Aurora James - POV
"He didn't mean a word he uttered that morning, Aurora."
"I was wondering why you didn't defend him yet. I don't care whether he meant it or not, but he needs to ask for my forgiveness for what he said." I retorted when I felt my wolf retreat to the back of my mind. I closed his room door and walked down the hallway when I finally arrived at his office.
The door was closed, and I twisted the handle, and to my luck, he didn't lock this room today. I pushed the door open and walked in, and the moment I stepped inside the room, the lights turned on along with the air conditioner.
For a moment, I stood there shocked at what I saw in front of me. The room was a complete mess. There were empty beer cans and wine bottles on the floor, and his desk was scattered with papers and files. To my right, next to his bookshelf, there was a map of the pack territory along with its borders, and he had marked various places with a red marker.
Looking at the state of his office, I almost pitied him. It must be stressful right now with this rogue on the loose and having no clues about the murders that took place. I carefully walked inside, making sure that I did not disturb anything that was on the ground, and began looking at all the papers on his desk.
This was not an easy search because his desk was already messy. Every few seconds, I kept looking at the wall clock even though I had no idea when he would return. The letter was not on his desk when I gave up and searched his bookshelf. After going through every book that was there, I finally gave up.
Where the hell did he keep that goddamn letter?
I leaned against the bookshelf when I felt something fall on my head as it dropped to the floor. I looked down with a smile on my face. There were still blood stains on the envelope as I picked it up from the ground, and took the paper out. The paper was crushed one too many times as I opened it to read.
Dear Beta Perez,
I expected more from you. But seems like you are not capable of figuring out what is in front of you. Your pack members are a bunch of fools, they didn't even realize that Aurora was your mate. Don't worry, you will not catch me, but let me give you a little hint. Your mate would not be breathing for long, and when I get my hands on her, she is as good as dead.
Till the next death.
I felt my hands begin to tremble while the letter fell to the ground. I have no idea why that rogue was targeting me. But most of all, how did he figure out that I am Zander's mate?
This note only confused me further. Why would I be a target when I do not belong to this pack in the first place?
But most of all, there was this one question that kept swirling within me. Would Zander save me, or would he let the rogue kill me to prove that I mean nothing to him?
I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach as my eyes stared at the letter. By now, I had memorized every word that was in there. I thought Elijah was the only problem that I had to worry about, but right now, I feel like he is not an issue at all. This rogue is after my life, and I need to do something.
I quickly collected the paper from the ground, put it back in the envelope, and placed it where I found it before I walked out of his office.
Click.
My eyes widened in horror when I heard the sound of a door closing. Zander must have come back from his run. I frantically looked around the hallway before I ran downstairs. As I reached the foyer, I looked around and walked toward the front door. I only managed to touch the doorknob when I felt a firm hand around my waist, which pulled me towards a rock-hard chest.
Sparks flew everywhere our skin touched while I felt my breathing increase. "What are you doing here in my house, Aurora?" Zander asked me as he backed me up against the wall.
"I…I…" With him this close to me, my mind was in a jumble, and I couldn't even think of a proper excuse right now. "Zander, I…" Before I could even form a sentence, I felt his lips on mine, which made my eyes close.
I felt the mate bond rejuvenate as my toes curled. The kiss was fast as I wrapped my hands around his neck. All rational thoughts flew out the window when he broke the kiss and began peppering feather-like kisses down the column of my neck.
I could not control my desire as I felt something wet pool between my legs, and this only made his hands around my waist tighten. I arched my back, giving him more access as he kissed down my neck when his lips kissed at the place where my neck meets the shoulder. I felt his canines lightly scrape my skin, making me moan.
It was like someone poured a bucket of cold water on me as my eyes widened in realization. I abruptly pushed him away, and he didn't resist as he stepped back as well. My chest was rising up and down in rapid succession as I ran into the living room and stared at the mirror.
There were hickeys all over my neck, and there was a particularly big hickey on the place where my mate Mark should be, and it was darker than the rest. I felt the sparks on my waist as Zander stood behind me. "What did you do?" I breathed out when a smirk formed on his face.
He moved his hand towards my neck as he brushed away the stray hair from my mark. "You reeked of another man's scent, and I just helped you get rid of it," he whispered as I gulped when he stepped back.
"You know trespassing is a punishable offense, right?" he asked me while I stood as still as a statue.