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CHAPTER 48
LILY
My breathing had just slowed back to normal when the door was flung open. Raiden stormed in, taking long, determined strides with Gunnar short on his heels. His eyes landed on me and almost immediately shifted to Mat, who sat right beside me, our shoulders mere inches apart. He looked furious, his hair dishevelled, fists clenched, and I could practically see his jaw ticking even from across the room.
In a matter of seconds, Mat was on his feet, holding a hand out for Raiden to shake. “Alpha Raiden, I presume,” he said with a knowing smirk.
Raiden stared at his outstretched hand for a moment, scanned me from top to bottom and grunted a reply, refusing Mat’s handshake. I stood up quickly, cleared my throat and openly glared at him. How dare he insult my friend in such a manner?
Ray didn’t seem fazed by my actions at all, and I had to walk around Mat to get to him, to try and get his attention somehow. I stopped right in his face, my veins boiling. As soon as I came to a halt before him, my wolf perked up, stirred and growled within me, flaring nostrils. My eyes grew wide at the scent hitting my nose. No, it couldn’t be? I leaned in, sniffing.
The scruff at the back of my neck stood on end, hair spurting, and my wolf revealed her canines, pushing them from my gums with their sharp edges poking against the underside of my tongue.
Ray’s wolf could feel it, sense it and his golden orbs shifted to mine, staring into me like he wanted to speak, but couldn't. Raiden was still in control. When my face contorted in utter disgust, Raiden knew I’d found out.
“How was your meeting with Tanya?” I seethed.
Raiden’s posture was stiff, his body hot. He was enraged just as I was. The only difference was that I had reason to be angry at him, and he seemed annoyed with Mat for no reason at all.
“Not now, Lily,” he growled, his eyes going back to Mat.
Not now? Not now?My wolf was beside herself. Livid. She could smell the filthy bitch all over him. Her scent clung to him like a damn virus. A strange rumbling sound grated against my ears, and I found that it was me, growling. Ray's eyes shifted back to mine, streaks of grey flickering just beneath the golden yellow.
Around us, the entire room had gone quiet. The tension was so thick and suffocating, I could almost reach out and grab it. Not a single person made a sound as we stared each other down. Alpha and Luna.
Mat carefully backed away from us, reading the situation and realising that now was not the time for exchanging pleasantries. Discreetly he moved, giving us some much-needed space.
“I can smell her all over you, you bastard,” I barked, feeling my heart break all over again, ripping my chest into shreds. The pain was horrible, worse than what I’d felt when my skin had boiled mere minutes ago.
Unconsciously, my hand lifted to my neck, fingers grazing the tender, inflamed area. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, recalling the look Mat and Gunnar had exchanged. They knew. Everyone knew. I should have known. I’d trusted him blindly. A man I barely knew. Sure, I might have known Ray as a boy, but he was no longer a boy. Far from it and he may not have been the person I remembered at all. A lot could happen in seven years. I looked up at him, our faces almost touching and suddenly felt like a little girl again. Lost, confused and scared.
Something in Raiden's eyes softened as he gazed down at me. Could he see what I felt? Sense it through our bond? His fist closed around my wrist and all of a sudden, I was being dragged out of the conference room, stammering uncomfortably behind him as he hauled me out, slamming the door shut behind us.
We stood in the hallway. Just us. No one else. Ray began pacing, running his hand through his already messy hair. I didn't know what was going on, what had happened, but I felt sick to my stomach. Nauseated. I didn’t want to see him, I didn’t want to speak to him and I didn’t want his damn mark on my neck.
How? Why?He’d told me he wanted me, and I believed him. He’d marked me. A new wave of anger ripped through me, and I eyed him angrily, trying to form the sentences in my mind before it burst from my mouth in flaming daggers. I shook, fur sprouting down my back and up my neck.
He stopped. Turned. Studied me carefully and approached. Dangerously slow, like a predator closing in on its prey. Only, I wasn't prey. I was a predator too.
“Calm. Down.” He growled, emphasising each word.
I was breathing harshly, my heart hammering violently against my ribcage. “What possible explanation could you have?" I spat. "Her smell is all over you. On your lips.”
Raiden gritted his teeth and his eyes darkened as he closed the distance between us, infiltrating my personal space with the heat of his body.
“Lily? Is everything okay?” I heard a soft, sweet voice coming from down the hall.
My white fur pulled back at the familiar sound, my heart stammering for just a second. I knew that voice. I remembered it, like an old childhood rhyme.
“Sala?” I heard myself saying while I scrambled away from Ray's intimidating demeanour. Relieved to see her standing there, I basically ran towards my friend.
Her bright eyes shined with concern as she gazed past me at Ray, who still hadn't moved. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to her.
Without sparing another glance at Raiden, I asked her to lead me away. Sala was a mixture of confusion and shock but led me away without question. I didn't want to be there anymore, I didn't even want to look at him, but as we walked away, I could feel his eyes burning into my back.
