Kiara's ice cream melted before her eyes, rendering it inedible not that she had even dared to move the spoon from the dish even once. How could she even consider eating them when she had committed an irreparable crime due to her own hasty judgment and folly? She had hurled a shampoo bottle at the Alpha! Not only that, but she had yelled at him, raised her voice, then demanded that he leave his own room!
"What the fuck I have done!" She yanked at her hair. When the Alpha left the bathroom, she realized that she had messed with the wrong person. It had been all her fault for not securely locking the bathroom door, but in her despair and anxiety, she blamed him and then punished him as well. Since then she cursed herself for being a fool numerous times.
She had chewed off her fingernails while sitting on the bed waiting for his return. It was midnight, yet sleep was not closer than if it was noon. All of her attention was concentrated solely on the door, through which the grumpy Alpha would enter the room to unleash his wrath on her. Her peace of mind had grown wings taking flight from her person then continued to weave and evade her grasp at every turn when she tried to collect it.
Kiara's terror intensified as the night unfolded, but Xavier had not returned to the bedroom, implying that he was going to return with a storm. She knew she'd done wrong by hurling a shampoo bottle at him, and she felt terrible about it. Instead of fright and anxiety, she resolved to apologize to him, but her face grew bright red as a tomato when she realized he had seen her naked.
While rolling on the bed concealing her face in her palms, she let out a furious but cathartic sigh. She knew that wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes without recalling how she had been completely exposed in front of him! In actuality, she was embarrassed more than she was scared. She finally managed to relax her body and laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she waited for Xavier.
When he did not return after another hour of waiting, she become concerned. Had she hurled the shampoo bottle so hard that he had been in so much pain that he had needed to go to the hospital? No, that would not happen. An Alpha has the ability to heal more quickly than any other wolf. Secondly, a shampoo bottle would only sting him like an ant bite. Getting out of bed, she made her way to the door, she was determined to find out why he hadn't returned to their room.
She was astonished to find the lights turned on throughout the pack house as she descended the stairs. Why were so many people awake so late at night? No sounds had reached her in the room, but the scene changed as soon as she entered the corridor. The main entrance of the pack house was open, but Jennifer and Leena were spotted wandering the hall.
"Jennifer, what's going on here? Is there something wrong?" Kiara placed her hands over her arms, worried about standing in front of the others in her sleeveless top and little shorts that she had typically worn in her pack, but she had no idea how these people dressed at night. Fortunately, she didn't look odd because Lena was wearing more exposing clothing than her. Jennifer had been wearing a knee-length nightgown covering her big belly.
"Kiara, we thought you were sleeping," Jennifer exclaimed as she approached Kiara watching as a couple of males sprint out of the pack house.
"I couldn't fall asleep. I had been waiting for the Alpha to return, but he never did, so I came down to check on him. But what exactly is going on?"
"Vampires have been spotted close to our territory. An alert has been issued to the entire pack. As soon as they learned about vampires, Kaiden, Taylor, and the Alphas set out to investigate. We woke up with our mates. Because you were so weary, we didn't want to wake you up."
Kiara was taken by surprise when she learned about the vampires. Fortunately, Ardara Moon pack had never been attacked by a vampire, nor had she ever encountered one. There was quite a commotion in the pack as the situation was quite serious. The Beta and Gamma females had been awaiting the return of their mates. They didn't appear frightened, but rather certain of their safe return. It gave an excellent and demonstrated impression that even though vampires were a threat the pack members were prepared to face them at any time. Lena had wanted to go with Tyler, but she had stayed at the pack house in case Jennifer needed her.
"You should sit, Jennifer," Kiara recommended as she guided her over to the sofa. She also requested that Lena look after her. It was stupid to suggest that anyone go back to sleep as the unexpected news had snatched everyone's sleep until the problem had been resolved. Kiara glanced at her watch, finding that it was already two a.m.
"Is this Sirius Bright Pack's first vampire attack?" Kiara sat on the sofa across from the two ranked females.
