Chapter Five : Misunderstandings

Chapter Five:Misunderstandings

I woke up alone again, the connecting door still shut. My body remembered the weight of Kael's arm and the way his breath had branded my neck. I sat up, shoved my hair out of my face, and muttered, "Day two. Try not to faint."

A soft knock sounded.

"Come in."

A woman stepped inside carrying a tray that smelled like actual coffee. Late twenties, dark braid, calm eyes that looked like they'd seen every possible reaction to this place and still showed up with breakfast.

"Good morning. I'm Lisa. Mr. Voss assigned me to you. I'll help you settle in and answer questions about the pack, the territory, and… the mate bond."

I stared at the coffee like it held the secrets of the universe. "You brought coffee. Sit down. And drop the 'Miss.' Just call me Avery"

She hesitated, then sat. "Mr. Voss was clear I should treat you with the respect due his mate."

"Yeah, well, From now on you're Lisa, I'm Avery, and if I start talking nonsense you're allowed to tell me to shut up and drink my coffee. Deal?"

A real smile appeared. "Deal"

We talked for over an hour. Lisa explained the pack and talked about how mate bonds were rare and intense. Alphas especially struggled with restraint once they found their mate.

No one outside the inner circle was supposed to know who I was yet—Kael didn't want me to feel overwhelmed.

She told me about the hierarchy, the training fields, the fact that the entire territory basically answered to the man on the other side of that connecting door.

"So I'm the secret future luna living in the penthouse with a shared wall to the big bad wolf," I summarized. "No pressure at all."

Lisa laughed. "You're handling it better than most."

"I'm really trying my best not to panic right now" I laughed back.

By midday she'd given me a tour of the private wing and introduced me to a few pack members who worked the estate. One of them was Thomas.

Thomas was tall, sandy-haired, easy smile—the kind of guy who looked like he'd help you carry groceries and then make a dumb joke about it.

He worked security and grounds. When Lisa introduced us he shook my hand like a normal person and said, "Welcome to the pack house. If you need someone to show you where they hide the good coffee, I'm your guy."

I grinned. "I think we'd make best friends."

We talked for twenty minutes. He was funny in a dry way. He didn't know I was the alpha's mate .He just thought that I was the new resident Kael had brought in. That made it easy.

For the first time since the SUVs showed up, I felt like a person instead of a destiny or an obligation.

When he left for his shift he smiled over his shoulder, "Anytime you want a break from the glass palace, text me. I'll smuggle something real cool for you."

I watched him go and felt something light in my chest. A friend. An actual friend.

That evening I decided the ridiculous marble shower needed testing. The water pressure was hot.

I stripped and stepped under the spray, and let the heat work on the knots in my shoulders. Steam filled the glass. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about his golden eyes or the word mate.

I didn't hear the bathroom door open.

The shower door slid back. Cool air rushed in. I spun, arms flying up to cover my breasts.

"What are you doing here!" I screamed.

Kael stood there.

Fully dressed. Eyes already burning gold. His nostrils flared once, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"You smell like another male."

My heart slammed so hard I felt it in my throat. Water cascaded down my body. I kept one arm across my chest. "Kael—it's not what you think—"

He stepped inside, clothes and all. The door slid shut behind him. Rain from the showerhead soaked his shirt in seconds. He cornered me against the tile, caging me with his arms.

"What's that scent on you" he said, voice low and lethal. "I can smell him on your skin. On your hand. Faint, but there. You let another male touch what belongs to me."

"What are you doing,get out " I screamed.

"I do not fancy repeating myself and if I do,you won't like the consequences" He growled.

I slapped him . Real hard. How dare him think he could boss me around like some servant.

I saw something flicker in his eyes. His eyes glowed. I felt like it was a different aggressive version of himself that stood in front of me.

Is that....his wolf??

He grabbed my neck and pinned me tightly against the bathroom wall

"Do not ever try raising your tiny hat at me or else I won't hesitate to break them "

I trembled in fear,I don't think I like his wolf one bit.

"It's Thomas.He's just a friend," I said quickly. "We just talked. He shook my hand. That's it—"

"I don't care." His eyes were pure gold now. "You are mine. My mate. And you walked around my territory carrying another male's scent like it was nothing."

I should have been terrified. Part of me was. But the bigger part of me saw the raw jealousy, the leashed wolf, and felt heat pool low in my belly.

"What are you going to do about it?" I asked, voice quieter.

