by Emilia Rose
Two rogues found dead. Isabella was lying next to me in bed while it happened.
* * *
The scent of pancakes drifted into the room, and I closed the notebook and continued my search before Roman came back. The other notebook was probably even more boring. I could just imagine all his little notes about every pack member.
I peeked inside one drawer in his dresser and frowned. Empty. The next one was empty too. In fact, they were all empty. It looked like he had either cleaned it out recently and thrown everything away or he was waiting for someone to move in all of their clothes.
My wolf growled lowly inside of me at that thought.
After slamming the drawers harder than I expected, I pressed my lips together. Was he seeing someone else while he was seeing me? Was I a side piece? Was it Vanessa? It probably was. That who—
A cute light blue pendant necklace laid on the other side of the dresser next to his watch. I furrowed my brow. What was this? A piece of women’s jewelry on his dresser? I picked it up, knowing that I shouldn’t, but it was so beautiful and I was so full of spite.
It was shaped like a moon and looked identical to a mate’s necklace.
I clenched my jaw harder.
The door opened, and Roman walked into the room. I sucked in a breath and placed the necklace onto the dresser. He placed a plate of pancakes next to it, tensing and glancing at his journals. “Were you looking through my stuff?”
“No,” I said, looking at the necklace. “Whose is this?”
He stepped closer to me, his minty scent comforting me again. “You seem jealous, Isabella.”
“I’m not,” I said quicker than I should’ve. “I just want to know where they got it. The detail is beautiful.”
His lips softened into a boyish grin. “You like it?”
“It’s cute.” Really cute. “So, whose is it?”
“It was Mom’s when she was alive. She didn’t want to be buried with it. She wanted me to pass it on to my… mate.” The last word was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Oh... it was just Luna Raya’s.
He stepped closer to me, gaze shifting down my body. I inhaled sharply. The tension between us was back, and it was so damn stronger than it had been. After placing his hands on my hips, he drew me closer. “You look awfully sexy in my shirt,” he mumbled against my ear. He toyed with the end of the shirt, but I pushed his hand away.
“No, I can’t do this again,” I said. He chuckled, pulled me closer, and rested his forehead against mine.
I knew that it was a bad idea to toy with him, but I couldn’t help myself. I rested my arms on his shoulders and tugged on the ends of his hair. It came so naturally. This tension between us, our reactions to each other—whether it was pure fury, pure jealousy, pure adoration. It didn’t matter. It felt so natural I thought we could be mates.
Could.
Then, suddenly, someone opened the door. I quickly pulled away from him, but he pulled me back, his fingers curling into my hips like they belonged there.
Jane stood in the doorway with wide eyes. She gazed between us, then solely at me, her gaze falling on my—Roman’s—shirt. “Isabella. What are you doing here?”
“I-uhm…” How do I tell someone who thought I was the nicest, warmest, most innocent person, that I spent the night with her brother—the alpha of our pack?
“That’s none of your business, Jane,” Roman said.
She smirked at him and shook her head. “Another one, Roman? That makes—What?—three in the last week?”
Isabella
Three girls… three girls in the past fucking week, and I was one of them.
Why had I stupidly thought this was exclusive between us? Hell, I had a chance to flirt with Ryker, kind of, not really. But if I knew that Roman was with other girls, I could’ve tried not to feel this stupid fucking way for him.
“Three women?” I stepped back from him, feeling disgusted. “Jesus Christ, Roman. I probably have some sort of disease now.”
Roman growled. “Jane,” he scolded.
Jane laughed, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and leaned the side of her head against mine. “Ooh, I like you already. Why didn’t we hang out more in high school?”
I clenched my jaw tighter, staring at Roman. I couldn’t believe it. Three women. Three. I bet it was Bitch One and Bitch Two and here I was Bitch Three.
My wolf whimpered inside of me. Three? Three? Three?
Jane pulled away from me, still laughing, but I didn’t see anything funny. “I’m just kidding,” she said, nudging my shoulder with hers. “It was about damn time that he brought you to the packhouse. I’m so tired of listening to him grumble around the house every night. He needed someone to take care of his ass. I just didn’t think it’d be you.”
I took a deep breath, gazing at her, then back at him. What was her problem? She was exactly like Vanessa, trying to make my life hell.
She grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. “So, you’re the reason his nightly runs take forever, huh?”
Roman clenched his jaw. “Jane,” he said through clenched teeth. “Leave.”
She giggled again, like this was so damn funny, and honestly I would’ve probably been laughing too if it wasn’t me in this situation. But… she was frustrating.
In a single moment, her smile turned into a frown. “Wait, I thought you were mates with Derek, though.”
“I am.”
“She’s not.”
We answered at the same time, and I narrowed my eyes at Roman who had his jaw clenched. His green eyes had golden streaks in them. Jane raised a brow. “Ooh, tense.” Roman growled at her. She held up her arms in surrender. “Fine, I’ll leave, jeez. You could’ve asked nicely.”
She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. I crossed my arms and stared at Roman, needing a reason to get out of here. This tension between us was driving me crazy. If I didn’t leave soon, I’d end up looking like a damn fool and telling him I didn’t want him to have slept with other girls because I wanted to be his one and only.
