"Oh my God! Your cat is so cute, Kiara," Jennifer and Lena exclaimed in unison as all of the ranking females encircled the white sleeping kitty. They had come to meet the Sirius Bright Pack's newest and youngest member in Kiara's bedroom.
"Yeah, but she is grumpy too," Kiara remarked, staring at Adira who agreed quickly.
"Yes, she talks a lot as well," Adira chuckled, mentioning the white kitty's qualities, since in her sister’s absence she had been her Mummy and provided the finest care for her. She was relieved that Xavier had been able to save the cat from the Ardara Moon Pack.
Adira had left the window in her room open for the cat for several hours before fleeing, but the cat had not returned to her for food that day. In the end, Adira had to flee on her own. She had locked the windows of her bedroom before fleeing, so that the cat would not enter her room or the packhouse while she was gone, because if she did she would be caught quickly.
"I still can't believe that the Alpha disregarded the pack's rules and brought a pet into our territory. It is the most recent and hotly debated topic among the pack members," Jennifer commented as she stroked Meow's smooth fur.
"I can see that the Alpha has fallen in love with our Luna from head to toe," Lena remarked with a sly grin at the young she-wolf, who couldn't help but blush as every woman, even her sister, smiled at her.
Kiara had no idea why her mate had brought her cat back to the pack for her, but she liked this new side of Xavier. He had not only rescued the cat for her, but he had also taken it to the vet before bringing it to the Sirius Bright Pack. During those 24 hours, the cat had been adequately cared for and supplied with enough food, which the cat had sorely needed. Fortunately, she had not been sick. When Kiara had returned to her room with Meow after the rain had stopped, she had found a cat's house, cat food, and all the essentials that would be needed to care for her already placed there. Kiara was overjoyed to see all of that. But Alpha had disappeared once more.
Day by day, she was uncovering the hidden facets of Xavier's personality and getting closer to his true self, which she wished to expose to herself.
"Alpha Xavier seems to be nice to you, Kiara. I will tell Mom. She'd be happy," Adira grinned.
"Then, Adira, don't forget to tell Luna Martha about Alpha Zander. That beautiful moment between the Alpha and you is still fresh in my mind. I'm sure he wanted to kiss you, but he has excellent self-control," Lena winked at Adira, who was blushing at the thought of the kiss and Zander's promises in the dining room. No doubt it was romantic!
"But I can't tell what happened in your bedroom after that. At least tell us some specifics, my dear Luna," Jennifer smiled with Lena. Kiara giggled as she put her hand over her mouth. It was difficult to persuade her sister to talk. She was well aware of that.
“Nothing happened between us,” Adira replied, turning her eyes to Meow.
"So, what's the deal with your blushing?" All the ladies laughed as they realized Adira was lying.
"Because that was simply an accident," Adira swiftly clarified before they got the wrong idea.
“Accident? Exactly what happened?" Kiara inquired, as all of the girls focused their attention on Adira.
***
"Aahh!" Zander, whose entire focus was on the closed door of the bathroom and the sounds coming from the shower rather than the laptop screen, heard a scream. He was on the edge of his patience as he imagined how gorgeous the naked beauty would appear under the spray of the shower. Adira's scream, however, had put him on high alert.
"What happened?" Zander dashed into the bathroom, only to discover Adira naked on the floor. She was taken aback when she noticed her mate's lustful gaze on her bare body. Without saying a word, she hastily drew the towel over her body to hide herself before another awkward incident happen. "Are you okay?" Zander averted his gaze but remained in the bathroom to ensure she was not hurt.
"Yeah, I simply slipped on the floor," Adira stated that she was attempting to get up from the floor but her waist and hips hurt. Zander quickly saw her discomfort as she struggled to keep the towel over her chest. Adira raised her eyes to find Zander kneeling before her much closer to her. He securely wrapped the towel around her body so that it wouldn't drop. Adira's cheeks were flushed from being treated so gently.
"If you're so uncomfortable with my gaze on you, why didn't you lock the bathroom door?" He questioned, pulling her up into his arms as he prepared to exit the bathroom.
"Your eyes never make me feel uncomfortable," Zander's steps came to a standstill when he heard those unexpected words from Adira, who had put her arms around his neck for support. Her heartbeat could be heard as she chewed her lower lip. She couldn't believe she had spoken that out loud. A faint smile appeared on Zander's lips as he saw her blue eyes, which she hastily tried to recover.
"Then why did you not lock the door?" He repeated his question. "Does that mean that you wanted me to come in? You could have invited me to accompany you. I was already desperate to be in there," he grinned, taking Adira by surprise. She glared at him.
