The Alpha Who Hates Me

CHAPTER 8

I thought about what Kaleb said the entire night, which was why I had trouble sleeping again. That was the only time that I got to understand why Kaleb was against this whole mythical bond. He’s simply thinking of me and how I would react to the fact that sealing the mythical bond would mean turning me into one of them.

I went downstairs after taking a quick morning bath and putting on a simple summer dress. I let my hair air dry for the meantime. As usual, I found Narcia in the kitchen, who was almost done preparing for our breakfast. Lowell was also there.

“Morning, Little El,” he chimed as soon as he saw me walk into the kitchen before he took a big bite on the apple in his hand. “You look like you had trouble sleeping.”

I sighed as I sat in my usual seat. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Lowell was about to take the seat beside me but before we could even both blink, Kaleb was right in front of him, taking the seat instead.

I looked at him wide-eyed.

The man who just lost his seat chuckled. “Did the witch do something weird to you? You have a different aura all over you today, Captain.”

Kaleb glowered at him. “Shut up, Lowell.”

Lowell put his hands up as if accepting his defeat and took the seat across to us instead.

“What witch?” I asked.

“The witch who tried to break into one of the barriers yesterday. Didn’t Kaleb tell you?” He paused to take a quick sip from his orange juice. “We captured her and had her locked up in one of the cells in the old mansion.”

Narcia then joined us at the dining table. “Were you able to get something out of her? Who sent her or why did she want to enter our town?”

Kaleb shook his head. “We tried but she wouldn’t even utter a single word. But Lowell did something to her.”

The man in question almost choked on the piece of bread he had just put in his mouth. Narcia was quick to give him a glass of water.

My eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“He imprinted her.” Kaleb said the words nonchalantly while grabbing the cup of coffee in front of him.

“You know the imprint is not something that we could stop.” Lowell said in his defense. “Besides, I was just trying to stop her from escaping.”

I was so shocked I didn’t even know what to say.

“So this witch is your mate, huh?” Narcia teased him. “Were you spellbound, is that it?”

Kaleb chuckled. I turned to look at him and just admired how he looked carefree at that moment. He looked so different from the usual cold and domineering façade he had always put on around everyone.

When he turned his head to me, I quickly looked at the food and fumbled with the scrambled egg on my plate using the fork in my hand.

“Knock it off, Narcia,” Lowell said. “Besides, she could be an enemy. We still need to know what exactly brought her here.”

“Even if she’s an enemy, she’s still your mate. You know that’s a fact.” Narcia told him as a matter-of-factly and we all knew she had a point, that's why Lowell turned quiet after that.

We finished our meal without mentioning anything about the witch. Lowell excused himself after breakfast, saying he needed to do something important. By the time I was helping Narcia tidy up our dishes, Kaleb approached.

“I need you in my office, Ellie.” His voice was not commanding, but it was not too soft either.

I nodded at him. “Okay, I’ll just finish helping Narcia here.”

“No, Ellie. It’s okay.” Narcia interjected. “I can handle this from here.”

“Oh, alright.” I’ll just wash my hands real quick.

Kaleb nodded before he walked out of the kitchen. I gave Narcia a look but she just shrugged at me. Once I was done washing and drying my hands, I made my way to Kaleb’s office with my heart beating like crazy.

I knocked twice even though the door to his office was already slightly ajar. I found Kaleb rummaging through the books on the shelf.

I didn’t say anything as I let myself in and closed the door after me.

“Have a seat, Ellie.” He said without looking at me as he continued to search through the variants of books on the shelf.

I did as I was told and took a seat on the leather cushion in front of his desk. After a few beats, Kaleb placed a book on his desk in front of me. “If you want to know more about the ritual of the consummation between mates, especially with a mythical bond, you can read this book. It will help you understand more of what you’re getting yourself into.”

The book was a bit old and dusty. The engraved words on the cover were written in a language that I was unfamiliar with.

“Don’t worry.” Kaleb quickly said, as if sensing what had just passed my mind. “The contents were written in different languages. You’ll find something that’s written in English.”

