Chapter 5
2200 Words
Yaroslava's POV
The first rays of dawn had already reached the horizon. Streams of sunlight painted the sky with bright colors. There was silence all around.
I took off my high heels and walked down the main street of our hut village. It is forbidden for outsiders to be here, so I had to say goodbye to the taxi driver before entering the settlement near the barrier with the guards. And it wouldn't hurt to walk alone along the rows of monolithic huts. It was worth thinking about everything I'd done.
“My Yaroslava,” I kept repeating in my subconscious.
The text on the card that came with the flowers sounded in my head in a hoarse baritone that still made me shiver. Although another circumstance probably caused the latter.
My arms were shaking, and it was difficult to walk straight. My head was splintering with a thousand shards of pain.
Good thing I didn't have an opportunity to load up on alcohol and nicotine. It would have been worse. Although, is what I've done trying to deal with hormonal rage any better? In a way, yes. I have experienced the most incredible emotions and sensations of my life. Except… how to admit it to Rinat? And is it even worth it? Probably not. What if he found out on his own, even though I made it difficult for him? And Jan was serious, if I'd understood correctly.
And these flowers. They're beautiful. No one's ever given me flowers before.
Well, he found me. Quickly, even though I tried to cover my tracks. It didn't work. Either he's so sharp or I'm so weak, I can't even do the simplest things.
On the other hand, the fact that the werewolf had sent the bouquet and hadn't shown up gave me hope. Maybe he had changed his mind. But then why the message?
He's shamelessly teasing me!
I should feel guilty of what I've done. But I don't. I know it's wrong, but the other thing still doesn't feel right.
Thinking about the fact that I was a shameless b***h, I walked home. Lexuses were already parked outside the white fence of Gray Wolf Clan. My fiancé had returned from a long business trip. And judging by the fact that there was another car parked nearby, he wasn't alone. And judging by the way a German sports car in a fiery metallic color stood out against the backdrop of your average SUV, the guest is not the last of our kind.
As soon as I opened the front door, I heard Rinat's voice from the kitchen:
“Yaroslava!”
I couldn't ignore it anyway, so I had to put on a smile and move towards the Alpha and his guest.
The tall, broad-shouldered leader of the local Clan had managed to change out of his travelling suit into light sports trousers and a white t-shirt. The clothes hugged the man's silhouette tightly, revealing every muscle in his powerful body.
Rinat always stood out, even among the strongest of the werewolves, thanks to his two-metre height and the extraordinary breadth of his shoulders. When I reached the kitchen, he was pouring coffee into two porcelain cups. The pungent aroma of freshly brewed espresso filled the room, which is why I didn't immediately recognize the scent of the other man sitting with his back to me.
“Good morning,” I said cheerfully.
The guest didn't even bother to turn in my direction. I mentally drew a symbol of all sorts of large-horned creatures on his head. In fact, I'd long since gotten used to the arrogance of power among werewolves, so I continued to act cordial.
“Good morning, Yaroslava,” they both said with one voice.
And while Rinat's voice was a harsh bass that sounded like my own, the slightly hoarse baritone immediately set off alarm bells in my head.
Panic came in a wave comparable to a tsunami, sweeping away cities of millions.
I spent an hour in my hotel room washing off his smell and even bought a new dress! And him? How did he find me so quickly? He didn't believe I was the Alpha of the Gray Wolf Clan. Then what's he doing here?
Shiny shoes clattered on the granite floor.
Rinat shifted his gaze from the marble breakfast table to me. He studied my reaction for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. And Jan, who had turned his whole body in my direction, with a slight sneer and a mischievous squint of his black eyes, smiled cheekily and waited for the continuation!
“Yaroslav, meet our guest,” Rinat said. “This is Ian.”
“Ian?” I asked, more automatically than consciously.
The latter didn't seem logical (because Rinat didn't know I knew Jan), so I had to add hastily:
“Just Ian?”
“Jan. It's more comfortable,” said Ian, who was Jan.
I didn't want it to be more comfortable at all. Especially for him.
“All right, Ian,” I replied coldly and arrogantly.
Or at least I tried very hard to make it look that way.
Rinat's suspicious look was a clear indication that I'd just crossed an invisible line of communication. But once I'd started, it wasn't in my nature to back down, so I walked over to the groom and kissed him gently on the cheek.
“How was your flight?” I asked, as if I really cared.
As I expected, Rinat launched into a long story about the bad the service was, even in the first-class cabins of all the airlines, without exception, and how stuffy it was in Palermo. I nodded sympathetically the whole time, trying to keep my cup of caffeine in my hands under Jan's pensive gaze.
Damn that werewolf! Why was he staring at me? Didn't his testosterone drop four hours after we were intimate?
Just the thought of the reason for the elevated male hormone levels sent a wave of heat through my body. I involuntarily squeezed my thighs, trying to control my emotions. And if, to my luck, Rinat didn't notice the change in my body, Jan's lips lifted in a barely perceptible lewd grin.
You bastard!
I angrily smashed the cup on the dining room table. The cold coffee splashed across the surface. Rinat interrupted the story and raised an eyebrow, confused.
