Not My Alpha

Chapter 4 “Cold Water’

Keira’s POV

“What did you do?!” Dawson asks. He spins me around to face him. He’s angry, and immediately I cower. My mouth is open but I can’t form any words.

“I — I— “

“Dawson let her go.” Harrison says firmly. Dawson’s shoulders drop. He eyes his friend.

“Come on, your father called us into his office.” Harrison adds.

Dawson breathes in deep and closes his eyes, then he releases his grip and turns to Harrison. I step back into the door, wrapping both of my arms around myself, Harrison and Dawson are talking but I’m not even listening, my fear is like a ringing in my ears, cutting me off from the outside world and trapping me within myself. I’m taking deep breaths trying to calm myself down.

Dawson eyes me once more before turning away and heading down the hall. Harrison watches him then turns to me.

“Are you okay?” He whispers.

My arm is still aching from where Dawson grabbed me. I just nod and keep my eyes on the floor. When Harrison leaves down the hall, I step inside, lock the door, and back away slowly.

The secret is out. Harrison, the Alpha, and the Luna all know. And Dawson knows that they know. How will he react?

I’m standing still, staring at the locked door for a minute before I feel safe enough to let it out of my sight. My mind races through the possible outcomes of this situation. Most of them end with Dawson breaking down the door to finish what he started the night before. A chill shivers through my spine.

When I finally brake away from my thoughts, I wander into the bathroom and lay down in the tub. The cold porcelain feels nice against my cheek, I try to think of other things but I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the Alpha’s office. Would the Alpha and Luna really side with me over their own son? Could it be that they care for me more than I realized? Or are they just embarrassed that someone else has seen their son’s true colors.

My tears flow freely for a while, as I lay here reminiscing on how wonderful my life was and how much I took for granted. But after crying for so long, the tears just sort of stop.

I’m numb.

I climb out of the bathtub, blow my nose and wipe my eyes. Then I walk back into the bed room listening for any change or indication that Dawson, or anyone for that matter, is nearby. Once I figure that the coast is clear, I lie down and curl up under the covers.

Harrison’s POV

Seeing that bruise on Keira’s neck put a pit in my stomach. I can’t believe Dawson, my childhood friend, would ever take things that far.

“Dawson, care to explain what happened?” The Alpha says through clenched teeth.

“What do you mean?” Dawson says, the Alpha slams his fist onto his desk, sending a few of his things clattering to the ground.

“Don’t play games with me boy. You hurt that girl. Does it make you feel more like a man?” The Alpha is glaring daggers at his son. Dawson knows better than to meet his gaze. The Alpha has a temper.

“Do you know what would happen if her family found out? She’s your mate for crying out loud. Your fated mate. Those are rare. What are doing?”

“I’m sorry father.” Dawson says still looking to the floor.

I’m lurking at the edge of the room, I’m not sure why I was called here, this seems like a family matter.

“Oh you’re sorry? This is exactly why you aren’t fit to take over the pack just yet.”

Dawson whips his head up.

“But father.” He starts in protest.

“No! That poor girl has hand marks on her throat from you.”

“Whatever she told you, it’s not-“

“She didn’t have to tell me. Your mother brought her here and rubbed off that makeup. She was trying to hide it for you. At least have the decency to be loyal to her.” Silence falls on the room. Dawson looks to his mom. She’s shaking her head in disapproval, staring pointedly at the floor.

“You will not return to your room until tomorrow. You need to give Keira some space. The only thing she did tell me was that this was the first time. So we can all be grateful for that. But if you so much as pull a hair from her head, you will feel the full extent of my wrath.” The Alpha instructs.

“Which leads me to why I called Harrison in here.” The Alpha turns to me.

“You are to be my son’s future Beta, which means that one day Keira will be your Luna.”

“Yes, sir.” I’m still not sure where he’s going with this.

“Harrison, I am charging you with the protection of your future Luna.”

“Sir?”

“You are to keep Keira safe. Can you do that?”

“Um- y yes , sir.” My eyes are darting over to Dawson. He’s not happy about this.

“Even if it’s from your own Alpha?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Dawson, if you don’t get your s**t together, we’ll have a different conversation next time.” Dawson just nods, but I can tell he’s fuming on the inside.

“Both of you can leave.” The Alpha says. Dawson immediately storms out of the room, knocking over a chair in the process. We’re all silent as I pick it up.

“Oh and Harrison keep Kiera in her room until the bruise is gone. We don’t need anyone else to see it.” The Alpha says. I nod before leaving.

“What if she asks to leave? Or tells her family?” I hear the Luna ask as I shut the door.

I listen in. I’m curious to hear what the Alpha will say.

“We’ll just make sure it doesn’t happen again. We can’t let our reputation as a pack become tarnished.”

I shake my head in disbelief and head down the hallway.

Dawson is waiting for me in foyer.

“What the Hell are you doing man.” I say to him when I see him. Dawson rolls his eyes and huffs.

“Look, I know you’ve been put in charge of her safety, but she’s my mate. So don’t let me see you getting too comfortable.” Dawson shoulder checks me before leaving the pack house.

I’m at a loss for words. Dawson needs to realize how lucky he is to have found his fated mate, hopefully this situation will knock some sense into his hard head. I let out a breath and then decide to go check in on Keira.

I knock softly on her door.

“Keira? It’s Harrison. Can I come in? Dawson left. It’s just me.” I call through the door. I can hear movement, then about twenty seconds later the door unlocks and creaks open. I peek into the dimly lit room and see Keira getting back under her covers. I suppose the open door was her silent permission to enter. I walk inside, and head over next to the bed.

“Are you okay?” I ask again. Keira doesn’t answer, but pokes her head out from under the covers.

“Uhh Dawson won’t be coming back here tonight. The Alpha thought you could use some time apart.” I say.

This is feeling a bit awkward. I don’t know how to help in this situation.

“Oh! Also he instructed me to help protect you, even from Dawson.” At this Keira sits up in bed, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. I can see she’s doubting if I’m up to it.

“I’m going to do my best Keira. You are my Luna and it’s my job to protect you. Normally it’s from outside threats, but you know it applies to inside threats too...” I say.

Keira just looks at me with her big doe eyes. I can tell she’s been crying. I’ve always thought Keira was beautiful, and I have to admit seeing the bruise around her neck bothered me more than I thought it would.

It’s silent. Keira’s been quiet this whole time.

“Okay well-“ I turn towards the door. “I’ll leave you to it.” I say.

“Harrison?” Keira finally says. I turn to her quickly.

“Would you mind bringing me some cold water?” She asks.

“Oh. Uh s-sure.” I say.

Her request caught me off guard.

I leave and quickly grab a large icy water bottle from the back of the fridge in my office. I hurry back, half expecting Dawson to be hovering around trying to get into Keira’s room, he’s not. Thank god.

I walk up to the door and knock once before opening. Keira’s lying down again. I walk over to her side of the bed and place the bottle on her nightstand. Then I turn to leave. She needs to rest, and I don’t want to bother her anymore.

“Thank you Harrison.” Keira says weakly. There’s sadness in her voice. I don’t know why but I freeze. I turn to look at Keira, sitting up in her bed, gulping down the cold water. The bruises on her neck glistening from the drops of water running down her chin. Her tiny voice struck a chord deep within me. And just like that, I know I’d give up my life for hers.