Alpha Leo and the Heart of Fire

Chapter 22

22. Shaken

LEO.

I knew something was fucking up, but I wasn‘t expecting this... And the fact that the bastard somehow managed to get away... I didn‘t see him leave the fucking car. I don‘t know how, but he seemed to have just fucking vanished. Unless... he wasn‘t in the car to start with... 3

Blackmailing her with sex tapes.

That fucking triggered me. I don‘t care if she was a fucking princess or not, right now she was someone who needed help.1

Why the fuck was she dealing with this shit alone?

On top of that, somehow the bastard had even managed to track us down... Did he have some sort of tracer on her?

Her luggage.

I pulled up to the side of the road, making her grab the edge of her seat and glare at me with those large, gorgeous eyes of hers. 1 “What are you doing?”

I didn‘t reply. Getting out of the car, I walked to the trunk and grabbed her luggage, flipped her suitcase open, just as she came out of the car.

“What are you doing?!”

“I want to know how the fuck he found us.” I replied, trying not to notice her tiny thongs in the suitcase, and tossed the entire thing into the hedges.

“What the fuck! How the hell would he have something tracing me!” She growled.

I looked her over, my gaze falling to her shoes.

“Take your shoes off too.” I commanded.

“No, seriously, when would he have had time to–”

I didn‘t have fucking time for this. I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her close and lifting her up onto the edge of the open trunk, before I pulled her shoes off myself. Fucking stubborn woman. “You are fucking crazy.” She growled, clearly agitated, but I could also sense her unease and worry.

“Makes two of us then.” I replied icily. 5

I looked at her pants, they didn‘t hold anything metal, they should be fine. She sure had sexy fucking legs...

I looked her over before I pointed to her earrings.

“Remove them.”

She glared at me but obeyed, tossing them into the bushes.

I pulled her down and slammed the trunk shut, before I walked over to the passenger seat. grabbing her bag “Leo, he didn‘t have a chance to touch my things!” “You can‘t be so fucking sure, there‘s some way he‘s tracing you.” I frowned, as I spilt the content onto the seat. 1

I took out my lighter, setting her passport alight. “Hey!”

“Sorry little She–Wolf, but I‘m not fucking risking it. You‘ve been in this guy‘s company, so you can‘t trust any of this shit.”

“You‘re being extreme.” She growled, trying to snatch it from me, but I held it out of reach with ease.

“I know how small chips can be...” I watched until her face and details on the passport melted away, tossed it aside and then destroyed her bank cards before emptying her entire bag out. I switched her phone off but kept it with me, I‘ll do some tracing later...

The last thought I had was if she had a chip inside of her, extreme but not fucking unheard of, I had all the pups in my pack chipped incase something happened to them. I‘ll check when we get back... not that it would work in my Pack anyway but I wanted to be sure either way. 5

She now stood there seething. Her heart was pounding loudly as she stared at her things.

“Get in.”

“I have no money, no clothes, no passport!” She shouted suddenly, her eyes flashing.

I clamped a hand over her mouth, pushing her up against the car.

“No fucking big deal! You‘ll get clothes and cash, now get your little ass into the car.” I growled.

She shoved me back and I stepped away, letting her get in, my gaze dropping to her ass.

Sexy. 4

I looked away, and slammed the door shut, went around and got into the driver‘s seat. I was about to start the car back up, when she quickly tried to open the door.

“I‘m not letting you out, I already told –“.

She waved her hand, retching as she pointed at her mouth.

Fuck, she was going to be sick. I unlocked the door and she stumbled out, running to the bushes and threw up. I got out, swiftly scanning the surroundings, before I walked over to her. Guess she got motion sickness..

I stood by her side as she clutched her stomach with one hand, the other struggling to hold back her silky locks. I reached over, gathering her hair up and held it back, as she emptied her stomach. 5

“Urgh.” She groaned once she had finished emptying the contents of her stomach.