"There were numerous vampire strikes on the pack before, but that was when we didn't have a covenant with the Vampire King," Jennifer began to explain.
"Wait a second! Do you mean the Vampire King Alfred?”
"Yes," Jennifer answered, observing her Luna's shocked look, which made her smile a little. Kiara had no comprehension of the might and strength of the Sirius Bright Pack and the twin Alphas.
"Both the Alphas formed a peace agreement with the Vampire King two years ago to cease their hostility and alienation as the slaughter was unmanageable and neither of the groups wanted to lose their men in battle. However, it continued after the signing. There have been no vampire attacks in the last two years, but no one knows why the rules are being ignored on their end," Kiara paid close attention to everything Jennifer explained to her.
She couldn't believe it when she heard that the Sirius Bright Pack had reached an agreement with the vampires. It was not in every Pack's best interests to compete with them. Vampires were known for annihilating small packs, like the Ardara Moon Pack, in a single night. Despite the peace treaty, a sighting of some near the border was cause for concern.
"Jennifer...," Kiara was curious about the vampire and pack's relationship but then she noticed Jennifer and Lena had been mind-linking with someone. As a result, she waited patiently.
"The problem is solved," Lena was the first to speak to Kiara, which gave her some relief. Vampires were really bad news!
"The Alpha has handled the situation and the security of the pack. They all are returning now," Jennifer informed her with a smile as they rose from their seats.
"Finally, I'll be able to sleep peacefully," Lena yawned. Jennifer giggled and agreed with her as all the ladies went back to their rooms as their mates were on their way.
Kiara returned to her room but continued to stare at the door as she had earlier. Was the problem truly resolved? They were vampires! She leaned back and sighed deeply. Well, she shouldn't think about the other issues when the time that had been allotted to her by Xavier was going to expire soon. He planned to mark her.
***
"Excellent work, boys. Everyone should now get some sleep. We can discuss it when we wake up," Xavier dismissed the wolves who had assisted him in the investigation. Everyone went back to their homes.
"What a waste of time! The information was fake,” Tyler grumbled as he followed the twins to the pack house. His eyes showed signs of sleep deprivation, he wished he could hurry to his room so that he could climb in bed alongside his mate, but he had chosen to join the Alpha brothers with Beta Kaiden.
"But it also makes me skeptical. Yes, the male who told us about the vampires was young, but that doesn’t imply that he just made them up," Kaiden remarked.
"But how is it possible that whenever we go to investigate, we can’t smell them? The smell that emanates from the bodies of those living corpses usually reaches us from afar. So how will you explain their disappearance?" Tyler claimed that was okay and Kaiden agreed, although he had some reservations.
"Enough," Xavier and Zander, who had been walking ahead and listening to both of their arguments, came to a halt and turned to face their Beta and Gamma.
"We may discuss that in our meeting. Let's go get some sleep," Zander suggested as they all went to their own rooms.
Xavier was sweaty and stinky from his wolf shifting and running around, so he opted not to lie on the bed so that he would not risk disturbing the woman who must be fast asleep on it. He was too lazy to take another shower in the middle of the night, so he would sleep on the sofa.
Xavier entered his room but had not turned on the lights and sat down on the sofa. It had been his years-long habit not to turn them on at night since Petra was avid about getting her beauty sleep and was often annoyed by lights. Whenever Xavier returned home late, he would invariably find her exhaustedly asleep in the bed. Even if he had wanted to make love with her, she would never have refused it, but her energy would have been different than when they were newly married.
Xavier chuckled bitterly, leaning his head against the sofa, finally realizing that she had been fatigued because she must have had sex with Orion while he was gone. His nails dug into his palm as he clenched his fist. The bitch had not cared if he returned or not! She never waited for his return. Kiara's tranquil breathing caught Xavier's attention, but it was not coming from the bed but from someplace else. Xavier used his wolf’s vision to see that Kiara had been sleeping on the sofa opposite him.
