Large, protective hands settle on my shoulders as his heat envelops me, stunning me with his imposing presence.
“Is Emily bothering you?” he asks sternly in my ear, and I shudder in response.
It’s Emily who verbally responds as she plasters a fake smile on her face.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Brooks. I was just—”
“What?!” he snaps at Emily, cutting her off with disdain on his tongue. “You were just badgering her like we’re still in school? Don’t be a fucking child, and go home, Emily,” he spits venomously, and Emily gasps.
She exchanges one glance with me, as if to warn me that this isn’t over, before spinning on her heel and rushing off. When she’s gone, I’m more aware of Brooks’s hands on me, the heat from his fingers shooting through me.
I hate the feeling, considering that the way Emily treats me is only because he’d belittled me in front of them in the past. I quickly shrug his hands off my shoulders, stepping out of reach and turning to him to fix him with a glare.
“What was that about?!” I snap, throwing my hands up. “I could have taken care of her myself!”
Brooks looks hurt, as if I’d just smacked him across the face, flinching at my words and staring at me disbelievingly. “I was helping you, Rissa. I—”
“I don’t need your help!” I cut in with anger seething through my vicious tongue. I don’t know where this fiery rage is coming from, but I know that it needs to be let out at the one person who deserves it. He knocked me down when I was helpless in the past.
I’m not helpless anymore. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much!” I growl as my parting remark before turning away and marching toward his house.
He’s not doing me any favors, if that’s what he thinks. But I have to leave the scene of the crime before it intensifies, and I head inside and make for the bedroom, where I find boxes of my belongings from my cottage waiting for me inside.
Chapter 12 - Brooks
“Excuse me,” Rissa says coldly as she shuts the fridge door, pointedly avoiding my eyes as she stares at the yogurt drink in her hand.
I move to the side, but it’s the side Rissa’s chosen to take. She takes an awkward step back when we’re about to collide, but I quickly move to the left so she can pass on her right.
Letting out a sigh only once she’s left the kitchen and the front door shuts with a steady thud, I stare out the window as I watch her make her way toward Alpha Elias’s house for another day of training. I glance at the untouched pancakes stacked on a plate on the island table, becoming disappointed when another attempt to break the ice has frozen over.
It’s been a week since Rissa moved in, and she doesn’t seem to care about the sweet breakfast treats. I let out a breath through puckered lips as I grab a pancake and stuff it into my mouth, hardly tasting it, when my appetite begins to die. I’m still chewing as I watch her, and when she disappears into the village, I swallow the mouthful and groan.
I’ve been trying so hard to give Rissa the space she obviously needs, but it’s been challenging for my inner wolf, who’s always ready to grab her whenever she walks by. Even now, my fingers tingle with having to stifle the urge to touch her, and it’s only because I’ve been holding myself back to respect her choices.
It’s not like she’s brought up anything that’s happened over the past couple of days, leading me to wonder if she feels it at all, our fated mate bond. How is she able to be so cold toward me when all I want to do is be near her?
It’s killing me inside that she’s barely acknowledged my existence, going about her day, and returning to my house as if I’m not even here.
I know I only have myself to blame, but it’s becoming more difficult with each passing day to focus on what really needs my attention, like hunting down the demon and forming an alliance with a neighboring pack to strengthen our defenses against the evil spirit from the underworld.
So when Connor informs me that the leader of the other pack has come to Girdwood to sign the treaty, his voice in my head through the mind link is like the clinking of marbles in an empty can. Annoyed, I grab another pancake and stuff it into my mouth, only for the sake of refueling my body to get me through another day of emptiness.
***
My house feels empty as soon as I return from a meeting—a telltale sign that Rissa isn’t back. Since she’s moved in, it’s easy to tell when she’s around and when she’s not, even if her presence is a cold bruise to my ego.
At least having her around means that she hasn’t decided to run away again. She seems to have accepted that she’s a witch. Not so much being my mate.
Sighing defeatedly, I hang my shoulders as I go through the monotonous routine of preparing dinner. I mean, it would be simpler for me to join the others in the pack’s cafeteria for a communal dinner, but I’m trying to be at home more frequently now that Rissa is here.
It’s not like it makes any difference. She’ll probably just come back and head straight to the bedroom, ignoring my existence and even the food I leave for her in the fridge everynight. Despondently taking out the ingredients, I get a pang of hunger in the pit of my belly, realizing that I’ve been ignoring what my body needs, only fueling up with enough to keep me awake.
Deciding that I’ll make two steaks for myself instead of just one, since Rissa won’t even eat the meals I prepare, I get the fire going on the stove and begin prepping the meat with salt and pepper. As the sub-alpha in charge of putting together the festivals and celebrations in the pack, I know my way around meal prep, not just because I’m pedantic when it comes to cooking, but because I know how important it is for a werewolf to eat food that tastes great, especially on important occasions.
Though I have nothing to celebrate, I decide to make the most of tonight. At least it will be a much-needed distraction from all the thoughts running rampant in my mind.
I prepare another pan to cook up some stir-fried vegetables to go with my steaks, humming a rhythmic tune as I immerse myself in my cooking. Eventually, when my mind empties, I’m even able to feel the full effects of my hunger and make a mental note to suggest to the other alphas that we go out for a hunt soon.
