Chapter 6
Chapter six
Malakai
“Why, hello, little menace.”
The Omega falls into a well-trained fighting stance, and I observe the placement of her feet, rather impressed.
Where did she learn such a move? She really is full of pleasant surprises, isn’t she?
She may have Wren utterly hoodwinked, but I’m not so convinced of her supposed innocence.
I stick by what I said. Someone put those arrows inside her for a reason. Perhaps this Omega is highly dangerous.
Perhaps I shouldn’t provoke her.
Yet why do I find myself circling her next, admiring her posture? She spins on the balls of her feet, as if anticipating my next move.
Will I go left, or will I go right?
So many questions.
In the pale moonlight, her violet eyes glow. Rather spicy for such a small creature, but I’m stronger.
If she thinks she can escape here so easily, then she is sorely mistaken. Hence why I left the front door unlocked.
I wanted to see what she was all about.
Gage wants to get to the bottom of her strange, mysterious origins, and I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t somewhat interested in her past, too.
Lyra truly is an enigma.
Also, I couldn’t face the heartbroken expression on my younger brother’s face after he found out she had left.
That big heart of his is going to be the end of him.
This Omega will only destroy him.
Well, I won’t let her. Even if she does smell like a delicious cherry pie, so be it. If I have to fight her to protect my brother, then I will.
“So...” I drawl. “Is this how you repay my brother’s kindness? Taking off in the dead of night? Especially after all the clean clothes, the food, the medicine, and the long, hot bath he gifted you, too. More than you deserve.”
The steam from her bath earlier traveled around the whole house. It was ridiculous. At one point, I could barely see.
But at least she helped to unclog my pores, I guess.
Well, I hope she got a good soak.
Now I fight off unwanted images of her naked in a hot, steaming bathtub, gritting my teeth. My Alpha growls in pleasure at the imagery, and I grunt right back, Fuck off.
Lyra balls her fists. “You were the one who left the door unlocked.”
A sly smile invades my face. “My, sharp, aren’t we? How did you figure out that it was me?”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re quiet. And I’ve learned to be suspicious of quiet Alphas. You’re unpredictable.”
I blink down at her in pleasant surprise. Quite the observant Omega, but she’s right to fear me.
I am quiet. And I have a knack for ending up in places where I shouldn’t.
I’m not the pack spy for nothing, after all.
She relaxes her stance a little, sighing in resignation. Then she gazes up at me earnestly with those big, purple eyes. “Will you at least thank him for me? Tell him how much I appreciate his help. Without him... I’d be dead.”
My brow arches, and then I scoff, not so convinced of her sincerity. “No. You can tell him yourself.”
She starts backing away from me now. “You…can’t make me stay.”
My fangs bare next, glinting beneath the light of the moon. “Oh, but I can. And I will.”
Lyra glares at me for a few tense seconds. A heartbeat passes between us as mine skips with anticipation.
Hers does, too.
And then, we’re moving. She moves with perfect, fluid grace as she dances circles around me, and again, I’m impressed.
It appears she is quite the fighter, but most of her movements are on the defensive.
She dodges each strike of my arms. Even when I throw a few short jabs her way, she evades each one with her forearms. She even manages to slip between my legs several times, only to appear behind my back panting and sweating.
I just about evade her leg when she swings it out at me, attempting to throw me onto my ass. It would have worked if she hadn’t smelled so good.
Seriously, it was hard not to predict her next move. When she’s excited, her scent spikes, and then I get a nose full of delicious cherries.
It’s intoxicating.
“That’s enough now,” I order. “Back to the house with you, little menace. Unless you want to stay with the fox.”
I incline my head toward the fox’s enclosure, and I can smell the filthy creature from where I stand in the forest.
But Lyra only smiles at me sweetly.
And then she runs.
Oh, this is just a game to her now, isn’t it?
I exhale, moving after her. I don’t even run; I just take long strides. I know these woods like the back of my hand, so it doesn’t take me long to ambush her.
Now that I’ve worn her out with our little dance, it’s much easier to grab a hold of her, lifting her over my shoulder, kicking and screaming. “Let go! I need to leave!”
“No. You need to be put in your place, little menace.”
She’s still thrashing as I carry her back to the house. That’s when my gaze latches onto the fox pen.
No... I couldn’t.
Or maybe I could?
It may teach her a thing or two about knowing her place and understanding who her superiors are. Also, it may teach her not to look a gift horse in the mouth and to accept an Alpha’s kindness when it’s bestowed upon her.
My brother’s kindness, that is.
I am not kind. Far from it.
No, I’m the monster that lives under her bed.
She will learn to fear me soon enough.
Now my feet move toward the enclosure, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.
This will be good.
She looks at me startled when she sees where we’re heading. “What are you doing? The house is that way!”
Oh, so now she wants to go back to the house?
What a walking contradiction.
Now I open the pen, throwing her down inside. Oh, don’t worry; I won’t leave her alone out here all night. I will stand vigil just outside, ensuring she doesn’t get up to no good again.
She’s a dark little horse, I’ve found.
Her violet eyes are wild and animated as she grips the wire fence, shaking it vigorously. “Hey, let me out!”
I snicker, leaning down to meet her at eye level. Now only the wire fence keeps us apart. But it’s still not enough to drown out her sweet scent. “I bet the house is looking good now, hey, little menace?”
She shows me her blunt Omega teeth next, and I stare at her attempts to intimidate me, unimpressed.
“Yeah... well... jokes on you, idiot. I’ve slept in far worse conditions!”
A small smirk curves my lips. “Really? Care to share?”
Perhaps Gage will finally find the answers he seeks. Pack spy, after all. That’s my job. To find answers.
Lyra purses her lips, and now that plump, red mouth vanishes into a thin line.
I thought so.
Now I scoff, heading toward my spot by the tree. It has a perfect view of her in the pen. That way, I can keep my eyes on her all night.
Finally, I nestle down beside the trunk, sprawling my legs out before me. I cross my arms, turning my eyebrow up at her.
She just scowls back at me, white-knuckling the wire fence of the fox’s enclosure. Hopefully, a night in the pen may teach her a thing or two about running off like a thief in the night.
Her crime? Stealing my brother’s heart.
He’s already fallen hard for her. That’s just how he is. He cares too much about every little thing.
Hence why we have a goddamn fox stinking up the yard.
It’s fine, though. She won’t be alone for long now because the little orange dog that my brother insists on calling Fidget appears from his little hay-filled dog kennel, stretching out his black legs.
Now he chitters happily the moment he sees her, running up to sniff and investigate the new Omega in his pen.
He’s so delighted next, twitching his bushy, white-tipped tail, and I shake my head, fighting back a snort.
My brother ruined that creature.
It’s supposed to be wild, yet he only went and tamed it. He found it abandoned as a kit in the woods after a bear killed its mother.
A sad story, really. But one that had a happy ending.
Now it’s just as dumb and docile as a pet dog.
The fox wriggles around in the dirt by her feet next, and Lyra just stares at the animal in pure shock. Then, her eyes find mine where I lean against the tree. A wry smile takes over my face. “Well? What are you waiting for? Give him a pet.”
Her lip wobbles. “You... you can’t leave me in here with this wild animal!”
Wild? Is she serious? The most harm Fidget could do at this rate is pee on her. Which he most likely will, since he’s rather territorial.
I shrug. “No. I shouldn’t. But I will.”
She shakes her head at me. Then she squeals in frustration, shaking the door of the wire pen. “You bastard!”
Yeah, I just laugh at her insult, and now I observe her beneath the moonlight as she spends the whole night with the friendly fox.
She really is entertaining to watch.