Chapter11
1657 Words
The dining hall was full by the time I walked in, and suddenly, it felt like every eye turned to me.
They all looked at me like I was some alien who just landed in their home which in a way I kind of was. I swallowed tightly, looking away from the pack members and instead to the man whose gaze called out to me.
Our eyes locked and i instantly looked away, letting myself be dragged towards the empty chair. Lena pulled me down to sit next to her while by her side was the man I’d call the beta. Judging by the warm sweet smile he passed to Lena.
The pack members by now had recovered? No one was staring at me anymore and their conversations flowed smoothly like my presence wasn’t a bother.
“Don’t want eggs or bacon? Or maybe you can have both.” Lena said as she called on a maid who began to serve the food.
“Anything,” I murmured quietly.
But I couldn’t focus on food.
Because that sensation, that pricking awareness on the back of my neck was still there.
His stare.
I didn’t dare look again. I didn’t have to. My wolf was already shifting under my skin, aware of him, wanting something I didn’t understand. Something I didn’t want.
I clenched my hands tight on my laps, as the scent of fresh herbs and roasted meat filled the room. The food arrived on a warm plate, and I forced myself to pick up a fork, if only to pretend I wasn’t unraveling under his gaze.
Can he look away? I pleaded internally.
From my peripheral vision, I saw the beta lean towards him, blocking his sight of me and I sighed in relief.
~~~~~~~
Kieran~
Tobias’s thick head suddenly filled my line of vision, and I blinked, my irritation spiking.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snapped through the mind link.
“Helping her out. Gods, Kieran. You’ll make the poor girl dig a hole just to avoid your very invasive stare.” He shot back at me.
I clenched my jaw and leaned back in my seat. “She’s in my house. My pack. I’m making sure she’s adapting.”
“Right. You’re monitoring her with your eyes like a hawk in mating season.” He snorted.
This little s**t…
“Do you have a death wish Tobias. Keep this up and I’ll ship you off to the northern islands. Let’s see how smug you are then.”
“Tough crowd.” Tobias muttered, finally leaning back to his seat, allowing me look at her once again.
Emma.
Who could blame me for staring?
She had locked herself away for days, buried in that room like it was a grave. She hadn’t stepped into the sunlight once. Wouldn’t eat unless forced. Refused to speak more than a few words.
And now…
Now she was sitting among my wolves. My people, Quiet, yes, but not afraid. Not exactly.
She was eating. Talking. Smiling.
Even if it wasn’t a real one, even if it didn’t reach her eyes—gods, it was still a smile.
And that smile… it knocked the air from my lungs.
She pulled my gaze without even trying. My wolf stirred every time she moved. Every flicker of emotion across her face made something in my chest tighten.
I wanted to know what she was thinking.
I wanted to tear apart whatever had made her curl in on herself like that.
“So much for not wanting a mate,” Lena’s voice slid into my head through the mind-link, clearly amused. “You’re staring like you want to devour her. She’s panicking, you know. Probably thinks you’re offended she dared to show up to dinner. Look elsewhere, Kieran.”
I blinked. My eyes snapped to Lena who wasn’t even looking at me. She was turned toward Emma, talking like she didn’t just called me out.
“Control your mate, Tobias.” I snapped, more bark than bite.
Tobias was my beta, yes but Lena.. she was like a much annoying younger sister.
“You know I can’t.” Tobias grumbled.
I grunted and forced my eyes away, forcing my wolf away. It was annoying, knowing my mate was a few steps away and I wasn’t allowed to look.
After a few minutes of pretending like I wasn’t bothered, I looked at her again only to find her already staring at me.
She looked away instantly as our eyes met and I smirked.
___________
Emma’s pov~
Later that night, I paced around the room, the hem of my shirt brushing my thighs with every movement. The silence was deafening.
The dinner had gone… surprisingly okay.
No one had sneered at me. No one whispered behind my back. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like prey surrounded by wolves.
This pack was way different than Bloodmoon.. I had thought it would be worse after all it was lead by the Lycan king. The ruler of the region but it wasn’t at all what I expected.
Well, excluding the unpleasant encounter I had with that she-wolf from the kitchen.
I stiffened slightly, remembering how his gaze was practically glued to me. That was the one reason why I couldn’t sleep. Every-time I shut my eyes to sleep, his intense gaze filled my mind, calling me to look at him.
It was burned into my skull
I shook my head and made my way into the bathroom, needing something to cool the heat rising underneath my skin. The hot shower helped and minutes later, I stepped out wrapped in a towel, my skin still damp, water dripping from the ends of my hair as I walked into the room.
I froze.
There he was, Kieran standing by my bed, with a bag in his hand, about to be dropped off.
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling self conscious. What was he doing in the room this late?
Kieran lifted his head when he saw me, and I saw the way his eyes darkened.
They swept over me, slowly, watching the water still trickling down my collarbone to where my towel clung tight to my hips.
I swallowed.
He did too.
None of us said a thing. My heart was pounding hard in my chest. I should feel ashamed, but I didn’t.
“I came to bring you these.” His voice was hoarse, low, filled with restraint.
“I’ll leave now.” He said, turning to leave.
“Wait,” I blurted out, jumping forward and grabbed his large hand tight, my brain catching up only a second later.
His body stilled at the contact. His gaze dropped to our joined hands, then rose slowly to meet my eyes.
I felt my cheeks go up in flames.
I let go and jumped back like I’d been burned, stumbling over my own feet. “Sorry. I—sorry.”
What was I doing?
I could feel the heat crawling up my neck, the shame trying to crawl its way in with it. Old instincts told me to cower. Apologize again and keep my head down.
But not today… no matter how awkward it was. I had a mission in mind.
Instead I straightened up, lifting my chin to look more daring than ever. I probably looked stupid, doing this wet and wrapped in a towel but I didn’t care… I wasn’t going to loose this opportunity.
“If you’re going to keep me here—if you’re going to hold me in your pack like a prisoner—then the least you can do is teach me how to fight.”
Please, please, please say you’ll teach me.
His brows shot up at that and he turned fully to face me, eyes darkening. “What?”
My heart thundered and my knees weakened.
“You heard me.” I gritted out, forcing myself to stay put. I started already, might as well see it to the end.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re not a prisoner.”
“Then let me leave.”
Kieran said nothing…..the silence between us stretching with each passing second.
“Exactly,” I said bitterly. “So if I’m going to be stuck here, I might as well learn how to protect myself. Or you won’t teach me because I’m an omega? I’m lesser to you and your people?”
Okay, I was pushing it and I knew it but I just couldn’t shut up. It was as though something in me had broken after what Aiden did.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’m not teaching you.” He said with finality.
My eyes widen at how easy he dismissed it. No—I can’t just allow my one opportunity go down like this.
“Why?” I demanded. “Because I’m weak? Because I’m not worth the time? Because I’m—”
The words die down my throat as Kieran’s eyes darkened, he took a single stride towards me and I instinctively backed away, unsure what I was more scared of.
What he would say or the look in his eyes.
Kieran stopped in front of me, gaze heavy and intense on me. “Because that pretty mouth of yours,” he growled, stepping closer, “can only get you so far, Emma.”
He was towering over me now, all muscle, heat and frustration wrapped in a man who refused to look away. “Stop acting like a victim. Go to sleep.”
And before I could get another word out, he was out of my sight, yanking the door open and then he was gone.
The door slammed shut behind him. I stood frozen, heart pounding. I wasn’t going to give up. Not until I’ve gotten what I wanted and when I do…I’ll be out of this pack.
- Writer
