05

Carrie

He wanted to talk, did he? Well, I was ready to talk, but I wasn’t ready to let him control the conversation as if I were some subordinate who had to obey him.

“Sure, let’s talk. We can start with you telling me that you’re calling off your cute little pack and letting me leave, since you don’t have any right to keep me here.”

“Cute little…?” He tensed as he frowned, and my snarky amusement faded a bit. Maybe pushing him when I was completely outnumbered and in his power might not have been my wisest plan.

“Which pack is this, anyway?”

He relaxed into the couch slightly, watching me. “We haven’t named it yet.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter. The only name I really need is yours.” I stared him down, not willing to break eye contact.

“Why do you want it so badly?” he asked.

“I—“

“Because you want to reject me properly? Really twist the knife in when you do it? Honestly, that doesn’t motivate me to want to introduce myself, Carrie.”

I scoffed, irritated by the reminder that he had my name when he wouldn’t give me his. “So what if I do? You don’t want me, and I don’t want you, so we might as well get it over with. I wasted enough time.”

“Carrie—“

“I don’t want to hear anything but you telling me that you’ve reconsidered this little forcible confinement thing. I know that all you obnoxious alphas think that you’re the kings of whatever you survey, but—“

“So you know what we alphas are like?”

“Yes, demanding, stubborn, arrogant, generally terrible in every way and the only thing that stops anyone from telling you the truth is that you’re the self-appointed tyrant of your own little world.”

Other than the slight clenching of his jaw, there was little sign that I had bothered him at all. He brought his hands together and leaned forward a bit, maintaining eye contact, and my silly wolf got excited by the attention. I gave myself a mental swat.

“Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” he asked, and then he smirked.

I gritted my teeth. “Let me go.”

“No.”

“I want to leave.”

“Not letting you. After all I’m the king of all I survey, right?”

“I said you ‘think’ you’re the king of—“

“If you want to leave, leave.” He smirked again. “If you can.” He stood up abruptly, and strolled towards the door like he didn’t have a care in the world. I resisted the urge to scream in frustration, because I didn’t want him to know how much he had gotten to me.

Three hours later, there was still a pair of wolves standing outside guarding the only possible exits of my unidentified mate’s boring little home. I glared at them, and wondered if they were going to stand around guarding me indefinitely.

Pity he knew I planned to leave. I should have tried to appear more compliant, but I guess I used up all that nonsense back when I was dealing with Asshole Dane. Sure, I’d spoken my mind, but carefully, never crossing the line. I’d definitely never disrespected him like I did this male, at least not until the end.

But that didn’t matter. My problem, for now, was getting out. My wolf had no drive to help me whatsoever, so I had to rely completely on my human self. She was ridiculous enough to believe that because he’d stuck us here, that was because he wanted us.

And his wolf probably did. But I didn’t care. If his human side didn’t want me, his wolf wasn’t enough.

I shot one final glare at the guard who was standing outside the window in the master bedroom. He was the one who had told me it was in my best interest to come along peacefully, and he watched me glare at him without even a flinch. I turned away, and dragged my feet back into the master bedroom.

I didn’t really have a chance to get away when they were watching me so closely. They weren’t going to let their guards down soon enough for me to get to work, and I didn’t want to lose my job, my apartment, or any of the things I’d worked so hard for.

And it didn’t look like the mate I had been cursed with was going to be reasonable about the situation. He didn’t want me, but he also didn’t seem to want to let me go, which put me in a bind. Well, I didn’t want him, either, not in any way other than as the mate I’d always been waiting for. I didn’t need his shitty attitude, and I definitely didn’t need the troubles that came with being a luna. Just because I’d loved caring for a pack, like I’d been born for it, didn’t mean that I was going to abandon my pride.

I went and sat in his chair again, hoping it would annoy him if he came back, and flipped on the television, scrolling through the options until I settled on something to watch, a human police drama. I had trouble focusing on it, and was sort of relieved when I was interrupted by another knock on the door. I didn’t bother to get up, and the door opened cautiously. I kept my eyes trained on the screen, like I didn’t even know someone was there. My wolf was disinterested in the intruder, so it was easy not to look.

“I’ve got food for you,” said the intruder.

That caught my wolf’s attention, so I glanced at him against my will. He was balancing a cafeteria tray on one arm, and the scent of ham chose that moment to waft over to me. I was hungry, because there was no way I was touching the crap in the fridge. It was the wolf who I had last seen outside the back window. If he was here, did that mean it was unguarded?

Time to play nice. I smiled. “Thanks, I was getting really hungry.”

“You’re welcome, Luna.”

I nodded. “Am I allowed to know your name?”

“Max.”

“Good to meet you, Max. Although, I’m not your luna.”

He shrugged. “You shouldn’t judge him on what he said.”

My smile faded. “So what? I should judge him on what he does instead? This whole forcing me to stay here doesn’t look much better than his words.”

Max smiled faintly and let the topic go as he set the tray on the table. I went over and sat down next to the steaming food, but the moment the door shut behind him, on tip toes, I rushed to the back window to see if I could sneak out that way.

To my disappointment, Max had been replaced by another wolf. I trudged back to the kitchen, and sat down and ate, mulling over what I could do. Likely too stubborn to be convinced, the defense too good to be easily thwarted, I was stuck.

And it pissed me off. I was going to make his life a living hell until he let me go.