A Hidden Crown

Chapter8: Wh-ore House

Chapter Eight

Michael

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as my tongue traced over my lips. Lyla’s skin had a tantalizing taste of bitter apples and a hint of something sweet I couldn't place. Something was off about it.

Every part of me ached, craving to be near her, to tell her how much I loved her. But she was fighting us. I couldn't stand the way she was pulling away from me. Each step she took to distance herself from me crushed my soul. The way she pinched her sides, a silent battle against the mate bond.

I could smell fear in her scent. Was she really scared of me? Knight was howling in my head. A desperate whine to touch her, to show her we would never hurt her. Then it clicked for me. Her words of being wolf-less floated around my head. Maybe she was afraid of becoming Luna because she was human.

Asking her to date me was my way in. A conversation she seemed to have forgotten we had when we were younger.

“If my mate turns out to be someone I don’t know, I would like to date him first,” she said back then.

I wasn’t a stranger, but I was desperate. And even though I hated myself for doing it. I leveraged the bond, leaving her no other option but to say yes.

The sharp sound of a mind-link ripped through my thoughts, a jarring interruption that made me wince. It was Fari. Alpha, Ms. Susan hasn't seen Lyla. Have you made it to the daycare?

I let out a sigh of frustration. Yes, I’ve spoken to her already. I answered and closed the link. I wasn’t frustrated with Fari. I was furious with myself. Three years gone, three years waiting, and I felt like I had already lost her. I had one month to date my mate. I’ll make her see that I know her better than she knows herself.

Lyla said that she wasn’t the same person anymore, and I found that hard to believe. I didn’t need to talk to those who knew me. Those who watched me grow up. They already knew who owned my heart. I met with a few members inquiring about Lyla and what they thought about her. None of them had anything negative to say. They mentioned how kind and helpful she was. One of them also mentioned how she helped with a pup named Emily. I already knew the backstory of her and Emily. The bond between a child and their babysitter is a special kind of bond. But the story of how she cared for Mrs. Jackson had sealed her fate.

Mrs. Jackson was an older pack member. Her body was slowly shutting down. The nurse described the air in her room as dark and lonely, but no matter what they did or how hard they tried, the scent remained the same.

Then Lyla started visiting her. She would sit with Mrs. Jackson every day after school, holding her hand while reading to her, pushing her around in the hospital bed, and almost got herself kicked out because she ran into a wall.

On her last night, the nurse said the air in the facility had shifted. She saw Lyla walk out with tear-streaked cheeks and eyes full of peace. When she went into Mrs. Jackson’s room, the tension was gone. There was no sign of fear in the room.

She was the same girl I left behind, and she would make the perfect Luna.

I finally made it back to the pack house, the brick walls still holding onto all the good and bad times. As I walked down the halls, I could still hear my parents laughing, chasing after me. I remember watching my mom laugh at John and his attempt to do Lyla’s hair.

“John, from now on just bring her to me,” she laughed out holding on to her stomach. Tears had started coming out her eyes and Lyla thought she was physically hurt.

“Hey, let's get to work,” I said, clapping both hands on his shoulders.

“Okay Alpha, show me what you got,” he said, standing to let me take over my father’s chair.

I glanced over, once at the bookcase, then brought my attention back to the computer.

I flexed my fingers, which caused them to pop. I was ready to take a break. We had been at this for hours. He was impressed with how well I was flying through the paperwork. He decided to leave early. He wanted to see if I could handle the rest of the work on my own. He also mind-linked the warriors to let them know that he was no longer in charge.

“I will see you around the same time tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah, I promise I won’t be late.”

He left, closing the door behind him. A ding went off on the computer. I received an anonymous email. I opened it, and it read,

If you love her, keep her safe. Sometimes the people closest to you are the ones you shouldn’t trust.

After reading the email, my screen went black, and the computer restarted. I went back to my email, and it was gone. It wasn’t in the trash or the spam folder. It was like I had never received it. A range of emotions washed through me. Protecting my Luna was always a top priority, but knowing that the danger lay within my own pack frustrated me. Not knowing who I could and couldn’t trust to be around Lyla was causing my anxiety to rise. I could feel Knight searching through our bond, checking to see if Lyla was all right. A sense of joy and calm energy bounced back to me. She was fine. There was only one person that I wanted to talk to. After straightening up the office, I left. I had made a mental note of all those close to me, but if I was honest, the list was short.

I stopped short of Lyla’s house, putting the car in park and cutting off the engine. I could see why John moved out here. It was peaceful. The chirping of crickets, the whispers of the trees, sounds that usually get drowned out by pack house noise.

When I stepped onto the porch Lyla was sitting at the table reading the letter I found the other night. She was looking at it like it was written in another language. Flipping it back and forth and checking the envelope, wanting something to fall out of it. I was mad at myself for feeling envious that she was reading a letter that wasn’t from me. I wanted to ask her who was writing to her. If she would let this person know that she had found her mate. Suddenly, she stopped. She placed the letter back in the envelope and walked over to the sink. With her shoulders hunched over, she yelled.

“Are you going to come in or just stare at me from the window?” she asked.

Shifters could hear better than humans. She could have whispered, and I would have heard her.

“Yeah, I guess it would be better if I came inside,” I chuckled at her sharpness. I’m going to enjoy seducing her right into submission.

I walked into her house, her lovely green apple scent hit me like a mac truck. I muted the moan that wanted to be released.

“What’s wrong Alpha Michael?” she asked, taking her seat back at the table. Hearing her say my name almost made me jump across the table and take her beautiful full lips with mine.

“Hey,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Pay attention, Alpha. Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“For starters I don’t like it when you call me Alpha. Unless.” I smiled, letting her interpret what I was saying. I knew she understood when her eyes widened. I smirked at the effects I was having on her. I wasn’t sure if I should tell her about the email, but I needed to say something.