Why had she been sleeping on the couch? Was he hallucinating her? No, it was true. He took a deep breath keeping his gaze fixed on her. She didn't have a pillow or any blankets. Her long, smooth legs were exposed to his hungry sight, reminding him of her earlier nakedness. She'd been sleeping on her arm, which offered him an excellent view of her boobs that had collided. How careless could this woman be? Due to her own negligence with her choice of garments, her sleeping posture was rather provocative. It was evident from the way she was sleeping that...
Had she been awaiting him? But why? Xavier crossed his knees and draped his arms over the back of the sofa. The sleeping beauty had no idea that Xavier had sat in the dark like a king watching her with his wolf.
Kiara felt her body being gently raised into the air, yet the warm embrace around her body was so familiar to her that she simply wanted to sink further into it. It was something that she had always desired in her life. She had never been so lovingly caressed before. This had not been done for her by anyone else before. What type of dream was this? She didn't want to wake up. Despite the fact that she could feel her body being placed on the warm bed, she had not opened her eyes. No, this wasn't a dream. It felt real. Was it… Xavier? It was his enigmatic fragrance. His warmth was something she would never get anywhere else. It should be a dream. She drew closer to the source of this amazing feeling as the authoritative touches to her body caused her heartbeat to race.
"Shouldn't you at least open your eyes?" Xavier asked. Kiara squeezed her palm even tighter, which had already been holding Xavier's shirt. He had known she was awake when he had placed her on the bed. When she realized she wasn't dreaming, Kiara's heartbeat accelerated. She cautiously opened her eyes to discover his green hungry gaze staring into hers. His hand rested on her waist, their bodies not even a whisper apart.
"Are you in pain?" she murmured, her eyes traveling up to Xavier's forehead, where she had hit him. It appeared to be still crimson. Her hand reached up to care for the Alpha's injured flesh, which caused him to moan. Her gentle touch sparked a fire in his body. Why hadn't he healed himself? Or could he not?
"Yes, it hurts," he admitted as his hot breath seductively caressed Kiara's lips. She drew her gaze away from his forehead to return it to his eyes. The Alpha noticed a layer of guilt in her eyes, that she had immediately lowered.
“I am sorry,” she drew her hand back and moved away from him. Xavier's hand slid around her round hips, bringing her back to her position, but closer than before. Kiara's breast crashed into Xavier's muscular chest, causing her to flinch due to the response of her own body. What was that sensation? When her lower body met his, she realized that he was rock hard!
“Take responsibility,” Xavier demanded, grasping her hips more firmly. Kiara's eyes widened in alarm as she felt his monster begging to emerge from his pants.
“How?” She asked. How could she take responsibility? As Xavier's lips made contact with hers, she quickly closed her eyes. In a panic, she placed her hand on his chest. Was this how she was supposed to take responsibility? Her hand moved up to his chest, but it was pinned between them as the Alpha climbed over her deepening the kiss.
She remembered the kiss she had shared with him in Ardara Moon Pack's spooky room. It was the same as before, but far wilder than before. Kiara relaxed her body after a few seconds opening her mouth for him to taste her tongue, which he instantly took advantage of dominating her mouth. His grip on her waist tightened. Kiara who had never been treated so gently had completely lost her wits as a result of the desire that had taken over her heart and body. What exactly was this? She never felt this way before. Kiara hissed when Xavier bit her lower lips, but she opened her eyes as well. When reality struck her mind, Xavier was already there peering into her eyes.
"I thought I was just a surrogate," she abruptly broke the kiss. He had left her gasping for air.
"Didn't I say that I'd make the rules?" Xavier took a deep and heavy breath, his gaze fixated on her red lips, which demanded his attention once again.
"And what exactly are those rules?" She demanded.
"You’ll discover them tomorrow morning," he assured her as his lips captured hers once again. What exactly he meant? Kiara closed her eyes. She had no idea what type of surrogate she was.