Page 44 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

Especially if there was a rogue wolf in the house.

Chapter 16 - Grayson

A few hours had passed since Leon’s arrival, and I’d had Choal down there, working him over for any and all information that the wolf could give. The packs were still nervous wrecks, though, and even more, I could sense the rage and distrust billowing off Kenzie like the worst radiation.

Her scent had been strange and scrambled since the Alpha ceremony, but now it was even more dotted with that unmistakable char. Was the rejection sting coming back? I knew it had faded when we had sex, and sure, we hadn’t done that again, but her heat was over, and it had only been two days.

Frustration gnawed at me, and it was plenty to deal with on top of all the other bullshit I needed to worry over now that I was Alpha of the Williams Pack.

“Hey.”

I tensed, turning around to see Kenzie standing behind me in the hallway. I’d just been about to go into the Alpha’s chambers, and I’d half-expected her to just stay with Kit or Senna.

“Oh, hi. Umm…is something—”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something important. Could we, umm, step inside?”

She gestured to the door, and I was quick to reach for the handle and push it open.

“After you.”

I gestured into the large bed chambers, holding the door for her until Kenzie was inside and walking toward the opposite wall. I followed her, shutting the door so that we could have a bit of privacy. My wolves knew to come and find me if there wereany developments, and I’d told them to just knock if the door was closed.

When I stepped inside and crossed the room to where Kenzie stood near the large window in this room, I could sense the dread clinging to her. Kenzie’s scent was deeply tinged with char, and my wolf immediately whined at the fact. He simmered right beneath the surface, and I could practically taste how upset he was that our mate was so distraught.

“What’s up, Kenzie? You seem…well, off. Which, yes, I know there’s plenty of reasons to be.” I shook my head, looking down at the wooden planks that stretched out to create the floor. “I can’t fucking believe Leon is here. What are the odds of that?”

She didn’t turn around, facing out the window into the stormy night. “Yeah, I know. Quite a few days, huh?”

I could tell she was worried, the anxious energy flooding off her and smacking right into me. So much more of her emotional state was available to me now that we’d slept together again, during a heat, no less. Anger swelled in my veins as I considered just what Leon’s presence here was doing to her.

Kenzie had been in the thick of it with me when we were defending the pack from Terrance and Reginald, and it was because of our own packmate that Terrance had the drop on us. Leon’s actions had nearly gotten us all killed, and it was during my patch-up session that I’d finally realized MacKenzie was interested in me.

That had been when the first inklings of the mate bond had started.

I still didn’t get it. We’d been around each other for years and had grown up together, but that night, something changed.

“Look, I want to be clear about a few things since we haven’t talked in a minute, particularly since Leon has decided to grace us with his foul presence.”

Kenzie finally turned around, and I met her sapphire eyes.

I couldn’t tell if it was the lingering rut or the fact that so much had changed in the past few days, but looking at her here in my new bedroom, of all places, made my fingers itch to touch her. I’d been struggling—really fucking struggling—with what exactly we were going to do next now that our deal was complete, and I didn’t want to have this conversation.

Without speaking, I backed up until the back of my legs hit the bed. Letting myself plop down, I dragged a hand over my face and sighed.

“You know, it’s been like five minutes since I became Alpha, and this is really not how I was expecting things to go.”

I sighed, hanging my head between my legs and staring at the ground again.

“Choal is down there right now trying to get info out of Leon, and last I heard, the guy was fessing up easily. He’s being less than specific, though. I don’t buy for a minute that he actually feels guilty. I’m sure he’s just out of options. Reginald could have kicked him to the curb for all we know.”

The floor creaked, and I knew that Kenzie had stepped closer, her scent swirling around me. It’s strong, and while the char is there, I could also sense the concern behind it. That part actually felt almost…good.

Which made me feel like a royal twat for enjoying Kenzie’s worry over me. And hell, it could just be for the situation, and I was totally reading into it.

“I don’t believe him either. And I agree that we need to find out what he knows, but I don’t think having him here is safe. Even in the cells.”

I stood up in a hard shove off the mattress. I began pacing around the room, the pent-up energy rising through my blood like the tide.

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