Chapter 8 - Kelsey
I thought Miles would back off after our argument and let me walk to and from work alone, but I was wrong. It’s been two weeks, and he has been here every single day. No matter how busy he is, he is there when I step out of that building.
Some days we don’t say a word to each other, and it’s just the sound of our footsteps accompanying us on the walk. Other days, he talks to me about security updates and pack business, and I get the feeling he’s just looking for something to share with me, as if he's trying to connect with me.
There are still a lot of things I’m struggling with regarding the marriage. Anger still haunts me because I didn’t have any choice in the matter. I’m still feeling smothered by him, even though he isn’t being specifically annoying anyway. I’m just not used to sharing my space like this.
And I still battle constantly with my attraction to him.
It’s gotten so bad that I’m nervous to shift into my wolf because I don’t trust that I’ll be able to control Kala if she sees him.
Today is the very first day Miles has not been walking with me since he took on the task.
It’s Thursday, and just after four this morning, he was called into an urgent meeting with the Alpha because of another possible rogue sighting. He was agitated that he couldn’t walk me, but I reassured him that I’d be fine.
I’m also on my way in early because I’m certain they will have the entire team out on patrols today.
Oddly, as the snow crunches beneath my boots along the pathway, I realize I miss him.
Even on the quiet days when we say nothing, it’s nice that he’s there…
I’ve gotten so used to having him with me that walking alone feels wrong, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel lonely.
The realization surprises me because when do I ever feel lonely?
I’m not the type of person who needs people.
I’m independent, and I don’t like to bother people.
I don’t need anyone.
Arriving at security headquarters, I walk into the building with a smile on my face. As soon as I’m around my co-workers, I like to be the usual sunshine—Kelsey. It’s my way of staying positive and focusing on what matters to me, rather than letting negative thoughts or fears overwhelm me.
“Morning! You look as cheerful as always. Don’t you ever get grumpy having to wake up this early?” The receptionist asks, having just arrived at her desk. She sets her purse down and stretches her arms forward, yawning softly.
“No, I like being up early. But I’m usually alone at this time of the morning. Wow, it’s hectic here today,” I remark, looking around and noticing the hustle and bustle around headquarters.
“Yes, those rogues have everyone up and at me today.”
“I’ll see you later. I'd better go see what the plan is for us,” I say, already walking away from her as I wave my hand to say goodbye.
In the briefing room, our team leader is already addressing everyone.
I slip in as quietly as I can and stand near the back.
“We’ll move around in teams of two and three.
Everyone is in the field today. If there are rogues out there, we will find them.
We have to put an end to the threat this poses to our pack.
Remember that you are the first line of defense.
Not all of you have come face to face with a rogue, but I assure you, you do not want those wolves running free through our compound.
We are the ones who stop them, do you hear me? ”
A chorus rings through the air with strength and determination. “Yes, sir!” The security team shouts.
“Today we are going on foot. I want each team to have a tracking device, a signal beacon, and a camera.”
‘On foot’ is the slang term for ‘in human form’.
My stomach knots, aching as the muscles twist and churn. In human form, I feel weaker than when I take the form of my wolf. I can’t imagine coming face-to-face with the rogue as my human self.
An image flashes through my mind of two rogue wolves surrounding me.
I take a shaking breath in as the team leader starts calling out the teams for today.
“Matthew, you’re with Brenton…”
I can’t seem to breathe.
The world is spinning as my mind taunts me with a vicious image of a wolf’s teeth sinking into my flesh. My arm aches in phantom pain, and I wince as I run my fingers over the bite area.
My chest is tight. My heart is beating so loudly it’s drowning out everything else as blood pulses in my skull like a drumbeat.
“Luke, you and Neil will take the outer route…”
Keep your breathing even, Kels. Don’t let them see your panic.
But the panic is so deep I can barely control my shaking legs.
“Kelsey?”
“Yes, sir,” my voice sounds weak and pathetic. I clear my throat and force a smile onto my face. “I’m here in the back,” I say, louder and clearer.
“You and Taylor will take the route that runs North behind the river,” he informs me.
The panic sinks deeper. Why Taylor? Why did it have to be him? Please let there be a third person on our team….
“Good, that’s everyone. You can head out and remember everyone. If you see anything suspicious, signal your beacon, and we’ll zone in on it.”
“Yes, sir,” I nod in approval despite Kala whimpering and cowering in my mind.
Pull yourself together, I snap inwardly at both my wolf and me.
Kala snarls and protests, angry to be partnered with the worst possible person on the entire security team.
This is your job. You do it for the pack. I remind myself.
With everyone assigned, we filter toward the locker rooms to get ready.
The energy is one tense with trepidation and expectation. No one wants to find a rogue, not really. Even the big guys who boast about how they’ll rip a rogue in two. Nobody wants to face a rogue on their own.
As we walk, I feel an intense stare raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I glance over my shoulder and find Taylor glaring at me.
Biting my lower lip, I turn away from him. The best thing I can do is ignore him and get today over and done with.
***
We’re almost an hour deep in the forest, scouting in a ragged zigzag across the terrain, checking every inch of the area for clues.
The equipment is cumbersome and annoying.
It’s obviously the reason we had to do this on foot.
Why didn’t they just send drones to follow us in wolf form.
But I already know the answer. They never would have kept up with us.
The team leader is forcing us to move more slowly so that we don’t miss anything.
“Hey, snitch, who have you told?” Taylor snaps from a few steps behind me. I ignore him. It’s the third time he’s asked this question. The first time, I told him to focus on the job and stop talking to me. But it didn’t stop him from asking again, and again.
