The Selected

Let's Dance, Shall We?

Present Day

Shaking off the panic and fear from all those memories, I brought up my knee to the groin of my attacker, shoving him off and sending a solid right hook to his jaw for good measure. It wasn't until he was sprawled on the ground, cupping his groin, that I realized who he was.

Alexander.

I suppose that explained the weird tingles I felt at every point of contact between the two of us just then.

He let out a groan but pulled himself up, standing over me. His jaw was an angry red where I hit him, already bruising, though I knew it would completely heal in a matter of minutes. The same reason as he was able to be on his feet so quickly after taking a shot to the nuts.

"Adelaide," He groaned, and I had to hide my arms to hide proof of the goosebumps that raised there at hearing my name roll off of his tongue like that. He stood over me by a good amount, even taller than Conrad if only by an inch or two, and said, "I'd love to take you dancing, but I think you might kill me."

I took a step back from him, eyes not leaving his, "I don't dance."

He tilted his head and he looked exactly like the apex predator that he is as he stared me down, his eyes pinning me there where I stood, "Not even with me?"

"No," I answered, glad that my voice was strong even if I thought my legs might turn to jello. And despite their wobbliness, I went to move past him and walk towards the smell of food until he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Excuse me."

It wasn't polite, per se, with my flat tone, but at least the words were spoken. He didn't budge, and instead spoke, "Adelaide, can we just talk? Obviously yesterday how we met wasn't ideal, but--"

"You mean the part where you found me naked in Conrad and I's room, smelling just like him?" I clarified, and I hated that I succeeded in making him flinch back from me. His eyes grew dark and stormy and I watched as he struggled to reel himself back in.

He nodded before gruffly speaking, "Yes. So can we talk?"

"No."

And I didn't give him another chance to block me as I slipped past him and back into the conference hall, where Conrad was giving me a scathing look. A plate of food sat in front of my seat, so I sat and began eating.

The only time Conrad stopped glaring at me was when Alexander walked in, and I knew that he immediately spotted the fading red mark on his jaw and the hardly noticeable limp with which he walked. At least I could take comfort in knowing that I really do hit hard.

Conrad then turned to give me a pointed look, which I ignored. I was also immensely grateful for my ability to completely block him out right now, or else I'd probably be getting an earful (mindful?) from him right now about my actions and behavior, blah blah blah.

The moment I'm done eating, I stand and mumble something about the bathroom, which Con of course doesn't buy for a second. Instead, he stands with me and follows me out of the room. The moment we're out of eyesight of anyone, he grips my elbow and begins dragging me up all four flights of stairs, all the way back to our room. Once we're inside and the door is shut, he growls, "What the hell was that, Ad?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I played dumb.

"Fuck off with that, now tell me," He demanded.

Gritting my teeth, I held onto the truth for as long as possible until I finally caved, "He followed me and held me against the wall. I panicked, didn't realize it was him, so I kneed him in the balls and then sent him down with a punch to his face. He asked to talk but I refused and basically ran away. Happy now?"

"No, Addie, I'm not fucking happy," He says lowly, "and I don't understand why you just won't let yourself be happy. What the fuck are you so afraid of? Happiness? Love? You're lucky enough to have found your mate, Ad, but you're fucking wasting it!"

"Well I can't give him what he needs!" I finally yell at him, chest heaving, because there it is, out in the open, the reason it's so goddamn cruel for me to be mated to an Alpha of all wolves. "I can't give him everything he needs, so it's better if I just don't give him anything."

And at that, at the truth that I'd finally shared, my voice cracked along with Conrad's anger. He swore again before pulling me in for a tight hug, wrapping his arms around me in comfort just as he has a million times before.

"You never know," He murmured into my hair.

I shook my head, "It's just not possible Connie."

"Okay," he whispered, and then said it a couple more times as he rubbed my back in comforting circles. The threatening tears never spilled, but I kept clinging to him like my life depended on it, because I was pretty sure that at the very least my sanity did.

Because what Conrad had said, that Alexander is a good guy, that maybe he'd understand and wouldn't care if I just told him, seemed to be true for the most part. I'd been nothing but a bitch to him and had slept in bed with another man last night, and yet he had approached me and asked to just simply talk.

But if I let myself think that way, if I let myself even hope for something like that, I knew it would only end up hurting me, so I shut down that train of thoughts. And just as I shut it down and was ready to pull away from Connie, the bedroom door open, and the man of the hour himself stood there looking absolutely pissed by what he found.