54

Nel had just got the cookies back on the shelf, her body reached mid-air. “Midnight rambling, I see.”

The suddenness of his voice caught her off guard and Nel immediately loss balance, knocking against the cabinet. She cursed under her breath when she finally regained composure.

“You scared the crap out of me!” she hissed, snatching the cookie that she’d been nibbling on out of her mouth.

“All that rumored hyper instinct you’re supposed to have.

It wasn’t until Nel glanced back that she realized how close Colsin was to her. Needless to say, she was caught off guard by his nearness. Her silent scrutinizing gaze was almost questioning.

“I had to be close enough to make sure you didn’t fall.” He answered the question before Nel could form the words to ask.

Nel rolled her eyes as she muttered under her breath. “I can take care of myself.”

“Clearly,” countered Colsin as he grabbed a beer and then sat down at the island bar. He snapped it open and took a swig of it. “Or else you wouldn’t have been gone for a whole day and returned without a scratch on you.”

Nel knew before this conversation went any further that this was about to turn into something that she was not prepared to discuss.

Colsin lingered on the pause on the subject and just watched Neliyah closely. He could tell that she was stressed by the passive aggressive confrontation. He wasn’t going to let go of the conversation, however. Not this time.

“Where were you, Red?” he asked her.

He watched her stand there, her back facing him. Nel’s head dropped and she continued in silence for a moment. This made Colsin stand up from where he was sitting, beer in hand.

“Neliyah,” he said in a calm way. He wasn’t going to let go of the conversation but that didn’t mean that he’d be aggressive about it. Colsin realized that he’d pushed Neliyah Larken way far enough. He didn’t want to continue to do this.

When he said her name, she turned around and looked down at him. Colsin’s penetrating gaze was soft and…concerned. It was both unsettling and refreshing to see. What really caught Nel off guard, however, was when he reached his hand out to her.

She was reluctant to take his hand at first, then she decided as a sign of peace, she took his hand.

Colsin led Neliyah down the step ladder. When she was safely to the floor, he turned his back on her. “I don’t know that I should be worried about the fact that you couldn’t even sense my nearness.”

“I was distracted.”

Colsin turned around and face Nel. “I’m your mate, Red,” he said with a solemn smirk. “Nothing should distract you to the point where you cannot feel the affect of me being near. I…I don’t think that’s normal.”

“Well, I…I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“Don’t apologize to me, “ replied Colsin. “You don’t owe me one. It’s the truth of what it is.”

“Okay,” Neliyah replied awkwardly.

“I do have to ask,” continued Colsin. “Were you with him? All that time you went missing? Were you with that Liam guy?”

Nel hesitated to answer, and she already knew that doing so was enough to provide the answer that she was reluctant to give.

“Colsin,” she exhaled. “It’s complicated.”

“Red, this whole situation is complicated. Let’s not pretend that it isn’t.” Again, Nel answered by not answering at all. It was apparent that she didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry,” Colsin said.

Nel’s eyes shot up meeting Colsin’s. “For?” she asked confusedly.

“The conversation that we had before you left. I…I know that I am putting you in a compromising position. I also am aware that while this is hard for me, it is far more difficult for you. You have far more to risk than I do, Red, and…and I have not been sensitive to that.”

“I…well, I appreciate your apology,” she said. “It does mean a lot to me to hear, whether you believe it or not.” An awkward silence lingered between the two after Nel said this. There was something else that she wanted to say but she wasn’t sure that she should say it.

“I can tell that there’s something on your mind.” Colsin seemed to read Nel’s thoughts. “Say it.”

“Well, with this new understanding between you and me…does that mean you are willing to reject me now?”

There was a hopefulness in her voice that almost bothered Colsin. “You really want to be rid of me…don’t you?” he added a chuckle at the end of his question, but his question was serious.

“If you’re not willing to commit to this, then…yes,” Nel said without hesitation.

“Wow, pull no punches, I see.”

“You want me to be honest with you, so I’m being honest.”

“Who said that I wasn’t willing to commit to this thing?” Colsin asked defensively as he took another swig of his beer.

“You did,” she said. “By ways and actions. You’re ashamed of me-”

“If I was ashamed of you, you would not be here, Red.” Colsin cut Nel off before she could finish the accusation. “I am not ashamed of you and I have no clue why you’d think that. Everyone in Mystic Cove knows that you are my mate. I have made that no secret and I don’t understand why you-”

“Okay, so then why did you not make this thing official?” she asked. “Better yet, why did you even tell anyone about me if you were going to leave this thing in limbo?” she snapped. “You refuse to mate with me because I am not an alpha! That is…in some way being ashamed of me, Colsin. How do you not see that?”

“You don’t even want to be mated to me, Red!” Colsin snapped back. “The way you look at me. The way you talk to me. It’s…it’s obvious that you think little of me. Why would I want to be bonded with someone like that?”

