Chapter 12 - Kaleem
I signed the last documents covering my desk and reclined in my chair.
My shoulders and wrists cracked while I stretched, and my stomach growled. I checked the time to see that I’d been sitting here for five hours and started putting all the documents in their respective folders.
Diana would have moved back into her old house by now, I thought while closing the programs on my computer. Knowing her, her next step would be to get a job. She wasn’t the type to sit around doing nothing.
As things were, the only way I’d see her was if we ran into each other in town, and while I hated it, as the days went by, I tried to think of her less. It didn’t work, but still, I tried. She’d made her decision, and I had to respect that.
True, her being Colin’s niece complicated things, but to hell with Colin. Being her uncle or alpha didn’t outweigh the claim Diana, and I had to each other as mates. Still, I understood her worry because Colin would go out of his way to make things difficult.
But he was wasting his time thinking our child would one day want anything to do with his pack. He’d already be the future alpha of my pack. Colin’s alpha bloodline living among my kin as ordinary wolves would only cause issues down the line if we were to join again, and any son of mine would be made aware of that.
But all these thoughts of having a child with Diana stirred my wolf.
Running my tongue across my teeth, I recalled how it felt nibbling on her neck. She tasted like heaven, and I could have marked her in the moment, but I wouldn’t dare do that against her will, no matter how much my wolf wanted me to.
When Killian walked in, I turned off my computer and stifled a yawn. “Where’ve you been?” I asked, and he sat in one of the chairs before my desk.
“I now understand why you love her so much,” he replied with a sly grin, and I pulled a face.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, and his grin widened.
“I met Diana tonight,” he replied, and I sat up faster than I meant to. “I also met her cousin Jackson while at Centura. He tried to eat without paying and had the nerve to want to start a fight.”
I took a deep breath. Even with the contract between Colin and I, I knew there would be trouble with some of his members, Jackson in particular.
He was young, hotheaded, and impulsive. If he was the future of the Bluemoon Pack, he had a long way to go.
“And Diana?” I asked. “What was she doing there?”
“She was passing by outside when we threw Jackson out. She’s the one that stopped the fight.” Killian laughed. “Jackson’s scared of her.”
I smiled at that, feeling proud at my mate’s fiery side, although I’d been on the receiving end of it a few times. She wasn’t a damsel, and I loved that about her. She was opinionated and passionate, and she stood up for what she believed in.
She would make an exceptional alpha if only our society allowed female alphas.
To our people, our women were nurturers, guides, mothers, and a treasure, and while protectors as well, male alphas were believed specially tasked by the Goddess to protect.
“Her appearance is deceiving,” I chuckled. “She’d rather punch you than hug you.”
“Yeah, no,” Killian laughed. “She looks exactly how she acts, like a badass, but she is beautiful, brother. She truly is.”
I nodded. Killian hadn’t gotten the chance to meet Diana before she left town, but he was right, Diana looked as fierce as she was now, but that wasn’t the case before. While still opinionated when needed, she was shy, friendly, and open when we met. Now she had so many walls up I wasn’t sure she could climb over them.
“There’s more,” Killian said while leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Judging by the firm set to his brows, something was wrong. “There are rumors about how Colin disciplines his members.”
“He was always a hard ass. That’s why you included the clause in the contract about abusing members. He’d enjoyed overusing his dominance in the past, but since leaving Wolfcreek, he’s gotten physical with many members, hitting them and using his dominance to instill fear.” Killian leaned back. “Tonight Diana said something to Jackson that was curious to me. She mentioned Colin’s cruelty and what he might do to Jackson to get him to back off. That’s not normal.”
“He’s been physically abusing his members to keep them in line,” I growled.
Resting my elbows on my desk, I immediately thought of Diana and what she’s told me about being the least liked among the pack.
“Mathieu had challenged Colin like I told you, and they’ve been at the bottom of the pack since. I think Colin hates them even more than he hates us, and if he’s been abusing his members…”
“You think he might have hurt Diana?” Killian finished my thought and my fists clenched.
The thought alone was enough for me to crave violence.