Chapter 60

Shirley

Keith’s tone makes me feel as though I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. Like I’m a teenager who just snuck in after fooling around with my boyfriend all night. I pause in the doorway as I stare at him, studying how his solid features are held tight.

I can already tell Keith is ready to pick a fight, which causes a sudden annoyance to begin to trickle into my veins.

“Why does it matter?” I ask him.

“Warren can drive you home,” Keith tosses back.

“It’s two in the morning,” I counter. “I didn’t want to bug him.”

“That’s what he’s there for,” the Alpha states. “That’s his job.”

In turn, I huff. “Well, excuse me for trying to be polite.”

But Keith doesn’t care. He’s too wound up as he stands from where he’s seated.

“Your ‘politeness’ put you in danger,” he says then. “You were being careless.”

“Careless?” I ask with a scoff. “Because I took a ride from someone who offered?”

“You hardly know him,” Keith tries. “What if he had brought you back to his place? Or drove out to the woods? You put yourself in a position where you could have been taken advantage of.”

“I can take care of myself, Keith,” I snap, my voice growing a little louder. But then I do my best to bring it back down. “Besides, Asher is part of your circle. If you don’t trust him then that’s your problem. Apparently you need to make some changes.”

Keith scowls at me, but I don’t back down. I fold my arms across my chest, glaring right back.

“He didn’t have any ill intentions,” I state then. “Despite what you think - I’m not clueless or dumb.”

“He’s a guy, Shirley. A male wolf,” Keith fires back. “Just because he didn’t act on anything doesn’t mean he didn’t have any ideas.”

Again, I scoff as I roll my eyes.

“He’s a male who went out of his way to help an attractive female - of course there’s something going through his head,” Keith insists.

“Oh, ‘attractive’ female, huh?” I ask, mocking him. “That’s funny. From what I can remember - you aren’t attracted to me, remember?”

Keith’s brows pull together as his eyes narrow on me, and I can see that beautiful jaw tensing so hard that it could snap. He hates my counter, my tone - but I’m only reminding him of his words, right? Why does he have a reason to be upset?

“So why do you care?” I ask once he still hasn’t said anything. “Why do you care if Asher drove me home? If he’s attracted to me?”

The words fire out of me as Keith remains silent, his fists balling up at his sides. But I keep going.

“Why do you care so much about other males paying attention to me? Is it because I can’t be trusted?” I ask, reminding him of the other words he said to me in the car. “Or is it something else? Please, enlighten me. Why do you care?”

The air in the room is electric as we’re both quiet then, our breath harsh as we hold each other's stare. I wait. I wait for him to tell me, to give me some sort of relief. But my waiting never ends as Keith doesn’t offer a reason.

In fact, neither of us speak. Instead, we’re turning in union as we hear the front door open and then close before Arthur begins softly whistling down the hallway.

But I never see him. Instead, I take one last cold look at Keith before I storm away, mentally cursing him with every step I take.

~

Asher is keeping his distance from me - I’m not an idiot, I can tell. Ever since he walked in the room for the meeting, he’s been sure to steer clear of me. And I know exactly why.

The reason is currently the Alpha sitting behind his desk, not meeting my gaze though I know he’s aware I’m staring at him. I know he said something to Asher and I have every intention of calling him out on it later.

But for now, we have to get through this meeting. I do my best to keep myself at ease as the others speak, even if I want to scowl every time Keith chimes in. How dare he meddle in my business.

Time goes by slowly, but still our meeting is expected to soon come to a close. I practically feel myself buzzing with anticipation, wanting to corner Keith as soon as the room clears out. However, it seems I’m not going to get my wish as someone suddenly storms into the room.

“We just received a report,” the wolf begins as he stops in the middle of the room. “Another she-wolf has gone missing. Someone saw suspicious activity by the southern forest.”

Another she-wolf gone?

I have little time to fully react before the whole room jumps into motion. Keith is already up from his desk, calling out orders to his team as he also prepares himself. It’s clear the meeting has come to an abrupt end and they’re heading to the forest immediately.

