𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍: 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲

TWENTY-FOUR: Saviour or Serpent

The doors cracked open with noise as I stepped into the heart of the Alpha quarters. Brady craned his neck, glared and pointed a finger at me as he addressed his mother with an aggrieved voice, "What is he doing here!  Did you bring him here?"  

"No," she supplied with a rapid shake of her head. Looking just as worn out from what seemed to be an argument I'd walked in on. "But is it bad he came here?"

"I want him outta here," Brady decided, voice hard with passioned fury.

She looked me over and recommended, "Maybe a few parting words are what you both need if anything then to calm your Alpha. After all, he's still your..."

"He's nothing to me!" I watched in perturbation as Brady interrupted her sentence, a finality at the end of his tone. "Malik is a faction of his own. I want him out of my court, now." Then he walked away from her red-rimmed gaze that glittered with a mother's concern. With only the two of us left in there, I suddenly felt like I was the elephant in the room, that I was no different from a messy spot on a white wall that was being judged. That feeling grew thick with discomfort from being completely guilty of heinous sin. 

"What are you doing here?" The She Alpha asked, "From what I understand you are supposed to be at your parents' before the ceremony later on?"

Voice barely there, I managed a true answer, "I wanted to talk to him."

She lifted an open palm, indicating toward the door and direction he'd stomped down in, "All the best." Mrs Victrolli gave me permission. So with thanks, I followed him outside the hallway down to his bedroom. Which I didn't bother knocking on as I was aware I wouldn't receive a response in the same way he'd completely ignored me in the halls when I was calling out his name. Before entering, I had lingered outside his bedroom door, trying to draw up a speech or something for him to give me mercy on. Nothing had come up, my heart never stopped clenching around itself like a snake around its helpless prey at the reality of him never wanting to see me again.

 Eventually, I took the bullet and entered to unintentionally find him with a towel thrown over his broad shoulder. All thoughts left my mind, something in me felt like it was reaching for him to see me the say way I wanted to see him at his most bare. And I don't mean physically naked - even though he kind of was. His pants were still on except for his shirt, which he'd carelessly thrown on the floor. A stiff hand on the bathroom door. "What part about me throwing you out did you miss! What do want? "

At the sound of his bothered deep-set voice, nerves struck me and I bit on my lower lip just a little. As I watched the man in front of me, perfection in denim, a sore guilt vein in my heart talk to me that way. My eyes rose to his shoulders, broad and inviting but this wasn't a time for distractions as I had persuaded Malia to sneak me here for a reason.

A very important reason.

I wasn't sure of myself but I'd already gone so far with the reason that had me ignore his dismissal and take deliberate steps forward until I reached him and kissed him before I pulled away and slid off my shirt so we were both shirtless. "I want you to mark me." 

"What the?" He stumbled taking a step away from me, "What?"

"If you want to..." I felt desperate as I took two steps toward him, bared my neck for him to take and ran a finger down the expanse of the vein. "I want you to mark me."

His nostrils flared, holds folded into fists over the material of the towel just as his scent of want permitted through my skin and senses. I could feel him in my blood and because of it, I knew that he wanted to lay claim no me the traditional way but his rationale made him think too much. I watched him in slow motion as he clenched his jaw, rip the towel in half and turn his warm body away from me with decisiveness. "Get out now."