Part 48

Something indescribable flickered on his face, akin to hurt, but it was gone too soon for me to decipher. I watched as he stalked in my way, like a predator towards his prey, eyes hungry and mouth twitching.

I was desperate to untangle myself from this situation, the hair on the back of my neck standing up—my body screamed to rid of his smile, sound, and smell. Before I could act on any of them, Reed pushed our forms flush together, large hands almost covering the entirety of my back.

He pressed his nose into my neck then, and the air between them seemed to transform, wrought with indestructible tension. From this close, I could feel his cool breath against my pulse, a steady beat that was clear as day sounding in my ears as I counted them in my head.

"Oh, omega..." I felt him inhale sharply, though it sounded like a small half-moan against my skin. But in a blink, it was forgotten, the vibration of his giggle in the crook of my neck startling me, making the anger grow inside.

"Forgive me," He implored as I stared back at him, confused and utterly unable to understand what was so funny. The look on my face must have said that exactly, as the Alpha pushed his nose against my temple not a second later, crooning against my ear.

Reed pulled his face away and stared at me, bright green eyes dancing. "It's just..." An amused chuckle burst out of him, startling me suddenly. "How can you believe that, Erin? You must know that we are not doing this for a show..."

And for a fleeting moment, I was convinced to push him away from my veins and skin to keep him at arm's length. But the thought alone was enough to send spasm after spasm of despair to my heart, an itch under my skin. Maybe it's still the effect of the heat I tried to convince myself despite my heart yearning for the bond so profoundly.

"Whatever." I huffed, not wanting to get my hopes up again, standing rigid and unblinking. That's what landed me here, heart tattered and still healing. No way. I was not going to walk down that lane. "Reed you don't need to explain..."

I bit my lip. It went eerily quiet in the room as if all air had instantly been sucked out. I braced my shoulders, swallowing thickly, feeling cold even though the room was unnaturally warm.

"I do. We do." Reed pressed his thumb hard against my rabbiting pulse, and I was almost sure the blood in my veins slowed. I noisily swallowed, mouth both too wet and too dry all at once, and I watched with rapt attention as he parted his mouth. He lowered his lips down to my wrist, lifting my arm in mid-air till our eyes were burning. I peered through my thick lashes as he pressed a firm kiss onto the firm, exposed skin, my body on fire.

I got dizzy, my eyelids heavy, and my limbs felt like jelly all of a sudden. My body swayed weakly, lungs unable to catch a full breath, and I suddenly felt my knees give way beneath me, though the icy feel of the floor never came.

Instead, I felt myself perfectly balanced, senses surrounded by the delicious scent, large, strong hands wide across my back, keeping me upright.

"No." I cleared my throat, tilting my head to look at him. "I don't need to hear anything, so it's better if you get to the point and..."

The words danced around, in-flight for all of a moment before I knew that I had finally done it. I pushed far enough that the string of tension between us snapped clean in half.

In one swift movement, he grasped both of my wrists and pulled them behind, the other hand wrapping delicately around the base of my neck, so gentle against the skin that it could have been a caress if not for the light pressure of fingers.

"Why are you fighting this?" He inhaled sharply against his pulse, and the sensation made me dizzy with want. Reed moved closed and reached for me; when it happened, our lips crushed together.

The Alpha threw his entire body into it, and it felt different. In the heat, even most kisses had been indescribably sweet and gentle and maybe both. It's all off the table now, it seemed, because Reed was relentless when he pressed closer, not giving me any space, and I was not about to let him, not when it felt like all my nerves were lying bare. So I pushed back with equal measure, bringing my hand up to his hair and tangling, yanking like I hadn't dared before.

Reed grunted into my mouth, kissing with every iota of his being, taking and tasting and teasing. One of his hands came to cradle my jaw, the touch sending me into overdrive. He licked lightly at the seam of my lips—a plea before slipping in and possessing my mouth, the bold strokes making me weak in knees.

I ached with how much I wanted this, the need coiling tightly inside my stomach. It was scary how much I was unwilling to give this up, and I wanted to hate Reed for being able to do this.

"We don't need to talk about it now," He panted against my lips, and there will be bruises on my hips from how hard he held on to them. His curls are falling wildly around his face, a thin sheen of sweat gracing his skin, "But know this is not over."

My brain was still fuzzy around the edges. For now, I tried to get my pulse back to normal and control my breathing until my bare chest rose and fell regularly. I preferred the buzz of a thousand questions just waiting in the wings. What in the moons world was the Alpha playing at?

I made a noise in the back of my throat, hands falling to the sides, feeling the tremors shooting from head to toe. This was not good. The last thing I wanted was to have a detailed talk about my feelings.

"I came here for a reason." He took a step back while I arched my brow, watching him bristle. Good. At least he knew when to get to the point.

"Which is?"

"My mother wants to see you tonight."

I scoffed, crossing my arms against my chest, "Why? Is there anything she didn't say last time?"

He had the audacity to wince, face crumpling as if thinking back to that evening. Reed twisted his lips, "Erin, I am sorry about the last time, but she's not going to do anything like that again. I will make sure."

My lungs squeezed at the look on his face, but still, I stayed put, leaning against the desk and facing him. The thought of walking in there made my body feel warm, toes curling in the soles of my footwear. "Umm...I don't want to go back there." It came out more vulnerable than I cared to admit.

Silence stretched between us, and I was half sure that Reed would be annoyed and bring up the contract. Instead, he took a step further, reaching out for my hand and engulfing it in his own. I was taken back by the action, trying not to stare between us.

"It's going to be different this time. We told our mother nothing she does will make us change our decision, so she might well accept you as our mate."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better." I scoffed.

He let out a sigh. "She's having a hard time after losing her Alpha, and you know that I don't usually make excuses for her, but please let it go this time, Erin. We have some important guests coming this evening, so we can discuss our impending nuptials and fix our ceremony date."

As the weight of his words sank in, I shivered, a flush crawling down my neck. It's not real. I had to remind myself and keep from blushing as he met my eyes.

Clearing my throat, I started, "Isn't it too soon?"

"No. The council is pressuring us, and we must assume the Pack Alpha position as soon as possible. We cannot let the enemies take advantage of our crisis."

I opened and closed my mouth, unable to form a coherent response to that. He was right. It's inevitable anyway. Reed kept staring at me, waiting for my reaction while I nervously tapped my feet against the floor.

My arms dropped to my side, and I meekly nodded at him, "Fine! I will be there tonight..."

"With your family." He completed making my eyes widen.

"Why do we need them to involve in this?"

"They are your family, Erin. How can we decide on a date without them?"

Oh. I was already dreading the dinner.

***