Chapter 3: We have a Deal

Cillian

 “Fuck! Why do these people drive slow!” I honk my horn several times as I drive around two cars. I’m sure they were just following the speed limit, but I don’t have that time to waste.

 “Geez, careful! I’m sure we can always catch up with the pack if they start without us.” One more comment from Kinsley and I might just leave her on the side of the road. 

My wolf is as pissed off as I am. He’s been stirring inside me since we left the manor and just let Kayleigh walk out on us. Fuck, I’m feeling a little on edge, too. But what can I do? As the Alpha heir, pack duties come first. I left with Kinsley and some of our trusted pack members before the bonfire even started. Kinsley is tangled with some neighboring pack issues and we had to go help her straighten things out. Now, I need to hurry up and get back home. Any longer than I have to be in this SUV my wolf will take over and shift, and I won’t be able to control him.  

The kiss with Kayleigh—our kiss—is all I can think about. Her smell, her taste, her—all of her. I just want her so bad. But I can’t. Not yet. 

I’ve waited so long for this day, for Kayleigh to be here. And now that she is, I’m wrapped up with pack duties and can’t be with her. I hate letting her go to the bonfire by herself. Never mind, she isn’t alone.  

Fucking Andrei, the bane of my existence, always shadowing Kayleigh. That fucking Russian asshole! The thought of Kayleigh with Andrei right now is messing with my brain. It’s making my wolf feel uneasy. I want to rip him apart and shred him to pieces. I almost did, earlier. 

I tried to contain my emotions. But my wolf couldn’t. He doesn’t handle deep emotions very well. Hence the coming forward and taking over. I was even caught off guard at first, but managed to push him back. 

I grit my teeth seeing that there’s too many vehicles in the road, which means I can’t just zoom home. Back to the pack. Back to Kayleigh. 

“Damn it, Kensington. You know that I really hate it when you interfere with my plans. I wanted to be at the bonfire tonight before the pack run. I’ve been stuck with you for the last two hours, cleaning up your mess.” To say that I was annoyed is an understatement. I’m so fucking irritated that my guys and I had to get involved with Kinsley’s bullshit with another pack. 

“You want to be in the bonfire, or you want to be with Kayleigh?” She rolls her eyes at me.

Unfortunately, the bonfire started while we were ruffling some fur at Devil’s Elbow, two towns over. Kinsley is an expert at starting turmoil with other wolf packs and leaving me and my guys fixing her fuck-ups. Today, it’s with a known beast of a werewolf from Devil’s Elbow. The Devil’s Elbow is a small rural town that shelters three other wolf packs. Kinsley made the mistake of getting tangled with one of the packs. Being that she’s the Beta’s daughter, we had to go with her and make sure she was safe. I only agreed to be gone for an hour, but when it involves teenage girls and their affairs expect to double, or even triple, the waiting time. 

“Why does it matter? I do what I wanna do. Whether it’s about Kayleigh, seeing Kayleigh, or being with Kayleigh, it’s none of your business. I thought you understood that. I think you keep forgetting what the deal is.” I’m driving like a maniac to get back to the manor as soon as possible. It’s past 9:30pm. At this point, I’m confident that I’ll make it in time for the pack run. I’m just so extremely infuriated right now that Kinsley questions me. 

“For your information, I’m not the one who’s forgetting what our deal is, Cillian. What about us? You promised you’d take care of me. You promised to always protect me. You promised to never turn your back on me.” Her lips quiver and she sounds like she’s about to cry.

“I did. You know I always keep my promises. I’m here, am I not? I’m putting so much on the line for you right now. The last thing I expect from you is nagging and questioning what I want to do.” I press my lips together to stop myself from saying things that might upset her more. I’m frustrated, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings.

“I just don’t like that you make it look like you want to be at the bonfire because of the pack, but really you want to be there because of Kayleigh. Why can’t you just be honest about it?”

“Fine. I have some things to settle with Kayleigh. I have some bones to pick with her, really. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be at the bonfire for the pack run. That’s my priority. Pack duties, first. I know that.” My jaw hardens and my knuckles turn white on the steering wheel while explaining these things to her. 

I hate explaining myself to anyone.

“Look, I know what Kayleigh means to you. I’m just worried you’ll forget about us, about our deal, is all. I’m just worried. You’re the only one who cares about me.” She looks away from me but I don’t miss the gloom in her voice.

“Kensington. Have I ever let you down? Again, for the nth time, I will honor my deal. Have I done anything for you to doubt me? I’m here for you. I promise. I will take care of you, okay?” 

She gathers her long black hair and pulls it to her left shoulder, as if it’s enough to cover her face from me. I stop talking. This is her tell that she’s holding her tears back. “Okay. I believe you… I’m sorry, Cillian. I told you I could have gone by myself, but you won’t let me. You could have followed Kayleigh to the bonfire and let me be on my own.”

“You know I won’t hear the end of it from our dads if I allowed you to go alone to Devil’s Elbow.” As the future Alpha, I also can’t just let the Beta’s daughter walk into the devil’s lair without protection. 

“It’s fine. We’re almost home, anyway.” I soften my voice to let her know that I’m not as dismayed as I was several minutes ago, when I thought we weren’t going to make it to the pack run. 

“I don’t want to fight, Cillian.” She puts her hand on top of mine. I don’t move it away; heaven forbid I hurt her feelings again. 

“I don’t wanna fight either. Let’s just forget about it.” I just want to get done with Kinsley’s drama so I can enjoy myself at the bonfire. And I’m damn well going to enjoy messing with Kayleigh tonight. She did me wrong, and I’m not going to let her forget that. 

We remain quiet as we approach the manor’s driveway. I park all the way to the end of the driveway, closer to the path leading to the clearing where everyone is gathered. 

As soon as I stop the engine, I open the door and head to the group of wolf blood young’uns. I don’t wait for Kinsley. She’s a grownup and can handle herself. 

I’m too eager to see where Kayleigh is, what she’s doing, and who’s she with. I’m still hungover from our kiss. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to make her stay here easy. I have plans. She’s going to pay for what she did. I can’t wait to get to her so I can start collecting her debts. 

Tick-tock, my little red-haired girl. 

The big bad wolf is coming.