A Matter of Convenience

Twenty-Eight

I bring my fists up, ready to push Ericson off of me. The fu.cking audacity of this man is ridiculous, and I have to admit that I’m seriously rethinking our arrangement. I want to run my pack, but there has to be a better way to get there than with Ericson.

Before my fists can aggressively land on him, he grabs my wrists and brings my arms up. He places my wrists against his neck, and I have a flash of choking him until the breath leaves his body. A throat clears, making me jump away from him. “Sorry to interrupt. I was hoping we could continue our meeting.” I turn and see Alpha Felix standing in the office doorway.

“Good job making it seem real,” Ericson mouths to me. Goddess, I want to punch him in the face right now. I push off of him and settle in my chair, trying to compose myself.

Ericson finds a chair and places it next to me while Alpha Felix walks over to his abandoned chair. I notice that Jovanni hasn’t come back with him, but I’m not worried. I know the pack will keep eyes on him, and he won’t be able to roam around freely. Ericson settles back in his chair and looks at Alpha Felix. “So, what did you want to meet about?”

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The meeting lasted about an hour, but I don’t feel anything decent came out of it. There’s something about Alpha Felix’s story that doesn’t sit well with me, but I can’t put my finger on it. In my mind, I have way too many questions because too many things don’t seem right.

We walk Alpha Felix out; Ericson is speaking with him, and I’m hanging back. My mind is in turmoil right now with everything going on, and that’s before I even get to the grief that I’m drowning in. I don’t even know what they’re talking about because I’m too consumed by my own thoughts.

The moment I step off the stairs, I feel a pressure on my wrist and my arm is pulled. I’m pulled against a wall, with strong arms caging me in. I look up into soft hazel eyes, and my anger starts to spike. Before I can open my mouth, his voice washes over me. “We need to talk.”

“I can’t imagine anything we need to talk about. You’ve said everything you needed to, and I’ve already rejected you.” I move forward in an attempt to get away from him, but he doubles down and holds me captive. Yes, as an Alpha, I can probably break free, but a part of me wants to hear what he has to say.

“Isis, just stop, okay?” His eyes bore into me, roaming all over my face. They linger on my fake mark, and at this point, I’m thankful that it’s as real-looking as it is. “How is this possible? I rejected your rejection and still feel the bond, yet here you are with a mark at the base of your neck. What aren’t you telling me? What game are you playing?” Sh.it! I didn’t think about this part of the deception. I honestly didn’t think I’d be running into Jovanni any time soon.

I push Jovanni away from me, watching him stumble over his feet. “I don’t know what bullsh.it you’re spewing and I don’t want to know. Your Alpha is leaving and you need to follow him.” I turn away from him and start to walk to the door. Jovanni grabs my arm and pulls me to face him.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I will find out. Something is fishy and I plan to figure out what that is.” I rip my arm away and hurry to the door, wanting to get away from him.

I walk over to Ericson and Alpha Felix, who are engaged in a deep conversation. I walk up and place my arm across Ericson’s back. I feel Jovanni getting closer to me, so I play it up by stroking his back. Ericson places his arm over my shoulders and hugs me closer to him. “I will say it was a surprise to find you two together, but I get it. You two are lucky, and I hope everything works out for you.”

“We’ll be in touch about your issue. I look forward to working with you.” I reach my hand out for Alpha Felix to take. He places a kiss on the back of my hand with a devious look on his face. He says goodbye to Ericson and walks to his car. Jovanni walks past me and stands in front of the open passenger door. He looks at me with longing before getting in and closing the door.

We stand together and watch the car drive off down the road. I watch until the car disappears from sight. I drop my arm and turn toward Ericson. “I think that went well. Do you agree?” I ball my fist and pull back my arm, letting it fly. It lands in the center of Ericson’s gut, causing him to double over in pain.

“You have a lot of fu.cking nerve!” I step away from him and stalk back to the packhouse. He’s such a sh.it person. I have to figure out how the hell I’m going to survive a year with him.

~Jovanni~

I let my head fall back as the car marches forward. I close my eyes, trying to keep my emotions at bay. This is not how I envisioned this day going. I didn’t anticipate a, well, it seems like a fake mate bond on Isis’s part. There’s no way she can be joined with that man, and I still feel my bond with her.

Alpha Felix clears his throat from the backseat. I look into the rearview mirror to find him watching me. “Did you learn anything?” I let out a sigh and run a hand down my face.

“No. It doesn’t make sense. I still feel what I feel so I don’t understand what’s going on.” The Alpha’s hand moves forward and pats me on my arm.

“Don’t stress over it. They’ve agreed to help me in my time of need and we will just use that to our advantage.” I look in the mirror and catch his eyes again. “We will make the truth come out and go from there. Don’t worry, your Alpha has a plan.” I nod and look out of the mirror. If Alpha Felix has a plan, I’m sure things will work out the way we want them to.

I watch the scenery flash by as the car barrels forward. The pain and longing are growing stronger the further away we travel. I feel like I’m drowning in my feelings, and I hate it. I hate that she’s having this effect on me, and I hate that I can’t bend her to my will. I just know that I have to be patient and allow my Alpha to handle things for me. I will get her back, regardless of what she says.