When I woke up the next morning, Riker was no longer outside of my door. In fact, there was no trace of him actually being there; it almost made me wonder if I imagined the whole thing in my tired state.
But sitting at the kitchen counter that morning eating my breakfast, I got the proof that I needed in the form of an exchange.
"So, Riker," Asher said as he waltzed into the kitchen, clapping the seemingly tired alpha on the back. "How'd you sleep last night?"
"I slept fine," Riker grunted, continuing to focus on his morning breakfast. I peered up from my cereal at the two, watching as Asher smirked at Riker, leaning in close to the clearly irritated male.
"Really? I didn't know you liked sleeping in chairs."
Riker didn't even bother to answer him, his chair scraping against the tile as he dropped his plate in the sink, and marched out of the room. Meanwhile that smirk never seemed to leave the beta's face as he took Riker's seat, folding his arms on the table in front of him. I took this opportunity to turn back to my very interesting bowl of Cheerios, trying to avoid Asher's ever present stare.
Seriously, why couldn't he just talk to me like a normal person and not stare?
"You know, if you have something to say, you should just say it," I mumbled, shoveling a spoonful of the milky goodness into my mouth, already getting fed up with his abnormal habits. I heard him chuckle, his hand now extended so he was preventing me from dipping my spoon in the bowl once again. I took this moment to look up from my bowl, watching as his eyes lit up with a mischievous look I did not want to see.
"I was just thinking," he trailed off, his eyes flickering over towards the door before he looked back at me once again. "You could have been nice enough to invite him inside, you know, instead of letting him sleep outside of your room in a chair."
I froze at his words, the spoon in my hand slipping through my fingers and into the bowl below. The milk splattered everywhere, but I couldn't be bothered with that little situation as my mind began to race with thoughts that all stemmed from his seemingly innocent little comment.
I need to control myself before he finds out.
I quickly ducked my head, taking my unfinished bowl of cereal to the sink, simply pretending to clean up my breakfast just so I can hide my face from Asher's curious eyes.
"What's wrong, Eden? You're looking a little... red."
The little bastard is teasing me. I had to refrain from saying anything, simply trying to focus on calming my wolf before things get way out of hand, but Asher just couldn't seem to take the hint on when he should leave things alone.
"How cute," he cooed, and I could just see the smile on his face as he continued to ramble on about a dangerous topic. He had no idea that I was fighting to keep my wolf in check as she seemed all too happy and excited to try and put these little fantasies of hers into action. Her excitement only seemed to leave my body feeling hot and uncomfortable, leaving me to try and cool my red tinted skin under the cold water of the faucet in front of me.
"Little Eden's gone all shy and timid on me," he chuckled, continuing to tease me.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the kitchen changed. Asher suddenly stopped laughing, causing me to halt my actions as I listened carefully. That's when I heard his small intake of breath, causing me to promptly shut my eyes as he muttered something I wished to not hear.
"Woah."
I could feel my hands begin to tremble as I fought harder against my wolf, but once I finally gave her that control over me after all this time, she only proved to be more resilient. I heard his chair scrape against the floor, and for once, I had no idea what was to happen next.
I've heard of male wolves being attracted to the... arousal, of unmated females, but they never speak of what happens after -
A growl broke the silence in the kitchen, and oh how I wished this already embarrassing moment would just end without any more embarrassment on my behalf, but it didn't seem like luck was on my side today.
"Asher, go," Riker growled at him again. I didn't even have to look to see Asher leaving the kitchen as his alpha ordered him to do so, leaving me all alone with him.
I'm not going to lie; I'm scared. Being alone with a raging alpha when my hormones are going crazy due to my wolf's inability to control herself at the thought of her mate is a situation I did not wish to find myself in ever, and if my self control is not at its best, who knows how well Riker's will be.
I didn't want to find out or test him.
I thought it would be best if I stayed still, unmoving, but my stupid wolf couldn't even control herself that much as with the sound of his heavy breathing, my wolf made my hands jerk, causing the bowl to clatter into the sink with such a loud noise I knew his eyes were on me now.
It didn't take him long to approach me, his body settling behind mine so his body heat was now scorching my already hot skin. His large hands gripped the counter right beside me, allowing his massive arms to prevent me from moving, or trying to escape. I was trapped with him.
