Chapter 12- enjoy!
Song of the chapter: "Someone Out of Town" by Yuna
Kiara POV
We stay in my room for a while, just laying there, drunk off each other's presence. Connor kisses me slowly. Slowly and lazily, like we have all the time in the world. All I could think was oh my god he opened up to me and oh my god he marked me. And for that moment, I swore I was going to become the Alpha Female, to stay home and not take off the first chance I get. As long as he's here with me.
I guess I drifted off for a while, because the next time I opened my eyes, Connor's gone, and I'm facing a very angry looking Alpha.
"Dad?" I rub the sleep from my eyes. "What are you doing in here?"
I can feel his accusatory gaze burning on my neck. My mark is still tingling, and I smile at the fact that Connor thought he was going crazy.
"I told Connor to wash up for dinner," my dad says, his disapproving eyes still glued to my neck. "He marked you."
A stupid looking grin makes its way onto my face. "I know."
His nostrils flare. "You smell like him."
I huff, making the strands of hair in front of my face fly up. "That tends to happen when someone's marked, Dad." I unwrap myself from my blankets, stand up, and hug him around the waist. "Is this about me growing up? You know I'm still your little girl, Dad."
"He saved you from a hunter, Kiara. For the second time. You never used to be caught in danger until he showed up!"
"Dad, just give Connor a chance! You'd like him, I know it." I give him my best puppy-dog face. "Please?"
He hesitates before letting out a sigh and kisses the top of my head. "I'll try. I still get to scare him though," he says with a pout. For a father, mine can really act like a kid sometimes.
I have a feeling Connor's not scared of my dad, but I don't mention that. Instead, I just laugh. "Of course, Alpha."
Our pack house doesn't usually eat all together, but some nights we like to act like one huge family. Tonight it's the Davis family's turn to cook; Michelle Davis makes the best Chicken Parmasean, so I hope that's on the menu for tonight.
I slip on a pair of flats and slide a brush through my hair. I stare into the mirror of my bathroom. My eyes immediately flicker to my mark; it's still a little red, but the soreness will go away. I straighten my back as far as it goes, trying to appear taller. Connor's height makes me feel so small-- I have to stand on my toes to kiss him.
I can't believe he opened up to me. Even if it was just a snippet of his past, I'm so happy that he trusts me with the information. Growing up without any knowledge of wolves must have been so hard. I can't even imagine what I'd do on my first shift, with no idea what was happening to me. I wonder if he had someone to raise him, someone to help him understand how to be a wolf. He said that he had a good trainer, so someone must have had to know what they were doing. But if he was completely secluded from wolves, how did a human train him so well?
There are so many questions. Ones I know I can't ask without Connor completely shutting off. Instead I leave my room, tell myself to shut up about it just for tonight, and walk downstairs to the dining hall.
When the pack house eats all together, we obviously can't fit in the normal kitchen. Our dining hall is a huge room with tables set up everywhere. I used to love running around all the tables with Adrian when I was a kid. We would play hide and seek, and I would always win because I had the best hiding spot-- behind the huge red velvet drapes.
I find my table in the middle of the room. My dad sits at the head, with my mom on his left. On his right sits Beta Jackson, Adrian's dad, with Adrian hext to him. There's my familiar space for me next to Adrian. Usually Adrian's mom sits next to me, but tonight she's across her husband. In her place, Connor sits glaring at the side of Adrian's head.
I smile, even though he's giving my best friend a death stare, because I'm so happy to see him. So happy that I think he feels it through our bond, and he finds me in the room and locks his eyes with mine. It's like we have a secret no one knows, and I love it.
I bite my lip to keep from blushing and walk over to the table. Connor's eyes remain trained on me as I walk, and I can't help the extra bounce in my step. I slide into my seat, and breathe out a "Hey."
"You're never late to pack dinners, Kiara," my mom says nervously and straightens her napkin on her lap. Her hair is curled to perfection in Hollywood-styled waves. "Do you feel alright?"
I have to purse my lips together to keep from laughing. "Yeah Mom, I'm fine. I was...I-I fell asleep. I just woke up." It wasn't technically a lie.
"Oh," she says sounding relieved. Then she notices my neck. "Oh!" She gives me a knowing smile.
Way to make it more awkward, Mom.
Connor leans in and gives me a lingering kiss on my cheek. "You smell so good," he says lowly in my ear. I shiver at the lust in his voice, And then his scent hits me and I can smell cinnamon and something else. Something earthy and male, that I can only describe as Connor. And it smells so good. Seriously. If his scent was bottled I would spray it everywhere.
I look around the table at everyone trying to make conversation, purposely not looking at my neck. It's obvious they know what just happened not to long ago. I laugh uncomfortably, probably blushing scarlet. My dad's giving Connor a wary stare, and I mouth the words "Just try" at him.
He clears his throat. "So Connor, do you have any family?" I freeze in the middle of my bite.
"No sir," Connor replies cooly. I grab his hand under the table and squeeze it tightly. No family at all?
My mom makes a sound of disbelief. "No family? That's awful, honey, I'm so sorry."
"Surely someone must have raised you," My dad continues, "You couldn't have grown up all on your own."
Connor tightens his hold on my hand. I don't think he even realized he was doing it. I won't admit it, but I'm sort of glad my dad brought up his family. I've been dying to know.
