Watch The Dark

After finally being fed up with the judgemental looks from Elena, Tana told Jade and Wynona that she was hungry and would head back to the pack house. Even though she insisted that they stay, they were quite persistent and wouldn't allow her to leave by herself.

So when they were dry enough that they could put their clothes on, the three walked back to the pack house to find that the wolves who had been training were taking a break for lunch as well, having pulled out some collapsible tables and chairs so that they could sit outside and enjoy their meal together. Even Blake and Markus were out there; Declan, too, for whatever reason. Usually alphas were far too high up to sit with their warriors.

The two girls made their way over to their mates, who were at their own table, all while Tana followed with a frown on her face as she tried to untangle a leaf from one of her braids without ruining the braid itself.

"The lake is nice if you wanted to go out there again later," Jade said, sliding into Blake's lap and giving him a peck on his cheek. Tana resisted the urge to gag like a pup.

"Heard Elena complaining on the way back. She kicked over the garbage can. What was that about?" Markus asked. How had Elena made it back before them? Tana didn't remember seeing her leave at all.

"Elena is just jealous. She'll get over it. You know how she is. Tried to one up Tana but it didn't work out too well," Jade answered, throwing a wink to Tana, who shrugged.

"I've had my fair share of jealous females. Doesn't bother me much anymore," Tana replied. Declan let out a low growl that she ignored while the other girls giggled.

"Heartbreaker, huh? Don't worry, before the mate bond snapped into place I had my fair share of flings, too," Jade said, to which Blake just grunted irritably.

"I'm...gonna go inside. I'll see you later," Tana said with every intention of not seeing them, just as Wynona grabbed her arm.

"Come on! You've been cooped up inside for so long. Just hang out with us for lunch and we can show you around the territory and the other pack houses later," Wynona pleaded. Jade gave her a pleading look as well, while Markus merely gave her an encouraging smile and Blake did nothing at all. Declan, it seemed, could barely stomach the sight of her.

"Um...okay, I guess. I've gotta-"

She barely finished her sentence when Tuk ran up to her and grabbed her arm, his wide eyes panicked and bloodshot.

"I'm gonna steal her for a second. Sorry," Tuk sputtered before dragging her away to the far side of the pack house where they were alone.

"What the hell, Tuk? Why'd you run in like a mad man?" Tana huffed. Tuk just shook his head and sighed slightly.

"I made a mistake. Declan kept asking me and asking me what actually happened. I didn't tell him but he knows you aren't telling him everything. He was really angry, Tana," Tuk stammered. He had told him? Why the hell would Declan tell Tuk and then try to get more information?

"What do you mean? Why was he asking you?" Tana asked, to which Tuk just shrugged.

"He called me into his office. I couldn't exactly say: sorry, I'm busy," Tuk spat back, shooting her an annoyed glare.

"Well you're not the one who has to share a room with the cranky, brooding alpha himself! Now he's probably gonna kill me himself because he's fed up with me," Tana hissed, smacking his arm.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know that you hadn't told him everything. It threw me off and when I tried to save it I just made it worse," Tuk mumbled, rubbing his arm irritably.

Her wolf growled lowly in the back of her head.

"Look, I can fix it. If he brings it up I'll just say that you were thinking of what happened to you. Or Alec. He doesn't know any better so it'll be easy," she muttered, but Tuk's gaze was no longer on her. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"I think I know a lot better, now," a deep voice grumbled from behind her. That's why her wolf was growling. How had she not smelled him?

Turning around, Tana schooled her expression so that she didn't appear so startled. However, it didn't work out so well.

"Eavesdropping isn't a very professional thing for an alpha to do," Tana huffed, but that wasn't wiping the anger off of Declan's face. And he looked furious.

"Tuk, leave. I need to have a chat with my mate," Declan growled. Tuk didn't miss a beat, darting off before Tana could even look at him.

"Don't even start. Who the hell do you think you are? You want me to trust you but you go to my brother to dig even deeper? Who does that? Maybe the reason I don't trust you and don't want to trust you is because you think I'm some kind of- kind of-"

"Criminal?"

"Criminal!" She waved him off, but now he had a smug grin on his face. She was five seconds away from slapping that grin off of his face.

