RANK

Chapter 6

Later that evening...

Vince was resting in bed running the day's events through his mind when his heightened sense of hearing was alerted to the sound of ruffling sheets. Little feet hit the ground telling him it was a female and the odd placement of footsteps lets him know it wasn't Malina.

He rises and when he widens his bedroom door Nya's scent flooded through his nostrils. He clears his throat instinctively and follows the smell into the hall. There he finds her coming straight towards him. He was surprised she was up this soon. She should have been out until the morning at least. Her foot was healed and her clothes were changed from earlier. She was now wearing a fitted cotton t-shirt, soft plaid shorts, and her hair was tied up in a messy bun. "What are you doing?" He folds his arms and angles his brows.

She keeps her same pace beelined to him.

Never, has he ever had the thought of taking a step back when being approached; until now that is. He hesitated. He firmly refused to let anything make him back down. This was his house, his rules, and she had no power over him.

His focus inadvertently fell to her breast that lacked cover from a bra, and then to her smooth thighs, and like he has absolutely no control, to her toned calves.
She was a foot away when the moon's glow from the skylight illuminated her face. His heart skipped a beat. It had never done that before. Then his train of thought went right off the tracks. He didn't realize how thick her lashes were, or how perfectly red her lips were stained. Where earlier she was pale, she now had a flushed pink color. The darkness from under her eyes was gone and her cheeks were slightly fuller too.
He blinks away his unwanted thoughts when she stops inches from him.
With a neutral gaze, an expressionless expression almost, she makes a sudden turn and goes around him.
"What the fuck?" She was sleepwalking, he registered.

He had to shake it off. She couldn't be serious? He follows her as she makes a harsh left and goes into an empty bedroom. He nears the door frame and leans on it while watching her with intrigue. She makes a huge u-turn circling the room and then passes him on her way out. He stays close behind as she goes into the hall bath before finding the stairs.
He was about to grab her when her foot hovered over the top step, but unexpectedly her fingers wrapped around the silver railing. She's a pro at this it seemed.
He followed her down. Just at the bottom, some feet away was the front door. She headed straight for it. She grabs the handle and wiggles it. Locked. He rolls his eyes. He had enough now. "Nya..."
She unlocks the bottom lock and yanks at the handle again, but it still wouldn't open.

His teeth clenched. "Come on Nya that's enough. Wake up."

She reaches for the top lock and turns it. Then again she wiggles the door handle, this time it opens.

Instantly his large hand slams it shut. "Nya." He growls. "Stop this nonsense and go back to bed." His patience with this mutt was running thin.

She continues pulling at the door like he wasn't even there like he hadn't even said a word.

He loses it. His hesitant hands snap and turn demanding. He grabs both of her forearms and pins her to the door. "Stop, I said." He heavily inhales her scent as he glares into her trancelike eyes. They seem to look into him for seconds he didn't want. He tried to look away quickly, but he was trapped, locked, enchanted.
His heart raced, banging on his ribcage, and the grip he had on each of her arms adjusted its hold tighter. He scrutinized her features until her eyes suddenly shut themselves and her forehead fell to his chest. This might be a harder battle to fight than he thought, but he was going to win. He was in control and he decided who he was attracted to. He manually tells himself to unwrap his fingers from her forearms and they fall to her sides. That's when he hears Malina coming.

"Nya!" She rushes down the stairs. "Oh my god." She covers her mouth after seeing the scene. "What happened?

"Where the hell is she going? Is what I want to know." He lifts her effortlessly.

"If I knew I would have taken her myself years ago."

He quickly passes Malina on his way back to the room, sets Nya in bed, and covers her.

He needed fresh air. Her scent was lingering too long within him. He goes to the balcony in his master suite, grabs hold of the railing, and bows his head
He denies to himself that her touch was soothing. He denies that her smell was incredibly intoxicating and that she was beautiful. He inhaled the fresh air and released it slowly. He could feel himself feeling better when Malina steps out into the cool night air.

"The moon is almost full." She comments. "With all that's happened recently, I didn't even realize.

He lifts his head and looks up at the circular shape. Around the time of the full moon, it always got harder for a wolf to control themselves but it was never that way for him. He prided himself on his restraint. It was one of the reasons why he is the alpha of the most feared pack. He didn't let fickle emotions dictate his actions. He stiffens when her hand touches his bare back and slides up between his shoulder blades. "Thank you for everything you're doing. I see that you care. From giving Nya a personal interview to catching her when she fell, to finding her and healing her, to now stopping her from leaving again. I know you're doing it all for me."
He turns to look her in the eyes.

Her fingers graze around his bicep "And I understand that your duty is to your pack. You have to make decisions based on what's right for the pack. I get it."

Her touch felt rough again and it annoyed him but he didn't show it. She is who he really wanted. She is the one he picked. He gave the rights to himself, to her, and only her.
She tips her toes up and places a soft kiss on his lips. "I have to choose my pack too." She whispers near his mouth. " I could never stay here with you and leave them to fend for themselves."

He nods. He had to understand her side as well. He would have preferred her to stay. There was no stronger she-wolf than her. He remembered the day they met. She defeated the strongest she-wolf member of his pack. Shay. He was impressed by her technique and sheer power. He decided right then and there she would bear his offspring.

"It's the right thing to do." She adds. "They need a leader and Nya needs her sister."

He rolls his eyes. "She needs to learn to be on her own, or she'll always need you."

"She was on her own once before. She lived with the humans until she was nine. When dad found her she was malnourished, bruised, and broken. Can you imagine being that age and not knowing why your eyes flashed, or why everyone around you treats you like a monster? Believing that in fact, you are a monster."

His heart ached for a second. He wondered what happened to her but quickly decided it didn't matter. He was an idiot for feeling anything. "She's an adult now. She has to find a way to survive, flashing eyes, sleepwalking, and anything else she has going on."

"Yeah..." She lets out a soft sigh and bows her head. "I thought you might say that."

He rolls his eyes as he watches her back away from him. He wanted to tell her to stay but what would he say that was different? She made up her mind and he made up his. He couldn't let Nya stay here even if it benefits the pack, or he wouldn't be able to overcome imprinting on her.

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