NOT A TYRANT

Chapter 10 | Living in a Hole

March 27th, 2013.

Three days passed.

A large, muscular woman dug a shovel into the dirt. Her pale skin was dirty- her boots were caked with mud- and sweat poured down her forehead. Veiny pale hands moved a shovel in and out of the dirt as she dug a ditch.
Nearby, a woman sat and watched. She sometimes lowered her book to block the sun and check on Riot's progress. She effortlessly dug a large square ditch, which the woman paying her planned to turn into a garden. 

"That's all good, now." The woman called out. Riot stopped shoveling and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She took off the gloves and shoved them into her pocket. Leaving the shovel behind, she waltzed up to the woman while adjusting her cow-boy hat.

The woman grinned, "Heard you were a no chattin' kind of gal." She chuckled, pulling out seventy-five dollars in cash. "Here's your payment. Honestly couldn't believe that a woman in town can do any labour work that efficiently and quickly in a day." She ranted.

Riot quietly took the cash and shoved them into her own leather wallet. "You're basically the talk of the town." She giggled, "Well, thank you Riot, have a good one!" She waved. Quickly, the woman was already out of there.

She left the area in a quick but tired gait. Outside the land of the lumber mill, she reached a spot settled under a tree.

Riot sat down and leaned back on a rickety wooden chair. The sun beamed down onto the earth, but the shade from the tall tree kept the woman safe from its rays.

She pulled down her old, dirty cowboy hat over her face and let sleep take over. In mere moments the woman was slumped over her chair, peacefully napping in the middle of the day.

She was exhausted. Riot has been working day and night in hopes of affording land where she can build her own home. When she found out you could make your own cabin from scratch- she was all in on the idea.
When she wasn't working during the day, she was hunting during the night. Riot needed food for day-to-day life, and petty thievery isn't her cup of tea. She works hard for her shit- she doesn't steal it from others.

So, here Riot napped, on a chair next to a tree overtop her den. She had dug out a large wolf den using the supporting beams of a large tree. She's slept in this den for a long time. With her overwhelming wolf scent and constant use, small animals stay away.

For a relaxing fifteen minutes, Riot napped to regain the energy she spent on working.

Suddenly, the hat on her face was ripped off. Her eyes snapped open, the bright light of the sun blocked by a large shadow overtop of her.

"What the hell?!" She groaned groggily. 

"Yeah, what the hell?" A baritone voice hissed angrily.

She blinked the sleepiness out her eyes before studying the owner of this large shadow. Cronus stood over her, gripping her dirty hat with a stressed expression.

He ran his fingers through his hair, "You disappeared for three days!" He exclaimed, "I was terrified! I thought something happened to you."

Riot groaned and yanked her hat out of his hand. "Well, I got shit to do." She placed the hat back on her face, "Now piss off- I'm taking a break."

"From what?"

"Working." She snapped back.

Cronus quickly snatched back the hat on her face. This was the first time she's ever seen him genuinely angry. "You can't do this whenever you want!" He stressfully exclaimed, "You're all I can think about. For you to disappear for three days? I had a heart attack!"
Riot tried to grab her hat back, but he extended it further from her reach. He continued with his lecture, "What if something happened to you? What if The Tyrant gets you?" He stresses, "I'm scared, Riot." Cronus frowned at the woman.

She was honestly starting to feel bad. She adverted her eyes, "Well, now you know where I always go every night." Riot shrugged. He raised an eyebrow at this.

"You... sit here all night?"

"No." She pointed at the large hole nearby the trunk of the tree, "This is my den. Obviously." She sassed. 

Cronus stared at her and the hole in shock. He dropped the dirty hat to the ground and stepped toward the hole to look into it. 

Riot picked her hat up off the ground. "Riot..." He muttered as he stared into her den. She suddenly felt embarrassed by his pitiful expression and wrinkled her nose at him. "It's no big deal." She scowled.
He straightened himself. "No big deal?" He frowned, "My mate lives in a hole! Of course its a big deal!" He waved his hands around dramatically, "How can I protect you when you live in a dirty den with rats!"

Riot positioned the hat on her head. "Protect me?" 

"Of course I'll protect you."

She scoffed, "I protect myself." 

This didn't phase him. "I know, but it's my job to protect you." He breathed, "I want to be someone you can feel vulnerable around."

She stared at him like he grew three heads. His eyes gleamed with humor, a tiny smile upturning his lips. Before she could say anything snarky, he spoke. "Because you make me feel vulnerable."

Riot widened her eyes at him. He stared down at her with dedication- the sun shining along his pale skin, messy dark brown hair telling her he's been in distress for days.  She didn't know what to say.
She wanted to lower her defenses with him. Riot felt an immense urge to throw herself in his arms and trace every inch of his body with her finger- but she couldn't. She raised her shoulders, "I'm not the she-wolf you think I am." She told him.

He only furrowed his brows. "I don't care." He immediately said. "I have secrets too. When I accept you, I only hope you'll accept me."

Riot sank into her chair. She didn't know what to say. The woman only covered her face with her hat again and tried to zone herself out of the world.

He slightly raised the hat just enough for her to be able to see him. His desperate emerald eyes pleaded for her- pulling at her heart strings. "Please." He whispered, "Give me a chance, Riot." He begged.

"I won't degrade you." He promised, "I will always treat you like the powerful woman you are. My mate."

Her eyebrows curved at this. Artio whispered quiet words of encouragement, leading to Riot finally caving in.

"Fine." She pursed her lips, "But don't waste my time." She added unconsciously

A large victorious grin spread across his dumb face. She wanted to grin back at him- but fought back the feeling in the corner of her lips.

"Thank you."