“I was trying to figure out where I should take you on our first date.”

She looked me dead in my face and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked in a serious tone.

“Nothing,” she replied. “It just seemed like you had something else on your mind.”

It amazed me how she was already able to read me. Mate bonds are strong, but it usually takes more than a day to be that strong. I didn’t want whatever was going on with my uncle to affect her, so I continued to talk about our date. “Well, where would you like to go?”

“I don’t know, I've never been on a date. Where would you like to take me?” She smiled.

I smiled to myself. I would be her first and she would be mine. “So, you mean to tell me that one of the most beautiful girls in the pack has never been on a date?”

“Nope. No one was interested in the wolf-less girl.”

“It didn’t seem to scare Ian off,” I said, looking down, tapping my frustration out on the table. His scent was so strong on her last night. It was like he intentionally covered her with his scent. When I looked back up, she was quietly watching my hand. There was something in her eyes. Something telling me there was more between them two or was it. Fear. I was scaring her. I cleared my throat and sat up, “I would love to take you rock climbing.”

“Rock climbing?” Her eyebrows knitted together as she brought her focus back to my face.

“Yeah, we could take a walk in the park afterward or go swimming.” She chuckled. “I’m pretty sure we would stink from sweating.”

Knight started to send me images of what Lyla might look like in a bathing suit. I felt like I was already sitting in a pool of my own arousal. She was looking at me with her lips pinched together in a smile, amusement bright in her eyes.

“What?” I asked, hoping she couldn’t feel my excitement through our bond.

“Nothing, just thought you would say like dinner and a movie or something.”

“Is that what you would like to do?” I would take her anywhere she wanted to go.

“No,” she replied, “I like your idea better. I haven’t been back to the movie theater since I stopped working there.”

“You know you handled yourself well that night,” I said.

“Did I?” she asked. “I kicked him in the balls and told him to go finish wiping down the tables. That isn’t exactly graceful,” she smirked.

“You don’t give grace to someone who doesn’t understand the word no,” I said.

“Tyler still told everyone we made out in the freezer.”

I shrugged. My jaw clenching at the memory. “Doesn’t matter what he said everyone knows what really happened.”

“Only because you beat the crap out of him,” she pointed out.

Her laugh softened; the tension around her eyes eased. Knight settled a little in my chest, pleased she was here with us and not working some late shift with another i***t like Tyler. Then his focus shifted, same as mine to the white envelope by the sink.

Ask, he mumbled.

“So, who's the letter from?” I could see she was caught off guard by my question.

She smiled, “Why do you want to know?”

“Lyla, just tell me who the letter is from.” She shook her head no.

“Fine, I’ll find out myself.” I got up to get the letter, but she beat me to it. She hid the letter behind her back.

“Lyla, I will not allow another male to write letters to my girlfriend.”

“Oh really?” She teased, poking me in my chest. The sparks that were supposed to calm me only stirred Knight’s primal want to claim what’s his.

“But he loves me more than you.” She continued.

She was playing a dangerous game. No one could ever love her more than I do. I could feel my alpha aura filling the room.

“Is that what he said?” I asked. “Who is the letter from Lyla?” I had her caged in front of the sink. I could feel Knight wanting to take over. My claws had started to damage the countertops.

This book was written by Mercedez Steward.

Her smile vanished the second the counter cracked under my hand. The sound was sharp, like glass under pressure. Her eyes flicked down to my hands, to the veins standing out in my forearms, and her heartbeat spiked so fast it punched through my chest. “I was only joking around. The letter is from my father,” she said, her voice softer now.

“Don't lie to me,” I grounded out through my teeth. “My uncle told me that you've had company over since John has been gone.”

“Wow.” She shook her head, disbelief all over her face. She shoved the letter into my chest, hard enough that I had to release the counter to catch it. “Look for yourself.” She used the opening to walk out of the kitchen. “I can promise you no one has been keeping me company, and I'm not sure why your uncle would say something like that.”

I was stunned when Lyla pushed the letter into my chest. What the hell was wrong with me? She was smiling, trying to be cute but all I could focus on was my jealousy. I placed the letter on the table, “Wait,” I said as I walked toward her.

She was ranting under her breath to herself, but I could still hear her. “Like I’m running some type of wh-ore house over here. I was just joking.” She mumbled under her breath.

“I’m sorry. I let jealousy get the best of me.” I wrapped my arms around her waist. Her body tensed at first then slowly relaxed, molding perfectly against mine. “You said that your father left you the letter. But I smelled a different scent when I came by last night.”

“So, you just assumed that I was lying?” Her voice low, “And I thought you of all people would know I would never be someone's plaything. Look at what you did to my sink. They didn’t teach you self-control at Alpha school?” Her voice sounded hurt and annoyed.

“No, I was not assuming. And I will get that fixed. You know how the mate bond works. It’s hard to control our wolves when it comes to our mates.” I was trying to dig myself out of this hole.

“The letter is from my dad. Maybe he had someone else drop it off.”

It's possible John had someone else drop the letter off. But why not send the letter through a carrier or better yet why not call Lyla instead.

“Forgive me for misunderstanding.”

She was quiet, contemplating her next move. I was punching myself on the inside.

“I feel like the luckiest werewolf alive. I will be your first kiss and your first date.” I couldn’t use the mate bond to my advantage this time, it would kill whatever chance I had. I was praying that bringing up the first time I kissed her would save me. I just held on to her and waited for her to decide where we went from here.

“Can we go sit on the couch?” She gestured to the brown loveseat. I was relieved. She didn't kick me out. I let her go and we went to sit on the couch.