Forest Pack: Tristan Ch. 04

Here's chapter 4 guys... Hope u enjoy it and all criticism is welcome...

Many thanks to cannd for editing... I really appreciate your input...

Xoxo

Emogirl

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Rhea was fuming at her supervisor's audacity and decided to play the situation up a bit. Nurse Stone always had it in for Rhea and now was her chance to exact her revenge. Ignoring the other woman's presence, Rhea sidled up to Tristan and looked him up and down as if considering what he had to offer.

"Oh I'm not so sure Tristan. I mean I have quite a busy schedule today so I don't think there's enough time to fit you in," she said almost regretfully.

Before Tristan could reply Nurse Stone cut in with an incensed gasp.

"Are you out of your mind?? Have some respect you insolent girl!! Don't you know who Mr Forest is!!??"

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Rhea tried not to laugh aloud at the irate shocked tone of Nurse Stone's voice as she chastised her for being so brazen. "I'm certain you'll be enlightening me on the topic..."

"You should be ashamed of yourself girl! How dare you be so disrespectful! I'll have you fired for your impertinence! Tristan Forest is the owner of Forest Industries and a great benefactor to this hospital. You should be honoured that he even noticed you exist!" Nurse Stone almost shouted.

The thought that the head nurse might be perilously close to bursting a blood vessel crossed Rhea's mind before she replied, "If you must know, I am completely aware of who he is, Nurse Stone. And you can't fire me, you wouldn't know how to deal with the children otherwise. Now if you'll both excuse me, I have somewhere else I need to be."

With that said, Rhea turned and began walking once again to the staircase. She became aware of a presence behind her and turned to face Tristan, not realizing how close behind her he actually was.

"Oomph!" she squeaked out as she almost collided with his strong frame. "Oh, dear Lord. For goodness sake, leave me alone you insufferable man," she said exasperatedly.

"Oh, no you don't. What do you mean you know exactly who I am? Why didn't you say anything? And why are you so hell bent on avoiding spending any time with me?" Tristan demanded.

"Oi, I don't have to explain anything to you," Rhea bit out tersely.

"Maybe not, but I'll get the answers out of you anyway," Tristan said with a decidedly predatory glint in his eyes.

"Try your worst Tristan, I'm not afraid of you," Rhea lied. She had no idea why she was being so evasive with him but her defences were up big time and she always trusted her instincts. Although this time she wasn't certain exactly what she was afraid of, she just knew that the safest thing to do would be to run and not look back.

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Tristan paused as he saw the lie in her eyes and heard her heart pounding harshly. His mate was afraid of him? He let go of her slowly and backed away, running a frustrated hand through his hair. Tristan had been tempering his usual dominant streak around Rhea but she was still afraid of him. The thought made his stomach clench and he wondered if he should give her more time and be less persistent. Perhaps she would be more amenable to spending time with him if he took things a lot slower. Tristan's train of thought was broken by a hesitant touch on his forearm and he looked into Rhea's confused, worried eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked tentatively.

Rhea found herself becoming more and more concerned as Tristan had stood a few feet away from her running his hand through his hair. She knew that it would be the ideal time to walk to the parking lot quietly and just leave, but he looked almost defeated and the image did not sit well with her. Before she could stop herself she realised that she had reached out to touch him. The spark she felt beneath her fingertips almost made Rhea gasp aloud, but she tempered her reaction and focussed on his eyes instead.

Tristan took hold of Rhea's hand and placed a gentle kiss on her palm before replying. "Absolutely nothing, my sweet. I am truly sorry that I have caused you to become afraid of me. I haven't courted a human before and I suppose I'm doing it all wrong with you. I'll let you go home now if that's what you want."

Rhea read the sadness in his eyes and she felt her heart constrict at the thought that she had made him feel that way. Rhea was vaguely aware that she seemed to be in no control of her emotions at all but did not question the sudden change of heart. She just knew with every fibre of her being that she could not ever hurt the gorgeous man in front of her, so she made a decision and hoped it would not backfire.

"You know, I could use a sandwich or something. Where are we going?" she asked.

