The Alpha Rite

Chapter Seven

"You should leave," I said, forcing my voice to stay low. The last thing I needed was my family, awake and asking questions.

"Is that what you want?" Zenor asked, approaching me without hesitation.

The wound on my neck burned, pressuring me into turning around and facing my would-be mate. "Yes," I said, convincing myself to sound certain. The heat between my legs had returned with a vengeance, and I couldn't easily quell it with my hands. No matter how frequently I would try. "Leave."

His eyes narrowed, and he moved forward with a confidence I hadn't witnessed from him before. How was he the same man that I spent my days with? I backed into the counter, holding onto the edge of the basin. Zenor wrapped his arm around the small of my back. "I don't think you mean that."

I shrugged him off, using all my willpower to cross the room and leave him in the dark. "This isn't a game." If Ivar's presence outside the town was any indication, our lives were at stake. I should have told someone, but what if there was a truth to what he said? Had something been kept from me all these years? "You claimed me without questioning my desire to do so."

"That was rash. Forgive me?" Zenor asked, relaxed against the counter with his arms crossed. He didn't care what he had done. He acted impulsively and irreversibly complicated our lives.

My anger bubbled up. "You're the one that got me into this mess."

He rolled his eyes. "You invite me to the fields. You asked for my company. I am not the sole instigator of our relationship."

I shook my head. "I didn't know this would happen."

"Neither did I," he said, dropping his arms and approaching me. "But I can't say I'm disappointed."

I glared at him. "I am," I spat.

"Maybe I should make it up to you, then? Grab you and finish the claim, marking you as my lover?"

I stiffened at the idea. His arrogance was nauseating, but a sick wave of arousal spread through me, regardless. "You've done enough. It's improper even to suggest continuing a relationship between us."

Zenor chuckled. "We're mates, Ryn. No one can argue otherwise." The moonlight struck his face, revealing the sharp features I could once find comfort in. But he wasn't the same. How quickly someone could change in less than a day.

"Not yet," I said. "I haven't accepted you."

"Let me change that," he said, close once again, and leaning closer, his hot breath trailing down my neck. "I want to convince you."

My lips trembled as I responded. "No, and I wouldn't hold your breath for me to change my mind. If there is a choice to be made, it won't be you." The air stilled with my words and I left Zenor, standing alone in the kitchen, with my dignity intact.

He didn't follow.

***

I lay in bed, my head resting against the pillow. Zenor was on my mind, much to my discomfort. He had ignited something in me I couldn't rid myself of and inspired questions I couldn't stop asking. The night never seemed so long.

Time went by. It was hours before there were brief knocks at my window, clinking against the glass. Confused, I climbed to my feet and walked to the glass panes, staring down into the night.

There, at the base of the house, was Eleazar, pebbles in hand, his eyes glowing in the dim light. Without thinking, I opened the window. I was careful to keep my voice low, too worried that my parents would hear me.

"I need to speak to you alone," he said, too loud.

"Not now." I shook my head.

He frowned, his scowl clear even two stories away. "Yes, now."