West POV
His eyes moved right to T.J. “Say that again?” he asked, a slight hard edge to his voice. Not that he needed to hear it again. He had heard it perfectly clearly the first time. She wanted to know if there was a room available in the un-mated accommodation. Was the woman completely crazy?
That place was just a way station for young horny wolves to go and fuck anything and everything that was living there. They would all know who she was. What she had once been. Those un-mated wolves might like the idea of fucking a previously-ranked Luna wolf. Some of them would more than like it, he could well imagine.
Most she-wolfs stayed at home, in their family homes until mated off. Clearly, she didn’t want to go back to her family's home. Guess, living on her own, she was now too independent to do so. Not that West wanted her anywhere near her own family either. He even stayed away from them, seeing that they had not left after he had de-ranked them. Just slunk away back to their previous home as he had demanded of them.
West was still staring at T.J. who had not repeated himself. The look on his Alpha’s face probably spoke volumes. He had allocated the woman a room, right here in the pack-house for that matter. It wasn’t much, but it had all that she needed: a bed and a bathroom, a comfortable couch to sit on, TV with all the pay channels available. The only thing it didn’t have was a kitchen. She could eat in the pack-house dining room or in the town. He didn’t really care about that.
The room she was in was no different to the rooms in the un-mated apartments. Actually, the furniture was nicer, due to the fact that it was a room for visiting packs ranked members. What more did she want? a bloody suite.
“I guess that’s a no.” T.J. nodded at him. “I didn’t much like the idea either, I’ll tell her later when I see her.”
West nodded, his Beta was not stupid and also knew what it was like over there. But now he couldn’t focus on anything, he just knew deep down that damned woman was going to defy him. Seemed she liked telling him ‘No’ nowadays. He didn’t like it all, her newly found independence annoyed him.
“I’ll do it myself.” he muttered to T.J. after about 5 minutes of trying and not being able to get any work done. West got up from his desk. It appeared he was going to have to lay down some ground rules where she was concerned. Perhaps she had forgotten what it's like to live inside a pack and do as you were told.
West took a moment outside her bedroom door to calm himself down, didn’t want to be yelling at her. A simple statement should do it. Knocked on the door, got no answer. Knocked again and called out her name. Nothing. Put his hand on the door handle and turned the door knob. The door was not even locked.
Who leaves a door unlocked when not in their room? He looked inside, not there ‘Oh she didn’t go over there already’ his anger was rising already. He just knew that she had, bloody woman doing as she pleased yet again.
West turned and stalked down from the first floor and through the pack-house.
“West darling.”
“Not now.” he snarled at Miranda on his way past her and out the front door of the pack-house, headed over to the un-mated apartments. He could already see wolves going at it on the 2nd floor, they hadn’t even had the sense to close the damned curtains. This is why she will not be allowed to stay here.
To his absolute horror, he saw Jo-anne up there on the 4th floor, leaning on the balcony railing. West’s heart damned near exploded out of his chest, was suddenly beating all erratically at the sight of her up there leaning on that railing.
“What the hell are you doing?” he and Volt roared up at the woman. Saw her turn her head and look down at him, then Volt was up front and racing them as fast as he could go, up to where she was using all his Alpha speed, fuelled by adrenaline, in order to get her away from that balcony.
They burst into the room in time to hear her say she'd take the apartment.
“The hell you will, Jo-anne.” left his mouth before he could even think it through, then Volt had a grip on her and they were dragging her away from that balcony and out of the building. Back to the pack-house, West didn’t care who saw him either and he knew she was struggling against him and his grip trying to make him let go, causing a scene.
Didn’t even care when he pulled her right through the pack-house front doors and past a very shocked looking Miranda, up to the first floor and shoved her into her room, the one he had allocated to her.
It appeared she didn’t understand why he was mad at her. How was that even possible? He’d bloody well told her, not on the 4th floor with a balcony. How the hell did she not get it? Then asking him why he was so mad, that made both him and Volt fume with anger. It should be obvious, he thought. Stalked into her room, stalked her across the room, saw her back up and away from him, all the way to the wall. Didn’t care, he would tell her in no uncertain terms what he was thinking.
