Leo Rossi: The Rise of a True Alpha (The Rossi Legacies Book 2)
Precious Bonds Chapter 8

KAREENA.

"Don't fucking touch her!" He snarls, the anger in his voice shakes me and I look around, my heart thundering as he punches Hayden across the face. I flinch when I hear something break.

"Jax!" Ace grabs him.

Fuck, this is my fault.

'Jax, leave it, I was handling...' I trail off when he turns his eyes on me.

"Yeah, I could clearly see how you were handling it," he says icily.

He pulls free from his friends shoving past them and walks out. Why do I feel so bad?

I'm about to go after him when Leo takes hold of my wrist.

'A fucking word first," he says quietly through the mind link.

Great. Just fucking great.

I look the way Jax has gone, spotting Jin and Dan going after him and close my eyes before I take a deep breath.

Shit.

He looks down at Hayden before he bends down and pulls him to his feet.

"Alpha I'm sorry, I was just- they aren't together I didn't think-" Hayden is cut off.

"Regardless of that shit, you should not have pushed the boundaries she was fucking setting. Get the fuck out of here, I'll deal with you tomorrow." "Kareena tell-"

"I told you to let go of me," I say coldly, crossing my

arms.

Leo's eyes flash and Hayden lowers his head. I can smell the fear rolling off him as he takes his leave mumbling a half-assed apology to me.

Leo glances at me, and I follow him to the bar. He motions for me to take a seat and I sit down, he takes the seat next to me, and the bartender passes us two glasses of absinthe. What are you trying to prove?'

I frown as I look over at him. 'Prove? Nothing. What does that even mean?'

He turns and cocks his brows. 'Want me to fucking spell it out for you?'

'Please do because I don't get why you aren't telling your friend, he's the one who lost his cool, not me.' I take a gulp of my glass feeling it going to my head and Leo frowns, downing his own.

'Can you fucking blame him when you ain't fucking making shit easy for him. Are you trying to fucking show us that you don't need anyone, or specifically Jax

- that you're fine on your own?'

I remain silent.

Yeah...

'Maybe... he's getting tired of me, he's fed up, maybe it's time we go through with that long overdue rejection' I say looking Leo in the eyes.

I can't read him, I never could, and his aura makes me look away quickly as even if it is reined in, it's intense.

'Yeah? Then fucking go do it. Things might have been fucking hard for you, but can you blame him for fucking worrying when you fucking put yourself at the brink of fucking death every time Heat hits you?' He lights a cigarette, now turning towards me. "I won't be providing you with any more injections to ease your Heat. This round proved that you needed far too fucking many and that's a risk I'm not going to take again!

My face pales, handle Heat without them?

"Leo, I need them," I say out loud, sounding almost desperate, my heart thumping.

'Oh yeah? Well, replace another way to fucking deal with that shit or as you said, rejection. You're not the only one suffering, Jax has been going through Haze as fucking often as you and he's been dealing with that shit too. Both of you need to sort your shit out! Leo's voice rings in my head.

Haze.

Jax is going through Haze?

For the last two years... he's been...

Everything around me seems to fade away as my heart thumps, my head spinning.

Jax.. hasn't slept with anyone...

I swallow gripping the counter, feeling dizzy.

'Why?' I ask turning to Leo.

He observes me calculatingly before he shrugs and turns away. 'That shit is something only he can answer. But use your brain Kar... why the fuck do you think?' he asks, taking a drag on his cigarette.

I need to talk to him.

'How did he... how did he cope then?'

'Fasting, extreme training and he's my Beta, he's strong. Of course, he is...

I slide off the stool, grab my bag and stride from the room, I break into a run the moment I'm out of sight; I need to replace him.

'Do you know where he's gone?' I ask Leo through the link.

Leo is silent for a moment.

'He's out the back alley with the boys,' he answers quietly.

'Thank you.'

The place belongs to Leo, and security is tight. I can feel their eyes on me as I head down and rush out of the back entrance.

I almost knock into Jin and Dan who are on their way in. Jin smiles slightly.

"Your man has a temper... good luck taming it," he murmurs.

'Your man...

My man...

I can't think straight now aside from one question;

Why?

All these years I had thought he had probably been with some women, I mean two years...

Why? Why suffer?

I pick up on his scent and replace him picking out dirt from his bloodied wounded knuckles as he leans sexily against the wall. The damaged wall behind him is enough proof to show exactly how he damaged hishands.

He looks up when I approach and now that he's right in front of me I don't know what to say...

He looks down again, he's pissed...

"You have a temper," I say, he looks up at me cocking a brow and it's my turn to look down.

Ok scratch that... he's livid.

"You know... I'm allowed to dance with whoever I want." I say quietly, looking up at him slowly.

"Go carry on then, why the fuck are you down here?" he replies, clenching his jaw.

"Because I wanted to know why you lost it?" I say quietly, observing him carefully.

His eyes rake over me, and his eyes snap to mine, and although his gaze is making my entire body tingle, for the first time I also feel.. scared...

His eyes look cold and dangerous, his nostrils flaring as he looks me dead in the eyes and I'm reminded he isn't just the beta of this pack but a ruthless cartel member...

But I'm me...

And I'm going to push it.

"Ok... so you don't want to answer that... how about this..." I step closer, gently pushing his hands down, I'm all up in his personal space but although he's seething know he won't hurt me. "Can you answer why you are going through the Haze? Make it make sense." I whisper, now serious.

"Kar.. leave."

"No, not until I get my answer," I replied stubbornly.

His eyes blaze yellow, and I gasp when his hand wraps around my throat, pulling me close and then pushing me up against the wall he was leaning against moments earlier.

I gasp when my back hits the wall behind me, a soft wind blows around us and time seems to slow.

He presses his body up against mine and I don't know why this is such a turn-on but... but it's his next words that prove I must be sick in the head.

"Why the fuck do you piss me off so fucking badly that it makes me want to rage fuck your brains out?" he snarls, huskily, sending a sizzling jolt of desire through me...