Page 33 of Resisted

“This looks like a lot more than a disagreement,” I stated.

“Leave it be, Belladonna.” Silas’ voice was hard. “It’s none of your business.”

None of my business? Since when did he get to decide that? He walked in front of me. The smell of paint permeated the air as he moved, and when his steps took him into the house and his back was to me, I saw the paint that coated his clothing and stuck to his hair. “You’re not my alpha, so you don’t get to decide what’s my business.”

His whole body froze, his muscles tightening, before he turned slowly. “Who the fuck do you think is alpha of the house you’re standing in?”

Beside me, Boyce cursed. “I told you to stay out of his way.”

“Well, someone needs to let him know he can’t always be in charge, and it might as well be me,” I whispered.

Not that it did any good. I knew he could hear me. His eyes flashed before he took slow, calculated steps toward me. His hands went to his hip, and Boyce opened his mouth to speak, only for Vincent to shut him up. When Silas stopped in front of me, I could nearly feel his fury pulsing off of him in waves. I swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump that was stuck in my throat. What had I done?The same shit you’ve done since you were a kid, I tried to reason with myself. Only now, it seemed so very different. He seemed so much more intense. Angry. Attractive.

Whoa. I shouldn’t have thought that last word, but I couldn’t stop it either. What the hell had happened over the last few years to rewire my brain with that thought? I’d admit, Vincent had always been hot. Even when he was a jerk and I was five, I’d still had a bit of a crush on him. Boyce, as I got older and hit my teen years, I saw the appeal of him. But Silas? Never him. I could never, ever, think that about Silas.

Except I just had.

“Do you think you’re capable of being in charge, Belladonna?” He was standing so close that I could smell the mint of his gum and the scent of pine that clung and wove together with the scent that was uniquely his.

“Women would run this world more effectively,” I pointed out, even though I knew that was the wrong thing to say.

“Oh.”His brows shot up. “When was the last time you shifted, Belladonna?” He paused for a moment, waiting for a response he knew would never come, because he knew the truth—I was defective. “Oh wait. You haven’t shifted since the night we found you. Now how do you expect to run the world, run our world, when you’re sitting on the fence between us and the humans?”

“Silas.” Vincent’s voice was a warning.

“No. You will stay out of this, Vince. It’s between Bella and me.” The words were harsh, my name sounding almost like a painful insult after years of him calling me Belladonna. I’d hated it and now I longed for it, longed for the nickname to fall from his lips.

I licked my lips. “I can shift.”

“Doubtful.”

“I can.” The declaration sounded weak, even to my own ears.

“If you can shift, then do it.” His eyes roamed over me. “In fact, I’ll tell you what. If you shift right now, I’ll let you run this subpack. I’ll hand it over to you without a single argument, and it’ll be yours to do with as you please.”

I tried not to look away from his eyes, tried not to appear weak as he issued a challenge that we all knew I couldn’t fulfill. When his gaze became too intense, too exposing, too raw, my eyes fell to the floor, my gaze breaking away from his. “I can’t.”

I brought my eyes up to his just in time to catch the smirk that broke from the corner of his lips. “That’s what I thought.” He took a step forward, causing me to step back, hitting my back against the wall behind me. With one more step, he was in front of me. His hand slammed onto the wall by my head as he leaned down. “Who is in charge, Belladonna?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to admit that he one hundred percent held all the power. Hell, I could feel it course through me, and damnit, my body wanted. It begged for it, begged for me to surrender to the power that charged the air. Didn’t my body know who he was? Did it have any idea how wrong it was to lust after the power Silas displayed, even when every fiber of my being screamed that it was right? That this feeling was right.

His hand slid on the wall until his fingers found my hair, the strands tangling with his digits. “Who is in charge, Belladonna?”

I felt the slight tug of my hair, and it shouldn’t have felt nearly as good as it did, but my body refused to accept that truth. “Me.”

For a moment, I saw amusement dance in his eyes before he shielded it. “Who is in charge?”

“Enough, Silas. Your point is made,” Vincent interjected, but when his hand reached for me, Silas’ eyes became feral.

“Do not touch her.”

Vincent’s hand pulled back. “You’re taking it too far. It’s me you’re angry at, not her.”

Silas looked between us. “That’s not accurate. Who is in charge, Belladonna? Say it.” He leaned down, his forehead falling to mine, and for a moment, I forgot to breathe. “Just…say it. Please.”

The last word fell from his mouth, and the fractured way it was spoken, the plea it held, made my chest contract. He didn’t just want me to say it, he needed it. He needed to know at this moment that whatever was spiraling in his life, he had control over it. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t even have the tiniest inkling of a clue about what plagued him, but hearing he was in charge of it was important.

I bit my lip, and his eyes locked on the movement, his own tongue darting out to trace his own lips in the exact spot my teeth were biting my own. I released my lip and felt his body vibrate through where his forehead leaned against mine. “You’re in charge, Silas.”

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