Chapter 46 She's different
~Keith~
The whiskey burned as it slid down my throat, but it wasn't enough to drown out my father's words.
Stay away from my Luna.
I poured another glass and downed it just as fast.
Matt walked into my quarters without knocking, because he never knocked, because boundaries meant nothing to a man who had seen me at my absolute worst more times than I could count.
He took one look at me slouched on the leather couch with a bottle in my hand and let out a low whistle.
"Well, well, well," he said, closing the door behind him and crossing his arms over his chest. "Someone's having a fantastic evening. Let me guess. Daddy dearest finally snapped and told you he's writing you out of the will?"
I didn't laugh. I couldn't. The trouble that I felt was too heavy for humor.
Matt's smirk faded when he saw my expression. He crossed the room in three long strides and dropped onto the couch beside me, snatching the bottle from my hand before I could take another drink.
"Alright," he said, his voice losing its teasing edge. "Talk to me. What happened?"
I stared at the ceiling for a long moment, trying to find the words. Where did I even begin? With my father's cold eyes? With the threat that hung in the air between us like a trap waiting to fall? With the name that made my stomach turn every time I heard it?
"Riana," I finally said. "She's coming in one month."
Matt was silent for a minute. Then he let out a breath that sounded like it had been punched out of him.
"Shit," he muttered. "I was hoping the old man had forgotten about that particular nightmare."
"He didn't forget." I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "He's been planning this for years. Waiting for the perfect moment to spring the trap. And now that he has Sage under his control and secured his position with her pack's alliance, he's ready to lock me into my own cage."
Matt took a swig from the bottle he had stolen from me. "And I'm guessing he had some other choice words for you tonight? Based on the fact that you look like someone ran over your dog and then backed up to do it again?"
I turned my head to look at him. "He knows."
Matt's eyebrows shot up. "He knows? About you and—"
"He suspects," I corrected quickly. "He doesn't have proof. But he warned me. He told me to stay away from Sage. That he's noticed the way I look at her, the way she gravitates toward me." I closed my eyes against the memory of my father's voice. "He said he won't warn me again."
The room fell silent around us. Matt processed this information with the same tactical mind that made him such an effective beta. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head.
Then he ruined the moment by bursting into laughter.
I shot upright, glaring at him. "What the hell is so funny?"
Matt was doubled over, one hand pressed against his stomach as he wheezed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he gasped between laughs. "It's just... do you realize... do you have any idea..."
"Spit it out before I punch you in the throat."
He held up a hand, trying to compose himself. It took him several attempts, each one interrupted by another wave of laughter. Finally, he managed to get himself under control, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Keith," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "The legendary playboy. The man who has left a trail of broken hearts across three territories. The guy who once told me, and I quote, that commitment was a disease he had no intention of catching." He gestured at me with the whiskey bottle. "Look at you now. Absolutely destroyed over one woman. One. Single. Woman."
"Matt, I swear to god—"
"No, no, let me have this moment," he interrupted, holding up a hand. "I have waited years for this. Years. Do you know how many times I had to listen to you brag about your conquests? How many times I watched you charm some poor girl into your bed only to forget her name by breakfast? And now here you are, moping around like a lovesick puppy because Daddy told you to stay away from your forbidden crush."
I grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it at his head. He dodged it easily, still grinning like an idiot.
"I hate you," I informed him. "I genuinely, deeply hate you."
"No you don't. You love me. I'm the only one who tells you the truth." He took another drink and passed the bottle back to me. "So tell me, Romeo. Have you started writing poetry yet? Composing sonnets about Sage's eyes? Practicing her name in the mirror with little hearts drawn around it?"
"I will end you."
"I bet you doodle her name in the margins of important documents. I bet you sigh wistfully every time you catch her scent. I bet you—"
"Are you done?"
Matt pretended to consider this. "Probably not. I feel like I have at least another ten minutes of material here. This is genuinely the best day of my life."
I took a long drink from the bottle, letting the burn center me. Matt could tease all he wanted. He wasn't wrong, and that was the worst part. I had spent years cultivating my reputation, years keeping everyone at arm's length, years making sure no one ever got close enough to hurt me. And then Sage had walked into my life like a hurricane, and everything I thought I knew about myself had been swept away.
"She's different," I said quietly, and the words came out before I could stop them. "She's not like anyone else. The bond, Matt. It's not like anything I've ever felt. It's not just attraction, it's not just desire. It's like she's become a part of me. Like I can't remember what it felt like to exist without her."