The Alpha's Shatter Zone
|24|

“How dare you.”

“Huh?”

“How dare you do that to me!”

“Chesca? What’s going on, what are you talking about?” Kaiden stood in his doorway, looking like he was ready for bed but clearly confused.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know.” She was fuming, and it took all her willpower not to reach out and strangle the man in front of her. “The way you played me like that...Never again!” Her jaw clenched so hard it hurt, but not as hurt as the small piece of her heart she’d opened up only to have it twisted and abused.

“Chesca, calm down and stop shouting. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he frowned and repeated, shaking his head as he stepped aside from his open doorway. Motioning her into his room, he threw on a shirt, which she was silently grateful for, before standing opposite her. “What happened? Last I saw you, you were going to your office after--”

“My office. Exactly. You know precisely what happened next,” she crossed her arms over her chest and pinned her darkest gaze on him.

“I don’t--” he shuffled his feet, bewildered.

“Please, Kaiden,” she interrupted with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t lie to me. It’s bad enough getting your brother to pull off such a stunt while distracting me with a lovely romantic picnic. And you wonder why I don’t trust you? Don’t ever think I’ll--”

“My brother? What did he do? Are you ok? Did he touch you?” Kaiden took a step forward with a look of concern suddenly etching his face. She matched his step back.

“You don’t get to care about me. You forfeited that ages ago. In fact, you never had that right. So don’t act all innocent when I know what game you’re playing.” She was infuriated at him. But more than that, she was mad at herself for actually enjoying the picnic with him. For actually beginning to open up and trying to see him in a different light like Lexi had been persuading her too. For giving him the benefit of the doubt. Well, there was no doubt about him now.

“Chesca, will you please just tell me what happened? If Elah did something to you, I need to know....” his eyes bored into hers deeply, unlike someone who would be trying to hide something from her or cover for a deception they’d just pulled on her. Their gaze would be shifty and wandering, avoiding her scrutiny. His open expression made her pause.

“My office. Someone went through it while we were out. Obviously Elah set you up to distract me--”

“Obviously?” Now his demeanor changed to surprise, with a hint of anger. “Is that what you think I would do?” he frowned, and a curl of hair fell across his face as he stepped forward again. “Chesca, if someone went through your office, we need to replace out who. But you need to believe I had nothing to do with it.”

“Honestly? After everything, you expect me to believe that?” her fingers twitched by her side as the anger still coursed through her veins, but now it was doubting it’s directive.

“Honestly, after everything, I expect you would believe me,” his voice was gentle and soft, his eyes hinting at the bond they both felt, but also holding an underlying hurt that she had just accused him so easily.

“You show up here, planning to take everything of mine, and then your brother comes and you both act like you own the place and are entitled to every privilege. So no, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to snoop in my office. You have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.”

He just stared at her for a few heavy moments, the muscles in his jaw ticking. “I have you,” he said eventually, so quietly and deep with meaning she wasn’t sure she could assume what it was. “I would never want to lose you. Whoever went into your office, I had nothing to do with it, and no knowledge of it.”

“Is that so?” she raised an eyebrow, not sure what else to say. His speech had slowly but surely ebbed at her rage and frustration towards him, and her strength was deflating the more she wanted to trust him. Could be really be telling the truth? “Why should I believe you?”

“Because I swear, I wouldn’t hurt you like that.”

“You swear?” she parroted, like they were the only words her mind could come up with as she watched him intently, reading his face for signs of honesty or more lies.

“On my mother’s grave, I swear.”

Her eyes snapped to his. Could he really mean that? She knew now a bit more of how much his mother meant to him. He must be seriously serious to swear by her. Her lungs inflated with a deep breath, calming herself before she spoke, “Ok.” She bit her lip and released her clenched fists. “Alright, I believe you. But I still wouldn’t put it past your brother.”

