Brutal Alpha

Boundaries

Kael ~

Rosie showed up at my pack house today, this time with a swarm of movers in tow.

After the party on Saturday, I had sent the information she needed for her move at precisely noon on Sunday. The party - Rosie did well in pretending to enjoy it and it occurred to me that she was born for this life but didn't want to be in it. If I wasn't someone that paid keen attention, I might as well be fooled by the facade she donned herself with.

Sloan, my lady beta, and Jarred, my beta - the two most love drunk people I know took charge of guiding the movers through the pack mansion while I led Rosie to her room. Neither of us spoke, and the silence expanded with each step chest.

Rosie had been perfectly friendly to Sloan and Jarred, and the rest of my omegas and pack staff, whom she’d greeted with warm smiles and waffles from freaking the peak bakes. But when she got to me, she’d shut down like I was the one moving into her house and disrupting her carefully planned life. Like I was the one whose wolf was freaking on the edge just at the sight of her in a dress. A week later and the image of that brown dress clinging to her curves was still ingrained in my mind, as was the fire in her eyes when we'd held hands— I didn't even like bodily contacts and worse something as mundane as holding hands. There was none of that fire now. Rosie was the picture of cool elegance walking next to me, and it pissed me off for no explicable reason. Or maybe my ire had something to do with the fact that, even in a casual blouse and skirt, her presence made Lexington — my wolf to act so out of character . My wolf had never reacted so viscerally to anyone before, and I didn’t even f*****g like her nor was she my mate but her scent was everywhere, her image was everywhere and I couldn't even breathe. We stopped in front of one of the empty rooms prepared for her.

“This is your room.” I’d set her up in the farthest suite from mine, and it was still too close. “Sloan will unpack for you later.” My voice sounded abnormally loud after the oppressive quiet.

One of her brows rose. “Separate rooms until marriage. I didn’t realize you were such a traditionalist.”

“I didn’t realize you were so eager to share a bed with me. We don't need to stay in same room for that to happen.” A small smirk curved my mouth when Rosie's cheeks pinked. It was her first loss of composure all morning.

“I didn’t say I wanted to share a bed with you,” she said coolly. “I simply pointed out the outdated ness of your thinking. Sleeping in separate rooms is for married couples who are fighting, not newly engaged couples who are supposed to be in love. Words will get out. People will talk.”

“It won’t, and they won’t.” My pack members had been with me for years and prided themselves on their discretion. “If they do, I’ll take care of it but since you brought up the topic of our relationship, maybe it's the right time to talk about the boundaries."

"Very welcoming of you to talk about boundaries when I only just got here. You heard so much to say about the characteristics of a host the other day."

I ignored her wry insult and continued, “In public, we’ll play the part of a loving couple. We’ll attend events together, smile for the cameras, and pretend we like each other. You’ll also have full access to everywhere in my pack and you can get stuff from the moon Haven group of company any time you want. If you want, call Sloan and she’ll take care of it. I'd ask Sloan to get your engagement ring and bring it to you later.”

The engagement announcement ran after the internet went haywire on seeing me and her in public at the party. Rosie and I were officially tied together for as long as the charade last, which meant my reputation was also at stake.I didn’t care whether people personally liked me. But for my pack and company to thrive, social standing was important and those pesky articles, gossip magazines and whatnot got on my nerves. The last thing I needed were nosy society columnists sniffing around and finding things to input in their wannabe blogs.

“Right. Boundaries and a tossed engagement ring .” Rosie touched the charm on her neck, . “How very romantic.”

“Was it not clear from the onset that nothing was going to be romantic?” I dipped my head toward hers. The sweet and savory scent of lavender filled my

lungs as I enunciated my next words with crisp precision. “I’m here because I made a deal with your father, so get your head out of Disneyland.” Rosie didn’t back away, her lips set into a stubborn line with the air sizzling with electricity and animosity. Rosie's beautiful face still marred with her cool calm facade. How long had it taken her to train herself into this ever calm person? How much work would it take to break her?

My eyes dipped to her mouth. The heat from my gut spread to my stomach. I wanted to rub my thumb across her bottom lip and smear her perfect red lipstick until she was nothing more than a beautiful mess. To peel back the composed mask and see the ugliness underneath. Rosie may be beautiful with skin all flawless and made Lexington lose his cool but beneath all that, I was certain she was nothing more than a snake just like her father. They all were . They were all cut from the same mold. “You won’t get either.” Instead of touching her mouth, I skimmed the back of my hand across her collarbone, over the curve of her shoulder, and down the bare expanse of her spine, my next words coming out soft and lazy as my touch “This is a business arrangement. Nothing more. Are we clear?”

When she remained mutinously silent, my voice dropped to a dangerous warning - the voice of an Alpha that could make anyone cower. “Are. We. Clear?”

Rosie didn't cower but instead replied with a single word“Crystal.” The promise of retribution lurked beneath her reply.

“Good. Sloan would be here with a black Amex and the engagement ring” I released her and stepped back with a mocking smile. “Welcome home, Lisichko.”I bemused sarcastically, before leaving without waiting for a response. Lexington would be the end of me and that scent , that maddening scent— I hated it. Freaking Lavender was filled in my nostrils and I barely even touched her. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Less than an hour after moving in, and I was already fed up. I wonder if I was going to live the coming months without running rampage.