Chapter 10

~ RONAN ~

She smiled. She actually smiled, and if that doesn't do something to my chest then I don't know what else to call it.

The moment Celeste mindlinked me that she was done eating, I needed to check on her. Kael was more than excited at the idea of seeing her one more time, practically vibrating at the back of my skull like an overgrown puppy I'd never admit to owning.

And now that we're done, I feel at ease, even though Kael is furious we're leaving her room and not planting ourselves outside her door for the rest of the night. It's for the better. She needs space, she needs rest, and once she's recovered we'll have time. I assure him as I walk down the hallway toward my room.

Today has been long. So fucking long, and Warren has played a huge part in fueling my anger. I need rest, and I need my lawyer to follow up with Warren first thing tomorrow morning, which is a reminder that the contract he signed isn't going to bail on him as easy as he thinks.

I push open the door to my room, least expecting to find anyone in my room, a familiar scent hits me first.

Kael growls before I even fully process it. "What is she doing here?"

Sprawled across my bed is Mara, legs crossed, a black robe lying loose and open around her, red bikini underneath, hair fanned freely against my pillows. Her eyesnarrows to mine the moment the door opens and her lips pull into a slow smile, hands trailing down her own body seductively.

I cross the room. "Hey, Mara." Two words, because I'm finding the possible way to discharge her to leave.

"Hey, Alpha." Her eyes rake over me, lip caught between her teeth. "You look exhausted. Come let me fix that."

Mara has been my mistress for a while now. That's the honest truth of it. She's uncomplicated, she knows what this is, and she's never once asked for more than I'm willing to give. It's worked because the terms were always clear.

I head to the couch instead. "Put your robe on, Mara. I've had a long day, and I need to rest."

The smile on her face dims, disappointment etches across her face as she sits up, pulling the robe back around herself.

She cocks a brow at me. "I heard you brought in a new bride." A pause, her lips turning into a mocking sneer. "And that she's a mute."

"Tell her to shut her mouth," Kael snarls, "or I will do it for her."

I keep my voice even. "She's going to be your Luna. Give her the respect that comes with that title."

She laughs out loudly, "Luna? Ronan, think about what you're saying. A mute for a Luna. Do you have any idea what the pack is going to say? The other Alphas? You've spent years building this pack into something people fear and respect, and you're going to hand them this? They'll mock you. They'll say the Alpha of Death couldn't even find a bride who could speak, and it's enough controversy that every of your brides dies," She leans forward, "I'm just being honest with you."

I stand to my feet, already having enough of her jabs at Roselle.

"Call her a mute one more time," I warn, "and you'll find your tongue on the floor before you finish the sentence."

Mara blinks. The laughter dies completely.

"Leave."

She stares at me like I've said something in a foreign language. Like the word doesn't compute because I've never once said it to her before. "What has gotten into you, Ronan? You never cared what I said about the others..."

I don't repeat myself as I flash her one look, and she snatches her things, shoves her feet into her shoes, ties her robe tighter. At the door she pauses with her hand on the frame, one last attempt. "Does your mother know about this? Because I know for a fact she's going to..."

Her mouth closes, when my expression finishes the sentence for her, she humps, as she opens the door, and leaves. The door clicks shut behind her.

I stand in the middle of my room for a long moment.

In as much as my mother wouldn't approve of Roselle, I've already made up my mind. Mute or not, she stays. She's going to stand beside me as my Luna and the pack is going to adjust, because I'm ther Alpha.

I strip out of my clothes, change, and drop into bed.

Twenty minutes later I'm still staring at the ceiling. I've never been able to sleep with unfinished business sitting in front of me. It's the thing that's driven every decision I've made since I took this title, the inability to leave a problem alone until it's solved. I turn it over like a stone, looking at every side until I find the edge I can work with.

I get up, and head to my mini bar, pour two shots of tequila from the mini bar, and down them both.

She lied to me, and it doesn't make a damn bit of sense why she's still trying to protect the people hurting her. Deep in my bones, I fucking know it's Warren and his bitch. She's too easy to read when she lies, the way her eyes dart away, the sharp spike in her heartbeat my Alpha hearing catches clear as day.

I let out a harsh laugh at her pathetic excuse about being clumsy. She seriously needs to learn how to lie better. Clumsy doesn't layer scar over scar like someone ran out of untouched skin and started all over again.

If only she knew. If only she understood that the moment she tells me the truth, I will burn Westbrook to its foundation. I will bury whoever touched her so deep they'll never see sky again. My blood is already running hot just thinking about it, about what Elias described, about the timeline of it, about how long it went on.

I'm learning patience. For her, specifically. I'm learning it because she needs it, and I'm not going to be another person who takes something from her just because they can.

I pour a third shot.

"Is she sleeping?" Kael asks after a while.

I don't know.

"She might have trouble sleeping. Sleepless nights are always part of trauma." A pause. "I'm just saying."

I know what you're saying.

"I'm saying we should check."

I exhale hard at the thought, dragging a hand through my hair. "I'm not about to walk back into her room and wake her up just because I can't sleep and Kael's got separation anxiety."

"Then we don't need to use the door," Kael says immediately. "We can go through the window. If we use the window, she won't hear a thing."

I stare at the wall, killing the idea the second it forms. It's not just creepy, it's fucking ridiculous.

"It's not creepy," he argues. "We're being protective."

"It's absolutely creepy,.because all we'd end up doing is frightening a girl who's already scared of damn near everything, and the last thing I need is—"

"Can you stop overthinking?" Kael cuts in. "We'll be at the window, and she's not going to hear a thing. We just stay there and watch. We both know you want to see her, and I'm already offering a solution, so stop whining and drowning yourself in alcohol like some lost wreck and go fucking see her."