Chapter 9
RILEY.
Jacob had gone back to his territory and I hadn’t seen Nadia for the rest of the day.
I spent my time trying to focus on the many pending papers that my Beta forced me to read, but I wasn’t successful. Nadia consumed all my thoughts.
I couldn’t explain the happiness I felt when I saw her at the border. It was as if my body had come back to life. I started breathing again. But I hope I can make her stay.
Dominic told me how Nadia’s eyes brightened when she found out she could stay for more than one day. It gave me hope. Maybe she wanted to stay here.
If Jacob was right, she needed my protection, and I could use that to my advantage. I could ask her to stay without forcing her and then make my way into her life. But how? I had no idea, but I would still try.
I looked at the clock overhead. It was almost dinnertime, and although I didn’t get anything done, I felt a new sense of energy within me. I wanted to be an Alpha again, fix my life, and prove to her there was a possibility of a good life with me.
I stood up and brushed my hair with my fingers, smoothing it nicely.
Earlier, after lunch, I shaved my long beard to the regular length I used to have so I would look more presentable and not like a hermit.
I chuckled despite myself as I walked to the door. I never cared about how people viewed me. I wore clothes and fixed myself as I pleased, so it felt strange to suddenly want to impress someone. It seemed like I was growing up backward and was only starting my teenage years.
“Just right in time, I was about to inform you that dinner is ready.” Dominic was outside the door when I opened it.
I scrunched up my nose as I walked past him. “I’ll skip. I have things to do.”
“Or female to do?” He snickered, and I turned my head around and glared at him.
“One more time you say something like that about Nadia, I’m going to cut your fucking balls.”
He raised his hands in the air, but he was still grinning. I let out the grin I was trying to suppress before turning around. “But tell them to save something for Nadia and me. We’ll eat dinner together.”
“Yes, Alpha!” He answered in a joyful tone before it turned serious. “Alpha... control your mood swings. I don’t think Nadia has anywhere to go. So try to be calm and gentle with her. She might run away if she feels threatened.”
I nodded before walking up the stairs. Dominic was right. If I wanted her to stay, I had to do things I wasn’t used to doing.
I walked at my own pace until I reached the fourth floor, where my room was. I was informed that she had taken the room far from mine.
I stopped by her door and knocked softly twice.
No answer.
My heart thudded loudly as I tried to listen for anything inside her room.
Nothing.
I grabbed and twisted the doorknob. It was unlocked.
Did she leave?
Someone would have seen her if she had. There was no way she could go unnoticed, but I couldn’t stop the pain in my chest with the thought of her leaving me again.
I abruptly pushed the door at the same time the bathroom door opened, and she came out naked.
I froze in my spot, but my hand instinctively shut the door behind me, drawing her attention in my direction. Her eyes widened before her hands flew to cover her round and perky breasts as well as her pussy. She then crouched down. Her eyes were blazing with fire as she glared at me.
“Get out! Don’t you know how to knock?” She yelled at me.
My words got stuck in my throat. I couldn’t get the image of her naked body out of my head. I had seen every part of her, but it was a long, long time ago, and the lighting was dimmer. With the bright lights all around us, I could see her perfect body.
“Get out!” Her eyes softened, and they began to water. Only then did I see the marks and bruises on her arms. They were healing but not totally gone.
I reached for the door and locked it before I strode towards her.
Her eyes widened as she raised her hand to stop me while her other arm hugged her knees closer to her body. “Stop… Or I will scream…” Her voice was too weak, like she was having a hard time talking.
I ignored her and crouched in front of her. My hand extended to reach for her arm, but she slapped it away, eyes still glaring at me.
“Can’t you see I’m naked! Don’t you have any decency? Just because you’re the Alpha here doesn’t mean you can come in anytime you want!”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it off my head before forcing it on her head. She didn’t complain and instead put it on willingly. But it was still short, not enough to cover her completely, so I stood up to grab a towel from her bathroom and gave it to her.
“Beta Dominic said he would have clothes sent to me. But I think he forgot.” She said while wrapping the towel around her waist.
A growl rumbled in my chest at the thought of my Beta seeing her naked if he was the one who came up here first.
I turned around and snapped at her. “And you fucking decided to walk around naked while waiting for my Beta to come here?”
“Who said he was the one coming here with clothes? He mentioned a name, but I forgot. He said it was the Gamma Female! And besides, I didn’t know the door was unlocked!”
“Next time you need to check before you strip naked,” I told her in a calmer voice, even if I was still doubtful about her reason.
I couldn’t stop the jealousy from eating me. Is it possible she ended up liking my Beta?
She huffed before walking towards the door, her hand clutching the towel around her waist. She opened it and looked at me. “Get out…”
I brushed my palm over my face before I made my way toward her, but instead of leaving, I bent my legs and coiled an arm under her knees and on her back, scooping her into my arms and walking us out of her room.
“What are you doing?” She tried to wriggle free from my arms, and I found it amusing how much effort she was putting in, even if she knew I was too big and strong for her. “Let me go!”
“Can you shut up? You’ve been screaming my ears off.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was starting to lose my patience.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To the dungeons if you don’t shut up.”
“Liar! You don’t have dungeons!”
“I have. It’s a sex dungeon, and if you don’t stop screaming at me, I will throw you there!”
Her body stiffened in my hold, but she did shut up, and I couldn’t stop the smile from tugging at my mouth as I walked us to my room. I thought she wouldn’t stop yelling at me.
I opened the door to my room, kicked it shut, and then laid her down at the end of my bed. I crouched in front of her, ignoring the stare she gave me. She was checking me out, especially my naked torso.
“Show me all your bruises.”
