Chapter 7 - Riley
I poured myself a cup of coffee and could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned as Janella made her way down. She rubbed at her eyes, yawning as she moved.
I could still hear the way she screamed at me last night, and it stirred something in me. I found myself looking forward to arguing with her. She was the first person in a long time to push back at me. To call me out on my shit. Because she’d been right. I was acting like an ass.
“Morning.”
She stopped as her eyes narrowed on me. I almost smirked at how cute it looked on her.
“Cup of coffee?” I waved the coffee, a peace offering.
She crossed her arms. “Why? Did you put something disgusting in it? Can’t wait to see me spit it out and start laughing?”
“Is everything I do an evil plot somehow?” I tilted my head, waving the coffee again.
I knew she would take it. She had several cups of coffee a day, which told me she ran on caffeine.
“Because this is just black coffee. Nothing disgusting about it.
Unless you don't like black coffee, then yeah, you'll think it's disgusting.”
She continued to glare as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed herself a mug and handed it towards me. I poured her some coffee, and she turned. She opened the fridge, pouring in creamer and milk.
She sat down at the island, and the space went quiet.
I stared at her. She had her hair pulled back in a braid, with a few wisps free.
She was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top that cut low.
I took in her thin frame and wondered if she ate enough.
I didn’t remember her being so small before.
But then again, I never saw her wearing anything like this.
“You're staring.”
I blinked, not having realized I was. She looked annoyed.
“You can stare at me,” I said, giving her a grin. “We can just sit and stare at each other.”
“I’d rather scoop out my eyeballs than do that.”
And she calls me the smartass.
“I'm just surprised at how much you've changed since high school.”
She snorted. “And you've not changed at all.”
“You know, I’m not as terrible as you think. It’s been a while since high school. I've grown.”
She paused her cup to her lips. “And from what I’ve seen, you haven’t changed one bit.”
I disagreed with that. I’d changed a lot.
I put a lot of wants and needs aside so I could keep the pack happy.
I felt that anger flaring up again, and I knew it wasn’t because of her.
I hated how angry I got. I had little control over my emotions, and I hated it.
I was a calm person. I walked around with a cool head, but each day it seemed to get harder.
It was especially difficult when it involved her.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. She was still angry, and she had a right to be.
“I disagree.”
I watched her eyes narrow on me, and she tilted her head. “Fine. Can I make a request to go home?”
I froze at her words and frowned. “No.”
She frowned. “Riley, you need to be reasonable about this. You quite literally ripped me from my life. I didn’t even pack. Let me go back and forth.”
“You can buy what you need here.”
“Like a vehicle? Because my perfectly amazing car is still at my work.”
I tilted my head. “You still haven't told your boss the truth yet? Or was that a lie, and he was more than just a boss?” I felt jealousy suddenly. I knew it was stupid, considering how this all happened. But we were married now, and whatever she had needed to end.
She tapped her hand onto the table, and I watched as she held a vixen smirk. “And what if he was, Riley? Not much you can do to stop me.”
I stiffened, unable to tell if she was saying it to pissed me off or if she was being serious. I didn't know what her boss looked like, but I could imagine her type. Tall and proper. He probably wore suits and gave her charming smiles.
My mind was suddenly running with images of her with a man. Laughing at his jokes and leaning against him tightly. I could see her placing her hand on his chest, whispering naughty things behind closed doors.
She leaned against the counter. “Does it just rile you up thinking about it? Another man and me hot and heavy in a bed?”
“Knock it off.” I snapped. I didn't like the thought. I couldn't think about it if I wanted to remain calm.
She tilted her head. “Why? You had no care about asking if I was getting ready to bend over for the man walking by me yesterday, so I must just spread my legs for everyone. Right? I must be such a slut. I must just let any man have his way with me, right? Is that how you view me?”
Shit. I had said that yesterday. “That’s not...”
She rounded the counter. “It’s that’s not true, then why did you act like that yesterday?”
I exhaled heavily. “You are not going back, end of discussion.”
She crossed her arms. “And what if I just decide to go?”
“I’ll drag you back here,” I warned.
I watched her lips press tightly together. She looked away from me, and I could see she was working something out in her mind.
“You just plan to keep me here until what?”
“Until we find a solution to the problem we are having.” That was the entire point. She was here because I needed help.
“The only problem I’m seeing is you have anger issues.” She turned towards the entryway. “And nothing I can do to fix that.”
She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. I heard it slam behind her, and I ran a hand over my face. I wanted to punish her in the wrong way.
I didn't want to scream at her or even fight. No, I wanted to strip her bare and listen to her whimper. I wanted to spank her ass and make her beg for forgiveness. This sexual need was starting to get out of hand.
I went for a run hoping it would help calm me down, but it didn’t. I was still uncomfortable, but at least I didn’t have the energy to fight. I showered quickly and headed for my meeting with the council.
I arrived to find all four of them were already waiting. They were sitting in their usual spots, and I could tell they were waiting impatiently for some news. But I didn’t have any.
“How has the bond been?” Jasmine asked before I could sit down.
“It’s been fine,” I said, tired.
“And how have you been feeling?” Dean asked. “Has your anger been under control?
I shrugged. “It's been the same.”
