Chapter 16 - Stay with me
942 Words
*Elara – pov*
I could see Raiden’s emotions rippling through his body as he moved and spoke to the men in the kitchen. Every movement sharp and deliberate while they worked to clear the kitchen around us.
Blood still stained parts of the floor.
Broken cabinet doors leaned against walls.
The scent of wet earth and wolf lingered heavily in the air.
Raiden had fully shifted into Alpha mode.
Commanding, protective, terrifyingly focused and sexy as hell.
“You’re coming back to the packhouse with me.”
Not a suggestion.
An order. “Excuse me?”
I folded my arms immediately.
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“Elara.”
“No,” I repeated calmly. “I’m not abandoning my house because a few oversized wolves broke my kitchen.”
Several guys nearby looked apologetic.
Raiden looked one second away from throwing me over his shoulder.
“These weren’t random rogues.”
“I gathered that.”
“Then stop being stubborn.”
I stared at him.
“Stop trying to manage me.”
The air between us tightened instantly.
Most people probably would’ve backed down beneath that look.
I didn’t.
Raiden stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“You were targeted tonight.”
“And I survived tonight.”
“Because I was here.”
I narrowed my eyes and stopped arguing briefly.
Not because he was wrong but because he sounded genuinely shaken by the possibility of not being here.
His amber eyes searched my face intensely.
“You don’t understand what could’ve happened.”
Something softened unexpectedly in my chest. Beneath the Alpha command and irritation, he was scared. For me. Somehow that mattered more than it should.
I exhaled slowly.
“I appreciate the concern,” I said more gently. “But I’m not leaving.”
His nostrils flared slightly.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I glanced around the damaged kitchen.
“This house is mine,” I said quietly. “It belonged to my parents. I’m not running from it the second things become difficult.”
Something flickered across his face then.
Understanding maybe. Reluctant respect.
He seemed to understand although he was unhappy.
Very unhappy.
“Fine,” he muttered eventually.
My brows lifted slightly.
Before I could respond, my phone rang loudly from somewhere in the kitchen.
I grabbed it quickly.
Mom.
Relief loosened something tight in my chest instantly.
“Hey.”
“Elara, sweetheart, we’re about an hour away,” my mother said warmly. “Your father insisted we come see the restoration progress before he explodes from curiosity.”
Despite everything, I smiled slightly.
“Perfect timing.”
Raiden watched me carefully while I spoke.
“You sound tired,” Mom added immediately.
“Long day.”
“That contractor giving you trouble yet?”
My eyes flicked briefly toward Raiden.
His expression remained unreadable.
“Something like that.”
Mom laughed softly.
“We brought food. Your father thinks you’re surviving entirely on caffeine and work.”
“Honestly not inaccurate.”
After the call ended, I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“My parents are on their way,” I told Raiden. “They’ll be here soon.”
“That changes nothing.”
“It changes the fact that I won’t be alone.”
His expression remained thunderous.
“I can handle myself.”
“Not yet.”
The immediate answer spiked my annoyance slightly.
My pulse stumbled unexpectedly.
Raiden looked irritated by his own honesty.
Good.
Now we were both uncomfortable.
I cleared my throat lightly.
“My martial arts is rusty,” I admitted. “But I’m not helpless.”
His gaze moved slowly over me.
“I know you aren’t.”
The way he said it sent heat creeping beneath my skin again.
Annoyingly inconvenient and dangerously distracting.
One of the wolves approached carefully from the hallway.
“Alpha,” he said quietly. “The rogues are secured.”
Raiden’s entire expression hardened instantly again.
Alpha mode. He looked back at me one last time.
“Lock the doors.”
“I know.”
“Elara.”
Something in his tone made me pause.
Real concern. Not Alpha control. Just him trying to protect me.
“I mean it,” he said quietly. “Do not open this house to anyone except your parents. No matter who it is.”
A chill slid slowly down my spine.
“You think this is connected to me personally.”
It wasn’t a question anymore.
Raiden hesitated.
Which was answer enough.
My stomach tightened.
Before I could push further, he stepped closer suddenly.
Too close.
Heat radiated from him instantly.
His fingers brushed lightly over my cheek.
The gesture so soft, my body reacted immediately.
A sharp pulse of warmth shot straight through me.
His eyes darkened slightly when he felt it too.
“Stay inside,” he murmured.
Then he stepped back before I could process the contact properly.
The loss of warmth felt immediate.
Raiden turned toward the others.
“Move.”
The wolves followed him instantly.
I stood in the wrecked kitchen listening as engines started outside one by one.
Then silence slowly reclaimed the house.
For the first time since arriving at Rosewood, the house suddenly felt very large and very empty.
I moved toward the window slowly, watching taillights disappear through the trees.
Something uneasy twisted low in my stomach.
Not fear exactly.
Instinct.
Like some invisible thread tethered itself tightly between me and the man disappearing into the forest.
Every part of me suddenly hated watching him leave.
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