Alpha Ember (ALPHA KANE BOOK 2)

4. Friend-zoning a Faerie

This chapter is dedicated to @Jenna727. Thank you for reading :)

Ember

I once saw a jealous female werewolf throw another woman right into a dumpster- and that was after she beat the woman unconscious and clawed her face bloody.

A jealous male werewolf would've done something way worse.

A jealous Kane would do something way worse.

"What exactly do you mean by companion?" I asked Arius cautiously.

"A partner," he replied.

"What exactly do you mean by partner?" I asked.

"An equal."

"What exactly do you mean by an equal?"

Arius glanced at Ian. "Is she trying to confuse me?"

"I'm trying to figure out if you've got a death wish," I said.

He tilted his head. "Why would I have a death wish?"

"Because," Ian said, "Jealous werewolves think the answer to their jealousy is murder. Wait." His hazel eyes darted towards the ceiling contemplatively. "Forget I said that. Werewolves in general think the answer to all their problems is murder. No offense, Em."

"None taken," I said. "Ian is right, Arius. I chose Kane as a mate, it means I'm not going to play games with anyone else on the side."

He held up two long fingers. "Just for two months?"

I frowned. "No."

Arius blinked slowly. "You owe me a debt, Alpha."

Alpha? I'll never be the alpha of anyone if the pack or Kane thought I was a two-timer.

I gripped my braids in both fists, growling. All the times Aster had warned me to never, ever give another fae power over me, that they'd use it to trap me into something I couldn't handle and the first person to prove her right just had to be her brother.

"Why do you need a companion for two months?" I asked, ignoring the hasty excuse Ian gave us both- something about finding the lake before I dragged him back home- as he slipped out of the room. "Why does it have to be me?"

"I told you the first time we met that I was a fae of the Summer Court." He gestured at the room. "This room exists in the Summer Court but outside here," he pointed at the exit, "is the Autumn Court."

I lowered my hands, curious despite my growing dislike for him. "So May and Ian are in the Autumn Court right now?"

"No, I sent May Wilder back to the human world. My magic is linked to residences. Which is why I want the Autumn Lord's castle."

I gaped at him. "You want a castle?"

He nodded, expression empty. "And the Autumn Lord's title."

I shook my head. "Back up a second, what's an Autumn Lord?"

"It means the king of the Autumn Court."

"You want to be a king and you want a castle?"

"Yes."

"You sound super excited about it," I observed dryly.

His monotonous voice and stoic expressions were also something I was starting to dislike about him. At first I thought he was somewhat like Kane, but while Kane wore an empty expression as a way of hiding his real emotions, Arius seemed like he didn't have anything to hide. It was unsettling.