an Everlasting Pursuit

sixty six

"I suggest you let her go if you want to keep your entire hand." Asra snarled, furious.

A shiver ran down my spine as he pressed himself into my back. I felt every hard plane of his body, and the way his chest widened as he sized up the male. The male's eyes widened, but before he could let go, Asra was grabbing his wrist and snapping it. The crunching and cracking of his bone hurt my ears, and the man yelled in pain.

I stumbled in fright, pushing my body more into Asra to get away from the sickening sight. My stomach churned as the male's hand now stood at an angle from the wrist, Asra's fingers still tightly wrapped around it.

"You do as I say." Asra snarled.

"Yes, Alpha." The male whimpered.

Asra growled, not letting go. "Touch her again and I shall do more than just break it."

"Yes, Alpha."

The male was wincing with pain but bowed to his alpha, apologising profusely. Asra's anger was permeating the mate bond, my body weirdly noticing it. He whimpered once when Asra threw his arm to the side, before running away with his tail between his legs. Asra was silent as he watched him go, only turning to me after he snapped at the crowd.

"Back to what you were doing." He glared.

I stepped away from him the moment his attention was elsewhere, but as soon as I did, he grabbed a hold of me. His dark eyes studied me, his spare hand moving to caress my jaw. I flinched at the contact, knowing what that hand had just accomplished.

"Tulip..."

I swallowed nervously, holding his gaze. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

My jaw ticked with agitation. I was perfectly fine doing my job and protecting my co-workers and he had to come and snap some damn man's wrist to show that he was the boss. It was infuriating, making me seem weak in front of two dozen people.

"It's fine. I had it handled." I grunted.

"Yes, bad-mouthing a male unmated wolf is really clever." He rolled his eyes. "You nearly got hurt."

"I didn't." I glared. "It was me or her."

He studied me, wonder lighting up his eyes. I kept my gaze steady, eyes narrowed as I dared him to continue. I knew if I stood my own, I had a chance of looking strong. Darius hated it when I stood up for myself, and a deep part of me feared if Asra would ever do the same. But ever so slowly, his lips quirked with amusement.

"You get yourself into trouble, Tulip." He tutted, squeezing my cheeks. "You are a troublemaker."

I couldn't help but smile at his lack of care. I expected retaliation, if not for my ability to get into trouble, but by the way I spoke to him. I shrugged him off, losing my glare and replacing it with a smirk of my own.

"I attract trouble, I know." I clicked my tongue.

His thumb moved down to capture my lower lip, pulling it before he let go. "Yes. You do. I think I may need to leash you to my room."

"Like to see you try." I hummed, stepping away from him. "Did you enjoy dinner?"

His jaw tensed at the reminder of my latest hobby, but he nodded. "It was the best chilli I've ever had."

I grinned. "The best?"

"Yes. I would say so," He huffed. "Although I am not happy about you-

I cut him off, pecking his cheek. "Thanks!"

He paused, blinking at my sudden advance. "I really think we should talk about-

I spun around, diverting my attention to find a distraction. I made eye contact with the girl who was approached by the offending male, seeing her still stuck like glue, to the spot we left her in.