Ignite | ✔

19

19 - Spreading Wildfire

ZARA

I retraced my steps, walking back to the pack house with a million thoughts swirling through my head. Tonight was supposed to be a calming one, one that Haden and I would use as a stepping stone into this mating bond. A night filled with chaos and confrontations wasn't exactly going to do it.

And I wasn't sure what to expect next.

The sight of the pack house was reassuring but the chaos surrounding it was unexpected. Men were running in and out, all on some sort of mission, and the guards standing on the steps leading to the front door certainly weren't there when I left. How the hell was I supposed to sneak in now?

"There's another one!" someone shouted and I turned to the sound of the voice, realizing they were pointing towards me. The steps I was silently making towards the house seized and I was a deer in headlights. A few men came charging at me and I turned to run when another voice shouted out.

"Wait, wait!"

Turning around, I caught sights of Conner rushing to stop the men before turning to look at me with a harsh glare.

"Zara, where the hell did you go?"

With a brow raised, I said, "Nowhere. What is going on?"

He shook his head disapprovingly then walked with me towards the house. As I entered the pack house, my keen sense of smell caught the lingering traces of anxiety and tension that hung heavily in the air. The living room was in a state of chaos, with pack members running to and fro, their voices filled with panic. Their voices quieted down as we walked through the room and I narrowed my eyes at the pack members whispering but decided not to comment. Following Conner, I was led to Haden's office, finding several men shouting at the top of their voices and pointing down at pieces of paper on the table. In the center of all the chaos, Haden stood, his expression a thunderstorm of frustration and worry.

The moment I stepped into the room, Haden's eyes locked onto me and the room fell silent. We shared a look and I saw the worry fade from his eyes with anger replacing the emotion. He leaned up from the table and crumbled up the document in his hands, never breaking his gaze from mine.

"Everyone dismissed," he coolly said and they all scattered out, the cacophony of voices slowly faded as the room emptied, shutting the door and leaving only the two of us.

Two fires sizzling beyond the surface, waiting to explode.

The room fell into a heavy silence as we both stared each other down from opposite sides of the room. Tension choked the air, and the unresolved fight we had came to mind. So did the unresolved emotions and unspoken desires. My wolf whined at the way he was looking at me, so coldly, and I couldn't say that I was enjoying it either. Haden's penetrating gaze never wavered as he bore into me, like a predator stalking its prey.

My heart raced, and my resolve hardened and my stance firm, preparing myself for anything. He took his time walking over to me, his eyes burning a hole in my mind.

"Mind telling me where the fuck you've been?" he asked, his words came calmingly but there was a storm brewing in his eyes. I could see it as clearly as I saw the pinch of dawn out the window.

"I needed some time to cool down," I shrugged, eyeing the way he stalked towards me, "I took a walk."

"You took a walk?" he breathed out a humourless laugh, "my mate moments after being attacked decided to talk a walk and..." he trailed off, sniffing the air as he stopped walking, the fire in his eyes growing tenfold, "comes back with a man's scent lingering on her."