Chapter 10

Rhys

Get her out. We'll handle the situation here and join you at home . Rowan's voice filtered through our mind link as Kai tossed me the keys to the car, which I caught mid-air. I immediately held onto Elara, who Daniel had thankfully let go of after Kai's attack.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," I said to her, and she nodded rapidly, taking the hand that I offered and following me out of the hall that had now erupted into complete commotion.

She looked back to Kai and Rowan, hesitating when she got to the door, but I tugged on her carefully, urging her to leave the room.

Once we were outside, I headed toward Kai's car which had been parked in the corner. I ushered her in, noting the way she frowned as she entered the car.

"What about Rowan and Kai? Don't we have to wait for them?" she asked, looking out of the window like she was expecting them to walk out of the building.

"They'll be fine," I assured her as I pulled the car out of the parking lot and into the street.

We rode in silence for a bit, and I noticed how she kept fiddling with her fingers. She looked sad, and the defeated set to her shoulders was very unlike the way she usually held herself. I felt guilty about the ordeal she had just been put through.

"You seem shaken," I said carefully, and she let out a small sigh, tracing an invisible pattern on the door panel.

"A little. All those Alphas…they seemed tense. More tense than I could have prepared for," she revealed.

"It's not your fault. Pack politics can be quite unpleasant sometimes," I said in an attempt to calm her down, taking my eyes off the road to face her. Beautiful, shining emerald eyes looked up to meet mine, and I almost melted in my seat.

Clearing my throat, I turned my attention back to the road ahead of me.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience that I brought to your pack. It was never my intention to cause any sort of trouble and I'll be happy to go somewhere else to settle this conflict," she said softly, and I sighed, reaching out a hand to grab hers while I steered with the other. I stroked her smaller hand gently, enjoying the touch of skin on skin.

"You don't have to go anywhere. You'll be perfectly fine here and you're welcome to stay for as long as you like. The officials will come around soon and will see reason. I think the situation is just a little overwhelming for everybody right now. Pretty soon they will get used to it and come around," I said, trying to sound as reassuring as I could. It didn't seem to work because she simply sighed before looking out the window.

I spared one last look at her as I pulled into the driveway. There was just no way that a girl like Elara could have survived in Silas' clutches. She was just too…fragile and innocent-looking. All my instincts screamed for me to protect her against the world, against myself, against every kind of darkness. But on second thought, that was Silas' type. How else would he get to powerful men to come to him, unless he lured them with innocent-looking girls? But maybe that was just my fear tainting my judgment.

"Go up to your room. I'll bring you a glass of water," I said as we walked into the house. Elara nodded her head, moving toward the stairs.

I watched her retreating frame, enjoying the way her curves swayed in her clothes as she moved. Everything about her was so sensual that it was an actual struggle to control both myself and my wolf. As she disappeared from my line of vision, I slowly shook my head to clear it before making my way to the kitchen.

"Welcome back Alpha Rhys. I hope you had a pleasant meeting," Rose greeted me as I walked into the kitchen. I sighed internally, moving to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water.

Pleasant? If only she knew.

"Thank you, Rose."

"Lunch will be ready soon. Do I set the table for four people?" she asked and I quickly shook my head.

"No. Actually, Kai and Rowan might be coming back a little late. Just bring two plates to Elara's room," I said, and she nodded in understanding.

I moved in the direction of my own room, which was on the opposite end of the hallway from Elara's room, an arrangement I both hated and appreciated. I hated how I couldn't be closer to her, how I didn't always get to enjoy her scent but that was the same reason I appreciated it. I didn't know what I would do if her sweet scent was constantly surrounding me. It would drive me to the point of madness.

Once I was inside my room, I changed out of my clothes before picking up my laptop from my desk, along with the bottle of water that I had dropped on the bed. I went into the hall and walked toward Elara's room. I knocked once on the door, pricking my ears to try to pick up any sounds from within the room, but everything was silent. Too silent. My breath caught in my throat, and I knocked again, with more urgency this time, but there was still no response.

I was about to knock for the third time when the door was suddenly pulled open to reveal Elara. She had changed out of her clothes into more comfortable loungewear, but her beauty was still enough to whoosh the air out of my lungs.

"Sorry. I was in the bathroom," she offered with a small smile and I nodded, moving into the room once she stepped out of the way.

I settled my laptop on her bed before popping the lid off the water and offering it to her. She took it with a grateful smile before drinking from it.

"Thank you, Rhys. I didn't realize how thirsty I was," she said with a laugh, moving to settle on the bed. I propped some pillows up for her so she could sit comfortably before pulling the quilt over her legs. After she looked comfortable enough, I settled beside her, pulling my laptop closer. I looked to my side to find Elara watching me with careful eyes. Her fingers were fiddling in her lap. I was starting to pick up on certain habits of hers. Like how she fiddled with her fingers when she was nervous.

"You handled today well," I said in a gentle tone, hoping to comfort her. She smiled briefly, but soon her expression sobered.

"I suppose. But I still don't understand what happened. I'm not exactly sure what I could have done to make them so…angry, angry enough that one of them would react so aggressively toward me" she said, finally raising her sad eyes to meet mine.

"Change can be scary sometimes, Elara. When you've known only one thing all your life, and then suddenly you're introduced to this whole other reality, it can be quite difficult to adjust to that." I paused, watching as the worry settled in her emerald eyes. I spoke again, "If you haven't noticed, our pack is an all-Alpha pack and most of those people in that hall have never seen an Omega before. Your scent, your pheromones, it's a big change for them, and they don't yet know how best to process it," I said reassuringly. She sighed, relaxing against the pillows.