“So,” I said. “Two other girls, huh?”
No, I didn’t believe Jane. But Roman was acting weird. Having cleaned out his entire dresser. Having a woman’s necklace in his room. It didn’t add up.
“I haven’t been with anyone else.”
His minty scent smelled so damn good. I needed to leave. Now. “Well, I don’t believe you.” I walked to the door, being the dramatic bitch that I was, and hmmft at him. “I’ll be going.”
He rolled his eyes, then smirked down at my shirt. “You’re going to walk home in my shirt? What would everyone think?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll just ask Jane for clothes. Jane!”
As if she was waiting outside the door—begging for drama—she popped her head into the room. “I’d love to get you some clothes”—she grabbed my hand—“come with me.”
“Don’t tell her lies about me,” Roman said.
“No promises,” she called down the hall. She pulled me down the stairs to her room on the opposite side of the house. After searching through some clothes, she handed me a pair of cut-off jeans and a pink crop top. As I tugged on her clothes, she sat on the bed, kicking her legs back and forth. “So, you and Roman…”
“What about us?” I adjusted the crop top in the mirror and frowned.
“Are you dating?”
I laughed. “No.” Nowhere close to dating.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t like him like that.”
Lie.
She arched a brow. “Yes, you do. You wouldn’t have gotten angry about him being with other girls if you didn’t like him like that.”
I took off the pink top, deciding that it was too much, and put on Roman’s shirt, tucking the shirt into the waistband of my jeans. “The only reason that I reacted the way I did was because I didn’t want to get any diseases from Va—” I stopped, knowing that her and Vanessa were friends, and pre
ssed my lips together.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stood. “You’re lying. You like my brother.”
This was the second time in the past two days someone had accused me of liking Roman. And, while a small piece of me did, I didn’t want Roman to think I was head over heels about him. It was purely physical between us, and I didn’t want to ruin that. Whatever kind of thing we had would have to suffice because I lost him after his parents died and I didn’t want to lose him again.
“I’m not lying,” I said. “He’s just... hot.”
Roman
While Isabella changed into clothes, I sat in my bedroom. If I didn’t control my wolf, he would take her for all that she was when she got back. And she would be back. She had her breakfast here and a night that she would never forget.
Hell, I would never forget it. Having her sleep in my arms for the first night. Waking up with her scent all over me. Giving her a real taste of me and my wolf. Getting her closer to submitting.
Her sweet scent still lingered in the room, and I tried my hardest to come up with something to say to keep her here. I needed to keep her here. It was all I wanted. Another night. Another hour. Another minute.
I listened to her and Jane’s faint voices and rubbed my palms on my sweatpants. Moon Goddess, I was so nervous and I knew why. From her almost looking in my journals to her looking at Mom’s mate necklace… from her almost finding out my secret.
That I was in love with her.
Her and only her.
My wolf wanted her to sleep with us tonight. He had been waiting for her for years. And just one taste wasn’t enough. He wanted more. More. More. More. More.
The door opened, and I stood up, heart racing. “Isabell—”
Jane walked into the room with a smirk on her face. She hopped on my bed, kicked her feet back and forth, and twirled a finger around her hair. “Isabella? Oh, she’s long gone.”
I growled under my breath. “What the fuck is your problem? You scared her off and lied right to her face about me.”
Her smirk widened on that damn irritating face of hers. “I don’t have a problem,” she said. “You do.” She stood up and walked around me. “You like Isabella.”
I clenched my jaw. “Jane,” I said, my voice hard. Warning her not to push it.
“You’re obsessed with her.” She opened my maroon journal, gazing at the pictures of Isabella that I had drawn. “You think she saw these when you went down to make breakfast for her? You think that’s why she hurried out of the house—why she left you here? Or maybe it was because she was going to meet her mate, Derek.”
My wolf took control, a growl rumbling from deep within my throat. “Derek isn’t her fucking mate, Jane.”
She grinned at me. “Someone’s a little possessive, isn’t he?”
I snatched the journal away from her and tossed it onto the bed. “I’m not possessive.”
She snorted. “Not possessive? Moon Goddess, Roman. Everyone can see it. You’re acting just like Dad did.”
“I am not.”
“Okay,” she said, walking to my door. “Believe what you want to believe. But—just to let you know—Isabella likes you too.” She gave me Mom’s smile. “And not just in this way,” she said looking at the messy bed. “Like, really likes you.”
Isabella
After changing into Jane’s clothes, I escaped through the back door—avoiding Roman and his intoxicating mint scent—and walked to the Night Raider’s Café for breakfast. A part of me wanted to stay to have pancakes with Roman, sit on his bed, sharing a plate, smiling at each other like the damn stupid wolves we were.
It terrified me because I had never felt so close to someone who blatantly disrespected me. It terrified me because I was losing control around him. It terrified me because I was falling for a man who would be difficult to let go and leave.
I opened the door, and the scent of baked bread hit me. I stood behind a woman in line and bounced up and down on my toes. Too many people knew about Roman and me. Derek. Rachel. Jane. Mr. Beck. If word continued to spread, I wouldn’t be remembered as the strong Lycan warrior from the Silverclaw Pack. I’d be that girl who slept with her alpha.
