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Soon, it becomes clear that it’s three people arguing. One is definitely Sniffer. One is... I’m not sure what his name is, I can’t recall what his friend called him outside the pub. The last voice is a woman’s, and I’m sure it’s her, Roxanne.
“Why are you still here? I told you to leave half an hour ago when I found you standing at the door trying to listen to us. Now, I find you sulking around the kitchen. Just waiting for a chance to pounce,” Sniffer yells.
“What is it I’ve done to you, Casper?” she simpers.
“What have you done? You use any...” Sniffer starts.
“Cass, stop.” His smooth voice falls over both of theirs. He sounds exhausted. In the silence, I can now hear her sniffles. I imagine he’s holding her, consoling her. Whispering that I’ll be gone soon, and everything will go back to how it was.
My chest aches. God, I thought I was over this, this rejection. It still hurts. I think it’s worse now that I’ve shifted and feel the full pull of him. I want to walk in there and rip her arms off.Yes, good, growls my wolf. I shake my head to clear it. I won’t make a fool of myself any more than I already have. If he doesn’t want me, I’ll deal with it. I won’t, however, stick around here and watch or hear him make her feel better.
I can still hear them talking, much calmer and quieter now as I walk away trying to find a way out of this house. I’ve had enough for today. I’ll text Sniffer later and let him know I’m fine. At least, he still seems to care.
This is so humiliating. How do I go back to school? I’m sure everyone will know by this time tomorrow that my Mate, the Alpha no less, doesn’t want me. At least, the sting of embarrassment helps mask the acid-like burn radiating through my chest.
I find a door that I think leads outside. When I open it, I find myself in the middle of an atrium. The walls are made of a light blue glass while the ceiling looks like one giant retractable skylight. There aren’t any plants, but there is a platform about the size of a king-size bed with a cushioned back and sides like a sofa that hangs from the ceiling hovering a few feet from the ground. Like a giant swinging bed? There are pillows and a few throws strewn about. It’s all ivory and the palest of blue, the exact shade of his eyes. This must be another place he’s made for her. Did she pick the color to remind her of his eyes? Shit, I need a bathroom. I’m gonna be sick.
I run from the room hoping like hell I find a way out or at least a place to unload the fire ants churning in my belly. The first door I try opens to a game room. Shutting it quickly, I move on to the next. It’s dark, but I manage to see rows of seating, a media room? “Ugh.” Next is a set of double doors with a deadbolt lock. Sweet Jesus, this must be it. Pulling the door open, I find a huge four-poster bed, sitting in the exact center of the room. My heart drops. This must be his room, his scent is everywhere in this house, but in this room, it’s the strongest.
I see an open door to the left, with no time to think I throw myself through and fall on my knees vomiting everything I’ve eaten the past, oh I don’t know, year, maybe. When the dry heaves stop and my liver is lodged in my esophagus, I fall to the floor and thank all that is Holy it’s clean. It could be worse, right? At least, I’m not lying in sticky pee and pubes. I shudder.
I give myself a few moments before standing to rinse my mouth out. When I look in the mirror, I see myself all those years ago, young, scared, lonely. And lost.
“Piss off!” I’m not the same girl anymore. If I’ve learned anything, it’s I can survive. I wipe the small smudges of mascara that have smeared under my eyes, thankful I don’t wear much makeup. Unlike the devil woman, she looks like a spokesperson for Sephora. Jealous much, Sophie, I scold. I straighten my back and walk back through the room that I didn’t have much time to study. I don’t need nor want to see evidence of them both in here.
I make it one step out the door when I slam into a wall. What the hell? Where did that come from? I bounce back, and two hands that span shoulder to elbow grab me and hold me steady. I reach up and rub my nose. “Ouch, you should warn people they’re about to collide with an immovable object,” I accuse. Deflect, deflect, deflect. Nothing to see here, just keep moving along.
Again with the silence. “So ahhh, you think you could point me in the direction of my Jeep, big guy?”
