SURFACE DEMONS.

ZEDANE

I don't want to look at her. I don't want to touch her. I don't want to be in the same space as her. Dammit! What the hell have I done? Why would I let my impulse take control of a situation I could've avoided?

I'm mated to a freaking Omega wolf. Of all of the she-wolves in existence, it just had to be an Omega wolf that I would swear away my existence to.

The mating bond and all the magic that comes with it is settled over me in a chokehold. I can barely breathe against the danger that is cloaking me in flavored scents.

"Do you speak?" Kiena asks as the van rolls away from her father's territory and back towards my own.

I don't respond. Don't even turn around to look at her. That she is perched that closely to me in this small space is already doing enough to me.

"Zedane, right? I'm talking to you." She tries again.

I still do not respond. Just continue to stare out the window beside me.

"Are you being deliberately rude? You can let me out here if you're going to be so ridiculously annoying. I like my company on the mature side."

"I'd let you out as soon as we get out of your father's territory. I might not want you close to me, but that does not mean I would want to endanger your life." I turn to look at her. "I trust that you would have the sense enough to steer clear of him and all that concerns him."

"I find that very insulting. I don’t remember forcing you into doing anything that you perhaps didn’t want. If I remember correctly, you were the one who claimed me as a mate mere minutes after I ran into you."

I don't bother with a response anymore. I simply turn my head back towards the window and let the winds wash my face as the car speeds.

She has no idea what all I risked to save her. My sanity, peace of mind and safety, everything that has managed to stay intact despite all of the loss, and now I throw it away all for her. For someone I do not even know.

We approach the gates of my manor and they roll open in welcome.

“Whoa! Your entire pack is locked up in a single place? Isn't that dangerous?” Kiena finally starts to speak again.

“Not as dangerous as having them being picked up randomly as hostages,” I quip.

“Wow. So polite,” she murmurs.

I cast a glance at her, tempted to speak up concerning her definition of me, but I decide against it. There's no point trying to win her over, the less she likes me, the more likely she is to avoid me.

We park in front of the giant Manor, its Victorian style archs curving over us in royal shade. I don't bother waiting for her, I step out of the car and march inside.

I hear her footsteps as they hurry after me. “You know, your attitude is really starting to grate on my nerves.”

“I made a suggestion to drop you off somewhere. You don't have to put up with my attitude.” I neither stop nor turn around as I respond.

“What the hell is your problem? You're acting like I've offended you somehow.”

“Prepare the queen's room for the lady here.” I turn to Eric who has been trailing us.

“Yes, Alpha.” He bows and hurries along.

“You're putting me in a room different from the one that you use?” She asks incredulously.

I turn to her with a blank expression. “Where did you expect to sleep?”

“The hell kind of question is that?”

“The kind that would better help me understand your thought process?”

“Where am I expected to sleep?” She thunders again.

I shrug. “That's what I want to know.”

“You claimed me as your mate,” she quips as if that explains everything.

“Yeah. To save you from being forced into a mating you didn't want.”

“You don't know me. It should definitely go beyond that if you're risking a pack war to save me.”

“Exactly. I don't know you. So it shouldn't be anything beyond the fact that I choose to be a good person.”

“I need to know something, Zedane.”

I give her my best bored look. “What do you want to know, Kiena?”

“Why did you defend me in front of my father?” She yells, frustrated beyond measure.

“Because contrary to what you think, you're not strong enough to face them on your own. You have no wolf, so even running away is not an option for you; you'd definitely tire out before the wolves.” I take a deep breath before I continue. “You'd be dead before you even made up your mind in a fight. So what do you think my defending you was all about?”

Hurt flashes in her eyes, followed by a pool of tears.

“I don't need you or anyone else to defend me, Alpha Zedane. I might not have a wolf but I am more than capable of holding my own in a fight, and that includes one against wolves.” She tips her chin higher. “I'd stay out of your hair, and I expect that you would do the same. Because I would not hesitate to hurt you if you come even remotely close to me.”

I smirk at her. “Exactly how do you intend to manage that?”

Her nostrils flare. “Try me, and you'll find out.”

She turns on her heels and struts away, anger holding her shoulders rigidly as she goes towards her bedroom.

Good. I would rather she is mad than sad. I do not have the strength enough to live with myself if I hurt any more females.

“Alpha.” Herome runs towards me, panting and looking frazzled.

“Is something wrong?” I ask, my instincts already blaring crazily.

“It's… it's Lady Elma.”

“What's wrong with her?”

"She... she..." He stutters. "She's dead."