D'Angelo
A sudden rise of awareness snapped me back like a lightning bolt when I realized what I was about to do. Kira's looked away and an apricot colored blush spread from her cheek to her neck.
She shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously, staring at her feet as if something were interesting on the floor, and fidgeted with her hands.
When she raised her gaze to meet mine, I fought the urge to kiss her nonsensically and never let go, but I also felt so damn guilty for nursing such feelings.
"I shouldn't have touched you. I didn't know what I was thinking," I said with a wince. My stomach knotted with nervousness and my voice lost its volume.
Kira looked wounded. Her look told me so-it was one of pain and restlessness. Trembling, she surveyed the area to make sure that nobody was watching.
"Promise me that this will never happen again."
I was not even sure of myself, so how could I make such promises? I was sure only of how much I needed her.
"Please." Her eyes begged and my heart split in two. I'd never seen such beautiful pain in anyone's eyes before. I hated myself for being the cause of it. If only there was something I could do about it.
"Be careful what you wish for," I warned. The tears that threatened to run down her cheeks were visible under the serious frown on her face.
"You need to save your power and superiority for the pack members and the people you can repress," she snapped, her voice hoarse.
My jaw dropped open in shock. No one has ever dared to talk back at me; Leo was the most daring, and even he was careful with his words.
"Was that for me?" I arched my brow.
"I apologize for being snarky," but her actions were different from her words as she gave me a cold, hard look.
"Omega, you don't look remorseful. I would be careful with my words if I were you."
A thin smile came to her lips. "Maybe you're right, I'm not sorry, and I think it's high time you need to be called out."
The directness of her tone sent me into silence. Did the mating bond give her more courage?
My jaw tightened. She bit her lip and looked away. She may appear innocent, but her eyes grew cold; also, she remained composed and didn't falter.
I felt my blood pressure rise and my muscles tense up. She was playing with my head, getting under my skin.
Breathing deeply and reminding myself of who I was, I made an effort to calm myself.
Her Alpha.
My mom died while bringing me into this world, and my dad refused to remarry. Up until now, I was unaware of the extent to which the mating bond affected mates.
Regardless, I had married friends; Isabel never answered back to Leo. Zina and Grey had a different dynamic because they were friends before they were married. But Kira was an Omega; rather than trembling in fear as she should have, she stood in front of me with a challenge in her eyes.
This bond made every form of authority I had seem stupid.
"Give me one good reason for calling me out for doing the right thing?" I defended myself. She folded her arms and lifted her chin.
"Alpha, I respect you and I'll try hard to choose my words with care so that I don't get punished, but I am tired of the cat-and-mouse game we've been playing. One minute you stare at me like you're stripping me naked; the next minute, you're apologizing and avoiding me like the plague."
"I'm trying to protect you, Kira."
"No," her voice trembled with unfiltered feelings. "I know you're ashamed of me. Although I can understand your situation, it would be reasonable for you to reject me.
"Don't start," I warned her.
"Why not? We both know you're self-centered, so please don't degrade me. This is too much for us to keep dancing around. If anyone is to blame for this, it's the moon goddess who paired us together. But trust me, I've endured more pain than a severed tie."
Struck by her boldness and the growing rage in her voice, I stood motionless.
Who said omegas were timid? They had to come and take a look at this one.
I felt my hands balled into fists from wanting to grab her face and kiss those bitter tears away so badly. The urge to simply push her up against the wall and give her a senseless fuck was too strong.
"Are you surprised?" She chuckled. It surprises me too, but I refuse to adopt the submissive Omega role you so desperately want. I am tired of your games and I deserve some respect."
"Hold up," I snapped. When I held up my hand to stop her, she raised a brow instead of running away in fear.
"You have to be careful with the words you say, no matter how furious you may be. You must respect me as your alpha and abide by the rules."
"I follow realistic rules and I beg you to break the bond because we can never be together, and for that, I'm going to marry my boyfriend."
I blurted out a curse, raving with fury. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in close, my lips just above her ear as I let out a sharp exhale through my nose.
"Never mention that again. I'll kill him if you do."
She looked at my fingers on her arm with wide eyes. I gripped her closer, my fingers itching to feel her smooth skin as the smell of her arousal blended with the anxiety in her scent.
Her body trembled against mine, sending shivers down my spine and igniting the wolf inside of me, but I refused to let go even as she struggled.
"Let me go, Alpha!" She sobbed as she struggled in vain to break free.
I firmly gripped her, refusing to let go of her until she submitted.
"You... you can't do that."
"Don't push me."
"Okay, I get it. I beg you to release me."
I reluctantly let her go from under my restraint. She stepped backward, her face displaying pure terror. Although I wasn't planning to kill anyone, she might as well push me to do it.
"I meant it when I said don't dare me."
She turned away and fled. I stared after her. "Damn it," I muttered to myself. Now I've succeeded in chasing her away and scaring the shit out of her.
Later that day, I attended the tribe meeting, which took place in CreekVille pack. Their alpha, Javier, aka mean piece of scat, made me feel uneasy on the day of the railway opening, so I was not too delighted about going.
I made sure I was dressed nicely and chose my best car from my collection because I knew Javier liked to brag. Although I didn't like to show off my wealth, I was socially conscious and gave arrogant people the respect they deserved.
When I arrived at Javier's pack, it appeared more modernistic than I'd remembered. They had skyscraper retail hubs, were expanding in science and technology, and were even getting more involved in real estate, which kind of impressed and made me jealous.
No aspect of my pack was lacking, but I still needed to upgrade. There was a tiny voice inside of me scolding me for unhealthy competition, but I ignored it. It was not like it was hurting anyone.
Leaving my car, I followed the other alphas to the community center. A few months shy of ninety, Jameson, the oldest alpha, seemed to need assistance with his movements, and I wondered why he hadn't handed his position over to his son.
We sat at round tables in the large room while I leaned back against the chair, listening to heated discussions and arguments between an alpha from my clan and another from the desert clan.
My clan's alpha was wrong, but confronting him in public would get me in hot water, so I did the smart thing and sat on the fence to wait for food.
My prayers were answered when waitresses came with trays of food to serve us. We had salads, mashed potatoes, steaks, and meatloaf in various combinations.
Feeling my stomach growl, I grinned as I started to eat.
After each person started to eat, the table became quiet.
After the break, Javier-who never missed an opportunity to exact revenge on me-put on a spectacle of award-winning stupidity.
"Alpha D'Angelo, tell me about the rumor that you brought in omegas to live with the rest of your pack?"
I took a slow sip of my drink and he cruelly enjoyed the strange looks I was getting from onlookers. I wanted to slap off the cruel smile on his face.
"Have you really done that?" Alpha Duncan asked. "I assumed it to be gossip."
They began talking at once, saying it was a stupid thing to do. I tensed up as I devised strategies to pay back Javier.
"Crucify me, but it is my pack, and I make the decisions. It's not a big deal; I just gave them a place to live. Also, my crime is not as great as that of a certain Mr. who claimed his wolf had eaten $10 million in missing funds from his budget.
Everyone threw back their heads and started laughing as soon as I said that. Javier's face dropped, and I sighed with deep, satisfying satisfaction.