They all frowned. “You haven’t felt calmer? More yourself?”
Dean looked at Kelly. “Well, that's disappointing.”
No, I felt like I was even more of an animal now that Janella and I were bonded. Part of it was us fighting, and the other half was just where my mind traveled. The different positions I thought of putting her in, and a lot of them were a little spicy.
I wasn’t the type to force a woman, but most of them started off that way. Shoving Janella down and making her. I knew that wasn’t me, which meant the bond was fucking with my head. I was starting to question if it was even going to work.
Jasmine tapped her fingers on the table. “Are you guys having sex?”
My eyebrows went up as they all stared at me now. “Excuse me?”
She waved a hand. “Well, we all know that a bond is just one part of the entire process. There is a connection, and the physical part of it all. You have been sleeping together, right? Everyone says that sex is more important than just the ritual of marriage.”
I didn’t even know what to say to that. She couldn’t seriously be asking me that. They hadn't said anything about that. They said marry her, and I had.
“That is between her and me.”
“Not when the fate of your pack relies on it. You need to do everything you can to make sure that your anger is under control.”
I grunted. “I highly doubt the pack’s livelihood is going to rely on whether or not I’m getting laid.”
Laura scowled. “Which tells us you haven’t. You need to be focusing on your bond, and that is part of it.”
I rake a hand through my hair. “It’s none of your concern, nor business. So, drop it.”
“You haven’t tried hard enough,” Dean said. “You need to be forming a strong bond with this woman.”
I grumbled, wondering how we even got here.
“You need to be seeking out an answer to this problem. You can’t just sit back and wait.”
I threw my arms up. “You do realize I did what you asked, right? I brought her here. You said I had to marry her. You did not state that I needed to bed her. You never stated anything past doing the ritual and bonding her.” I wanted to snap that they never warned me about anything.
“Did you really need us to go into details on that?” Laura asked. “Everyone knows how bonding goes. Everyone knows the importance of all the steps.”
Kelly nodded in agreement. “You know how a bond works.”
I ground my teeth together, tapping my foot underneath the table. I could hardly have a conversation with her, let alone get close to her.
“It’s not happening.”
“Because you're not trying.”
I slammed my hands onto the table. “Because it will not be the answer! Me having sex is not going to help the pack in the long run! Don’t act like it’s the solution.”
Jasmine raised an eyebrow at me. “No, it wouldn’t help the pack as a whole, but maybe it would keep you in control, which is just one of the problems. You are the Alpha, and if you can’t sit still and control your answer, your basic animalistic needs, how do you expect anyone else to?
How do you expect to stay in your position if you can't control your emotions? You may have bonded her, but you haven’t truly connected with her. That is what you need to do.”
I looked away and rubbed at my eyes. I had been told that being Alpha was hard and that you would get curveballs thrown at you. But this. I hadn’t been prepared for this.
Janella hated me, so the idea of this situation getting anywhere else was impossible. “She will never bed me, so move on.”
They all gave me irritated faces, but I ignored them. I took a couple of deep breaths, telling myself I was fine. We would have to think of something else.
I didn’t have the mentality to go to my office after the meeting, so I headed home.
I went inside and found the house quiet.
But I could hear someone talking. I followed the voice and found her sitting outside on the back porch.
She was sitting with a blanket wrapped around her.
She looked comfortable as she spoke, nodding her head along.
I stared at her, wondering how I was going to fix this. I knew that I’d been an ass. I had taken her from her life and forced her into this without telling her the truth. I'd been making mistakes over and over.
I slid the door open, and her head turned. Her lips paused, but I could hear the person on the other end keep talking.
I offered a soft smile, and she looked away. “Yes, Mom. I will stop by later this week. I have to go.”
She hung up and shifted in her seat. I could see how uncomfortable she got, and I hated it. I hated how she couldn’t even look at me now. I needed to fix this somehow.
“I was going to run to the store.”
She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “Okay? You're telling me why?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Do you want to join me?”
She looked at me, now giving me a confused look. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Because we need groceries and I don’t know what you like or dislike.”
She crossed her arms. “You didn’t care last week.”
“And that was wrong of me.”
She stared at me like she was waiting for me to take the words back.
“So?”
She tilted her head. “What exactly are you planning, Riley? Leaving me in the deli, so I have to walk home? Shoving me into a tower of toilet paper and laughing when it goes everywhere?”
I frowned. “Is that how little you think of me?”
“That’s just how you are.”
“Maybe when I was eighteen, Janella. I’m not the same guy.”
“Aren’t you?”
I felt my nostrils flare, and I took a deep breath. “Do you want to come with me or not? I don't have all day for you to make a decision.”
She stared at me for a moment before she sighed. “I suppose it would be nice to have stuff I want to eat in this house.” She pulled herself up and grabbed the sliding door. “I hope you know you're buying.”
I smirked. “And what if I say no?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Well, for one, you are the one who invited me to go shopping, so that implies you are going to buy.
And second, you stripped me of my life and my money, so you have to buy.
Unless you want me to pay in nudities. I guess I could do that since that's the type of person I am.”
She pulled the screen door open and stepped inside. I couldn't help but smirk, though I was suddenly eager to see where this went.