"Someone did, uh, raise me sir," Connor answers. "But I don't consider them my family. They weren't nice people." He runs his hand over the back of his neck, and I feel my heart constrict.
I almost tell everyone to shut up. That I'm dreading he'll tell me his family abused him or something. That I'm not ready to hear the horrible details of his past just yet. But instead I sit there staring at my Chicken Parmasean, clutching his hand.
"Well that won't be a problem anymore," my mom interjects, breaking the silence. "You have us now." She gives him a warm smile, and I flash her one of my own in thanks for accepting him.
My father, on the other hand, shoots her a stern look. He's still apprehensive about fully accepting Connor just yet.
And I resist the urge to roll my eyes, because he's being ridiculous. Ridiculous and overprotective. Connor's not going to like, kill me in my sleep or anything. As I look over at him, noticing his angular jaw, his lean but toned muscles seen through the sleeves of his shirt, and his whole demeanor and I realize he's perfect.
He takes a bite off his fork, and as if noticing my heated gaze, meets my eyes. He looks guarded again, and I have to restrain myself from reaching over and shake him out of it. Because my mom's right. He has us now, and he doesn't need to worry about his past as a rogue anymore.
Our moment of silence is interrupted when we hear the clicking sound of someone's heels across the hard wood floor.
Isabel Cornwall struts up to our table and wraps her arm around Adrian, giving him a lingering kiss on the mouth. We all pretend not to notice as they go at it, Adrian overcoming the surprise of her arrival and fully embracing her. When they're done, Isabel saunters over to an empty chair next to Mrs. Jackson, plopping down in her chair like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"This is my girlfriend, Isabel. I invited her to have dinner with us," Adrian addresses the whole table. "I hope that isn't a problem." We all express our approval, and Connor gives me a knowing smirk.
Isabel introduces herself politely to everyone, even shooting me a dazzling, whitened smile. My mom gives Adrian's dad a wary look. I keep myself guarded from her; I know girls like Isabel, and they don't end up treating people well. However, Isabel seems to fit right in; she's just finished telling Mrs. Jackson about her drive up here. "I'm so sorry I'm late, my selfish cousin had to drive me up here. She's still a little upset about how we're moving here in a few months," she says.
Question's fire up from the table at once.
"Isabel's moving here?"
"James, did you know about this?"
"Are you two getting serious?"
"Wait, Savannah's moving here too?" That one came from me. I hadn't heard from Savannah since the infamous Pack Party.
Everybody's gaze shifted to me. Connor had his brow raised in confusion. Isabel was the first to speak up. "You know my cousin?"
"Er, yeah," I started. "I met her when you came in for the party." Isabel opens her mouth in realization, as if it's some huge discovery. "I didn't realize all of you were moving," I continue.
Her eyes lighten up, and her movements become animated. Like she's the most peppy and cheerful person all the time. "Oh yeah, the whole family's coming. My parents, Jessie- she's my twin, you'll love her- and everyone. Savannah's not too happy about moving here. She said that this pack house is way too big. But I love it. I especially love the gardens out back and..." She trails off talking about all the things she just loves about the house. I tune her out when Connor gives my leg a squeeze.
"Savannah?" he asks me. He looks genuinely interested and that made me smile.
"She's cool." Maybe I could finally have a friend I could relate to in the pack house. I look over at Adrian. He's gazing at Isabel like she's his whole world. He looks like a lovesick puppy. I cringe; how can he not see that she's only going to screw him over! I mean, she's the 'Two Week Twin' for god's sake!
"Adrian, can I talk to you?" I say quietly. His eyes break away from Isabel to give me a concerned look. He nods, excusing us from the table. I scoot my chair backward and give Connor a small smile. He's glaring at Adrian, so I don't think he noticed it.
We exit to the main hall, where Adrian grabs me by the shoulders and looks me straight in the eys. "What's wrong, Keek? Did Connor hurt you? That fucker, I'm going to kill him-"
"What- no," I shake my head frantically. "I just... I'm worried about you, Adrian."
He knits his eyebrows together in confusion. "Worried about me? Why?"
"I know you really like Isabel. But she's not good for you, Adrian. I'm afriad you're going to fall too far for her, and she's just going to screw you over."
Adrian's hands tighten on my shoulders, almost to the point of pain. I bite my lip to keep from crying out. "So you're saying I shouldn't date Isabel anymore?" I open my mouth to speak, but he keeps going. "You think you should be the only one who gets to be happy?"
"That's not what I'm saying, I-"
"You want to be the only one with a mate, don't you? I finally find someone who makes me happy and you want to take that away from me?"
"Adrian, I-"
"God, you're selfish, Kiara. You don't even know Isabel! You want me to give Connor, the rogue, a chance, when you can't even give one to your own pack member?"
My eyes fall to the floor. He's right. "I'm sorry," I whisper, knowing he can hear me.
"No, fuck you!" And then he storms off, slamming the door to the dining hall, leaving me staring at his retreating form.
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:(
Poor Keek...
Who do you think is right in this situation? Personally, I can sort of see where Adrian's coming from...
Anyways, the family seems like they're starting to give Connor a chance! Wooooooo
Don't forget about the Plan though... mwahahahahaaha
Please don't forget to Fan/Vote/Comment and enjoy :).