"You don't have to come with me under duress, Rhea. I don't want you to feel obligated in any way, Little One," Tristan said although he was praying fervently that she did not take back her acceptance.

"I'm not under duress. I'm hungry. Now, lead on oh great benefactor," she teased.

Tristan chuckled before gallantly offering her his arm and they began walking out the hospital's front sliding doors. Rhea knew that her pulse was racing although this time it was more in anticipation than fear. She hated how inconsistent she was being but decided she'd just go with her gut from now on.

"So are you going to tell me how you knew who I was?" Tristan asked casually.

Rhea grinned broadly before replying, "It would hardly take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Your name is legend and you had Aidan Forest, grouch extraordinaire, inform me that my shift was over. I just put two and two together."

Tristan led Rhea to a coal black '69 Camaro and unlocked the passenger door for her.

"Oh wow! This is yours?" Rhea asked excitedly. "It's gorgeous!"

"Yep, she's mine. I restored her myself. I take it you like American muscle then, Little One?"

"It's a guilty pleasure. I've never owned one, but I love them. Show me what she can do Tristan..."

Tristan nearly groaned aloud at the excited husky timbre of his mate's voice and clenched his fist as she let out a soft breathy moan when he started the engine and it hummed to life. Part of him was jealous of her reaction to the car and he grinned wryly at the thought that he was envious of an inanimate object.

Tristan drove fast but he was completely in control and Rhea loved every second. She was reluctant to leave the car when Tristan parked outside a little café and sighed regretfully before taking his hand and allowing him to help her step out of the amazing piece of machinery.

"You know, I should be hurt that you're already so in love with the car but won't even eat lunch with me without kicking up a fuss," Tristan sighed teasingly although there was an odd note in his voice.

Rhea blushed before mumbling, "I wouldn't be so hurt if I were you Tristan, you severely underestimate your appeal..."

Tristan felt his wolf rumble its approval at the hint of their attraction being mutual and he felt himself cornering Rhea against the car without even thinking about what he was doing. Tristan placed his hands on the frame of the door and leaned forwards until he was in contact with his mate from knee to chest. Her shocked gasp made him smile and he gazed at her expressive face as she resembled a startled deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler.

Rhea keenly felt every inch of Tristan that was pressed so tightly against her body and her pulse raced as her skin tingled from the contact. Half of her prayed that he would kiss her and the other half prayed that she was dreaming and would wake up any minute. Rhea found his dominance unbelievably arousing and she was extremely aware of her lack of experience when it came to relationships. She was suddenly afraid that she would seem like a naïve adolescent in the face of Tristan's overpowering sexuality and whimpered in panic before looking up into his piercing emerald eyes.

'Uh oh,' Rhea though belatedly as she became ensnared in his powerful gaze. Tristan knew that Rhea was over-thinking everything and decided to drag her attention back to the present. He looked deeply into her surprised hazel eyes before lowering his head ever so slowly. Rhea held her breath as Tristan's face came nearer and nearer to hers and let out a small gasp as he slowly licked along her trembling lower lip. She felt a surge of heat at the intimacy and grabbed his t-shirt to steady her trembling limbs.

Tristan had to fight everything within him not to just grab her and take her somewhere private to ravish her senseless. That brief taste of her had his head spinning and he shut his eyes while touching his forehead to hers in an attempt to cool his blood. Rhea whimpered again, this time at the loss of contact, and lifted her mouth to find his before her inhibitions took over. Tristan groaned as Rhea's lips met his softly and tentatively and the battle for self-control was lost. He pulled her against his body more tightly and took control of the kiss, pressing his mouth firmly against hers and teasing her with little swipes of his tongue against the seam of her lips. Rhea gasped as Tristan gently bit into her lower lip and he took advantage by claiming her mouth fully and forcefully with his talented tongue.

Rhea felt as if the world was spinning as Tristan asserted his dominance in the most pleasurable of ways. She was amazed at how easy it was to just lose herself in his intoxicating taste. He reminded her of the decadent flavour of dark chocolate and she could gladly stay like this with him forever. Tristan felt his wolf howl in joy and pride as their mate submitted to them willingly. He traced her teeth with his tongue before drawing hers out almost playfully. Tristan suddenly broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers once more.