What a shameless man!
"What's the matter?" He inquired when he noticed Adira's emotions were fluctuating.
"After that incident, my Dad and Mom never allowed me to close the door of my room or the bathroom,” Adira started to say, remembering those days. "Dad taught me how to fight in order to divert my attention away from the incident and to bring me out of my loneliness. He was and still is my hero. Mom always waited eagerly for me to exit the bathroom for at least a year. She always spent as much time with me as she could. They both did their best to help me get back to where I was before. They were afraid that I might commit suicide, so I was not permitted to shut the bathroom door until they were certain that I was safe and had forgotten everything. It gradually became my habit, so I forgot to lock the door today," she explained.
A deafening silence descended between then in the bathroom. Zander felt the same pain and suffocation as Adira. He regretted asking her the reason behind the door being unlocked.
"Let's go," he drew her up to his chest without saying anything. He merely carried her out of the bathroom then placed her on the bed. When she argued that she could walk on her own, he ignored her.
"Would you prefer to wear a nightgown?" Zander asked before disappearing inside the closet. Adira became puzzled. Was he going to dress her too? Would he also see her bra and panties?
"I can get that myself!" She answered quickly, her gaze fixed on the closet. After a few seconds, Zander appeared with her crimson nightgown.
"Don't worry, I didn't see your private things," he assured her as he handed her the nightgown.
"So, what exactly is this?" She inquired, showing him the matching black bra and panties that he had wrapped beneath her dress.
"I just happened to have them with me. It's a mistake," he said casually, disregarding his woman's narrowed gaze.
"An accident?" She inquired, strongly suspecting his statement. Did he think she was a fool? She had kept her nightgown and private items in a separate drawer, so how could he have accidently brought them to her together?
"Yes, an accident," Zander reiterated, returning to his laptop as he leaned back on the sofa. Even though she was bewildered and suspicious, Adira decided to drop the topic, but then she received a comment.
"Why don't you go shopping and stock up on bras and panties? I believe you are missing the red and white ones," Adira's gaze shifted to his.
"Hey!" She shouted, glaring at him angrily. Had he not just said that it was a mistake? Then how would he know exactly what colors she had?!
"What? And buy some sexy thongs…" Before Zander could continue, Adira threw a pillow at him, Zander was then assaulted by his little she-wolf, who climbed on him to teach him a lesson. How dare he!
“Pervert!” she said, trying to hit him. How big could he be?
"You will pay for attacking an Alpha," Zander laughed, defending himself from her razor-sharp nails.
"When the Alpha is a pervert, I'm not going to step back no matter what punishment I receive in the end," Adira growled, trying to give him a few scratches to relieve her frustration, but she was flipped onto her back on the sofa in an instant as Zander climbed over her. She wriggled her way free. How quick was he? She didn't have time to defend herself.
"Don't touch me recklessly. I love it, but it drives me insane. At the same time, I'm prone to losing control. I don't have the ability to ignore you when you are living with me. It's a living hell," Adira's wrists were pinned over her head, but she watched Zander bending down to her lips as he covered her breast with the towel that had dropped down due to the previous play.
Her eyes went wide open as she saw his lips a few inches away from hers. When she didn't resist, Zander's lips tenderly brushed her red ones. Adira closed her eyes slowly, surrendering herself to his kiss. Sparks rushed through her veins, but she relished them.
“Adira, why are you suddenly spacing out?” Lena shook Adira's hand to jolt her out of her reverie. Adira simply smiled and mentally slapped herself. Why was she thinking about Zander at that time?
"Luna," a knock on the door, drew everyone's attention to the door, where Kiara's personal bodyguard stood.
"Lance, come in," Kiara sprang up from the floor, along with the other females who were watching the tall, attractive bodyguard come in with a notepad. Lance bowed to all ranked females.
"Luna, I reviewed your solutions. You made a few mistakes, which I have corrected and explained. I can tell you that your math is improving," Lance handed the notebook over to Kiara, who instantly reviewed it and was pleased with the improvement in her studies.
"Thank you so much, Lance," Kiara exclaimed, smiling broadly at her bodyguard.
"This servant will be at your beck and call at all times, Luna," Lance stated dramatically, causing Kiara to roll her eyes. He shared a little laugh with all the girls. They had recently become close friends. As expected, the single handsome wolf was friendly. Lance was appreciated by the Beta and Gamma females as well, although they were perplexed just now.
"What is this all about?" Lena wondered, looking at the notebook.