"The thing is," his voice broke the silence as it came out low and gravelly, sending a wave of shivers down my spine. It's a wonder how I haven't lost it yet as he continued to speak, "I have never seen, or smelled, you get so aroused by anything I've ever said or done before. Yet here you are, with my beta, and you're practically falling to pieces at something he said... or did."
With his close proximity I was finding it harder and harder to pay attention to his words, my wolf trying to take from me what little control I had left. If she got her way, she would make sure to prove his words wrong, but I wasn't going to let her have her way.
His hands suddenly released the counter as his fingertips now traced my burning arms, reaching higher and higher before trailing down my sides to my hips. "What did he do, Eden?"
"H-He didn't do anything," I stuttered horribly, trying to ignore my wolf's incessant chanting in my head.
Clothes off now. Clothes off now.
"I find that hard to believe," he ground out, bending over to nuzzle his nose in my neck before inhaling deeply. "Don't forget I can tell when you're lying to me."
"Riker, please," I pleaded with him, feeling completely mortified that it's come to this. "It wasn't him, I swear."
But it felt good. Every cell in my body was buzzing, tingling, on fire. I didn't want him to stop, didn't want him to leave my side. I didn't want to fight this attraction as I wanted him to finally have his way with me, I just wanted him.
And that's scary.
"No? It wasn't him?" He asked me as he moved my hair away from my neck, exposing the mark he gave me so long ago. "I'm finding that very hard to believe when he was the only one in here with you."
He spun me around so I was now facing him, and his eyes held no trace of their usual blue in them at all.
"I want the truth, Eden, I don't care how good you smell right now - if I find out he's the one who caused you to be like this, I will kill him."
As he lectured me, I found myself concentrated on his neck, watching as the vein pulsed as he yelled under his smooth skin. Before I knew what was happening I had his shirt fisted in between my hands and I bit into the skin on his neck, a wave of relief washing over me. However I failed to think of the consequences of my actions as Riker emitted a loud growl from deep within his chest, his hands squeezing my hips with so much force I promptly released my grip on him in order to cry out in pain.
Oh crap, what did I do?
"Oh, crap, I can't believe I - crap, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," I rushed out an apology, quickly wiping at my mouth before stepping away from Riker. I didn't dare look at him, in fear of what might happen after my stupid little stunt, so I rushed out of the kitchen to the only place I could think of where I will be safe.
******
She seems to be very good at that; making Riker lust after her only to run away in the end. In a way, he knew it was a good thing that she left before anything could get out of hand, but damn how he only wished he could have his way with her at least once.
The thought alone left him touching the raw mark on his neck, his heart swelling at the thought of what happened earlier that day.
"What the hell happened to you?" Asher questioned him as he entered his office later that day. It took a whole morning of running and training for Riker to calm himself down enough in order to go back to the pack house where his mate was staying, but he seemed to have forgotten about the "battle wound" from their little confrontation earlier that morning.
"What are you talking about?"
Asher rolled his eyes, gesturing to the spot on his neck where the bite mark was located. "Unless a giant leech attacked you sometime today, I would say you and your mate got a little carried away in the kitchen this morning, amiright?"
Riker chose to ignore his friend's comment, instead focusing on the work he has laid out for him. Ever since last night's breach of the border, it's obvious that they have to focus on their ability to protect their territory, especially now that the most important person in his life is with them. Last night was a close call, seeing as they managed to prevent the wolves from coming any further into the territory than the outskirts of the town, luckily located far away from the pack house, but who's to say they will be so lucky in the future.
"Come on, Riker, you can tell me," Asher pressed on, not seeming to get the hint that Riker was done talking about it.
"It's none of your concern what Eden and I decide to do when we are together, but what should be your concern is how we can improve our border patrol," Riker grumbled, more than happy to steer the conversation away from him and his mate to something else.
Asher looked out the window briefly before turning back to the alpha, leaning in really close to the desk before speaking. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this from me, but it's better that I tell you than any of your pack members; it took a lot for me to control myself around Eden today, and if you weren't there when you were, who knows what would have happened." Riker growled dangerously at his beta, but Asher didn't seem to get the hint.
"I would never try to take your mate away from you, but the Moon Goddess knows that someone might if you don't, ya know, lock her down. Today was a close call, that's all I want you to think about."
