HARDIN
To my surprise, Elara didn’t even look my way. Her attention was completely on the guy crumpled on the floor. That alone pissed off, considering I only reacted because I thought sothing might’ve happened to her, and that he might be responsible.
To be fair, I didn’t even hit him. Well... except for the part where I almost choked him.
"I’m so sorry, Martins. Can you stand?" she asked, helping him up from where he’d collapsed.
I tried not to react when his arm slid around her waist while the other rested over her shoulder. Shoving the feeling down wasn’t the hardest part. It was the intense urge to crush him against the wall again. But I hadn’t co here to start more shit.
They staggered inside, leaving standing outside like I didn’t exist.
"Man, you need to go in there and apologize to our mate."
Lyon’s voice echoed in my head as I wrestled with the thought. I didn’t need him to tell . A part of knew I’d gone too far.
But another part of hated that I’d done it for her and she didn’t even bother asking why. Instead, she ignored like so kid who’d just been caught doing sothing wrong.
I had things to do tonight. I had Pack business waiting. Alliances to push. Damn lot to fix. Yet here I was, standing outside her door because the pull wouldn’t let leave without seeing her.
"I’m not backing you up this ti," Lyon pushed, his voice echoing louder than usual. "You really screwed this one up. It’s a simple fix."
Sotis I wondered who controlled who. Lyon had this annoying way of getting under my skin, and sotis he made question whose body this really was.
"Fine," I muttered, turning back toward Elara’s door.
After one knock, the door swung open. The glare that greeted wasn’t pleasant. If anything, it was worse than the one she’d given earlier. Her scent slowly wrapped around instantly. Still that warm and electric heat, with that faint edge of stress that made my wolf want to pull her close and fix everything.
"What do you want?" she snapped, her tone sharp enough to cut.
I slid one hand in my pocket, trying to play casual. "It’s not exactly polite to leave a guest standing outside."
I tried to sound normal, but she scoffed like she was seconds away from punching .
"Guest?" she shot back, her eyes widening. "Who invited you? Because last ti I checked, I didn’t. You showed up on your own unannounced, attacked my friend, and now you’re acting like nothing happened? Care to explain that?"
I was about to answer when she shook her head. "Actually, forget it. I don’t even want to know why you’d go after soone you just t. It’s crazy, Hardin. Not everything needs to be solved with violence. Especially not in my house."
Honestly, most of what she said barely registered. The only thing that stuck was my na on her tongue. Hardin. Soft and gentle, even when she was clearly mad.
Fuck.
I couldn’t help replaying the way it rolled off her lips, it made want to steal the sound right out of her mouth with a kiss, until the anger lted into sothing else... "So... you’re mad?" I asked.
"Annoyed." She corrected with a thicker tone. "And seeing you isn’t helping."
I sighed, reminding myself why I’d co here. To apologize. If she had any idea about the thoughts running through my head right now, she’d probably slam the door in my face.
I nodded slowly, eting her eyes. "Alright. I ssed up. No excuses."
She raised a brow, "The guy you assaulted is the one who deserves to hear that," she said firmly. "Unless you’re ready to apologize to him, you’re not coming in."
No one ever spoke to like this, with that kind of authority. It felt... new. Normally, I’d make my position crystal clear. If they were lucky, they’d walk away without a scratch. But Elara... she dragged out a side of I barely recognized. A part that didn’t want to dominate or intimidate. A part that wanted to earn her trust.
I didn’t want to unleash the darker part of myself on her. Sohow... I wanted to fix that too. If apologizing was what it took to make her see differently. Fine, I’ll do it.
She looked like she was about to assu I wasn’t going to do it, when I finally broke the silence.
"Fine." I said.
She studied for a beat, then nodded once. "Good."
Then she stepped aside and let in. The mont I walked past her, her scent surrounded fully, and Lyon gave a satisfied huff in my head. For the first ti, it felt like a step toward sothing I actually wanted.
Martins was sitting on her chair, a pillow tucked behind his back. I hadn’t expected her to fuss over him like this.
She shot a sideways look, like a silent reminder to do what I ca for.
I forced the words out. "I apologize for my behavior, Martins. Elara ans a lot to . I’m sure you understand."
"It’s cool," he replied easily. "She ans a lot to too."
My eyes snapped to Elara instantly.
What the hell did that an?
My skin started burning again, rage bubbling up for the second ti tonight. Lyon surged forward with a silent snarl. I didn’t like that answer one bit. The claim in his voice set my blood boiling. I didn’t need anyone to tell this guy had sothing for her. Maybe she knew it. Maybe she didn’t. Either way, I wasn’t letting that sit for long.
I turned back to Martins. "Mind giving us a minute? Just and her."
Elara looked at , brows slightly drawn together in question. Martins didn’t move at first, waiting until she nodded slowly. Her lips were pressed tight like she was holding back another wave of anger.
Finally, Martins pushed himself to his feet and stepped toward her. "Guess today’s plans will have to wait, huh?" he said.
"Yeah... I’m really sorry," Elara replied softly. "I promise I’ll make ti tomorrow. That’s okay?"
He let out a breath. "Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll text you."
He shot one last wary look before walking out. All the while, I held the heat building inside under tight control.
The mont the door clicked shut, my restraint snapped. I grabbed Elara by the wrist and yanked her toward , pressing her back against the wall. Her free hand ca up instinctively at my chest.
"What is your problem..." her voice raised.
I leaned in close, my body caging hers without crushing, my hand still wrapped around her wrist, my thumb brushing slowly over her racing pulse, feeling the frantic beat that mirrored my own. Her scent flooded my nose stronger, stirring with sharp anger and sothing sweeter underneath that made Lyon whine with need.
For a second, I just stared at her, at the anger burning in her eyes, at the way her chest rose and fell like she was trying to catch her breath.
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. "My problem?" I murmured roughly. I lowered my head until my lips hovered just inches from hers.
"It’s you, Elara."
The mate bond pulled strongly between us, heat licking down my spine, every instinct screaming to close kiss her right then, to taste the anger on her tongue until it turned into surrender. But I held back, letting the tension twist the thin patience inside .
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