His eyes wild with fury "I'm going to punish you. And you're going to let me."

My pulse spiked. "Is that a command."

"Yes, this should serve as a warning to you to stay away from other male wolves"

Something dark flashed across his face. He shut the water off, grabbed a towel, and dried me with rough, efficient motions that felt more like claiming than care. Then he scooped me up, carried me into the bedroom, and set me on my feet at the edge of the bed.

"Stay"

He disappeared into the walk-in closet and came back with a black leather bag. My stomach flipped when he opened it. Inside were neatly arranged BDSM tools—a leather flogger, soft rope, a padded leather paddle, a pair of cuffs lined with something that looked expensive.

He looked at me, waiting for my permission.

"I agree," I said again, steadier this time. " I want this."

He cuffed my wrists in front of me with the soft-lined restraints, then bent me over the edge of the bed. The position left me completely exposed. I felt the air on my bare skin and shivered.

The first spank landed open-handed and sharp. The sound cracked through the room. Sting bloomed across my right ass cheek. I gasped.

"That's for letting another male's scent on you." Another spank, harder, on the left. "That's for making body contact with him ,like he had any right to your attention."

He fell into a rhythm—firm, measured, relentless. Each impact pulled a sound out of me. My skin heated fast. I could already feel the deep flush that would turn into hand-shaped marks. When he switched to the paddle the thud was heavier, deeper, sending vibration straight between my legs. I moaned into the sheets.

"You take it so well," he growled. "My perfect, disobedient mate"

He set the paddle aside and ran a hand over my burning ass, squeezing just hard enough to make me whimper.

Then two thick fingers pushed inside me without warning. I was soaked. The stretch burned in the best way. He fucked them into me hard and fast, palm slapping against my sensitive cheeks with every thrust.

"Kael—"

"You don't get to come," he ordered. "Not until I decide you've learned. You take what I give you and nothing more."

I nodded frantically, hips pushing back to meet his hand. He added a third finger. The pressure was intense. Every time I got close he slowed or pulled out completely, leaving me aching and empty. I begged—please, please, I'll be good—but he only gave a dark, satisfied sound and kept me right on the edge.

When he picked up the flogger I tensed, then forced myself to relax. The first stroke was a test—light, stinging across my already tender skin. The next ones landed harder. The leather tails kissed the backs of my thighs, the lower curve of my ass, the sensitive places that made my toes curl. It hurt. It also made me drip down my own thighs.

He dropped the flogger, spun me around, and pushed me onto my back. My cuffed hands rested on my stomach. He spread my legs wide and drove three fingers back into me while his thumb worked my clit with ruthless precision.

"Look at you," he rasped. "Soaked. Marked. Mine. And you still tried to tell me another male was just a friend."

"He is," I whispered, even as my back arched. "Kael, please—I swear—"

"I don't believe you." His fingers curled, hitting a spot that made stars burst behind my eyes. "Not yet."

He kept me there for what felt like forever—building me up, denying me, building me up again—until I was shaking and incoherent. Only when tears of frustration slipped from the corners of my eyes did he finally lean down and speak against my mouth.

"Come."

The orgasm ripped through me so hard I cried out his name. My body clamped down around his fingers in pulsing waves. He worked me through it until I was twitching and oversensitive, then slowed, gentling his touch.

When it was over he uncuffed me, gathered me against his chest, and pulled the covers over us both. My ass throbbed with every heartbeat. Between my legs I felt swollen and used. Hand-shaped marks and faint welts covered my skin. I knew I'd feel these marks for days.

But the physical ache wasn't the part that hurt most.

I stared at the ceiling, voice small. "He really was just a friend. You didn't even let me explain."

Kael's arms tightened. He didn't answer.

I turned my face into the pillow so he wouldn't see the wetness in my eyes. The bond between us pulsed like a live wire—hot, possessive, and suddenly painful.

I had consented to every spank, every stroke of the flogger, every denied orgasm. I had wanted the intensity. What I hadn't wanted was the look in his eyes that said he still thought I was lying.

Sleep took a long time to come.

---

Kael's POV**

I had just spent an entire afternoon on pack meetings that stretched into long boring conversations. My wolf was yearning to go to his mate and so was I.

Being the pack leader not only meant enjoying kills and seeing people beg for mercy, it also involved responsibilities. Major ones.

I headed back to the pack house after the meeting to the one person that made me forget all about my worries and responsibilities.

I stopped in front of her door. Something felt wrong. I took a whiff of the air and that's when I smelt it. The scent of someone else. The scent of a man on my mate.

