Bound By The Bond

|C11| TRAITOR

C 11 | T R A I T O R

"You're training Verity?" Xander's brusque, sharp voice interrupted my thoughts as he barged into the quiet kitchen. I carefully placed the fork I'd finished cleaning onto the drying rack beside me, leisurely turning to face Xander who was staring evenly back at me, his face void of all emotion. I cocked an eyebrow as he crossed his arms and in turn I studied his demeanour, realising that while he was doing a good job at hiding it, he was definitely pissed.

Xander glanced to the silent, burly man who had been assigned drying duty and as as soon as their gazes locked, the man whose name I never learned, straightened and bowed his head, throwing the tea towel onto the drying rack before stalking from the room.

"If you're going to lecture me, at least make yourself useful," I sighed, reaching to grab the tea towel before I thrusted it at Xander. He effortlessly caught it, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he expertly held in his frustration.

I'd never seen someone look so otherwise void of emotion before.

"You're not rostered on for cleaning tonight," Xander commented and I shrugged, resuming where I'd left off with the dishes. When I handed a clean plate to him to dry, our fingers brushed slightly and both of us tensed when electricity seemed to spark between us at the touch.

"Neither are you and yet here we are."

"Are you bored?" He asked quietly and I shrugged once again.

"Wouldn't you be? I'm used to going out on missions and training every single day. I can only spend so much time in the gym or in the pack house."

"You weren't in either of those places when you trained with Verity this morning," he challenged.

"We were far away from anyone else. Your training sessions have not been compromised, don't worry, Alpha," I mocked, focusing on the sink of dishes. "It was only the backyard anyway."

"That's beside the point," Xander sighed, abruptly turning to face me. "I love my sister but she is dangerous. She could kill you and you wouldn't even see it coming."

"You doubt me that much?" I shot back, placing a hand on my hip as I faced him with a scowl.

"I don't know you well enough," he tersely replied and for a reason I couldn't understand, I felt my chest tighten painfully at his words. "But I do know she has killed even the strongest warriors with a look. It doesn't matter how tough you think you are, you'd be dead the moment you landed a punch."

"You let her be around Ellie," I raised an eyebrow while his eyes flashed with anger.

"Who I let be around my daughter is none of your business," he snapped, his jaw clenching as his fingers curled into fists.

"Obviously she can't be that much of a danger if she can be around a child."

"Her power doesn't work on children. For whatever reason, they're immune," Xander sighed, his eyes darkening. "You, on the other hand, are not, Katalina. So drop it."

"No. Every woman should be able to defend herself. With or without an ability like hers. Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if someone, somehow, did something that made her unable to use it? Poison. Magic. Shields," I ticked them off with my fingers. "If children are immune, then maybe there are some people out there who are too," I passionately argued, refusing to back down.