Page 65 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
“Leave it open.”
The sharpness in her tone sets me on edge immediately. I freeze, hand still on the handle, like I’m in trouble and reportingto the principal’s office in high school. The hallway draft blows in behind me, carrying the scent of cold stone and torch flames, reminding us both that the world outside this room still exists. She looks up at me, but her golden-brown eyes dart away the moment they connect with mine, and she goes back to concentrating on her reports.
I try to bring some levity to the situation. “You know, leaving the door open’s not going to stop me from being annoying. If anything, it gives me a bigger audience.”
When she doesn’t respond, I step farther into the room but keep my distance. “Is everything all right?” I force a casual tone, trying to ignore the unease in the atmosphere.
“Everything’s fine.” The lie rolls off her tongue so smoothly it might be convincing, but I know better. She’s holding back.
Am I missing something?We’re alone. She doesn’t have to pretend like there’s nothing going on between us.
“Can I help you?” she asks. Still no eye contact. She keeps reading, fingers flipping through documents.
“Well, I spoke with Dr. Olcan about Jayme’s medical history.”
“And?”
“He said Jayme appears perfectly healthy. No medical conditions that would make him susceptible to mind magic or cause him to act violently without provocation.”
Rhiannon finally glances up again, but her expression remains neutral. Professional. “That’s disappointing, but it aligns with what I expected.”
“How did it go with the seers?” I prop myself against the wall, still wrestling with this shift in Rhiannon’s demeanor.
Her shoulders pull back and her spine straightens into that familiar rigid line, like I’m just another subordinate addressing her. “Nothing relevant to the investigation.”
Sun from the window catches the edge of her jaw, and for a half-second I’m back at the pond, moonlight illuminating her fingers tangled in my shirt, her mouth warm against mine. I approach her desk and lean against the edge of it, trying to catch her eyes. “Rhiannon, are you—”
“Is there anything else you’ve learned regarding the investigation?” She cuts me off, tapping the papers on the desk to straighten their edges before looking up at me.
The chill in her voice feels like cold water.What the fuck happened?
“I—” I search her face for clues but find only emptiness staring back. “No, that’s everything Dr. Olcan told me about Jayme.”
“I’ll include that information in my report to the Alpha.” She nods before turning her attention back to the reports again.
She’s clearly dismissing me, but I don’t move. Something’s wrong. Just this morning, even when injured, she looked at me like what happened between us meant something.
“Rhiannon.” I lower my voice and lean in. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on.” Now she won’t even hold eye contact. “I have an investigation to complete and limited time to do it.”
A scoff escapes me. “You seem to have forgotten who you’re talking to.”
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten whoyou’retalking to.” She doesn’t bother to look up. “That will be all.”
That will be all?What am I? A butler delivering her lunch?
I push off from her desk. “You know, for someone with supernatural abilities, you’re doing a terrible job of pretending like this is a normal dynamic for us.”
Her pen stills. I’m breaking through.
“I’m not pretending anything. I have a job to do.”
“Right. And I’m the Alpha King.” Rounding the desk, I close the distance between us. “Look at me.”
She doesn’t.
“Rhiannon.” I say her name softly this time, letting it hang in the air between us — a reminder.
