Page 7 of Winning the Wolf

Within minutes, I was at the top, being hauled out by Killick’s friends. I recognised one as Caleb, Killick’s closest friend. He smiled at me kindly, tucking a strand of his long dark hair behind his ear. I attempted to smile back, but it had been a while since anyone from the pack had been nice to me, so my lips froze in an awkward grimace.

“You okay?” Caleb asked me as Killick appeared next to his other friend, Orson.

Nodding, I flung my heavy mud-covered hair over my shoulder and tried to look somewhat composed, despite my thumping heart. His probing stare made it quite obvious that I wasn’t accomplishing my goal. Yeah, well, he should fall down into a mud pit with the alpha-heir, see how he’d liked it.

Almost rolling my eyes at myself, I turned away from Caleb. The man was basically a stranger, like most of the pack nowadays. I wasn’t about to let him know that I’d been tempted to rip off Killick’s clothes and sit on him while my sister was out there somewhere, doing fuck knows what.

“Let’s get back,” Killick said coldly, “it’s been a long day.”

“Your father?” I blurted, failing to control the shudder that moved me at the mere thought of the alpha thinking I’d failed.

Killick’s glance was icy, which was a big change from only moments before. “His team are better trained than… let’s just go.”

“Me?” I whispered.

He either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore me. Either way, my heart cracked at his low opinion of me. For some bizarre reason, he had got under my skin… and not in a good way.

Chapter Three

“Hello?”

The call made me jump up from where I crouched beside the bed. Killick stood there, his eyes widening as they travelled down my naked body. Crap.

Scrambling for the towel on the bed, I quickly covered myself, my cheeks heating when the alpha-heir refused to look away.

“Do you mind?” I gasped. “I know it’s your house, but you should’ve knocked.”

He finally blinked and looked away, his brooding nature returning. “I did knock, several times, but you didn’t reply. We need to get going.”

Grunting, I glanced down at the floor and swallowed the embarrassment that wanted to rise up. I’d been fumbling under the bed, trying to feel for the cookie that had fallen from my hand. I’d been cursing loudly, clearly distracted by the sweet treat. Not that I’d tell him that.

“I’ll be out in a moment,” I said, waiting for him to leave.

“My father’s team are scouring the town.” Gesturing for me to carry on, he watched me absentmindedly. “I figured we could start at Nyla’s apartment. My father wants you to go in first because you know what it would’ve been like before she left.”

Fine, if the bastard wouldn’t turn around, I’d give him a reason to. Without looking away, I dropped the towel and picked up my black lace underwear. His jaw tightened as he kept his gaze on my face. Good, there was an ounce of respect left in him. Maybe now, he’d give me some privacy.

“Okay,” I replied, bending to pull the lace up my legs.

His eyelids shook slightly. Wait, was he fighting the urge to watch me dress?

A flood of heat sliced to my core, jolting me out of my tease. It wasn’t the time to be messing around with the alpha-heir. Spinning, I grabbed my bra and haphazardly pulled it over my head, squeaking when it caught my hair and tugged it, sending pain through my scalp.

“You… you’re caught…”

“I know,” I huffed, yanking my arms to try and get the bra free.

“Did you want some help?”

“No, thank you,” I bit through my teeth.

Giving up, I popped my breasts into the cups as best I could and quickly pulled on a pair of tight fitting shorts that clung to my butt. Jeez, when I’d asked to borrow some clothes, I hadn’t expected to be brought such a small piece of material. My hair was still caught, tugging painfully as I slipped a crop top over my head, not even bothering to attempt to untuck my freshly washed hair. It would stay tucked away all day if needed.

“Please, just…”

Killick came closer, his hands gripping my shoulders before I could turn to face him. As hard as it was to accept his help, I had to swallow my pride and let the alpha-heir unclick my bra, free my hair and then do it back up. A small shiver danced across my skin as he stepped away. I inhaled deeply before I rotated and smiled stiffly.

“Thank you.”

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