“Maybe not. Neither would I. But maybe it was Charles or Lexi, just trying to replace some information and not wanting to bother you?” he walked to the end of his bed and sat down, still watching her carefully. She knew he must be upset that she’d accused him, but he did have it coming for him. She wasn’t about to apologise.

“No, they don’t leave a mess. They know where everything is, but this looked like...like my office had been searched …” Yes, that was the word to describe it.

“Come on then, let’s take a look. I can talk to Elah in the morning,” Kaiden crossed the room and held the door open for her. Chesca hesitantly walked out and met his eyes briefly on the way past. They were dark and brooding, but not sinister or calculating. Just...hurt, maybe.

They made their way to her office and she flipped on the lights. “So as you can see, my drawer was left open, these papers are a mess and in the wrong order. And I never leave books just lying around, they always go back here,” she pointed to the empty spots on the bookshelf.

“Hmm,” Kaiden looked around and studied the incriminating evidence carefully. “Do you always leave the door locked?” he asked presently.

“Yeah, always,” she pulled the key from her pocket to show him.

“Then how did they get in?”

“I--I hadn’t thought of that…” her eyes widened.

“Does anyone else have a key?” he moved towards the door and examined the lock.

“Only Charles, my Beta.”

“Hmm,” he hummed again and checked both sides of the knob, twisting it, when something fell to the ground. A slight tinker noise filled the otherwise quiet atmosphere.

“A hair pin? Well, a broken piece of it,” Chesca knelt down and picked it up. It was gold with a few sparkles on the side. Not the plain type her and Lexi used.

“Do you know whose it is?” Kaiden asked.

“No...but anyone can buy these from the department store in town.”

“Well that narrows down our suspects,” he chuckled with sarcasm.

She shook her head. “This won’t help us figure out who did it anyway. We need motive. Who would want to get something from my office? Who knew I wasn’t here anyway?”

They both looked at each other as they sat on the ground. One suspect kept jumping in the front of her mind, but she didn’t want to say it again. Not until they had concrete evidence, it would do no good accusing her mate’s brother.

“Besides your staff, who I doubt have motive, the only other person I can guess is Elah,” Kaiden said it for her.

She let out a quick breath. “You’re not mad that I accused you first? I mean, I thought it was always him, but I also figured you had something to do with it,” Chesca looked down at her hands, and fiddled with the pin in her fingers.

“I guess I can’t really blame you,” Kaiden replied after a few moments. “I have been rather….obnoxious ever since I got here.

She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips. “That, among other things.”

“But I want that to change, Chesca. You’re my mate, and I want us to work,” he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on the wall behind him. “What can I do to prove myself to you?” he grasped her hands and asked suddenly, looking in her eyes carefully.

“I..I don’t..know,” she looked deeply in his eyes and felt the heat rush up her hands and arms from his touch. Her stubbornness soon forced her to look away and pull her hands from his, but the racing of her heart nearly betrayed her true emotions. “Just give it time, I guess. You are proving yourself.” Is that what she truly believed? Had he been more trustworthy recently? The picnic floated through her mind, sending calming waves of emotions through her body, and just being near him now, with him helping her solve this problem, was telling her that maybe he wasn’t all bad afterall. The kiss they’d shared earlier that night also burned in the front of her mind, prodding her to lean forward.

Kaiden’s hands slipped around her waist, pulling her closer, and as Chesca placed her hand on his cheek, she knew the spark would never diminish between them. It would only grow stronger. As his lips captured hers for their second kiss, a burning desire began growing inside her. It enveloped her stomach and raced up her chest and down her legs, urging her to move closer to her mate’s body. But when his fingers moved down to her thighs, and his tongue glided over her lips, she shivered from the ticklish sensation and pulled back. She drew in a ragged breath.

“I’m sorry….too much too soon?” his husky voice fanned her face as he rested his forehead on hers.

