NALEDI’S POV
I followed the cab until it got to a building, a hotel on the discreet side of town. I sat in my cab, parked far off and watched while she stepped out of the cab, handed her fare and made her way inside while looking around suspiciously.
It didn’t take long before I realised she was been watched. And not just by me. Some men were watching her and she knew that. Was that why she didn’t want to speak to me?
Was she afraid of getting caught and implicating herself at the hands of that demon, Arturo? So many questions were swirling in my head yet not enough answers.
I needed answers to my questions and I knew I wouldn’t get it by remaining inside this cab, doing nothing. I needed to get in there and get her to speak clearly. Get to understand exactly what was going on.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t walk through the doors of the hotel. If Arturo had his dogs watching, which he certainly did, they’d recognise me the instant I stepped out of the car.
I would only be alerting the enemy of the little headway I’d made and that didn’t spell well for me. Kicking against the strong urge to go in regardless, I ordered the driver to take me back, deciding I was going to return on my own.
This was the beginning of an investigation. And to get the required results, it needed to be treated as such. Soon enough, I was brought back to the restaurant where I’d started my journey and there, I took my car back to the headquarters.
On driving into the compound, I saw the unmistakable form of Caellum, standing in front of the house with a frown marred on his face. The first thought that entered my mind was the probability of him finding out I was a traitor.
Why else would he be standing out and waiting for me with Marcel, Korah, Matteo and of course, Donna? My parking was slow, and I took my time coming out of the car and heading towards them.
“Where are you coming from?” Caellum fired without skipping a beat.
Marcel and Korah held their head down, Unable to meet my eyes. Matteo looked delighted at the scene playing while Donna kept a look I couldn’t pinpoint.
“When I ask questions, I expect answers, Naledi.” He gritted, “Where the hell have you been?!”
In times like this I hated Caellum. I hated how he spoke to me in front of her. I hated his tone, period. I was just about to make my reservations about the way he spoke to me when I suddenly felt my mark tingle.
With that tingle came a paralysing feeling of fear out of the blue. So much so that it disoriented me. The odd thing about it was I knew it wasn’t mine. The raw fear that suddenly struck me wasn’t mine.
My eyes found Caellum whose eyes were a fiery blaze of anger and his face a cold vault. If the emotions I felt weren’t mine, then it was certainly his. The puzzling thing was that he looked anything but scared.
What could he possibly be scared of when he was literally querying me in front of his beloved soon-to-be bride? The entire thing was comic as well as confusing.
“I needed some time off.” The words somehow managed to come out soft, timid and scared.
Three attributes I could honestly do without.
“You are not allowed to leave this premises alone, Naledi. Let this be the first and last time.” He said after a while.
I scoffed, “And why is that? I can hold my own outside.”
“You are my mate.” He said it like that should magically make his concerns legitimate and sensible.
It was hard stopping myself from laughing at that.
My eyes focused on Donna who stood aloofly by his side. “Still struggling to understand what that means.”
Caellum looked like he was about to explode. “You are my mate, Naledi. Like it or not, you have my mark and that makes you a walking accident zone, and target to every of my enemies out there looking to get back at me.”
“If you are so concerned with having enemies trying to get back at you then maybe you should consider the life you live.” I ranted, “Believe me, it’s exhausting the sheer amount of people that want you dead. I can’t fucking keep up.”
I meant that shit right from my heart.
“You will not leave this house without Marcel and Korah. They follow you for drop-offs, leisure, or whatever the fuck it is you do out there. They are indispensable assets.” He ordered, and from the look on his face, it was clear those were law.
There was no going back. But I wouldn’t be Naledi Fucking Rogers if I didn’t find a way out of it. “What? Are you scared I’ll run off and play house with another willing Alpha just like you are with little Miss Wonder?”
I must have hit the hail on the head, because he froze, eyes turning cold. “If I do find out that you’ve been out there, doing anything shameful while having my mark on your neck.” He advanced closer to me with every word he spoke.
“What will you do? Huh?” I challenged, stepping into his face. With our faces less than two inches apart, he could either kiss me or walk away.
If it were the Caellum I knew from weeks ago, there wouldn’t be an option of walking away. But the Caellum who paraded another woman in my face, and with the said woman standing right in front of us, watching our interaction, I doubt he’d do anything crazy.
Didn’t stop me from hoping though. Never will.
“I promise you don’t want to find out.” He said in my face, his eyes dropping down my lips and back to my eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Naledi.”
Caellum stood before me for what felt like hours, but it was just a few seconds. He looked like it took him a lot of effort to turn away from me. His gaze lit something inside of me, and soon enough, electricity charged the air.
He bit his lip and that was the sexiest thing I’d seen in a long time. My breath pattern changed, and when he finally stepped back, it felt like I’d gone through hell and back.
The sweet side of hell.