k********g the Alpha's daughter

Chapter 5

“No,” he responded in a flat tone.

“No?... What do you mean ‘NO’?” Sue asked in a disbelieving drawl.

Rick regarded her a moment before responding, “Forgive me, Ms. Daniels. But I was made to believe that you are quite educated and conversant with our language.”

Sue did not even notice her jaw drop as she stared at Rick in shock. Did he just indirectly insult me? Sue could not believe it. He had just diplomatically insulted her to her face, without even blinking an eye. What kind of warrior wolf insults the alpha’s daughter?

She straightened her back and lifted her head in challenge. “Remember your place, wolf.” Her words were firm, but had no effect on the werewolf standing in front of her.

Which was another thing. He stood in front of her all day, Sue mused. She understood he was a trained warrior, but he took it the extra mile. The man did not relax in her presence even the tiniest bit.

She was beginning to lose her temper. It was now a week since Rick got assigned to her and moved in. And that had been the longest seven days of her twenty years of existence.

The man had been a monumental pain in her ass. He had effortlessly rearranged her entire schedule without even asking her view on the matter. Even the old hag, Agnes, had not been spared from his controlling and orders.

Drawing in a deep breath, which temporarily distracted her from the argument as his musk flooded her senses, she calmed herself and addressed him, “Your duties are to ensure my safety, not to control my life. My coming and going are at my discretion.”

“Discretion… would mean a use of wisdom, Ms. Daniels.” He paused and gave her a studying look. “Which… forgive my frankness, I do not believe you are currently in possession of, regarding this matter.”

“Arg! Your colleagues were more understanding than you!” she screamed at him in frustration.

“Small wonder why they are no longer here to do the job.” Rick was getting agitated, but trying his very best to control it.

They had been at this for over twenty minutes. Sue wished to go into the human town for an afternoon of fun. Rick could smell a bad idea a mile away, and this one stank like rotten meat.

She was no longer sitting. She paced from wall to wall like a caged wild animal. Rick sympathized with her predicament, but he was not going to change his mind. The human town was close by, and it was that very distance that caused a problem.

The small suburban town of Willo was the most frequented by werewolves from their pack due to its proximity to their lands. Trouble was, werewolves did not age at the same rate as humans. So more often than not, people in the town began to notice that the strange visitors did not age.

That was a recipe for disaster. Humans were very superstitious by nature and they would shoot first and ask questions later. Rick was not going to put Sue’s life in danger just because she was bored.

And it wasn’t only her life that would be at stake. Attention could be drawn to the entire Pack which could easily spell out extinction for them. No, he most definitely was not going to change his mind.

She stopped pacing and gave him a look to kill. “I will have my father remove you from this duty and give me another wolf,” she declared boldly.

“Best of luck with that,” he retaliated without even blinking.

“Oh, I will… trust me.” A smile crept onto her face as she added, “I would rather have Owen back, or any of the other two compared to you.”

Rick realized at that moment that Sue was kept in the dark regarding a lot of things. And as much as it was not his place to rectify this error, he felt she deserved to know the repercussions of her actions.

“Ms. Daniels… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are stuck with me… all the three wolves that held this position before me are now dead.” Technically, Rick lied on one account. Owen was alive, but she did not need to know this.

He watched as the smile faded off her face and she paled as the information sank in. It was a slow process, but eventually, she seemed to have understood what he was saying.

“You can’t be serious.” Her voice did not shake as she spoke, but he heard the fear and confusion in every word.

“As serious as a bullet to the heart… or in this case, as serious as a heart being ripped out of the chest.” He was somber and left no room for doubt.

Now she was shaking, and she lowered herself to the once-abandoned chair. He heard her take a couple of deep breaths. He continued to watch her closely. Werewolves did not easily break down, but it was not unheard of. The last thing he needed was to be responsible for her breaking down.

Time stood still for a few minutes, then he barely heard her when she asked, “Why?” He could tell she had already summed it all up in her mind, but she needed him to confirm it.

