Chapter 201: so happy

Something told me that Elena was upset because of something I had said but I couldn't figure out what it was. Elena was mine and she did belong to me. What was I missing?!

The heat between us outside on the patio was smothered by the sudden cold tension surrounding us. It felt like Elena put up a wall with no intentions of letting it down any time soon. My senses picked up every subtle shift , the faint scent of her worry, the stiffness of her movements, the way the air around her seemed to pulse.

I hated it. It drove me wild when all I wanted was to feel her and be with her. When I caught up to her at the stove stirring the pot, I couldn't help myself and looked down at the black brace on her ankle. While Elena was walking on her own and everything else from the fall was healed, I was still afraid of hurting her. The instinct to protect her gnawed at me, low and insistent, like a growl curled around the edges of my mind.

It was one thing to be rough with her when we were both caught up in the throes of intense passion, but halting her recovery time because she made my body react?

I was selfish but I knew that she needed to get back on the stage. That's where she wanted to be. That's where she really belonged. My thoughts and feelings were conflicted, and this wasn't a normal occurrence for me. I'm Andrey Volkov. One of the richest men in the city, and most feared Alpha. Yet here I was, wrapped up around the finger of the ballerina. Every fiber of me felt keyed to her presence, a pulse I couldn’t deny, a tension coiled beneath my ribs that longed to be near her, close, protective, aware.

A sudden knock on the front door broke me out of my thoughts where I leaned on the counter, staring at Elena. My brows lifted over my forehead and I whipped around, wondering who was at my front door at this time on a weekday. My senses prickled with caution.

"Kto, chert voz'mi, u moyey dveri," I cursed in my mother tongue. Elena's head snapped up when she heard the knock again and then she turned her quizzical blue eyes on me. "Do you know who that is?", I asked, my voice carrying an edge of instinctive vigilance.

"Who do you think it is?" She tried to hide the smirk and curled the corner of her lips.

"She has already visited twice this week, it can't be," I ran my hand through my hair with an exasperated huff. Though I had a feeling that Elena was right, my mind was still denying it. My instincts, though, were alert , every subtle scent, every footstep, telling me this wasn’t an ordinary visit.

Leaving the kitchen, I walked back through the foyer to the front door. Another bout of knocking greeted my ears, harder this time. I groaned and braced myself when my fist curled over the doorknob. My senses were stretching, tasting the air, reading every subtle motion from beyond the door.

As soon as the door creaked open, the person on the other side immediately burst in. Instantly I was assaulted by the thick scent of power , wild hidden beneath the expensive perfume she always wore in my pack. My instincts coiled, protective. "What was one of my pack members doing here?, and who gave her the right to visit Elena because Elena just said that she has so far visited two times in this week?",

“Gde Moya milaya balerina?”

The hard eyes of Elder Mira turned on me as she slipped off her luxurious fur coat and tossed onto the sofa. “Oh. Andrey, where is the sweet girl? How is she today?” she asked again when I didn’t respond.

My jaw tightened. My wolf stirred beneath the surface, unsettled. “Hi Mira. It’s very good to see you. Work was fine today. Thank you for asking,” I replied with every ounce of sarcasm I could muster.

“Nah! I’m asking about my sweetheart,” she waved her hand at me, then pushed past me toward the kitchen where the sound of Elena cooking reached us. My body tensed automatically, aware of every step she took, alert to protect her space.

“Elena darling!”

“Mira! It’s good to see you again,” I heard Elena’s chipper greeting. At least now, her smile sounded as if it was sincere. My senses picked up the warmth of her relief, the ease returning to her scent, and a deep protective instinct rolled through me. What did Mira tell Elena when she approached her?. Why was Elena so happy to see her?.

She was happy yet she didn’t really know who Mira was.

“How are you feeling today, Elena? How is your ankle? Have you rested enough? Do you need anything?”

Mira’s words ran together as she spoke so quickly, her excitement radiating through the room like a pulse I could almost taste.

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw her holding Elena and squishing her against her bosom. Elena giggled. The sound was soft and innocent. Seeing her smile as Mira crushed her made my chest feel strange, a tug in my ribs, a subtle reminder that I belonged close to her, that my body remembered the pull she had on me. I rubbed at the ache there, something I did more frequently when I watched Elena these days.

“I’m fine, Mira. The doctor says I will be back on the stage in no time,” she chirped back. Her beautiful face turned red as a tomato as Mira squeezed her. “I told you not to worry, Mira. I don’t need anything. I have everything I need here,” Elena added.

Did she need me? My instincts hummed, warning me that I wanted to be closer, protective, aware.

Shaking my head, I stepped further into the kitchen. At the sound of my footsteps on the tilted floor, Mira let Elena go, finally letting her get a breath of air.

“Good. Good. My big-headed nephew better be taking care of you, or he won’t see another sunrise,” Mira jabbed her finger in my direction and narrowed her sharp gaze at me. Nephew?. Mira probably lied Elena that she is my aunt.

Yes she is one of the elders in my pack but she will explain everything when we get out of here.

Meanwhile, Elena giggled and went back to the pot of soup, walking gingerly on her injured ankle. She didn’t realize how serious Mira’s words were. There was a reason why Mira was talking like that. She probably wanted Elena to be with me forever. My instincts flared again, the need to shield, to guard, to silently claim her space, simmering beneath the surface.

I waited until Elena’s back was turned before lowering my voice. “Why are you really here, Mira?” I murmured quietly, but with my alpha voice evident.

Mira’s lips twitched into a knowing smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Later, Andrey. Not in front of her,” she whispered back, still smiling brightly toward Elena, pretending everything was normal.

And so I nodded, masking the unease that twisted through me. We both smiled for Elena’s sake, pretending like everything was fine, when every instinct in me knew it wasn’t.