The Beast

Chapter 22 - Return of the King

    I laughed and shoved Maia back onto the couch, dodging her leg as she kicked it out at me. She was acting loopy after losing most of her sleep that morning, and now we were doing everything just to keep her calm and away from her snacks.

    "You are such a buzzkill, Juniper Elsher." She flicked her hand out at me and struggled to get up off the leather cushions.

    Arias followed Marcus back into the room after they managed to steal the box of donuts from her along with her large tub of cheese puffs. They each locked them in my bedroom until she was of a straight mind.

    Who was I kidding? She would have eaten them all on a normal day. She didn't care how bad they were for her.

    I was waiting for her inevitable crash. She was acting like a toddler fighting sleep as she pushed me onto the floor, tripping over the legs of the coffee table and falling on top of me.

    I groaned and tried to push her off, but my elbow hit the fireplace and made me hiss as pain tingled through my funny bone.

    "Sorry." She smiled apologetically and rolled over, laying at my side and finally settling down. I sighed and looked over at the two guys who were watching us. Arias gave me a warm smile, and Marcus was busy laughing at Maia's crazy hair that was puffed out around her head, resembling a lion's mane.

    "Shut up." She hissed, grabbing one of the pillows from her couch and whipping it across the room at him. He dodged it and flipped her off, laughing when she scoffed and flailed her limbs to try and get up off the floor.

    Arias offered me his hands and pulled me up, brushing my hair off my shoulder so it fell in a loose ponytail down my back.

    "Thank you." My cheeks heated, and I rolled my lips into my teeth. I was starting to feel like I didn't know how to act around him. My wolf wanted me to jump his bones and chain him to the bed, never letting him leave.

    I couldn't look him in the eye while all these lucrative thoughts swarmed my mind. I just hoped he couldn't tell what I was thinking, otherwise I was going to die of embarrassment.

    "Arias." Maia drew our attention over to her as she sat on Marcus' back, shoving his face into the floor. "Come help me kick his ass."

    He chuckled and shook his head, staying at my side. "No thanks. I wouldn't want to hurt him."

    He wrapped his arm over my shoulders and held me close to his side. Maia rolled her eyes through her smile.

    "You are such a softie. I can't believe you actually took out that many Alphas." His arm tightened slightly, and his smile faltered. I rubbed his side and rested my head on his shoulder.

    "You can be soft and still know how to fight. Just because I killed those men doesn't mean that's who I am." I admired the way he held his head high even though he had to talk about the things he regretted.

    Maya let Marcus wiggle out from under her. She watched my mate with skeptical eyes, and I was nervous what she was thinking as she moved closer to us.

    "So, let's say Juniper gets attacked. Would you hesitate to protect her? Or would you go back to your old ways and kill them without another thought?" She crossed her arms and popped out her hip.

    "Maia-" I tried to stop her, but Arias squeezed my shoulder to tell me it was okay.

    "Not necessarily. It all depends on the situation." His eyes grew hard, and he spoke with a solid voice that made him seem like a different person entirely. "If it came down to it, I would do everything necessary to protect her. That doesn't make me a bad person."