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Choose me or lose me.
I'm not a backup plan
and definitely not a second choice.
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BACK TO THE PRESENT. . .
"So," Aden drawls, that nauseatingly handsome smirk, still fixed on his face, "Are you done?"
Not expecting such an unexpected question, I blink a couple of times. "Er. . . what?"
The smirk on his face, if anything, just widens.
"Please. You were staring at me for nearly ten minutes."
"There's a vast difference between staring and glaring, Carter." I seethe, "You are twat, if you don't know that."
He throws his head back and laughs loudly. "Seriously Kiara, who even uses the word 'twat' anymore? Was that supposed to be insulting?"
"I do." I reply coldly, still doing my best to wriggle out of his grasp. "And yes, that was supposed to be insulting. But I'm not surprised you aren't offended. Nothing offends you nowadays, does it, Mr. Thick-skinned-jerk?"
"Your dictionary is weird."
"So is your face."
"Really? Let's be honest, this is a work of art." He remarks, unfazed my unending insults, "You were staring at this piece of perfection for ten minutes."
"Glaring!" I correct him, my temper rising.
"Sure, sweetheart. Whatever floats your boat."
My face heats up at the unconcealed amusement in his eyes, and I try to control myself from raising my hand and smacking his face. As tempting as that sounds, it's quite a difficult thing to do, considering the space between us is... negligible.
I muster up all the dignity left in me. "Let go of me or else—"
His face is suddenly drained of amusement, a darker and much more intense feeling replacing it. He moves closer to me, making my heart beat speed up faster than ever.
"Or else?"
I imagine what it'd be like to lean forward too, all rational thoughts quickly slipping away from me. To lose myself into the dark stormy abyss of his eyes. To give into the inexplicable urge to let everything go, and hold onto the only thing matters now.
He tilts his head slightly. I can feel his warm breath on my lips.
It's like I can almost hear him say. "Give up, Kiara. Stop fighting it and just surrender."
And for an insane moment, I almost want to do it.
"Or else, I'll punch the living daylights out of you, Carter."
The words hit me like a whiplash.
Standing at the door, is the formidable figure of Ashton Taylor. His hands fisted up, his face looking thunderous, he looks like Hercules out to kill.
My eyes widen a fraction before I pull away from Aden's hold, as though burnt by his touch. Even with the distance, I can feel his scorching gaze on me—unnerving and exciting at the same time.
Damn, I'm in trouble.
Ashton gives me a stern look, and I bite my lip, looking down embarrassed. When I promised him, I'd meant to keep my word. But what I'd nearly done now... terrible, it was terrible.
"We're going to have a nice long talk about this when we get back."
Before I can reply, he has already closed off the mindlink and striding towards Aden, as though marching into the battlefield.
"You," he snarls meeting Aden in the eye, "I told you to stay away from her, didn't I?"
Aden looks cool as a cucumber. His outward demeanor never changes as he opens his mouth to reply. "Since when did I start taking orders from you, Taylor?"
"When it comes to the members of my pack, I have every right to tell you what to do."
Dark grey eyes flash with anger as he takes a step forward, reducing the distance between them. Determined brown eyes meet him head on. The nasty glint in them makes goosebumps erupt all over my skin.
"You stay away from Kiara, Carter. Or be sure to see hell break loose." Ashton clenches his fists tight. "Everyone knows what happened the last time."
"I'd like to see you try."
The vein in his jaw ticking and my heartbeat spikes up when I realize the direction in which they are heading.
I reach towards his arm and tugging with all the force I can. "Let's go, Ash. I'm sorry for what I did. You really don't want to start a fight now."
But for all my efforts, he doesn't budge a bit. His face looks like it's carved from stone, cold and determined.
Okay, so I am going to witness a funeral after all.
"On the contrary, that's exactly what I'm looking forward too." He eyes never leave the face of his arch nemesis.
"Ash—"
"Ki, leave. Wait for me in our pack house."
Annoyance surges up at being told what to do. Resisting the urge to throw a tantrum, I give him a glare. "Don't tell me what to do. If I leave, it's obvious you're going to start a war!"
"I make no false promises. That is my intention."
"Then, I'm not leaving."
"I don't like to repeat myself. Go, Ki." He seethes through his teeth. "Now."
Reluctantly, I take a step backward. Not meeting Aden's eye, I whirl around and march towards the door. I slam the door behind me loudly, stomp off a few steps, then turn about and on tiptoe back to the door.
If they thought I'd run off, they had another thing coming. I need to be here, need to watch them not rip each other's throats out no matter strong then desire is. With bated breath, I press my ear against the wood. Believing I'm gone, the two Alphas have resumed their 'conversation'.
"I'm not going to let you around her again. Mark my words. If I see you trying to worm your way back into her heart, I'm going to do everything it takes to protect her. I swear I'll rip out your member, fry them with bacon and eggs and feed you a full English breakfast."
Aden replies with a guttural snarl. "Back off, Taylor. That's not your choice to make. In case you've forgotten, Kiara can speak for herself. She was destined to be my mate, and if she hates me, then why isn't she saying that herself."
"Because—" Ashton stops midway.
Aden's eyebrow arches. "Surely you're not insinuating she's too hormonal to make a decision, are you?"
Ashton clenches his jaw. "Stop putting words in my mouth. You know this is your fault. You walk in with all your mate bullshit and cloud her judgement."
