RykerThe afternoon meeting with the warriors was finished and the patrol teams had made it back safely.Arnold and I were walking back in silence. To say the atmosphere between us was tense was a damn understatement. I had hardly spoken to my twin brother ever since we went together to meet with the warriors of our pack, other than a greeting.It was a shame we were not in agreement over so many things that we would fight this badly, but this was categorically not my fault. It was Arnold who was always so reactive and had lashed out in the way he did.I expected the walk back would be just as quiet, when Arnold cleared his throat out of the blue.“You must be glad, Ryker,” he sounded accusatory. “Selene has been difficult to console all morning. That you would abandon our Lady like that, when she has done so much for us, and hand on to that girl… it’s such a shame, brother.”I could tell he was holding back a lot of anger from the way that his tone sounded biting even when he tried t
RomanI walked down the hallway towards the Alpha Ryker’s study. I hadn’t come here since the surprise party - at least it was a surprise to me - where Keileigh was announced to be their mate.I grit my teeth and tried to not appear too upset by the thought of those events. I had not expected Alpha Ryker to be so spontaneous and act that way. If I had an idea that would happen I would have found a way to convince Keileigh to instead stay by my side.Mate bond be damned, I would have never let Alpha Ryker or Alpha Arnold touch her.But no matter.This was just another reason for me to bring the two brothers down by force and destroy everything they held dear.I got to the door of the study and was about to open it but my hand stopped halfway when I heard Ryker’s voice.He was speaking about… jewelry?I continued to listen and then heard him order Kara to bring a jeweler here, likely to get something made for Keileigh.I scowled at the thought. Show off. Did he think he could simply win
KeileighThe warmth of the afternoon combined with how comfortable the chair was, made my body feel relaxed and my eyes heavy.I shifted in my seat, forcing myself to stay awake through sheer will. I hated having naps these days, because of the nightmares I had been having.Therefore I did whatever I could to keep myself occupied. Normally Roman would have shown up by now but perhaps he was busy today for he didn’t even come by to check up on me.The afternoon, try as hard as I might was quickly becoming boring. At least, I thought to myself, eyeing the book I had tried to finish reading but dropped a couple of minutes later, Alpha Arnold and Selene hadn’t been a black spot in my morning today.At least I had gone longer without hearing their snide remarks about me, especially Selene’s that often seemed worse than Arnold’s at times. At least with Arnold he never hid his true emotions in public. But with the self-acclaimed Lady of the House, she had a small smile on her face most times
KeileighI was speechless; what could one say to that? At first I wanted to laugh so much that I felt it bubbling up. But quickly enough as it came it also died down.The realization that Roman, my best friend from my childhood and the only one I could count in, really had meant what he just said, slowly dawned on me.“Roman…” I said his name and covered my lips with my mouth. What could I say to him.His eyes stared insistently into me. I could feel the weight of his gaze, burning into me.“Keileigh, say something. Whatever you want to say, say it and I won’t get upset,” he insisted.“I don’t know what to say,” I replied. “This is too much. This could get complicated very fast.”“You mean with the two Alphas,” Roman reasoned, and I didn’t bother to correct him just yet. How else could I tell him it wasn’t just that? My past was also after me - Alpha Jake who I had given my heart to and he had played with it… and how my actions had caused my father’s death, and the destruction of my p
RomanShe was quiet, but I could tell she was incredibly confused and conflicted on what to do.I many emotions showed on her face and I knew it was time for me to leave.Later, I would make her make a decision but for now, it wouldn’t do to push her too strongly.“I have to gobble,” I said in a soft tone to her, before leaning in to press a kiss against her forehead. She didn’t push me away which made me smile inwardly. “Really think about what I have said, Keileigh. And no matter what, I be here.”With that I stood and walked out of the room, only to freeze.Kara was standing right in front of me. My mind raced. Did she come here to see Keileigh on Ryker’s orders? Did she hear anything? I really hoped that she didn’t.“Ah, Beta Roman,” Kara broke the silence. “Is Keileigh busy?”“Keileigh is resting,” I decided to mention, to dissuade her form going to see Keileigh now. If she saw her in such a dazed state she might think that something happened and that would make its way to Ryker,
SeleneTo say that I was pissed off to see that Keileigh was leaving Ryker’s office was an understatement.A maid had come to my room about ten minutes ago, to inform me that Ryker had brought the jeweler here and of course, I had assumed it was for me. Who else in this mansion was more deserving of jewels than me?And so I had rushed here only to find that Keileigh was leaving the study with that old maid Kara walking with her. The girl seemed surprised to see me there and it made me all the more angry. I boiled with anger as she Keileigh murmured a greeting and walked away but my eyes followed her as a sneer was on my face.I clenched her teeth in a hiss and tried not to appear too flustered or angry. I had questions on my mind and I would have Ryker answer them. For one what was that bag that Kara was holding? Had Ryker purchased something for THAT GIRL?He had better not, not when he had barely given me any jewelry as a present. It was Arnold who spent more on me, even when all I
KeileighBack in the safety of the bedroom I had grown used to staying in, I began to think again, my thoughts the only company I had at the moment.The velvet bag sat on the vanity table, waiting for me to open it. I stared at it for a long time before forcing myself to look away.“This is just so complicated,” I whispered out loud, feeling the pressure around me tighten.First the two Alphas had brought me trouble and conflicted emotions, especially Ryker. Now Roman.My own childhood best friend… had confessed his feelings for me.And… what did I feel about it? What COULD I feel about it, when I didn’t know if I could ever love or trust anyone romantically ever again.A voice proclaimed in my head lid and clear, ’But this was ROMAN we’re talking about. Not some other guy who you don’t know from a young age. Roman has always brought you comfort and you never had a reason to not trust him, right?’I closed my eyes briefly and let out a deep sigh. Opening them, my eyes were drawn once
Ryker“She’s here, Alpha Ryker.”The maid that had announced Keliegh’s arrival left just as quickly with a bow as I nodded at her. I saw Keileigh step in through the door looking around in wonder. She lad likely not been in this part of the mansion before and it pleased me to be the first one to show it to her.My eyes flitted over her body briefly - she looked absolutely radiant to say the least. But my wonder was quickly accompanied with disappointment as soon as I noticed she wore a simple silver necklace to go with the dress.I thought of the gold jewelry I had picked out for her and wondered if she hadn’t liked it after all. Had she just been acting to be nice when she let me get it for her?I masked my emotions with a smile and reached out my hand to her as our eyes met.“I hope you had a good rest,” I said to her, taking her small delicate hand and leading her to the table where a feast lay for us to eat.The mate bond that we shared burned brighter in my chest more than ever.I