“Can I have some shorts?” She asked, dropping her gaze on her hands in her lap and starting to fidget with them.
I got up and walked to my clothes. I pulled out one of my boxers and handed it to her before turning around to give her privacy.
“I’m okay now,” she said softly, and I turned around to see her staring at me.
“Now, show me those bruises.”
“Can we talk first?”
“No.”
“No. We’ll talk first, and I promise I’ll show you all of them afterward.”
“If it is still hurting you, it must be…”
“No. I’m okay. We need to talk. If you see my bruises, then your mood will change, and we won’t be able to talk anymore.”
“Fine,” I crossed my arms against my chest, letting my eyes wander over her beautiful face. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and some of it was clinging to her face.
If she wanted to talk, then we would. At least she was making it easier for me.
“Would you like to start?” I asked her because even if I wanted to say many things to her, I didn’t know how I would ask her to stay.
“Okay.” She let out a deep sigh and dropped her gaze to the floor in front of me. “If you let me stay here for two months, I will help you with your pack.”
My brows furrowed as my eyes narrowed, not understanding what she meant by helping me with my pack, but I couldn’t deny that my heart leaped when she said two months. She wanted to stay.
She cleared her throat before tilting her head to meet my eyes. “People are commenting on how bad they felt about you being left alone by your female.”
Bullshit! People around my territory didn’t feel bad that I was left by Andrea. They were mocking me behind my back, but I didn’t dare correct her.
“...so I will stay here and act as your new girlfriend.”
“My Luna.” I blurted out, suppressing the grin on my face.
“Okay, your Luna. I’ll be the perfect Luna but in exchange…” She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip.
“In exchange…?” I repeated after her, eager to know what she wanted to have in return because if she wanted the whole universe, I would fucking get it and give it to her.
“Let me finish before you say no or ask questions, okay?” She smiled at me, and I just nodded my head. Again, she could order me to do anything, and I would do it without questions.
“I want you to teach me how to drive a car.”
“Drive a car? I can do that. Anything else?” I couldn’t help asking.
“I want a car, too. Not an expensive one. A used one is okay as long as it can take me where I want to go. Maybe you have an old car you can give me.”
I rubbed my fingers against my chin while I stared at her. So far, her demands hadn’t been particularly difficult. If she became my Luna, she would have more.
“And maybe a little money. If that isn’t too much to ask. 15,000 if possible. I just needed to start somewhere…”
Her last statement caught me off guard. I almost forgot that she mentioned it would only be two months. I couldn’t stop my forehead from creasing and my jaw from tightening. She wanted to leave after that.
I suppressed the growl in my chest and tried to keep myself calm. I wanted to storm out of my room, but I remembered I promised myself I would try my best.
I was still trying to find the words to address what she said when her eyes suddenly watered.
“Ummm, if it’s too much, 10,000 is okay…” She was trying to hold my gaze, but she gave up and dropped her head, focusing on her fingers that she kept fidgeting with.
“Why do you want to leave?” My voice was almost breaking, but I caught myself in time, and it ended up sounding cold.
“My uncle…” She raised her head and met my eyes. “He sold me to a man 30 years older than me. I tried to run away that night we met. Which I eventually succeeded in doing, but he found me a few days ago.”
I clenched my fist at the memory of the full moon when I met her, and the familiar pang of pain crossed my chest. Instead of asking for my help, she ran away and left me. But then, I didn’t know whether I wanted to kill her uncle or thank him for turning her over to my territory.
“So, he beat you up because you ran away?”
“And because I got marked. He wanted me to say who marked me so we could reject each other and the mark would slowly fade.”
“And you? Do you want my mark gone?” I didn’t know where I got the courage to ask this. I’d been avoiding asking her why she ran away from me because I knew that I would not be able to take it if she told me directly that she didn’t want to be with me.
She shook her head.
I almost smiled. I had hoped that maybe she wanted me, only to be crushed again.
“If it’s gone, then it will be easy for him to sell me. So, as long as I am marked, he can’t touch me.”
So, that was the only fucking reason she didn’t want my mark gone. No wonder she left after I marked her. I was never part of her plans, and I had no place in her life.
“Okay. Two months then. I’ll give you what you’re asking for. Plus, the security that your uncle will not be able to touch you while you’re in my territory.”
I knew I would give her more than she asked if she decided to leave. I could find a place for her where I could still visit her. Despite knowing she never wanted me, I was still willing to go all out for her.
She smiled weakly before dropping her gaze to her hands again. “Thank you.”
Two months with her was better than nothing at all. Maybe in two months, I could make her change her mind.
“Anything else?” I asked her.
She shook her head, still not looking at me.
“And you? Is there anything you want from me?” She asked in her soft voice.
You. I fucking want you.
“No. Nothing. Just be my Luna.” I blurted out.
She nodded her head. “I will go into heat soon… I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for the last two full moons. But you?”
My heart was still breaking, but I decided to lay it all out to her. “I don’t think I can stop myself when you go in heat. I’m an Alpha. I won’t be able to resist your scent.”
That was the truth. Everything in Alpha’s senses is heightened, including our sense of smell. And if our mate is in heat, the attraction and lust would be tenfold.
“Maybe you need to put me in one of your cells so my scent won’t reach you.”
“I’m sure I can break that cell. And there is no way you will stay in a cell.”
She chuckled and looked up at me. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t say anything and just closed it.
“If I come to you while you’re in heat, will you refuse and push me away?” I asked. I needed to pat my back for having the courage to ask this question.
She shook her head and bit her bottom lip, and I could see a smile tugging at her mouth.
My heart fluttered at her expression, so I also let a smile crack on my face. “Then we won’t have a problem when you go into heat.”