Kevin dressed and started down the stairs. When he started towards his office he stopped and turned towards the kitchen. Deciding that coffee was required before he had to deal with anything. Subconsciously he was giving her more time to finish, but wouldn't admit it to himself. He sat at the kitchen counter sipping his coffee. None of the pack members going in or out of the kitchen greeted him. When Tia came in and ignored him, he had enough. "Tia please tell me why the pack is ignoring me?"
She turned to him and bowed her head. "I'm sorry Alpha, I don't know." Now Kevin was pissed. Tia had never been submissive to him. Always running her mouth and giving her opinion.
"Tia look at me." He was gritting his teeth trying not to yell. Tia raised her head and look at him. Her eyes were full of anger. "Now...I will ask you again...what is going on?"
"The pack is trying to be respectful so they don't get punished Alpha." Now Kevin understood this was all about Kyra. Well he would let them play their little game. It wasn't going to change his mind. In fact he would join them. He had a smirk on his face when he looked at Tia.
"Well that is good news. It's about time some of you were a little more respectful." He left her standing there with her mouth agape. He laughed to himself as he made his way to the office. When he walked in he was shocked. The room was clean. All the furniture that had not been broken was back in place. His desk was organized, with his papers neatly stacked. All the books were back on the shelves. Upon closer inspection he saw that all the books were out of order. He smiled. He had her new task for the day. When he looked at the seating area he saw Kyra curled up on the sofa asleep. He debated whether to wake her or not. Finally deciding to just let her sleep for awhile.
Kevin busied himself with taking care of pack business he had neglected for the last couple of days. It was late morning when he decided on a break, so he linked Maria to bring him some breakfast and coffee. He couldn't remember the last time he had a meal. The thought causing his stomach to growl. Kevin got up and walked over to where Kyra was sleeping. He could feel the mate pull getting stronger. He shook his head and walked back to his desk. He couldn't let himself think about that. She had rejected him. There was a knock on the door as his stomach growled again. He could smell the food. "Come in!" He said it a little louder than necessary, knowing the outcome. Kyra sat up startled just as the door opened. Maria brought in a plate piled high with food, a bowl of fruit and a pot of coffee. He smiled at her and started to dig in. He looked at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry Maria thank you for the food." Maria smiled and nodded. Glancing sadly toward Kyra, she left the room."
Kyra walked over and stood in front of his desk with her head down, waiting to be acknowledged. Kevin continued to eat and ignore her presence. When he was half through, he stopped to look at her. Kevin felt a twinge of guilt at her having to stand so submissive before him. Then quickly shook the feeling away. "Kyra." She slowly lifted her head but kept her eyes downcast. "You did a good job with the room. However there are still a couple things for you to do today. The first is that you need to organized the bookshelves. They are back up but in the wrong order. The second task we will discuss when you are done."
"Yes Alpha. May I speak Alpha?"
"Yes."
"I am so sorry Alpha that I fell asleep in here. I was only going to sit for a moment and don't remember going to sleep. Please don't punish me. I would also like permission to leave and get a ladder."
Kevin sighed. This was harder than he thought it would be. "I will not punish you it is understandable. You may leave to get the ladder." Kevin went back to eating but stopped her before she could go out the door. "And Kyra...eat breakfast before you come back." Kyra nodded and hurried out the door. Kevin looked at his food and pushed the plate aside. His appetite left with the sad look on her face.
********
When Kyra was sure she was far enough away from his office to not be heard, She slid down the wall, put her face in her hands and cried. She had been able to hold it back all night because her mind was focused on her task. Now with nothing to mask the hurt she fell apart. Aria was crying with her. They were truly alone. She had rejected Jason and Kevin didn't want her. She wiped her eyes and took deep breaths to get herself under control. Kyra made up her mind that she would not show weakness in front of him. She stood up, rolled her neck and squared her shoulders. Determined to show him that he could not break her.
Kyra went to the kitchen to grab some coffee and toast. It had been a day and a half since she had eaten. She knew her stomach couldn't handle much more than toast. Thankfully when she arrived only Maria and a couple of helpers were in there preparing lunch. She made her toast and sat at the island to eat. She noticed Maria, from the corner of her eye, give her sad looks and shake her head. Dammit! She didn't want people's pity! She was sick and tired of being 'poor little Kyra'. Aria growled.
We are strong even without a mate!
You got that right!
We will show him how strong we are!
Kyra got up, not even bothering to clean up and stomped to the storage room and got the ladder. She stopped by the bathroom and washed her face. When she looked in the mirror she thought she didn't look too bad. There were dark circles from lack of sleep but the evidence of her crying was gone. She practiced her smile and then left the bathroom, heading back to his office. Kyra took a deep breath before knocking on the door. "Come in." Kyra walked in with her head held high, walked over to the bookshelves and set up the ladder before approaching Kevin's desk. She stood with her head up and shoulders back. When Kevin finally looked up at her he seemed puzzled. "May I help you Kyra?"
"Yes Alpha. I need to know how the books were organized so I can put them in their proper place."
Kevin was momentarily stunned by her change in attitude and didn't answer right away. She had her head up and seemed to be focusing on something above his head, instead of looking at him directly. "Did you have breakfast?"
"Yes I did Alpha. Thank you for asking."
He waited for her to say something else but she didn't. He cleared his throat and finally spoke. "The pack law books go on the middle shelves. Non-fiction on the shelves above. Fiction on the shelves below. Alphabetically. If they are numbered the are to be in sequence before the other books. Do you have any other questions?"
"No Alpha. May I begin?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Yes." He watched her as she worked. She would occasionally smile when reading the cover of a book. Then put it in it's place and move on. Not once did she look at him or seem bothered by his presence. He couldn't concentrate on his work. Her scent combined with the stronger mate pull was almost more than he could bear. He continually reminded himself that she had rejected him. After a couple of hours he couldn't take it anymore. "Kyra I'm going to the kitchen for lunch. Do you have any questions before I go?"
For the first time she turned to face him. She smiled but the smile didn't reach her eyes and he knew it was fake. "I'm fine Alpha. I should be done shortly." He nodded at her and quickly left the office.
When Kyra was sure he was gone, she ran across the the room and searched the cabinet until she found what she wanted. She slipped it in the back of her jeans where it would be covered by her long hoodie. She ran back across the room to finish the books. Kyra was on the last few books when Kevin came back. She hurriedly finished and went to stand in front of his desk.
When he looked up at her she spoke before he did. "Alpha I've finished the books. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"No. You're through for today."
"Alpha I need a room If you don't mind."
Kevin was momentarily speechless. He had never thought of her needing a room. She was suppose to share his. Then an idea came to him. "You make take the guest room across the hall from me."
Kyra was confused. "Alpha aren't those rooms for visiting Alphas and higher rank wolves? I just need a small room like Tia's."
Kevin waved her off. "It's all that is available right now."
"Um..okay..thank you Alpha."
Kyra left his office and got her things from Tia's room. She hurried to her new room closing and locking the door behind her. She went over to the bed and pulled her stash from the back of her jeans. She sat down and scooted back against the headboard. She looked down at the bottle of wolf whiskey she had stolen from his office. She cracked the lid and took a drink. She thought at least now she would get some sleep without thoughts of him.
The painting is called Lost Love. I absoluetly love your comments. You guys are the best. So please vote, comment, follow and share.