"The General is getting out of hand, you know?" Ivan mumbled in the vehicle quickly glancing in Silas' direction who occupied the other seat. The pair had grown up together and though Silas had never had a brother, Ivan was one of the few people in the world whom he truly felt comfortable with. However, with Grant it was a different story.
"I know. I'll handle him," he replied keeping his gaze firmly planted on the passing scenery outside anxious to get home. "Handling him can only last for so long. You and I both know he tries to oppose you any chance he gets, I'm starting to think he's becoming a sympathizer of Saul's cause," his friend replied hoping that Silas would see that trying to be lenient upon Grant may possibly lead to his downfall.
"What do you want me to do, huh? Banish him?" he scoffed.
"It wouldn't be the worst idea."
"IVAN!"
"What?" the Beta replied raising his hands in mock surrender chuckling at the murderous look being thrown his way. "You know I have a dark sense of humour."
"Don't use that as an excuse to cover up the fact you're a prick."
"Says the man who kidnapped his mate – OW!" he grimaced at the punch Silas landed on his arm. He resorted to massaging the spot not feeling any form of anger but was more of amused to see his long-time friend so worked up. When he had told him about the human, Ivan was in disbelief at how impulsive he acted. Silas had always been the level-headed one of the two and always knew how to control his emotions so knowing he had risked their existence getting exposed by marking her so openly was entertaining. "Hit me all you want, the proof is in the pudding my friend. But …" he muttered his facial expressions growing serious, "how is she?"
Contemplating a suitable response, once he had marked her it meant he could feel all she felt and vice versa. At first he had felt an unsettling emotion in the pits of his stomach that informed him she was scared but a part of him believed Lea would be there to offer her comfort and as a result it seemed she was fine. There had been no panic or fear that surfaced for the course of the day and he was thankful for that. "She's okay," he kept the answer simple and short knowing that once he walked through the doors of his home she'd probably lunge for his throat and attempt to strangle him.
"Well when she gets over the fact she's mated to a lunatic like you, you should both have dinner with Suzanne and I," Ivan muttered disembarking from the vehicle. Silas merely grunted in response and began preparing himself for what was to come once he got home.
***
As he entered the house he steeled himself for what was to come. Moving around the space he took in a few calming breaths wondering why the house was so quiet until he heard Lea chuckling lightly as his mate spoke.
And though he didn't want to eavesdrop he found himself hiding behind the wall. He felt ashamed at best for behaving in such a way but deep down he was nervous about finally being able to speak to her after what he had done. Peaking discreetly behind the wall he found her leaning against the sink, clad in his baggy sweatpants and shirt. Though his clothes were baggy on her figure he found her looking particularly delectable.
"I am glad you're willing to be at ease despite everything," Lea murmured smiling at her. Admittedly when Lea had willingly offered to answer the questions she had, Raquel hadn't bothered to ask certain questions. Deep down she knew she'd see that man again and be able to get the answers she wanted that had been bothering her. But from what Lea told her she was in Rovina, a place that wasn't too far from Brixton and learnt that she had been working as a maid for the man by the name of Silas for quite a long time. From the pictures she saw of his family on the wall along with the large expansive land his home occupied it didn't take her long to realize just how wealthy he was. And Lea had assured her despite how skeptical she was that no harm would befall her.
"Your presence helped to be honest. But I want to go home, back to my life," she replied turning to place the glass of water she had been drinking into the sink not knowing that he had heard the confession that had him feeling uneasy. Without wasting any more time he decided to make his presence known to the occupants in the room. From just the sound of his footsteps that reverberated off the walls with each step he took without her looking his way he could easily see her visibly tense going so far as to grip the sink's edge tightly. "Lea," he acknowledged nodding firmly in her direction, the older woman stood up from her seat and reached his profile leaning forward to whisper, "Be gentle with her. You gave the poor girl a fright with your actions."
"I know," he whispered back and he watched Lea excuse herself for the night much to Raquel's dismay whose poor heart had begun tripping upon its own feet unable to cope with the fact he was here. Unsure of what to do, she remained stuck in place searching for a weapon to hurl should anything happen. "Aren't you going to face me, Raquel?"
The question although simple wound up baffling her how despite everything he did; flutters beat lightly in the deep pits of her stomach from hearing him say her name. It was a feeling the Alpha felt and he moved forward taking a chance in the hopes she won't turn him away as he stood a bit closer to her but refrained from touching her. "Why, so that you can just kill me?" she mumbled breathing heavily afraid to face death once more. He chuckled darkly eliciting a shiver down her spine, "I would never hurt you."
"And I'm just supposed to trust you. In case you forgot I saw you nearly kill someone, a-and your eyes…" she left the sentence hanging in the air afraid to finish. She had been scared to delve deeper on what she had seen but Silas knew that she was coming to grips with everything. When it came to explaining the presence of their kind to humans, he had heard some of the men and females of his pack express how difficult it was to get their mates to not be afraid of them and truly believe they were telling the truth. "Say it," he demanded lightly watching her finally turn to face him slowly. "Ask m –"
"Are you human?"
And there it was; the question he had wished to answer under better circumstances. However, he had to take what life gave him and come to accept the consequences of his actions as he mulled over the question. She eyed his profile, taking in every detail of his face just like the first time she saw him. "I am a werewolf, my kind have been around for centuries, despite the claim by media that we are purely fiction we exist. We exist in packs, create little communities tha –"
"Wait, wait," she interrupted lifting her hand in sheer disbelief at what he was saying. She narrowed her eyes observing his features much closely looking for a crack in his exterior in the hopes it was a joke but when his face remained void of any emotion she looked away. "You're lying to me."
"I'm not. Despite what my behavior from last night showed, I don't ever wish to inflict harm upon anyone regardless of whether they are good or bad. And besides," he paused reaching out to grasp her hand tentatively, "I would never lie about a part of who I am to my mate…"
Perking up at the word Raquel stared at him quizzically before realization dawned upon her at what he meant. "No, no, NO!" she stressed pulling her hand out of his grasp, "I'm not your mate. You must be mistaken – hell y-you're INSANE," she huffed moving past him ready to retreat but he acted fast and pulled her in till she was pressed against his body, "Werewolves are never mistaken when it comes to the one they were meant to be with. I know you're confused, information like this is bound to freak anyone out but before your pretty little head touches the pillow I want you to know that you aren't going anywhere," he growled tightening his hold on her eliciting a light gasp from her when dipped his head to the side of her neck where he had laid his claim, "For as long as you bear my mark, you are mine, woman. You belong to me," he concluded. Silas went further to lick her neck and began laying open mouthed kisses that had her growing weak in his arms as he indulged in the velvety feel of her skin.
He was convinced he had her under his spell due to his skillful tongue; unfortunately she pushed him away and smacked him across the cheek proving to him that he was in this case mistaken. Turning back to look at her, anger radiated in her brown pools as she crossed her arms trying to fight the warm feeling in her body, "You took me away from my home. In my eyes, you're a monster!" she bit back.
"And yet you're aroused," he replied watching her release a string of curse words under her breath whilst marching out of the room leaving him amused at how cute she looked when she was upset.