The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

Ariel woke up the next morning with a scowl on my face, annoyed by the sleepless night. She was practically turning and tossing on the bed until it was dawn.

She made sure to avoid all of the mirrors or anything that could show her reflection, as she didn’t need to know how horrible she looked.

No doubt, there were huge eye bags in her eyes and horrible dark circles, but she refused to care; instead, she splashed water in her eyes and made for downstairs.

Her heart lifted as she perceived the scent of pine cones and oranges, and she quickened her pace, hoping she would just get a glimpse of him.

But it was just his scent that lingered as he was long gone, and her face fell even more. However, Ariel managed to slap a smile on her face as the pack began to greet her.

There was no need to let them know that their leaders were not on speaking terms; instead, she settled on her seat and waited for the food to come while she was scanning for familiar faces.

Her eyes met with Liza, and she raised her hands, waving at her in excitement, but it was quick to die when she saw the mate beside him.

The man wore a shirt that had his muscles straining from it, and he had packed his long hair in a low pony, but there was no smile on his face even when she nodded to him.

He only nodded in reply, and Ariel was willing to accept it.

The pancakes were dripping with a lot of strawberry jam, just how she liked it, and this time, she was able to finish her meal. Ariel had gathered that if she was going to fight for her bond, she needed to have enough strength.

After breakfast, she retired back to her room, hoping the time would pass by fast and Kane would come back home.

But Kane could be pretty adamant when he had said something, and he kept to his promise. A little too well that it was making her worried.

She could barely steal a glimpse of him, and she was quick to realize that that was the start of a bad day, but Ariel could not be deterred.

If he could play that game, she could show him that she was also good at it.

And so the waiting game started.

Day two had her walking around the pack and exploring the yard outside.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Day three, she decided to let her wolf out to acclimatize with the area, but when the pack got wind of it, they had decided to join her for a run, and it was really fun.

Although she would have sworn she had a glimpse of his wolf, it was out of sight before she discovered it.

Day four, Ariel hit her slump, and she was practically walking about like a zombie, not finding the strength to do anything, and the guilt kept weighing on her.

If it wasn’t even for anything, she needed to apologize to him for accusing him of touching her without her will.

He deserved to know that she enjoyed it very well and wished he could touch her again like that, but the words dried in her mouth when she tried to come up with words.

Day five, she had turned into a wanderer, and she was patrolling his office, reaching the door, but her courage failed her when she got to the door, and she was running back to the comfort of her room.

Ariel had managed to stay away for six days, but she was going out of her mind, and she couldn’t take it any longer. This time she barged into his office, not caring for the consequences.

“We need to talk.” Ariel said as she entered inside, and she made herself comfortable on the chair opposite him, not waiting for his permission.

Kane raised his eyes to meet her, his eyes sparkling with something she couldn’t read, but she ignored it and tucked her arms in each other.

“Alright.”

“Aaah.” The sound came out of Ariel’s mouth without warning, and she slapped her hands on her mouth.

That was so embarrassing.

It had been a while since she had heard his voice, and she had gone feral as she heard that husky baritone that she had lost sense of everything. “Sorry about that. Please continue.” She tried to save herself, but the sides of his lips pulled up in a smile, and she shrugged.

At least she was able to make him smile.

“Just give me a minute; let me finish with this.” He replied, pointing to the note he was working on, and Ariel nodded.

She could wait for him; she had been doing it for a week now, so it wasn’t going to be hard.

She settled her gaze on her mate, watching him work. His jaw was set, and there was a slight frown on his face as he scribbled into the paper, but even that couldn’t mask how handsome he looked.

She shifted her gaze to his shirt, noting he was wearing a different shirt than what he had left home with, and a frown settled on her face.

Where did he get them?

She had purposely locked the door whenever she was asleep. In case he wanted to come in, she would be alerted of his presence, but he must have found a way around it, and it irked her to no point.

“Mmm mmm.” Kane cleared his throat, raising his head to connect with her, and she gave him a pointed look.

She was his mate after all; she wasn’t going to be shamed because she was looking.

But she decided to humor him and took to looking around, her gaze settling on the long rows of shelves and books filled in them.

But a shrill ring disturbed the peaceful air, and whatever they had been sharing was gone.

“Can we schedule this another time? I have to take this important call, and it may take a long time.” Kane was saying, but all it seemed to Ariel were excuses.

“Of course,” she grumbled under her breath, and she stood up to go, making sure to sway her hips just for effect, but as soon as she was outside the door, she plastered the frown back on her face.

She didn’t see or hear from Kane again until it was the afternoon of the next day. Ariel was going to sit under a tree and clear her head, but she had perceived the alluring scent of her mate, and she had started walking to his place, like someone enchanted.

But you could imagine her shock when she saw him talking to a lady, a woman she couldn’t recognize.

Ariel had thought it was impossible to get jealous, but the flames had flared up and her eyes darkened, revealing a flicker of possessiveness that she didn’t know she possessed. He didn’t seem to have time for her, but he could be cozy with another woman; even though the space between them could fit two more, Ariel refused to be reasonable.

She continued watching their interactions closely, until the lady burst into laughter at what Kane had said, and the flames erupted.

She had no idea Kane was such a comedian, and it was only right she partakes in the joke.

She was about to march up there and break the pair, but a strong hand clamped on her wrist, preventing her, and she looked up at the culprit.

“Maddie? Now is not the time.” She grumbled, her eyes still focused on her mate.

“I can tell. You are practically shooting lasers from your eyes.” Maddie replied in a teasing tone, but none of that was working on her.

“Are you seeing the way she is eyeing my man? Was it even so funny?” Ariel asked, and Maddie shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I deserve to know and laugh; I haven’t had a good laugh since I came.”

“Take it easy; I think she has a mate. They are probably discussing something important.” Maddie tried to dissuade her, and she took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

“What were you even planning to do? March up there and tell them to break it up.”

Ariel shrugged; I mean, she was only going to politely tell the lady to back down. She decided to humor Maddie and stay back, but apparently Kane had said something funny, and the lady burst into a loud laugh that had all the warning bells ringing.

Ariel wasn’t going to listen to anyone again because she was already marching there and inserting herself into their middle.

“You, me, your office now!”