Chapter 45 Riley was working on a preliminary report, trying to ignore the headache that was setting in when her phone. rang. She grabbed and cringed at the name that flashed across the screen. "Hello, Jake," she said, answering it quickly before she could think twice about it. "Hi Riley," the alpha of New Dawn said smoothly. "It's been a while." She closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair. "What do you need?" "I missed your voice." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you have plenty of women to talk to." "Maybe," he laughed. "Heard you're out at Red Moon right now. How's that going?" "It's fine." "The alpha there is a real piece of work. First rate asshole." Riley frowned. "Then why did you ally with him?" "Because he has good warriors. If anything ever happens here and I need reinforcements, I want his warriors." "Well, he really needs your help right," she forced herself to say calmly. "Things are pretty bad here." "Yeah," he muttered, "it did sound like a real s**t situation with all those rogues. I don't blame him at all for trying to get more warriors there. But you know, for a second, I didn't think he would agree to the alliance." This caught Riley's attention. "Why?" "Because he was being such an asshole. I couldn't say a f*****g word without that guy looking like he was going to shift and rip my throat out. I'm pretty sure his eyes are always black." "They're blue," she replied without thinking. "What?" She hesitated. "His eyes are blue." "Oh." There was a long pause. "Are you f*****g him?" "No," she said quickly. "You are," he scoffed. "That is such a strange thing to say. Is that why he was being such an ass? He's f*****g you and he got jealous because I tasted you first." "You're disgusting, you dickhead," she snarled. "And I'm not sleeping with him. Also, why the hell would you tell him that we had s*x? Who the hell does that?" He laughed softly. "You're a terrible liar, sweetheart. And don't get all mad at me for telling him about you. You're the one who apparently sleeps with all the unmated alpha you run into. Maybe you're hoping to become a luna someday." "f**k you, Jake," she snapped "But you already did, baby," he laughed. 1/4 Chapter 45 She hung up, her ears ringing with the sound of his laughter. She put the phone on the table and stood up, pacing across the room, trying to drag in deep breaths to calm herself down. There was a knock at the door, but she didn't go to open it. She knew it was Kent and she was not in the mood to see him. She sunk down on the foot of the bed, closing her eyes when she heard the door crack open. "Are you ok?" he asked, peering in at her. She opened her eyes, seeing the concern on his face. He must have felt her anger. "Jake is a prick," she muttered. "I knew that." The corner of his mouth twitched up. "Any particular reason you bring it up?" "He called me." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have answered." "What did he say?" Kent stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Nothing worth repeating," she muttered. "Just being a d**k because he can." "Still don't know what you saw in him." Kent leaned against the closed door, watching her. "You know, I'm not so sure anymore either." She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. How did your conversation go?" He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture she was learning he did when he was uncomfortable. "Not great," he muttered. "Are you going to tell me what the rogues are after?" He pursed his lips for a second, staring across the room. "It's complicated, Riley," he finally said with a heavy sigh. "Kent, seriously," she said, causing him to turn around to look at her. "You have to tell me. This is not just about some secret. This is about the safety of your whole pack. I need to know so I can help you protect this pack." He stared at her, frowning, unmoving. "Are you going to tell me?" He continued staring at her, his expression unchanging. "Speak," she snapped, standing up. "Tell me something." He took a step closer to her and she felt something through the bond. It was an emotion that she couldn't quite place. "It's just...." He raked his hand through his hair. "Give me more time, please. A couple more days at least." "What happens when there's another attack?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "What happens when people get hurt because you are hellbent on protecting Max? Is he worth that risk?" "Yes." There was no hesitation, which took Riley by surprise. He looked at her. "You don't get it. Max is the one person who has never let me down. He has always been there for me, through everything awful that has happened in my life. I won't go against what he wants when it comes to this." 211 Chapter 45 Ports She bit her lip. She hadn't truly anticipated that answer. She looked out the window for a moment, thinking. "Riley," Kent said, taking a step towards her, "please just give it some time. He will see reason soon enough. I'll keep talking to him." She looked back at him. "You're my mate. We're not supposed to keep secrets from one another." He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you're really one to talk about that." She sighed. "Yeah, I know. I screwed up, but we're being honest with each other right? Because mate's don't have secrets, right?" He narrowed his eyes. "Does that mean you're accepting me?" She hesitated. She had kind of walked right into that. "We have to deal with the rogue issue because we make a decision about our relationship. And we can't deal with the rogue issue if you don't tell me what the rogues are after." He took another step closer to her, so close she could touch him if she wanted - which she did want. Very much so. "You need me," he breathed. "Remember? You get sick without me. That has to be a sign from the Goddess, right? You're supposed to be with me." He reached out, cupping her cheek. She instinctively leaned into his hand, savoring the feeling of the sparks. He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. She reached up, running her hands over his chest to his shoulders. He kissed her cheek before catching her lips with his. She felt fireworks as he kissed her. She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. He pushed his tongue against her lips and she opened her mouth for him, savoring his taste. He wrapped a hand around her thigh, hitching her leg up as he pulled her tighter against him. He grabbed her bottom, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his hips. She moaned into his mouth as he moved to the bed, laying her gently down. He leaned over her, her legs still around his hips, his erection rubbing her core through their clothes. She moaned as he moved to kissing her throat. She grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it over his head. He slid his hands under her shirt, his fingers grazing the lace of her bra over her breasts. He kissed her mouth again, biting her bottom lip. She slid her hands down his chest and stomach, enjoying the way his muscles flexed under her fingers. Finally her hand found the waistband of his joggers, pushing them down. "***" he gasped, grabbing her hands with one of his, stopping her before they got too low. He used the other to keep himself braced over her. He looked between them for a moment before looking back at her face." What are we doing?" She swallowed. The answer seemed kind of obvious to her. "Well, I thought we were going to have s*x, but now I'm not sure." He swallowed hard. "What do you want?" "Umm..." She bit her lip. "Is that not clear?" He shook his head. "No, I mean, with us. You and me. Do you want to be with me?" She felt her body stiffen at the question, squirming slightly under him. He released her hand and pushed 3/4 < Chapter 45 away, leaving her cold on the bed as he stood up. He hitched his pants back up as he looked at her. "What do you want?" he repeated, his voice hoarse, a vein in his forehead sticking out prominently. "Kent," she whispered, sitting up, adjusting her shirt. "I... I don't know." +8 Points He shook his head. "I can't. I can't do this with you unless you know what you want." He ran a hand down his face. "You said it yourself this morning. It's a slippery slope. And you need to be sure. You need to know what you want because I sure as hell know what I want." "I... I...," she stammered. He held up a hand, stopping her. "You need to figure out where you are with this and what you want. I can't do this. I won't do this. I won't make you feel forced into this." "What are you saying?" Her mouth felt dry as she wrapped her arms around her. "I need space," he said, looking at her. "I never want you to say I pushed you into this bond when you weren't ready, but this is f*****g hard for me. This f*****g hurts. I just need space." "I'm sorry," she whispered. "No." He shook his head fiercely. "Don't f*****g apologize. It's not your fault. I just... I need to go." And he did go. It was all so abrupt that it left her feeling confused and hurt and frustrated. She stared at the closed door, trying to figure out what just happened 1 Comments Get Bonus (Ad) > Vote 569 < Chapter 46