“What were you doing in my room, little one? Didn’t I tell you to stay put?” He growls. Now that he’s close to me again, I want to climb up his big body and nuzzle my face into his straining neck. Did I say straining? Yeah, he looks like he might explode if I move, or blink, or breathe, or say the wrong thing. No nuzzle for you, Sophie.
Backing away slowly, I say, “I thought I’d just try and find my way out, save you the trouble.” I’m pretty fast. Will I make it if I run? Run where? I have no idea where Sniffer is or how to get out of this house.
“Don’t run, little one. I can see you thinking about it. Don’t. I will chase you, and neither of us is ready for what will happen when I catch you.” His hands are fisted, eyes low, jaw twitching. He looks the same as he did five years ago. No fear, Sophie, show no fear. I straighten my back for what must be my tenth attempt today and look him dead in the eyes.
More calmly this time, he says, “Why were you in my room?”
Still retreating. “I told you. I was leaving. I was just looking for a door out,” I explain again with a shrug of my shoulder.
“You,” he says, “are not going anywhere!”
CHAPTER9
Well shit! I guess we do this now. Might as well get it over with. I hope she’s not going to witness this. I look down to the ground but steel my resolve. “You want to do this right in the hallway? Maybe, maybe, we could go out on your porch? I could use some air.” He doesn’t need to know I want a quick escape, or that being surrounded with his scent is making me dizzy.
“Sure, we’ll stop by the living room and grab your water. When I found you gone, I must have left it there.” God, his voice is sexy. What? Where did that come from?
He motions for me to walk ahead of him. I start walking and feel his large palm on my lower back. His thumb grazes my bra strap, and his pinky finger is dangerously low. I speed up a bit then quickly stop. The pressure from his hand carries me forward a step before he stops and looks down to me. “I don’t know where I’m going. I’ve been lost in here for the past five minutes, maybe, you can lead?” I lift my hand in a forward motion.
He reaches down and twines his finger with mine and pulls me forward. My hand is tiny in his, my fingers spread wide around his. It’s not comfortable, not just because he’s touching me, but because his hand is that freaking huge. I pull away, but he grasps my left hand with his left hand and wraps it under his right bicep while holding it in place with his left hand. I guess he thinks I need an escort. “I wasn’t snooping around. I just opened a couple doors looking for a way outside. When I found what I now know is your bedroom, I just needed the bathroom. I really am sorry.”
No response. He finds the living room easy enough. His left hand drops mine from holding his arm so I let my hand fall back to my side. He bends and grabs a bottle of water laying on the floor, walks over to the bar, and drops it into the trash. Then, he picks a fresh one from the small fridge. “That one was fine, you know. I would have drunk it.” He scoffs. I’m beginning to think the only thing I can do right is piss this man off.
He opens the water and gives me the open container and waits. He looks down at the bottle and then up to me, arches one like he’s saying drink it. Damn, I wish I could do that eyebrow thing. I bring the bottle to my lips, and he sighs with relief like I’ve just made his day. “I’m sorry I took so long, I wanted to check on a few things and something came up I had to deal with.” Oh yeah, I know exactly what came up.
When I reach out to take the cap from him, he grabs the bottle, tightens the lid and hands it back to me. Picking up my left hand once again, he wraps it around his arm and holds it there. It’s a short trip to the front door, which he opens, and we step out. This time when I take my hand from his elbow, I step back. I could use the space.
“Can we sit?” he asks and pulls a chair out from the table. “It is your house, you know.” He’s still standing behind the chair looking at me like he’s waiting for something. I look down to grab the chair across from him so I can sit down when I feel a hand at the nape of my neck pressing me forward into the chair he had pulled out. I resist, a very low, menacing growl comes from me. My wolf does not like this, she hasn’t accepted him as her Alpha, he will not dominate us! “Take your hand from my neck, now!” I speak very slowly through my fangs which have descended.
