Teasing Her Alpha Guard

CHAPTER 13

Roman

As much as I wanted Dahlia, and I wanted her more than I had any right to, I didn't want it to look like I was taking advantage of her. Or maybe that wasn't the whole truth. Maybe something else had made me pull back from her this morning, something I wasn't ready to figure out, something that felt a lot more dangerous than desire.

I set the laptop aside for now, along with the list of possible burner phone locations, and told myself I'd focus on that later. Right now I needed a shower and a few minutes where I didn't have to think about the way her body had felt against mine, or the guilt sitting like a stone in my chest every time I looked at her and remembered exactly why my employer had sent me to this pack in the first place.

I took off yesterday's shirt, the same red one Dahlia had clearly appreciated, tossing it toward the hamper, when a soft knock landed against my door.

"Give me a minute," I called out, already reaching for a fresh shirt before changing my mind. Whoever it was could deal with seeing me shirtless.

I crossed the room and looked through the peephole, and the sight on the other side made me sigh and roll my eyes before I even opened the door.

"Oh, look at your face." Isabelle stood there grinning, hands on her hips, dressed in black slacks and a green shirt like she'd walked straight out of a business meeting. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Isabelle, you couldn't call before showing up?" I stepped back to let her in anyway, because there was no point trying to keep my sister out once she'd decided to visit. "What happened? did your phone die again?"

"Oh, please." She breezed past me into the room and dropped herself onto the edge of my bed like she owned it, bouncing slightly. "Is it a crime for your little sister to drop in on you? I haven't seen you in ages, and you're not exactly the type to suggest a sibling hangout yourself."

"Whatever, Isabelle." I nodded towards the small table near the window. "Get yourself some water if you want. There's nothing else I can offer you to drink."

"You're no fun, Roman."

"I'm being honest." I turned towards my closet, pulling out a clean shirt while she stretched dramatically across my bedspread and yawned like she'd had a long day of doing absolutely nothing.

"So," she said, drawing the word out, propping herself up on her elbows. "How's your lady boss treating you? Is she nice to you?"

"None of your business, Isabelle."

I didn't even blink at the question, kept my face perfectly neutral while pulling the shirt over my head, but she just laughed like she'd expected exactly that answer and hopped off the bed anyway.

"Fine, fine, keep your secrets. Let me go say hi to her myself."

And just like that she was out of the door, giggling to herself, leaving me standing there in the sudden quietness of my own room. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and finally poured myself a glass of water, wondering exactly what kind of conversation my sister was about to have with the one person on this estate I really couldn't afford her talking to unsupervised.

That evening, Dahlia found me near the pack house, and one look at her face told me Isabelle's visit hadn't stayed as harmless as I'd hoped. Gone was the light, teasing warmth from that morning. In its place was something guarded, sharp, calculating in a way that made my chest tighten with unease.

"We need to talk, Roman."

I nodded slowly, already bracing myself. "Alright."

"Your sister came by my room earlier." She crossed her arms, studying my face carefully, like she was searching for cracks. "She said some interesting things, and I want to hear your side of it."

"What things?"

"That you're more than a hired security guard." She gestured vaguely with one hand, frustration bleeding into her voice. "I don't want to get into everything right now, but Roman, what exactly are you hiding?"

Every word out of her mouth hit like a small blow, because I knew I couldn't give her the full truth yet, not without unraveling everything I'd built to keep her safe.

"Dahlia, your father hired me as an ordinary guard to protect you," I said carefully, keeping my voice steady even as something inside me twisted at the lie. "This whole time we've been together, have I ever done anything that looked suspicious to you?"

She didn't look convinced. Not even close. Her eyes searched mine like she was trying to find the seam where the truth might slip through.

"She said you have people who report to you," Dahlia pressed, stepping closer. "Are you some kind of overlord or something, Roman?"

"I don't know." I forced a small smile, hoping it looked more relaxed than I felt. "Nothing of that sort."

"Don't keep secrets from me, okay?" Her expression fell, something sad and tired replacing the sharpness from a moment ago, and that hit harder than any accusation could have. She wasn't just suspicious anymore. She was hurt.

I watched her face carefully and saw it clear as day, she didn't believe a single word I'd just said. Not one bit of it.

Eventually she turned and walked away without another word, and I stood there for a long moment before heading towards the main pack house myself. There was something I needed to discuss with her father regarding the increased patrols along the eastern axis, details Lucien would want before tomorrow's security briefing.

Halfway there I realized I'd left my phone back in my room.

I doubled back quickly, cutting through the side corridor to save time, already running through what I needed to tell Lucien in my head. But the moment I reached my door, something felt wrong before I even touched the handle.

It was already open.

Not just unlocked, open, standing ajar in a way I never would have left it. My instincts went sharp and cold immediately, every muscle in my body tightening as I pushed the door the rest of the way and stepped inside.

My room had been torn apart. Drawers pulled out and dumped across the floor, the mattress shoved half off the bed frame, my closet emptied and scattered across the carpet like someone had been searching for something important and hadn't cared how much noise or mess they left behind.

I stood frozen in the doorway for a second, my pulse hammering, my mind already racing through every possibility of who could have done this and exactly what they might have been looking for.

And then it hit me suddenly, cold chills settling low in my gut.

The laptop, the location data. If whoever did this had found it, then whoever was helping Marcus cover his tracks now knew exactly how close we'd gotten.