Chapter 13 Pointless Conversations

Chapter 13 Pointless Conversations
Elena Thorne
I scoffed internally, my grip tightening on my glass as I watched Kieran throw his head back in laughter at something one of his friends said.
“Who are we glaring at?” Sierra asked again, leaning closer to be heard over the music.
I didn’t answer, but my eyes betrayed me as they stayed fixed on Kieran across the room.
Sierra followed my gaze, and I felt the exact moment she made the connection. Her expression shifted from curiosity to understanding then immediate fury.
“Oh, hell no.” She grabbed my arm. “We’re not letting him ruin our night.”
“I want that, honestly.” I sighed. “But I already feel irritated seeing him. I think I want to leave.” The words came out flat.
“Huh? Absolutely not.” Sierra stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Kieran. “Elena Thorne, you are not ditching me because he decided to show up. We barely just came here, Vega hasn’t even performed yet. Please...”
“But Sierra—”
“No.” Her voice was firm. “I don’t know what he did this time but I’m not letting you run away. He is not going to deny me this, and I hate that you want to miss out on this experience too.”
I took a deep breath, sighing in relief. While I was still at the college dorm, I barely attended events like this for reasons that included, not being in environments like this so my mate did not find me too wild. Sadly, I saw how it ended. 
Now that I had this chance, I was not going to screw it up for one being that happened to be my mate and rejected me.
“Fine,” I turned to Sierra. “But I need another drink first.”
“That’s my girl.”
We claimed a small table near the edge of the dance floor, far enough from Kieran’s group that I wouldn’t have to watch him, and still giving us enough view to the stage to see when Vega appeared. Sierra ordered us another round, and I tried to focus on her excited chatter about the setlist she hoped we’d hear.
But my eyes kept drifting.
Kieran was surrounded by people—some I recognized from campus, others I didn’t. There were girls leaning in close when they spoke to him, laughing too loud at things that probably weren’t that funny because Kieran was not. And he was eating it up.
One girl in particular kept touching his arm when she talked. And Kieran wasn’t pulling away.
He leaned down, whispered something in her ear. She laughed, her hand lingering on his shoulder.
My stomach twisted.
I looked away, downing half my drink in one gulp. The alcohol burned, but it was better than the bitter taste in my mouth.
Why did I care? He’d made it clear I wasn’t worthy of him in front of hundreds of witnesses. I was still struggling to come to terms with the most annoying part of that day. 
If it was that he rejected me, or that he did me the ‘honours’ of wanting to talk it over with me.
The music shifted suddenly, the pounding club beat giving way to something smoother and melodic.
“Oh my god, that’s his opening song!” Sierra was on her feet, grabbing my hand. “Come on, come dance!”
“I don’t—”
“Elena. Please. For me?”
I let her pull me onto the dance floor. The space was already packed, everyone moving to the music. Sierra was glowing with excitement, singing along to words I didn’t know, and despite everything, I found myself getting caught up in it.
The music was good. The bass thrummed through my chest, drowning out thoughts. I let myself move, focusing on Sierra’s joy instead of my own misery.
For a few minutes, it almost worked.
Then the memories started creeping in. Flashes of that night—the Bonding Moon Gathering and the hope that had bloomed so bright before being crushed. Standing in the center of that hall while Kieran had called me unworthy. 
I stumbled slightly, my rhythm faltering.
“You okay?” Sierra shouted over the music.
“Fine!” I forced a smile, pushing the memories down. “I just need to get into it!”
I threw myself back into dancing, more aggressively this time. Trying to lose myself in the movement with the press of bodies because I preferred anything that wasn’t the loop of rejection playing in my head.
I was mid-spin when I felt a presence close behind me. 
A guy had moved into my space, matching my movements. Instantly, I wanted to jerk back but then he was not touching me or doing anything overtly wrong. And I believed dancing this way was normal in crowded clubs.
I kept moving, not particularly bothered. Well until his hand brushed my waist.
I shifted away slightly, and he got the message, backing off a step but still dancing nearby. The atmosphere went really high, and the dancing continued till I felt a second presence hovering around me, and a scent I recognized.
The guy who had been dancing near me stopped abruptly and I don’t know what Kieran had done to him but he stepped back so fast that he nearly tripped over someone behind him.
