You would think that after such a traumatic past day, now that Kendra was installed in a plush room with everything she could possibly need, her hair and body washed, and her clothes changed into something fresh and comfortable, sleep would naturally come to her, especially since she was lying on that huge bed with sheets so soft that it was as though she were sleeping on clouds or feathers, but it was far from that.
She couldn’t sleep.
No.
Not after her conversation with Killian.
The past five days had completely changed him, and not only appearance wise. This was a whole new Killian, she could barely recognize him, and it had just been five days.
Silver Crest can wait.
She couldn’t stop playing his words over and over again. The Killian she knew would die before those words ever tumbled out of his mouth. The Killian she knew always put his pack above everything else— above himself even.
But now, he wanted to play superhero to another pack that could have found other alternatives to address their impending doom.
For fuck’s sake, they could have just fled and started anew somewhere else, for instance. Kendra knew she was being two-faced thinking of this alternative, especially when had she been in their shoes she would have one hundred percent stayed back to fight for her home, but she did not even care.
As it was now, becoming her mate was the last thing on her Alpha’s mind.
And honestly speaking, Kendra did not know what to make of that.
He didn’t even care that they did not have that much time left with the Red moon coming and all… hell, since he left her after their conversation at the sparring grounds, he hadn’t even come by to see how she was doing— to see how well she was settling in.
And ten hours had already passed since then.
Kendra knew that whatever it was, it involved that Aiyisha woman. There was no other logical explanation, after all.
And though it was subtle, Kendra could have sworn that the other she-wolf believed she had some sort of claim to her mate. It was obvious from the faint possessive way she carried herself when she was around him.
True, Kendra had only seen her with Killian once, but that one time seemed to be loaded with just enough information to make her jump to those conclusions.
Oh, but if that Aiyisha thought she could claim her mate, then she had another thing coming. For it was never going to happen.
Not on her watch.
She needed to go and see him.
And so, with that thought in mind, Kendra Sullivan stood up from the luxurious bed and headed outside to go check on her mate.
If Mohammad wasn’t going to come to the mountain, this freaking mountain was for sure going to Mohammad.
****
Rogue Alpha Killian Silvercrest sat on the bare floor of the training grounds, bare chested, and frankly speaking, a little cold, but he could not seem to bring himself to do something about it.
Kendra was back in his life.
After five days of wondering if she was safe, if she was alive, she was finally back, and most importantly, she wanted to be with him.
Everything he had wished for since he was told she was his mate was falling into place. All they had to do now was get married and then maybe consummate the marriage— he wasn’t exactly sure, but that was not even going to be a problem. The only thing that mattered was that she had accepted the Moon Goddess’s choice… that she had accepted him. Anything else, they could figure out from there.
Who knew? Perhaps, they could even revive the pack after all.
So why was he being stubborn about it?
You want to know the whole truth?
True, he did have some new purpose… all that long speech he had made about Dnakle had been true, but not entirely.
The thing was that, it was almost as though he was meeting Kendra for the first time. The feeling had almost been akin to a love struck teenager meeting his beloved. His brain had been in shambles while he listened to her speak, and everything she had been saying was mostly lost on him as he stared at her rosy lips.
He knew he had said all that about purpose, but they could have just as easily completed their mating while he attended to that purpose. So why had he not suggested that instead?
Gods, even in her rags, she had never looked more beautiful to him.
Perhaps her striking beauty had muddled up his brain, so much so that he had been unable to think.
He so desperately wanted to go check up on her, to have a long conversation with her while he heard tales of her adventure with the Curers. He wanted to see that excited gleam she got in her eyes whenever she talked about something she was passionate about, wanted to see the excited way she gesticulated whenever she was overwhelmed with the burden of having too much to say. He just wanted to see her, even if they weren’t going to have any conversation, for he had found time and time again that sometimes, just being in her company, sitting in silence, was enough for him,
But something was holding him back,
This time he was the one doing all the pushing away, and you know the funny part? He tried to justify all of it, tried to share the blame even.
It had been what, ten hours after their reunion?