"Yeah, well, you try dealing with a mate who hates you," Riker snapped at Asher, completely without thinking; and he instantly regretted it because that was something he never wished to admit to anyone. Eden's "hatred" for Riker has caused him more stress and heartache than anything he has ever encountered in his life, and it doesn't help that she's all he thinks about.
Asher looked at Riker with wide eyes, not sure if he heard the alpha correctly. Riker was never one to admit his feelings to anyone yet, somehow, with the arrival of Eden in his life, he has managed to do so more times than he ever has before. However, Asher seemed to know something that Riker didn't seem to catch on to.
"Hates you? Are you kidding me?" Asher scoffed, unbelieving of what he was hearing at that moment. "Riker, clearly she doesn't hate you if she fucking marked you."
"Things may not be easy with Eden, but I'm sure she doesn't hate you. I mean, how could she? You're her mate and she hasn't rejected you, which is clearly a good sign."
Riker simply listened to what his beta had to say, nodding at the end of his little speech; and that was as far as the conversation ever got. He's revealed too much anyway.
******
"Eden!"
"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze, looking over at Max. The small boy was staring at the stove with wide eyes as the pasta I was making in the pot began to bubble over. I raced out of my seat towards the stove, quickly turning off the flame as I got the strainer ready to drain the pasta.
"Thank you, Max, you saved us," I managed to smile at him, but I couldn't seem to fake my mood anymore. What happened with Riker earlier that morning was imprinted in my mind, I just couldn't stop thinking about it.
Clearly you shouldn't be doing things like cooking if you can't seem to focus, I couldn't help but scold myself, finishing off Max and I's dinner by placing it back in the pot to add sauce to.
"Eden," Max's soft voice broke me out of my thoughts as I looked over at the young boy. He looked up at me with wide eyes, a small frown on his face. "Are you okay?"
I managed to smile, once again, quickly going over to hug him before continuing on with dinner. "I'm alright, don't you worry."
But I was worrying. Everything that happened today with Riker shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't be feeling this way about him, I shouldn't have lost my control back there, and I shouldn't have bit him like I did. Everything that happened was a mistake.
Obviously I couldn't tell Max that - he's just a little boy. So I'll just have to keep this all to myself for now and hope for the best.
"Come on, Max, let's get ready to eat." I urged him up from his seat at the counter before he was off running for the bathroom to wash his hands. I quickly went running after him, trying to catch up when suddenly I caught a strange whiff of something.
I halted in my tracks as the smell seemed to become more pungent and nauseating. I looked around, trying to pinpoint the location of the smell when I heard glass shattering from somewhere inside the house.
Max, we should find Max.
That was the first thing that came to my mind, yet my body was drawn towards where the sound came from. I found myself running towards it before I suddenly stopped, coming face to chest with a large black wolf.
I remember how the fear seemed to course through me at the sight of its killer jaws, but as my eyes met the wild red ones in front of me, something in me knew that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Everything that happened afterwards was chaos. Asher and many other men ran inside the house, yelling and screaming as they tried to reign in the wolf from causing more damage to the house, but the wolf wasn't having any of it. All it did was continue to snap its jaws at the men, snarling and causing damage to them one by one until they were finally able to draw it in. With the use of a sedative - which I found out after I asked for the well being of the wolf - the wolf fell to the ground, slowly shifting into a human.
Riker.
______
a/n.
I KNOW YOU ALL HATE ME BECAUSE I CAME BACK AFTER A MONTH OF NOT UPDATING AND I GIVE YOU THIS *gestures to the chapter above*
idk, I kind of like the first part of the chapter but the rest is kind of bleh to me, idk, it just is. anyway, I'll be sure to do a lot better next time, which will hopefully be in the near future since I should be done with my college apps soon.
anyway, what do you guys think of the chapter? how do you guys feel about Riker and Eden? also, I just realized that there is a chance there will come a point in the story in which Riker and Eden will, ya know... mate, so like, would you guys want me to write that all out or do you want me to make a very clean version of them getting down and dirty?
idk, it's just a thought, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there (and you guys can most definitely tell me what you want so I can write it and please you :))
also, I think now will be the best time to say a huge THANK YOU to all of my new readers and old ones, because with your help, this story has gained 20k reads since I last updated about a month ago. I am so grateful for you guys and that you would take the time to read my story, and I hope you continue to help it grow by
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I love you all so much and I hope to see you all soon! xx