Chapter 5

ADIRA

Cullen didn't let go of my hands. If anything, he holds on even tighter as he guides me through the huge hallway that leads towards the pack's courthouse till we arrive at a closed door which I assume is his room. He gently opens the door and ushers me inside.

I am skeptical at first but left with no other option, I cave and make my way inside. He shuts the door behind me and I almost jump right out of my skin. I am quite uncomfortable being alone with him and I can tell that he noticed it too. Even though he helped me,  it still doesn’t change the fact that he tried to kill me the first time we met so I don’t trust him, not even one bit.  

"Relax." He muses. "I'm not going to hurt you so you don't have to be afraid of me." 

Well, can he blame me for acting like this? He is a freaking Alpha king and a respectable leader but I can’t bring myself to believe him. I have heard a lot of stories about him and none of them are pleasant to say the least. He is known to be a ruthless tyrant and one of the most feared rulers across the land.

The fact that I had just witnessed him almost beat up Richard to a pulp is enough reason for me to be terrified of him. What if those rumours about him were true? What if he was really as bad as they said? But will a bad person really go out of his way to help me? 

"What is your name?" He asks when I am a bit calm.

"Adira, Alpha king." I answer but he only nods his head in acknowledgement of what I had just said. 

"By the way, thank you for saving me." I mutter gratefully, breaking the dead silence that hovers around us. "If you hadn't stepped in to help me when you did then he would've really taken me away."

"I promise to repay your kindness one day." I add, earning a look from him.

"But why did you help me?" I proceed to ask. I mean, it is a little strange that an Alpha king had stepped in to defend me when everyone had turned their backs on me. No king will do that so there must be a reason why he chose to help me.

"No one believes that I'm innocent." I go on to say whilst rubbing my hands together nervously. "They all believe that I'm guilty. They say that I'm a liar and a thief and that I deserve to be killed. None of them tried to defend me or stand up for me so why did you?"

"Because you're innocent." He states firmly, his eyes unwavering.

"But you don't know that." I counter. "You only just met me today under dire circumstances not to mention that you're also the Alpha king and have no business being involved so how can you possibly know that I am innocent?"

He breathes heavily and takes a step forward, bridging the gap between us. "Because I inhaled your scent."

My eyes fly open at those words but he looks at me, unfazed. How can he say such words with a straight face? I flush and I can’t exactly tell why.

"When I held you back there, I inhaled your scent. It was different and pure. It didn't smell like someone who had done something wrong so I knew that you were innocent." He explains and I almost leap for joy.

Who cares if no one believes me? The Alpha king does. He was on my side and that's all that matters. Although, it still bothers me that a man I had just met believes my story while the man I love doesn’t. Richard has been with me for the longest time. He knew me better than anyone and yet, he chose not to believe me.

Did he really not think it through at all or did he know that I was innocent and still chose to put the blame on me? Was he trying to frame and make me the scapegoat so that I would take the fall, just to protect the real criminals, Diane?

"Besides, I didn't save you because I care or want to protect you from anybody." He says, bringing me back from my quick reverie. "To be honest, I wouldn't have bothered to step in if it were anybody in your position."

"Then, why me? Why did you save me?"

He inches in closer, his huge framed body caging me in. His height is not one to be reckoned with and the thought that he would crush me makes me even more scared.

"Because I want you." He answers, looking down at my almost exposed chest that is bare to his lustful eyes. Just then, I feel my body slowly becoming restless all of a sudden. This is new. I have never felt this way before. What is this scent? Why is it so powerful but yet again, so enthralling.

What could smell so divine to the point of making me feel this way.

"I don't know why but I am strangely attracted to you and I know that you can feel it too." He traces my cheeks with his fingers and I feel a sudden ache between my legs and an unfamiliar pull in my lower abdomen but struggle to remain unfazed.

He is uncannily close to me. I can feel my body responding to the warmth of his touch. If I stay here, in this position for more than I intend to, then I will be doomed and I mean literally because I might not be able to fight this attraction that is slowly building up inside me.

I force myself to take a step back. "What do you mean by that? And what do you want from me?" I ask, feeling a bit disappointed.

Somehow, I thought that he is my savior but he is just like the rest of them. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I can't imagine that I had escaped from almost being sold off to a ruthless sex master, to being lust after by another Alpha. 

It's almost like I wasn't destined to be happy cause each time I feel myself getting liberated, I find myself stuck in another problem.

"I want you to repay my kindness like you had promised me earlier." He says and I hold on tightly to my clothes.

Is he asking for sex? Does he want me to sleep with him? Just the thought of being touched or assaulted by this man doesn’t sit right with me. I have to do something so that he doesn't go through with it.

"Repay your kindness?" I ask, bewildered. "How?"

"I want you to get married to me, Adira." He blurts out while I look at him, shocked as if he had just said the most abominable thing that I have ever heard in my entire life.

"I want you to act as my Luna for an entire year." He deadpanned.