Chapter Six - Khai

Roman sat on the counter, silently taking in every ounce of the kitchen. Her golden eyes rested on the toaster, the checked tiles and all the kitchen appliances. She was uneasy, not only could I see it, I could feel it. She had loosened up around my sisters but I used my voice on her… I didn't have to do that.

A bad habit now. Nothing got done around here without it. What did she expect?

As uncomfortable as she felt she kept on asking me what each appliance was. I couldn't help but answer even if I felt annoyed by every question that left her plump lips. Had she never lived in a house before?

"What is this one?" she pointed at the sandwich maker with an embarrassed pout. I groaned and pressed my head on the fridge.

"No, I promise it's the last one,” she said, flashing a bright smile.

"It's the sandwich maker or toaster."

"So, you are making a sandwich?"

She innocently played with one of her locks as I came closer and opened the maker to carry out my masterpiece of a sandwich.

"Don't you have this where you come from?" I asked, tiresomely arching a brow at her. Her levels faltered.

Oh my...

Not after I had worked so hard to answer every question, I had to ruin it by making her remember her home. It was probably gone. Her expression dropped and the gold in her eyes dimmed. I wished her curiosity about everything would return that minute but she just looked down, dolefully.

I never knew how to deal with grief, being emotional was not helpful to me. I lost my father three years ago due to a... despicable accident but I never went into a deep depression. Mother cried daily and stayed in bed, slowly letting herself rot away until last year when she returned to help me be the best I could be.

Losing him was painful, I’d feel his absence every so often but it wasn’t something alcohol or women couldn’t suppress.

"No," she said proudly. "We are true wolves, wild wolves. We live off the land. Not lights and television."

I chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry Miss Authentic Wolf. I--" I joked but she cut me off. I hated that so much.

"Can I go there?"

"No! You can't leave," I said cooly.

"You are holding me hostage?" she whispered, softly. We were not connected as yet but I could feel her sadness, tormenting her and promising never to leave. I wanted to make her happy, to feel good. To please her and l-lo-... treat her well.

Seeing their remains would make things worse and I was not going to take her there.

I knew all of this because Walter read her mind while she slept, read it when she woke up and it was all she could think of according to his report. I told him mentally to never do it again, at least not without my consent.

"No."

She couldn't go, not now that I had found her.

Ugh! These thoughts! I hadn't been searching for her.

"Then?"

"You're hurt. You can't run and besides, I know the Azraels' intentions," I warned her.

Then I turned around to give her the cooling sandwich.

"Can you just stay here for now?" I found myself asking nicely.

The pull I had toward her, spoke more than I did. I felt myself asking and I’ve never really asked for anything. I was always given or owned it.

Her eyes searched mine, we could both feel it but she kept on denying it. Making it as if I had been begging her and she was not requiting. The tension between us thickened.

The pull was like a magnetic field when our eyes met like she was the only one pulling me. The only planet in the universe and I was her moon, stuck revolving around her. Keeping me alive. Would it always be like this or was I just insanely attracted to her right now? I didn’t want to know. At least not yet.

"I know I owe you my life. I am thankful for saving me but I-I wish you didn't save me."

That made me tick, slowly turning toward an explosion.

She didn't want her life? Did she even know how special she was? I could've killed her on the spot, regardless of her gender. She had been on my territory. We don’t take well to trespassers. Every wolf knew they never crossed into our area without notice.

"You wanted to die?" I felt pressure in my jaw.

I wanted to show her many reasons to live but I was frustrated. Why was she like this?

"I didn't mean that."

She shook her head. I calmed down a bit as she placed the plate on her side. I stood so close to her. Her knees dug into my pelvis and the sensation was extraordinary.

I didn’t know how to convince her with sweet words, with the same tenderness I saw other men do.

"You say you owe me," I told her.

She looked up, making it all come back.

"Pay me."

"How?"

"Stay."

My hand rose to her face. She flinched. It broke my heart how terrified she truly was. My finger caressed her cheek, enjoying the sultry radiation she gave. Her breath cut as she shut her eyes, she, too enjoying it. I could see it, feel it. It was an unbelievable sensation I knew this stranger could only give me. My thumb traced circles around her cheekbones and down the space between her chin and cheek.

Her hand rose too, to grip my wrist. She didn't grip aggressively, instead, cradled me. Her hand was so warm on mine. Her mouth fell open slightly as she let out a soft breath.

