*Soren*
Growling, I rolled my eyes. My chest felt bruised where she’d hit . It was a strong punch.
I still couldn’t figure out if she’d burst into tears because she was upset, because I’d hurt her, or because she was trying to distract . Whatever the reason, she’d wasted no ti in using my hesitation against .
Perhaps she was more dangerous than I’d considered before. All this ti, I thought it was her secrets and her past that would cause trouble and bring danger. She had so of her own power too.
“Calm down, Mila,” I hissed. “I’m not here about the damn box.”
“Y-you’re not?” she asked, creasing her brow.
I sighed and shook my head. When I looked her over, pity swelled in my chest. This poor girl had never known friendship, love, or trust. She was so closed off and defensive, so mistrustful that she was suspicious of everyone and everything, even when they were trying to be nice to her.
I felt sorry for her, always living with the mindset that she had to be on her own and had to survive at all costs. Until that mont, I hadn’t really considered the drawbacks of her life or how they had damaged her in ways I couldn’t even imagine.
“I ca here to make sure you were safe,” I said in a gentler tone.
Mila scoffed and shook her head. She clutched the box to her chest like she thought I’d leap over the gravestone and wrestle it away from her if she relaxed her grip for a second.
Her mistrust filled the space between us. I didn’t really need her to trust but I would have liked her not to be so suspicious and paranoid. She probably couldn’t help it at this point. Her expectation that everyone just wanted to use her or get sothing from her or make money off of her was a part of her DNA by now.
“I’ll stay out of your way, Mila. I don’t even need to know what is in the box, but you should co back to the hotel with ,” I said, holding an arm out to the path through the temple.
“Why?” she snarled. Her knuckles were white as she clung to the box.
“You have no idea what is out here or how many people are after you. That box could put another target on your head,” I pointed out.
Mila glared at but I could see the wheels turning in her mind.
“I can take care of myself. I’ve done it all my life,” she insisted with a firm nod.
“Like you did when you were poisoned? Or when you were attacked in the woods?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
Mila scoffed and shook her head. “Those were extre circumstances. I’m feeling a lot better now, stronger. I won’t let myself get caught again. That’s how I avoid trouble.”
“I know you are a very capable woman, but stealth and secrecy can only get you so far. Alpha Chandler has so of the worst, most dangerous, most successful bounty hunters after you. They will anticipate all your moves,” I warned.
“You can’t threaten to stay with you!?” Mila snapped.
I sighed heavily, my shoulders rising and falling. There was no way to break through her mistrust, was there? I wondered how she’d react if I told her about the night we spent together.
From what I gathered, she was still fuzzy on the details. It might shock her into compliance...
No, it wasn’t the ti to reveal that, not when she was so up in arms. She probably wouldn’t believe , anyway.
“I’m not threatening you. I’m rely suggesting that having so muscle looking out for you might not be such a bad idea,” I explained.
“You know, I believe that you really believe what you’re telling ,” Mila said, her voice softer. “But I think it is all an act. You’ve convinced yourself that you want to protect for my own good but that isn’t the truth. It never is.”
“I’ll say this, you know as much about as I know about you. Keep your inaccurate assumptions to yourself,” I snarled.
Mila’s eyes flared with anger. “You’re just a faker! Pretending to be nice to , pretending you want to protect . At the end of the day, all you want is to use , just like everyone else.”
She glared daggers at and snarled.
Taken aback, I didn’t know what to say to her angry outburst.
“I’ll give you props. No one has attempted to befriend in order to use before. You can’t trick into trusting you or letting my guard down!” she snapped. “You’re just like the others, only worse because you’re trying to play on my emotions.”
“Like the others? I saved you twice,” I reminded her again. “Have you already forgotten?”
“And how do I know that wasn’t just so part of your elaborate ga? No one offers their help like that without expecting sothing in return,” she insisted, stamping her foot.
I snorted a humorless laugh and ran a hand through my hair. She was impossible to reason with.
“So, I’ll pay you back for your assistance but I’m not giving you anything more than fair compensation and you’re not going to be able to hold it over my head in order to use ,” she explained with a firm head nod.
“I never asked for paynt. Nor do I expect anything in return. Not now, and I won’t co calling to collect in the future,” I assured.
“Then you’ll stop following and leave alone?” she asked. “Because you’re never going to get what you really want from !”
I smirked and chuckled. She was quick and clever. I found myself enjoying the challenging conversation.
“What do I want from you?” I asked.
Mila paused for a mont. That seed to confuse her.
“Why ask ? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that question?” she retorted.
“Hmm.”
I couldn’t deny that I was curious about the box. Whatever was in it, Mila could have and use however she wanted. But it was strange to that she’d been able to find the box when all the card in the flowers offered was a ti and place to et.
