Chapter 7 - Killian

Jealousy boiled up within me as I saw how close Andy was standing to my mate. His hands had just been around her when I had come around the tree that hid them from the rest of the party, and despite common sense telling me that nothing untoward had happened between them, I felt livid with the man.

“Wait,” Leah urged as she turned to look at me.

“Alpha Killian,” Andy began, “I was just helping Leah back to her feet.”

If he doesn’t back away from her right now, I’m going to rip his throat out, my wolf growled.

Everything in me wanted to transform and allow Rocky to eviscerate any man who deigned to look at what was rightfully mine.

He didn’t hurt her, I reminded my wolf as I attempted to quell the rage inside me.

I don’t care. He’s. Too. Close.

“He’s telling the truth, Killian,” Leah said.

She took a step toward me, and I felt my wolf analyzing the distance between the two of them, wondering if she was far enough away to be out of harm’s way if I transformed and attacked him.

Rocky, stop. You’re not helping.

She’s been crying, Rocky pointed out.

Rage mixed with pain when I saw Leah’s eyes were slightly bloodshot. Her cheeks were pink, and her brown eyes still shimmered with unshed tears.

“Andrew, if you don’t leave my presence right now, I cannot be responsible for what my wolf wants to do to you,” I said through gritted teeth.

Andy’s eyes widened as he realized how close I was to losing control. “Understood,” he replied, backing away from Leah before hustling out of the trees and back into the clearing where the packs continued their festivities.

Leah watched him go, a look of confusion and anger on her beautiful face. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “He was literally just helping me. Is your fragile male ego so damaged that you can’t handle me being away from you for two minutes?”

“Why were you on the ground?” I asked, ignoring her question. It came out harsher than I intended as I struggled to moderate my tone. I hated that I was arguing with her, but I couldn’t seem to help myself from being upset.

“I needed a minute away from the crowd and decided to sit down,” Leah replied. “Andy helped me stand up, and then you came around the corner.”

I wasn’t angry with her, but I was still battling with my wolf against the thought of following Andy and ripping pieces out of him.

“He could have helped you up without putting his hands on your waist!” I spat, throwing up my hands.

Instead of responding, Leah froze. She inhaled sharply as her eyes widened, and I suddenly realized that my mate was afraid of me. My anger had been too much.

“Leah,” I said quietly, taking a step toward her. “I’m sorry for yelling.”

Her wide eyes flickered between my advancing feet, my arms, and my face as she remained unmoved.

“Leah?” I said again, softening my facial expression as I took one more step.

She flinched at my movement, and I sighed, realizing there was nothing I could do to make the situation up to her right now. I took a few steps backward and put my hands up in front of me, showing that I intended no harm. I wasn’t sure why she was reacting so strongly to our disagreement, but there was nothing I could do to get to the bottom of it right now.

“I’m going to stand on the other side of this tree because I can see that you don’t want me near you right now,” I told her. “I’ll make sure you’re safe, and whenever you’re ready to rejoin me at the party, you can, okay?”

She nodded, acknowledging that she understood me as I moved to where I had indicated I would be. After a few more minutes, I saw her leave the forest and come back to the clearing, heading for Luna April instead of me. As much as I wanted her by my side, I knew she needed space.

Luckily, Rocky had calmed down enough for us to have a conversation about it.

I’m sorry, my wolf said. I didn’t mean to scare her.

I don’t think you did. That was all me, I replied ruefully.

I know I overreacted to Andy, too. Can you apologize to him for us?

Just as Rocky asked that question, I saw Andy standing a few feet away to my left. He was looking at me uncertainly, gauging to see if my mood had improved since I’d scared him away from Leah. I nodded my chin at him, letting him know it was okay to approach.

“Alpha,” he said hesitantly as he arrived at my side, “I just wanted to explain about what happened earlier.”

“Before you do, I want to apologize for my reaction,” I said. “It was over-the-top and uncalled for. Please forgive me.”

“Of course,” Andy said, looking surprised by my apology.

“Was Leah alright?” I asked. “She didn’t want to talk to me about it.”

Andy winced. “That doesn’t surprise me. My cousins, Miranda and Nia, they came up to talk to her while she was by the refreshment table. They were… unkind.”

“Ah,” I said. When I heard those names, I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment, but I needed to know what had been said. “I’d venture a guess as to what they talked about, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

“Well, they, um…” Andy stammered, matching my embarrassment. “They told Leah that you had a lot of past partners and that you would return to them when you got tired of her. Leah held her own during the conversation, but I could see it took its toll on her. I saw her leave the clearing and wanted to make sure she was okay.”

I cursed myself for ever allowing myself to get involved with women of such low caliber as those two. The truth was that I could hardly remember what—if anything—had transpired between us. I was sure that something had happened, but thanks to an unfortunate habit of losing myself in drink when I was at a low point, I couldn’t remember any specifics.

“Thank you, Andy,” I said.

Andy nodded, his duty done, and left to rejoin his friends.

For the rest of the night, Leah avoided me, choosing instead to speak with other pack members. I had promised to stay by her side, so I made sure that I was always within sight of her. Needing space was understandable, considering the circumstances. But regardless of what had transpired, I still owed it to her to keep my word.

The party eventually tapered off, and I noticed Leah’s expression becoming more distant during her conversations.

“Are you ready to leave?” I asked her.

She nodded, and we bid goodbye to the packs as we left the clearing and got back into my car. The car ride home was silent as we both lost ourselves in our own thoughts about how the evening had gone. At first, the silence felt comfortable, but as time passed, the tension grew stronger and stronger. By the time we got home, I couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Leah, can we talk?” I asked as I shut the door behind us.

“About what?” she asked quietly.

“Anything,” I admitted. “I can tell you’ve been thinking about a lot, and I’d like to hear what’s going on inside your head.”

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

She started walking toward the bedroom, and I followed. I didn’t want to push her away, but her reaction to me in the woods had left me unsettled. She had been afraid of me. I needed to make things right.

“Leah,” I repeated once we had gotten into bed. She had barricaded herself behind her pillow fort, so I sat up on my side to see her over her defenses.

I heard her sigh deeply as she turned to face me.

“I know you’re not fine,” I said. “I’m worried about you. Please, tell me why you were so scared of me tonight.”

“Knowing won’t change anything,” she said.

“It will help me understand,” I pressed. “I insist you tell me.”