Doe Eyes

Ekon

As her soft, wide doe eyes stared up at me, I couldn’t help but feel a heat inside me. Her beauty was unmatched.

I wished I could see her this way all the time. I wished I could burn this image into my memory so that, every time I changed back to my human form, her face would be all I’d see.

Instead, I just saw darkness.

I started to breathe heavily, feeling a wave of anger taking over me.

Even in a half-shifted form, my wolf’s rage was powerful.

My fangs started protruding from my mouth, and I saw the fear in Bambi’s eyes.

~Fuck!~

~Stop it! Don’t turn!~

I couldn’t control my wolf when I shifted completely, not since the war.

The Great War had left me with PTSD, and it triggered whenever I was in wolf form.

It was dangerous for everyone around me when I shifted.

I couldn’t risk hurting Bambi. And I couldn’t tell her about it, either. She’d be even more afraid of me.

I took a deep breath and began to retract my claws and fangs, closing my eyes.

When I reopened them, my vision had returned to a dark haze.

I could feel Bambi’s heartbeat. It had slowed.

“I’m…I’m sorry…I just wanted to see you. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” she replied quietly.

I could hear her shuffling around. She had just asked about her parents. And the war.

She had questions.

There were things that I couldn’t tell her, for her own safety.

But maybe if I gave her a little, it would sate her curiosity.

“How much do you know about the Great War?” I asked.

“Not much,” she replied. “Max would never talk about it. I just know a lot of people died, including my parents.”

“The Great War dwarfed every other war that came before it. Every pack in the country was involved, and even some allies from foreign countries. The climactic battleground was King Dmitri’s kingdom in Romania. That’s where we ultimately triumphed against the Rogues.”

“The Rogues?” she asked innocently. “Who were they?”

“There were two main factions facing off in the Great War,” I responded. “The Royals and the Rogues. The Royal camp was made up of packs that were fighting for the royal family, which included both my pack and yours, among others.”

“And who led the Rogues?” she questioned. “What feud did he have with the king?”

~Am I going too far with this?~

I had intended on giving her a brief history lesson, but she was too smart for that. These questions had been on her mind for some time.

I’d have to tread carefully with my answers.

“The Rogues were bolstered by the Blackwood family. They were shut out of the Council after disagreeing with the way the royals ran the kingdom,” I responded. “We were forced to choose sides, and it ignited a war.”

Bambi’s silence told me she was lost in thought.

“And…my parents…you said you knew them?”

“Only in passing,” I lied. “They were brave warriors. They fought valiantly ’til the end from what I’ve heard.”

I felt her touch my hand as she stood in front of me. Why was she suddenly so close?

“Your eyes…who did that to you? Was it a Blackwood?”

I roughly pulled my hand away from her grip.

“Storytime is over,” I growled. “I’ve answered enough of your questions.”

“Is it really so terrible that I want to get to know you better?” she replied indignantly. “You’ve suffered greatly from this. I just want to understand…how it changed you.”

“Everyone suffered casualties in the war. Do you think there’s a damn person out there who survived that didn’t change? I’m not some special case. And I’m sure as hell not some goddamn hero that should be put on a pedestal,” I snarled.

~I don’t need this right now. I don’t need her fucking pity.~

~What I need is a drink.~

Bambi

Over the past couple of days, I’d gone through Ekon’s entire library while he was in meetings, but he didn’t have a ~single~ book on the Great War.

He clearly refused to deal with his issues by any means other than alcohol.

I was beginning to think that the meager information he had given me was actually a flood of information by his standards.

But I wasn’t satisfied—not by a long shot.

He was keeping things from me, and I wouldn’t live under the same roof as someone who lied to me.

When I’d grabbed his hand, I felt it. It must’ve been our mating bond, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t telling me the whole truth.

I needed to find out more about my parents’ deaths and Ekon’s own role in the war.

Although Ekon’s personal library may have had a ban on war books, I doubted that would be the case with the pack house library in the city.

The only problem was that I couldn’t leave the compound without an armed guard, and even then I’d have to argue my reasoning for doing so.

