Ridian’s POV
Brody and I had never got along very well, and that was because he was very incompetent at times. He was capable of doing a lot of things and was very intelligent, but he was a major procrastinator. He was lazy and spent a lot of time drinking and chasing after women. When he was not doing that, he liked to terrorize those weaker than him for fun. We had had a lot of arguments and fights because of this but it didn’t look like he was about to change.
My mother had persuaded me to let him be in charge of accounts and I had reluctantly accepted as long as he worked well with the accounts officer, Leila Olivares who had been the top of her accounting class in the nearest college. Leila was one of the few pack members who had been inclined to education, and had taken the chances offered to her.
Now he had gone ahead and harassed her which did not sound good at all. To make matters worse, Leila was threatening to resign and yet I could not see a suitable replacement around. Putting the phone on the table, I rose and went out of the room.
I went into the elevator and rode to the floor where my brother resided. I turned the knob of his door but it didn’t budge. I could sense him inside. I banged against the door and waited. No answer.
“I know you’re in there, Brody.”
I heard footsteps and the door opened.
“What do you want?” Brody asked. He looked disheveled. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a red jersey and black shorts.
Without saying anything, I went into the house.
“Sure, come in. You’re already in anyway. How rude.”
“What did you do to miss Olivares?” I asked.
Brody closed the door. “Nothing she did not want me to do. She has been giving me this look since she started working there and I wanted to satisfy her deepest desires.”
“News flash. She is not interested in you, and did not have any interest in your advances. What is wrong with you, brother? You can get any woman you want, in fact, a lot of them run after you. Why did you have to try to force yourself on her?”
“Come on, you’re taking this too seriously. I thought she wanted it.”
“Well, she didn’t. From now onwards, do not touch her or say anything inappropriate to her.”
“You don’t tell me what to do, bro. I do whatever I want. You may be the alpha but you don’t rule me. If she doesn’t want me to touch her, let her tell me by herself.”
Leila could have told him off herself, but she was afraid of the possible consequences of that action. Brody was not the type of person that liked hearing no, which was one of the worst things about him. It was why she had asked me to help her get the word to Brody. Hearing him insist like that angered me so I found myself slapping him.
He retaliated and we began fighting. Since I was stronger than him, I had him pinned down in less than a minute.
“How dare you think you can take me on?” I said, chuckling.
Suddenly, his table phone started ringing so I got off him and went to pick it.
“Mr. Jamison,” the person said.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“I’m so sorry, alpha. I didn’t know it was you. I have been trying to call your phone but no one was answering so I decided to…”
“Just tell me what the matter is.”
“Hand me my phone,” Brody said but I ignored him.
“The thing is, Miss Willow is here.”
I froze for a moment. “Jane?”
I could not believe what I was hearing.
“Yes, alpha. Miss Jane Willow has just arrived at the gate. I did not know if I should let her in or not. She is very distressed.”
I didn’t know what to do, or what to say. I handed the phone to Brody who was now standing a few meters away from me. He took the phone and started speaking while I went to sit down on the couch. I felt like all the energy in me had been siphoned out.
I didn’t know what to make of the arrival, or how to deal with Jane showing up just like that. I was in such a shocked state that I did not even hear what Brody was saying. After ending the call, he turned to me.
“I’ve told Karim to have her brought into the house. She will be in the living room. I’m going to talk to her while you get yourself together. When you’re ready, join us.”
For once in his life, my brother had done a favor for me. I was thankful that he existed. Brody went out as I leaned against the backrest of the sofa. I could feel an ache developing in my head. Standing up, I went to the window and looked out. i was thankful that I could not see the front yard from Brody’s unit.
I stared at the woods within the pack’s boundary and saw the spot where I had made love with Cilla. Thinking of that moment immediately warmed up my blood, increasing circulation to a certain part of my body.
I was just beginning to get to know her, and appreciate her. But, my Jane was back. I was angry at Jane but I was sure I was not yet over her. I had had the happiest moments of my life with her and could not just toss that aside because she disappeared.
Now that she was back, I was faced with a big dilemma. Get back with Jane, or continue with Cilla. Hell, I didn’t even know why she was back yet. I needed to know as soon as possible, so I could decide.
After a few minutes of indecision, I decided to go down and see the woman I had loved for the longest time in my life. I needed to see her, desperately, to hear from her own voice why she had chosen to abandon me when I needed her the most. Our wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but it ended up being one of the worst. Why did she do that to me? Why was she back? Did she regret her actions? Was that why she was back? As the elevator went down, these questions continued to run through my mind.
When the elevator stopped, I did not get out immediately. As the doors began to close, I pushed them aside again, before stepping out. Taking a deep breathe, I walked towards the living room.
She was seated on the couch opposite the one Brody was seated on. Her face was tear stained and she looked broken. She was wearing a white dress with large red flowers. When our eyes met, we both froze. I did not move an inch and she remained stuck on the couch.
Her blue eyes were glossy with tears. There were some slight scratches on her beautiful face. I watched as she stood up slowly and started running towards me. When she got to where I was, she threw her hands around me. My body stiffened. After a while, I placed my hands around her. I did not feel the familiar warmth. i was numb, feeling neither happiness nor sadness.
She must have realized that because she pulled away and looked into my eyes. I searched her tear stained ones and found only sadness there. What had happened to Jane?
“It’s so good to see you again, my love. I have thought and dreamt of this moment for months. I can’t believe that it’s finally happening. I’m back home. I missed you so much, love.”
“Let’s sit,” I said.
Brody stood up. “Did you think you could just waltz in here and everything would suddenly go back to the way it was before? You’re a master manipulator, Jane Willow. How you managed to hide your true self for so long is what I have not yet understood.”
I knew Brody was just looking out for me, but I was ready to take charge of things. “Thank you so much, brother. Let me take over from here.”
“Whatever,” Brody said and marched out of the room. Jane and I faced each other. I gestured to the couch and we both shuffled towards it.
After sitting down, I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Jane started to sob more while continuously wiping her face. I felt like putting my arm around her but restrained myself. Before showing any kind of affection, I needed to know the whole story.
If she knew that I was willing to accept her back with open arms regardless of what she may have done, she would treat me like I was some desperate fool. I loved her, but I was not desperate. I had survived without her for a long time, and I could continue.
“Why did you leave me?” I asked.