The Alpha King's Wrath

35 Breath of Fresh Air

"Are you sure we can't just stay here?" I ask, walking over to Chris, who is stretched out on a bed barely big enough for him, let alone both of us.

The small outpost cottage has grown on me greatly in such a short time. It's only got a single small bedroom, but the timber construction and remote location replenish my soul. Moonlight flutters through the small window on the far side, relaxing me further.

"It does have its charms," Chris muses but his eyes lock on me, ignoring everything else as he reaches out for me.

"It has charms, or I do?" I counter, raising a brow.

Chris just chuckles, music to my ears as a smile graces his handsome face. I slip onto the bed, tucking myself perfectly against his side and feeling the weight of the day catch up to me. Chris shifts slightly, tucking me even tighter, wrapping his arms around me, and breathing deeply.

"I miss your cottage by the lake," I whisper wistfully. One blissful night after my Luna ceremony was nowhere near long enough. For the first time in a long time, we were just a man and woman, not leaders and warriors, but lovers reconnecting.

"Me too," he replies grinning as his eyes rake over me.

"No." I deadpan, trying to shut down his dirty thoughts but he only smirks more. "Chris. Ryker is literally outside and your brother is in the living room."

Honestly, the man has no off button!

'Your switch is set to on usually too,' Ember snickers. What's worse is she's right, though I blame her and these freaking hormones.

"What are you thinking about?" he murmurs, brushing the hair back from my face.

"Nothing." I sigh.

"It's gonna get better baby, I promise you that," he whispers, kissing my forehead.

"I know... We didn't have to stay out here tonight, you know? I would have been fine back at the palace," I mumble half-heartedly. Part of me feels guilty for pulling him away from his responsibilities and the other part of me is relieved to have some quiet time away from that place.

"Actually..." Chris trails off with a sheepish smile. "We really did need to spend the night away."

My stomach twists painfully as images spring to mind for all the reasons we couldn't go back.

Did the Guardians not manage to get control of the mob? Do they not want me back?

"Stop that right there," he growls, tapping my temple. "It's nothing to do with you and everything to do with me... or Cyrus more so..."

"And what has the black devil done now?" I ask, grinning at him and caressing his cheek. The green in his eyes is replaced by brown, letting me know Cyrus is at the surface.

"Nothing yet," Chris stresses. "But I don't think he'll take it easy on anyone involved if he sees them."

"Chris," I sigh, already knowing how he feels. "There's something big there that I'm missing... Percival wasn't just mad, he was livid and hurt, I've never felt someone so wounded."

"And?" he challenges, completely unmoved.

"And, whatever that was about, if we handle it wrong, we could just make matters worse," I press on.

"I can't let this slide Jess," Chris warns as his expression hardens. "Ignoring the fact that you are their queen and what they did goes against pack law, you are MY mate. I will not have anyone disrespect you."

Already I can feel how worked up Cyrus is, feeding Chris' temper. I understand what he's getting at but my gut tells me that making an example of Percival will be a mistake.