6. So Damn Complicated.

~ RAELIN ~

Wes and I are about a hundred meters away from the water fountain in front of the Packhouse.

And she is there. Another new problem of my day.

Kira Gandall.

She is standing there, wearing the shortest, skimpiest black skirt I have ever seen and a yellow corset blouse barely covering her ample cleavage. She is twirling her black hair in her fingers, her glossy lips curling into a smile when she sees me approaching.

“What the hell?” I mutter under my breath.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I said when I saw her spying on Cal and me during our training this morning,” Wes says, shaking his head. “She was acting really weird. Like, full-on creepy.”

“I do not want to deal with her right now,” I groan, rubbing my eyes.

Wes laughs. “Then don’t. Just let her talk her shit and walk away. Don’t let her waste your time longer than she should.”

I sigh deeply. Kira Gandall is the kind of person who loves drama. Ever since we were kids, I have known something about her wasn’t right.

She enjoys seeing people in pain. In fact, she thrives in the joy and happiness of seeing people in pain.

Right now, I honestly don't have the energy to deal with her.

In fact, she has no reason to be here.

As we approach the packhouse, the guards on the way nod at us.

I nod back, distracted, my thoughts already pulling me back to the cell.

Back to Layla again.

That stubborn rogue has become a headache I didn’t ask for. I am trying so hard not to think about her, but I can’t stop. She is like a bruise I can’t stop pressing and the uneasiness in my chest has refused to go away.

I am angry, frustrated… and I feel something else I don’t want to admit out loud.

Ever since I found that rogue all bloody, barely breathing, and lying on the ground in the forest that night, I haven’t been the same.

Her pain… it did something to me.

It reminded me of the night I lost my own parents.

That same HELPLESS feeling.

That same FEAR that rips into you when someone you care about is slipping away from your fingers and you can’t stop it.

Worse, when I felt our bond snapping into place inside me that night, I suddenly wanted to protect her.

It was like something I couldn't resist inside me just woke up and took control over me.

That same night, without thinking twice, I killed the men who hurt her and even now, while thinking about it—

“I still don’t get why Kira can’t let you go.” Wes says beside me, dragging me out of my thoughts. “I hope she stops pestering you now that you have found your mate.”

I sigh and rub my eyes. “My mate? No, Wes. I am not feeling anything close to being grateful about finding my mate. Everything is a mess. And why the hell is Kira here anyway?”

He shrugs. “That’s your mess to clean up, dear brother. But if I had to guess? I think she knows you have got a rogue still breathing in our pack."

“But it’s none of her business."

“Exactly. So don’t let her pester you for long. You can handle her.”

He says it like it is easy to do.

But Kira is a pest.

As soon as we reach her, Wes waves at her and immediately veers off towards the pool house.

So much for being my Beta.

I don’t stop walking. I pass Kira without looking at her and head straight for the front doors.

I have got too much on my plate today and I don't have the strength to deal with any of her games.

“Raelin—”

“Kira, not now,” I cut her off. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“It can’t wait!” she fires back, her quick footsteps chasing mine as I climb the stairs.

Seriously?

I reach my office door, push it open, and head inside without looking back. I don’t bother closing the door.

She does. Loudly, of course.

I walk to the shelves beside my desk and grab my bottle of Macallan. Pour half a glass. The burn of it down my throat is exactly what I fucking need.

“Tell me the truth, Raelin,” she says sharply. “Why is that rogue still alive? She should have been dealt with by now or is there something I don't know—”

“Watch your mouth, Gandall.” I growl, cutting her off. “You are forgetting who the fuck you are talking to. That rogue is my prisoner and that means her life is my business, not yours.”

She glares at me and I glare right back. With my glare still pinned on her, I take another sip of my drink.

It burns once more, but I welcome the heat.

Right now, she is quiet.

But I know her silence won’t last long.

“She is just a rogue,” she confirms my thoughts, her purry voice sounding so soft and sweet.

I know what she is doing.

Stylishly, she walks up to my desk, swaying her wide hips towards me.

Here we go.

Reaching my desk, she places her hands on the surface and bends down, half her breasts spilling from her tight corset blouse, her intense perfume nearly choking me to death.

“The longer that rogue stays in our pack, the harder it might be to get rid of her,” she whispers, flipping her hair over her shoulders.

Her boobs bounce with the movement.

Pathetic.

I don’t say anything. I don’t move.

I just keep watching her while taking another sip of my drink.

Kira wants me to make her my Luna. That’s the game here. She is doing the same thing she always does: Trying to tempt me.

Trying to play the seductive Luna card.

Worse, she has been pushing that card even more after I became Alpha.

I take another sip. She has wanted me for years. She has convinced herself that she is the only woman meant to be my Luna, that my heart and bed belongs to her.

But I have never liked her in that way. Not even when we were kids.

To be clear, she is beautiful, sure.

But there is something mean and wicked under that pretty face of hers.

Something fake and selfish.

And I am fucking tired of her.

“Are you done trying to shove your breasts into my face?” I ask flatly.

“What—?”

“I said, are you done trying to shove your breasts into my face?” I wave my glass towards the files stacked on my desk. “Unlike you, I have actual work to do, so get out and let me concentrate."

She tilts her head, studying me, trying to read my face.

“I trust you, Alpha,” she says with a smile that makes my skin crawl. Next, she draws even closer. “If you ever need help… any kind of help… I will be here. Just for you.”

I scoff. “Wes and Caleb are all the help I need. Also, I am still waiting for you to get the fuck out. You are wasting my time.”

Her smile cracks for half a second, just enough for me to see that I got to her before she fixes the smile back into place.

In her usual arrogance, she flips her hair again and starts walking to the door.

Finally.

But before leaving, she turns and looks back at me. Her unique mismatched eyes—one blue, one green—flash with something I can’t quite name.

“Be careful, Alpha.” she warns. “Rogues can never be trusted.”

With those words out of her mouth, she slams the door behind her.

A ragged sigh leaves me.

With her gone, I finish what is left of my drink, letting the burning warmth settle in my chest. Done, I place the glass on my desk and rest back in my chair.

Kira is exhausting. Always pushing. Always acting like she is owed something that totally belongs to her.

I don’t like her, but damn it, she is not wrong about everything.

Rogues can’t be trusted.

And my prisoner? She is a stubborn rogue.

And a special kind of stubborn rogue.

When I tried to dig into her thoughts, she pushed back with everything she had. Even as weak as she was, she still resisted me.

My aura should have broken her. But it didn’t.

The only explanation? The mate bond.

It has to be the reason she was able to push back so hard. It is the only reason that makes sense.

I press my fingers to my forehead and close my eyes, trying to stop the pounding ache building inside my head.

I am the Alpha, and my job is to protect this pack. As Alpha, my pack has always come first.

Always.

But now? Now everything is so damn complicated.

And I fucking hate it.