SWNOVELS Chapter 74
Chapter 74: Theo
I watched her type the number into her phone before handing mine back to me. She gave me a look and I backed away, giving her some space. I lingered near the house while she walked further down the yard. I was struggling to hold it together.
The evening had been hard enough as it was. I had been waiting to see Ayla again all week. As the day approached, I worried Ayla would feel ambushed or pressured again by my being there. I didn’t want that. I asked Briggs if he and Mina would tag along. It kept Ayla and me apart for the first part of the evening, but she seemed comfortable.
When she had stepped away to take the call, I knew it was him. I hadn’ t planned on coming after her, but something in my gut kept telling me something was off. I was glad I did. I needed to know what was going on. If someone was coming after her, I would keep her safe at any cost. Especially since it sounded like Kingston was being reckless with her safety.
I focused my hearing on Ayla. I could still hear her but couldn’t make out what Apha Harden was saying on the phone. She was too far away, and she was careful not to say anything that would give me any information. She knew I’d be listening. I was also watching. Her shoulders became more tense the more they spoke, her movements more anxious.
Their conversation was relatively short. When Ayla hung up, I noticed her roll her shoulders, preparing to put on the mask she knew how to wear so well. But I was getting better at seeing through it. I walked toward her. I would find out what was going on.
“What did he say?”
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“Hmm?” She turned to me. “Oh… He told me what was going on. He said not to worry about it. It really isn’t a big deal.”
“Come on, Ayla,” I pushed. “I need to know if you’re in danger. You may not be a member of my pack anymore, but you’re in my territory.”
“And there’s nothing for you to worry about,” she said, pushing past me toward the guest house. “I’m perfectly safe.”
I followed after her. “How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
“I don’t believe you, Ayla,” I said. “But if you don’t want to tell me, fine. But I’ll find out what’s going on.”
She turned on her heel. “Why do you even care, Theo?”
“You know exactly why I care, Ayla,” I snapped.
“Well, you shouldn’t,” she insisted. “It won’t help either of us.”
I laughed bitterly. “Why is that?” She didn’t respond. I moved closer, stopping centimeters away. “Because you still care. We both know you do.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she whispered, stepping away from me. “Not anymore.”
“When it comes to your safety, it absolutely matters,” I insisted. “Please, I’m not going to lock you away or anything, Ayla. I just want to make sure you’re looked after. Please.”
She closed her eyes. Running her hands through her hair, she hugged.
“You have to promise not to freak out,” she said forcefully. “What
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happened is done and over with and was handled. Understood?”
She wasn’t helping ease my mind, but I knew I couldn’t let my instincts take over.
I gave her a tight nod. “Understood,”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “There was an incident at the Alphas’ Gathering with another Alpha. He… took an interest in me, and at the banquet, he kind of attacked me.’
”
My fists clenched. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Kieran was pushing to the forefront, fighting me as I pushed him back.
“I was fine. It wasn’t that bad,” she insisted. “Kingston, Briggs, and a few of the others stopped him before anything happened.”
Briggs knew and he didn’t f****ng tell me? They all would have known.
“Who was it?” I asked, using all my strength to keep my voice even.
“Alpha Conner of the Shadow Claw pack,” she said. “Well, former Alpha Conner. He lost his rank and was restricted to his pack territory for five years.”
“But…”
“But he’s missing,” she said. “Alpha Harden is looking into it.”
“And they think he’ll be coming for you.” I assumed.
She nodded. “It’s a possibility, but there’s no way to know for sure. I doubt I’m at the top of his list, though.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said shortly. “If there’s any chance he could be
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fixating on you, we should be prepared.” I could still see how tense she was. I reached out and rested my hands on her shoulders, hoping to give her at least a little comfort. “There are few pack warriors that live in this area. I’ll have them do some extra patrols for a while, okay? And it may be better if you moved into the main house.”
“No,” Ayla said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be,” I said. “Besides, this isn’t something I can keep from my father. He’ll insist on it anyway.
“Okay,” she conceded.
“Who all in Sablemane knows you’re here?” I asked.
“Just a few,” she shrugged. “Kingston, Pierce, Emma, my boss, Erica. That’s about it. Everyone else knows I’m out of town, but not I don’t think they know where.”
“Good,” I said. “That makes things easier.”
My hands were still on her arms, my thumbs stroking her skin. The tingling was hard to ignore. I don’t know if it was helping her, but it was helping me. At least I no longer felt the urge to hunt Conner down and tear him to pieces. All that mattered was that I kept her safe.
I fought the desire to pull her into an embrace, feeling like the safest place for her was in my arms. I didn’t think she would see it that way. That wasn’t fair to her. So, I dropped my hands, hoping to remove some of the temptation.
“We should go let everyone know what’s going on,” I said.
She winced. “Yeah, I guess so.
Chapter 75: Theo
288 Vouchers