Bad Love: An Alpha's Regret (Leah and Aaron)

Chapter 332

I'm on my feet and backing away in the next moment, on the defensive and glancing around, as if I'm scared other vampires are about to jump out and attack me.

"Emily, please," Ronan says quickly, jumping to his feet and holding up his hands, like he's trying to stop me or calm me down. "Just hear me out. It's not what you think." "Oh yeah?" I snap in reply. "And what do I think?"

"That I'm your enemy," Ronan replies, staying where he is and pointedly not trying to close the distance between us, as if he doesn't want me to see him as a threat.

He is a threat.

He's exactly what he just said.

My enemy.

"You assume I'm planning something bad, and that I want to hurt you. But that's not the truth," Ronan continues after a moment when I don't say anything.

"Then what is the truth?" I demand, and now I've stopped backing away.

In fact, I've taken a step closer to him again, my curiosity winning out over my caution.

"The truth is I know what you are," he replies, sending me a knowing look.

So, he knows I'm a wolf?

Big deal, he would have scented it or sensed it or whatever the hell vampires do to differentiate humans from wolves from other vampires. Unlike me, who wasn't able to scent him at all.

"That first day, I was out here just trying to get away from everything, same as you," he continues, taking a cautious step closer.

"Because it's so hard being a vampire," I scoff, not sure I believe him.

He shrugs in response. "Probably about as hard as being a wolf. We have our Elder Enclave, just like you have your Council. There are rules we're supposed to follow, and factions vying for power, and lineages that claim they're more important or more pure than others. Things aren't always straightforward, and sometimes I want to escape all that stuff."

Well, I can certainly understand that.

I know I should be running back to the safety of Rathborn land, but for better or worse, it seems I'm at least willing to hear him out.

"I'm listening," I tell him, but I cross my arms and keep myself tense, ready to flee if I need to.

The truth is, I don't want to leave.

My curiosity is too strong to simply walk away.

There are things I want to know about vampires, questions I want to ask, and Ronan is right here, willing and talking to me.

I may never get another opportunity like this one.

"That first day, I almost ran when I saw you sitting on the trail and realized what you are. But then you looked so alone and so lost the same way I felt. Something in me wanted to talk to you, to know what ha made you feel that way, to know what had sent you running so far out of pack territory onto public human lands on your own. I didn't have any ulterior motive, apart from my own curiosity."

I have to concede that I know exactly what that feels like.

And the thing is, Ronan could have ambushed and killed me that first day.

I'd been so lost in my own thoughts, and I'd never considered a vampire might be all the way out here, plus hadn't been able to scent him, so it would have likely been easy for him to get the jump on me and kilt me

before I'd even realized he was

there.

"Why couldn't I scent that you were a vampire?" I ask him suspiciously.

He tugs on a leather cord around his neck and pulls it out of his shirt, revealing a pendant symbol, and a tiny glass vial with cloudy blue liquid in it.

"Scent blocker," he replies, dangling the talisman.

Without thinking, I step forward for a closer look.

I'd heard of these, but I've never seen one before.

Before witches had died out, they'd made all kinds of magical items like this.

This must be worth a fortune, and him being in possession of it makes me even more curious about who he is.

"Why do you need a scent blocker unless you're trying to hide from wolves or planning something nefarious?" I ask suspiciously.

"Of course I'm hiding from wolves," he says with an eye roll. "I'm way outside vampire territory. What do you think would happen to a lone vampire if I came across a pack of wolves?"

"Nothing," tell him, thinking it

should be obvious. "Wolves don't attack vampires unless we're

provoked. More like a nest of

vampires would attack me if they found me wandering around alone."

"Are you sure about that?" he asks in a way that makes me question my assumptions.

"Are you telling me there are wolves attacking vampires?" I ask him in confusion.

"That's a conversation you need to have with other packs, or your Wolf Council," Ronan says, clearly not wanting to get into the politics of things.

I can't blame him.

If we start talking about the age-old tensions between wolves and vampires, there's every chance we'd end up in some kind of fight.

And I don't want to be at odds with Ronan.

Despite now knowing he's a vampire-technically my enemy-I still want to get to know him.

It hasn't lessened my interest in him.

If anything, it's increased.

Cautiously, I step back over and lower myself to sit on the picnic blanket.

Ronan looks relieved and also sits down, though he's right on the opposite edge, leaving a few feet of impersonal distance between us.

"I'm glad you're so open minded, Emily," Ronan tells me. "I promise, you won't regret this."

Despite the fact that I've clearly given into circumstance, I narrow my eyes at him. "For your sake, you better hope so."