Chapter 6

Kian had wanted to talk to Raina after the meeting, but she had run off after her sister. He sighed, knowing he'd have to wait. He hadn't wanted to put her on the spot without discussing it with her, but when Sterling had approached him with this solution, he couldn't pass it up.

He and Sebastian had talked this over without Raina. If the Elder Council forced him to take a Luna, he had every intention of his chosen Luna being Raina and Sebastian wholeheartedly agreed. He hadn't wanted to scare Raina off and talk him out of it, because he knew it couldn't be anyone but her. He didn't trust anyone else like that especially a female. He had meant to speak with her beforehand before Sterling had showed up.

When she backed him at the end, he couldn't help but feel relief wash over him. Her words were exactly what he expected them to be. He still wanted to speak with her and assure her that he fully understood that it wouldn't be a romantic partnership. It would be strictly platonic. They would co-parent their children. They would discuss who be her successor as his Beta or if she wanted an assistant to help her both Luna and Beta duties. He could trust her to decide what she was capable of.

Where are you? he asked her through their mindlink.

Her response was quick. I'm at the training grounds.

He wasn't even surprised she was there. He was well aware of her habit of training to refocus her mind when life got chaotic. It shouldn't be a surprise that he knew her so well. Before she became his Beta, he had kept tabs on her over the years when she started making waves in the warrior training. Sebastian actually had pointed her out one day during a training session when they were sparring and they witnessed how quickly she depatched her sparring partner. Ever since that moment, he took the time to follow her rise to the top.

I'll be there in a moment, he told her as he made his way to the training grounds.

It was almost midnight. Most the pack were sleeping peacefully while only the nightwatch patrolled the grounds and the perimeter. With the rogue attacks now being nonexistent, most nights were usually peaceful. Rogues that did come by weren't like the others that battled for dominance. These rogues only wanted better communication and rapport, which was easier to give when they were being civil.

When he reached the training grounds, he watched Raina as she punched, dodged, and kicked a training dummy. She was fast, very fast with how she moved. The moment he stepped foot inside the training grounds, she tensed for a second before she continued to beat the hell out of the dummy. He approached her and watched her work until she finally stopped. She took a deep breath and turned to him.

"Are you insane?" she asked him finally as she walked the small distance between them. Her anger and frustration sizzled on the surface. "Why would you even think to chose me?"

He smirked at her close proximity. Her cognac eyes flashed like glints of a sharp blade. His fierce little warrior. "That's why."

Soon confusion broke through and the silent questions formed in its wake. She crossed her arms over her chest. Her usually meticulous braid had loosened and some of her wavy light brown locks had escaped. Her lips were soft and sensual, begging to be kissed. Had he just thought that? He swallowed, cursing Sebastian for shattering the vision he had of her. She was no longer just a warrior to him. He now has become increasingly more than aware of her femininity.

"Nobody dares to stand up to me beyond the Elder Council," he explained, looking down into her eyes. "Only you would speak to me the way you do. Only you would call me out. That's why I chose you. You challenge me. You're not afraid to set me straight. I need somebody like that to be my companion in this mess."

"But it's not just that!" she gasped. "You want my-my egg and your..." She flushed and he couldn't help but chuckle at her embarrassment. It was very rare for her to get flustered. "And you do realize we'll feel each when you claim me as your Luna. Like it'll be beyond us mindlinking each other."

He wasn't phased by that. He had nothing to hide from her other than this growing obsession with her. Besides, wasn't transparency for the best especially for a situation like theirs? Frustration was building within her though and he was a patient wolf at least for her. This was a very complicated situation and he knew it wouldn't be easy for her.

"What if you need... relief?" She swallowed, looking away from his.

The tension in her body was starting to aggravate him. He hated when she attempted to hide from him even if it was understand since it was over matters that she normally wouldn't have to deal with. Now that she did, they would deal with it together.

"Then I'll relieve it," he said simply. He had been using his hand for years now.

She glared at him. "I'll feel it. I'll also feel the pain of it when you give yourself to someone else other than..."