I watch as Keith begins to walk out of the room, his gaze deadly as he leads the way for the others to follow. And they do - nearly all of them go with him, leaving the rest to trickle out before I barely manage to stand from my chair.

Then the room is silent as I’m alone, wondering if I’d imagined the whole thing based on how quickly things changed. At some point, I’m able to collect all my things and head back to my room, my steps and head heavy as I go. From there, I begin to pace, thinking about the team who was likely on their way to make their rounds while I have to stay behind and do nothing. However, I’m not sure I’d be much help anyway.

So I’m left in my anxieties, concerned about the others and what they may find. However, the longer I pace, the more I realize who’s safety I’m mainly worried about. Keith…I’m overwhelmingly worried about Keith.

It’s silly - I know. He’s more than capable of handling himself. But I still can’t shake the feeling. Even if I’m still annoyed with him and his meddling ways, that doesn’t seem to matter as I picture him racing through the forest, facing whatever may be waiting.

It’s all I picture as I continue to wait, watching as the sun goes down. But I stay up despite the hours that rush by - I want to make sure I’m awake when Keith returns.

However, after hours of pacing, my legs become tired and so does my mind from my anxious thoughts. I lay down to rest as I stare up at the ceiling, again wishing there was something I could do. But I’m left thinking about Keith…only Keith before my eyes eventually shut.

And I accidentally drift off to sleep.

~

A knock on my door jerks me awake. As I register that I’m still in my clothes, awareness quickly hits me as I realize what events had left me exhausted enough to sleep.

Looking at the door, I rush to it, thinking of the man who had crowded my mind all evening. And when I finally open the door, that same man is exactly who I find.

Oh, thank Goddess. He’s here, he’s okay. He looks absolutely exhausted, work down - but he’s okay.

My relief is almost sickening as I stare at him, studying that handsome face that is beyond tired and his hair that hangs wet. I want to bring my hands toward both areas and smooth my palms across the surface. However, I leave my arms at my sides as I decide to greet him with words instead.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, almost as if I need him to say the words too. But he doesn’t really have a chance as I fire out more questions. “What happened? Did you find anything? And are the others alright?”

Only, Keith doesn’t answer any of those questions either. Not even after I take a breath and wait. In fact, he hardly seems as though he registers that I’m speaking as he instead begins to move.

A shock runs through me as he reaches out and takes my hand, causing my eyes to grow wide as he starts to guide me along.

“What are you doing?” I ask as he still hasn’t said anything. And it stays that way as he leads us down the hallway, going straight to the front door. As we grow closer, I begin to feel my heart race.

“Keith,” I try, my voice gentle. But I’m silent again as he pulls open the door and I soon realize why he’s bringing me outside.

Snow gently cascades down from the sky, falling soundlessly before it meets the ground where a thin layer of white has already gathered. The trees are covered with their own ice and mounds of snow, making them stand out from the blackness of the forest.

I’m in awe as Keith brings me down the steps, making sure I don’t fall as we reach the ground. I’m thankful that I somehow managed to fall asleep in my shoes so I don’t have to stand within the cold in my socks.

Snow. The first snowfall of the season. It sits at my feet, brushes into my hair. The touch of it chills my skin, but I invite it as I tilt my head back, watching it come down as some of it even lands on my cheeks and lips.

And I smile, my arms raising a little to catch more flakes in my hands as Keith has now released me. But once I realize his touch is gone, it makes me look back down, my gaze then sliding over to him.

He wanted to show me. Despite everything - he came to wake me just so he could show me the snow.

And he’s watching me now, seeing for himself how his actions have paid off as my delight is evident. On his own face there seems to be a sense of relief, satisfaction - but there’s also pain…as if he’s holding back.

It makes me turn fully to him, wondering if my expression is beginning to mirror his as I have the desire to hug him for doing this, for thinking of me. But I don’t act on my desires, leaving me to wonder what desires Keith isn’t acting on.

Why did he do this? Why did he care if I saw the snow? Why is he staring at me like that?

But most importantly.

“What do you want from me?” I whisper.