Chapter Seven

In his arms, he held her with possession. 

His other hand reached out and gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away a strand of hair from her face. His touch sent a shiver down her spine, which offered a comforting warmth that made her want to melt into his arms completely. 

"You're mine, Rhiannon," He declared in a fierce whisper, his eyes dark and intense with a passionate hunger she's never seen before. 

But his words had her flinching a bit. Ethan had said the exact same words hours ago, and she already had so many trust issues. The way she had been betrayed, her own mate taking her life - it had broken her in more ways than she knew. 

Elijah saw the grim expression come over her face and felt her tense muscles. She was refusing eye contact, clearly trying to ignore the overwhelming mate bond between them. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, cupping her face and forcing her to meet his eyes. 

The storm behind her eyes began to leak tears, and they pooled. The pain in her eyes had his muscles clenching, and he mentally had to restrain himself from jumping down into town and setting everything and everyone ablaze for hurting his woman. 

Without thinking, he crushed her into his arms and held her there. Rhiannon's face was pressed against his chest, and she was embraced in the cocoon of the warmth his body provided. She didn't even say anything, and it was like he could read her mind. Like he knew exactly what she needed at that moment. 

Rhiannon leaned further into his touch, slowly wrapping her arms around his back. The only other person she ever hugged was Layla, and it felt wonderful to have someone else offering comfort. 

With her head placed on his chest, she could hear his heart beating so fast she thought he might be having a panic attack. 

But he remained standing still, his grip never faltering. 

Is this what... having a real mate felt like? Or was he going to betray her too?

Just as her eyes were about to close, filled with the new terrifying tenderness, the loud gong filled their eardrums. It was the alarm bell from town, followed by the howls and growls of many Pack warriors. 

They must have picked up Alpha Elijah's Earth signature. He's been here for too long!

Quickly, Rhiannon tore herself from his hold and looked up at him with urgency, "You have to leave, now!"

Alpha Elijah didn't seem that bothered about it. He remained so calm, his attention still on her, "If I leave, what about you?"

"I'll be fine," She said, inching a bit closer to him, "We'll meet again when I've gotten a hold of the Grimoire, okay?"

"How will you get it? I'm sure Killian must be protecting it or someone strong,"

Her eyes remained unfaltering, "I'll find a way. Trust me,"

Elijah was reluctant to leave. He wanted to spend more time with his mate. He wanted to ease her pain, and he wanted to tear apart those who inflicted any form of pain on her. 

This time, she gathered the courage to cup his face. His beard tickled her hands, and she gently rubbed his cheekbone with her thumb, "Go, I'll be fine," 

Hesitantly, he moved away from her and walked back. His eyes held hers desperately for another second, and then he blended into the shadows beyond and was gone, leaving his masculine, earthy scent behind. 

The wind was a bit heavy tonight, so Rhia wasn't too bothered since it would help disperse his scent and make it harder for him to be tracked down. 

After a short while, Rhiannon returned home. The Pack was still a bit tense, and a few warriors were still searching for the source of the earth signature they had felt. 

As Rhiannon approached where she lived, she saw Layla outside the house walking back and forth. Layla saw her walking over and burst into a run. She looked panicked, "Oh God, you're alright!" She breathed in relief. 

"Yeah,"

"The bell went off, and you weren't back. I left to come and meet you, but the warriors wouldn't let me stray too far from the house," She explained. 

Once again, Rhiannon saw the genuineness in her friend, "Thanks, Layla. Come, let's go in." This time, Rhia draped her arms across her friend's shoulder. "Hey, remember when you told me earlier tonight that I can tell you anything and that you've always got my back?" 

"Yeah?"

"Well, you see, I need a huge favour from you,"

.

.

.

Ethan paced around his home, a furious expression on his face. There was a harsh crack on the wall where he had punched minutes ago, and his sitting room was a complete mess. 

Eleanor leaned on the wall, a frown etched on her face. She stared at Ethan walking around, unable to believe him. 

"This is stupid," Eleanor began, shaking her head in disappointment, "I thought you'd be glad she rejected you. Now we can finally bring our relationship into the open, and the Moon Goddess will make me your new mate!" Eleanor claimed.

