Born For The Alpha

Chapter 22: I Want You To Stay

Arda fought to control her anxiety. “He just wanted to check on me.” She said.

“Arda.”

“Alpha.”

“You are a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying.” Arda’s eyes watered as her anxiety increased, her voice starting to waver. He paused in

silence for a moment as he studied her.

She looked helpless and he began to feel sorry for her. Still, he was desperate to see if he had even a

tiny bit of her trust. And he would never get used to the fact that he could not hear her thoughts.

“What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

Arda did not miss the note of curiosity in his voice. “This is the second time you’re asking me that

question.” She responded.

“Does it bother you?”

“It is a weird question, so yes, it does bother me.”

“I understand.” He said and placed his palm on her chest. “I hate that I can’t read your mind. That I

can’t hear your thoughts.” His voice sounded quiet and contemplative.

Her eyes widened as she remembered how he had once put his hands on her like that. So this was the

reason. He couldn’t hear her thoughts. “You can do that?”

“It’s an ability of mine.” He said fleetingly and took his palm off her chest.

Arda was silently grateful that his mind reading abilities didn’t work on her.

“You’re the only one I’ve met that it doesn’t work on.” He continued, “And I resent it a lot.”

Arda remained silent but the information brought forth her confidence and she couldn’t hide the look of

pleasure that briefly brightened her facial expression.

Gillow noticed that she was happy about it. “It pleases you that I cannot read your mind?”

“Yes.” She replied bluntly.

“Hmn. Well, not only does that fact annoy me. I mean the fact that you negatively affect that special

ability of mine.” His finger gently caressed her cheek. “But it also makes me find you intriguing.”

Her breath came up sharply but she remained silent, their eyes locked into each other’s. Her beautiful

light brown eyes as they stared into his, showed confusion and fear but his gaze upon hers was

intense.

“Tell me what Jacob said to you.”

“He just wanted to check on me.”

“Try again, Arda.”

“I swear, he just wanted to say hi to me.”

“Hmn. What do I have to do to get the truth out of you Arda?”

She blinked rapidly and shifted her gaze to the floor.

“I could send you to the penance guard but I don’t want anyone else’s hands on you. So maybe I could

just torture you myself but why would I want to torture my beloved mate?”

“I am not your mate.” She mumbled, her eyes still on the ground. Then she felt his finger tilting her chin

upwards.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes lifted up to his, wet with renewed anxiety.

“Say that again.”

“I am not your mate.” She told him, her voice shaky.

A small smile split his lips as he held her gaze for a beat. “We’ll see about that in due time.”

The smile left his lips, his jaw tightening with the fierce look that had crept into his eyes as he narrowed

his lashes at her. “Now tell me what Jacob said before I lose my temper.”

Arda was so afraid, she sputtered as she began to spill the beans.

“He said…He said not to trust you. He said war is coming and it’s three Alphas against one. He said

that you cannot stand it. He said he knows you have me but I swear, I…I didn’t admit my location to

him. He…he also said hunters from the three packs are searching for me and that it is only a matter of

time before they find me. He also said he won’t reveal my whereabouts.”

When she finished, he laughed, surprising her. Her eyes were wild as she gazed at him, stupefied.

Didn’t he hear all she had just said?

“Hmn.” He commented. “Is that all?”

Arda remained silent. She had deliberately left out the part about escaping with karina.

“Is that all, Arda?”

She nodded.

“I want to hear your voice.”

“That’s all.”

“Are you sure that there isn’t more?”

“No.” she said, shaking her head.

“Perhaps you forgot something?” he suggested.

He placed his palm across her chest again.

“Then why do I feel like there’s more?”

“There isn’t.” she said, shaking her head again.

His palm left her chest and he straightened up. “Thank you for all that information. War is coming but

that’s not new. That I can’t face the three packs is obvious isn’t it? Poor Gillow, the one and only Alpha

of the South. Yet, they have not brought the war to me even though my location is known by them all.

Perhaps, they aren’t so sure of themselves yet but everything will fall into place. I fear nothing.”