Staring up into his darkened caramel eyes, Chesca blinked and cursed herself. Cursed her rampant hormones and outrageous wolf. If she’d let the animal side of her have her way, Chesca would have thrown all caution to the wind by now and given herself over to Kaiden. But a small part of her rational mind was still putting up roadblocks and warning flags. Thankfully, she still knew that some things had to be worked through first before they could give in to their wolves’ instincts and bodily lusts. Trust, for one.

And Kaiden was slowly earning it, she mused as she patted his chest in a dear manner. Sure, he had wanted to be in control of her pack, but that was in the light of losing his own pack to his overbearing father, right? He had never meant to intentionally hurt her. His heart raced beneath her fingertips as evidence of her effect on him.

“I’m sorry too,” she murmured eventually. “I’m not used to this…” motioning between them, her words trailed off.

“I get it. And in light of everything that’s happened, you’re not sure who you can trust.”

Chesca nodded, releasing a sigh, relieved that he understood what she was talking about.

“Alright, we’ll figure this out in the morning, talk to Elah, and try to solve the mystery,” Kaiden smiled, obviously pleased with her words. He climbed to his feet and extended his hand. Gripping it, she was pulled up in front of him and they stared at each other for a moment, her chest brushing against his with each breath she took. The electricity between them was undeniable, though she was too cautious to admit how strong it was, how much it drew her like she was missing electrons that only he held. That the bond between them would complete all missing pieces.

“Thanks, I’ll see you then,” she breathed unsteadily and quickly exited the room. Switching off the lights and locking it behind them, they parted ways and Chesca hurried to her suite.

Getting ready for bed didn’t take long, but calming her racing mind and erratic heartbeat took a bit longer. It would be so easy to just stop these mental battles and second guessing herself, and just accept Kaiden as mate. Not only with a vow of words like they’d already done during the ceremony, but in heart and soul. He was supposed to be her soulmate. Could she ever fully trust him? Trust herself to commit to someone like that?

Rolling over on top of the sheets, she felt him. Outside the door, she could sense him taking up his usual spot as sentry. He must really distrust his brother to keep staying out there night after night. Or maybe he slept better being closer to her, just like she herself hated to admit.

Getting up out of bed, she carefully plodded to the door. Knocking gently first, she slowly opened it. “Kaiden. Psst, Kaiden,” she whispered.

“What’s up? What’s wrong?” he leapt to his feet, instantly alert.

“Nothing, I just...Why don’t you come in,” she opened the door wider before she even realised what she was doing. “It musn’t be very comfortable, sleeping on the floor like that,” she murmured, casting about for what she planned on doing next. “Why don’t you take the couch?”

“Um, sure ok,” his voice held a smile even though it was nearly too dark to see it.

She flicked on a lamp and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from under her bed. Tossing them to the plush sofa that sat beside her desk, she tried avoiding his inquisitive gaze. “There. That should be comfier, seeing as you insist on guarding me every night.”

“Well, especially after your office got broken into, I don’t want to take any chances.”

Her heart swelled at his words, but she stuffed it back to a manageable size. She saw him glance at her bed. “Oh no, don’t get any ideas,” the firm words tumbled quickly from her lips.

“But Chesca, we are mates,” he reminded her with slight amusement as he sank down on the couch. “It’s going to happen one day…”

Her cheeks felt hot with a sudden blush. “Shut it, Kaiden. Be glad you at least get the couch. You know I’m not ready for...for anything else yet,” she leapt into her bed and pulled the covers up high.

“Sure, ok,” he smirked slightly but stretched out on the couch after yanking off his shirt. She closed her eyes after staring at him a moment, and then turned off the lamp. The image of his bare torso and muscled arms remained glued to the back of her eyelids.

“Well, goodnight then,” she whispered.

“Goodnight. And thanks.”

“It’s ok,” she muttered and stared up at the ceiling, the addicting scent of her mate wrapping around her, calming her while at the same time pushing adrenaline through her veins. Maybe this had been a bad idea. His contented sigh could be heard from across the room, over the loud thudding of her heart, and she stuffed her head under her pillow.

Well, this was awkward.