Sothing else had guided her to the graveyard and the headstone where the box she hadn’t as buried. That was worth being curious over. I didn’t think Mila was a seer or psychic. She hadn’t given any indication that she had power like that.
I’d t a few psychics before and talking to them was head spinning. It was like they lived with one foot in another dinsion and they were seeing and experiencing two lives or tilines at the sa ti.
But Mila was steady and grounded. She was focused and intense. That didn’t go hand in hand with psychic powers.
So, how had she learned about the box? She’d only dug up one place in the graveyard.
Sighing, I shook my head. All I ever wanted from her was honest answers. She seed incapable of giving that.
“Soren?” Payne’s voice drifted through the darkness.
“Over here,” I called out automatically, keeping my eyes on Mila.
Payne showed up and stopped dead. He glanced at Mila, tilting his head slightly.
She was still standing behind the headstone, box clutched to her chest. It was easy to see that she was standing on a springboard, ready to launch herself and run off at any mont. She was still glaring straight at .
“What did you find out?” I asked, calling him back to the issue at hand.
“Uhh...” Payne looked at and sighed. “A woman.”
“A woman delivered the flowers,” I said, nodding absently.
“She was wearing a cloak and I didn’t see her face or her features. By the ti I caught sight of her, the fog hid everything, including the color of her cloak. She was fast and I lost her the mont the fog wrapped around her,” Payne reported.
“No scent?” I asked.
“If there was, I think the fog absorbed it. That stuff is harsh... it really sses with my senses. I feel like I can barely hear, see, or sll when it is thickest,” he said, a visible shudder running over him.
I’d felt the sa. Fortunately, I knew where I was going and who I was following which made it easier to track Mila.
“There was sothing else,” Payne said.
I flicked my eyes away from Mila for a mont to see the concerned expression on Payne’s face. Then I looked back at her, holding her in place with my gaze.
“What was it?” I pressed.
“Even though it is night ti, I saw several new faces entering Miltern. They are obvious because they aren’t walking around all dazed and miserable. Although, based on how they look and the weaponry they are toting, I think we know why they are here.” Payne nodded toward Mila.
Mila stiffened and I wondered if the news would be enough to convince her to remain with for protection. She probably thought Payne was lying since he was loyal to ...
“They were knocking on doors and shaking people down for information on Mila. I don’t think they’ll stop there. They look like the type to kill anyone that gets in their way,” he added.
I turned my attention to Payne and stroked my chin. These bounty hunters were determined and focused. They wouldn’t easily fall for a false lead but I knew Payne and I could think of a way to send them in the wrong direction.
Movent caught the corner of my eye and I glanced at Mila.
She was running away from the graveyard. Every so often she glanced back, as if she expected to see us chasing after her.
Did she really think she could get away from ? I’d tracked her down in that thick, sense muddying fog!
Should I go after her? That was the bigger question.
She’d made it clear she didn’t want following her. Perhaps not following her was the only way to gain an ounce of her trust.
Then again, not following her ant not protecting her.
I’d tried to avoid getting entangled in her problems but the more I tried to stay out of it the more I was dragged in. I’d already dealt with two threats against her but they kept popping up out of the woodwork.
At this point, I couldn’t pretend nothing had happened. I couldn’t pretend there wasn’t sothing between us.
Maybe it was simple curiosity about her past or why Alpha Chandler wanted her. Not because I wanted to use her to my advantage but knowing an alpha’s weakness, especially one like Alpha Chandler, could be most beneficial.
If Mila wasn’t so self-involved, she’d realize there were bigger things going on than just her. And that included my relationships with alphas.
I wasn’t in the business of trading one life for my peace and freedom. However, knowledge of Alpha Chandler’s desires and plans could be most advantageous.
There was still the unresolved matter of our one-night stand. As much as I wanted to brush it off as just that, a one-night stand, the fact that she didn’t know about it didn’t sit well with .
I’d never taken advantage of a woman before in my life. Whatever was in her system that night had made her need and want that connection but I couldn’t let her live her life without knowing it had happened.
There hadn’t been a good ti to address it since she was always trying to run.
I didn’t know what was between us now. It could have been sothing entirely different, but we were connected. Whether she wanted to admit it or not.
It wasn’t like I was doing joyful backflips over the idea.
I continued to watch her as she faded into the distance.
Trouble, that’s all Mila was and all she’d brought so far. At this point, I’d invested far more in her than I had in anyone else in a long ti. It would be a sha to let that all go to waste if she were to be killed.
I decided right then and there that the only repaynt I needed for the help I’d offered was that she live a long and healthy life. Long enough, hopefully, to make friends, learn to trust, and be happy.
Everyone deserved that...
Now, I just had to see it through. Anyone that wanted to co after her would have to co through first. I’d destroy whoever tried to take that chance from her. It was , my healer, my protection that gave her a new chance at life and I wasn’t about to see it ripped away.
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