Pinned her up against that wall and told her “If you think for one second. I will let you live outside this pack-house, Jo-anne. You are mistaken. You will stay right here in this room. Where I know, where you are. Where you have no Fucking Balcony.” he grated out at her, angry that he had to explain it to her.
West did not care that she had been living in Seattle on the 3rd floor with a balcony for the past 4 years, and told her as much. He was the Alpha now, not his father. She was going to do as he told her to or he would order her to do it.
Telling him she would leave, infuriated him. Had he not just retrieved her from leaving, less than 12 freaking hours, they had been home and here she was stating she was going to leave him yet again. He had already told her once and then had to remind her she wasn’t allowed to leave this pack. Grabbed her chin and leaned right down. His eyes were locked right onto hers a mere inch away “I forbid you to leave.”
“That’s insane. You don’t even want me here. It’s pretty clear I tick you off too much.”
Yes she probably thought he was insane, probably sounded like it right now, but he had his damned reasons. As for not wanting her here? Had he not tried, he practically begged her not to leave that day. She was very wrong on that account. He had not been the one who’d wanted her to leave and, yes, she did bloody tick him off. At every turn it seemed, because she couldn’t follow a simple order. It wasn’t that bloody hard.
“Deal with it.” Volt was pushing forward, they were way too close to her, but his wolf, it seemed, didn’t want her trying to leave either and both of them believed she would. Again, finally, he and his wolf were in agreement about something. “I order you...to live in this room.” his aura rolled out of him at her to make it official, to make sure she knew it was him as the Alpha ordering her.
Hearing her gasp and seeing her bare her neck to him, made West realise he was pushing too much on her. He’d not meant to do that. Shot out of the room at full wolf speed. His anger had gotten out of control. He’d not meant to hurt her. Just now with his Aura. He hadn’t meant to make her bare her neck to him like that “Fuck.” West punched the wall in front of him.
He knew he and Volt had pressed the issue too hard. Even Volt, right now, was annoyed and cranky with himself. It would not have hurt just Jo-anne but Clova too, Volt was not happy with himself any more than West was right this minute.
Took a few minutes to calm himself down and then went back to her room. Opened the door, saw that Jo-anne was still standing exactly where he had left her. Looked nervous to him. ‘shit’. He thought ‘this is not good.’
“I’m sorry,” he told her, and meant it. Then he closed the door and walked away. Didn’t want to see that look on her face. Was she afraid of him?
He’d not meant to roll so much aura at her. He had told himself, he’d never do that to her again, yet here he was doing exactly that. Just like he always had. Seemed he couldn’t keep himself in check. West did not want a repeat of their past history and Jo-anne certainly did not need that either.
He returned to his office, all he could do was apologise, and he’d done that. Hopefully she would accept it and hopefully she understood he had really meant it.
In his office he found Miranda standing there staring at him. “What is going on?” her hands were on her hips.
“Nothing.” He snapped right back at her and went to sit down at his desk.
“What is going on with that girl?” she asked him directly.
“Nothing, she defied an order I gave, I punished her is all.” he informed her curtly, he did not have to explain himself to her. Why was she suddenly demanding that he needed too.
Heard T.J. sigh heavily and looked right at him “She is fine Terence.” he stated flatly.
“Guess I’ll go and see for myself.” he stood up.
“Why? You would know if I’d hurt her, wouldn’t you?” West shot at him, the man would.
“What is going on?” Miranda suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs, and stomped her foot at him.
West turned his head slowly to look directly at the woman, she dared to yell at him. Her blue eyes were glowing with a green tinge, her Alpha wolf was with her now and he could feel her pushing her Aura at him. This was the first time she’d ever tried to assert herself, West realised. She had changed since he’d become the Alpha, he realised. Thought she held more power in his pack. Even with him.
“Get out.” he snarled at her, and rolled his Alpha Aura right back at her. No-one had the right to speak to him like that.
“I will not.” she shot right back, balling her fists by her sides, still glaring at him, looking for a fight it seemed.
Wests smirked a little nastily at her. “Do you want a fight, Miranda? Do you really think you...can take me on,” he would, if necessary, to put her in her place.