Confusedly, I focused on the little drama happening around me. 
Kieran stood there, his eyes silver-bright even in the strobing lights. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at the guy who had been dancing with me, and his expression was cold.
“What’s happening?” I asked, but my voice was drowned by the music.
The guy was backing away now, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. The Alpha presence radiating off Kieran was palpable enough to make every wolf in the immediate vicinity instinctively recognize hierarchy.
The guy hesitated for a moment, clearly wanting to say something, but another pulse of dominance from Kieran made him think better of it as he melted back into the crowd. I watched all of this, my mouth spread apart.
“What the hell?” I turned on Kieran. “What are you doing?”
He finally looked at me. “Making sure you’re safe.”
“I was safe! We were just dancing!”
“You don’t know him.” 
I only realized how annoyed Kieran had made me feel because it took nothing, and I could feel my blood boiling. Trying to contain my anger, I began to walk away but he caught my arms just as I turned out of the space we were in. 
“What is wrong with you?”
“We were just dancing!” I screamed. “This is a club, Kieran. That’s what people do here!”
“You’re under Silvermane protection.” He stepped closer, and I had to tilt my head back to hold his gaze. “That means I don’t let strange wolves get that close to you. Especially ones I don’t trust.”
Rage flooded through me. “You don’t get to do this.”
“Do what?”
“This!” I gestured between us, my voice rising over the music from the hall. “Play protector. Act like you have any right to control who I dance with in the guise of Silvermane protection!”
“I’m not—”
“You are!” I poked his chest. 
“Would I need this protection if you had not humiliated me in front of packs? What makes you think that you suddenly have the right to decide who is allowed near me?”
His face shifted slightly. “Elena, that is in the past. This is about…”
“Don’t.” I stepped back. “Don’t try to make up some silly excuse. Because we both know that’s bullshit.”
“It’s not.”
“It is! You do not realize that it’s torture!” The word burst out before I could stop it. “Living in that house with you. Seeing you every day and having to pretend like nothing happened. I have been friendly enough acting like you destroying me in front of everyone was a very normal thing to do. And now—now you fake an attack so I’ll tutor you, and then you show up here and—”
I cut myself off, breathing hard. 
Kieran had gone very still. “You think I faked the attack.”
“I know you did.” My voice was shaking now, not with fear but with the effort of holding everything in. “The timing was too convenient. We were attacked by rogues. Not one or two, and yet the driver was not harmed, I was not harmed and you appeared at a very perfect time. You staged it so you could get what you want.
You enjoy manipulating people and that’s what you tried to do with me on the bonding night, so I could call the rejection and you would pretend like the victim.”
“That’s not what I wanted”
“And the worst part?” I laughed bitterly, ignoring him. “The worst part is I’m still going put up with you and tutor you. Because I work for your father and I have to endure seeing your annoying face every single time.”
His jaw was tight, his hands clenched at his sides. “I don’t know what you are on about, I’m doing this for pack safety.”
“Are you?” I challenged. “Reflect and see that it’s just the selfish part of you being visible.
Because if you really cared about my safety and wanted to protect me, you’d leave me alone.” My voice cracked. “You would give me space because being in the same house with you is enough bondage to deal with.”
For a long moment, we just stared at each other and he said nothing. Then Kieran’s expression shifted into something colder. 
“If you want to dance,” he gestured, “I can arrange it. Maybe call someone and pay them to keep you entertained for the evening. Would that make you happy?”
The words hit like a slap and I could already draw out the mark on my face.
“You—” I couldn’t find words adequate for the disgust flooding through me. “You think that’s what this is about?”
“I think you want attention.” He shrugged. “I mean, if you have to act this way because I chased a rando from dancing with you.”
That was the last spark I needed to be beating up the man in front of me if he were not the Alpha’s son.
“Elena!” Sierra’s voice cut through the moment. I turned to see her worried expression like she had been looking for me. “Are you—what’s going on?”
I looked at Kieran one more time. “Nothing’s going on.” I said, turning back to Sierra. “Let’s go inside.”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” She shot Kieran a look of pure venom. “Come on.”
I started to walk away, but I stopped and spoke quietly to Kieran. “I should have known that it’s pointless trying to have a conversation with you.”