Jayce’S POV.
I’m in my office with my Omega, Reed. He came in a while ago with a file and I’m going over the contents when my phone starts ringing. I check the caller ID and my almost song when I see my mate’s name on the caller ID. I quickly drop the file and the pen I’m holding and answer the call.
“Alora, is everything alright?” I ask concerned.
“Alpha Jayce, I’m sorry for calling you. You are probably busy right now.” I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, letting out a heavy sigh. Firstly, she doesn’t have to be sorry for calling me. She is my mate, my greatest priority and no matter what I’m doing, I’m going to drop it to listen to what she has to tell me. She is very important to me. Secondly, we have to talk about the “Alpha Jayce” issue. There’s no need for her to address me formally. We are equals. Lovers. And I’d appreciate it if she called me some really sweet names.
“Baby steps, Jayce. Baby steps.” My wolf cautions and I calmly nod my head and open my eyes. My gaze falls on Reed who doesn’t look the least interested in what I’m doing.
What am I going to do with him?
“Alpha, are you there? Should I call later?”
“No! No baby, you don’t have to do that.” Reed looks up at me, shakes his head and plasters his gaze back on the paper in his hand.
What is his deal?
“Do you need anything?”
“I…I’m just having a pretty rough day. I’m sorry I know I should tell you this when you return, but I’m just too scared to wait till evening.” Now I’m alarmed. I sit upright on my chair with a worried look on my face.
“Is anyone giving you a hard time? Tell me what happened.” I calmly instruct and she sighs heavily on the other end of the phone before proceeding to tell me she went for a walk in the garden where she met my step mum who threatened to crush her. After which they separated, but she couldn’t find her way back to the castle and that’s when she bumped into my Omega… my eyes linger on Reed for a while. Reed told her he was an Omega and not a map and left her in the middle of nowhere. She was saved by a maid who showed her the way back to the main castle where she met my stepbrother, Jovan, who also threatened to crush her and smacked her butt on his way out of my living room.
Oh my God, I’m going to kill him.
My eyes are glued on Reed right now. Since he’s here, I’m going to start with him.
“I’m so scared.” She cries over the phone. My heart shatters in a million pieces. This is her home, she’s not supposed to be scared of anything. I brought her here to live a better life, not to get threatened and ignored.
“Baby…” I call and sigh. I wish I was by her side to hug her right now. She must have been so surprised and scared. My poor mate. “I’m sorry about what you’ve had to go through today. Don’t worry about my stepbrother and his mum, I’ll handle them and I promise to get to the root of this issue and make sure none of that ever happens again. Right now I need you to stay indoors, I’ll order for more security around my Chambers. You are safe there, okay?”
“Okay.” She replies with a tiny voice.
“Alright then. Get some rest rest, I’ll be home soon. Have you had lunch?”
“I’m about to.”
“Good. Have a good rest after eating. I’ll be back home before you know it. I love you.” She doesn’t respond. I end the call before things get awkward.
“You know that’s a lie, right?” Reed asks, not sparing me a glance. His head is buried in the paper he’s holding.
“What’s a lie? And fucking look at me when talking.” I command. He obeys. There’s the usual neutral look on his face.
I can’t tell if he’s angry, happy, sad, disgruntled or something else. He’s the most opaque person I have ever come across. There’s no way to read Reed, ever!
I’m still mad at him for not helping Alora and he’s still pissing me off.
“About your stepmother and stepbrother, there’s no stopping them from threatening Alora. She’ll always bump into them and they’ll always crush her with their words and most importantly, if you are not very careful, Jovan will get into her pants before you do.”
“Reed!” I call firmly, at the top of my voice as I hit the table with my palms and rise to my feet, severely irritated by what he just said. “How dare you!” He doesn’t flinch. He looks at me, there’s no iota of fear or worry in his eyes. It’s like wasting my time and energy scolding him.
Who exactly is he?
My Beta, Lloyd would be cowering on his knees now and begging me to spare his life, my Omega isn’t. He’s still sitting on his chair, looking up at me like I’ve gone berserk.
“You know what I just said is nothing but the truth. I don’t know why you are getting upset with me. I’m not the one who wants to get into her pants.”
Holy fucking Christ!
I push my chair behind and walk away from my table. My hands are trembling by myself and I want to head over to Reed right now and beat him mercilessly, but what good would that do?
I hate that he’s spilling out his words, completely unfiltered, but he’s right. If I’m not very careful, my stepbrother will rape my mate. He has a bad reputation with young maides in this pack.
I breathe hard. Pace. Come to a halt and look at Reed who’s now looking at me still with a blank countenance. He frustrates me everytime we have a conversation.
“You know there’s a way to say the right things without riling me up, right? You have to learn to filter the words that come out of your mouth. You don’t have to say things bluntly all the time.” I try to reason with him. He sets the paper aside and trains his eyes on me.
“Sweet-toting and sugarcoating things is of no service to anyone. I do not sugarcoat reality.” He face is emotionless as those words spill out of his wicked mouth. I simply nod. We’ve been here before. This is like the millionth time I’m telling him to not always be so blunt with his words, but he always has the same answer and it’s the one he just gave me.
“Is that why you couldn’t help Alora when she asked you to show her the way back to the main castle?”
“I’m not a map.”
“No one said you were. It’s common courtesy to help people who need your help.”
“Do you see me like someone who gives two shits about courtesy?” He asks with raised brows. I place my right hand on my waist and the right on my forehead and heave out a heavy sigh of exasperation. This conversation is giving me migraines.
“Reed I don’t fucking care about where you stand with courtesy, but you ought to be nice to Alora, she is your Luna.”
“Future Luna.”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“I’m just saying… the formal ceremony hasn’t been held yet. She isn’t Luna yet. Just stating facts.”
“You are impossible! Get the hell out of my office. This meeting is adjourned.” He instantly rises from his seat and heads for the door. When he reaches the doorway, he turns and looks at me. “What?”
“She’s a cry baby.”
“Jesus Christ Reed! What is your problem with Alora?”
“Nothing.” His shoulders rise and fall. “I just hope you stop coddling her so much and start giving her the training she needs to survive in this jungle. You know what you two are against, what we are against. If she’s going to be Luna, she has to be strong and she won’t get strong with all this petting and spoiling.”
“You have no idea what she has been through. She lived a miserable life back at her…”
“And her life will become even more miserable in this pack if you don’t give her the necessary training.” He rudely cuts me off. I’m dumbstruck. He looks calm and collected as always. “You won’t always be around to defend her. You know that. Our Luna needs to be trained properly. She needs to know how to stand up for herself both verbally and physically. You know what I’m saying is nothing but the truth.” And then, he walks out of my office, leaving me fuming in anger because he is correct.
If I want Alora to survive in this castle, I have to make sure she gets the right training.
Goodness why is Reed always saying accurate things in a brutal way?