"You sorely test my self control, my sweet, but we are about to be interrupted and I don't think this particular interruption will be very tactful about the situation. But trust me, we will be continuing this later..." he promised.

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Rhea's fuzzy brain took a few seconds to comprehend what Tristan was saying and then she blushed a deep red before burying her face in his t-shirt and groaning aloud. Tristan chuckled before turning his head to meet the unwelcome visitor.

"Can I help you Brock?" Tristan said exasperatedly to the huge hulking man that stood behind him and Rhea.

Rhea peeked up from Tristan's t-shirt and then straightened as she caught a glimpse of the mammoth sized man standing a few feet away. He looked like a massive grizzly bear but the scary image was belied by the stained apron around his ample waist and the toothy grin he sent her way.

"Heard you were coming in today, boss man, so I decided to serve you and your lovely guest personally."

"And what lovely timing you have my friend," Tristan said sarcastically although he chuckled wryly to take the sting out of his words. "We'll come inside in a few minutes Brock..." Tristan said pointedly and the big man laughed aloud before taking the not-so-subtle hint and disappearing back into the little eatery.

Rhea groaned again and pushed futilely at Tristan's chest to try to get him to move. He didn't budge and she would have been cussing him out if it weren't for the fact that his kiss had left her reeling and she was totally off kilter. She couldn't believe that she had been so brazen.

"In a hurry, Rhea?" Tristan asked lazily.

"No, I told you, I'm hungry. Now move," she demanded, finally finding her voice and her self-respect.

Tristan chuckled but stepped back and grabbed her hand to lead her into the café, extremely pleased at her response to their first kiss and elated that she had practically initiated it. He opened the door for Rhea and then led her to a booth in the corner nearest to the door. The café was quite busy but the noise quieted down as a number of people averted their eyes when Tristan walked past.

"Oh Lord!" Rhea suddenly said softly, standing up and grabbing her purse. "You're an Alpha aren't you? Jesus!! I am so outta here!!"

Tristan looked at her in shock before gripping her wrist to stop her from running away.

"Rhea, please sit down. I will explain anything you want to know but don't ever run from me, Little One."

Rhea registered Tristan's very serious expression and decided self-preservation would be better served by her sitting down and doing whatever he told her to, until the opportunity to get away presented itself. She had experienced the wrath of one Alpha before and she refused to allow herself to get involved with another in any way.

"Yes, I am the Alpha of the Forest Pack. How did you guess?"

"You're the "owner" of Forest Industries, you get to order Aidan around, people stop talking and look down when you walk past them and you just command respect. It's not exactly how betas and omegas behave. Look Tristan, whatever it is you want from me, just tell me now so you can save yourself the effort of pretending to court me or whatever and just get on with business," she said flatly.

"What on earth are you talking about, woman? I'm not pretending to do anything. And how in Luna's name do you know so much about us?" Tristan asked in frustration. His mate was making no sense and he hated feeling so uncertain.

"Tristan, just tell me what you want. Don't play games. I can handle the truth. And I just know these things, okay? Now please just-"

Rhea's speech was cut short by Tristan. "Dammit Rhea, I want you! You are my mate. We were destined to be together. Do you understand the concept of life-mates when it comes to wolves?"

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Rhea suddenly stiffened as her gaze fell past Tristan to the doorway of the café and she stared in growing horror as panic engulfed her like a tidal wave.

"Oh, hell no, I am not going through this again. Whatever sick game you're playing Mr. Forest, count me out. I've had enough drama with bloody werewolves to last me a lifetime."

Tristan became aware of the bitter scent of her fear and panic. This time he knew it was not directed at him and his wolf growled at the idea that something was causing such terror in their mate. He looked up and his wolf surged fiercely at the image of the man in the doorway of the café. He growled under his breath and stood up immediately, barely registering the members of his pack that did the same and moved into defensive positions around his booth.

"Tristan!" the stranger boomed. "It's good to see you again, brother..."