"Lance is assisting me with some of my course work. Online study is ineffective, and my academic performance is average. I had chosen to seek assistance from Cole, but he had work to do, so I did not want to bother him. I decided to get help from Lance. He is an excellent mathematician," Kiara explained.
"Wow! He is a true genius. This equation already seemed to be scary, yet he handled it so effortlessly. I know this since I am horrible at arithmetic," Jennifer exclaimed as all the girls gazed at the notebook, adoring the new bodyguard, who smiled, attracting the unexpected attention of all the women.
"And his handwriting is really beautiful," Adira added.
"Yes, you're right," Kiara agreed. That's when everyone moved away from Kiara, making her to give everyone a puzzled look. "What's the matter?" She inquired, but the notebook in her palm was abruptly taken from her by the Alpha standing behind her.
"Let me see," Xavier said, closely examining the notebook, but everyone's gaze was fixed on their poor Luna, who was cradled in Alpha's arms. Kiara couldn't figure out what was going on. How long had he been standing there? Why was he standing so close to her? And why was his hand wrapped around her waist for no apparent reason? Kiara's back had been pressed against Xavier's chest,so that she couldn't move, but she could see him flipping through the pages in front of her.
Xavier's eyes were scanning the notebook. What was he looking for in the pages? Lance's handwriting, as they had mentioned, was really beautiful. The bodyguard was terrified when he noticed Xavier's gaze fixed on the book. Would he face repercussions for assisting Luna with her studies? He was merely a bodyguard, not a tutor, and he didn't even have the authority to do so. "I am sorry, Alpha. I will not do this again…"
"No, you are allowed to assist Luna Kiara with her studies," Xavier interrupted, handing back the notebook to Kiara, who smiled at the bewildered bodyguard. She had already discussed it with Xavier, so the he was not furious or offended by the bodyguard.
"I understand, Alpha," Lance answered, turning to face the unknown beautiful woman standing alongside Kiara. She looked like his Kiara. Adira's gaze had been focused on Lance since he walked into the room. Xavier's gaze flickered back and forth between them.
"Adira is Zander's mate, my sister-in-mate. Your new Luna that you need to guard as well," Xavier introduced Adira. Lance's eyes went wide. He had been asked to leave the pack for a job, so he had been unaware of the new Luna. Adira's markless neck was also not helpful to him. But she smelled like Zander.
"I am really sorry for my boldness, Luna. I did not know before," Lance immediately bowed his head, lowering his gaze on the floor.
"No problem," Adira smiled, walking closer to him and then trying to look at him carefully. "Have we met before?" She wondered. Kiara tilted her head, gazing between Lance and Adira. Xavier’s eyes were between his sister-in-mate and the bodyguard.
"No, Luna. This is the first time I have met you," Lance replied, politely with a small smile, but Adira was still confused.
"Adira," Zander's voice echoed in the room. She watched him walking closer to her as he put his arm around her as he stood next to her. Adira was perplexed to feel his possessive hand around her waist.
"What are you doing here? I have been looking everywhere for you, " Zander inquired. He had been working on some business with Kaiden at the office building today, but when he returned to his room, he was concerned that Adira was missing. Her vanilla aroma had faded, as if she hadn't been in her room for several hours. He hadn't expected to find her in Kiara's room until Xavier had sent him a mind-link.
"I came to visit with Meow and the girls," Adira explained, sparks flying once again. He hadn't even bothered to move his arm from her waist. Years after the incident, Adira had felt hot as a result of male contact. Yet she couldn't ignore it since it came from her mate, who was so comfortable and warm.
"Come with me. I've got something for you," Zander grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room. Hmm? What did he have for her? Everyone left Xavier and Kiara alone in their room, and the door was shut. He looked around the floor.
"You remember the rules, right?" Xavier slipped his hand inside his pockets, noticing that Meow was approaching him.
"Yes, I do!" Kiara grabbed her kitty and cradled it in her arms. Meow had returned to her life with a few rules that Kiara had to follow.
1. She'd gotten this cat in return for the ugly teddy bear (according to Xavier), and she would never know what happened to it. Well, it had not passed the investigation.
2. Kiara will assume full responsibility for Meow. The cat was assigned a room that was previously a store room but had since been cleaned out. She can spend as much time as she likes with the cat, but Meow was not permitted in Alpha's bedroom or in bed at night.
3. The Alpha is extremely uncomfortable with pets or incredibly cute things, therefore the cat can’t get close to him. The Luna is responsible for teaching this to Meow.
