Revolting

A tear slipped down Daisy's cheek as she watched Boyd's wolf disappear into the trees. Her legs trembled, and she would have sunk to her knees, if William had not snaked an arm around her. "Daisy? Is he..?"

She wiped away the tear and nodded, her eyes still looking out toward the woods with a yearning expression. Her hands went protectively around her belly. "He doesn't want us," she said quietly. "I guess I can't really blame him." She leaned heavily against William. "I guess you can take me back now."

The other rogues were squabbling over the plate of cookies and weren't paying any attention to Daisy. William doubted that they even realized what exactly just happened right in front of them. "Wait, Daisy," William looked down into her face, which was now a little blotchy. "He didn't reject you."

"He can't reject me, William. Didn't you hear what they said? He can't talk!" She sniffled again and started to pull William back toward the car. "Sometimes actions speak louder than words."

"I think both of you are over reacting," William said carefully. "He looked at you and saw a pregnant woman. He probably thinks you have a partner. I saw his reaction, Daisy. He didn't look angry or disgusted, he looked hurt. You need to sit down and talk to him." He pulled her to a stop and looked down into her eyes. "This is special Daisy. Not everyone gets a second chance."

She squeezed her eyes closed, but more tears still escaped between her lashes. "What if I don't want a second chance, William?" She sucked in a deep breath. "What if... it hurts too much?"

Hannah trotted through the woods with Michael protectively by her side. She sniffed around until she found the place where she had stripped out of her clothes and then shifted back. She yanked on the t-shirt and then stood looking at Michael with a funny look.

He shifted, and her eyes moved over his body with blatant appreciation, until he picked up his shorts and pulled them on. "So," he ran his hands through his hair. "Did you find Boyd?"

After a moment, she surprised him by nodding her head. She heard, and she responded.

"And is he okay?" He pressed.

Her face screwed up and she shook her head. Then she huffed out a breath and took him by the hand, and started dragging, not back toward Heath's cottage in the wood, but in the opposite direction, toward the old barn. Michael stiffened. "Hannah... where are you taking me?"

She grunted and continued pulling him resolutely toward the barn. Michael swallowed nervously but he allowed her to lead him back to the barn. Rebel Moon didn't have a dungeon, so when they had needed to keep him prisoner, they had chained him to a post in the barn.

Hannah ducked into the broken door. Inside the structure the light was dim. Sunlight came in through holes in the roof and gaps between the boards, and dust danced in the light. The place smelled very faintly of old hay and mildew, and cobwebs dangled from every beam.

"I don't know if its even safe to be in here," Michael's eyes went to the far end of the barn, where the roof had partially caved in. Hannah continued to pull him in deeper, to the very post where he'd been tied up, not so many months ago. He looked down at her, wondering why she had brought him to this place, of all places.

"So... do you remember what happened here?"

Her face was serious, as she pushed him back against the pole.

"Ah, yes... you do remember." Michael grimaced. If she remembered this, what else had she remembered?

She pushed him again, harder this time, and there was a hardness in her expression that he'd hadn't seen, not since the very day she'd confronted him. Her small hands pressed against his chest, pinning him to the pole as she stared up at him, her golden-brown eyes solemn and confused. She looked him up and down, unnamed emotions flickering across her face. She held up one finger, and pointed at him, her hand trembling.

She licked her lips and swallowed twice before she got the word out. "No."

"No? No what?"

She pushed him again. "NO." she said louder. And then she spun on her heel and walked away.

Michael didn't know what to do. What did she mean, no? He rubbed at his chest, the place she had shoved him was aching dully, the way it had ached when she had been missing for all those months. Was "no" her one-word rejection? He ran his hands through his hair and pulled slightly. Should he follow her? Should he let her go? He agonized for a long time before he pushed off from the pole and went after her. When he got out into the sunlight and blinked... she was gone. She was not in the back. His heart began to hammer against his chest in panic. No! No, no, no, he couldn't lose her! He tore his clothes off, not caring who could see him, and let his wolf out to sniff for her scent. He followed the fresh trail back toward the gardens, and then it veered off back into the trees. Just inside the tree line he found her clothes ripped and discarded in the leaf-litter. He howled and laced his ears back as he raced toward a clearing that he remembered all too well.