"No!" Ethan fumed, his gaze snapping toward her, "It wasn't supposed to go that way, Eleanor. She was not supposed to reject me, I just don't understand, I thought she loved me!"

"She does," Eleanor replied, also confused, "I know for a fact Rhia is smitten when it comes to you. I just don't get why she rejected you. And when I think about it, the way she stared at you tonight, I was almost convinced she really hated you,"

"Hell, no!" Ethan screamed, "She couldn't hate me even if she tried. Everyone knows she's been into me since we were kids. Rhiannon could never hate me, this has to be some crazy joke that has gone too far,"

Eleanor's eyes narrowed at him, "You're more bothered about it than I thought you would be. She rejected you, doesn't that make things easier for us now? Aren't we supposed to be jubilating about this?" Eleanor yelled this time, pushing off the wall and approaching him. 

Ethan's jaw clenched. Eleanor was right. He was supposed to be relieved, but why wasn't he? "She humiliated me in front of everyone, Eleanor," He said instead, facing her too, "She rejected him in front of the whole pack. Do you expect me to be laughing about it?"

"Then get back at her!" Came Eleanor's fierce reply as she stopped right in front of him, "Make her regret her actions, and to make her hurt even more, announce me as your new girlfriend. That would be the perfect revenge!"

The statement ' Announce me as your new girlfriend ' made Ethan recoil a bit inside, but he didn't let it show, "Of course," He swallowed back his frustration, "I need to make her pay. That Wolfless thing thinks she can just reject me, the Beta of this Pack, and walk away with it? Impossible!" A mischievous look flickered across his eyes. 

"Good, now you're thinking straight," Eleanor stated, her eyes lit with desire as she inched her face closer to his. 

Ethan grabbed her face and they kissed each other heatedly. She moaned against his lips, and Ethan threw her roughly on the couch, a cocky smirk on his face. 

"How badly do you want me?" He rasped. 

She gestured with her fingers for him to come closer, biting her lips. Then, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to meet her, where they resumed their crazy kissing session while stripping each other's clothing off. 

Then, Ethan grabbed Eleanor's waist and flipped her over, making her stand on all fours. She bit her lips even harder, breathing hard just as he slammed into her from behind. 

She moaned, begging for more of him as he kept on ramming into her. Ethan then grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her to arch her back, pulling her head up a bit and increased the force of his thrusts. 

The couch shook, and Eleanor cried out his name. This was exactly what she wanted. She had successfully stolen Ethan away from her sister, and now, she was coming after every other thing Rhiannon had worked hard for. 

The lab. 

Her position in the Pack. 

A light smirk touched Eleanor's face amidst the hot sex she was having. Before the year ran out, she was going to enact all her plans and leave her sister with nothing.

.

.

.

For the past two days, rumours have been spreading around the Pack that there was a small group of Rogue wolves lurking around, not too far from the Pack town. 

There haven't been any attacks so far, but some scouts have been sent and have returned with confirmation of seeing unnecessary claw marks, dead animals and new scents all over the place. 

Some members of the Pack even believed the rogues were the cause of the Earth's signature scent they had picked up a few days back. 

The rumours had gotten so much, and the evidence the scouts had gathered triggered Alpha Killian to rise to the occasion. 

Alpha Killian has always enjoyed capturing rogues. He always enjoyed the chase, the hunt, the fight and how he always made them submit to him, before torturing and tossing them into the pit. 

It was a hobby for him. 

 "We are ready to leave," Ethan said, his head bowed in front of the Alpha. He was presently in the Alpha's study

Alpha Killian raised his head, his face hard as always. He pulled up to his full length, his predatory aura filling up the room. Then, he stepped out of the study with Ethan two feet behind him. 

Rhiannon watched from a safe distance as Ethan and Killian left the Pack house. She was nervous as hell, but there was no going back now that they were the ones who started this. 

"Are you ready?!" Rhiannon asked, glancing back at Layla. 

"I still can't believe we are actually going to steal from your dad's storeroom. We are gonna get killed if we get caught," Layla said bitterly. 

"Then we better not get caught!"