Ayla: Always an Alpha

Chapter 3 - Absolutely Reckless

~Killian~

Daring him to look away, I narrowed my eyes at the young guard watching me outside my cell. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, but he still didn't break eye contact with me. The kid had some guts; I'd give him that.

Bored with our little game, I looked around to observe the place more. We were still above ground, which was nice. I didn't do so well in subterranean spaces. Although my view only allowed me to see through the barred side of the cell that faced the hall, it appeared to be a small prison.

When they had brought me in, I hadn't seen any other prisoners in here with me. It was just me, the young guard, and some people shuffling around near the entrance.

The creak of the main door alerted the guards to a new presence.

"Alpha," they all greeted in respect, and I immediately tensed up.

I sank away from the bars and into the shadows as her shoes clicked against the concrete floor. She had been wearing short heels earlier and apparently had not taken them off.

Walking alongside another male, she came into my view. She stopped outside my cell, and my gaze flicked involuntarily to the man's hand as it dropped from the small of her back.

"Saleem," she addressed him, "I'd like to be left alone."

Exposing the fresh bandage on her neck, she had pulled her hair up. Already, a few specks of red blood peppered the white bandage, and I had to stop myself from stepping forward to scrutinize it further. I hadn't meant for the knife to go further into her skin; she was lucky her actions hadn't slit her jugular. The image of that in my head practically forced me to look away from her. Instead, I analyzed the man with her, this Saleem character.

Without questioning her, he followed her request and turned to leave.

"That includes the rest of you," she added, and the prison briefly resonated with the sound of heavy footsteps before the door was slammed shut, leaving us in the quiet.

Her voice had been strong and confident; it was lower than the typical female's, but it still sounded entirely feminine in a very attractive way. Hell, everything about this woman was attractive, even her odd choice in attire for someone leading a pack of werewolves. In spite of the blood on her sweater, she still appeared clean-cut in her monochromatic, almost business casual look. Her beige sweater had been re-tucked into her long khaki-colored pants, ones that hugged her figure in a way that made something in me stir. The whole ensemble showed almost no skin, but I couldn't help but admire how she looked.

I snorted when I noticed she was, in fact, still wearing the heels. Sure, she looked small. Even in the heels, she had to have been almost a head shorter than me, but I remembered the strength behind her grip when she plunged her knife into my leg. Heels or no heels, she could definitely give anyone a fair fight.

Thankfully for me, her blade hadn't been silver, and my wound had already started to heal.

"Something funny?" she queried.

Not entirely sure what I wanted to do with this female, I stayed quiet.

She only sighed, pulled out a key from her pants' pocket, and began to fiddle with the lock on the cell. I stayed in the shadows even when the door slid open and she stepped into the cell. Just as she had been when I had a knife pressed into her neck, this alpha female was either reckless or way too self-assured.

"Still want to kill me?" she asked, approaching me.

Hoping to stop her from getting closer, I practically growled out my response. "I haven't decided yet."

She laughed. It was loud and rambunctious, completely at odds with the rest of her demeanor, but I found myself liking the sound too much.

There was no way I could kill her now. Not when I found myself this spellbound. However, she didn't need to know that. Wanting her to be afraid of me, I lunged forward, grabbed her by the neck, and backed her into the closest wall.

Keeping my voice emotionless, I challenged her. "Want to kill me?"

"No." She laughed again, and I tightened my grip on her throat.

"Still don't," she added, and her voice was more breathy now as she fought for air.

I curled my fingers lightly into the area covered by her bandage, and instead of showing any signs of pain, her brown eyes just sparkled with mirth.

Noticing her face turn red, I removed my hands. I didn't want to hurt her, just scare her away from me, but this method wasn't working. Knowing she would have put her knife back into its holster before coming in here, I untucked her sweater. Too trusting of me, she didn't blink as I grabbed for the knife. Ignoring the sparks that spread from my fingertips and up my arm wherever my fingers grazed her warm skin, I grabbed her right hand and wrapped it around the blade.

"Kill me," I told her, directing her hand and the blade towards my heart. "Kill me before I have to kill you."

The warmth faded from her eyes, and she put her left hand over mine, the one on the knife. I thought, Finally, she's going to do it.

Instead, she whispered, "I'm letting you go."

I backed away from her and shook my head. "You don't understand."

She cocked her head to the side. "What don't I understand?"

"They're just going to send me back here to kill you again," I tell her, trying to convey the situation more fully. I had had some time to think in the cell before she came. I didn't want to have to be the one to end her life, but I wasn't going to watch as Sir sent anyone else but me to do it. Our group had never failed an assignment. Sure, we'd occasionally have hiccups but never an outright failure. One way or another, she'd die, and I didn't want to be around when it happened.

"Then just don't come back here and kill me," she said as if it were that simple.

I groaned. She was reckless, I decided, not confident, just absolutely reckless. "Then, they'll just have someone else come do it instead of me." Thinking of Luca, I add, "And trust me, you don't want that someone else anywhere near you."

"Then, I'll kill whoever it is," she said, shrugging her shoulders like I was the one overthinking things. "But I won't kill you."

I wanted to bang my head against the wall in frustration, but instead I kept my facade calm. "Why? I came here to kill you. It'd only be fair."

"I'm not going to kill my mate."

I flinched. "You have no idea who I am," I said, my tone dark and dangerous.

"I know exactly what group you're a part of. I'm not an idiot, Killian," she stated, emphasizing my name.

~~~

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