6. Fire & Ice

LIAM

I returned to my office, trying not to let her anger get to me. I don’t know what I was expecting... Seeing her again, those gorgeous eyes of hers. Was this mate bond only affecting me?

Damon seemed to be doing fucking fine too. Was it just me suffering like this?

Jealousy reared its ugly head at that thought. Don’t fucking let shit get to you, Liam.

I sat back. With the killing that happened last night, the pack was a little restless and everyone had heard about it. Although I made sure everything carried on as usual as best as possible. The tension was clear in the air. The uneasiness of what happened the night before still lingered on everyone’s mind, it wasn’t something we were just going to forget overnight.

The darkness that had settled over the pack was palpable and I could sense the unease and fear clawing its way through the pack link.

I really wanted Dad and Mom to go away for a week or so. Dad needed it, and with all of this crap, I think now was the time for him to just relax. Even if he didn’t let on, he was going through a lot and I wanted him to know he could count on me. They needed a break.

I would offer to babysit Azura… but I wasn’t sure I’d manage that considering it would be an entire week or two. On top of that, with the murder, I needed to get to the bottom of it. We had no leads at all. Last night I had tried to track and trace any scent that lingered but there was nothing.

I frowned and was trying to figure out what I needed to do next when there was a knock on the door. My eyes flashed, and my mood just got darker when a familiar scent hit my nose.

‘Enter.’ I said coldly.

The door opened to reveal none other than Damon.

Now, why the fuck did I need to see him?

"Hey."

I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

"I thought I’d just come to see if there’s anything I could do? What happened last night, it’s damn shocking and I know-"

"If you have nothing useful to say, leave. I have things to do." I said coldly.

"Liam, can we just talk about this?”

"Didn’t I just say take a fucking hike?" I said, my eyes flashing.

He only frowned deeply. Well if he wanted to be fucking stubborn, I didn’t have time for his shit. Flipping open my laptop, I decided to ignore him instead, but he didn't take the fucking hint.

"Liam… I am your Beta. We need to work together and at least try to get on. We can’t carry on like this." Damon said quietly.

"Yeah, well, shame that it is what it is. Unless, of course, you want to step down from your position?" I said, knowing I was being a fucking jerk.

I didn’t really care though; thanks to him, I couldn’t even call Raven mine.

"I am not going to step down, especially when there is stuff going on. We need to just stop ignoring each other, man." He said exasperatedly.

"There’s a difference between ignoring and just not wanting to see your fucking face." I shot back, standing up.

He was getting pissed off, but he was staying calm. I wondered what it’d take for him to get the fuck out of my face.

"It’s been three years, Liam... Can’t we set our differences aside and-"

"Are you for real, Nicholson? Differences? She may just have been a passing thing for you, since we all know you jump from one infatuation to the fucking next, but for me she was the one I wanted from day fucking one, so don’t think three or ten years will change that." I growled, walking up to him and looking him in the eye. "Understood."

"Understood." He said, clenching his jaw. "One question though, why aren’t you going and getting her? This is about her, right? Then why not go after her?"

"Why don’t YOU reject her?" I shot back.

"I wanted us to work something out. You ran away from her, Liam you hurt her."

I smirked coldly.

I know I did, but I didn’t trust myself or my mental state back then.

"There was a lot worse I could have done. Walking away before I said or did something I regretted was the smartest choice. The only disappointing thing is that now I'm back, I'm stuck having to see your damn face." I said coldly, my eyes burning with anger.

He clenched his fists, and I knew I had pushed him enough.

"What’s wrong? Finding it hard to control your temper?"

"Fuck off, Liam, this isn’t a fucking joke. I get it! I get that you fucking loved her since day one! But the moon goddess made this decision! Don’t you think either of us rejecting her would hurt her?!" He snapped, shoving me back a little.

"I don’t think hurting her is something you really care about right. I mean you had no issue-"

"Stop it, man!"

"I'm fucking stating facts. You wanted me to talk to you, I'm fucking talking." I said coldly, shoving him back.

His eyes flashed and I don’t even fucking know who jumped forward first. I aimed a punch at his jaw only for him to block and throw in his own, I slammed it away and was about to grab his collar when her delicious fresh floral scent hit my nose. I felt her small hand on my chest, pushing me away from him as she forced herself between us.

"What are you two doing?!" She growled, flinching when I refused to let go of Damon, crushing her between us. I slammed him against the desk, my hand tightening on his neck with Raven still caught between us. Suddenly, I was fucking aware of her stomach against my dick and those fucking sparks.

All three of our hearts were fucking racing. The storm of emotions that surrounded us; anger, rage, irritation, confusion, and so much fucking more, spread like a toxic poison.

I was the first to pull away, tugging Raven away from Damon. I didn’t want him anywhere near her. Only for her to yank away from me, her eyes filled with rage as she glared at both of us.

"You both need to get your shit together. Neither of you is fucking man enough to do anything but whine? Seriously? We lost someone yesterday and today you two are acting like goddamn high-school-aged pigs!" She snapped.

"I came here trying to sort this shit out." Damon said frowning. He didn’t look at me and I knew I had really pissed him off. Good.

"Well then, sort this shit out! Liam, for your dad, show you can be a responsible Alpha. If you two are still hung up over the mating ball, well then get over it and move the hell on. It’s been three years, what happened back then is in the past. I'm enjoying my life. You should enjoy yours! Reject me, or if you want, I can do it too…"

The very thought made my stomach churn. Don't fucking say that.

She shook her head, looking between us. I thought I saw a glimmer of sadness there, but I wasn’t sure. She was about to leave the room when she paused at the door, turning and looking at me.

"As for Owen, I can handle him myself. I don’t need a man to fight my battles. Let alone either of you two." She said coldly.

I didn’t have any fucking right to feel like shit over her words, but I sure as fuck did. Her parting left a heavy silence in the room, I glared at Damon.

"Get out." I said to him coldly.

He shook his head in defeat, stopping at the door and glancing back at me.

"Well, if you ever decide to get your head out of your ass, you know where I am." He said, slamming the door shut behind him.

I frowned, despite him fucking disrespecting me... We went way back. He had been my best friend, like a fucking brother to me, until that night. Fuck, why did it have to happen? I dropped onto my seat, placing my feet on my desk and running a hand through my hair.

He had lost his father in that final battle, he had been through a lot, but I had shut everyone out. Now that I was back, I knew deep down I did need to tolerate him. But that meant I needed to do something about us, about Raven, about everything. I couldn’t keep shutting it all out because it wasn’t helping anyone.

I had a pack to run. He was my Beta and she... She was meant to be my Luna. My wolf stirred and I pondered on their words... Do something about it... What I wanted to do was take her and claim her as my mate. I was an Alpha, and I was done stepping down. I had given them a chance... and now that we were back to square one, it was high time I took what was mine for the claiming.