Bound By Blood, Claimed By Faith
The plan was to stick around for whatever conversation would be held between Ethan and Alpha Harris, but that plan quickly fell apart as Khalid insisted on escorting me to a bedroom.
“You know it won't necessarily stop me from eavesdropping,” I whispered to Khalid as we climbed up the carpeted stairs.
“Have you ever wondered how pack members can't really hear what is discussed by their pack leaders in their homes?“ Khalid countered with a sheepish smile as he dragged my suitcases behind him.
“I'm guessing there's some magic involved,” I remarked, tugging my duffle bag closer to my shoulders.
“Precisely and I promise you, your ears won't like the attempt,” he warned with a clipped tone.
I wondered what he meant by that but I yielded anyway. One, I was too tired to discover whatever secret they were guarding right then. Two, there was someone in the house I wasn't comfortable with and I needed to be aware of his every move.
Higan. They had left him out of the conversation too and he had taken to wandering the living room with Abel.
“What are the chances of you-know-who breaking into my room,” I leaned in to inquire quietly.
I wouldn't put it past Higan to update me on the many ways I'd fucked up over the month and remind me that I'm bound to him regardless of his rejection. I wondered how he'd react if he found out about my bond with Ethan.
I couldn't bring myself to imagine it.
Khalid curled up a brow before looking over his shoulder. “Well, I would like to think he's smart enough to avoid doing that here or anywhere else matter of fact.“
I doubted it, I wanted to say but I kept it to myself. “He's still an alpha,” I muttered. Didn't that entail he had the authority to do whatever he wanted?
“He's an alpha of the Crescent moon pack, not Bloodhound which you are now a part of,” he casually revealed.
Khalid’s words stopped me in my tracks.
“I am?” I gasped harshly, my voice quieter this time.
Khalid turned to face me with his eyes confessing his amusement as he leaned against the stair railing. “Of course. Bloodhound claimed you the moment you stepped on that plane. You belong with us and it has been officiated for a while now.”
Something about the way he said it made my gut curl like pigtails. Officiated by who? Most definitely not Higan. But, that could only mean one thing, his dad, Alpha Harris did.
My brows hung low as my thoughts hummed. Did Alpha Harris know about my connection with Ethan?
I knew the mark tied me to Ethan in ways I didn’t fully understand yet, but I hadn’t considered what that meant beyond the two of us. A pack was more than just a title, it was a bond, a family intertwined beyond the word itself, a place to belong.
The crescent moon had done nothing more than to make me feel ostracized, aside from my mom and dad and Becca sometimes, I didn't feel wanted. But with Ethan, there's a glaring difference in treatment. A good one.
I didn't hate the idea but how was I supposed to feel about yet another decision made without my consultation?
“I never agreed to that, you know,” I muttered with an exasperated sigh as I continued on the stairs.
Khalid tilted his head, studying me. “But here you are anyway. You shouldn't worry about little decisions like that. You have more important things to plant your focus on.”
He had a point. I wasn’t sure what to say to that.
We reached the bedroom assigned to me, and Khalid pushed the mahogany door open before stepping aside to let me in.
It wasn’t as wide as my room in New York, but it was equally impressive and if not, a little too polished. Sandalwood permeated the air sweetly with a faint citrusy scent. Perhaps the room had been freshly cleaned and aired out just before our arrival.
A quick look around has me humming deeply. “Kinda excessive don't you think? You're all doing a terrible job hiding the fact you're old old,” I remarked playfully.
“Abigail's work. She has a peculiar adoration for vintage English decor,” Khalid quipped with a scoff.
Tepid lighting leaking through the closed curtains subtly brightened the space. It caressed the deep maroon walls, lined with dark wood paneling. A large four-poster bed sat against the far wall with a cream-colored bedding.
A velvet chaise lounge rested near the bay window and to the right, a dark oak dresser stood beneath an ornate mirror, its edges carved with delicate wolf motifs my sight picked up upon concentration.
I felt like I had entered a different era. My room in New York confessed old money, this confessed Royalty. It was beautiful. Yet, something about the room felt impersonal, like a perfectly curated picture rather than a lived-in space.
No personal touches, no signs of warmth beyond the aesthetic. A house designed for guests. Temporary. Was that normal for the pack? To only have guests, no one to stay.
Well for the sake of their secret, I was sure that was the case. But it felt sad. I wondered just how old they were. Would it be rude to ask? Did I want to know?
The idea scared me for reasons I couldn’t quite place, but I pushed it aside, stepping further into the room. At the back of my head, I knew Khalid was most likely watching me with mild amusement.
“I’ll be down the hall,” he suddenly stated as I looked around. “And Ethan’s just a thought away, so don’t stress yourself over ‘you know who.’ I turned to catch him giving me a pointed look before stepping back into the hallway.
He closed the door with a soft click, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I dropped my bag onto the bed, before running a hand through my hair. Bloodhound pack. The words sat heavy in my chest. I was now one of them. I supposed that meant I had no ties with the crescent moon anymore.
My fingers curled into the blanket, frustration gnawing at the edges of my mind. Ethan had said I was still figuring myself out, but how was I supposed to do that when the rules of my life kept changing?
Out of nowhere, a soft shuffle echoed outside the door. My shoulders tensed up instantly as I listened in.
Khalid?