Hideout

N I N E

There was a knock on the door and Emerson gave me the "we'll talk about this later" look. "Come in," I called quietly.

A big hand curled around the door as it opened, but Leo didn't peep his head in. "Is my tigress dressed up?"

Emerson giggled, yanking on my wrist to get me to stand. "Sure is, Alpha Leo."

He finally peered in, the smile on his face falling when he saw me. I instinctively looked down and flushed, my hair drifting to cover my face. Emerson was excused quietly and Leo's presence moved in front of me the moment we were alone, Leo sighed deeply, tucking my hair behind my ear before forcing my chin up.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted, kissing my forehead. "You look stunning."

I blinked at him and stepped back. "Let's just get this over with," I muttered.

Leo caught my arm and stopped my trek out the door. "Adelaide, what's going on? We are going to have fun tonight. I promise. Cheer up, princess. What's the worst that could happen?"

~ ~ ~

Leo kept his eyes on me for most of dinner, his hand holding my thigh possessively as we ate. When the waiter came, his grip tightened and he straightened up. I glared up at him. "Leo-"

And he decided to kiss me on the mouth - right in front of the worker. The dude wasn't even giving me a second look, if anything, he was trying not to look at me. But the kiss did the trick - I shut up, lowering my head, and the waiter made a very hasty exit after placing the bill on the

"He didn't even look at me," I mumbled once my embarrassment had vanished.

Leo shifted closer to me, brushing my hair behind my ear. "Oh, I know. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to show him that you are mine," he said simply. "Besides, I know you've noticed the funny looks some of the other guests have given us, given you. They need to know that just because someone looks different doesn't mean they aren't worth affection."

"Leo-"

"Because you are mine," he growled, cutting me off, his lips brushing against my ear as he spoke. "You are my pack member now, you are mine to watch over as such, and you are bearing my mark. For all extensive purposes, you are mine. Because of that, I will do what I can to protect you from the ignorant eyes of others, the ones who naively can't see past a pretty piece of skin."

I didn't say anything, playing with my hands nervously in my lap. "But I-" I flinched as he roughly bit down on my earlobe, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. "Okay, okay, okay, please stop," I gushed. "That hurts." Alphas were supposed to be so strong, yet it always seemed like their pride was sensitive. Why else would he have to show his possession of me to all the males around?

He chuckled and soothed his fresh bite with gentle kisses. "My apologies, kitten. I should better control myself. Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Leo, please-"

"I'm tempted to take you home and get you out of those clothes," he hummed, and though I knew he didn't mean it, that he was being playful, it still angered me. "What do you think, gorgeous?"

I shot him a glare, shaking my head. "You know what I think. I'm not doing anything with you. Why would I want to?"

Leo's hand slipped further up my thigh and he grinned mischievously. "Because I'm unbearably handsome and irresistibly sexy?"

I snorted, shaking my head. "How about ridiculously perverse and awfully annoying? You realize every kiss, hug, hold, anything like that, has been forced onto me by you. So unless you're planning to push that further tonight, then you aren't getting anything."

Our food arrived and Leo took his hand off of me, allowing us to eat. "You really look nice. Those tights make your legs look absolutely delectable. Did you have fun with Emerson?" he quizzed. "She was elated when I asked her to dress you up for me. And she did a great job. She doesn't have a lot of friends either, you know. I hope you two can make a friendship bond."

I picked at my chicken avocado club sandwich and side salad. "She's really nice. But she was relentless on putting eye makeup on me, which I don't really do. But um... I was wondering if, when we go to the mall, you could let me put on glasses at least, because tons of people-"

"No."

My eyes widened and I gave my best version of Emerson's puppy dog face. "Come on, Leo. Just for tonight. Everyone's going to give me weird looks-"

"I'll take care of them, baby, I promise. Any guy or girl that dares to look at you the wrong way, I'll beat them to a pulp," he claimed with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Adelaide. I am going to make this a good night."

But that night was out of our hands. 

A/N: Lol 400 level college classes are going to kill me 

But at least I got this chapter up! 

Love you guys, I apologize in advance for how my updates might slow down for a couple months with my college course load being so heavy for the next eight weeks. I'll do my best, but as I know you guys know, I have to put my school work first. (unfortunately) 

I will probably see you when I'm next procrastinating an essay! 

bye