Then her eyes opened. Brighter than before, burning in desire and passion. Only to pull my hand away.

"Why do you do that to me?" she asked, swallowing loudly.

I stepped back to give her space. I couldn’t take it anymore. I could kiss her, take her right now but I didn’t know her. She didn't trust me.

"It's the attraction, were mates Roman. You need to accept that."

"Alpha!" Jacob's voice had me jumping back further from her and acting casual.

Jacob shook the droplets out of his hair as he walked in, shirtless and only in jeans.

"Jacob?" I tried to speak politely, cutting away the frustration I had been feeling ever since she arrived.

"Grace doesn't want to move."

Roman was examining Jacob's body. Jacob was attractive, unfortunately. Sadly for her, the boy was taken by Yolanda.

"Grace is refusing?" I tried to understand what Jacob had been telling me.

Grace, a woman I had trembling beneath me thought she could question me? I didn't apprehend that.

"Who is-" Roman's unfinished question was answered by Grace herself when she walked in. Grace was the spitting image of a pack's disgrace. Her mother kicked her out of their home and I allowed her to live here for a while but things got too interactive between us. So, thank you very much, she was just what I needed right then, at that moment.

"You're going to chase me out of my room? What about us?" she shouted, only in her pyjama shorts and a tank top.

I swear if I wasn't potentially taken, I would have thought her brown legs were so attractive in those shorts because she did have nice legs but now, they looked like something I wanted to forget being between.

"There is no us," I said quietly.

She hesitated, instantly regretting speaking to me like that. Her head shook, red hair trembling.

"Now you will move out of that room."

"Khai...?" She quivered as I stepped forward, closer and closer until I was looking down straight at her.

She was so unattractive now. Back then she used to be my buddy in many ways but now looking at her short and curvy structure with that scruffy red hair, she turned me off. It pissed me off, and I regretted all of it.

"Don't call me that, you can’t anymore.”

Grace gasped incredulously and backed away. Her face turned pink and her tawny eyes examined me with sadness.

“Really?”

I nodded remorsefully. “We knew this would happen,” I said quietly.

“But you are my mate.”

“I don’t feel that way, Grace. I never had.”

“You’re going to kill me,” she whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t mean it literally. She meant that the separation would be unbearable. But I’d never accepted her as my mate. No one did. She was the only one who felt a pull to me I didn’t feel it toward her. There was no gentle way of settling this.

No one in the world was as alluring as Roman. I found my eyes leaving Grace and sliding up to Roman’s confused gaze. Grace followed my eyes.  

Grace backed away and her trembling lips said, “I see.”

And she stormed out of the kitchen.

"I think that was a bit too intense, I mean you guys had a relationship," Jacob commented when she left. I looked at my beta intensely and he knew when to stop.

"Hello," Roman made herself visible. Jacob looked at her with serious respect. He even bowed his black head slightly and smiled up at her.

"Luna, how are you?"

I waited patiently for her response. She looked straight at him.

"My name is Roman. You don't need to call me that."

"Of course, he does," I told her.

"It's respect." Jacob backed up. Her legs dangled over the counter as she kicked at the air.

"No need."

In her tone, I found that she wasn't accepting me. Rejection stung. Hard.

"Why are you taking so long?" I heard my sister Yolanda moan as she came in.

Her posture was weary as she slapped her hands on his chest. I didn't want to think of what he had made her so tired all of a sudden. Yolanda and Jacob were mates and I had to admit that I also wanted something like theirs. That closeness, that love. Jacob took her hand and kissed it. She didn't react as this was normal. Yolanda was his queen and he would never hurt her but I would hurt him if he tried.

"I was meeting our new Luna," Jacob spoke with enthusiasm. Roman sat there, nibbling cutely at the sandwich I had made. She chewed with her mouth open revealing the slices of salami I added.

Yolanda smiled, moving her eyes between us as if she wasn't with us earlier on.

"I met her,” she laughed a bit. "I'm so proud of you Khai."

"Get lost." I rolled my eyes at her. She just kept on grinning which made Roman smile.

"We are so grateful he found you. How do you feel about being Luna?" Yolanda asked. Roman licked her fingers and scowled at Yolanda. Her face went serious as she looked between us all.

"What if I don't want to be Luna?" All my weight left me and I felt empty, like I had lost all emotions as I waited for the needle of rejection to puncture my heart.

Roman officially didn't want to be my Luna.