"I find it amusing that you think you can lie to me and expect me not to find out the truth. One way or another I'll find out, Tana. You should keep that in mind," he growled. Tana tensed, but wouldn't allow herself to show it. If he believed he had any power over her she would no longer have the upper hand. And if she didn't have the upper hand, she was screwed.

"Who the hell do you think you are? I thought I could tell you something and that just wasn't enough for you, was it? You're a jackass," Tana spat, forcefully shoving past him and storming up to his room, which was the only place she knew she would have privacy. Plus, she didn't think he would follow her after that anyway.

After slamming the door in the faces of the guards who attempted to ask if she was ok, she changed out of her bathing suit and put on proper undergarments beneath her clothes.

She walked over to the locked door that led to the balcony, her arms folded across her chest. The forest blew softly under the wind. Dark clouds began to roll in, indicating that the sunny afternoon wasn't going to last very long. With the Blood Wolves, the pack members had trained even in the pouring rain. Though it seemed that the Dark Wolves were planning to take the afternoon off as they were all starting to clean up the tables and chairs and head back to wherever they all stayed.

A faint howl erupted through the forest, setting Tana's hair on end. The howl sounded familiar, but it wasn't Talon's, thankfully.

She heard chatter in the hallways and coming up the stairs. Which meant that Declan would probably come in soon.

Deciding she didn't quite care enough to pay it any mind, she began peeking around the drawers that were in the room. She didn't come up with much; a few condoms and mints in the bedside drawer, reading glasses, and a plethora of different files and loose papers.

There was an odd, ruby encrusted, pendant in one of the drawers but Tana decided to ignore it. It was probably just some old family heirloom he had tossed in there and forgotten about.

"Tans, why are you looking in Daddy's drawers?" A small, sweet voice piped up, startling Tana just as she slammed a drawer shut.

"Just seeing if he's got any candy," she replied, which got Sincere to grin.

"He doesn't. I already checked. He said he ate it all," Sincere said, climbing up onto Declan's bed so that she could sit down. She had her stuffed tiger clutched under one arm.

Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder echoed through the house just as sheets of rain began to pour down. Sincere winced, but was otherwise unbothered by it.

"What'd I say about candy? Too much will give you a stomach ache," Declan said as he strolled into the room, causing Sincere to frown.

"I didn't have any today! Blake took my lolly," Sincere whined, jumping off of the bed so that she could walk up to Declan and tug at the hem of his shirt, which she could barely reach.

"Alright, alright. Look, how about you go and play with Jade, and when the rain stops we'll drive into town to get more lollies," said Declan, which brought a big grin to Sincere's face.

"Yes! Car ride!" She squealed, batting Declan's hand away from her curls so that she could race out of the room before Declan could mess up her hair.

"I wanted to...apologize for being so overbearing. I think my jealousy and insecurity got the best of me," Declan started. When he moved a bit closer, this time Tana didn't move away.

"I should have just been thankful that you told me anything at all. Instead I took my own stress out on you and that's just not ok," he then said, rubbing the back of his neck irritably.

"I appreciate that," was all she said in response before gazing out of the window to the balcony once more.

"I just want to get to know you better Tana. I really do. I know that you're skeptical and it'll take a long time to trust me, but I'm not giving up. Not ever," he said. Tana remained silent, her eyes trained on the balcony as he kept moving closer until only a foot of space was between them. She didn't like the way her skin tingled at his proximity, that the way he smelled made her feel like she was on cloud nine, that the slight husk in his voice made her knees weak. Her wolf, however, enjoyed it immensely. Giving annoying tips and barks every now and then.

"I'll...I'll leave you for now," he whispered, but when he turned to leave, something possessed Tana to reach out and grab his arm to keep him in place.

"Wait. I, uh, I love the colour pink. Not bright pink but a soft, pastel sort of pink. And I really, really hate thunderstorms," she said quietly. She could have sworn she saw his pupils dilate.

"Would you mind staying? Just till the thunder stops?" She asked. She hated how weak it made her feel, but she couldn't control herself. She wanted him around even though he had gone behind her back to dig into her past. Even though he was an overbearing alpha. Even though he seemed to always piss her off.

She wanted him there. For her.

And when he agreed, she suddenly wished that the thunder wouldn't stop.