“Guess you‘re not as strong as one would think.” I remarked, letting go of her glossy hair. s

I grabbed one of her discarded items of clothes and passed it to her.

She wiped her mouth and tossed it onto the floor again, then looked at me. I had half a mind to make another comment but she looked fucking pale.

“Thanks.” She said with an expression in her eyes I couldn‘t read.

“We‘ll stop at the next service station, and grab something to drink.” I suggested. She didn‘t argue, instead walked to the passenger side and got in, resting her head back against the headrest.

I got in, locking the doors before I started driving. She kept her eyes closed as we continued, it was already late, and it had gotten dark outside. I turned the volume up a little on the music, enjoying the silence that gave me the space to think things over. The pull of the bond was still hanging between us, even though I had weakened it by rejecting her, it didn‘t stop me from thinking about her...

Her arguing with me earlier had fucking made me lose my self–control, the way her eyes were flashing, her chest heaving with rage that she wasn‘t afraid to express, it was a fucking turn on and I wanted to fuck her senseless, but I couldn‘t. Accepting her meant me swallowing my words, when I have stood against the elite for so fucking long... 1

Why the fuck was I even considering it?

If I took her back, everyone was going to question it... Although Marcel and Corrado would be fucking happy. 2

She was fucking crazy, and with her you never knew what she‘d do next, but it was pretty fucking amusing. Like that doll that I sure as fuck knew was meant to be me, when she said it was a voodoo doll. 2

And now I had to fucking decide where to put her, should I place her in my penthouse in the city? Na, it was too far if shit happened... Maybe I should keep her in my underground bedroom? 1

Yeah like a fucking prisoner, that would be fucking weird.

What should I do... I know I didn‘t need to answer to anyone, but things were already fucking rocky between Nikki and me... and with Marcel saying he‘d hand me the title if I settled down and took a Luna? I didn‘t want him to think I was choosing Azura, and neither did I want her to be the reason I attained that title. A title I fucking deserved anyway.

I glanced over at her, she was staring blankly out the window. I could see her expression in the glass, blank and emotionless, but one thing I had learned was when she wore that expression, her mind and emotions were working in overdrive. I should have been preparing for my shipment tomorrow but instead, I‘m here with her, my mind consumed with other things...

We had stopped at a service station, where I had just grabbed some snacks and drinks, having no fucking clue what she liked, before we had headed back home. She had barely said a word for the entire journey, and even though the car was fucking big, I was very aware of her every

move.

Her scent was still as appealing as it was the first time I had found out she was my mate. A temptation that didn‘t just go away. I had kept an eye out, but after that we weren‘t followed, making the rest of the journey pass without a hitch. We finally reached home, and I had just parked up in my underground car park again. Only I had access to this place. A chill had fallen, and when we stepped out of the car I saw her curl her toes as they touched the cold ground.

I still wasn‘t sure what to do with her, and so I decided to take her to the bedroom that led off my cave.

Yeah, keep her like a fucking creep in the basement.

“Where are we going?” She asked as I led her away from the lift.

“You‘re staying down here until I get some stuff sorted.”

“Oh, so you force me to come back and then want to keep me hidden? Geez, I wonder why?” She remarked icily.

I don‘t know what her fucking issue was, but being back here reminded me of the kiss we shared earlier...

“Think whatever the fuck you want, you‘re staying here until I say.”

“I am not your prisoner.” She growled.

Alpha?‘ Leo?‘ 1

I frowned when Jackie‘s voice came into my head. 1

‘What is it?‘ I asked coldly as I unlocked the entrance and led the way in, not missing the way she looked around. Despite her irritation, she still followed as I led her to the bedroom. The room was pretty private, even though the pain wall was frosted and looked out into the main room. 1

‘Sorry... but we had a time set, I made sure Emmet wouldn‘t know...’

I frowned.