Why hadn’t she come to look for him yet?
Perhaps she was sleeping.
He didn’t even want to think about that, didn’t want to consider the fact that after such an arduous adventure, she’d be tired enough to sleep all those hours away.
He wanted to be angry with her!
But that was just the thing with him and Kendra. No matter what she did, he couldn’t bring himself to remain angry at her. Not for long, at least.
He was going to check up on her.
But he needed to go get some clothes first.
With that thought in mind, he made it to his feet and left the sparring grounds, but unfortunately for the rogue alpha, he bumped into Aiyisha on his way to his room.
She sat on one of the many benches that littered the courtyard looking so forlorn and sad that Killian knew it would be inconsiderate to just pass by without asking her what had gotten her in the doldrums.
“Everything alright?” He drawled softly as he slowly approached, a look of concern gracing his features.
She looked up at him with a start, making it clear to the Alpha that she had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed him approach.
“Hey, don’t tell me you’re now leaving the sparring grounds, I didn’t know you were still there like I would have joined you and gotten some practice in.” She said cheerily with a smile that did not really touch her eyes, but Killian was having none of it. “Don’t try to change the topic, Aiyisha, what is going on with you?”
Killian watched the smile fade from her face as she sighed deeply. And then she was patting the bench, silently asking for him to join her, a telltale sign that it was going to be a long one. Killian hesitated.
He really needed to go and check on Kendra as well.
But what if she was sleeping?
Plus, it looked like whatever was bothering Aiyisha was serious, and so he told himself that he was just going to provide a listening ear for a little bit, help out in any way he could, and then be on his merry way to go see his mate.
That seemed like a plan, right?
Wrong!
He sat down beside her, seemingly silent, giving her the time to process her thoughts, but inwardly screaming his lungs out at her to hurry the fuck up so he could get to Kendra.
And then she started.
“My father wants me to get married, Killian,” She said, so softly that he barely caught it.
“Okayy…” He dragged out, not really knowing where she was going with this. “This is nothing new though, right? He has been pressuring you for quite some time now, but he hasn’t really done anything about it so I don’t really see the problem here.” He knew this information because she had told him herself, which was why he was surprised as to why it was now getting to her so.
“That’s the thing Killian, before, he had just been pressuring— all bark and no bite, but now he has actually found me someone.”
Oh.
That changed things. A whole lot.
“Do you know this person?” He pressed, but the blonde haired girl only scoffed, angrily wiping a stray tear off her face. “Person? I don’t think he fits into that category, Killian— t-that he can be called human… and to be honest, I’d rather flee Dnakle and be rogue than get married to that brute, and nothing can change my mind.” She declared stubbornly.
Killian was silent for a while. This really was a lot to take in, and he found that he wasn’t really the kind of person who gave excellent advice.
“Wow.” Indeed, that was all he could say.
“You know, I just don’t get it, Killian,” She sniffed. “I just don’t get why in this modern day and age, where women are achieving more feats in life, my father seems so hell bent in sticking to the old ways of making me a child bearer and a housewife, especially when I want nothing with that life!” This time, the tears were flowing freely, the rogue Alpha could tell how the distressed the young she-wolf was, and so naturally, he reached for her hand, offering his silent solidarity, but then she threw herself into his arms instead, much to his alarm, “Aiyisha—”
“Why can’t I just find someone like you, Killian?” This time, she was full on crying, the rogue Alpha had never been in a more uncomfortable situation! His wolf kept snarling at him in his head, ordering him to flee, or to at least get the she wolf’s filthy paws off him, but he stupidly sat there. She was distressed, he told himself, and there’s really no reason to add up to that distress, even if he was a bit uncomfortable with their current position.
“I’m sure you’ll eventually find someone so much better than me, Aiyisha… I thought we have already had this conversation, I’ve already told you that we cannot be more than that,” He gently pushed her away, feeling a sense of relief when she moved back a bit.
But nothing prepared him for what she did next.
For before Killian could make sense of it, or even give a reaction of any sort, she was already pushed up again him, her lips firmly planted against his.