“They failed in their duty. They developed unlawful desires for you and paid the price for it.”

“But nothing ever happened…” Her voice was now breaking. “They were friendly, and we laughed. I know they liked me but…”

“The threat was removed before damage could happen.” His voice was so matter of fact as he interrupted her. Even to his own ears, he heard how bad it all sounded, but it was the honest, hard truth.

“I thought they just got reassigned because Agnes was not approving of the familiarity.” Her voice was so low and pained Rick almost wished he hadn’t told her.

For some reason, even his wolf was displeased with him for causing Sue such distress. He fought his emotions and focused on his conviction. She needed to know she was getting people killed.

He did not fully blame her. After all, she was much younger and had been raised away from the Pack. She had been exposed to more freedom and choice before now.

He placed the majority of the blame on the wolves that had been assigned to care for her. They knew better. As warriors, they were not ignorant of the law or its consequences. But somehow, they had allowed this young werewolf to get away with too many smiles and sweet talk. And now two out of the three were in the afterlife and the last in exile, a high price to pay for a pretty face.

Although he did not fully hold her accountable, he had to ask, “You must have known getting familiar with your guard would spell trouble.”

She gave him a hurt look. “I didn’t do it on purpose, we just started talking… everyone needs a friend.”

“Duty cannot be mixed with friendship.” Even as he said this, he felt his own regret for his friendship with Owen and what he had almost been forced to do. He shook his head and took his eyes off her.

“Did you do it?” her question was nothing more than a whisper, but he heard it clearly with the help of his wolf. He did not need to ask what exactly she was talking about. He could catch it in her scent. She was scared of him. Ms. Daniels thought he had killed them.

Rick had killed many wolves and humans over the years he served as a warrior. And she must have a clue that one does not rise in rank to second in command without sinking their teeth into a few throats, but he did not kill a wolf for befriending or going after the Alpha’s daughter. That task had been handled with great pleasure by Jakes.

Sue waited for him to respond. She hadn’t wanted to believe him, but she soon realized it explained her father’s anger and the constant changes. Also, it explained the cold attitude Rick had toward her. He blamed her and he had reason to. She had been careless and had wanted to rebel against Agnes and her father. But she had not realized it would go that far.

She had not realized wolves would lose their lives for getting close to her. In the harsh light of day, she realized she had naively thought it was just social, friendly behavior to get on Agnes’ nerves and also have a friend to talk to. She had suspected Agnes saw it as something more sinister, but never in a thousand years had Sue imagined it would be that bad.

Guilt and sorrow overwhelmed her, and she was sure Rick could catch it in her scent with every breath he took. This only added to her shame and humiliation.

She had almost forgotten she had asked him a question by the time he gave her a quiet response. “No. I did not do it.”

She was relieved by his answer. He could tell from her calmed heartbeat and the breath she released. And this also took a weight off Rick’s shoulders. Even his wolf was calmed and stopped fighting him.

All talk of heading into the human town was forgotten for the rest of the afternoon. Sue had spent the rest of the day seated quietly in the house, lost in her thoughts. Rick knew she was processing all he had told her.

He also sensed she blamed herself and was distressed. He felt it down to his bones and his wolf was clawing at him to go to her and comfort her. The urge was almost too much to resist, but he held firm.

By nightfall, Rick was desperate to get away from her. Her scent, filled with regret and shame, was too much for him to continue breathing in without going to her and offering her comfort.

Rick did not want to leave her side. Usually, he waited for her to retire for the night before he left her alone, but this night he could not wait. He needed a breath of fresh air. He needed to clear his head before he did something stupid.

Believing she would not be foolish enough to cause any trouble after everything he had told her, Rick excused himself and headed for the back of the house to clear his head.

He stood under the stars and welcomed the fresh air into his lungs. He had begun to calm and relax when he heard a sound he could not quite place or distinguish.

He stood attentively to catch it again, but was only met with silence. The seconds stretched by with nothing more and Rick began to think he had imagined it. Then the wind blew in his face and he knew for sure a big problem had just cooked and served itself.