Chapter 146: Animal Side
Samuel and I turned around just in time to see Soren by the door, his eyes red with fury as he stared at Samuel’s hand, which still rested on the top of my head.
He crossed the room immediately, practically ripping Samuel’s hand off of me while pulling me into his embrace. I stumbled as a result of the sudden motion, the palms of my hands pressed against Soren’s chest for support.
"Get your hands off of her," Soren growled.
Tucked right under his chin, when I looked up, I could see that his canines had slightly elongated due to his anger. Similarly, it was unsurprising to see that his eyes were basically pulsing with a golden glow, and his veins throbbed under the skin of his neck.
I had never seen Soren so riled up before, other than that night at the safe house. But even then, it felt slightly different. Right now, Soren looked like a possessive beast that was out of control. His voice sounded deeper, rougher, and his tone and gaze were way harsher than they had ever been before.
Compared to his brothers, Soren had always been the softest-spoken of the three. But right now, he seemed every bit the same blood as Rowan and Cassian, the hot-headed yet cold Alpha.
Samuel instantly raised both hands into the air in defeat. His face was as emotionless as ever, as though he was just a passer-by watching everything unfold. He didn’t look any bit interested in this testosterone battle with his Alpha.
"Soren," I said, struggling out of his embrace. "Samuel didn’t mean anything."
It was only after the words had already left my mouth that I realized that perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.
Soren’s line of sight snapped down at me, glaring harshly. His lips were pinched into a thin line, and I could see the bright gold of his eyes turning into a warm, liquid amber. His wolf seemed to be going even more out of control.
Without saying a word, Soren’s hand clasped down on my wrist and dragged me out of my room. I could only stumble along behind him, trying my best not to trip over my own two feet.
"Close the door behind you! Make sure no one gets in! And hide it!" I yelled at Samuel over my shoulder before he completely disappeared from my sight, his expression only slightly bewildered.
Since my new room was in the Alpha’s wing, it didn’t take long before we arrived in Soren’s bedroom. He kicked open the door and dragged me in before slamming the door shut behind him. I staggered, but at least I didn’t fall to the floor nor did I have to lean onto any furniture for support.
"Soren―"
"What is he doing in your bedroom alone?" Soren asked, his voice still the same deep rumble as before. His eyes were still glowing, and I realized that I wasn’t speaking to the same old Soren as usual. He was entirely controlled by his wolf, and no longer saw human reason.
"Samuel was merely helping me with some stuff," I said, frowning. I held up my hands in front of me. "You need to calm down. It’s not that serious."
"He is an unmated male," Soren said. He took one step closer towards me, closing the distance between us. "What stuff could you possibly need help with that we cannot?"
"I don’t have to tell you that," I said with a frown. "You have no right to know my private affairs."
Could I have phrased my meeting with Samuel as anything else? Yes.
Was it a good idea to further agitate an Alpha who was on the verge of losing control to his animalistic side? Probably not.
However, I couldn’t help but allow the bubble of anger to swell up within me, pushing those words out of my throat. Soren certainly had the audacity to demand my loyalty when he had shown nothing of that sort. He hadn’t even shown courage!
"I am your Alpha," Soren said, his words low and dangerous. With every step that I took backwards, he took one step forward. Eventually, I was forced against the wall, my back pressed against the hard surface. "Everything you do within the territory of Shadowclaw, I have the right to know."
"I am not a member of your pack any longer," I said, reminding him. "If it weren’t for the fact that you and your brothers forcibly brought me back here, I would’ve been free, living my life with my proper fated mate!"
"I am your fated mate!" Soren growled.
His voice reverberated across the room so loudly that there was even a slight echo. His eyes had turned animalistic, and at this point, there wasn’t a single shred of the Soren I knew. The version of him who stood here before me was his wolf, proud and possessive, the very opposite of Soren’s cowardly and anti-confrontational self.
"And you are an absolutely terrible one!" I yelled back, kicking him as hard as I could in between his legs.
The sudden blow caused him to bowl over in pain, and I took the opportunity to shove him back with surprising force. The same trick that had taken Cassian down worked once more on Soren. The anger that lay dormant within me erupted with his words of casual possession that he had no right to feel.
"You have no right to feel jealous of who I speak to, after how abhorrently you treated me in the past," I hissed venomously through gritted teeth. "Did you think a few sandwiches would absolve you of all your past actions?"
Soren recovered much quicker than I expected or hoped. I wanted him to lie on the floor, curled up like a baby while I continued to inflict my best weapon on him, my furious, vitriolic words.
Instead, he straightened his back, wearing a slight grimace of pain. For a moment, I could see the color of his eyes flickering. His human side seemed to be fighting for control, but eventually, all of his repressed anger still won out.
Good. Because I had a lot of that too, especially when it came to Soren Hadeon.
"Do you remember how you didn’t stand up for me, and let me be accused of being a thief during your wedding ceremony with your beloved Violet?" My voice was syrupy sweet, yet sarcasm dripped off every syllable like poisoned honey with every roll of my tongue.
Soren’s expression flickered once more at my words. His eyebrows furrowed, and I could see him pondering over what I had to say.
"There was nothing I could’ve done," he finally said, his expression finally hardening. "And I helped you in the end in the only way I could think of at the time. Rowan and Cassian―"
"This isn’t about Rowan or Cassian right now!" I yelled, snapping at him. "They aren’t the ones trying to control who I talk to."
"Oh, I am sure if they heard of what you’ve been doing with Samuel, they would have a word or two about this as well," Soren said with a cold laugh.
He walked forward and closed the distance between us once more. When I tried to raise my knee to kick him again, he reacted this time, as though he had already expected I might react this way. His palm easily blocked the action before his large hand held my thigh down. I could feel his fingers pressed tightly against my flesh, and I ignored the tingling sensation that instantly shot through me at his touch.
"Rest assured, I will settle accounts with them soon enough," I seethed, struggling against his hold. "Back then, I thought you were different from your brothers. I thought you cared about me."
"I do care about you," Soren instantly said.
He leaned closer, and I could see the swirling depths of gold embedded into his irises. They were mesmerizingly beautiful, but they also reminded me of a viper that was trying to hypnotize me and make me act against my will.
I shook my head, trying to snap myself awake.
"You didn’t care enough to speak up for me when I was being accused of theft. You didn’t care enough about me when I was stripped and searched in public!" I screamed, my words scraped out of my throat. "Did you know what nearly happened to me after your actions?"
It had been so long, but it felt just like yesterday. I could almost feel the perverted looks the men gave me when Cedar tore my dress away from me. Then, I had almost been assaulted by pack members who thought I was an easy target.
Images of those incidents once again floated to the forefront of my mind, despite my best intentions to forget them. It turns out that I had not managed to bury them deep enough; they were instead simply packed in the corners of my mind, ready to rear their ugly heads the moment they were given an opportunity.
I could see the look in Soren’s eyes wavering. The light in his eyes was dimming bit by bit, and he seemed to be at war with himself.
"I―"