Chapter 4

Elena

For a split second, Killian’s face morphed into what I would have sworn was a look of concern—but I knew better, of course—before it quickly turned back into anger.

“What is wrong with you today, Elena?” He planted his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes. “Is this a tantrum of some kind?”

I almost laughed out loud at that. A tantrum. Killian loved to use that word whenever I got the least bit emotional. Even if I had a bad day on my period, he would accuse me of having a tantrum.

But I kept my voice calm and controlled as I said, “No. I’m just packing and sorting out things I don’t need for donation. You’re the one who saw the lingerie and got all upset like I’m some kind of seductress.”

Killian didn’t look convinced. His dark eyes scanned the piles of clothes around the room and lingered the longest on the pile by the closet, which was meant for donation. “Those are clothes I bought you,” he pointed out dryly.

I shrugged. “They’re not my taste. Never were. So I think it’s better if I donate them to someone who would actually like them.”

His gaze snapped back to me, face hardening into a mask of icy cold steel. “You never told me you didn’t like them.”

“Yes, well, I’m telling you now. Most of them never fit my body, either.”

I could tell that Killian was trying to decide if it was worth it to argue with me about clothes. I hoped he would decide it was easier to just leave me be so I could finish packing in peace; the ceremony always ran for a couple of hours, and then he’d likely be joining the other pack members at the feast hall to mingle afterwards, which would give me plenty of time to get my things situated and leave before he was back.

Maybe, if I worked quickly, Maeve and I could be holed up somewhere in a hotel across the border by the time he got home. I had enough money stashed away to get by until the divorce went through.

Finally, he gestured to the piles and the half-filled suitcase sitting on the bed and said, “What are you packing for? You didn’t tell me you had a trip coming up.”

I folded my arms and sneered, glad he finally noticed. “I know you don’t love me, Killian. So I think we should separate.”

Killian’s face dropped. He looked at me for a moment as if expecting me to admit I was joking, but I didn’t crack, not even for a second. My heart pounded. Deep down, that tiny part of me, the part that was still bound to him as mates, didn’t want to go.

But I knew I had to. I couldn’t repeat my past mistakes, because Maeve and I might not be given a third chance at life if I did.

Suddenly, he laughed.

Laughed.

The sound was harsh and cold, and his smile didn’t reach his eyes as he said, “You mean to have a divorce? No, we’re not getting a divorce.”

“Why not?” I lifted my chin.

“Because,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a child, “if the news spread, it would not only affect the stability of the pack, but would also affect my upcoming campaign for Alpha Council leader. I can’t afford a scandal.”

I scoffed. Right; of course his main reason was for his own gain. He’d been intending to run in the Alpha Council election for months now, and Alphas were expected to have stable family lives if they wanted to win such things.

“Well, that’s too bad,” I said calmly. “I want a div—”

“We’re not getting divorced, Elena.”

Suddenly, Killian was moving toward me. I gasped and stumbled back, my spine hitting the wall behind me. My eyes searched for something to use as a weapon if I needed it.

But Killian wasn’t coming to hurt me. He was trying to kiss me.

The realization caught me so off guard that I didn’t have time to get away. Killian wrapped his arms around me and pulled me flush against his chest, our bodies pressed so close I could feel his steady heartbeat through my sweater.

My eyes widened, palms pressing flat into his broad, muscular chest. I tried to push away, but it was no use; Killian had always been a large, muscle bound man, and I stood over a foot shorter than him and just barely half his size.

And weight and height differences aside, I couldn’t help it. His closeness made the wolf that existed deep inside of me howl with excitement.

“Is this what you wanted, Elena?” Killian dipped his head so his lips were brushing mine. He smelled like pine and whiskey, a combination that always left me feeling intoxicated. Against my better judgment, my fingers instinctively curled into his sweater as if trying to pull him closer. “You want me to pretend I love you?”

He laughed again, lips curling to reveal a sneer. “Your heart is pounding, dove,” he whispered, using the nickname that never failed to make my knees weak, even now. I knew he only ever called me that because of my hair, not out of affection, but it still worked.

He lifted a strand of my white hair and curled it around his finger. “Maybe you’re in no position to talk about divorce if I still have such an effect on you.”

Indignation quickly blotted out my arousal. I swatted his hand away and bared my fangs. “Let go of me.”

My fury seemed to take Killian by surprise, but he didn’t release me. If anything, he held me tighter. And… did I sense a skip in his heartbeat that time?

No, surely not. Killian never really wanted me; maybe we had sex out of lust and the bond pulling our bodies together, but he never really wanted to make love to me.

“Behave,” he rumbled then, as if sensing my thoughts. “I never wanted to marry you in the first place, but the pack needs a Luna if the Alpha is to retain control. You just happened to be there at the right time.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Roll your eyes all you want in private,” he said, “but in public, I expect you to remain by my side. And if you’re good, maybe I’ll give you the child you’ve always wanted.”

My jaw clenched as I recalled the miscarriage I suffered as I died. The thought made me hate him even more, and I didn’t hold back my anger as I leaned forward and hissed, “I don’t want to have a child with you. My child wouldn’t even want a father like you, a miserable brute who uses physical force and insults to get his way. You’re no better than a child yourself.”

Killian growled low in his chest, pinning me back against the wall with his body. His chest heaved, and a sense of satisfaction lanced through me as I realized my words had struck a chord.

“Trying to provoke me?” he grumbled. “It won’t work.”

I simply laughed. “What’s the worst you can do? Reject me?” I held my arms out to the sides. “Go ahead.”