Chapter 172: Her attention

"Your grand father sounds like he was a wonderful man", I prompted.

My voice came out gentler than intended, the Alpha in me quieting itself for her sake.

"Yeah, he was", The ghost of a smile graced Elena’s lips, And I knew it wasn't me. It was for the memory of man who raised her, and I was fine with that. As long as she was smiling.

Seeing that brief curve in her expression caused a strange easing inside me, like my wolf settled, lying down just for her.

"You had to sell your car to pay bills? That must have been hard", My tone remained low, gentle but probing, hoping to get Elena to open a little more. Her eyes flickered to me briefly. A quick glance before looking looking away again, as if she found it difficult to look me in the eye right now.

Humans always struggled meeting the gaze of an Alpha, it wasn’t intentional intimidation, but instinct.

Yet, she trembled, and I hoped to ease her inner turmoil by rubbing the back of her hand with my thumb more. Elena's lip trembled and her breath as she fought a fresh wave of tears. "Yeah, I did. After my grandma passed away, papa got sick. Too sick to take care of himself any more. The medical bills were expensive, I had to sell their house to help me pay them. The car wasn't that bad since I was living in the city for the ballet by then, but the house was ..... Hard",

Her voice cracked in a way that hollowed out my chest. My wolf lean-forward inside me, restless, wanting to ease her pain.

Her eyes stared off at the wall, as if she wasn't with me at a moment. Elena's mind was in the past, reliving her pain as she reminisced.

I could scent the shift in her emotions even before the tears came, bitterness and heartbreak twisting sharply in the air.

"I didn't make enough money with the ballet to pay his medical bills, and when an opportunity for more money came along, I took it. Papa was all I had and i did something terrible to keep him alive", That's when the damn broke, and Elena's tears escaped the recently built up wall, she had used to keep them back.

My eyes widened when I realized what Elena was telling me. All this time, the reason she took on illicit contracts with Viktor and Luke it was all to pay her grandfather's medical bills. The debt she was under because of her love for the one who raised her. Of course only something so dire could lead Elena to doing something so desperate.

My wolf snarled inside me at the thought of her being driven to that point and at the men who had used her desperation against her.

Her sick grandfather was the catalyst in our story and what led us to meeting. This moment wasn't about me, but I felt scummy for taking advantage of Elena as i had done before. In the beginning, I didn't care as long as I had her. Now I could see how wrong that was.

My claws pressed against my skin from inside, a reminder of the cruelty I had been raised on within the Volkov pack, cruelty I no longer wanted to inflict on her.

My family was corrupt and so we're most of my thoughts and decisions. Selfish, cruel, wicked, brutal, inconsiderate. All those words stung the back of my mind, when I looked back on that night of our first encounter.

The old Alpha ways, the expectations, the empire of blood I’d been born into, they clung to me like a second skin. But not with her. Never with her.

Elena deserved better than me, but goddamn it to hell, I was so selfish. I couldn't let her go now. "Jesus, Elena. I'm so fucking sorry that happened to you, that you had to decide something like that", My grip on her hand tightened, and i leaned forward fighting the urge to leap over the table and hold her.

Even my wolf froze, ears lowered, sensing her grief.

"No one should have to go through that",

"Well it is what it is", She choked back a sob and pulled her hand from mine to wipe away the tears. "But now he is gone and I'm stuck with all this debt",

She had no idea how easy it would be for me to clear all of it with a single order, how pack loyalty and mafia power intertwined under my command.

"Elena...... ", I tried to reach out for her but her face snapped up and a miserable chuckle left her.

"And i will do it again, Andrey. I will sell my body to the devil if it would give me one more day with him. He did a lot for me", The fire in her eyes struck me, and I couldn't move.

Her fierce devotion triggered something ancient in me, something possessive, something reverent.

"I believe you", i reached across the table again. The need to hold her and comfort her controlled my movements.

"I'm sorry",

My thumb traced her knuckles again, and my wolf pressed forward at the contact, soothed.

"Please stop apologizing", Without looking at me, she turned down to the table and clenched her eyes shut tight. Like she was trying to stop the sudden onslaught of tears from drowning her.

The way her heartbeat fluttered painfully made my chest ache, my senses too sharp to miss any trembling breath she took.

It was a jolt back into the real world when the server suddenly popped up at the table. I nearly forgot where we were and why we were here as Elena bombed me with the truth of shy she was in the contracts.

The human boy stiffened for a split second but I recovered quickly.

"What can I get you two started with tonight?", The young man asked clicking the pen. I noticed him freeze when he caught the state Elena was in. "Or can I come back again, if you need a minute",

"No it's fine", Elena swiped her face with her thumb.and plastered a pretend smile on her face.

"Bacon, cheese burger with fries please",

Her scent steadied a little at the thought of food, my wolf approved.

Hearing her order a cheese burger was a relief. By the state of her, I didn't think Elena had been eating very well. She was already so petite, but now she was thinner than she should be. And it hasn't even been a full week since I last saw her.

The protective instinct slammed into me so hard it nearly pushed the beast forward. She needed care. Real care.

"And you sir?", The waitress turned to me next while scribbling on his notepad. "The steak and egg dinner with pancakes and a side of hash browns", Handing over both menus, to the young man, I could feel Elena's eyes on me.

"Perfect, I will get your order in and be right back", As he talked, Elena and I finally faced one another again. "I'm glad to see you order a big meal. You don't look like you have been having enough, Andrey", Elena twiddled her thumbs on the table, and I couldn't help the bark of laughter that I released.

"I look like I haven't eaten enough?", I rubbed my hand over my face, shaking my head in absolute dismay. "You're one to talk. I'm hoping you will put that whole burger away once they bring it out",

Elena looked down, but I saw the hint of a smile she was trying to hide, pursing her lips as she examined the metallic swirling pattern on the table. My heart swelled to see that.

The smallest shift in her scent something softer, told me she was calming.

"Tell me more about your life, Elena", I got her attention again.

My wolf quieted, listening as intently as I was.