Chapter 6

By ten o'clock that night, the pack house was finally silent.

Most of the staff had gone home. Edith had retired to her room an hour ago. I was still sitting in the main office, staring at a list of names for the engagement party invitations.

My eyes burned from staring at the computer screen. My back ached from sitting in the stiff chair. But I did not want to go to my room. Going to my room meant lying in the dark, thinking about Juan .

I picked up a pen and started crossing names off a list.

The office door shut.

I looked up. Juan  was standing inside the room. He had locked the door behind him. The sound of the lock clicking made my stomach flip.

He walked slowly toward the desk. He was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt and black pants. He looked tired. The shadows under his eyes were dark, and his jaw was covered in rough stubble.

"Why are you still awake?" I asked, putting the pen down.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied, stopping on the other side of the desk.

"I am finishing the invitations. Edith wants them mailed by tomorrow."

"Leave them."

"I cannot leave them," I said, shaking my head. "If I don't finish them, she will complain to you, and you will threaten Liam again."

Juan  sighed, a rough, exhausted sound. He walked around the desk and grabbed the pen out of my hand. He tossed it onto the paper.

"I said, leave them, Cora."

"What do you want, Juan ?" I asked, my voice rising slightly. I was too tired for his games. "You want me to work, I work. You want me to serve your fiancée, I serve her. What else do you want from me?"

Juan  leaned his hands on the desk, bringing his face close to mine. "I want you to stop driving me insane."

I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat.

"I can hear your heartbeat from my office," Juan  said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I can smell your sadness all over this house. It is distracting me. It is making my wolf restless."

"That is not my fault," I whispered back. "I cannot control the bond."

"Neither can I," he growled softly.

He stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair. He paced away from the desk, walking toward the window. He looked out into the dark woods.

"My father ruled this pack with a gentle hand," Juan  started talking, his back to me. "He was kind. He was fair. And because of that, other packs thought we were weak. They pushed into our borders. They stole our resources. When I took over, I swore I would never let anyone think Silver Pine is weak."

I watched his broad shoulders tense. I stayed quiet, letting him speak.

"The Redwood pack has the strongest army in the region," Juan  continued. "If I marry Edith, no one will ever attack us again. My pack will be safe forever. That is my duty as Alpha."

"And what about your duty to yourself?" I asked quietly.

Juan  turned around. "An Alpha does not have a self, Cora. He only has a pack."

"So you are going to suffer for the rest of your life?" I stood up from my chair. "You are going to marry a woman you do not love, and you are going to force me to watch? That is not duty, Juan . That is torture."

I walked around the desk toward him. The bond pulled at me, stronger than ever before. It was late. The house was empty. It was just the two of us.

"I could have been a good Luna," I said, stopping a few feet in front of him. "I know I don't have money. I know my brother messed up. But I would have fought for this pack. I would have fought for you."

Juan  stared at me. His chest was rising and falling quickly. The air crackled with raw, untamed energy.

"You do not know what you are saying," he warned me, his voice tight.

"I know exactly what I am saying." I took another step forward. I was so close I could feel his body heat. "You are scared, Juan . You are scared that a diner waitress makes you feel more than a pack princess does."

A low growl tore out of his throat.

Before I could blink, Juan  crossed the distance between us. His hands grabbed my waist, pulling me hard against his chest. I gasped, looking up into his stormy grey eyes.

"Do you want to know what I feel, Cora?" he whispered harshly, his face inches from mine.

Every nerve in my body was on fire. I nodded once.

He leaned down. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of my skin.

"I feel like tearing this whole house down just to keep you to myself," he murmured against my neck.

My eyes closed. My hands rested flat against his chest, feeling his heart pounding wildly beneath his shirt. This was it. He was giving in. The hope swelled inside me, warm and bright.

He turned his head, his lips hovering over mine. I tilted my head up, waiting for the kiss. Waiting for him to claim me.

Suddenly, Juan  went completely rigid.

He let go of my waist and took a huge step back. The cold air hit me like a slap to the face. I opened my eyes in confusion.

Juan  was breathing hard, staring at me with a mixture of anger and panic.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No. I cannot do this."

"Juan ..."

"Do not call me that," he snapped, his voice turning ice cold again. The wolf was gone, replaced by the ruthless Alpha. "You forgot your place again, Cora."

"You were the one who touched me!" I cried out, my heart breaking all over again.

"It was a mistake," Juan  said flatly. He walked past me, heading for the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open. He didn't look back at me.

"Finish the invitations, Cora. I want them on my desk by morning."

He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

I stood in the middle of the empty office. My skin still burned from where he touched me. My heart ached from where he dropped it.

I walked back to the desk, picked up the pen, and started writing the names of the guests who would watch my mate marry another woman.