Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 51: 50

POV Savannah Bowen

I felt the weight of everyone's gaze on me. I noticed Marilyn in my peripheral vision, far enough from the alpha to preserve her safety. I could smell his pheromones exhaling through the air, wielding fear over everyone.

"Everything's fine, I would do the same," Jax intervened, raising his arms in surrender. "Bogdan belonged to my pack, and I forgive Fenrir for killing one of mine. The male deserved it; he touched a female that wasn’t his, violating one of our rules and offending a leader."

"Are you not going to declare war on the Dăneşti?" someone asked from the crowd surrounding us.

Jax laughed, shaking his head.

"Never."

I couldn’t take my eyes off Fenrir. My heart was racing, and my breath was erratic.

"Too bad it wasn’t one of mine," Lucian mocked, crossing his arms in front of his body.

I don’t know when he got closer, but he was as silent and fast as Fenrir.

"Please, don’t start," Konrad scolded. "The leader of Vanóia didn’t declare war on the Dăneşti for the wolf’s death, so there’s nothing more to see. Go on and get back to enjoying yourselves."

Slowly, they began to disperse, returning to their previous spots. Marilyn moved toward Fenrir, but not fast enough to catch him as he moved toward me with his surprising and supernatural speed.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he hissed, inhaling deeply and flaring his nostrils.

I blinked, perplexed.

"I’m having fun, just like you."

For a moment, he just stared at me, as if considering whether to drag me out or strangle me right there. Opting for the first, he grabbed my arm and led me toward the doors, removing me from the party.

"I didn’t say I wanted to leave," I provoked.

"I don’t care what you want."

He kicked the doors open with a thud, startling the sentinels. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears forming as I tried to adjust to the brightness of the hallway. It wasn’t as well-lit as houses with electricity, but it was much brighter than inside the party.

He didn’t say anything as he dragged me outside, away from it all. The night breeze was welcome, soothing against my warm skin.

There was no sound outside, as if it was a rule that everything happening inside the elder’s castle should stay there.

I let myself be dragged for miles, not trying to stop him. I had already reached my point, which was to irritate him. He only stopped when we stepped onto the Dăneşti lands. I knew how to identify them by the smell of death that stretched along its borders, from the heads of Hunter wolves Fenrir had planted around on sharp wooden stakes.

He released my arm and began pacing back and forth, hands on his head. He turned to me, showing his fangs.

"How dare you let another male touch you?" he hissed.

I leaned against the rough trunk of a tree, hiding in the shadow of its branches, sliding out of the moonlight’s silver glow.

"I don’t understand why you’re so mad," I commented, crossing my arms.

He huffed a vexed laugh.

"Don’t understand?" In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of me, his breath brushing against my skin. "I told you no male is to touch you."

I tried to stay calm, control my temper, but it was impossible when he shoved me against the wall as if I were the one in the wrong, when he had let Marilyn sit on his lap just hours earlier.

I touched his chest with my index finger, digging my sharp nail into the fabric of his shirt.

"I saw Marilyn with you earlier today," I confessed, not hiding the hurt in my tone. "Right after you told me you were sorry for sleeping with her. If you can do that, then I can too."

He blinked, stunned.

"What?"

I threw my hands up and rolled my eyes.

"Don’t play dumb. I saw the two of you earlier," I snapped. "And no, I still don’t care, but the wild side that shares my body does. And I hate feeling her pain, her hurt, seeing you with that damn bitch."

He stepped back, hand on the back of his neck.

"Savannah… I..."

I shook my head with a gesture.

"I don’t want your apologies. There’s no excuse. I know I’m the burden you have to carry, the omega you mated with, and now you have to deal with me for the rest of your life. You owe me nothing, just as I owe you nothing. I just... hate how she feels about it. I want to live my life, Fenrir, just like you do. Maybe it will make things easier for both of us."

The silver flickered in his eyes, dissolving before the deep blue.

"If you saw me with Marilyn earlier..." "Yes, I saw," I cut in.

"But you didn’t stay long enough to see me push her away?"

This time, I was the one confused. I furrowed my brow, squinting.

"What?"

He sighed and rubbed his palm through his hair, tousling the strands and letting a lock fall over his forehead.

"I pushed Marilyn away, Savannah. Yes, I have a long history with her, but that doesn’t mean I agree with all her actions. She’s becoming... suffocating, to say the least."

Well... I hadn’t expected him to push the wolf away for me, he had no reason to, but just knowing he had rejected her was enough to make me feel better.

I licked my lips.

"I don’t care, anyway. But if you’re going to have lovers around, then I will too."

Gold appeared in his eyes.

"How dare you say that to my face?" he roared, his voice thick, supernatural.

"How dare you feel offended?" I countered, losing my patience again.

It was so bold of him to feel offended, even betrayed, because that was the feeling I felt prickling at the tip of my tongue that he was emitting.

"And how could I not feel that way?"

"I don’t care how you feel."

The golden hue softened.

He stepped closer and placed a hand on either side of my head, pressing them against the trunk, trapping me between him and the tree. I watched the silver specks in his blue irises, admiring them dance as he narrowed his gaze on me.

"What you saw me do at that party, wolfie, is just a mere demonstration of what my wolf is capable of," he whispered, breathing on my face. "When I ask you not to provoke me, it’s about the chaos and death he will spread. It’s always like that, when it comes to you."

I swallowed hard.

"You’re crazy," I murmured.

Bogdan didn’t deserve that end. He seemed like a respectful and charismatic male. And even though his death gnawed at my insides, I wouldn’t allow myself to carry the guilt for it. If anyone was to blame, it was Fenrir and his explosive temper.

He tilted his head to the side, the silver light illuminating the right side of his face through the gap between the tall branches. I noticed the subtle shine of gold in his eyes again. The wind swayed his hair, pushing the lone lock falling on his forehead.

If he weren’t so damn beautiful, it would be so much easier to ignore him.

I stretched my arms out, pressing my hands against his hard, warm chest.

"I hate you," I whispered, but there wasn’t a single thread of truth in my tone.

He turned to me and touched his forehead to mine, squinting.

"The feeling is mutual," I retorted.

He shook his head.

"I hate how you make me feel; I hate that you make me question things that should be unquestionable," he revealed, looking lost in thought.

I stiffened, not knowing how to react to what he was saying. I wanted to know more, I wanted to understand, but I was sure he would dodge any questions I asked.