"I understand and I'm sincerely sorry that I have brought this sudden change to your pack," she offered, and I smiled at her. She smiled back.

The council's warning filled my head as I watched her. What kind of destruction could she possibly bring? Her arrival had undoubtedly stirred the pot, but surely it was nothing more than that. There had been several occasions in the past where the council had disagreed within itself, and this time was no different. Although maybe it was. Because no matter how heated past arguments had been, there had never been violence during a council meeting. Never.

Kai hitting Daniel was unacceptable, but it could be settled and forgotten. I didn't think anything worse could happen now, but I needed to be sure.

"Tell me what your life was like before now," I rumbled, my voice low in an attempt to sound casual. I watched for any flicker of hesitation or a hint of unease that might betray her.

Elara tilted her head, her emerald eyes wide and innocent. "Life was simple," she said, her voice soft, lilting. "I moved with the seasons. I settled wherever it was warm and inviting and moved again when the tides changed." Her voice was calm as she spoke, and I searched within her eyes to find the truth.

I wanted to find anything that would tell me that she was lying, but there was nothing. I pressed further, because her story was just too convenient, too simple for my taste.

"It must not have been easy, traveling alone all the time. Especially through the woods which are usually teeming with rogues. How did you manage to survive for so long on your own?" I tried to force the strain out of my voice, I didn't want to push her too far.

"I've learned to be resourceful, to be safe. My size helps too. It's very easy to hide. Besides, I tried to stay away from the woods at all times," she said, and I hummed in response.

Her story seemed plausible, but something still felt incomplete about it. Frustration gnawed at me. I wanted to believe her, but my unease lingered. There was just something about her that I knew I had encountered before. I turned away, thinking about the best way to unravel the mystery she seemed to be shrouded in.

The warmth of her fingertips brushing against my arm sent a jolt through me and it forced my attention back to her. She had a look of concern on her face as she watched me. Her voice, when she spoke, was a soft murmur. "Rhys? Are you all right? You look a bit lost."

I leaned in closer to her and her alluring scent wafted to my nose. This time, however, it was tinged with fear. Her scent invaded my senses, and I could feel the warmth of her body, but I simply pushed away the hair that was hanging across her face, offering her a small smile in response to her question before pulling away.

My wolf stirred within me at my actions, and he whined with longing, desperate for the closeness that Elara offered. I had spent over a decade burying my emotions and living a life of calculated detachment. Now, however, her emerald eyes kept shining with a vulnerability that threatened to tear down my carefully constructed walls. I knew I couldn't succumb. I had a responsibility to my pack and to myself.

"Tell me something interesting about yourself." Elara suddenly said and my brows rose in a comical way that made her laugh, the sound of it causing goosebumps to spread across my skin.

"Well…I love to read books. I don't get the opportunity to do it as much as I would like to, but it's still one of my favorite things to do," I indulged, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? I love reading books too. But you really don't look like a bookworm," she said with a giggle.

I gasped in fake despair. "Take that back right now. I am the very definition of a bookworm!" I said as sternly as I could manage, and Elara began laughing loudly at my outburst, which in turn made me start laughing too.

A knock came on the door at that moment which calmed us immediately. The door was pushed open to reveal Rose. She walked into the room with a tray full of food.

"I said food for two people, Rose. This looks like a feast!" I said lightheartedly.

Rose chuckled. "My apologies Alpha. I wasn't sure what Elara would prefer, so I thought it safer to have several options available," she explained.

Elara immediately began shaking her head. "I'm not picky at all. I'll eat anything, honestly. Your cooking is so good. I'm sure I'll like anything you cook, so please don't go out of your way for my sake."

Rose smiled, nodding her head in understanding before leaving the room.

I served some food onto a plate, handing it to Elara before doing the same for myself. We ate in silence and once we were done eating, I added the plates to the tray and moved it outside the door so Rose could pick it up.

"What kind of movies do you like?" I asked as I settled back into the bed.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't get to watch a lot of movies," she replied.

I nodded, pulling open my laptop to search for some movies.

"What sort of movies do you like?" she asked in return. "Let me guess…horror," she said before I could respond.

I scoffed. "You're wrong. I actually love musicals. The cliché romance-filled ones where they sing all the beautiful songs that make you cry at the end," I responded.

Elara looked shocked before she began laughing. "You surprise me a lot, Rhys," she finally said, and I wiggled my brows playfully at her in response, causing her to laugh even harder.

I eventually found a nice musical, and we both settled close to one another to watch it. By the time the credits rolled around, Elara's head was resting on my shoulder and her eyes were drooping with sleep.

"That was a nice movie," she said sleepily, yawning as she spoke.

"I told you it would be," I responded softly as I stroked her arm. She hummed in agreement.

"Can I ask you a question, Rhys?" she said after a pause and my heart skipped a beat as I tried to figure out what kind of question she would ask.

"Of course."

"You said most of the people here have never seen an Omega before, and I believe that because I see the curiosity and surprise in their eyes when they look at me. I don't see it in yours. Have you ever seen an Omega before?" she asked. My heart dropped into my stomach.

"It doesn't matter," I said, my voice coming out as a mere whisper, I waited with bated breath for her to say something else, but she didn't, and after what felt like a long time, I checked to find that she had fallen asleep lying against me.