“Yaroslava, do you still feel sick?” he asked cautiously.
Of course, I feel bad! I'm damn sick!
Because when I looked at this arrogant, self-confident man who had fallen on my head, who understood perfectly what the real reason for my condition was, I realized that I wanted more. With him, and more than once.
“I'm much better now,” I lied without remorse.
“Did you feel bad?” Jan asked, completely surprised.
And that's why I'm now sure that the question is so insinuating!
“Maybe we should postpone the trip until tomorrow,” Rinat didn't let me answer.
“A trip?” I asked again, just in case.
I wondered if the aphrodisiac had affected my hearing.
Or had I misheard?
“But she said she was feeling better,” Jan objected phlegmatically.
Trying not to look at the insolent werewolf, I shifted my gaze to my fiancé and waited for an answer to my question.
“Ian has come for his annual inspection from the Black Wolf Clan, Yaroslava,” Rinat explained. “You will report on all financial matters concerning the construction in the neighboring village. You know them better than I do.”
“I see,” I said as nonchalantly as I could. “And how long are you staying here?” I turned to another werewolf.
I stared hard at my fiancé, trying to ignore Jan. Everything inside was torn with the agony of anger and resentment, but I tried to keep my face.
“About two weeks,” Jan smiled brightly.
The man sitting on the high stool exuded confidence and a sense of dominance over the situation. His back was as straight as a steel plate and his shoulders slumped in a slight tension. Leaning back on his leg, he continued to hypnotize me with his gaze. Studying me. Assessing the possibilities. Like a predator waiting for its prey. As if ready to pounce at any moment.
That's annoying! Because I'm definitely the victim here!
A muffled wave of spasms in my lower abdomen unobtrusively reminded me that my thoughts were not entirely honest. Because being a victim in the hands of a hunter like that was not the worst thing that could happen in my life.
And that pissed me off even more!
“All right,” I forced myself to give in. “I'll change, and we can go to the office.”
“Okay,” Rinat said. “Ian will be waiting for you here, and I need to talk to Vadim about yesterday.”
And that's when I realized the sacred meaning of the “joint trip” and why Jan was smiling so cheerfully. Rinat is not coming!
I shuddered with indignation!
“Is something wrong?” Jan asked snidely.
“Nothing's wrong,” Rinat frowned.
Alpha gave me a warning look, full of reproach. I had no choice but to give my fiancé an understanding smile and go up to the second floor to change.
If my hands had been shaking earlier due to the symptoms of taking a dose of Vadim's infernal mixture of chemicals, now they were shaking for an entirely different reason.
What a ridiculous coincidence. How can I meet a man from a multimillion country in a bar who will be in my kitchen in the morning? And who was chatting sweetly with my fiance…
Eagerly, I pushed open the door to my bedroom wardrobe and meticulously examined the things inside. At the same time, I mentally cursed everything, trying to stop herself from thinking about what would happen next.
“Yaroslava,” Rinat's voice brought me back to reality. “What was that just now?”
“Nothing,” I answered automatically.
“Yes?” The Alpha blinked and raised his voice. “You mean I imagined it?”
It's a good thing we have soundproof walls, and the groom had thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
“You imagined what, Rinat?” I was getting angry too.
The werewolf's hot palms rested on my shoulders. The man turned me around, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“Yaroslava, I know you don't like outsiders, but the Black Wolf Clan hasn't been in power for very long. They haven't been overrun by bureaucracy and greed. It'll be fine. Besides, I don't think Ian's the worst option yet. They say their Alpha is personally involved in the audit. We're lucky it wasn't him. I haven't met him yet, but they say it's best to avoid him. So you're going to play nice and do absolutely everything he asks. Do you understand me?”
The groom shook me so hard that I had to agree. I closed my eyes tiredly. I hadn't slept in two days. Of course, for werewolves with their stamina, that's no big deal, but I'm not like the others.
“Okay, Rinat. I hear you.”
The steel grip on my shoulders loosened, and the werewolf came closer. He smiled warmly, then touched my lips in a soft kiss. It used to be soothing. But not now. And only my reason kept me from pulling away. Otherwise, Rinat would find out. Even though one of my greatest wishes was never to see Jan again, I couldn't let him get hurt because of me. And there's no question that Rinat would tear him to pieces if he found out.
“That's a good girl,” the Alpha whispered fondly.
He ran his fingers along my cheek and I closed my eyes again. The image of black eyes with golden flashes was all I could think of, but I smiled in response to the loving gesture. The man hugged me tightly and pressed his cheek against my hair, breathing deeply, and I remembered again that I'd been wise enough to take a shower before coming home.
“How far had Vadim got?”
“Far enough to leave a good pint of his drool on me.”
Alpha pulled away. He just stared at me for a while. And with each passing second, the look in his brown eyes filled with anger.
Rinat clenched his fists.
“He'll never touch you again. I promise.”
You could hear the remorse in his voice. But that wasn't enough for me. I wanted the bastard not only to stay away, but to forget what it meant to go near a woman. Any of us. But I remembered exactly what Beta meant to Rinat. And I knew my wishes would go unheard. So I just nodded silently, and Rinat turned and walked away.
- Writer
