ECHO

I should've feared for my life because he could literally snap my neck in two. But the hold he had had the exact opposite effect on me.

Somewhere, deep down in my heart, I knew he wouldn't hurt me, at least not intentionally or so, I hoped. Call it a gut feeling, if you will.

He had a firm grip on my neck right now and it didn't seem he would be letting go anytime soon. I had angered him. I probably shouldn't have, but he had to know that he wasn't my Alpha. I answered to no one.

The Alpha inched closer me and that caused my heartbeat to speed up and make my palms sweaty.I was curious to know what he was going to do next.

A weird sense of anticipation pooled in my belly and in the moment, I felt an attraction that I had never felt for anyone.

When he spoke, his voice was dangerously low. "Do you like this, Echo?" he said breathlessly.

The way he uttered my name - did something to my insides and I wanted him to say it again.

"Answer me," he pressed.

"No."

But for him, a simple 'no' didn't seem to be enough. Maybe, even I didn't want him to take that literally.

With his hand still on my throat, and irritation visible on his face, he did something that shook my core in ways I could never image. Without warning, he suddenly buried his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled my scent. That action alone sent shivers down my back.

An act so simple shook my entire existence and brought it into question. I felt wanted, here and it felt damn good.

Suddenly, I was hot and out of breath. Whatever he was doing was working and my body was betraying me no matter how hard I tried to be indifferent.

When he began to leave a trail of feathery kisses from my neck to my cheek, I grabbed hold of his hand that was choking me and dug my nails, telling him to stop.

While I enjoyed this and didn't want him to stop, I was also mad at myself for letting this go further than it already had.

I was not supposed to get involved with a werewolf, let alone a ruthless Alpha.

That was a rule I had set for myself and for the last six years, I had religiously followed it and wasn't going to break it now.

Not for him and not for my body that seemed to be so affected by his touch.

He instantly stopped and looked into my eyes.

"What do you want, Echo?"

"You," whispered my subconscious.

He asked me a question and I was supposed to answer him, but I didn't. I was lost, again, in the sea of his blue eyes that held a never ending storm. I could see it clear as day – a paradox in itself.

For a fraction of second, I wanted to take his problems away and be a soothing balm to his wounds. But that was it, a moment of weakness and even the Alpha realized it.

His eyes, that held something, were now void of emotion. They were back to being cold and hard and could kill anyone with a look.

That was my cue to answer his question.

I cleared my throat and told him that I just needed some sleep for now.

Thankfully, he respected my boundaries, but when his hand left my body, I missed it; when he got up to leave, I missed his warmth and musky scent, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

The look on his face was cold, as if he hated me and that thought filled my heart with sadness. I mentally shook my head to get rid of those thoughts because it would lead to unnecessary issues.

I wasn't going to be here for long. Once I got what I needed, I would be gone, never to cross paths with him ever again.

The Alpha looked down at me.

None of us moved an inch.

He just stood there and I just sat on the bed, probably looking like a lunatic with my hair sticking in all directions – something that didn't occur moments ago. Great.

I was trying to hold myself together because with him near me, every control I had on my body went to shit.

He briefly squeezed his eyes shut and I saw a hit of his jaw clenching.

Was the angry about something?

I wanted to ask, but he was at the door before I could even utter a single word.

"Good night!" I said as he stepped out.

I slapped my hands to my mouth and my eyes widened in shock. The fuck was wrong with me?

Who the heck says good night after kicking a guy out?

But, I swore on all things holy, I saw a hint of smile playing on his lips before he shut the damn door.

"Holy fucking shit," I mumbled to myself and laid back down with a soft thud.

Ugh. How was I going to face him in the morning?

With that thought, however, I dosed off only to be woken up by somebody's loud and angry voice.

I slowly opened my eyes and turned to my side. I yawned as I tried to sit up, but everything hurt like a bitch.

I moaned and groaned, but managed to pulled my weight up and I almost slumped against the headboard of the bed.

The clock on the bedside table indicated that it was ten in the morning. Wow, I couldn't even remember the last time I had this privilege, but I was glad to get some sleep in, especially after last night's events.

When I looked around my unfamiliar surroundings, I was glad that the curtains were drawn to block the sunlight from streaming in. I didn't need any more headaches today when I was still carrying one from last night.

I gasped when something struck me. Last night the curtains were open, but now they weren't and that meant that he was in the room, while I was sleeping.

Oh, no.

What must he think of me snoring? Was I too loud? Did I drool?

These were the questions I never would normally ask to myself, but today, I did.

Whining to my inner self, I slowly placed my feet on the ground.

I was really glad that the owner of the angry voice had decided to shut up, but to my dismay, I was proved wrong when the door to the room was busted open and stormed in a very angry Arlo followed by a very angry dangerous Alpha.

Both of them were fuming and you could literally imagine steam coming out of their ears. Two hunky werewolves with smoke coming out of their ears was funny as shit and it made me snort. But I forgot that I had an audience and the level of testosterone was off the roof.

