KEISHA’S POV

TWO WEEKS LATER

Wellㅡ I had a pack dinner to attend now.

You can guess whose idea that was. Nadia.

She showed up at my door on Thursday evening with a huge smile on her face that told me she had already concluded something about my schedule and needed me to know now. "Weekly pack dinner. You’re coming."

I looked up from the report I was cross referencing. "I’m busy."

"You’re always busy. You’ve been here two weeks and the only places you’ve been are this house and that office." She leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed. "Come on, Keisha. It’ll be good for you."

"People keep saying that about things that end up not being good for me."

Nadia rolled her eyes. "I’m not Riven. Come on."

So, I went. Mostly because arguing with Nadia required an energy I didn’t currently have and partly because she was right.

I did need a break.

The hall was bustling with energy as we walked inside. People sat across the long tables, food lined up on plates as they chatted with each other with the familiarity that had been built over a long time of knowing each other.

I felt so out of place here.

Nadia grabbed my arm and pulled me forward before I could overthink it.

She sat me between herself and a packmate named Orin who worked border patrol and had apparently decided that I was going to know everything about border patrol by the end of the evening whether I wanted to or not.

I’m going to be honest, he was warm and easy to be around and I found myself actually listening after a while, asking questions I was genuinely curious about because I needed a distraction.

I knew where Callum was for the entire meal without looking at him directly more. The bond made sure of that.

The first time I looked up he was listening to something the elder on his left was saying, his jaw set and his expression unreadable. The second time he was already looking somewhere else. Or at least performing looking somewhere else. I couldn’t tell and it was best I didn’t dwell on it.

Dane on the other hand, sat three seats down and across. He spent most of the dinner talking to the packmate on his left, his voice deep and mildly audible. I think I needed to file a complaint to the moon goddess because the things the bond made me feel from just hearing his voice was crazy.

My thighs clenched together and my fingers shook while I drank a sip of water to calm my racing thoughts.

"You should come around the west border sometime, Keisha." Orin interrupted my thoughts with an easy smile on his face.

I raised a brow, partly surprised at his offer and partly grateful for the change in subject. "Oh?" I laughed slightly.

"You have a good laugh." He said it simply, his voice soft.

"Thank you." I smiled, looking away.

From three seats across, the atmosphere became charged but I didn’t look.

After dinner Nadia materialized at my elbow. "There you are!" She steered me slightly away from the dispersing crowd. "Orin likes you."

"Orin is friendly." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Orin is friendly to everyone. He was specifically friendly to you." She gave me a significant look. "He’s a good one, Keisha. I know it’s kinda early after everything but he’s normal, stable, notㅡ"

"Nadia." I stopped her before she could gi any further.

"I’m just saying." She shrugged.

"I know what you’re saying." I picked up my coat from the back of my chair. "Good night."

She looked like she had more to say but she let me go with a small smile and I slipped out of the hall and into the cold, taking the long route home to clear my mind.

The route was dark, trees swaying at the sight of the path. Quiet and cold. Just what I needed to have some time to myself in the open as I walked home. The bond was still running its background frequencyㅡ Dane somewhere behind me in the direction of the hall, Callumㅡ

Closer than I expected.

I stopped immediately as a presence materialized behind me.

He fell into step beside me from the treeline, which meant he had either taken the same route by coincidence or he had known where I was and that answer was not a coincidence.

He didn’t say anything and neither did I. We just walked in tense silence while I resisted the urge to adjust my coat.

"You’re settling in really well." He finally broke the silence.

"Trying to." I kept my eyes ahead.

"I owe you a conversation." He said finally.

"About?" I tried to remain oblivious to what he meant.

"What happened. And what I intend to do about it."

I glanced at him for the first time. He was looking ahead. "And what do you intend to do about it?" I questioned.

We kept walking and I noticed he was following me back to my home.

My heart raced and I looked around subtly. What if someone saw us aㅡ

"Relax. No one will see us." He muttered under his breath as though he knew exactly what I was thinking.

We got to my door and I looked up at him expectantly. "You haven’t answered my question. What do you intend to do about it?"

"Manage it." He shoved his hands into his pockets with a slight shrug, his dark eyes watching me.

The atmosphere fell silent and I was aware of how close he was. Don’t look at his lips. Don’t look at his lㅡ

His eyes dropped to my mouth for exactly one second.

"Manage it?" I repeated.

"Keishaㅡ"

"Good night, Alpha Callum." I immediately scrambled into the house before I did something I would regret.

Diane grumbled inside me and I ignored her.

Fuck.

He hadn’t left. I could feel him still hovering in my doorway.

I pushed off the door and went to make tea and had been standing in my kitchen for approximately four minutes when someone knocked.

I already knew who it was before I opened it.

Callum still stood in my doorway. "Let me come in tonight, Keisha. I need you."

My lips parted, ready to say no but the bond did its thing and I found myself saying the one thing I promised not to againㅡ "Yes." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Immediately, his lips were on mine as he backed me into the house, slamming the door behind us.

I was breathless, struggling to breath when he pulled away, dragging his lips down my neck, sucking and biting at the skin. "Oh..." I groaned, my voice soft and desperate.

"You taste so fucking good..." He growled, teeth sinking into my skin as his fingers tightened on my hip.

"Please..." my pussy ached with a familiar need. Everything felt silent save for the harsh breathing in the space and the sinful sounds of his lips slurping on my skin.

He didn’t give an answer verbally. Instead, his hands hooked under my hips, lifting me up until I wrapped my legs around him, feeling the hard length of him pressing against my soaked panties.

Alpha Callum carried me over to the couch, sitting back while leaving me to straddle him. "Let me see that pretty pussy."

There was something so indescribably hot about the command in his tone but I complied immediately, pulling myself up to slide my panties down my legs.

He watched with a hunger that sent a shiver down my spine, his tongue darting out to swipe at his bottom lip. "Fuck, touch yourself."

Without thinking, one hand started massaging my nipples through the thread bare shirt I was wearing while the other rubbed circles around my sensitive clit. I was still straddling him, touching myself as I moaned. "Oh my god..." my eyes fluttered shut as I sank a finger deep into my pussy.

He let out an appreciative growl. "You’re so fucking hot right now. Come sit that pretty pussy on my cock."

If anyone had ever told me that these filthy words would leave Alpha Callum’s lips, I would have called them a liar. But this was reality, I opened my eyes slowly to look at him.

He had fished his cock out of his zipper, his hand wrapped around his thick length as he gave himself firm, upward strokes while staring at me intently. The head of his cock was huge and overwhelming, the angry purple head already leaking precum.

Something coiled in my guts. Want.

I pulled my finger out of my cunt and straddled him properly, using my hand to guide him to my entrance. As soon as the head bridged past my entrance, we both let out a collective sigh of pleasure.

Slowly, I sank down onto his length, dropping my face into his neck as I held on to him for purchase. "Will you tell me this was a mistake this time?"

His hands found my hips, slowly guiding me to roll them as he started thrusting upwards into me, drawing gasps out of my lips. "Not this time, Keisha. Not this time."