Page 44 of Rejected By the Alpha

“No,” I replied.

“What?” Franco hissed.

Killian inhaled sharply at my response, on high alert for any danger that might be headed my way. My palms began to sweat as Franco and I maintained eye contact.

“I’m staying right here,” I said defiantly, lifting my chin up as a challenge.

Franco smiled slowly. “I like this one,” he said to Killian. “Very well, you may stay.”

“Why are you really here?” Killian asked.

“I already told you. I’ve missed you,” Franco replied. “I want us to spend some time together. Drink a couple beers, go for some runs—you know, relive the glory days.”

“Those weren’t the glory days, brother,” Killian said.

“Semantics,” Franco said, flippantly waving his hand. “I want to get to know you again. Maybe we can find more common ground than we had before.”

Killian didn’t have much choice, it seemed, on whether he would accept Franco’s presence in town. The best thing for him would be to get their reunion out of the way as quickly as possible and let Franco go back home.

“Alright,” Killian said. “I’ll drop Leah off at home, and you and I can go grab a drink.”

“No, no,” Franco replied in mock hurt. “You won’t hurry me out of town. In fact, I’m going to stick around for a few days. I’ll spend some time with my favorite brother and show the alphas that I mean no harm to your precious packs.”

I could sense Killian’s frustration grow the longer Franco spoke, but I felt powerless to help him. This was between him and his brother. All I could do was stand by his side in support.

“Of course,” Killian said through gritted teeth.

“Wonderful!” Franco exclaimed. “Now, I must be going. I need to find a place to stay. I don’t suppose you have an extra room for your little brother, do you?”

“No,” Killian said. “Only the one room, I’m afraid.”

“How disappointing. But no matter, I’ll find a place and be in touch with you very soon. Goodbye, brother.”

Franco stood up gracefully and slid from the room. We heard the door close, and Killian took a deep breath to steady himself as Nile and Jasper came back inside.

“You two alright in here?” Nile asked.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Killian said. “It seems like my personal issues keep turning into problems for you.”

“Don’t think twice about it. You know I’ll always have our back,” Jasper assured him, clapping Killian on the shoulder.

***

Killian took me home, locking the front door before doing a thorough sweep of the house. Now that I knew what he was worried about, his overprotective concern made much more sense. What I couldn’t bear was his fear.

“Come lay down,” I urged, pulling Killian away from the storage closet he was investigating and toward our bedroom.

“I need to check outside,” he said, heading toward the back door.

“Killian,” I said, using my most commanding voice. “Stop right now and look at me.”

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. His head tilted back, and his eyes closed. He paused for a moment before turning toward me, dropping his arms to his sides and slumping his shoulders. I had never seen him look more defeated than in that moment.

“I’m sorry, Leah,” he said. “I’m so afraid that I won’t be able to protect you, I’m driving myself crazy.”

“I know,” I said. “But you need to take a minute and breathe. You can’t protect me or yourself if you aren’t thinking clearly.”

Killian nodded and allowed me to walk him into our bedroom. I shut the door behind us gently, and together, we lay down on the bed.

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