. His scent even conveyed how much the idea of her doing that was upsetting him.

Augustine felt even worse for what she had done, and hurried to explain. "Please, Ben, don't be angry. I just thought... I couldn't stand the thought of you scenting Lark on me like that?"

Now it was Ben's turn to be confused. "Scent him on you? How would I be able to do that?"

"When he was hurting me, every slash and bite left a bit of his scent under my skin. My wolf was too upset by what he had done to come back to the surface and heal me, so I couldn't get rid of his scent. I was trying to use your scent to get rid of his by rubbing the fabric into the wounds. I'm sorry." Augustine's bottom lip began to quiver.

"I know that, you idiot. Misty told us after Dominic freaked out. Did it ever occur to you I'm human? Even if you shoved one of your cuts in my face I wouldn't be able to smell anything. You shouldn't have been hurting yourself over something so stupid." Even though his words were harsh, Ben took great care as he stroked one of her cuts, tracing the line from her thumb to her palm. His eyes were distant, but he quickly pulled himself back to the present. "Don't do anything like that again."

Augustine promised and Ben wrapped her back up against his chest. For a while, they laid soaking in the water. A few times Ben started to say something but stopped himself. Finally, he forced his words out.

"Sorry about pulling you out like that. I should have been gentler, but I freaked out a little when I saw your arms."

"I don't remember very much." Augustine moved so she was lying chest to chest with Ben, trying to maneuver so her wounds were in contact with his skin. Hopefully as they healed his scent would be pulled into her flesh and get rid of Lark's. "I remember the food, and the blanket and hands. Did you growl at me?"

Ben shook his head. "No, that was Dom. When I saw you were hurt, I called for Garrett to come and look at you. When he came in and saw you fighting me, he called the others to help get you under control. Dom came in and started growling right after that. He said something about Lark and started... changing," Ben shuddered. "Misty took him down and stopped him from doing anything. While she took care of him, Garrett and Jarod helped me with you. You almost took a bite out of Jarod's leg."

Augustine gasped, horrified, but Ben seemed to find it amusing. "I'm so sorry, Ben."

Ben snorted. "Don't be. You went all weird on us after that. Kept throwing your head back and going limp. Garrett did his best to look you over before Misty finally came back and found my shirts. She was the one who figured your wolf had been trying to get rid of Lark's scent. When you passed out I put you in bed and Doc Rivers came to take a look at you. We let you rest, but Misty suggested I clean you up." Ben seemed to realize something just then and flushed cutely. He shifted uncomfortably under her, glancing away. "Sorry about the, ah, whole naked thing. Misty said you wouldn't care and that it would help with the scent thing, but I can get out if you want."

Augustine thought his human modesty was adorable and couldn't help but smile as she held onto him for dear life. "No. She is right; we Were don't care much about nudity. I would rather keep laying like this with you."

"Oh, um... okay. If you don't care." Ben readjusted her so they were deeper in the water and closed his eyes. He looked to be concentrating very hard on not thinking about their nudity, so Augustine let him be and tucked her head back under his chin.

The water was starting to get cold when there was a knock on the door. Ben was up quickly, glaring at the door as he cradled a startled Augustine tightly to him. He asked who it was and Misty asked if she could come in. Before Ben could tell her to hang on she was opening the door and striding in.

"Would you fucking wait a second!" Out in the sitting bedroom, they all could hear Jarod laughing hysterically.

Misty grunted and threw him a towel. "I told you, werewolves don't have the same issue with nudity as you humans. Even Dominic is losing that annoying little sensitivity and he hasn't been one of us that long."

"He didn't exactly have that sensitivity to begin with." This time only Augustine could hear the snort that answered his snide remark. "Now that do you want?"

Misty became very serious, kneeling at the edge of the tub as Ben wrapped the towel around his and Augustine's waists under the water. "I need to talk to Augustine."

"And it couldn't wait?" Ben grumbled, still upset.

"No, it couldn't." Misty made eye contact with her cousin and held it. Whatever she was about to say wasn't going to be pleasant. "Are you in control?"

Understanding what she meant, Augustine nodded. "Is it Lark?"

Her cousin nodded. "Flint has been acting as the ambassador between my pack and Five Rivers. He just came to give us some news. The situation with Lark is escalating to the point it has become dangerous. His public trial has been moved up to tonight. If what happens tonight, happens, Flint thinks there may be a chance my mother will sentence him to Run."

Augustine's eyes widened in horror. "What? Over this? I haven't even had time to make a formal grievance and give my testimony to the Alphas. What would give Flint such an idea?" Of all the things Aunt Sol could have sentenced Lark with, she had chosen for him to Run? Even if what he had done to her was horrible, it was not worth that.

Misty shook her head. "It isn't just about you anymore. The Omegas came forward, as we thought they might. The rumors were true, if not worse than we thought. There were others besides Lark."

The bottom of Augustine's stomach dropped out. She felt sick. "Oh my Luna..."

"Flint told us that two of Lark's friends made a move on the females and that it would be dangerous to postpone any longer. Mother said you don't have to come to the trial because she has the Omegas and you haven't been able to formally bring up a grievance on Lark, but... I think you should anyway. The girls are only stepping forward because, with someone like you in the same position as them, they aren't as frightened to speak up. The problem is even with the trial being moved up, Gray may be able to gather enough supporters to contest the Madam Alpha's decision. If that happens, they may back out. It's up to you, but if we don't get this taken care of now he may get off or be able to talk his way into a lighter sentence and the problems we are facing now could become worse."

"I... I don't know, Misty." Feeling put on the spot, Augustine looked to Ben, even though she knew he would be of no real help. He looked and smelt confused from their conversation, but just looking at him made her feel centered enough to think.

Could she handle this after being in such a fragile state just a short time ago? Her wolf was still being very much affected by what Lark had done. What if she wasn't strong enough?

Augustine knew she needed more time to figure out what she should do, but her internal clock was telling her that time was short. She needed to make this decision quickly.

"When does it start?" Ben asked, looking to Misty.

"9 o'clock, after dinner. If we wait any longer Gray will have too much time to poach potential sympathizers."

He turned his head back to Augustine, shrugging underneath her. "Then you have till 9 to figure out what you want to do."

A feeling of relief settled over Augustine. She could wait to make her decision for a little while. Hopefully by then, she would have made her choice.

~~~~~

Sorry for the delay! To all my U.S. readers, I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please let me know what you thought in the reviews and votes. I also want to apologise for uploading the wrong version of Ch. 15 last time with all the notes and misspelled words. I will keep on working to keep the chapters clean.

Thank you to my editors MarieFlower and markrane.