SIENNA
Theron's wolf had taken control, and it was easy to tell by the difference in eye color and presence. The wolf was more... how could I put it? Bold?
He wanted me. When I'd been here before, I had felt the wolf's desire, and now, again. However, it was clear that Alpha Theron didn't feel the same. He held my hair in a weird way, but then he returned to his usual self — an idiot — and went to sit behind his desk.
I let Adrian command me because I loved him, and I ended up lowering my head. But Theron? I didn't even really know him! I'd heard stories about his pack and his family, about how dangerous they were, and even my father didn't pick fights with them. But everything had a limit, and I wasn't a slave. After suffering with Adrian, I wouldn't let any other male walk all over me! Whether romantically or not!
"I said I'm not going to be enslaved!"
Theron was radiating a dangerous aura, and I should've stayed in my place, since I didn't have a wolf yet. He could easily kill me.
"I'm not enslaving you! I'm going to pay you a salary, you ungrateful thing!" he snapped, closing his eyes like he was trying to control himself. "Sienna, don't test me, ok? I took you in and cared for you, even after you invaded my territory. Now, I'm just asking for your cooperation. This isn't slavery!"
"But it's confinement! I don't want to stay here, I want to leave! I'm grateful, thank you very much, but I don't have to stay here!" I took a deep breath. "Please. I'll leave, and you'll never hear from me again. I won't cause trouble for your pack. I just want... to go."
He was still staring at me like he could shake me like a helpless rag doll. But soon his shoulders seemed to relax, and he exhaled, shaking his head side to side and placing both hands flat on the wooden desk.
"Sienna, this isn't confinement. I don't know you, and I can't trust your pretty words as if they're sincere. My duty is to protect the pack first, and I will do that," his voice was more controlled. "Please. As soon as I have enough proof that you didn't come here with bad intentions, I'll let you go. I promise you that."
His sharp green eyes were locked on me. He seemed to be telling the truth, but the thing was: the longer I stayed there, the more his own pack could be in danger. I had run from my father, and if he found me there, he might not want to talk — he might just send his army to attack the Shadowfang Pack. But how could I tell Theron that without revealing my true identity?
I let out a long sigh and nodded. I couldn't say anything. Theron had helped me, but what guarantee did I have that he wouldn't use me if he found out who I really was? I hadn't told my now ex-husband — for which I was very grateful! — so why would I tell a stranger? And the more powerful the Alpha, the rule was: the more ambitious.
"Fine. I'll behave. But I ask you to do the same. If I'm not a slave and I'm not being held here against my will, then give me a little more freedom. I'm not going to run, I promise."
"Freedom? How? You want me to let you go wandering through the woods? Is that it? You don't even have a wolf that wants to run! And no, I'm not trying to strike a nerve or be rude here."
For wolf shifters without a wolf, mentioning that flaw was like sticking a finger in the wound.
"I just want to be able to walk around the pack. Freely, like any other member. Just tell me the rules and I won't break them. But I want to be able to... walk! Without someone breathing down my neck!"
I saw Theron's gaze go distant for a moment — it was probably his wolf speaking to him. Then the Alpha pressed his lips together and looked irritated. He was an extremely handsome male, and I'd never get tired of saying that. His body, even clothed, was clearly well-built. I couldn't help comparing him to Adrian, and my mind asked how I could've been so crazily obsessed with a wolf who wasn't even close to this one — who didn't treat me well — and I had been blind enough to let him walk all over me. Now, here stood a model of a male who, I believe, was the type any female would swoon over, and yet I could still keep my sharp tongue. Was that the effect of a broken heart?
"I'll think about it, but I'm not promising anything. I'll reflect on it. Like I said, I have to think about what's best for the pack."
"Fair," I said and sat back down. "Now, what do you want me to do?"
A ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips, but the Alpha said nothing, only sat down.
"Alright," he picked up some papers from a pile. "I need this sorted. Let's do a little test. I want to see how skilled you are in the art of... administration."
I looked at what he'd placed in front of me.
"Alright. But... am I going to work here, at your desk?" I asked. "At least I should be sitting on the other side, shouldn't I?"
Instead of answering, he got up and went to the cabinet, from where he pulled out a folding table and placed it right in front of me.
"I want you as close as possible."
"Next thing you know, you'll be asking me to sit on your lap!" I ended up blurting out what I'd been thinking and shut my eyes. Damn it! I opened them and turned my head to look at the Alpha.