Trapped in the Den of Alphas

Chapter 17

Conall's POV

I enter the quiet living room and look around to see that it’s nearly empty except for Jarek, who is in his usual spot, reading.

“Evening, Conall,” he states, lowering his glasses to give me a nod.

I nod in return, my eyes finding the clock on the wall. Two minutes to midnight.

“Mateo is recovering well, by the way,” Jarek says as I walk toward him, where he sits by the large bookcase. “I think he will be on his feet again by tomorrow, but then we all know that’s probably only because he doesn’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

“Fine, that’s good to know,” I answer distractedly, lifting a glass from the table to pour myself a drink.

“The Emerdas sap was a good healer. I believe you saved him from a painful day indeed.”

I knock the drink back in one, ignoring his insinuation. “How is your research going?” I ask, nodding toward the books on the small table by his side.

“Alright,” he answers with a shrug. “The new ones that you acquired have been useful. It may have taken me seventy years, but I’d like to think I have reached pack doctor status by now,” he chuckles.

“Good,” I answer bluntly, my eyes returning to the clock. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Con.”

I head for the stairs, stalking toward my quarters. The run cleared my mind completely, and I feel more determined than ever. I’ve been through much worse things than resisting a little temptation. I can and will handle this.

I throw open the bedroom door and look around critically, walking into the bathroom to see that it is undisturbed. “Goddess f*****g help me,” I seethe through gritted teeth, knowing she hasn’t been here tonight.

She hasn’t been in this room, which means she disobeyed me.

I charge back downstairs, heat rising around my neck when I take in the sight ahead of me. Four of my men standing in the hallway outside the communal bathroom, laughing like f*****g little girls. My animal urge to rip their f*****g heads off their shoulders threatens to consume me, my rage boiling dangerously beneath the surface.

They hear me approach, standing up straight and to attention.

“Con—” Hunter begins before I cut him off.

“What are you doing here?” I snarl, taking them all by surprise.

Hunter’s mouth opens, but he has no witty remark to make. He can see I’m not in the f*****g mood.

“Nothing, we were just curious. You’ve got to admit it…an elf woman…it would be interesting to see,” he states with a semi-joking smile.

“All of you, f**k off. Now,” I answer, looking between each man in turn.

“We didn’t mean any harm. Honestly, I was just kidding around. We weren’t planning on—”

I give him a look that tells him I’m not interested. Hunter lifts his hands in surrender, nudging Evan with his shoulder before they hurry off down the hallway.

Then I turn my attention to Rocco, leaning against the opposite wall.

Neither of us says anything. Instead, I stand in front of the bathroom door defensively, folding my arms over my chest as we stare each other down.

Eventually, he breaks first and takes a step forward. “You give this elf a lot of your attention,” he says slyly, tilting his head slightly as he glares at me.

I narrow my eyes in return. “Leave.”

“You know, some of us aren’t quite on board with how you are choosing to handle this one, Conall,” he says, shooting a glance to his buddy Samuel, who is by his side as usual.

I lean in closer to look him directly in the eye. “If you don’t like it, you know what you have to do.”

I watch his jaw tighten, and he steps back in reluctant defeat. “Come on, looks like we won’t see much of the elf tonight after all.”

I watch them both in disgust as they leave, rounding the corner to disappear.

I unfold my arms and look down at my hands, which are bleeding from the pressure of my protruding claws, and I wipe them against my pants hurriedly.

Fucking hell…

It took everything in me not to kill the asshole. Goddess knows it’s not the first time I’ve wanted to, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

I turn my head to look at the closed door, and a surge of anger rises within me again. I beat my fist against the door in rapid thumps.

“Hang on, damn it! I’m almost finished!” she calls back, clearly unaware that it’s me behind the door.

I rattle the door again, and she doesn’t bother to answer this time. Before I can help myself, I’m pressing on the handle to find that it’s stuck in place. It appears she had the foresight to jam something in front of the door. At least, that’s something.

A few seconds later, it clicks open behind me, and I swing around to see her standing there with a shocked look covering her face.

I flick my eyes down over her body, clad in my white shirt with her creamy legs on full display.

“Con? What the fu—”

I don’t bother waiting for her to finish her sentence. I grab her roughly by the arm, lead her out of the bathroom, and back down the corridor, practically dragging her alongside me. My heart thuds in my chest as I scan the empty hallways, ensuring no one is around.

It’s then that Mateo’s bedroom door opens, and he sticks his head out curiously. “Get back in the f*****g room now,” I demand, pointing at him with my free hand.

He closes the door swiftly as I carry on toward her bedroom.

“How dare you touch me like this?! Let me go, you ASSHOLE!” she demands angrily as I open the door to drag her inside.

I let her go, slamming the door shut behind me.

“Who do you think you are?!” she questions, lifting her hand to her arm.

“When you are under this roof, Eden, I’m your Alpha. You take orders from me.”

She pushes her long, wet hair out of her face. “HA!! You are no Alpha of mine!” she seethes, her narrow silvery-purple eyes filled with fiery rage.

We stare at each other for a few seconds as I back away towards the door.

“You’ll bathe where I tell you to—”

“I will not!”

“Then every time you walk into that bathroom, I’ll drag you back out again. Believe me. I will.”

She swallows hard, folding her arms over her chest.

“Are we clear?” I ask in finality, my voice low and serious.

“Crystal,” she snipes back.

Goddess knows how I do it, but I turn around without so much as a glance at her tempting body. I open the door and head back to my room.

Angry.

Horny.

And back to f*****g square one.