Born For The Alpha novel Chapter 22

Arda fought to control her anxiety. “He just wanted to check on me.” She said.

“Arda.”

“Alpha.”

“You are a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying.” Arda’s eyes watered as her anxiety increased, her voice starting to waver. He paused in silence for a moment as he studied her.

She looked helpless and he began to feel sorry for her. Still, he was desperate to see if he had even a tiny bit of her trust. And he would never get used to the fact that he could not hear her thoughts.

“What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

Arda did not miss the note of curiosity in his voice. “This is the second time you’re asking me that question.” She responded.

“Does it bother you?”

“It is a weird question, so yes, it does bother me.”

“I understand.” He said and placed his palm on her chest. “I hate that I can’t read your mind. That I can’t hear your thoughts.” His voice sounded quiet and contemplative.

Her eyes widened as she remembered how he had once put his hands on her like that. So this was the reason. He couldn’t hear her thoughts. “You can do that?”

“It’s an ability of mine.” He said fleetingly and took his palm off her chest.

Arda was silently grateful that his mind reading abilities didn’t work on her.

“You’re the only one I’ve met that it doesn’t work on.” He continued, “And I resent it a lot.”

Arda remained silent but the information brought forth her confidence and she couldn’t hide the look of pleasure that briefly brightened her facial expression.

Gillow noticed that she was happy about it. “It pleases you that I cannot read your mind?”

“Yes.” She replied bluntly.

“Hmn. Well, not only does that fact annoy me. I mean the fact that you negatively affect that special ability of mine.” His finger gently caressed her cheek. “But it also makes me find you intriguing.”

Her breath came up sharply but she remained silent, their eyes locked into each other’s. Her beautiful light brown eyes as they stared into his, showed confusion and fear but his gaze upon hers was intense.

“Tell me what Jacob said to you.”

“He just wanted to check on me.”

“Try again, Arda.”

“I swear, he just wanted to say hi to me.”

“Hmn. What do I have to do to get the truth out of you Arda?”

She blinked rapidly and shifted her gaze to the floor.

“I could send you to the penance guard but I don’t want anyone else’s hands on you. So maybe I could just torture you myself but why would I want to torture my beloved mate?”

“I am not your mate.” She mumbled, her eyes still on the ground. Then she felt his finger tilting her chin upwards.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes lifted up to his, wet with renewed anxiety.

“Say that again.”

“I am not your mate.” She told him, her voice shaky.

A small smile split his lips as he held her gaze for a beat. “We’ll see about that in due time.”

The smile left his lips, his jaw tightening with the fierce look that had crept into his eyes as he narrowed his lashes at her. “Now tell me what Jacob said before I lose my temper.”

Arda was so afraid, she sputtered as she began to spill the beans.

“He said…He said not to trust you. He said war is coming and it’s three Alphas against one. He said that you cannot stand it. He said he knows you have me but I swear, I…I didn’t admit my location to him. He…he also said hunters from the three packs are searching for me and that it is only a matter of time before they find me. He also said he won’t reveal my whereabouts.”

When she finished, he laughed, surprising her. Her eyes were wild as she gazed at him, stupefied. Didn’t he hear all she had just said?

“Hmn.” He commented. “Is that all?”

Arda remained silent. She had deliberately left out the part about escaping with karina.

“Is that all, Arda?”

She nodded.

“I want to hear your voice.”

“That’s all.”

“Are you sure that there isn’t more?”

“No.” she said, shaking her head.

“Perhaps you forgot something?” he suggested.

He placed his palm across her chest again.

“Then why do I feel like there’s more?”

“There isn’t.” she said, shaking her head again.

His palm left her chest and he straightened up. “Thank you for all that information. War is coming but that’s not new. That I can’t face the three packs is obvious isn’t it? Poor Gillow, the one and only Alpha of the South. Yet, they have not brought the war to me even though my location is known by them all. Perhaps, they aren’t so sure of themselves yet but everything will fall into place. I fear nothing.”

He held out his palm to her. “Here, take my hand. It’s time to meet your family.”

“You mean your family.” She said, refusing to take his hand. Noticing that, he simply took her hand in his.

“Whatever. In this room, perhaps, I’ll let some of your snide remarks slide but out there, I will not. Do not tempt me, understand?”

Arda would have ignored him, but she knew when to behave and that time was now because she could sense his patience thinning. Tyrant, she cursed in her heart. “Yes, Alpha.” She responded and walked beside him as he led them out of the bedroom.

He took her down the flight of stairs Chester had used when he was taking her to Gillow’s bedroom.