A painful groan escaped my lips when I felt the heat. The worry and anger were the first things I felt. I didn’t doubt that they were Reed’s emotions sinking through the mate bond. My ears were ringing. I heard a distant sound, but I couldn’t figure it out. My heart started to palpitate in my chest as the sound became clearer and clearer.
I kicked off the sheets and followed the sound downstairs. The light of the hall was on. I peeked through the stairs and caught Reed and Diana sitting together and discussing something. Reed’s face worsened with every passing minute; I could easily feel his anger building through the mate bond. Any second and he would explode like a time bomb.
I decided to move further to listen to what they were discussing at this hour of the night. What possibly could have happened that they hadn’t waited for the morning?
“I have bad news and… bad news,” Diana said tiredly, taking a sip from her glass. She was in the same attire when she left. Reed nodded, signaling her to finish.
“I tried to contact some witches from my last coven. You were right. The Oracle was behind the dead girl. They had a witch who is a master in finding incantation spells.” Dead body? Reed seemed to be dealing with something urgent when he dropped me off in the evening. He didn’t think to discuss it with me?
I tried to connect the dots. The Oracle had a witch, and they had found his pack. That’s why he changed his pack’s position frequently.
I tried to peek again. I found Diana exactly looking at me, but as soon as our eyes collided, she averted her gaze from me to him, as if she hadn’t seen me.
“And they were planning to attack her pack,” Diana said so lowly I doubted if I had heard right. Even now, the dumbass could tell she was referring to me. Suddenly the whole aura of the room changed fifty shades. Reed balled up his fists and took deep breaths. The earlier episode of intense rage again started.
“You are their prime target. You break the deal, and now that they know she is your mate, they will find her, torture her until you complete the deal,” she said grimly. Now, the whole picture was coming into the light.
Deal? What kind of alpha makes a deal with witches? Reed didn’t utter a single word and gulped the wine in one go.
“When are they going to attack?” he asked, putting the half-filled bottle aside. Diana once again looked in my direction before continuing.
“They wanted Esma before blood moon, so I would say they will attack in the next week.”
Reed nodded in understanding. I could easily feel his anxiety through the mate bond. Fear and anger were leaking from him.
“One more thing, they are preparing the army of rogues,” Diana said lowly, delivering the final blow. Reed clenched his jaw. A nerve on his left neck was ticking so fast that it could burst any second.
“First, the witches had the blade, then they are planning to attack my mate's pack, and now you are telling me they are preparing a fucking army of rogues,” he said, balling up his fists with a clenched jaw.
I decide to come out. This was now a mess, and it was my fault to trust Reed. He hadn’t done anything but hide things from me. First the deal with the witches, then the dead body, and now a secret meeting about how a bunch of some lame witches were attacking my pack with wild rogues.
This was enough. My wolf clawed inside, fighting me to let her come out and finish my job—our job—to ensure our pack’s safety.
“Who is attacking my pack?” I asked. My wolf had already taken control of my body. Reed tensed but did not turn around to look at me.
Diana shrugged in his direction. I walked toward them and stood before him. “I am going to my pack,” I said. My decision was final. “Open the portal, Diana.” Diana kept looking between him and me. He looked like he was struggling in an internal battle.
I quickly went upstairs and started packing my bags. I put all the clothes in the cupboard and threw them in the bags. I was so done with all this bullshit of believing and trusting when he only betrayed me from the beginning.
A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I lifted my head only to meet his ocean blue eyes. He was leaning on the door lazily. I continued packing. He cleared his throat; I tried my best to look pensive.
“Esma,” he breathed. His deep masculine voice sounded musical to my ears as he said my name.
“It’s not safe to go now,” he said after some time. I ignored him and pulled the zipper of one bag.
He caught my hand and turned me to look at him directly in his eyes. “What letter of ‘IT IS NOT SAFE’ did you not get?”
I stared at him with utmost hatred while I tried to free my hands from his hold.
“Esma, please.” The desperation with which he begged me made my heart flutter. My eyes bulged out of my sockets as I stared in utter bewilderment at him. What has taken over at him lately?
I continued trying to get away from his iron hold but to no avail. He did not even budge.
“Please, Esma,” he growled behind me desperately as I felt him wrap his arms around my whole body, trying to stop me from struggling. His touch started a chain reaction of sparks that soon completely engulfed my whole body.
After recovering from the intensity of the sparks, I looked in his direction. The sparks have somewhat calmed my rage. My wolf was already calmed.
“I am sorry that I haven’t told you anything related to the Oracle. Diana just arrived, and we started talking. Please, we will go in the morning,” he said, his voice smooth as silk.
I hated to give in without even fighting. All he had to do was touch me. I nodded and looked straight into his eyes. “I am sorry, I should not have yelled like that.”
He smiled, and his eyes softened. “You have every right to be angry with me. Now, get some sleep. We will talk about this in the morning,” he said and did the most unbelievable thing since we’ve met. He kissed my forehead and left my room.
I touched my forehead. His kiss still lingered on my skin. I laid on my bed. Did the most-feared alpha of the continent kiss me? My heart swelled with an unknown emotion. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and found myself grinning like a sixteen-year-old teenager.