Yeah, I forgot with all this shit going on. 2

‘I’ll meet you later, around midnight, just say to Emmet the hospital needed you.’ ‘Of course, got it. Same place?‘ ‘Yeah.‘I cut the link, I didn‘t need anyone fucking seeing us together. 1 I looked over at Azura, who was scanning the room. It was a modern room with a dark interior, a huge tv and surround sound. A king–sized bed was on the far wall with a panelled backdrop. There was a black fitted wardrobe and chest of drawers containing my clothes to one side. She wouldn‘t get bored with plenty to watch, or at least not entirely fucking bored. “There‘s a bathroom right through there, grab something of mine to wear, for now, I‘ll get Winona to get some stuff for you. Or there‘s a tablet, just choose whatever the fuck you want, here‘s my card.” I placed the card on the bedside table. “There‘s a fridge there next to the bed

in that cabinet, and there‘s a collection of alcoholic drinks out in the main room. Help yourself, just don‘t touch anything else.” “And my phone?” She asked, completely ignoring everything I said. “This was a new number right? He still got a hold of it somehow. I need to check a few things out before I can give it back to you.”

She let out an irritated exhale.

“Look, I feel like you‘ve taken me prisoner. I get you have taken this personally, but why? I am nothing to you, remember? I don‘t want to be here Leo!” She snapped, running her fingers through her hair.

Yeah, obviously.

“Do you want him fucking caught or not?”

“I don‘t have the time to stay here! Yes, I want him caught, goddess! He has pictures of Kat, Sky, and my other friend Song! What if he releases them on the net?! Fuck, I don‘t know if this was a good idea. Leo, this could fucking break Kataleya. She‘s so damn innocent and sweet, I know you hate the elite but this will really affect her. She has done nothing to you, think of her.

I clenched my jaw. Yeah, I fucking did hate the elite... didn‘t mean I hated the kids... Then why not accept Azura? A Being ok with someone and making them my Luna, were two fucking different things. 1 I took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag on it. “I have a better chance at doing something about this shit than Alejandro does, unless it comes down to not trusting me–” “Oh for fucks sake, can you stop stressing me the fuck out?! This isn‘t about me not trusting you! Goddess! I know you‘re fucking smart! Everyone has mentioned how you‘re fucking tech savvy! But me being here is messed up, I need to get away from you! Don‘t you get it, Leo? Being around you is hard!” She shouted, her eyes glittering with tears of frustration. “I don‘t want to see your fucking face!”

My eyes flashed, as anger flared through me.

I closed the gap between us and grabbed hold of her elbow, pulling her close.

“If I‘m so fucking repulsive, reject me, get rid of the fucking bond that is keeping us both trapped in fucking limbo.” I hissed menacingly. I was fucking trying to help, and here she was acting like I was the fucking issue. A flash of hurt flickered in her eyes before she shoved me violently. She was strong, but not fucking strong enough. “Fine. You want it, I‘ll give you it.”

My heart raced as I stared at her.

She was going to do it. I could see it in her eyes; the pain, the fear, and above all, that fire of determination.

Will she really be able to do it?

It had been fucking hard to say those words... I had to give it my fucking all, I had reminded myself of everything I hated, and only then had I been able to do it. Was she strong enough to

do the same?

But her next words hit hard.

“I, Azura Rayne Westwood,” She was doing it, fuck this was it. A few stray tears splashed down her cheeks, and my own heart was thundering. Why now that she was ready to accept it, was it fucking messing me up? “Accept your–” 4

“Not yet.” I cut her off, my voice hoarse as I clamped my hand over her mouth and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. Our hearts were thudding as we both stared into each other‘s eyes.

Two shades of blue... yet so fucking different from one another... 2

“You can accept it when you leave.” It was a fucking poor excuse. I turned away, feeling shaken. “I have a lot going on right now and need to be at the top of my game...” 3 Why had that fucking unnerved me? Wasn‘t her rejection what I wanted, so these emotions could fucking go away?

I left the room swiftly, knowing if she wanted, she could reject me at any time... and I knew her enough to know that she‘d do it too… 2