Kiara tried not to laugh as she remembered the rules and Meow's urge to get closer to Xavier. This little one was really smitten with her mistress' husband. She always attempted to move closer to him, but he would back up until Kiara picked her up.
"I hope you remember the fourth rule," Xavier narrowed his eyes at Kiara. What was funny?
4. Luna's focus cannot be diverted from her Alpha in any way. Xavier despises having to share his possessions with anyone.
“I remember,” she replied, holding her cat who had planned to jump on Xavier.
“No,” Kiara told the cat. She could not understand why her grumpy cat wanted to go to him. “Umm, Xavier. I want to change a few things in our room. Can I do that?” Kiara asked. She had pondered it at least a hundred of time before coming to him. She had no idea how he would respond because his room was already beautiful and well decorated.
“Do whatever you want. I don't have a problem with it,” the Alpha said, grabbing his laptop. All of his focus was on the problem that showed up once again. Last night they had gotten information that another Vampire had shown up near their territory. Now the Alpha twins were planning something to catch them. Accusing the Vampire king openly was too risky as his coven was not the only one who had a treaty with them. Xavier was lost in his thoughts but Kiara was stunned. Had he really given her permission? He did not care what she would change?
“Then I am going to the store room,” Xavier saw her running out of the room at lightning speed. He blinked in confusion. Why was she so excited over decorating a room? But wait! Did she say that she was going to the store room?
Xavier threw his laptop on the sofa to run out of his room before Kiara could manage to see what was there.
“Xavier,” just before he was about to run out of the room, a woman stood in front of him. Xavier’s eyes widened when he saw her as he froze in place.
****
“Where are you taking me?” Adira asked. Zander's excitement was palpable.
“You will find out soon….”
“Zander!!!” A woman's excited voice interrupted him. When Zander and Adira peered down the corridor, they noticed a beautiful young woman waiting at a distance with her luggage.
“Iris?!” Zander's mouth gaped wide. Adira looked between Iris and Zander's astonished but thrilled expression.
“I am back!” Iris shouted as she leapt onto Zander. Isha, Adira's wolf, scowled angrily. Adira glared at them both with furious red eyes at the way Zander enthusiastically embraced her.
"You should have called to let me know you were coming, Iris. I would have come to pick you up," Zander murmured as he kissed Iris' cheeks. Adira's mind burned with questions as she watched him kissing the unknown woman's cheeks. Who was she?! Evan felt Isha's displeasure, immediately prompting Zander to look at his mate, who had folded her arms across her chest and glared between the two of them with displeased eyes. She appeared to be about to pounce on him again, like she had the night before.
“Adira, Iris is…”
"Who is this pretty woman in our pack, brother?" Iris wondered.
“Brother?” Adira cocked her brows in confusion.
"Adira, please meet my younger sister, Iris. She's my little honey," Zander said, squeezing his sister's nose.
Wait? They were siblings? Adira realized Iris had the same green eyes as her brothers and was approximately 19 years old. Adira smacked herself on the back of the head. She misunderstood everything. She wasn't his mistress or a secret woman.
“Iris, Adira is my mate and Luna,” Zander introduced Adira, pulling her closer to him.
“You found your mate, but you've been keeping it from me. First, Xavier did not tell me, then you!" Iris expressed her displeasure.
"We did not hide it. I'll go through everything with you one by one. Let's go inside," Zander remarked as he took her luggage. He made his way walking between Adira and Iris. Adira noticed he loved his sister very much and treated her like a child. Iris was quite spoiled as well.
“I did not know you had a sister,” Adira asked.
"She has wheels on her feet, so she doesn't stay in one place for long. She has been living in our relatives' pack for six months," he chuckled as Iris poked his sides.
"Don't tell anything bad about me to my sister-in-mate!" She narrowed her eyes at him in an attempt to make him laugh more, but as a familiar scent touched Zander's nostrils, he came to a standstill.
“Iris, who did you bring with you?!” Zander growled as his eyes snapped at his sister. Adira watched his sister flinching with guilt.
“Brother,” she swallowed hard while watching his changing expression, which was scary.
“I… I can… explain,”
“Tell me!!” Zander yelled, hurling her bags in a fit of rage that frightened Adira as well. Adira kept an eye on his deadly expression. He appeared to be planning to murder his sister.
“She… she came with me…” Iris stuttered as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“WHAT!!!” he shouted, making Iris take her steps back in fear.
"What's the matter?" Adira asked, panicking as she followed Zander's eyes upstairs to Xavier's bedroom.
“Everything is fucked up!”