“Exactly!” she spat back in frustration. “Yet here I am…connected to you! Because you cannot seem to make up your mind.”

“It’s not that simple, Red. If it were, I’d have made a decision by now. If you were an alpha then you’d understand-”

“You don’t even know what I am! How dare you assume that I’m not?!” she incredulously hissed. “You don’t know anything about me!”

“You don’t know anything about you!” he barked.

For some reason, his words hurt her. She backed up, not realizing until that moment that with every aggressive word they spoke, they got closer to one another.

“I don’t,” she murmured. “Not for sure,” she replied. Where once she dropped her gaze from Colsin, she met his gaze again. “but if you were truly committed to this then that wouldn’t even matter, alpha,” she said mockingly.

She tried to walk away but Colsin, immediately having regretted what he said, stopped her. “Wait, wait! Red, wait.” He grabbed her wrist and gingerly tugged her back. She refused to face him, so Colsin stood in front of her.

“What, Colsin?”

“That was out of line, and I’m sorry for what I said, Neliyah. I…I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.”

“Why are you keeping here?” Nel asked. “What do you want from me, Colsin?”

“I…I want to make sure that I am not making a mistake.”

“If Sara is the one that makes more sense to you then why not go with her?”

He grimaced and averted his gaze. “I’m beginning to see things that I’m not sure I can tolerate.” He met Nel’s gaze again. “She doesn’t really scream alpha, does she?” he smirked.

Nel chortled. “No, not really. Never did, though. I’m glad that you’re seeing it now. Although, I wonder why it took you so long to see that.”

“Somehow, I don’t think I ever would have if it hadn’t have been for you.”

Nel squinted her gaze curiously, subtle, unsure amusement playing across her lips as she asked, “Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“I didn’t-”

“I was never okay with Sara bullying people. I found it unwarranted and immature but I never thought enough of it to say anything.” Before Nel could reprimand him for not acknowledging that it was wrong before, Colsin did. “I know…I know that should not have been the alarm that I needed, but cold, hard, fact is…it was.”

At least he was honest. That was the least that Nel could consider concerning Colsin Stone.

“When I saw her mercilessly beating you that day in PA…” Colsin frowned and then took a deep breath to keep from letting the memory anger him more than it already had. “It was treacherous…repulsive to see. I wouldn’t want anyone like that by my side, helping me to guide, protect and rule over my pack.”

“Ha, well, that’s…that’s definitely understandable. I could appreciate that.”

“I’m glad,” he smiled. “Listen, Neliyah Larken,” he started. “I am…tired of not seeing eye-to-eye. I am tired of arguing with you. I don’t want to argue with you. I don’t want to make things even more difficult for you than what things already are.”

Nel sensed that he was sincere in his words. It was nice and made her feel she could trust him.

“Thank you,” she said. They shared a moment of silence, this time more comfortable than the last tension-filled silence between them. It was at that moment that Nel felt obligated to tell him the truth of where she was that day. “Colsin, I…I do have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s…about where I was…”

“Okay.” He took a reassuring step toward Nel. “You can tell me.”

All in all, Nel realized that she could trust Colsin. As far as she knew, he had never told the secret of her true identity.

“You were right, Colsin. I was with Liam, but it wasn’t what you may think.”

Colsin tried stifling his frustration. He took a deep breath and then asked, “Okay…” he grimaced.

“I’m-”

Nel’s words were cut off by a loud sound blaring through the packhouse. Both eyes widened and Colsin looked around.

“What is that?”

Just as Nel asked this, the sound of feet stampeding down the stairs could be heard echoing throughout the area.

“There’s been an attack,” Colsin said with concern. Without another word, he disappeared and headed straight way for the packhouse meeting room.

Nel followed after him. The last time she’d heard this sound, she was a little girl, and her mother made no effort to explain what it was.

“Dad, what happened?” asked Colsin upon entering the pack room.

The pack of Mystic Cove had all gathered in the room, both young and old. All eyes were on Colsin and Nel.

“I should g-”

“No,” insisted Colsin. He took Nel’s hand. “You’re apart of this pack. So you’ll stay.”

After he said this, Colsin gazed at his father who watched him intently. They both knew what the other one was thinking but both knew that now was not the time to discuss it.

“What happened?” Colsin asked.

“There was another sighting,” said Lina, Maven’s Beta.

“I thought you said someone was attacked,” said Nel.

“Obviously, someone was attacked if the alarm went off!” Sara snapped. “I mean, why is she even in here?”

“Enough!” snapped Lina at her daughter. She then faced, Nel. “Someone has been attacked, Neliyah by the culprit.”

“That’s not the worst of it,” said Maven.

“What? Well, what is the worst of it?” asked Colsin impatiently.

“The person attacked was killed.”