“Alright,” I replied as I picked up the book and dusted it off. “Would there be anything you need from me, Kaleb?”

“Nothing,” he said as he combed his hair using his fingers. “I just need you to prepare yourself for whatever may happen. The real thing is still different from what’s written in that book. It may tell you what you need to expect, what you may feel and what would be the result after that, but trust me, no book can prepare you for the real thing.”

I took a breath as I clutched the book. “I’m not scared of whatever may happen after sealing the mythical bond..”

Kaleb stood in front of me and looked me in the eye. I craned my neck to look up at him. There was an expression on his face that quickly passed by before I could even tell what it was. He was quiet for a moment.

A wind whooshed from the open window of his office, which caused a strand of my hair to fall on my face.

I froze as Kaleb’s hand reached for that strand and tucked it neatly behind my ear.

He caressed my cheek with the pad of his thumb. The simple gesture sent thousands of butterflies fluttering inside my stomach. “Then what are you scared of, Ellie?”

“I don’t know.” I answered him in almost a whisper.

I bit the bottom of my lip and I watched as Kaleb’s eyes fell on them. His finger moved to rub my bottom lip softly. “Stop biting your lips, you’ll bruise them.”

And just as quickly as I released my lip and stopped biting it, Kaleb swooped down so fast I felt a wind on my face before I felt his lips on mine.

I froze on my seat, my hands clutching the book even tighter.

I closed my eyes and reveled in the feel of Kaleb’s lips moving against mine. Gentle at first, then rough and demanding. I released the book and wrapped my hands on his nape, trying to get as close to him as possible.

He picked me up by my waist and placed me on top of his desk, knocking off any materials on top of it.

I was breathless when he pulled away for a second before he kissed me again.

I placed a hand on his chest and softly pushed him away. “Kaleb, the door’s unlocked.”

I figured he didn’t realize what I had just said or he didn’t hear me before he attacked my mouth again, this time taking the opportunity to slide in his tongue. That action earned a moan from me and I quickly forgot what I was saying to him just a few seconds ago.

He started kissing my cheek down to my chin and then my neck. I wanted to clutch my legs together to stop the desire that was starting to pool between them, but Kaleb was stuck between my legs.

His fingers toyed with the strap of my dress before he ever so slowly pulled it down to reveal the top of my chest. The dress had a built-in bra, so I didn’t bother wearing one.

He began placing kisses on my shoulder blade and I had to throw my head back as I felt more excited and hungrier for his touch and his lips.

“Ahh!” That was half scream and half moan when he sucked the skin just on top of my breast.

The door suddenly flung open and, to my horror, Lowell looked at us, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

Kaleb quickly moved to cover me, blocking me from Lowell’s view.

“I came back to ask something but I completely forgot everything about it.” I could hear Lowell’s voice but I couldn’t see him because of Kaleb’s back. “But I swear I didn’t see anything. You guys should...uhm, carry on. I’ll take my leave.”

I heard him laughing on his way out before I heard the door closing. I was so breathless from all the kisses I received from Kaleb and my body was shaking both from excitement and nervousness from Lowell catching our little escapade.

Kaleb slowly turned around to look at me. “I’m sorry about that.”

My heart dropped upon hearing his words. He’s sorry again for kissing me. Damn, if that didn’t hurt like hell.

I shook my head. I couldn’t even look at him because I felt so ashamed of myself. “That’s okay. I kissed you back so there’s no need to say sorry for that.”

“Hey, hey. It’s not about that.” He caught my face in his hands and made me look at him. “I’m sorry I let Lowell see us like that. I wasn’t thinking. And I lost control as well.”

My eyebrows knitted together. “What do you mean?”

“Ellie, I’m done resisting you.” He released a breath. “From now on, I’ll follow what I want. And I want you. For a very long time, I’ve wanted you. I will take care of you even more from now on.”

I didn’t even realize that I was already crying. I couldn’t even remember how long I'd waited to hear those words from Kaleb and right now, it’s really happening. This is really happening.

“Do you understand me, Ellie?” He asked and my answer was to grab his face and kiss him like there’s no tomorrow.

Finally.