I’m distracted and struggling. Both with him and the memory of being abandoned to face two rogues alone.
I guess I also have to add to that list that I’ve been struggling with the daily effort of ignoring how freaking sexy Miles is, and that I’m starting to enjoy his company despite not wanting to have anything to do with this marriage. It’s conflicting, draining, and distracting.
“Are you planning to blackmail me? Is that it? You’ve kept it a secret so you can use it as leverage later?” He asks, still pushing and pushing and fraying away my last thread of patience.
I have zero inclination to do anything of the sort. I want nothing to do with him. If I could never speak to or see him again, I would be more than happy.
I let out an agitated sigh and pause, looking left and right, trying to get my bearings and refocus on my job. I’m the Beta’s wife now. It’s even more important for me to do my job as well as I can. I’ve become some kind of symbol for all the omegas, and I need to do good by them.
“Girl, I’m talking to you,” Taylor snarls.
“Shut up, please, I don’t have time for you,” I snap back.
He reaches out and grabs my arm and yanks me backward, almost pulling me off balance. He grabs my forearms with both hands and drags me closer to his body.
Taylor shakes me, digging his fingers into my skin.
Anger spikes like daggers shooting out of me.
“You fucking answer me when I’m talking to you!” He shouts, his breath hot against my face.
I sneer and shove him away from me. “Get your fucking hands off me!”
Suddenly, I’m blinded with rage, “Yes! Yes, I’m going to blackmail you. I’m going to ruin you completely. I’m going to destroy your life! Is that what you want to hear? Is that what you’re so terrified of?”
I can feel the frustration pouring out of me like a tidal wave.
Weeks of it. The suppressed experience with the rogues.
The wedding. Being around Miles. The constant harassment by Taylor and Luke.
The constant need to be perfect, to smile, and to ignore how everyone treats me as though I don’t belong here with the rest of the security team.
Weeks of telling myself to ignore it all and put on a brave face.
His eyes flare wide in horror. His jaw locks, and he lifts me right off my feet to slam me down onto the ground. My back hits the snow-covered path, and I yelp in pain, realizing that he isn’t playing around or making light of my threats.
I lift my leg and kick as hard as I can, hitting him squarely in the center of his chest. He falls backwards, landing hard on his ass with the breath knocked out of him.
Not wasting a moment, I roll onto my stomach with the aim of getting up and running.
I can outrun this asshole any day. Wolf or human, he is slower than me.
But as I roll, he grabs my ankle and drags me backwards across the wet earth.
He pushes my face into the dirt and climbs onto my back. I try to scream, but the sound is muffled and smothered.
Taylor’s hands reach around my front to fumble with my pants button, and I realize what he has planned.
I start fighting harder than ever, terrified for what is about to happen.
He manages to pull my pants open, painfully restraining me as he grabs the back of my pants and tries to drag them down over my ass. I squirm and kick uselessly, overpowered and in a bad position that doesn’t give me any leverage to use my training.
“Stop!” I cry out, feeling his cock pressing hard against me. “Stop!”
“You're a stupid little bitch you’ll learn to….”
But suddenly he’s gone. The weight of his body is no longer pressing me into the ground. I can breathe. My head is spinning with panic and confusion as I roll onto my back, ready to fight him, thinking he must have moved or be changing position somehow.
But his scream is an instant sign that something is going on.
There is a dark figure standing over him.
A wolf, snarling and growling, holds him by the throat as he fights to stop it from tearing him apart.
“Rogue,” I scream, hoping that maybe someone is nearby. I’m on my feet and running towards the struggle. The rogue is seconds away from killing Taylor. I have to help him. But the moment I get close enough, I recognize Mudder. In the shade of the tall trees, he only appeared black.
His dark chocolate silky fur moves as he shakes Taylor aggressively. His canines have pierced his soft human flesh, and blood is seeping from the puncture wounds.
“Miles, stop!” I shout, horrified, seeing the blood spilling from Taylor’s throat.
Miles doesn’t seem to hear me. He bites a little deeper. Taylor gags, his fingers knotted in Mudder’s fur.
“Miles, you’ll kill him!”
Nothing. He doesn’t move; he doesn’t release him.
My heart is about to beat right out of my chest as I walk toward Mudder with shaking hands.
Gently, I stroke my fingers down his flank. “Stop,” I whisper. “Please don’t do this, he’s not worth it.”
Mudder flicks his skin as though I were a fly agitating him. A low, dangerously dark growl vibrates through him. A warning. To me? To Taylor? I don’t even know if he realizes I’m here next to him.
“Miles?” I whisper, almost crying. “You have to listen to me.”
I notice his jaw relaxing ever so slightly. I take a sharp breath of hope.
A cry of relief spills from me when he drops Taylor to the floor. Taylor grabs at his throat, and I notice that the wounds are deep, but deep enough to be a threat to his life. If I hadn’t stopped him, though…Miles would have killed the guy.
In the blink of an eye, Miles has shifted back into human form. He kneels over Taylor and whispers, “Move, and I'll kill you,” and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he means it.
Taylor doesn’t move a muscle. He looks terrified. Wide-eyed and frozen in place.
Miles stands and grabs me in his arms. He holds me against his naked body and keeps whispering, “You’re ok now. You’re ok now, puppy. I’ve got you.”
I melt against him, my entire body shaking with adrenaline and shock.
If he wasn’t here….
If he didn’t…
I can’t bear to think about what was going to happen.
“How did you find me?” I whisper, my face buried against his chest.
“I was patrolling and thought I would come and say hi, seeing as I didn’t get to walk you in this morning. I heard…” he stops talking, his voice tight. “I heard the struggle.”