The scent of forest mixed with hazelnut drifted into my nose. “Someone’s a little jumpy today.” Ryker stood behind me, arms crossed against his chest, making his biceps bulge. Dark eyes, brown tousled hair, and that sexy sleeve of Moonflower tattoos, I nearly choked on my own breath.
I nudged his arm and smiled. “A little.”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled down at me with his pearly whites. “Few more days until you can officially become one of us. How’re you feeling about everything?”
The woman before me stepped out of line, and the cashier called for me to order. “I’m good,” I said after stepping forward and asking for a coffee and a chocolate chip muffin.
From behind her thick frames, the cashier gazed between us. “Are you two paying together?”
“No.”
“Yes,” Ryker said, handing the woman a debit card. I wanted to protest, but Ryker gave me a don’t-you-dare look and I pressed my lips together, taking it as a kind gesture from my soon-to-be leader.
We grabbed our coffees and sat at a table in the corner of the café, near the windows. Young pups were chasing each other around the trees outside. Small groups of people were walking up and down the path toward the café. And I hoped that nobody from my pack would show up. That would be hard to explain to Roman.
“Any hesitations?” Ryker asked, sipping his coffee. I shook my head. “Well, if you ever have any questions, I’m always available for a coffee date with you.” He leaned back in his seat, eyes flickering gold. “So, how’s Roman doing?”
“He’s good,” I said, quicker than I should’ve.
“Just good?” He arched a sharp brow. “Rumor has it that you two are a thing.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“I have people.” He took another sip, analyzing me. “Rumor also has it that you have a thing with your friend, Derek.”
I took a deep breath. Great. If Ryker knew, other people probably heard about us. Wolves in my pack. Warriors in the Lycans. I didn’t want that, at least not while I was transitioning.
Some people gazed over at us, hushing their voices. These wolves just loved their gossip, didn’t they? I leaned across the table. “Rumor probably will also have it that I’m dating you too in a few hours.” I pushed my hand across my face, noticing a couple people from my pack walk into the café, and groaned. “Wow, I sound like such a hoe.”
He chuckled and placed his cup down, stirring it a bit. “Don’t worry about it. Lycans are notoriously known to have more than a few lovers.”
“Well, that makes me feel so much better about myself,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re going to be something else,” he said, a smile tugging on his lips. His eyes suddenly became hazy and distant, as if he was talking through his mindlink, then he clenched his jaw and stood. “I need to go. Rogues are at it again.”
The door jingled behind him, and we both looked over to see Derek and Rachel walking in together. Rachel surveyed the shop, saw me, and sighed in relief. I swallowed hard, smoothing out my t-shirt.
“I will see you soon, Isabella.” Ryker tossed his cup into the trash. “And, remember, if you have any questions before your birthday, come and find me. On the night before, I will be in the forest where I was last time to escort you to the Lycans.”
I cracked a smile. “You know you don’t need to do that. I can find my way there.”
“I don’t have to, but I will,” he said. Then he walked away, leaving his woodsy scent all over me. I inhaled, smiling and watching him walk right past Derek and Rachel. They gazed back at him, brows furrowed, then walked to me.
“Was that a Lycan?”
“Yep,” I said, hoping that my one-word answer would cut it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell Derek about becoming a Lycan. I
t was a shitty friend move for keeping this from him, but he would tell Roman. Roman already knew that something was up with me and I didn’t need to give him any more clues, especially since everyone saw us together.
Word would get around—whether I wanted it to or not—and Roman would ask Derek about it and fuck this all up for me.
“What did he want?” Derek asked, sitting in his seat. He stared at me with those big boyish eyes, like he had done so many times since we were kids and being screamed at by Mr. Beck.
“Nothing.” I shrugged my shoulders, a heap of guilt settling into me, becoming a part of me. “He was just asking about Roman.”
Derek eyed me, knowing that was a lie. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek.
“Where were you today?” Rachel said before Derek could pry. “Everyone was so worried about you.”
My cheeks flushed. “I just… needed a day off.”
“A phone call or something would’ve been nice,” Derek said, raising a brow at me and tapping his fingers on the table. Well, Derek-boy, a phone call wasn’t an option as I was tied to Roman’s headboard and getting face-fucked by him.
Rachel smirked. “Mr. Beck said you were with Roman, but I wasn’t sure if I should’ve believed him or not.” She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “So, were you?”
I gazed between her and Derek and smirked. “Maybe.”
She grabbed my hands and squeezed lightly. “You were, oh gosh!” She fanned herself. “Sorry, I haven’t been this excited for anything in a while. My life is so boring. I need some good juicy drama.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” I had all the good juicy drama she could ever need.
Derek leaned across the table. “Did you guys fuck, finally?” he asked, forgetting about my little white lie I had just told him.
“No. He told me I needed to learn a lesson.” I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes. “He’s making me so frustrated.” Frustrated that I wanted him.
It was so sad that I rather people know that I fucked him than know that I was falling for my alpha, despite his harsh words and his blatant disrespect.