"Other than you," he finished for her. He crossed his arms and waited for her to meet his eyes again. "I won't be relieving myself with anyone then."

She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "But what if I need relief? Did you ever think of that, Kian?"

Heat burned through him. His chest clenched at what she was referring to. Embarrassment and shock clearly in her expression as she realized what she had blurted out. When she walked by him to escape, he immediately spun around to follow her. She wasn't just going to walk away after that. He grabbed her arm, forcing her to come to a stop and look up at him.

"I won't deprive you your pleasure or release," he promised her. Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. A small smile kicked up the corner of his mouth as his excitement sparked at her reaction. "You're free to entertain yourself as you see fit."

She licked her lips and he had to bite his lip to keep from groaning. "You would allow me to find pleasure with someone when I'm be mated to you?"

"Of course not," he growled out at that. The thought of her finding pleasure and feeling it while she finds relief elsewhere pissed him off. An unexpected dark flash of possessiveness tore through him. "I told you to trust me, didn't I? I'll take care of you until your mate comes if that's what you need."

Her eyes flicked to his in shock at his confession and what he offered. He held her gaze to let her know he was being serious. A laugh erupted from her to his surprise. She shook her head.

"You're teasing me, aren't you?" she gasped. "There's no way you'd ever touch me much less fuck me."

She really tried to turn away from him again to dismiss him. He growled, once again stopping her as he grabbed her arm and spun her into his chest. Her sharp intake of breath as her body pressed flush against his. His hands gripped her hips keeping her in place.

"I'm touching you right now," he told her as his hands traveled down her hips to cup her ass. He leaned down so his mouth was close to her ear. "I'd have no problem with fucking you if that's what you wanted."

***

Raina forced down a moan threatening to humiliate her. Her poor heart was racing. Her body was burning up, ready for the exquisite pleasure Kian offered her so willingly. His eyes had promised a storm that would destroy her. His hands gripped her butt and she wanted to jump up and wrap her legs about his waist. She wanted to grind against him, desperate to draw out any sounds from that dangerous mouth of his and what he was suggesting.

She had tried to run from this insane direction that this conversation went. It had been her fault. She should've kept it to herself, but she had tried to disgust him by letting him know that he'd be able to feel everything if they were mated like her own pleasure if she had played with herself.

What she hadn't expected was this. She hadn't expected to be seduced by Kian, promising to give her pleasure if that was what she needed. It had meant to be a way to talk him out of this agreement so he could find a suitable Luna. This wasn't how she thought it was going to go down, especially from what she had overheard the other day.

"Kian, we-we probably shouldn't cross that line," she finally whispered. She swallowed, trying desperately to cool her hormones, but her body craved him. It was like her body knew who it belonged to and who would bring her the most pleasure, because she knew he would. He would destroy her. "You don't have to force yourself to be with me like that. I-I think we're both very capable of handling ourselves on our own."

Kian smirked, nodding his head. "If that's what you want."

Everything in his eyes screamed that she was a liar, but she had to establish boundaries especially for herself. He was only doing this for the sake of keeping the Elder Council happy and establishing his legacy. As an Alpha that was his responsibility and she needed to remember that this arrangement was purely for the benefit of the pack.

When he released her, she stumbled back from her. Her legs were like jelly and she tried to ignore the wetness developing between her legs. The ache that throbbed there, begging to be satisfied.

She was glad that he couldn't scent her, because she would be mortified. She had been taking her scent suppressant for years since the eve before her eighteenth birthday and it was her only saving grace against her shame. She quickly tried to rush off, feeling Kian's eyes burning into her as she went.

She heard her name and she forced herself to turn to him. There was a smile that teased his lips and he gave her a knowing look.

"We still have more to discuss," he said. "When you're ready."

The double meaning wasn't lost on her. He was putting everything in her court. She only nodded and she exited the training grounds to return to her suite in the pack house. She couldn't stop the explicit images running rampant through her mind and it was all Kian's fault.