Pureblood

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mason

Derek blinked at her. He frowned.

"Revenge?"

"Yes. The flower meaning for an orange Lily is revenge,"Leila told him. Derek tilted his head to the side. Leila nodded once. "I get your confusion, just listen." Derek sighed and gestured for her to go on. Leila uncrossed her ankles and moved placing her toes on the ground. She looked up at Derek. Her eyes noticed the sun coming in lightly through the glass in the green house. It fell on his dark hair, shining just enough to show the brown tint he had to his hair. Leila kept her thoughts to herself, slightly in awe at it. I never noticed that, she thought. She looked away. She swallowed and continued. "Well. It's not that I have anyone to get revenge on, but you know, with the impending battles ahead, and the fact that the Purebloods will strike sooner or later, I have to think ahead. Aside from that, the sound of lily, which makes you think of a delicate flower, tames the blood a little. While our strength is our bond and all that, we are still refined enough to know when it's alright to be tame."

"We know when the battle needs to be fought, but when it doesn't. We know when the bloodshed needs to end, and we know when to have the delicate touches of a flower and when not to." Derek blinked at her description. She looked back up at him. Leila smiled brightly. "I think that's what we need. The strength of our bonds, and the calmness of the flowers." Derek sat silent for a moment before a grin broke out on his face. 

"Well, then it's settled. We'll tell the pack once we meet up again,"Derek told her. Leila beamed at him. He leaned back again. "Now, what else? You said there were a few things." Leila hummed once. She leaned back and pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her legs. 

"Okay, so I'll bring it up..."Leila sighed. Derek stared at her. She gave him a nervous look. "Listen...I've noticed you and Charlie..." Derek paused. She noticed it? "You've been shooting glares at each other and stuff...acting like you'll jump at each other's throats if the situation calls for it." Leila wrinkled her eyebrows. "What's with it?" Derek sighed after a moment. He closed his eyes, thinking. What do I say? He wondered. Do I tell her the truth? That I'm just being a territorial asshole? I honestly can't help it. Personally, Andrew was right when he told her brother I regretted rejecting her. Since I did that, she grew close to Charlie. If I hadn't have, I wouldn't have anything to worry about. Derek paused. Worry about? Damn, does that mean I've let our soulmate and wolfmate bonds take me over? 

Derek stared at her wordlessly, not sure what to answer. Leila blinked. What's with that look on his face? She wondered. Derek sighed harder. He's sighed a lot... Derek ground his teeth. 

If I've let the bonds take over, that's not good. I told myself I didn't need that... An image of his father flashed in his mind. He wrinkled his eyebrows. I have to prove him wrong. I have to show him that I don't need a woman to live. He frowned. After what that asshole did...

"You're imagining it,"Derek lied. Leila frowned. She blinked at him and looked down, her brow creasing. 

"Imagining it..."She repeated. Derek rolled his eyes, trying to make himself be rude to her. He'd grown almost accustomed to being kind to her and helping her out. 

"Yeah. You know, you're just imagining some conflict between myself and him. Flattering yourself, thinking two guys are fighting over you,"Derek scoffed. Leila internally flinched. Derek gave her a snarky grin. "If Charles wants you, he can have you. I've already rejected you." Leila stared at him. She slowly nodded and looked away, a pained smile crossing her face. 

"R-Right,"She laughed. She felt tears stab at her eyes. Don't you dare fucking cry, she thought. Leila swallowed. "That was all I wanted to talk about." Leila stood up, grabbing her things in a hurry. Derek blinked, watching her. Does that actually bother her? Did I hurt her? He wondered. Leila turned her music off and sped towards the elevator. Derek found his hand stretching out towards her.