Logan was deliberately avoiding his eyes, Casper noticed. Which further confirmed his suspicions. He walked closer to the alpha, boring him with his eyes. He could sense that Logan was becoming uncomfortable under his stare.
"What do you mean?" The alpha asked "How could I ever imprint? And even if I were to imprint on anyone, it would certainly not be on someone like her."
Casper folded his arms and looked at the alpha with a knowing smile "You haven't given me a straight answer, alpha. Yes, or no?"
"I see no reason why you would have such thoughts." Logan grumbled "Let's just drop the topic, okay?"
Casper eyed the alpha with suspicion "If you say so. I'll be in the foyer if you need anything." He said and left the alpha’s room.
Logan began pacing the room again, thinking to himself how close Casper was to discovering the truth about his imprinting on the white wolf. He knew there and then that he had to keep his emotions in check when he was around her, or other members of the pack would begin to suspect too.
He needed to take some actions if the white wolf was to live in the same building with him, as there was no other choice. He would have to set some stringent rules that she must follow if she was to stay in his pack. With this thought in mind, he walked over to his vanity mirror where he tried to gather his thoughts. He started to count to ten, then stopped at five, cursing under his breath as he realised that he was trying to calm himself down by counting. Heck, this was his pack. He didn't need to gather courage just to see some stubborn little-known wolf!
He turned away from the mirror and walked towards the door, opening it and going outside. He walked back the way he had come, towards the dining room, praying that she was still there. It would be demeaning for him to start walking around trying to find her.
He burst into the dining room to find her still there at the table. Her plate was still filled with food and she was stuffing her face. She looked up, startled, and her shock turned to coyness as she saw who it was.
"Well, well." She said with a smirk on her face "Look who came back."
Logan walked around to the table and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up without any preamble. She grimaced as his fingernails dug into her wrist. "Come with me." He said, glowering.
"Not until you tell me where we're going." She retorted and stood her ground stubbornly.
"Don't make me carry you out of this room." He threatened menacingly.
"I'm not going anywhere. Leave me!" The white wolf said and grimaced in pain as his fingernails burrowed into her skin.
Without another word, he pulled her away from the table and out of the dining room, ignoring her shouts of protest. He dragged her to the living room, where he forced her to a loveseat by the window and stood, facing her.
"Now let me get this straight." he began without preamble "I am the alpha around here and you will do whatever I say. First things first, you will remain under close and watchful eye until I am sure you are not a spy."
Aella rolled her eyes and muttered "Yeah, right."
"Second things second," Logan continued as though he hadn't heard her "If you want to stay peacefully in my pack till I figure out what you're all about, you'd have to follow a set of my rules."
"Rules?!" She protested and tried to sit up but he forced her back down.
"Yes, rules." He mimicked her "That's what you get for standing up to an alpha. First off, you must wake as early as possible in order to join the maids around here for household chores–"
"I am not a maid." She protested. "And I would not be reduced to that."
"I don't care!" He cut her off. "Secondly, you must not be found anywhere around the border where you were rescued. This means that we must not catch you trying to escape for any reason. Are you noting these?"
Aella said nothing, just folded her arms and scowled.
"And last but certainly not least," Logan continued "You will stay in the room that would be allocated to you. Under no impulse or reason must you wander to my wing, or any other room in this pack house, unless I give you permission to do so. My room is off limits, including every other room in my wing, the former alpha's room too."
Aella tried to stand from the chair but Logan was blocking her way with his massive body. She looked him squarely in the eyes and countered "And what if I don't adhere to any of these rules? What will you do then?"
"You will be punished in indescribable ways." The alpha growled "Mark my words, white wolf."
She laughed in mockery "You have no right to punish me, and I am under no obligation to obey your stupid rules."
"My stupid rules?" Logan walked away from her, trying to calm his raging emotions, then walked back. "My stupid rules are what you must follow if you want to stay alive, white wolf. And I mean it."
She stood up and fisted her hands "You can't do anything to me."
He glowered and moved even closer to her till they were nose to nose "Try me. Try me, white wolf."
His body was mere inches from hers, and against her better judgement, Aella longed to reach out and place her hands on his chest, feel his strong heartbeat under her fingertips. The dark green eyes that bored into hers did unexplainable things to her. She wanted to stand on her toes and press her lips against those stern ones, run her hands through his dark hair and feel them slip between her fingers like fine silk. She held back a whimper as her core clenched under his stare, and she felt her resolve slowly slipping from her. This man, she thought, was appealing. Dangerously, sexually appealing.
"What will you do?" She asked in a voice that had been made soft by desire. Her big brown eyes searched his face, looking for any sign that he had felt what she felt too.
"I will punish you in unimaginable ways if you dare defy me, wolf." He spoke. Was it her imagination or was his voice mellow too? His voice was definitely huskier than normal, and his eyes darted around as though trying to take in every detail of her face. She could also hear his heart beating even faster than usual.
Suddenly he broke eye contact with her and looked away, swallowing hard. She watched him close his eyes as though trying to calm himself, then he looked back at her. The desire she had imagined was no longer there, and he stared at her with cold green eyes. Perhaps she had imagined everything after all.
"A maid will come to fetch you and take you to your room." He grunted, then walked out of the room without another word, leaving the white wolf to her scattered emotions.