I’d need to have a convincing excuse. Boredom wasn’t good enough. I’d already tried that.

I sauntered into Ekon’s office, trying to be as casual as possible without raising suspicion.

“You want something. I can sense it,” he said immediately.

~Damn, he’s good.~

“I…I just wanted to…to know if I could go to the library,” I stuttered.

“There’s a library here,” he said tersely.

I’d prepared for this…

“Yes, well, I overheard some of the maids talking about a book club at the library in the city. I thought it might be nice to talk about books with other girls my age.”

He stroked his chin, considering my request.

~How can he say no to a book club? Please don’t say no.~

Ekon sighed and reluctantly nodded.

“Fine, you can go for a few hours…but only once a week…and only under armed guard.”

I squealed with real excitement. I actually thought it would be harder.

I ran over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which surprised both of us.

He let out an embarrassed cough and turned away. “I’ll…uh…I’ll send my Gamma with you. My third in command. Do ~exactly~ as she says.”

Ekon pressed a button and spoke into a speaker on his desk.

“Kalindi, please come to my office at once.”

“Yes, my Alpha,” responded a silky exotic voice.

I started to get nervous. What if my ruse was discovered? Why was he sending someone so important to accompany me?

Moments later a gorgeously tall woman with impossibly long legs strode into the office, looking like a princess with her caramel skin and dark black hair in a high ponytail. Her eyes were dark brown, and her sharp regal nose was pierced with several rings.

“Bambi, meet Kalindi. She has been trained in various martial arts, studied deep in the Himalayas, and she’s also my chief strategist,” Ekon stated.

~Great, chief strategist. I’ll be found out for sure.~

“She will have her eyes on you at all times during this—book club,” he said sternly.

Kalindi gave me a curious look, and her lips curled into a smile.

~Oh no…~

“Not to worry, my Alpha. My sister and her friend also attend this book club. I’m sure they’ll all become fast friends.”

He nodded in approval, but I had to keep my mouth from falling open.

She had just lied straight to his face. I’d made that book club up out of thin air.

~But why did she cover for me?~

***

In the car ride over to the library, we rode in silence as I bit my lip nervously.

Would she tell him about my lie? Was she even taking me to the library? I was probably being carted off to an interrogation room, where she’d use fifty kinds of martial arts on me until I—

“You can relax,” Kalindi said as she looked at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m not going to tell him you made up the book club. It’s easy to see why.”

“It is?” I asked hesitantly.

“You must be bored out of your mind, cooped up in that compound.” She laughed.

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you understand.”

“You owe me for this,” she joked. “But I did pull some strings to make it more legit.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve invited my younger sister, Ela, and her friend Victoria to join you on your library days. They’ll act as your “cover” book club.”

~This woman is a goddess.~

“Thank you so much. You’re really helping me out,” I said, smiling back.

~Helping me find out the truth about my parents and my mate.~

Ekon

I knew it would be good for Bambi to be around other girls her age, but it still made me uncomfortable. It was much safer here in the compound, and with the current climate of rogue activity, I didn’t want to take any chances.

Kalindi was a more than capable bodyguard though, so I had nothing to worry about.

Besides, if I kept Bambi here, she’d hate me even more.

And if she knew the truth about everything…

The mating bond might not even be strong enough to keep her here.

I was beginning to think I’d never be mated before I met Bambi. I was so fucking incompetent when it came to mated life.

All I’d ever known was military life. Commands and orders.

But I couldn’t treat her like one of my soldiers. Not if I wanted to grow closer to her.

My office doors suddenly burst open as my Beta rushed in, looking panicked.

“Ryland, what’s the meaning of this?”

“I’m sorry, my Alpha, but I only just found out… He didn’t even send notice, just came unannounced,” Ryland panted, out of breath.

“Who came? Who the hell is here?” I growled.

“Alpha Hunter Blackwood,” he said.

~That son-of-a-bitch.~

~A Blackwood showing up to my pack…~

~He’ll be lucky to leave alive.~