Chapter 4 Chapter Four
Chapter Four
There’s a thin line between love and hatred. A thin line between lust and hatred. A thin line between all. I don’t know what I feel~ Xander Vancei.
Xander
I pretend to be unaffected by her scent, by how her close proximity to me was making a foreign feeling pool in my stomach. I should detest her though. Her guts too. She spat on my face for goddess sake. My claw marks are still on her neck, and the small wound isn’t healing. It’s baffling. Werewolves can self-heal. It’s a gift that the Moon goddess grants unto us. Her brown skin is a pretty sight, her lips currently pressed against each other so hard. I want to loosen it up with a kiss, feel her lips against mine and tease my way into her mouth. I shake my head as if doing so would push the thoughts away.
I don’t want my brothers to know what I’m thinking about her, especially Xavier. I want to act unaffected, but it’s becoming hard to do so. I stick to acting irritated by her sight, which truthfully, I partially am.
At the moment, she’s hitting her seat with an urgency that wasn’t there before.
“I want to get down.” She insists.
Xavier is irritated. I can see part of his face from the rear view mirror.
“Why?” Xarius asks.
She doesn’t reply, but continues pounding against the car seat. The SUV is a bit spacious, but with our heights—the girl inclusive—it seems cramped. She breathes heavily.
“I’m hungry.” She mutters, and I’m taken aback by her response.
“You’re our prisoner, Miss No Name. What makes you think we’ll feed you?” I retort, feeling my own flame of irritation rise within me.
She faces me with an angry look. “I am not your prisoner. Let me go. Now.” She orders, dominance lacing her voice.
I scoff. “Make us.”
“You’ll eat when we arrive at Blackmoon,” Xavier interrupts quietly, pushing whatever she wants to say down her throat. I look at him with annoyance. He’s acting soft towards her, or maybe he is trying to get her to reveal her true self. I don’t care. I want her to fear me, to flinch at the sight of me even. Right there, I made the decision to either make her our toy, or kill her with my own hands. Whatever soft spot I’m beginning to have towards her must die.
She doesn’t argue anymore, and simply leans against her seat, closing her eyes. I watch her for a moment, before averting my gaze. I catch the sight of Xavier staring at me with a calculating expression, and I clear my throat, trying to act unbothered.
We arrive at Blackmoon forty minutes later, during which the sky is starting to darken. The girl hugs herself, and as I stretch out my hand instinctively to lead her into the Alpha’s residence, she sidesteps me and moves towards Xavier instead.
I swallow hard, my hands subconsciously balling into fists.
Her dress clings to her frame, and I can faintly see the outline of her breasts. I tuck my hands into my pockets, falling into step behind them as Xavier leads the way into our residence. Two figures rush over, intercepting our way. Behind them are a Beta team of ten, and I prepare for a fight.
“Welcome back, Alphas,” the figure in front says, tilting his head down in a deep bow. The others follow suit, and I’m taken aback by their actions. Disappointment crosses my mind briefly; I’d expected a battle, some heated exchange of words before we can be accepted as Alphas. It’s unheard of after all, to have three men as Alpha. I recognize the man in front, he was one of my father’s Betas. He’d aided my father in the abuse, but we were little children then. Just six years old. But I can never forget his face.
“Spare the formalities. Prepare a residence for me. Suitable for a woman,” Xavier orders.
“But Alpha Xavier, it’s against the custom to have a woman over before the mating ceremony,” the man argues. Right. His name is Pualin. Due to our non-aging genes, he’s still the same as I’ve always known him.
“And who are you to question an Alpha?” Xarius asks, his eyes narrowing. The temperature drops and Pualin pretends to go white. I know he’s pretending because of the twitch in his eyebrows. Cunning old bastard. I suspect that my father’s death is related to him but I don’t care even a little bit.
“Where’s our mother?” I ask Pualin. She’s the main reason we agreed to return to Blackmoon, aside from taking over our right positions as Alphas. We want to be by her side as she takes her last breath. Since her fated mate is dead, she’d join him soon enough. Nothing can save her. It irks me at the thought that she’s going to die because he did.
“In the former Alpha’s room. She requested to be taken there,” Pualin replies politely. But for the fact that I’m carefully watching him, I might’ve missed the look of disdain that brushes his face.
My brothers say nothing.
“Prepare the residence like the Alpha ordered.” I say, and we head inside.
I reach out for the trembling girl the same moment Xarius does.
“Let me–”
“Let me–”
I withdraw my hand as if I’ve been scalded.
“There’s a guest room on the second floor by your left. Take a warm bath. Your residence should be ready soon. After that, we’ll have a proper conversation.” Xavier says to the girl. She’s on her way to the second floor before he’s done talking. Goddess, she’s a bit curvy.
I sneak upstairs twenty minutes later when I guess that the girl will be done bathing. I’m holding a comfortable nightwear I’d gone out to buy from one of the pack’s shopping malls. It is the excuse I plan to give if I’m intercepted by either of my brothers. I don't know why I’m doing this, but I know that I want to see her one more time before I go to sleep. See her defiant eyes, and slow upturn of her lips as she counters my words.
I step into the dimly lit room, the slosh of water from the bathroom drawing my attention. She’s probably coming out of the bathtub. I want to drop the nightwear and leave. But another part of me forces me to remain in position. I want to see how she reacts when she sees me. She comes out minutes later, and I take a sharp inhale of breath. She is naked, from head to toe.
Fuck. Me.
I’ve seen lots of naked women, and had sex with them too. But–
I find it hard to breathe properly.
“Never seen a naked woman before?” The girl asks, no amusement in her voice. I snap out of my unholy thoughts, and find my legs moving towards her like they have a mind of their own.
The look of panic I’ve been wanting to see appears in her eyes.
“Leave. Right now.” She requests, her tone inching towards an order instead. I don’t stop until I’m just a few inches away from her.
“Make me.” I whisper, and lower my head, letting it hover just a few inches away from hers.
“Can I kiss you?” I whisper, my lips a mere lean from hers. It is taking everything in me not to just take her lips. They are right here and so…
She looks me in the eyes, these beautiful goddamn eyes. Fuck. I’ll never stop thinking about them.
She blinks, her hand coming up my chest like she is trying to understand something, understand me. And then she nods. A single move, but it’s all I need.
I lock my lips with hers—soft and inviting—just like I’ve wanted to do ever since I grabbed her waist in that river.