They both looked at me like I had grown two heads. The Alpha seemed skeptical about sanity and Arlo raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I had finally lost it.

I rolled my eyes at them.

"Good morning to you too," I said casually.

Arlo took a step in my direction, but The Alpha put his hands on his chest to stop him.

"Out of my way, Jax."

"No, you need to leave," he growled.

"Says who?"

"This is my house and she's my mate, don't you forget that!" The Alpha roared.

"Hey! Hey!" I snapped my fingers to get their attention, but guess what, none of them even bothered looking at me.

They just growled at each other trying to silence the other one out. It was like wolves fight, only in their human form without the words.

This went on for another ten minutes and that's when I lost my patience. I had no clue why the Alpha didn't want Arlo to come near me, but he had no right.

He may say that I was his mate, but in all honesty, I didn't recognize him as mine.

"Cut it out you two!" I growled loudly and that surprised me. It surprised them as well, but they shut up.

Thank fuck.

"Could you give us some privacy?" I asked the Alpha as politely as I could.

But he gave me that accusatory look and I had no idea why.

His jaw hardened and his hands clenched into fists on his sides. I could see that he was trying to control his anger, but barely.

"NO."

"Why?"

"You know why, Echo."

"No, I don't!"

He took two strides and was now standing in front of me; his, ahem, abdomen hitting my eye level.

I tried so bloody hard to not let my gaze travel lower than it already was, but his outfit was making it impossible.

He wore all black tightly fitting track pants and a full sleeves workout jersey. Ay, ay, ay, was he deliberately trying to kill me with his physique?

Keep your eyes up, Echo.

When I looked up, he threw me a smirk and I almost fell for it. Almost being the operative word here.

The Alpha leaned down and whispered, "I know what you were thinking. Just so you know, I don't mind you checki-"

Before he could finish that sentence, somebody cleared the room and the man in front of me scowled.

Arlo apparently had been watching us intently. He was probably going to grill me about this afterwards.

"I am going to give you two some space and I'll be waiting downstairs," Arlo said awkwardly and with a hint of sadness in his voice.

No, no, no. What was he thinking?

When he left, I turned my gaze to the Alpha and pinned him with a glare.

"What did you tell him?"

"What he needed to hear."

"What did you do?!" I almost screeched.

"Echo, sit." He ordered as if I was his pet dog and that angered me further.

I got up from the bed with all my might, but let me tell you, it was a huge mistake.

I had forgotten that was wearing nothing, except the Alpha's t-shirt and it inched upwards when I tried to stand.

"Fuck," cursed the Alpha.

It was the first time I had heard him utter the word 'fuck' and it took my mind to a place where it shouldn't have. As fast as I could, I brushed that scenario out of my mind.

The shirt covered my thighs, but since I wasn't wearing anything inside, I felt exposed. And the fact that he knew too, made me crazy.

His heated gaze travelled down to my exposed legs and then upwards where they froze for a minute on my chest. I immediately crossed my arms and he frowned.

We weren't going down this road. At least, not right now.

"Echo, I-"

I shook my head. He didn't have to say anything and if he was going to apologize, he didn't have to because minutes before, I was doing the same thing.

"Let me speak."

"If you are going to apologise, don't."

"But clearly I didn't something that made you uncomfortable and-"

"It didn't." I said with finality in my voice.

He seemed shocked and angry at the same time.

Trust me, I was stunned too, but I didn't let that show up on my face.

"This is the last warning, Echo. Do not interrupt me again," he said through his gritted teeth.

The way he said it, terrified me, but it also built up an eagerness of wanting to know what he would do to me.

"Do you understand?" The Alpha asked as he snaked an arm around me waist and pulled me flush against his body and I gasped.

I couldn't speak for my senses went into overdrive.

His hold against my waist tightened as he urged me to answer him. But the only way I could was by nodding. Apparently, he needed more.

"I need words, Echo," he commanded.

Goosebumps broke all over my body and he seemed to notice it as well. That boosted his confidence knowing the effect he had.

"Words."

"Y-yes."

"Good," he smiled, satisfied with himself.

"There are some clothes for you in the closet. You can freshen up and I'll be waiting downstairs, unless..."

Unless, what?

I frowned.

"Unless, you want me to stay and help you take a sh-"

My eyes widened and I was shocked by his boldness, but I would choose his bold approach any day in contrast to beating around a bush.

"No, thank you," I said and tried to pry myself off of him.

He just chuckled and after moment of trying, he finally let go, but not before placing a chaste kiss on the back of my hand and hightailing out of the room.

I just stood there frozen for a moment.

You wanted to play, Alpha? I could too and payback was going to be a bitch.

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A/N:

If you've reached the end of this chapter, I'd like to thank you for reading. <3

Please vote and comment. It helps boosts my confidence in writing further.

QOTD: Are we liking The Alpha? Doesn't seem so ruthless, does he? 😈

xoxo,
Grace Clarke