King of My Heart

EIGHTEEN

"Look what you did Liam, I was winning but—" I trail off as I realise the whole room is quiet and I'm the only one speaking.

Liam's usual grey eyes are replaced by gold ones and there seems to be a powerful aura emanating from him making everyone around him quiver. I notice that almost everyone has left the room and the only people left are Liam, Tyler, and Jason who apparently arrived with Liam. Even Amy has ditched me.

Both Tyler and Jason's heads are slightly bowed. Liam leaps in Tyler's direction and grabs him by his throat, pinning him against a wall. Tyler croaks trying to get words out but has little to no success. Jason simply stands uselessly, lowering his head. I run towards them and try to pull Liam away from Tyler who can barely breathe.

"Liam! Let him go. He can't breathe," I shout.

As if suddenly coming back to reality, Liam drops Tyler to the ground and his eyes begin to flicker between gold and grey.

He pulls me in his arm and whispers, "Mine." His eyes, still locked on Tyler.

I'm shocked and baffled by what I just witnessed. I try to pull myself away but his grip is too strong.

"Liam, you know I would never," Tyler begins to explain himself.

"Leave before I hurt you," Liam echoes.

Tyler quickly gets up and runs out of the room. Jason follows.

"What is - your - problem," I say in between breaths as I struggle to free myself from his embrace.

Instead of letting me go, he lowers his head and places it in the crook of my neck. I can feel his hot breath and the touch is sending sparkles all through my body. Jade is ecstatic, enjoying every second of his contact. His grip loosens around me and I succeed in stepping away.

"What is wrong with you?" I scream. "Have you ever heard of consent?"

He doesn't say anything but just stands, gawking at me.

"Just stay away from me," I mumble as I run out of the room. I can feel Jade whimper as I move away from him.

"No, go back. Why did you do that?"

"Jade, he can't just do that without any warning."

"Yes, he can. He is our mate."

"Mate or not, I barely know him."

"It doesn't matter. Go back to him."

I ignore her whining and continue walking. I get out of the pack house and see Lucas, Amy, and Jason huddled around Tyler.

"I'm so sorry about that Tyler," I say while giving him an apologetic look.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault," he comforts.

"Thanks for all your help," I snap at the rest of them. "I can't believe you all just abandoned me." I roll my eyes.

"Nope, girl," Amy waves off, "That angry Alpha is now your business."

I groan.

"Besides it was about time Tyler was punished by someone's mate for his behaviour," she giggles while giving him a slight nudge. Lucas and Jason laugh with her.

"Excuse me, I can promise, this time I was completely innocent," Tyler reassures.

"He's right. He was just helping me," I say while nodding my head in agreement. "I'm sorry but your Alpha is just nuts," I add.

"Well, he's your mate. Which makes him your problem now," Lucas says laughing.

"Plus, if we were ever caught saying that, he'd have our heads," Jason says.

"Alright guys, that's enough drama for today. I'm starving. Let's go eat," Tyler exclaims and drags Lucas and Jason back into the house.

Amy and I slowly walk behind them.

"How are you guys so chill about everything that just happened?" I ask in astonishment.

"It's not a big deal, April. It's pretty normal for werewolves to get angry, seeing their mates with someone else. And Alphas feel everything even more strongly than the rest. Tyler gets it," she explains with a shrug.

"But still," I begin to complain but Amy cuts me off.

"You should be happy your mate is so possessive of you," she says with a wink.

"Ew," I mumble but she just laughs.

"You guys are really weird, you know," she muses. "The moment Jason and I met, we couldn't keep our hands off each other."

"Amy!" I yelp. "TMI."

She gives me a questioning look.

"Too much information," I say with an eye roll.

We enter a huge dining hall. There is one long, wooden table in the centre that could probably seat about thirty people. There are a few other smaller tables placed around the sides of the room. A few people are running around with dishes in their hands, setting everything on the tables. It seems we are the first ones to arrive for lunch.

We sit down in the middle of the long table. Amy sits on my right, and Lucas on my left. Tyler and Jason sit across from us. A few minutes pass and a number of people are now seated all around us. I can feel them looking at me but every time I look over at someone, they usually give me a gentle smile and look away.

The lunch gets served and we all start eating. I get some roast chicken and potatoes along with some salad. I'm so busy devouring the delicious meal, I almost miss it when Liam walks in with Zara by his side. She's talking and giggling as they both enter and settle themselves on the right side of the head of the table. A few moments later, Robert joins and takes his place at the head of the table. Robert notices me sitting far down and calls out to me.

"April, why don't you come sit with us," he says, loud enough for me to hear.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm fine over here," I reply. I am really not in the mood to be around Liam right now. I can sense Jade's finicky movements. She wants to be close to him again.

"Nonsense," Robert proclaims. "You must sit here with your mate."

I can't refuse him in front of everyone so I get up and make my way towards them, only to realise, Zara is sitting next to Liam leaving no place for me to sit. Honestly, the double standards with this guy. He almost kills Tyler for standing close to me, all the while being so chummy with another girl.

"Zara, why don't you make some space for your future Luna," Robert says while waving at her to move over from her place. She gives him a fake smile and walks over to sit on the opposite side of the table.

I can feel Liam tense as I sit down next to him. I ignore him and continue eating.

"So April, how are you liking the pack so far," Robert asks as he takes a bite.

"Oh it's great. I've only seen the pack house so far and it's beautiful." I answer. "Everyone seems really nice." I give him a warm smile.

"I'm glad," Robert replies and then starts talking to Liam about some military matters that I barely understand.

Once everyone is done with their meals, Amy comes over and drags me away to show me around some more. After what feels like hours of walking around the woods, I tell Amy that I'm tired and she finally decides to take me back home. Until now, I've seen a school, a hospital, a bar, and to my disbelief, an entire sports complex. This place is like a full fledged city and I'm wondering how they hide it from the outside world. Although there are trees around every single building, I doubt they do much to hide a place of this scale.

Amy has a very peppy personality and I enjoy the time I spend with her. She drops me off at the house with a promise to come back the next day to keep me company. I spend some time exploring the house. There is a huge dining room next to the kitchen and another room that looks like some sort of home office. I don't go into any of the rooms upstairs to respect Liam's privacy.

It's almost time for dinner and I'm starting to get really hungry. Liam still isn't back, which is good because I don't want to see him anyway. I make myself some mac and cheese, one of the few things I know how to cook. I eat some and put the rest in the fridge. I decide to call it a night and go back to my room, soon drifting off into a deep sleep.