He saw a tiny bit of fear touch her, then she simply turned and stalked out of the room and slammed his office door shut without saying a word. West sat back down. Volt did not like that she had challenged him like that either. Wanted to put her in her place, it seemed.
“Terence.”
“Boss.”
“Go spend the afternoon with Jo-anne.”
“Sure. Doing what exactly?” he nearly laughed, almost teasing him.
West glared right at his Beta. “Just keep Miranda away from her.”
“Oh, sure thing.” T.J. stated and left the office.
West just knew that Miranda was going to cause trouble, she was an alpha-blooded female she-wolf, who thought she had a claim over him. Had seen him drag Jo-anne through the pack-house, and now she was spoiling for a fight.
If Miranda saw T.J. and Jo-anne together, she would calm down instantly. Those two already have a strong connection, they bloody looked like Mates half the damned time. She would see it and leave Jo-anne alone.
Heard Volt snarl at him, for the thought of his Beta and their Ex, but did not say anything. West ignored him. This was the easiest way to keep Jo-anne off Miranda’s radar and calm the alpha wolf inside of her, without him having to actually explain who Jo-anne was to him. Didn’t look like, telling her the truth would go down so well with her.
West also knew that Jo-anne would have no problem with spending time with T.J. at all. He didn’t like it, but had to deal with it. The full moon had been and gone and now both he and T.J. had to wait for another month to find out about her.
She, too, had not found her Fated Mate in the past decade, none of them had, it was really weird, their little triangle. The only problem he had with the next full moon was his mother had already organised a mating ball for that day. 5 other packs would be in his territory when the moon set.
West rubbed his temples, sometimes he wished he was an only child. But no, his mother and father had to go and have a whole litter. West had 5 younger sisters, and 3 of them, triplets, had just turned 18, this ball was for them.
Trying to find them their Mates, she’d invited only packs with un-mated Alpha’s at that. Damned woman was trying to piss him off. He could swear it. Not that West had been expecting Jo-anne to be in the pack for it. So he hadn’t objected to it at the time, knowing it would be the first mating ball he actually held as the new Alpha of the pack.
His mother currently still held the Luna position of the pack, until he had his own. Though he guessed she’d been expecting him to announce Miranda at his swearing in or any day now. But he had not. Would not be.
He was likely going to have to go and find Miranda and put that woman in her place, firmly so. Roll her bloody aura at him like that. She wasn’t even a member of this pack. Yes, she had resided here for the past 2 years, in his bed, but still she was not a pack member, something that ticked her father off to no end, that West had not claimed her yet.
There was currently an Alliance between her father’s pack and his pack. Due to the fact that she resided here, but he’d not made it. She had followed him here. West had not asked her to come. Her father, Alpha Thomas of Black Lagoon Pack, had not been overly impressed. She was not the future of his pack, but still his daughter. The man had a son to take over from him when he was ready, not that much younger than West if he recalled correctly. Miranda was the man's second youngest child, had two older brothers, and unless they both died, she’d likely be mated off to another packs Alpha, or a ranked member, being an Alpha-blooded she-wolf and all.
West made her attend every mating ball. If she found her destined Mate he would wish her luck and push her at him gently. He would not stop her from leaving and he doubted she would stay, if her goddess-gifted Mate showed up. West was also not about to go and get into a fight with another Alpha male or Ranked member of another pack over a woman.
Yes, he liked that she did as she was told on every occasion, and he liked that she never said no. But that was not all he wanted. He did want other things for himself. Just never let himself have them, couldn’t. He would never allow himself those small things he wanted that might actually make himself happy. He had no right to be happy. So he avoided it, denied himself and would continue to do so.
Rubbed his temples and sighed ‘Terence, take Jo-anne around the pack and find a place to build her that art studio, please.’
‘Sure thing West...you got any idea where you want it?’
‘Let her pick a spot.’
‘You’re sure? She might choose...somewhere far away!’
West sighed, bloody woman would do, he supposed, ‘In sight of the pack-house then, I guess.’
‘Alright West.’
‘Thanks Terence.’
‘Just calm down a little, hey.’
‘Mm.’ West cut the link to his Beta, easier said than done.
West refocused back on his work, at least now he had one less thing to worry about today. She would be safe with T.J. and happy to boot.