He held out his palm to her. “Here, take my hand. It’s time to meet your family.”

“You mean your family.” She said, refusing to take his hand. Noticing that, he simply took her hand in

his.

“Whatever. In this room, perhaps, I’ll let some of your snide remarks slide but out there, I will not. Do

not tempt me, understand?”

Arda would have ignored him, but she knew when to behave and that time was now because she could

sense his patience thinning. Tyrant, she cursed in her heart. “Yes, Alpha.” She responded and walked

beside him as he led them out of the bedroom.

He took her down the flight of stairs Chester had used when he was taking her to Gillow’s bedroom.

“Did you like your undies?” he asked.

“I loathe it.”

“Why?” Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I prefer full coverage.”

“I know. But I did it to irk you.” He laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll shop for what you need.”

“Hmn.” Arda grunted for lack of words. He obviously enjoyed making her miserable.

“Don’t tell me you’re not any fun.” He said lightly. “At least, that’s not the report I got.”

“Just leave me alone.” She said quietly.

“Sweetheart, you know that will never happen.”

He propelled her towards a cozy lit walkway and into a large living room ahead of which sat an empty

dining table.

“I thought you said, I’m meeting some people?”

“Family.” He said by way of correction.

“Whatever.”

Just so you know, I may be counting your slip ups.”

“Then what?”

He chuckled. “You don’t want to find out.”

Arda froze for a few seconds and he paused along with her. “Cheer up.” He said, “I will never punish

you without good reason.”

She gulped hard. “Punish me? The nerve!”

Arda found herself against his chest in one second. Then as she breathed heavily, her eyes wide with

shock, he just stared down at her.

“Do not provoke me.”

Fear entered her again and she nodded, then cast her gaze to the floor. Great, so he could punish her

if she somehow displeased him? She had to leave his castle and find Jacob as soon as possible.

Gillow released his firm grip on her so fast and she found herself beside him again, her hand gently in

his.

“Why do you even want me as your mate?” she asked, her voice croaky with nerves.

“It is your destiny.”

“So, it’s not like you love me or something?”

“I loved you from the moment I set eyes on the image of you.”

“Image of me?”

He gently patted her shoulder. “You will get the answers you need, soon enough. Now, let’s go.”

She followed him through another corridor that led them out of the castle through an imposing door.

They stepped onto a well-kept garden of flowers and different kind of herbs.

“Is this the back of the house?”

“Yeah.”

There was a lake before the house. A canoe, yacht and speedboat was anchored to the dock. She

could see the lake because the back gate of the castle was wide open. Arda tried not to hide her

excitement at seeing the open gate. She had seen her way out. It was time she really started studying

her environment. She paused and he paused alongside her.

“What is it again, Arda?”

“Is that gate ever locked?” she asked, pointing at the gate.

“Why? You’re planning on escaping the castle?”

“You sound like I’m a prisoner.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you used the word escape.”

“We’ve been through this before. You’re not a prisoner but you cannot just leave because of our

enemies out there.”

“Your enemies, you mean?”

Gillow sighed. She was quite a handful. “Look, are you planning to run away?”

“No. It’s just that since there are enemies, I would have expected a secure environment.”

“You have nothing to worry about. Now, are you planning to run away?”

“No.”

“It better be so. Because if you try it, you will be in so much trouble with me.”

Arda’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m not planning to run away.” She said in an almost whiny voice. Her fear

of him was back again.

Gillow saw it and started to feel bad and he never felt bad about being tough on anyone.

“I want you to stay, Arda.” He said gently. “Will you?”

“Not by choice.”

“You will stay by choice or not. All I want to do is protect you.”

Arda was about to blurt out that Jacob will protect her, but decided against it.

“Stay, Arda. Will you?”

She nodded even though she knew that she will not stay.

“Good. Now let’s go.”

Arda followed him along the stony path along the beautiful garden, her eyes looking back longingly at

the open gate which was her promising route of escape from the castle so that she and Karina could go

and meet with Jacob.