CHAPTER 68. HIS STENCH
RYDER
Time seemed to slow down and the gust of wind brushing past us froze. My senses heightened as I took another deep breath just to be sure it wasn't my mind playing a fast one on me.
I stiffened as the unfamiliar, foul scent emitted from her again. I'm not some celestial werewolf who can tag every scent to its owner, but this one was easy to do. Probably because I just recently met the owner of the scent again. It was Roland's scent, more like a stench, dammit!
The jerk had a daunting, foul stench that's more peculiar to wild dogs and rogues than to purebloods. I still find it a bloody mystery that the jerk had more of a stench than a scent.
I would have blamed it on my perceiving ability but I've never been wrong about a scent and I'm not about to start now.
”Are you alright?“ She asked again, cupping my face with her hands.
I blinked back my tears and fought to hold in my emotions. I never knew I could shed tears until Hara came along, and now, crying seems to be as easy as taking my next breath. My heart was badly injured and I needed to let out that hurt somehow.
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine,” I cleared my throat to get rid of the wetness in it. Forcing a smile wasn't easy but I did it anyway, just the same way I could do anything for her.
“Are you sure?“ She asked skeptically, giving me scrutiny with her enchanting blue eyes.
If she could only look a bit deeper, then maybe she'll realize just how broken I am. It's been just a day, but I've gotten this pathetic. What if this messy situation drags on for months or years? What would become of me by then?
”Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry, Hara. I'm good,“ I finally said, slowly removing her hands from my face. The last thing I needed right now was to have a fuss over my mood and expression. She got other important things to be doing, for example, telling me where she'd been and how the fuck did she meet Roland.
I looked over her shoulder at Hailey and she flashed me a smile. I nodded at her and my gaze was back at Hara.
“What are you doing out here?“ She asked, trying to touch my face again. I caught her hand in the air and slowly brought it down.
Don't get me wrong, I'll give anything to have her touch me. But touching, kissing, smooching, and holding hands were my love languages. I wouldn't do that with a woman who I have no feelings for. Or in her case, a woman who has unsure feelings for me. I can only let her touch me when she's sure that I'm the one she loves and not that jerk.
“I was worried, you were gone for hours and I had no clue where you went. It had me all tensed up,” I told her, subtly letting go of her hand.
“I'm really sorry about that. Hailey and I had a little bonding time, and we were also planning her birthday. Guess we lost track of time,“
I nodded, “Did anything else happen? Is there something you wanna tell me, something I should know?”
She hesitated and I waited for her response, for her to tell me just how she ended up meeting that jerk again. The last time I checked, Roland wasn't in my pack. So where did they meet? How did they meet? What did they talk about? Do I accept my defeat or is there still a little hope for me?
I was itchy to hear it all and I patiently waited for her to start talking.
“No, nothing happened,“ She voiced out, and I felt slapped in the face. Wtf! Did she just lie to me? I couldn't believe it.
Wait, what is this? What's this craziness? Why is she lying to me? And I wasn't just any ordinary lie, she was covering up the fact that she met up with her ex-mate and they probably talked. Why wouldn't she just be honest with me? What the fuck is she playing at?
It would have been a lot easier if she was honest with me. Her honesty would have been my anchor through this time because if she was being honest with me, that would also mean there's a chance she might choose me over her ex-mate.
But here she was, lying, and I'm not even sure why.
”Are you sure?” I asked again, giving her a chance to come clean. But she didn't. She looked me straight in the eyes and lied again.
“Yes, I'm sure. Nothing happened. Hailey and I just bonded and that's it,“
I could hear the deafening sound of the walls of my heart crumbling to pieces but still, I managed a smile.
“Okay. You should head inside,“ I said.
”Are you not coming inside with me?“
“I'm right behind you, Queen. I just need to check on something,”
Now would have been perfect to tap into her mind and get all the answers I needed. But I already promised her never to tap into her mind again without her consent. And I can't break that promise. I'm a man of my word, always have been, and always will be.
She nodded, and I could see how nervous she was. She hugged Hailey goodbye and headed inside, while Hailey headed back to the taxi that was still waiting for her.
I was itching to ask Hailey about whatever it was Hara was hiding, but then again, I decided not to. If Hara was keeping her meeting with Roland a secret, then Hailey will certainly be her accomplice.
If she rats Hara out to me, Hara would surely feel betrayed, and that's the last feeling I want her to ever feel.
Hailey left in the taxi and I went inside the mansion after making sure there wasn't any werewolf stench lingering around. You could say I'm paranoid, but I just don't wanna take any chances.
I spent the whole afternoon working on the files for the estate project. I returned to my bedroom at eight in the evening and went to have a quick, warm shower.
I had a towel tied around my waist and another drying my hair when I stepped out of the bathroom.
Darius should already be picking out my clothes for the night, but I was shocked to see that it wasn't him doing it.
“Hara?”
Her back was turned to me as she was skimming through my closet. She took out a new set of pajamas and carefully laid them on the bed.
She looked up and smiled at me, “Get dressed,”
“Uh- why are you the one doing this? Where's Darius?“
”I asked him to leave, I wanted to do it myself,“
I nodded, glancing at the pajama set. I'm not the pajama kind of guy. I prefer my boxers and sweatpants with no shirt on. But then, if she chose this, I have to wear it, right? Rejecting her effort isn't an option.
Something irked me at the back of my mind. It was the fact that this was the first time she came this close to me and I didn't get a whiff of her lavender scent.
Is my mate bond to her weakening or did the stench from that jerk overshadow her alluring scent?
She looked beautiful in her nightgown with her hair cascading down to her shoulders. Other times, I would have grabbed her and fucked her hard, but right now, I wasn't in the mood. I was too heartbroken to think of that. I haven't even had a boner since last night and that's fucking weird.
“I prepared dinner. Join me downstairs after you get dressed,“ She informed me and left my room.
I stared at her retreating figure until she was out of sight. I got dressed and headed downstairs, it was just the two of us seated at this dining table, even though it was large enough to accommodate a whole lot more people.
This was our private dining table, Father has his, as he vowed never to share a table with Hara.
We ate in silence until she broke the ice by saying the words I wanted to hear all day.
“I met Roland today.”