My wolf went into feral mode, begging to be in control. I kicked open her door and I heard the sound of the shower and I quickly rushed into the shower where she stood taking a shower,her body dripping wet with water.

She turned around, startled by the noise of the opening door. She saw me and quickly began using her hands to cover her pink nipples. Even in my state of anger, she still somehow managed to arouse me.

"What's that scent on you?" I asked, looking straight into her eyes.

"What are you doing, get out?" she screamed.

"I do not fancy repeating myself and if I do you won't like the consequences," I growled.

She slapped me. The audacity of this little mate to try and attack me. That slap sent my wolf into control. My wolf Leo took over my body instantly, my eyes glowing into a bright golden.

Leo grabbed her neck and pinned her tightly against the bathroom walls. "Do not ever try raising your little hands to me or else I won't hesitate to break them."

She trembled in fear.

"It was Thomas, we only shook hands, we did..."

"I don't fucking care," my wolf growled. The atmosphere became tense and quiet. I tried taking control back from my wolf but he wouldn't agree.

Next thing I knew, he totally blocked me out leaving me unable to know what was going on.

(The next morning)

I woke up to gentle sobs coming from besides me.She was curled up into a ball at the far end of the bed. I touched her shoulder. She tensed up and shifted away from me. That broke my non-existent heart.

"Avery what's wrong?" I asked. That's when it hit me, memories of last night came flooding in. I felt so bad for letting my wolf take control. And he wasn't even saying anything, just curled up in the corner of my head feeling guilty.

"But I asked her and she said yes," he defended himself in my mind.

"Is that enough reason to rough her up like that?" I questioned, wondering his audacity to still defend himself after what he put her through.

She turned and the sheets fell off her, revealing her perfectly round ass that was now covered in bruises and red marks.

My wolf smiled to himself, satisfied at his handiwork. "You're a sick wolf," I said to him internally.

I reached out for her under the blankets but she just moved further from me. I grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to me. She shivered as sparks from our contact filled her body. I began using my hand to trace her curves,my fingers traced the marks on her ass.

She instantly pulled my hands away from her hips.

Was she expecting me to apologize?

In all my years, I had never apologised to anyone and I didn't plan on starting so breaking that record. She continued sobbing. I guess I would have to break that record this morning .

I pulled her closer to me in such a way that if she moved backward, her ass would make contact with my already erect dick and if she moved forward her breasts would rest on my arms. I basically had her trapped.

"Leave me alone," she said.

I'm sorry " I said quietly.

" For which part " She asked.

"Listen I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have been so rough on you," I said as I used my finger to pinch one of her pink nipples.

She moaned instantly. A sexy high pitch moan.

"I'm not angry about the way you handled me last night,I did give you my consent" she said, staring vacantly ahead. "What I'm upset about is that you didn't believe me, you didn't trust and suspected I was having an affair with Thomas."

Thomas. Hearing that name almost made me angry. I would still need to break a few of his bones for touching what belongs to me. Who the fuck told him it was ok to make body contact with my mate.

"I'm sorry Avery, next time I'll trust you," I said, gently nibbling on her neck.

"Good" She said "because of you ever ignore me like that again,you won't like the consequences.Mate bond or no mate bond"

" Am I to be scared of your threats, little mate" I chuckled.

"You should be "She smiled.The kind of smile that lights up your day.

"It's ok kael," she said as she cleaned her tears with her hands. I began sucking on her neck, enjoying hearing her muffled moans. The smell of her arousal soon filled the room.

"Looks like you want a second round."

"Yes Hale, I do," she said sweetly.

"Call me daddy instead"I corrected "How do you want it this time, rough or gentle?"

"Gentle, daddy I want it gently, my pussy still hurts," she says so temptingly.

"Why don't I take a look, would you like me to massage your sore pussy with my tongue?"

She nodded her head.

"Baby girl, use your words I want to hear you say it."

"Yes daddy, my sore pussy needs you."

I immediately spread her legs wide open about to dive in when I suddenly got a mindlink from my beta.

"Alpha, we just got attacked." I instantly paused. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern on her face.

"I'm sorry but there's urgent pack matters I have to attend to right now," I said as I grabbed my pants from the floor and got ready to leave. I hate to leave her like this in her horny state.

A disappointed look flashed across her face. "Don't worry, I'll fuck you till you beg me to stop when I get back" I wink at her while leaving the room.