Chapter 39
"You're leaving without telling him; it's not going to work out the best for you." When I hesitated, he realized he had made the correct assumption and expressed it matter-of-factly. "Although it's possible that you've already observed, let me remind you that in addition to being fated to be an alpha, you are also mated to a king, which increases his desire to be with you and makes him possessive and protective to the extreme. You will pay the price when you find yourself gone and he wakes up."
Although his remarks seemed menacing, they weren't because he was right and I shouldn't have been fleeing.
Although Morgan gave me the impression that I had an option, there was much more at risk than he was letting me know.
"And if I leave you with a message for him, what then?" With a sly smile and a tilted mouth, he seemed surprised by what I was willing to commit to.
"You shouldn't trust people so easily with things as important as that." I was getting impatient as he spoke incoherently.
"This isn't about trust; this is about your duty to your alpha; you shouldn't be withholding information from him." He laughed darkly at my foolish remarks, which I made in the heat of the moment.
As he approached me and my hands touched the door engravings, his torso straightened. Though not as large as Derrick, he was nonetheless menacing.
My partner wouldn't harm me; I knew that, but Morgan? That was already what he had done.
"You speak to me about my duty, and yet you are out here running from your own." He was snarky. "As his buddy and beta, my responsibility to him is limited to waking him up and informing him of what you are doing.
"You owe me." I stammered out, attempting to hold on to whatever control I believed I had.
"I do?" He arched a brow as the ominous aura he had created surrounded me like poison. "And why do you think that?" His eyes gleamed because he was certain of the reason and only needed me to express it.
The words none of us were willing to say and the stillness that followed were both signs of power struggles against whatever the hell was going on between us. It seemed like I was threatening Morgan, and he was threatening me at the same time. I would have ranked higher than him if I had accepted his alpha mark, but if I hadn't yet allowed Derrick to claim me, it didn't matter if I was his mate.
"I'm not fleeing," I stated firmly. "Derrick and I have an agreement, and he knows that I will come back to him." The revelation seems to have surprised Morgan, who is thinking about the words.
Derrick only trusted me to come and leave at my convenience because of the deal we had made, and if he gave it enough thought, he would come to that realization. He appeared to evaluate the circumstances in front of him, seeking the best result.
He was correct; why hadn't he roused Derrick from his sleep?
"If I let you leave, will you make me a deal?" I stammered, shocked beyond belief at what he had said. Was this just a self-serving ruse, or was it all it took for him to believe me? He continued talking when I remained silent. "You will get Derrick to withdraw my punishment for the way I handled you before I knew who you were." My eyes widened in dismay. I had been so preoccupied with my personal problems that I had hardly paid attention to anything else.
Even though my difficulties were enormous, I had been utterly self-centered towards Derrick, and he had not brought up the subject of Morgan's punishment since the day he had taken me out of jail. Why was Morgan asking me this when the penalty for hurting an alpha's mate is usually severe? He didn't seem like the kind of man who would back down from a situation like that.
"What punishment has he put in place?" He shrugged his shoulders and stepped back from me, looking away as though he were almost embarrassed by what he was requesting.
His words, "It's an old punishment". "It's not his fault that it's harsh; as I've already stated, his criticisms of you are magnified tenfold."
He attempted to defend Derrick's motivations because he was aware of them and knew that the punishment had been meted out in accordance with the royal law of wolves. He did not want me to feel appalled by my friend's action, which, given the ground we were on and the way he seemed to detest me, was illogical.
"What is the punishment?" I said it again.
He spoke rapidly, "A public whipping that will last three days," and my heart fell. You are aware of the problems we've been having lately with rogues, so when I came across you, I was acting solely in the pack's best interests. If it weren't for my partner, I would bear the consequences—I don't want her to have to witness me in that light. Although it is my punishment, she would still have to put up with it, and I can't allow that to happen." I blinked at what he'd said, yet I felt nauseous at the thought of it.
His mate's mark was showing through the collars of his shirt, which made me think of the flirting waiter at the cafe where he had found me and how he'd never even looked at her.
"You have my word that the punishment will not go forward; I will make sure of it." I responded without hesitation, and for a split second, it seemed as though he was still in disbelief that I had accepted him. He couldn't understand why I thought he didn't deserve to be punished, even though he knew he did. For an instant, a frown was fixed on his brow as he fixed me with his gaze.
Male wolves were always the sticklers for respect and standards because they believed that these things brought strength, but nothing was more powerful than knowing people's hearts.
"It seems I misjudged you; what is the message you would like to leave for him?"
I answered simply, "Tell him I'll be at the bakery if he needs me," but I could feel him pick up my pace as I began to walk.
"Wait, Luna—I'll have a car sent for you; there would be no point in the deal we just made if Derrick finds out I let you leave without protection." I froze in place, taking in the information he had just given me. I observed him conversing via the mind link until he noticed my wide-eyed expression.
"What, would you rather I call you the runaway Luna like everyone else?" I scowled. "You've only been here a few days, and you've already got the rumor mill running; that's what they're all calling you behind your back." I bit the insides of my cheeks. I mean, I'd heard names before, but this felt more intimate in some way.
"I would like to meet your mate one day; I'm curious to see who you are bound to." He scoffed as I changed the topic.
"I'm not as bad as you've made me out to be in your head; I just don't make compromises when it comes to the safety of this pack or the safety of its Alpha." For an instant, I was impressed by his genuineness and his apparent confidence in his remarks.
I was envious of him since he knew exactly who he was and what needed to be done.
He waited for me to get inside the car after guiding me to it.
"I'd say you have just under two hours before he comes for you. I hope it's worth it." Before closing the door and letting the automobile drive away, he bowed slightly.